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I was recently inspired to create a personalized housewarming gift for two friends.  I decided to use their initials and then overlap them to represent their bond with each other.  I used blue and red glass for the initials and purple for the overlapping areas.  I chose two different textured glass in clear to complete the design. Here's how I went about it .. I uploaded a few outline fonts and then input them into my software to create the design.  I printed a few blank designs and hand-colored them in as shown. The dimensions are 7-1/2" high and 9" wide. Then I went b ..read more

This project is to make three cracked lamp shades into two usable ones.  My customer has had these for a number of years, during which they each sustained cracks.  The one on the left has one cracked piece, the middle one has two, but the third has the most damage.  Since she needed only two lamps repaired, we decided to have the most damaged lamp be the "donor" for glass to the other two.  Here we go! Here's a photo of the three lamps on the light box.  The blue tape squares mark damaged pieces.  The one in the far right is the donor. Close up of the lamp wi ..read more

My customer found this sturdy lamp at an antique store.  He loved the colors and knew it would look perfect in his vacation home. He brought it to me to repair several cracks along the lower edge.  Here's how I repaired it .. (This is around the 80th lamp I've repaired). “Before” photo of lamp on light box with matching replacement glass. Five pieces in a row, starting with the corner, are cracked. Discovered this clear tape on the cracked pieces which I removed prior to the repairs.   First piece out was the blue oval.  I scored it with the purple tool which is a ..read more

This lamp came to me from a father who wanted it repair it as a gift for his daughter's first apartment.  It had one cracked panel and a bent border.  Here's how I went about the repair .. “Before” photo showing the cracked piece and the bent zinc channel border. Another "before" view Here I've found a match for the glass in my inventory. Using the light box to test for luminosity to confirm the match. Using needle nosed pliers to pull out loose cracked glass. Using an oil-filled pistol grip glass cutter to hashtag score the glass to get it to crack for removal.  Aft ..read more

This repair is not copper foiled stained glass, but since I have the tools and materials, I did it as a gesture for our bird sitter.  Its a glass panel which fits into a small coffee table. Its made with brass channel, which are straight lengths of "U" shaped metal which are soldered in place around bevels and rectangular pieces of clear glue chip glass.  Here's the process of the repair .. Here's my customer's photograph showing the panel in place and missing corner piece. Another view which shows the whole panel. In order to access the corner, I needed to start by melting of ..read more

It seems no two fruit lamps are exactly the same.  This one gets the prize for being the heaviest though!  These lamps are always heavily soldered and strongly built.  In this case, the lamp had been incorrectly installed in the kitchen ceiling and was hanging (for two years!) by only the electrical cord.  It should have been hanging by the chain.  It unexpectedly fell and landed on a centerpiece on the table.  Amazingly, the only damage was to a single slumped pear at the border.  Here's the story of the repair. Here is the large lamp showing the damaged p ..read more

This is the 11th fruit lamp repair I've done so far.  These were very popular in the '60's and '70's and have great sentimental value.  This lamp had several challenges.  The wiring assembly had become detached, the crown collapsed during the repair process, and the slumped pear had to be replaced, as well as seven piece of cracked flat glass. Here's how I went about repairing this little gem. This view shows a crack in one of the large upper panels, as well as a broken pear at the border. Here is another cracked piece, between the leaf on the left and the first red marble c ..read more

Of all the birds I've made in stained glass, Cardinals remain the most popular.  They are often viewed as a memory of those who have passed on.  I was commissioned by my customer in Atlanta to create this panel for his father in Dallas, in memory of his mom.  It's a smaller version of a window I did in late 2015.  (Link appears at bottom of post). Computer rendition of finished panel.  Pattern making:  Here I’ve taken the white “cartoon” or original pattern, and overlaid it on Manila folders with sheets of carbon paper in between.  I work on Homasote boa ..read more

This project was inspired by a gift from a dear friend, a birch branch lamp for our log home. He did a beautiful job with it, and I thought it deserved more than just a paper lamp shade.  I decided to create a stained glass lamp shade which would match our moose and bear stained glass windows.  I had created them in 2009 and they were already hanging up above in the cabin.  There were many steps involved, so this posting has more photos than usual. My husband Eric often collaborates with me on projects.  After he heard my thoughts, he created a 6-paneled cardboard pattern ..read more