Saturday, February 25, 2012

Pre-Blog Projects - Stained Glass

Like many of you, I have been crafting for many years.
I am sure we all have a library of incredible projects that were created
pre-blog, pre-pinterest, or in my case, pre-Y2K.

My laptop shuffles through saved pictures on a side panel.
Every few minutes, I stop and smile at a picture that takes me back to being 
a new mommy, having big 80's hair, and creating my "classic" crafty projects.
(boy, did I have big hair)

I thought it would be fun to reminisce and share some of my 
favorite Stained Glass projects with you.

******
Glass Transom 18" X 8"
This is my first big project and my graduation piece from my beginner stained glass class.
Jaime surprised me by enrolling us both in a class.   
He knew how interested I was and he was sweet enough to come with me.
I fell in love with glass immediately and was a "natural" per our instructor.
Jaime, however, was not a lucky and cut his finger immediately after making his first glass cut.
He was a trooper.
I still have this piece and decided I can't part with it.



Penn State Lion
This was a gift for a co-worker of mine.  I enlarged a copy of the Nittany Lion logo and then traced the image to create an accurate template.   I thought it came out pretty cool.



The Woman who lived in a shoe
This was a 3D glass piece that I created for a glass contest.  We had to incorporate specific items that the judged provided.  For this round of the contest I had to incorporate 
a kaleidoscope, pink glass spheres and glass flowers.  
Can you find them?


I also fit the piece to be lit up, almost like a night light or lamp.



Horace the Falcon
This piece was also for the same contest, but a different round.  
The same rules applied but this time we had to add in the brass finials, red jewels and a brass
camel applique.
So I of course did and Egyptian theme, hieroglyphs and all.
I loved this little guy.



Antique Window Restoration
This was my first restoration piece and it was extremely challenging.  
I had to match the antique glass with new glass,
replace broken lead came pieces, and put it all back together again.
I think the end result was pretty good.


Hippo Night Light
I wanted to create a custom night light for Michael's nursery.  So I took one of the soft wall art squares 
that matched his crib bedding and decor, and used it as inspiration.


I free handed the hippo and then fused the glass together in my kiln.
I glued the hippo to a night light attachment and called it done.


Michael used this little guy for many years. 
I was sad to put him away.



Wire Wrapped Dichroic Glass Pendants
These are so much fun to make!  Pick your glass, put it in the kiln and watch the magic happen.
Adding in some swirly 14K gold wire and Sterling Silver wire completes each one. 



Large Custom Window 
This may be my all time favorite stained glass project.  I wish I had better pictures!!!
My friend had this 5' X 2' wooden framed window her father hand crafted.   It held clear window glass, 
but one of the panels had broken. She asked me replace the clear glass, 
and as we got to talking, she decided to commission a custom piece.
Using her suggestions, Jaime created this incredible design and I created the window.
There are 7 individual stained glass panels, fitted into the existing wooden frame sections
You can see my hand on the right side of the picture.
This project always inspires me.
We created it from scratch, no pictures, no templates, just an idea.


Hope you enjoyed my walk down memory lane.
And, I hope you were inspired!








Wednesday, February 22, 2012

Finishing Touch

She's finally all done!
Yeah, it's a she.
Glass knobs and all.


After an exhaustive search, I found the perfect glass knobs for my damask painted cabinet.

Ok, when I say "exhaustive" I mean going to Lowe's and wandering around
the decorative hardware section.

I found the perfect circular crystal knobs, but sadly they had a brass base.
I thought I could paint them up, but then realized the brass showed through the glass,
making the crystals seem somewhat amber colored.
Back to the drawing board.

The other knobs were kind of boring, and not the right size:



Then I found this little number.


It was the correct size, fit with damask patter on the cabinet, had an interesting shape, 
wasn't brass and it was only $3.97 per knob!
Score!!

Let me fresh your memory on how the cabinet looked prior to adding the knobs.
You can find the full post HERE



Here is a close up.
I feel they are small enough to fit the right into the damask pattern
but not overshadow it.


I think it's the perfect compliment. 



Decorative hardware really does add that perfect finishing touch!
I didn't think I could love it more,
but I do. 

 XOXO
Photobucket

Saturday, February 18, 2012

Guest Posting at Between U & Me

Hey there, Everyone!
I am thrilled to be guest posting today on  


Today I am sharing a tutorial on 


Below is a sneak peek:


I hope you stop over at Between U and Me to check out the full post!
Courtney is just great and has an amazing blog.

XOXO 
Photobucket


Featured on:


The ArtsyGirl Connection


toastie studio






Linking up to these great parties!

Friday, February 17, 2012

Excuse me Mom, we have a little problem...

If you have younger children, you know hearing that phrase is not a good sign.

I hear it often from my 4 year old.
Sometimes it's funny.
Like when he informs me the problem is that we have run out of cookies.
Sometimes it's fine.
Like he can't find his favorite toy, which is just misplaced.

This time it definitely was a problem.
He called out of from his bathroom, when he was supposed to be brushing his teeth.
He insists he can do by himself, now.
"I am a big boy, Mom."

I stroll in and find this little surprise.
What an embarrassing pic.  I think he was having a tooth paste party.


Me: "Michael, how did you clog the sink?"
Him:  "I don't know." (insert doe eyes)
Me:  (taking a closer look) "Is that toilet paper?!?"
Him:  "I don't know." (more doe eyes and added blinks)


Yup, toilet paper.

We normally use draino for clogs, but I hate the chemical smell.
Since the clog was in his bathroom, I was even more hesitant to use it.
Besides, we were out of draino, anyway

WAIT!
Didn't I read on Pinterest on the virtues of Baking Soda and Vinegar?
Off to the laptop and a few clicks later, success!
While there are a ton of sites, I used this link by Tidy Mom

Super Simple:

1 cup of distilled vinegar
1/2 cup of baking soda.

Both of which I had in the kitchen! Score!!


Sprinkle the baking soda as close to the drain as possbile.


Pour the vinegar on top.
The combination will bubble up.
Just let it work it's magic for approximately 10 - 15 minutes.


I walked away and came back to an empty sink!


Then run hot water in the drain for about 30 seconds and you are all done!


No chemical smells.
No corrosive acids.
Just an cheap and effective solution!
Want to add a nice scent?  Pour a bit of lemon juice in the drain.
Next time you have a clog, try it. I know I will used this tip again.

Here is a much more presentable picture of his sink after all was cleaned up.
Also, after I explained that you should use tooth paste as finger paints
and that you should not shove TP into the sink drain
in an attempt to clean up the evidence.

If this is 4, 5 should be interesting. :)


XOXO,
Photobucket

Linking up to these great parties:

Monday - Craftomaniac *  Sarahndipities *  Skip to my Lou * Mad in Crafts * Keeping It Simple * Sumo's Sweet Stuff * C.R.A.F.T. * Making The World Cuter * Alderberry Hill * So Very Creative * Singing Three Little Birds *Ask Anna * Get Outta My Head Please * Three Mango Seeds * Lisa's Craft Blog * Polly Want a Crafter * DIY Home Sweet Home * Sew Can Do *  Cooking with Karyn * An Original Belle * Destination: Craft * Toastie Studio
Tuesday - Tip Junkie * Sugarbee Crafts * Funky Polkadot Giraffe * My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia * Crafty Confessions * Home Stories A to Z * Homework * Not Just a Housewife * Project Queen *A Diamond in the Stuff * Cherished Bliss * Blackberry Vine * Uncommon * The Southern Product Queen