You have honed your stained glass construction skills and have given all your friends and family stained glass gifts for every occasion. Why not earn back some of your expenses and more? You can and you can have fun doing it.

Most stained glass hobbyists find that they have several beautiful stained glass suncatchers, candle votives and other small projects on hand. They often test the waters by beginning with booths at craft fairs and other similar events. Most small booths at craft fairs are reasonably priced. You don’t have to spend a lot of money for an elaborate setup.

If your booth is indoors, a few bright lights shining on your stained glass items will enhance their beauty and attract attention. It is best if you can hang the suncatchers, so you could build a portable frame topped with lattice work and hang them with plastic fishing line. Be sure to weight the frame down if you are outdoors. One gust of wind can destroy all of your work.

Make sure you have good strong boxes and plenty of packing material to transport your stained glass projects to and from your craft shows. If you pack carefully you will prevent accidents and broken stained glass items. If your vehicle isn’t large enough to haul everything, you might consider borrowing or renting a small trailer; but it is best to keep your expenses as low as possible. The idea is to make a profit.

Some stained glass crafters build projects all winter then travel to craft shows all spring, summer and fall. They find that they do well in sales and enjoy meeting people and traveling. They may include shows during the Christmas shopping season because stained glass articles make excellent gifts and stocking stuffers and sell well as last minute gift items.

If you find yourself confused by what you’ve read to this point, don’t despair. Everything should be crystal clear by the time you finish.

Selling stained glass items on eBay and on-line websites can be done year around and from home. This way the stained glass crafter can sell on speculation or by special order. The advantage to selling on speculation is that you can choose the project you want to do and not worry about deadlines or meeting anyone’s specifications. You can work at home in your own personal workshop and then list the items online when you have completed them. Be sure to include a photo with your listing to optimize your chances of selling.

Pack the sold stained glass items carefully for safe shipping and require insurance so that if an item is broken in shipping, the customer will be happy to come back to you and you will be paid for repair or replacement of the broken stained glass project.

Repair and reconstruction of stained glass is a more specialized area of stained glass work that customers look for but have a hard time finding artisans willing to do that kind of work. You can create a special niche for income if you become expert at stained glass repair and construction.

Opening a stained glass retail store is an expensive venture. If you can purchase one that is going out of business, it might be more within your budget and you would be inheriting an existing customer base.

Teaching stained glass classes in your home studio or even as non-credit classes at your local university is good income and lots of fun. You can even have students learn as they help you work on a large stained glass project. You get paid by the student and paid for the stained glass project and be paid for having fun!

Hopefully the sections above have contributed to your understanding of Stained Glass. Share your new understanding about Stained Glass with others. They’ll thank you for it.

About the Author
By Anders Eriksson (Click on the link to learn more about me)

The lead came method of stained glass construction gives an appearance of uniform lines and an antique look. The lead channel is wrapped around the glass and then joined at the “seams” or joints by a bead of solder.

Lead came, used for joining pieces of stained glass, comes in one channel, called “U came,” or two channel, “H came,” strips about six feet long. “U” lead strips are used to frame the outside edges of stained glass, especially on small suncatchers or ornaments with only two or three glass pieces. In larger stained glass projects, the “H” lead strips are used to join two pieces of glass together, placed inside the grooves.

Stretching the lead strips before fitting it around the stained glass makes the lead more rigid and stronger. Some lead is pre-stretched, but might have acquired some kinks or bends in packaging, so you may want to stretch it a little to get the kinks out. Do not over-stretch as it will narrow the grooves in the channel, making it too narrow to fit around the stained glass. Lead that is stretched too much will break.

The lead is soft enough that after fitting it on the stained glass and making sure that you have good connections, you can easily cut it with lead nippers, a lead knife or even scissors. Be careful to make sure the joints you have cut butt so that it will be strong throughout the stained glass piece. Filling gaps between the joints takes a lot of solder and makes the joints look sloppy and unprofessional.

Your stained glass work will be laid on a pine board, beginning at two strips of wood nailed at right angles to each other. These wood strips will act as a support for your project. Your alternating pieces of lead and stained glass will be temporarily held in place by horseshoe nails as you progress across your stained glass pattern.

Hopefully the information presented so far has been applicable. You might also want to consider the following:

Each piece of stained glass and the lead strip around it has to fit within the pattern lines before you move on to the next piece. If one piece is too large and crosses over the pattern line, then every other piece will be off and your entire stained glass piece will be off.

Before you begin soldering the lead joints on your stained glass project, you should practice on some scrap pieces of lead first. Lead melts so you want to check your soldering iron’s temperature on the lead scraps first. If it is too hot, a rheostat can lower the temperature enough to prevent unwanted melting of the lead. A 40 watt soldering iron is hot enough.

Before you solder the lead joints, prepare the metal with flux, then move your soldering iron tip quickly over the lead, creating a pool of the 60/40 solder. The pool of lead should smoothly flow over the seams and lie flat. It is not necessary to raise a big ball of solder at the joints.

Solder all joints on both sides of your stained glass panel. Clean the flux away with warm, soapy water. Reinforce the stained glass panel by forcing a glazing compound or putty into the lead channels. Clean away all excess putty with whiting or sawdust, and then a soft cloth.

Another method of joining stained glass, created by Louis C. Tiffany, is the copper foil method of stained glass construction. The glass crafter can choose which method he/she prefers based on each individual stained glass project. Both methods of stained glass construction generally work equally well.

About the Author
By Anders Eriksson (Click on the link to learn more about me)

In today’s world, it seems that almost any topic is open for debate. While I was gathering facts for this article, I was quite surprised to find some of the issues I thought were settled are actually still being openly discussed.

Scoring and breaking stained glass is an art that you can achieve but not without some practice. All it takes is a little patience and you will soon be able to cut and break stained glass like a pro! The first thing to do when cutting stained glass is to relax when you are handling stained glass. It will make the work go much more smoothly.

Having the proper stained glass cutter is important. Various companies manufacture different types of stained glass cutters. They have cutting wheels of either carbide or steel. The wheel size and honing angles vary for use in specific types of glass cutting.

If you want the proper cutter for stained glass, it is best to go to a stained glass supplier. Cutters in hardware stores are generally made specifically for cutting clear glass.

Carbide wheels cost more but last longer than steel wheels. They will eventually get dull or even nicked and have to be replaced; but, you can replace the wheel only and not have to get a whole new cutter.

Stained glass cutters need to be lubricated to keep the wheels rolling freely. Most stained glass cutters, like Toyo or Fletcher pistol grip and pencil grip cutters, have a reservoir for lubricating oil which runs down a wick to the cutting wheel.

Stained glass cutters come with different handles which make the choice one of preference and fit. Once you have chosen your favorite cutters, it is best not to let other people use your cutter. They will put pressure on it differently than you which changes the balance.

So far, we’ve uncovered some interesting facts about Stained Glass. You may decide that the following information is even more interesting.

Pencil grip stained glass cutters have a ball on one end which is used to tap the stained glass underneath the score line to begin a running break so that the glass can be pulled apart. Stained glass that has been scored can be pulled apart by hand; but sometimes, the glass pieces are too small to grip. Glass pliers can be used to separate the pieces that are too small to grasp.

Special “running” pliers are made for breaking straight lines. Some glass pliers have smooth gripping surfaces. Others have teeth for scraping off rough edges or shards of stained glass. Gripping one side of the glass firmly with your thumb along one side of the score gives the glass some stability. The breakers are used on the opposite side, pointing toward the score. You use a quick pulling away and down motion.

If your score is long, it is better to “rock” your pliers at one end to start a running break; then do the same at the opposite end of the score, then pull the stained glass apart.

A good score is done in one continuous motion. Starts and stops will only cause a bad score line which will end up in a bad break. Going over a score line twice dulls your stained glass cutter and makes a bad score line.

Stand up when scoring stained glass so that you can apply even pressure using the weight of your arm and leave your wrist free to follow curves. A metal ruler can be used to assist in cutting straight lines.

Be sure to hold the stained glass cutter straight up and down. If your cutter is leaning to one side, it results in a beveled cut, causing the stained glass pieces to fit poorly. Make sure you glass is clean before you cut it so that nothing interferes with a smooth score. Cut on the smooth side of the stained glass.

When word gets around about your command of Stained Glass facts, others who need to know about Stained Glass will start to actively seek you out.

About the Author
By Anders Eriksson (Click on the link to learn more about me)

Creating works of art in stained glass in an immensely satisfying and interesting hobby. To get started you might decide to take a class or grab a couple of how-to books and prepare for a little trial and error. Either way, your first few projects will probably be made either from a pre-made kit or with a pattern from a book or printed from a website. You may soon decide that you are ready to create your own stained glass design and bring it to life. Although the idea may seem daunting at first, you will soon find the challenge inspiring and realize that designing your own stained glass is not as difficult as you first thought.

All stained glass art projects, big and small begin with a cartoon. The cartoon is a drawing on paper of what you would like your stained glass artwork to look like. The fact that you are translating your artwork into a stained glass piece provides some extra challenges. You will have to take into consideration the strength and integrity that the different sized pieces of stained glass will create. You will need to keep in mind the copper or lead “skeleton” that is created by your came. This skeleton needs to be thought of as not only a strength or support to the stained glass, but an integral part of the design itself. This can be an advantage as you are forced to stretch your creativity and add extra lines where you might not have initially considered, unexpectedly adding more depth to your design.

You can see that there’s practical value in learning more about Stained Glass. Can you think of ways to apply what’s been covered so far?

There are many places you can and should look for inspiration for your stained glass design. You will find many books and websites about stained glass from which you may find ideas. Paintings, magazines, your home furnishings or any interesting pattern you see may provide insight. Your stained glass art may be a scene from a family photo, a familiar landscape or a completely abstract design.

Once you have decided on a design for your stained glass it is time to draw it out on paper. Think of the size your finished piece will be and draw the perimeter and begin planning the stained glass design within it. Once you have made the initial drawing, look it over and think about whether any of the pieces will be too difficult to cut and consider changing the lines slightly to avoid difficult cuts. Remember that smaller pieces with more leading between them will make the stained glass stronger, so consider adding lines in areas that are too large. When working on your first design, keep it simple so you can gain experience and build your confidence before moving on to more difficult pieces. Remember that even the great American stained glass artists like Tiffany and La Farge started with small jobs before they adorned America’s great churches!

Once you are satisfied with your pencil drawing, ink it in and make several copies. You will need one for cutting the stained glass design out and at least one other for checking that the pieces fit together. When placing your pattern pieces to cut your glass take into consideration any irregularities or streaks in the glass and consider how to use them to your advantage such as a streaky blue being used for a cloudy sky. Most importantly, relax and trust you intuition. Your stained glass will be a one-of-a-kind and an expression of your unique personality.

About the Author
By Anders Eriksson (Click on the link to learn more about me)

You’re getting pretty good at the basics of scoring and breaking stained glass, but you’ve run into some problems with difficult cuts that seem impossible. There are techniques that will make difficult cuts in stained glass seem like cutting butter.

Scoring disturbs the molecules in stained glass, so you want to separate it immediately after scoring.

- Narrow Strips: A straight strip that is scored less than an inch away from the edge of the stained glass, it will be difficult to pull it apart with your hands. Use running pliers and align the bump in the pliers head on the score line and squeeze. This causes the score to run and break apart

- Straight Lines: When cutting straight lines on larger pieces, you can line up the score line along a table edge. Hold one side firmly on the table while using your other hand to pull down and away, snapping the pieces of the stained glass apart.

- Small Squares: If you have several squares of stained glass to cut, use a straight edge to measure the width, run your score line, then break the strip away using running pliers, breaking pliers, or your hands.

After you have your stained glass strip, measure and score across the strip the same amount as the width of the strip. You can quickly line up each score line on the edge of your Norton board and, one at a time, push down and snap off the small square stained glass pieces.

Most of this information comes straight from the Stained Glass pros. Careful reading to the end virtually guarantees that you’ll know what they know.

- Curves: If you are scoring clear stained glass, you can lay your glass on top of your pattern, smooth side up. Cut your stained glass down to just a little bigger than the piece which your are cutting – about 1/2 inch extra all the way around the piece.

Score all the way around the piece, just inside the black line of your pattern. Next, score several diverging lines from the pattern line to the edge of the stained glass. Break away pieces a little at a time. Never try to break away too large of a piece of stained glass because it will shatter.

- Circles: You can cut a nearly perfect circle out of stained glass by using a similar process as for curves. Score all the way around the circle, just inside the black line and then score several lines from the circle to the outside edge of the glass. Start breaking away small sections of the stained glass

- Concave Curves – Concave curves are difficult to break out of stained glass, especially if they are deep. Again, you will start by scoring just inside the black line of the pattern on the smooth side of the stained glass. From that inside line, gradually add several more similar cuts until you are on the outer edge of the highest ends of the curve. Use the ball end of a pencil cutter to gently tap runs into the scores; then break away one piece at a time from the outside, in. Sometimes it helps to rock each end of the score back and forth before pulling apart the curved stained glass pieces.

- V-cuts: V-cuts are next to impossible unless you happen to have a special band saw for cutting stained glass. Otherwise, a v-cut like you would have in a heart shape should be redesigned so it has a softer curve instead of a point.

Don’t be discouraged if once in a while the natural tendency is for the stained glass to just go ahead and break straight across.

Those who only know one or two facts about Stained Glass can be confused by misleading information. The best way to help those who are misled is to gently correct them with the truths you’re learning here.