I can't believe it's NOT stained glass! {Part 5}

A painting we will go!

Wipe off any exposed guidelines (from the carbon paper of grease pencil) off the glass!

I like to start with a background color that will make me feel like I've accomplished something.  In this case, I started with the Cocoa Brown because nothing excites me more than seeing the morning sun shining through the first bits of "painted glass" even if that bit is nothing more than one 2" X 2" square.

For the SEMI SOLID areas like the 1 inch border around the entire window, I start at the top of my chosen section.  I sling the bottle one good time to ensure that all the paint is completely into the tip of the paint bottle.  AIR BUBBLES ARE NOT YOUR FRIEND and a pain to deal with, so I try to keep them from happening in the first place.  I squeeze out enough paint that it slightly oozes down the glass.

  Gently squeezing the bottle, I scrub the paint in small, smooth circles, making sure any air bubbles in the paint are immediately pressed out and popped as soon as they happen.  I move down that entire section.  When I'm nearing the bottom of the section, I stop squeezing the bottle and use what paint is already on the glass to move against the bottom leading strip until all the crevices are filled in and the paint is all relatively the same thickness.

If you see a mistake in the earlier portion of your section LEAVE IT ALONE.  The paint begins setting quickly and will become tacky within minutes.  You can always come back with a razor blade and peel off a section once the paint dries if it's absolutely necessary.

Wipe any excess paint off the leading strip and be careful not to accidentally touch the wet sections.

The SOLID AREAS, like the solid white sections in the middle of the window, use up a great deal of paint.  I used almost 4 bottles of Snow White paint just for the four large, white boxes.  I start by slinging the bottle so everything is in the tip and all the air is safely at the top of the bottle (VERY IMPORTANT!) before running a very thick line of paint at the top of my section... thick enough that the paint flows down the glass.  Instead of scrubbing the paint as I do for the Semi-Solid areas, I continue squeezing the bottle and adding more paint as I move further and further down.  You always want to make sure your bottle is being held so the paint will continue to flow into the tip uninterrupted!  Since you're not scrubbing the paint onto the glass, there are precious few chances to eradicate any air bubbles without leaving mark.

Once I near the bottom, I only gently squeeze the bottle and scrub in small circles to move the paint up against the leading strip.  If the paint is too thick at the bottom of the section it will roll over the leading strip and spill into the next section.  Keep in mind that gravity is at work here!

The DISTORTION AREAS are by far my favorite to paint.  It's like scribbling in sloppy cursive!  There really are no special tricks or tips... just have fun.  If the paint gets too thick, it will look more like a Semi-Solid section instead of a Distortion area, but play with it and figure out which look you prefer!

AND HERE IS THE FINISHED PROJECT!!!

 

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www.AshleyGesslerSHD.com

I can't believe it's NOT stained glass! {Part 4}

I drew out three different flower shapes that were all similar yet different at the same time and labeled them as such: Large, Small, and Wide.  These were the designs I traced directly onto the window to make my job a little easier.

Large, Small, and Wide flower stencils.

I leaded the strategically placed and traced flowers first.  Next, I leaded the leaves free-hand, connected the flowers with the lead vines, and created the "curlie-q's."  Leading free-handed is my favorite part because it's like drawing with very little room for error!

Every time I cut off extra leading strips, or reached the end of a strip and had a bit left over, I saved the pieces... even the tiny little shreds.  There were plenty of instances where I only needed a 1/4 inch piece and it would have been silly for me to start a whole new strip.

Save the left-over pieces of leading strips.

Lastly, I leaded the straight lines behind my flowers by following the lines I drew in {Part 2} with the carbon paper.  I used a ruler after the strip was placed to push it into a perfectly straight line (using my fingers made the lines look wavy).

I soldered all the joints with liquid leading which took me almost three days in and of itself because my hand kept cramping from squeezing the bottle.  And, "POOF!"  Here it is!  All leaded and ready to paint!

Completely leaded and ready to paint!

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www.AshleyGesslerSHD.com

I can't believe it's NOT stained glass! {Part 3}

Now that the basic 1" frame is complete, I started filling in the gaps between the leading strips with liquid leading to "solder" the joints together.

I'm not worried about the gaps between the leading strips.  I'll fill them later with liquid leading.

 Same as the picture above but after the gaps have been filled in.

I try to be as neat as possible when I "solder," but the liquid leading tends to be a bit sticky so I generally have to come back with a razor blade once the leading is dry and scrape any excess off.

Now the fun stuff can begin!  I started adding the little details that really make the "stained glass" come to life like the wavy lines in the top two corners and the little detail lines between the 1" borders.  Once all these lines have been placed, soldered, and have had time to dry, I can begin leading the flowers.  While I'm waiting for things to dry, I'm going to try drawing my basic flower shape on paper to find out about how large I want them to be.

Looking good!

Please visit my website
www.AshleyGesslerSHD.com

I can't believe it's NOT stained glass! {Part 2}

To start my project, I lined the window with masking tape so I could write notes.  This isn't my first stained glass project (First Things First) so I've learned a few things and am hoping this time things will go more smoothly even though the design is more complicated than the one I tackled last time.  I measured the panes of glass and wrote them on the printed picture of, "Option #5" from Part 1 of this blog.  I began marking my 1" border around the edges of the glass.  Next, I did some quick calculations, wrote them all down on my printed design, and got to work.

I think messy.

In my first window project, I didn't know that the upper and lower panes are slightly different sizes, so it really threw me for a loop when my guidelines were all screwed up!  Not the case this time around.  The upper pane (in this case it's the left one) is 27" wide by 31.5" high while the lower pane is 26.75" wide by 30.5" high.

Once all my marks had been made for the 1" frame and grid-like frame behind the flowers, I laid carbon paper on the window and, using a ruler with a square end, began tracing my guidelines onto the window itself.  I decided to draw only the straight lines for the clear and white grid-like frame behind the flowers and free-hand everything else (aka the flowers, vines, and leaves).

Using carbon paper to trace your guidelines is tedious and time consuming, but it gets the job done.

Making the decision on where to start with the leading process was difficult.  I struggled a long time with whether to begin with the flowers, or try and lead as much of the straight background lines as possible.  Eventually, I decided to lead the 1" frame first because they are all uninterrupted straight lines.  My plan is to lead the flowers second, leaves third, vines fourth, and the straight background lines last.  The carbon lines easily wash off the glass with Windex if I need to erase any of them so they don't show through.

Leading the 1" frame

Please visit my website
www.AshleyGesslerSHD.com

I can't believe it's NOT stained glass! {Part 1}

I am finally getting around to tackling a project I have had in mind for well over a year!

The upstairs hall window with a less-than desirable view.

Here's the hall window that looks onto the neighbor's wall and overlooks the back half of the neighborhood when you approach from the master bedroom.  Not very attractive.  I've been thinking that I could appreciate a bit more privacy.

I found this design (right picture) on the cover of a book I picked up at Hobby Lobby called, "Creations on Glass."  It's by the same woman who wrote "The Ultimate Guide To Glass Decorating," and while the techniques are exactly the same in both books, the cover pictures were different (which is why I now own both.)  Blue doesn't exactly match the house's color theme, so I scanned the picture and digitally changed the flowers to red (left picture).

                              (left) Digitally changed flowers to red. (right) Original picture.

Once the colors were right, I overlayed the design with the photo of my own window so I could have a better visualization.

It seemed a bit cluttered having the same pattern right next to each other, so I tweaked it a bit in my photo editing software.  I wound up with 6 different designs, but Option #5 was my favorite...

Option #5

SO HERE WE GO!!!

Please visit my website
www.AshleyGesslerSHD.com