I am frequently asked about creating custom windows for people. Unfortunately, due to the difficulty in obtaining glass in my area, I am unable to honor requests for custom pieces the vast majority of the time. Choosing art glass is very specific to the particular sheet / run of glass, so ordering it sight unseen can be disappointing. I have a limited amount of glass only in a limited number of colors, and ordering / traveling to get the right glass is cost prohibitive. I’m still willing to discuss custom work with people, but it is very likely that I won’t have the necessary materials easily available to complete many custom jobs.
Category: Projects
Sea Glass Mirror, Take 2
I had already prepped a second mirror with backer glass, so I was ready to try my sea glass experiment with improvements incorporated. First I taped off the mirror glass, then I set about arranging / adhering the sea glass (this time deep blue) in place with mosaic adhesive. Now to wait a day or two for the mosaic adhesive to cure and we can try the resin coating.
Sea Glass Mirror – notes
So the resin was cured enough 24 hours later to take a look at how this experiment turned out. Conclusion: changes need to be made. First, I think I should have kept the sea glass within the edges of the clear backer glass. I can fill in empty spaces with glass chips / frit, or leave them plain resin. I think it is better to tape off the edges so that no resin spills over the edge. Keeping the sea glass inside the backer glass area will allow me to do that. Second, I think I should try to tape off the mirror glass. The resin did not smooth out well over this mirror, so it ends up with a “fun house” look when you are using it. The overall piece is pretty to look at, but not functional.
I’m not sure how best to tape off the mirror for my second try at this, but I have a few ideas.
Sea Glass Mirror, cont.
The resin was poured on this new experiment with a mirror and sea glass this morning. Hopefully the resin will settle down nicely!
I decided to embellish the top and bottom with some glass nuggets. We’ll see how it comes out tomorrow.
Sea Glass Mirror
I keep forgetting to take pictures / post, but I have been working on a couple of projects using some mirror and sea glass I have had for awhile. First I cut the mirror to size, then I cut some glass from some recycled windows to serve as backer glass for the mirror. That actually took me a couple of weeks as I’ve been busy with other things.
I left the mirror and backer glass overnight for the mosaic adhesive to dry, then arranged some sea glass around the mirror. I’m still deciding where to go with it – whether to add layers of sea glass, shells, other decorative items and resin – or not.
Birds and Trees
Today I laid out some designs and glued them in place. These will have a lot more detail once the resin is poured and decorated. I like to use “glass chunk snow” under the trees and glass chips / mica accents for sparkle.
Progress on the Seasons
I’m working on this changeable display for various holidays / seasons. Still just the beginning stages, but I’m making progress! There is a sparkly stained glass wreath, a seahorse, and some fireworks in the works so far. I plan to make at least four panels (hopefully more like 6-8). It really helps me to take pictures and look at the pieces on my computer so I can see areas I want to enhance in later steps.
Beach / Seahorse 
Wreath 
Fireworks
One for all seasons
I’m gearing up for hopefully my first booth in forever. Even though it’s not until late November, it takes time to make some things to stock the booth, so it’s Christmas in July here! My plan for this project is to make several seasonal panels that will fit in the same display base so you can switch out the glass for the appropriate season. The first panel I’m making is this wreath, which is just in the beginning phases right now.
A New Project
Some friends are doing some home renovation and have asked me to make a glass panel to decorate and provide privacy in a 31″ x 48.25″ window in what is to become a new powder room. I was planning to do it with resin, but when they shared the design they chose with me, I started having second thoughts.
It’s actually just the top half of the pattern (in order to fit their window). When I saw all that clear glass area, I realized that it would be difficult to achieve the level of privacy they would likely desire for a big window by a toilet! I might have to dust off my soldering iron and see if I can do it with copper foil.
I’ve never made such a large panel without a solid background, and I’m pretty sure a piece this size would require some significant reinforcement. I’m also not the best at fitting pieces for a copper foil project that has to fit an exact opening, so my confidence is a bit low that I wouldn’t end up with a disaster on my hands if I did it with copper foil.
Perhaps I could use a light blue background instead of clear. Even still, the large rectangles at the bottom won’t provide a lot of privacy. I would have to use opaque glass, which I don’t believe I have on hand. I will have to think about it for awhile.
Second wave and some other stuff
Today I started another layered wave over glass project. I need more practice to get the layers the way I want to see them. I also decided to make a “Clemson” version of the palmetto and crescent. My leftover resin went to a new coaster project where I’m trying out a new “beachy look” theme with metallic flakes and some blue alcohol ink.
My first resin wave layers over glass project looked great, but I felt like I made the sand layer too thick, so for the past couple of days I have been slowly layering the sand to the point where it is pretty much opaque, but not thick. My plan for today was to pour the first layer of clear resin. I also wanted to add the first wave (white pigment), but I chickened out and decided to wait until the first resin layer had cured.
While I waited for the resin to settle over the sand and glass, I poured the first layer of resin into two coaster molds and added some metallic flakes and later some blue alcohol ink tinted resin drops as well.
I ordered some bangle bracelet molds the other day and I’m hoping to use a mix similar to the one I used in these coaster molds in those, so I thought I’d try it out with my leftover resin today. I have no idea how it will turn out, but I think I will add another layer with more ink when I mix my next batch of resin for my art-glass-layered-wave-beach panel. I poured and spread the resin as needed, used my small craft stick to remove bubbles and then used the heat gun on all three items to further remove bubbles. While I waited for the resin to settle (you have to hang out for 30-60 minutes and watch for more bubbles in case they decide to pop up), I cut out two more palmetto and crescents using my glass saw; one set orange and one white.
Tomorrow I will add the second wave layer over the sand / beach on the glass panel and hopefully layers for the orange / white palmetto and crescent glass panel and another tinted layer for the coaster experiment.