Pause on Custom Pieces

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.

Winter Reveal

Here are some snapshots of my latest batch of winter themed pieces / suncatchers / ornaments. This week’s beach-themed ornaments are still a work in progress; hopefully I will be able to finish them over the weekend.

Winter Scene with evergreen trees, snowman, cardinal. Approx 10.5″ x 6.5″.
Happy Snowman with cardinal panel, approx. 6.25″ x 8″
Stained glass cardinal (embedded in resin) suncatchers / ornaments with mica flakes.

Park Circle Farmers Market

I’ll be at the N. Charleston Farmers Market every Thursday in September and October (weather permitting). Come check out my booth!

A word about displaying an old window like these

Once you have one of these windows of your own, how do you display them? My favorite way is to just display them over the inside of an existing window. Most of them fit the space (being old windows themselves). The down side is you have to go through some hassle if you want to open the covered window. However, there are many situations where this is just fine or even desirable. For example, in my bathroom, I have two windows that both happen to be on the front of my house, so if you are standing on my front porch, you could peer right into the bathroom. Not much privacy. So I mounted this Clematis flower in the window over the tub. We can still open the top half of the window if we want, but we usually just open the other window that is in the same room if we want some fresh air. It couldn’t be easier, either – just get a couple (four is really probably best) of inexpensive mirror mounts at the hardware store and screw them into the window trim. The window sill provides support, as well. See below.

There are other ways to do it, but this is my favorite way – easy and very sturdy / secure. Another way is to use eye screws and put them into the wood frame. This method is better if you need to open the window behind the mosaic, but can be tricky with old windows that might not have the best frame.

Starting another beach inspired window

I found some sea glass I like a lot better (at Bed, Bath and Beyond, of all places!) and couldn’t wait to start the next project. This is all I’ll get done on this one today, though, as I 1) need to wait for the glue to dry 2) don’t have enough resin on hand to pour this and 3) I haven’t figured out what I want to do in the background – or if I want to add shells or not!