Self publishing stained glass pattern book.

With all of the marvels of the internet there are some things you can do that in the past was either financially impossible or tremendous work.
The one thing I am pointing out is how easy it is to self publish a book. In my case it was creating a hard copy of all of my stained glass patterns.
The printing company Lulu.com has made it possible for authors to create books of their work and offer them for sale without printing minimums. Beyond books they also have other templates for calendars, posters and many other format medias.
I strongly recommend anybody with an idea or artistic content to look into self publishing.
DESG

Autumn and Stained Glass

As summer winds down and the kids get back to their school schedules we start to look toward getting a few extra stained glass projects done. The cooler temperatures and coming holidays create an environment in most of our studios for a need to produce atmosphere :)
Many homeowners use this time on the calendar to spruce up their dwellings and often include stained glass in their plans. It seems like everyone who put off decorating during the summer months all join in and expect completion of their commission by the holidays. If you have a retail studio you know exactly what I mean!
This is not a bad thing but would be nice if it spread out a bit more to allow projects to be concluded. In a previous studio I worked at we jokingly used the term "midnight stained glass" more than once.

Many craft fairs are run throughout the fall months where stained glass crafts are often available. Seasonally themed items sell well mixed into a showcase of glass wares.
Holiday decor in glass is very popular and with the internet available along with the hundreds of stained glass books on the subject there is quite a bit to choose from for pattern ideas and inspiration.

I like to start with an image search. Here's a few helpful image search links:
Halloween Stained Glass Patterns
Holiday Stained Glass Patterns
Christmas Stained Glass Patterns
Try adding "art glass" and you get a different result :)

As always please respect any copyright statements when using images found online.

Stained Glass Patterns on ebay

Graphite Transfer Paper

I have been asked by people who visit my studio what I use to transfer my stained glass patterns with. Most assume it's the commonly used means of transferring material "carbon paper".

Carbon paper works fine to transfer your pattern but if you need to erase it this is nearly impossible. Graphite paper on the other hand works just as well for transfers but it also can be removed with an eraser.
In an earlier post I showed how a pattern is created using folds. The transfer paper used here is also graphite.

Graphite paper is used by woodworkers needing to recreate a pattern or template on wood and again is easily removed as compared to carbon paper. Graphite paper is available in rolls and large sheets from most art supply stores and online merchants.

Bienfang Graphite Transfer Paper 20 in. x 26 in. sheet each

Cleaning soldering iron with sal ammoniac block

Here's the way I clean my soldering iron tips when they get crud build up or the solder flow gets poor off the iron.
Though not about patterns... What good is a great stained glass drawing and pattern if the end product takes a hit from rough looking soldering?

Stained Glass Pattern Software

Stained Glass Pattern Software Sites

Many other craft patterns including scroll saw, mosaic and quilting can be imported into these pattern software programs besides stained glass.

Dragonfly Software Glass Eye 2000
Includes many free stained glass patterns.

Rapid Resizer Easily enlarge & design stained glass patterns.

American Bevel Designer 2.0 CAD Program. You can create your own stained glass windows and designs or use templates with American Bevel Clusters.


Connected Lines Software program that lets you create line art patterns from imported digital photographs, scanned images, and clip art.

Stained Glass Pattern Contest

The creative pattern skills by a member over at StainedGlassville are on display and is the pattern that is being used in the latest contest.
The member Kev created the pattern and theme for this event.
It's called the "Summer Friends Pattern Glass Contest".
The pattern is of a butterfly and three orchids.
The contest is open to all SGV members and will end 10/31/08. There is a growing Vault of prizes for this event donated by other members and company sponsors.
Here's the color version of the pattern. It is also available in black and white as well as Dragonfly (eye) format.

Free Stained Glass Patterns

Stained glass patterns can be found both free and for sale online. The web is a great place to find stained glass patterns and I found one of the best ways to find specific patterns is to do a google image search.
Here's an example image search for cross stained glass pattern. What is nice about doing image searches is you get to see the actual stained glass pattern and can browse the results.
Once you have found a pattern to your liking click on the image to visit the hosting site. Be sure to check with the web site owner for use restrictions prior to printing or downloading their pattern.
Searching for more free stained glass patters using the standard search of web pages works well too but again browsing images works best :)

Here's a great free stained glass pattern resource... Free Stained Glass Patterns

Glass Eye 2000, Part 2

Part 2 of designing a stained glass pattern on your computer using The Glass Eye.

More information on... Stained Glass Pattern Software

Glass Eye 2000 Stained Glass Pattern Software Video, Part 1

Hands on demonstration using Glass Eye software to create a stained glass pattern on your computer.

How to cut stained glass using a hand cutter.

This technique for cutting glass is sort of unusual but has been the way we have cut glass for many years. The advantage is great control of the cutter especially when going over divots and lines in art glass. The wheel of the cutter is easily kept in the parameters of the pattern template. The downside of this technique is it takes months if not years to master.

Stained glass pattern transferred

click on image to zoom in
Here's the previous design made from the folding process transferred to another copy ready for template cutting. I'll use copper foil shears due to the intricate design even though the window will be done using lead. Reason for this is the narrower 1/8" lead I will use has a thin heart or vertical core thickness.

The pattern segments have been numbered to coincide with the original draft to keep tabs on where the glass when cut ends up.

Stained Glass Shears

Stained glass pattern using page folds

click on image to zoom in
Here's an example how to create a stained glass pattern using page folds. The original draft in the upper right section is easily tranferred (mirrored) into the bottom right section of the pattern.
Now you can fold the pattern on the vertical line and transfer the design to the left side of the pattern. Once done you now have a completed pattern that can be duplicated onto a working copy for templates. The original drawing is used for constructing the stained glass window.

Stained glass expose from Chicago

A colorful slide show of antique stained glass windows.