Glass is one of the most versatile crafting materials available. You can use it to create a wide variety of beautiful pieces. It is also surprisingly easy to do! With just a few simple tools and supplies, you can create beautiful pieces of art that will add color and interest to any room in your home.
Stained Glass Art
If your tastes run toward the colorful and vintage, then stained glass art might be a fun project for you! All you need is colored glass, lead came, pliers, and an old picture frame to hold the finished piece. The picture frame doesn’t have to be from a discarded photo; any old decorative frame will do as long as it has a mat. Simply cut a piece of lead that came large enough to fit inside the opening of your framed item and attach one side of it to the mat with glue. Next, begin gluing pieces of colored glass onto the lead in a pattern you like. The glass pieces should overlap slightly and have a 1/4th inch gap where they meet. After the frame is completely covered in colored glass, solder the pieces together using lead came. Make sure to buy lead came and extra glass as it does break from time to time!
Sun Catchers
Suncatchers are a nice way to add color and interest to any window in your home. Start with flat pieces of colored glass or mirrors. If you are using a square or rectangular-shaped mirror, be sure they have a protective paper on them so they don’t scrape against each other when being handled. However, if you are using square or rectangle-shaped glass, make sure it is smooth so that there are no sharp edges to cut yourself. Once you have your pieces of glass/mirrors, lay them out over newspaper. Then pour some Diamond Glaze onto the glass where you want it to adhere permanently. Using a plastic spoon, spread the Diamond Glaze over all portions of the glass that will touch another piece of glass. Then place a heavy object on top of the glass to hold it in place while it dries. Diamond Glaze will take anywhere from one hour up to a day to dry, depending on how thick you apply it. Once your Diamond Glaze is completely dry, remove all objects and use a damp rag to wash away any excess that might be present. Then just hang your new suncatcher in any sunny window!
Mosaics
Mosaics are one of the most interesting forms of stained glass art. Because they are made with small pieces of colored glass, mosaics can feature an unlimited number of colors and designs. Mosaics are also great for making tiled murals, tabletops, or bathroom shower floors. Mosaics are rather simple to make as well. All that is required is a sturdy piece of wood or cardboard cut into the desired shape, glue, grout, and mosaic tiles. The first step in creating your mosaic is gluing your picture onto the board. Apply the glue generously so that all portions will stick securely. You can also color-code your picture by using different types/sizes of mosaics depending on what you’re trying to accomplish. Once your picture is glued onto the board and dried completely, you can spread the grout over it. Grout comes in powder form and should be mixed with water until it has the consistency of frosting. Then just slather it on top of all portions of your picture being covered by the mosaics. Try to work it into every nook and cranny without leaving any spaces uncovered because you will have less control over where your glass tiles go once you press them down into the grout. Once the glass has been pressed into the grout, let it dry completely. Then use a damp rag to clean up any excess grout. A great mosaic picture made with little effort and lots of fun!
Conclusion
Now you know how easy it is to make beautiful works of recycled art with glass! It doesn’t take a lot of time or effort to turn broken pieces into something wonderful. With just a few simple tools and supplies, you can be on your way to creating beautiful pieces of art that will add color and interest to any room in your home. So what better time to get crafty than right now?
