DIY stained glass

The stained-glass window is an excellent decoration for any interior option. But professionally made stained glass is quite expensive. Meanwhile, there are many types of stained glass techniques, and some make it possible to do stained glass on glass with your own hands. The simplest ones, for example, allow you to make a ceiling stained glass window, very similar to the real one, if you do not consider it too closely. And more complex, but accessible for execution, allow you to get works that a specialist without disassembly can not distinguish from “impertinent”. All possible options will be discussed in this article.

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About sketches and scissors

The basis of any stained glass window is a bitwise sketch. Sketches for stained-glass windows are always made in duplicate. If you did it on a computer and printed it out, there is no problem: the printouts are completely identical. However, for a large panel, the sketch has to be drawn manually, and then copied using a blueprint.

Despite this seemingly serious name, the simplest blueprint machine is just a sheet of glass (which then sits on the base), located on two chairs, with a light under it.

Important! To correctly make a stained-glass window on glass, you need to remember firmly: the assembly is carried out according to the primary, most accurate, sketch, and a copy from it will be needed for the templates. Otherwise, inconsistencies are inevitable, and fitting fragments during the work complicates and even spoils everything.

Scissors will be required not simple, but special template, having three blades. Thanks to the third, a 1.76 mm wide strip is cut. Before starting the cutting, the secondary sketch is glued onto a sheet of thick but thin cardboard (the best option is an electric cardboard of 0.5 mm), and a paper-cardboard puff is already cut. Otherwise, when making fragments on soft paper, it will be difficult to circle the outline.

In the process of gluing, be extremely careful - paper soaked from any glue stretches when smoothing, and gluing should be on the entire plane. Each finished template is verified according to the initial sketch.

Important! Pieces of both sketches should be numbered (before cutting).

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Where to get stencils for stained glass?

As a rule, in the process of creating a stained-glass window on glass with your own hands, the beauty of the initial sketch will determine the final result. And if you try to draw “something there” yourself, it is very doubtful that such a stained glass window would be highly artistic. Even if you use winning stories - fish, peacocks or roses, composition, color balance and respect for the proportions of the drawing are important.

It is necessary that the choice of plot is justified by the functionality of the room:

• For the living room, symmetrical ornaments, elegant abstraction are suitable.
• The bedroom will look good leopards, Amazons, beautiful semi-naked virgins, angels, fancy flowers that are in harmony with the general theme of the room.
• If you are looking for suitable stained glass for the bathroom, then you can choose stencils in fish, or something on the theme of the sea.

Important! For the partition in the passage corridor, any abstract image or a neutral theme, for example, a firebird, will be appropriate.

For a certain interior styling, the image is selected in accordance with the characteristic topics for this design:

• The whip stroke is appropriate for Art Nouveau.
• Sakura branch - for the Japanese style.
• Curls of "rokalia" - in Rococo.
• Intricate abstraction - for art deco.

It is best to resort to the help of ready-made stencils that can be found:

• In shops and departments for artistic creation.
• For artists who own this technique.
• Print pictures found on the network (in this case, the uniqueness of your stained glass window will suffer).

A few words about sketch sizes

For those who draw well, it is best to take some illustrations you like as a basis, choose a suitable plot and develop your own sketch.

Important! When creating stained glass with your own hands, consider scaling images. When transferring a small sketch to a large-scale glass, distortion of proportions and a lot of empty space are obtained. Therefore, small sketches are pre-drawn on the squares - for a better picture.

Sometimes at the final stage you have to finish some elements to fill in the voids. Life-size stained glass stencils do not need to be finalized. As a rule, stained glass drawings look beautiful, where floral ornaments and a thin graphic frame are combined.

Important! Do not rush to fill the screen with paints. If you have a choice, try the colors on the drafts. Occasionally, the replacement of the background or central elements can not only change the overall impression of the picture, but also form another aura in a room with stained-glass windows.

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Types of classic stained glass

Choosing stained glass on glass to do it yourself, you must correctly determine the preferred design and technology.

Stained glass windows

From the time when Gothic cathedrals with beautiful stained-glass windows were actively built, and until today the technology for manufacturing stained-glass windows has not changed:

1. Sketch selection.
2. Making a picture on cardboard, where the color and size of each element of the future work are drawn.
3. Glass cutting, as well as the placement of glass elements in a brass or lead profile.
4. Soldering stained glass on both sides with tin solders and fluxes.
5. Patination and tinning of the product. The price of stacked stained-glass windows is quite high. The classic stacked stained-glass window is used to decorate various rooms.

Stained Glass “Tiffany”

Modern experts practically do not distinguish between the Tiffany technology and the stained-glass window technique. The difference in the execution process is that each of the glass elements is wrapped with a model foil tape with further soldering of the elements.

Important! Often this technique is used to decorate ceiling lights.

Fusing

For the manufacture of stained-glass windows in this technique, exclusively imported high-quality glasses will be required, from which pictures are cut, mounted on a background glass and sintered in an oven at a temperature of 800 degrees.

Stained Glass Imitation Technique

Today, the bulk of stained-glass windows are made on the basis of imitation techniques, which are distinguished by their simplicity and relatively low prices. Moreover, almost anyone who wishes can create such stained-glass windows on glass with their own hands. Simulation techniques are divided into the following types:

• Jellied stained glass window.
• Film.
• Painted.
• Stained glass window with the contours of varnish.
• Sandblast.

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DIY stained glass film

This type of stained-glass windows appeared not so long ago thanks to a company from England, which released a special film that imitates colored glass. The essence of this technology is to stick pieces of a multi-colored film onto a glass base. The joints of the film are closed on both sides of the glass with the help of decorative strips that imitate a metal profile, creating something similar to a classic stained-glass window.

Such stained-glass windows are durable and beautiful, and their appearance is in no way inferior to the classic ones. Their popularity is growing every day, and even a beginner can make such stained glass with his own hands.

Materials for work

In order to create a film stained glass window, you will need:

• Glass table with backlight.
• Stained glass film.
• Scissors.
• Glass base.
• Rubber roller.
• Clip for tape.
• Knife for cutting film and tape.
• Lead tape.

Sequencing:

• To begin with, you should choose a suitable sketch that needs to be attached to the glass base so that it does not move out during the manufacturing of the stained-glass window.
• The base must be degreased and a lead tape should be applied along the outline of the pattern. It has an adhesive bottom covered with a paper backing. During tape application, the paper backing is gradually removed. After the tape closes all the contours, it is pressed with a rubber roller, and the joints are pressed with a clip, for their reliable fixation.

Important! Be sure not to touch the adhesive side of the tape, because its adhesive properties may be lost due to finger touch.

• Then the glass is turned over, degreased again, all fragments of the picture are cut out from the film according to the outlined contours. After gluing each of the elements, it is necessary to roll along it with a roller in order to avoid the formation of air bubbles between the glass and the film.
• With the help of a knife, excess strips of film that have gone beyond the contours are already cut off on the glass. This should be done very carefully so that there are no gaps between the joints of the fragments.
• A lead tape is again applied to the contours of the stained-glass film. It should lie exactly at the joints, coinciding with the tape that is glued on the other side of the base.

Important! Do-it-yourself film stained glass on glass can be a wonderful decoration for windows, interior doors and other glass surfaces.

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Stained glass window

The cheapest and most popular version of stained glass on glass is the technique of making stained glass with lacquer contours:

• In order to complete the contour of the drawing, you need a fairly thick varnish, in which you need to add bronze or aluminum powder - this will give the contour a “metallic” look. The consistency of the mixture should be like sour cream.

Important! Some experts replace the varnish with epoxy, however, they note that it is easier to work with varnish.

• The prepared mixture must be placed in a large syringe, with which contours are formed. The lacquer track should be slightly flattened after it hardens slightly.

Important! This technique is suitable for drawing corrugated glass, on which the picture will look more advantageous than on a flat one.

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Stained glass window on the mirror

Surely, many in the house will find a mirror that looks boring and rustic. Having created a beautiful stained glass window on the mirror, you can turn it into an accent moment in the decor of the room. The original stained glass pattern can also transform a mirror on a sliding wardrobe, add an atmosphere of special grace and chic to the interior of a room.

A painted or flooded stained-glass window can be applied to the mirror, as well as the “sandblasting” technique.

Important! This type of stained glass window originated at the end of the 19th century. It is based on the removal of the upper layer of the mirror surface with an abrasive material, which consists of a stream of a mixture of compressed air and silica sand.

Of course, without a certain experience and skill in working with equipment, a beginner may not be able to cope with the manufacture of stained glass on glass with his own hands in this technique. But with patience and desire, this technique can be mastered in a short period of time.

A mirror can be matted both over its entire surface and using patterns to obtain a smooth pattern on a matted surface, or, conversely, on a smooth surface of a matte pattern.

Important! Depending on the fraction of sand, a fine-grained or coarse-grained pattern can be created.

After the pattern is formed on the surface of the mirror, a protective layer of hydrophobic varnish is applied on top of it.

Sandblasting technology

Sandblasting can be done in several ways:

• Frosting is the easiest way to process glass when the pattern is applied without patterns across the entire surface of the substrate. The result is a solid frosted surface.
• In-depth sandblasting - makes it possible to process individual fragments of the picture rather deeply. To work in this technique using glass, the thickness of which is not less than 5 mm.
• Embossed sandblasting - the technique for performing this type of processing is similar to the previous method. The difference is that to work you need a mirror more than 6 mm thick. As an addition, engraving and relief drawing are often used.
• When performing the artistic sandblasting technique, the drawing is applied in the form of intermittent matting, forming tones and halftones with beautiful, graceful transitions. In order to work in this technique, experience, skill and accuracy are required.
• Colored sandblasting - obtained by using a flat, matting, embossed or in-depth method with further painting with paints.
• Photo sandblasting is a fairly new technique in which digital photo printing is used.
• Double-sided sandblasting - considered the most sophisticated technique. To make stained glass on glass in this way, the image is superimposed on two sides of the mirror. In this case, it is necessary that the drawings match perfectly.

Jellied stained glass window

To create a jellied stained-glass window you need:

• Apply the desired sketch to opaque paper.
• As a basis for stained glass, you can use any solid surface - vases, mirrors, windows.
• Then, the contour of the drawing is applied with a special contour paint. Both thick paint and contour tape can be used.

Important! Often contour paints produce gold, copper or black.

• Depending on the application method, you should choose the appropriate type of paint for stained glass. So, for example:
  1. Drawing on a horizontal surface, you can fill in both glass lacquer and thick paint.
  2. In the process of drawing a pattern on a surface that is located vertically, varnish and liquid paint spreads.
  3. If a transparent design is conceived, then in this case it is advisable to use a glass varnish.
  4. If you want to perform a relief stained-glass window, it is necessary to use thick colors.
• To work in this technique, you must purchase a paint dispenser - a kind of pencil with a sharp tip. Using the dispenser, you can drive the paint into the most inaccessible places, for example, very thin details of the picture or the sharp corners of the filled fragment.

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Stock footage

As you can see, it is possible to make stained glass on glass with your own hands. Make backlit panels or decorate partitions and doors with glass inlays. Start small - you can make stained glass painting of kitchen utensils or decorative panels. When you understand the process of applying paints and contours, move on to more complex projects.