Stained Glass Step By Step - An Easy to Follow Outline on How to Stained Glass Step By

How to stained glass step by step is one of the biggest questions we receive through our stained glass making website.

So, we thought we would outline the major steps it takes to go from idea to first stained glass piece.

We have gotten rave reviews from our readers regarding the steps and have been able to help beginners learn how to make stained glass step by step. You can't run without first walking so, let us do that here.

Stained Glass Step by Step – These steps can vary per project, but this provides a nice outline.

Step 1: Getting started with lead or copper foil (hint: go with copper foil). Then you must select your color and design which is a lot of fun. Use your creativity.

Step 2: Get your glass and supplies/tools. There are many places to buy the items you'll need. Some are cheap and some not so cheap. Some tools you won't even use so research before you decide. Then set up your workspace. It doesn't have to be big, but does have to provide room for a small mess.

Step 3: Get good with your glasscutter. This will be one of your most utilized tools when creating stained glass. Learn the techniques it will take to get your first piece looking beautiful.

Step 4: To Grind or Not to Grind? Things to consider include safety issues, choosing the right head, using water, following the right procedures, and so forth. These are all important issues when grinding.

Step 5: Working with the copper foil. This also takes some practice but because of today's ease of use, you can catch on pretty quickly.

Step 6: Soldering. There is basic soldering, spot soldering, finishing, tinning, and more soldering applications that you will want to learn on how to make stained glass step by step. Again practice with the tools as there are some that you will use quite a bit.

Step 7: Finally you have to clean and apply the finish. Do this as soon as you're done soldering for a clean and professional look.

There you go. Nothing to it right? Well, this is a start but it is important that you continue to educate yourself on how to make gorgeous stained glass art.

This is a very simple outline on how to make stained glass step by step. There are a lot of intricacies that have been left out (due to the sheer amount of info) and it is easier to follow these steps with visual pictures, video, etc. so consider that when trying to learn this art form.

Children's Crafts For A Rainy Day

Another rainy or snowy day and you are stuck at home with the children. They are full of too much energy and are driving you crazy. The weather is too bad to let them go outside and play so how do you keep your sanity and them busy at the same time? Regardless of the age of the children, there are literally hundreds of different children's craft projects that you can have readily available for such miserable days.

Plan ahead for these days and have a few special children's craft projects ready to pull out of the closet. Remember that they should be appropriate for the age of the child and something that will catch their interest and keep them occupied for hours.

Go to your local craft store and browse through the endless aisles of items. The employees there will be more willing to help you come up with a few ideas on projects that you can take home and keep available for future use. For younger children there are paint sets that include special paper, pens and brushes that only take the addition of water.

You let the child paint the picture and it colors each section automatically-after it dries, it goes back to a solid white that can be repainted again and again. No fuss or mess to clean up but it will amuse them for hours.

Give the children colored paper, blunt scissors, glue and crayons and have them make pictures of their family and friends. Teach them how to cut out special shapes such as baby dolls that come in a chain or even snowflakes.

You may want to consider a special needlepoint project for beginners. These come with everything needed to make a small picture and it usually includes the frame for hanging. This is especially good for a young girl who has watched their own mother do needlepoint while growing up. Now, she is a big girl and can also work on her own projects.

There is also special clay you can purchase in numerous colors that each child can make into different shapes. Consider having them make their favorite animals, stick people or special symbols that they enjoy. After each is shaped, you bake it in the oven for a few minutes, let it cool, and then you can paint them and glue magnets to the back.

The specific children's craft project you select is not as important as the quality time you will have with your children. The hours that would have been filled with bored children driving each other crazy and a frustrated parent will now be transformed into hours of fun.

Remember that your children will only be young once and that time goes by quickly. Planning for bad weather days with special children's crafts are just one way to create and enjoy quality time with your children. They will remember the times that you spent together working on their craft projects, laughing and just having fun.

Art Lesson: Learn About Color Schemes for Your Next Painting

Much research and experimentation has been done on color and how it can effect a persons mood and behavior. Certain colors can calm a person, while others can stimulate excitement or cheerfulness. That being said, you may want to think carefully on the type of color scheme you choose for your next painting. This article will talk about five different color schemes you can use to plan out your next painting. The tips in this article can be applied to any painting medium.

Painting is all about harmony. Harmony in a painting is when the arrangement of colors and objects are pleasing to the viewers eyes. As a painter you can either put too much into a painting or not enough. If your painting is too chaotic you may scare the viewer away. On the other hand, if your painting lacks something, it may be perceived as boring, and your viewer will not be engaged, so it's important to have balance in your color arrangements.

Analogous Color Scheme

This color scheme uses colors that are next to one another on the color wheel. With an analogous color scheme, one color is usually the dominant one, while the others serve as an accent to the dominant color. You are limited in colors when using this scheme but that does not mean your paintings have to be boring. Just vary the intensity (how dull or bright a color is) and value (how light or dark a color is) to make your painting more interesting and pleasing to the eye. An example of three colors next to each other on the color wheel, that can be used in an analogous color scheme are orange, yellow and yellow-orange. Use only a few different colors with the analogous color scheme. If you add too many, you may destroy the harmony in your painting.

Complementary Color Scheme

The complimentary color scheme is a good choice if you want strong contrast in your painting. Complimentary colors are colors that are opposite each other on the color wheel. Examples of complementary color schemes are reds with greens, oranges with blues and violets with yellows. You shouldn't feel limited when using this color scheme. For instance, instead of using plain orange, you could use colors on either side like red-orange and yellow orange. Instead of using plain blue, you could use combinations like blue-violet or blue green. You could also vary the intensity and values as well. It can be difficult to create balance with this color scheme. To avoid ruining harmony, choose one dominant color and use the complimentary color as accents. For instance in a yellow and violet complementary color scheme, you could make the main subject and background violets and accent remaining parts of the painting in yellows.

Triadic Color Scheme

The triadic color scheme uses three colors that are evenly spaced or equidistant from one another on the color wheel. This scheme produces strong contrast but still retains harmony. This color combination is more challenging for beginners. You can get carried away by making all three colors too intense thereby destroying the balance in your painting. You should allow one color to dominate and use the two other colors to accent the rest of the painting.

Monochromatic Color Scheme

This color scheme is probably the easiest for beginners to work with. The monochromatic color scheme uses variations in value and intensity of only one color. Beginners like this color scheme because they only need to create a value plan using one color, which makes things a lot easier. Your painting will not be as exciting as other schemes that utilize more than one color, but your painting will produce a peaceful and soothing effect.

Split Complementary Color Scheme

The split-complimentary color scheme uses three colors and is a twist on the complimentary color scheme. Instead of using the colors compliment, you will use the two colors adjacent to its compliment on the color wheel. For instance, Red, Yellow-Green and Blue-Green could be a split complimentary color scheme.

Don't let color theory intimidate or discourage you. Working with color in your paintings takes some getting used to. With time and practice you will begin to develop the eye of a good painter. A great way to learn more about the use of color in paintings is to view the art of experienced painters. Make some plans to head out to a museum or visit an online gallery. Happy painting!

Strange But True

Today at work my Dell laptop suddenly shut itself off and refused to start up again. I took it out of the docking station and it was hot and smelled like smoke. I have no idea when it will be repaired, leaving me with no computer.

[Update 12/1/2004 ] The came and took it away to be repaired today. Anywhere from 3 to 5 days from when the repair people actually get it. I have my hard drive on the assumption it still works.