Higher-end craftsman houses often had stained-glass windows. Ours didn’t, so what does that tell you, ha. So either I was going to have to pay someone to make a custom-sized window or I’d have to learn how to do it myself because I wanted stained-glass windows. You can only put so much money into these old houses so the answer was clear.

It so happens I found a place that taught lessons on how to work with stained glass. It was called, The Glass Stop Art Glass Studio, on Industrial Dr here in Erie. I gave them a call and the person that answered says they still give lessons. If you are interested in learning how, you may want to give them a call. I just had a so much fun attending the classes.

The first thing I made was a small panel about 8×12 inches. I was really proud of that little panel and I still hang it outside in my garden in the summer. My next project was much more brave. I was going to make a custom stained-glass window to fit over my existing window. I chose a color that would match my furniture as the main color and the rest was glue-chip which gives privacy. Here is my first window.

After completing that window project I went off on my own. I had bought the equipment I needed to do it myself. I decided to make my next with my own design, totally custom and drew a large template to follow and then improvised as I went. I wanted it to be special with no shortcuts in the design. That meant a lot of little, tiny pieces. It took forever but I did a lot of it while watching TV so I guess it doesn’t really count as work. I enjoyed doing most of it but it just kept becoming a bigger and bigger project. I was so lucky I was able to keep the size perfect. I started from the border in and then from the center out and hopefully any adjustments to the measurements could be made off to the mid side somewhere. There was a lot of grinding of the glass pieces to get them to all fit. But I love it. There is a piece in the sky that I picked out to look similar to the northern lights and when the sun hits it just right I smile. It’s the only northern lights I’m probably going to see at least for a long time. Below is the my design and some of the process of making the window.

I’ve soldered one side and was ready to turn it over. Note the remote control in the photo to get an idea of the size.

All the small pieces.

Finished product.

My son in northern Idaho bought a house a couple of years ago and I promised him a stained-glass window but with all the work left to do on my house, he may be waiting a long time.