| Author | Content |
venu209
Jersey Shore, NJ
(Zone 7a)
February 24, 2009
12:00 AM Post #6181407
| And I am loving it, but have so many questions. I've been a member of DG for 3 years, but spent most or all of my time in the gardening forums. Weird huh? Another DGer put up a thread about hobbies and I remembered that I had purchased some items for mosaic winter work a year of two ago. I found the stuff and made my first stepping stone for the garden. A couple more steppin stones are curing now. But, here is my BIG question. I would really love to do stained glass work. Would I be better off taking some lessons from an experienced glass person or using the internet and Daves to learn the craft?
PS, I love drawing my designs, love playing with the tiles for color combinations, love cutting and placing the tiles, HATE making the cement! Any advice is greatly appreciated.
Click the image for an enlarged view.
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ba1je
Zephyrhills, FL
February 24, 2009
11:26 AM Post #6182888
| are you talking stained glass or mosaics? if stained glass a beginner class would get you started - mosaics is easy to learn just by doing.there's lots of info and help online. |
pinkpoodlegirl
Rock Hill, SC
(Zone 7b)
February 24, 2009
01:48 PM Post #6183745
| You don't have to make the stepping stone if you don't want to. You can just mosaic and already made stepping stone.
You can learn stained glass online but I found it is so much easier to learn hands on with an instructor so I can get an immediate answer to any questions I have. I took a basic class a couple years ago and have loved it! I have since gone back to work full time so don't have the time I used to have to do it.
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Gourd
(Zone 4b)
February 24, 2009
01:54 PM Post #6183780
| Me too, I took a basic class and found that learning is so much easier when you get to see it in person and learn hands on. It makes a big difference in your product. I don't know how to came, only the foil method, but am hoping this summer I can take a class in caming. |
Calif_Sue
San Jose, CA
(Zone 9b)
February 24, 2009
04:57 PM Post #6184679
| Ohh, found you over here, I too have always wanted to learn stained glass. So many hobbies, so little time. |
Mazda1994
Oklahoma City, OK
February 24, 2009
06:44 PM Post #6185153
| I took a basic stained glass class. In fact, I took it twice -- once before I had ever tried it & then again after I had worked with it for a while. I would take another one, but would like to find a different teacher, just to learn different techniques. |
venu209
Jersey Shore, NJ
(Zone 7a)
February 24, 2009
08:15 PM Post #6185561
| Hi Sue!
Thank all of you so much for your advice. I found a place today to take some lessons in stained glass. She's starting a class in April ,so for now I will continue to learn mosaic work. I am excited about the glass though. Even as a child I can remember being in church and staring at the windows. The glass work is captivating.
PinkPoodle, thanks for the info about stepping stones, but where can I get some? I went to Anchor concrete today to get some but they don't stock them. A big box store perhaps? Can you tell I really don't like making the cement? |
pinkpoodlegirl
Rock Hill, SC
(Zone 7b)
February 24, 2009
08:19 PM Post #6185583
| A home depot, lowes or other home improvement store should have them in the garden center. You may be able to find them at the big box stores too. |
venu209
Jersey Shore, NJ
(Zone 7a)
February 24, 2009
08:24 PM Post #6185606
| LOL, I consider Home Depot, Lowes, WalMart etc big box stores. I was so shocked when I went to the concrete store and they didn't have them. They have concrete in every size, shape and color imaginable except plain circles. Go figure! |
jcoats123
Payson, AZ
(Zone 7a)
February 25, 2009
12:44 AM Post #6187006
| venue209,
Just a suggestin, but why make the cement when you can buy a stepping stone and just glue the pieces on. Saves a lot of work. I have used this method for years and have had no problem. I probably would not make stepping stones if I had to make the cement. My own op, however.
joAnne |
venu209
Jersey Shore, NJ
(Zone 7a)
February 25, 2009
12:56 AM Post #6187049
| jcoats, that's exactly what pinkpoodle pointed out to me. I'm so new at this I didn't realize that was an option. I'm using the stepping stones as a learning curve and because I want to have at least a dozen of them for a path around the side of the house. My question is now...where do I get the stones? |
Calif_Sue
San Jose, CA
(Zone 9b)
February 25, 2009
02:51 AM Post #6187256
| I've always gotten them at HD, round and the square too. That's all I've ever used. |
venu209
Jersey Shore, NJ
(Zone 7a)
February 25, 2009
10:05 AM Post #6187882
| Thanks Sue. I have to give HD a visit. |
Gourd
(Zone 4b)
February 25, 2009
12:42 PM Post #6188453
| There hasn't been any round ones here at HD either or Lowes. I wonder why? I do remember seeing them a few years back. Sometimes they have the square ones, but they also seem to have disappeared. |
venu209
Jersey Shore, NJ
(Zone 7a)
February 25, 2009
02:14 PM Post #6188889
| I found some square ones at Lowe's but no round ones. I think the round ones are simply out of fashion right now. People are looking for the interlocking pavers. |
jcoats123
Payson, AZ
(Zone 7a)
February 25, 2009
09:50 PM Post #6190747
| Try Wallyworld, I bought some there not toooo loooong ago.
You will find this method much more simple. Show us your work when you finish.
JoAnne |
venu209
Jersey Shore, NJ
(Zone 7a)
February 26, 2009
09:31 AM Post #6192397
| Thanks jcoats, I'll give them a shot today. |
gardenmart
Saugus, MA
(Zone 6b)
February 26, 2009
09:38 AM Post #6192419
| You might want to take a few lessons. But with stained glass, it's possible to start small. The leadings come on a roll and you just need to practice the fluxing and soldering a bit before you get it right.
I did a bit back in the day. My dad owned a hardware store and he had a workbench in the back full of tools including glass cutters and soldering irons, etc. {I can also repair a screen or a single pane window, among other things} I didn't have much artistic talent, though.
Your stepping stones are beautiful! Oh, and, the stepping stone thing might be a spring and summer garden item at HD or Lowes who are probably packing up their snowblowers in preparation right about now in NE & NJ.
Martha
This message was edited Feb 26, 2009 8:39 AM
This message was edited Feb 26, 2009 8:41 AM |
KaperC
No. San Diego Co., CA
(Zone 10b)
February 26, 2009
11:17 PM Post #6196066
| Don't forget FreeCycle or Craig's List for the stepping stones. You might have to clean them up a little, but I see them available now and then. |
venu209
Jersey Shore, NJ
(Zone 7a)
February 26, 2009
11:51 PM Post #6196174
| Thanks Kaper, I wouldn't have thought of those sources!
Hi Martha and thank you! I've been to both Lowe's and HD but it might still be a bit early in the season. |
Connie_W
Austin, TX
(Zone 8b)
February 27, 2009
01:41 AM Post #6196421
| Venu...LOVE your stepping stone! Make more!! I have many projects to do this summer...can't wait! |
venu209
Jersey Shore, NJ
(Zone 7a)
February 27, 2009
08:24 AM Post #6196810
| Thanks so much Connie. I have 4 done so far and have no intentions of stopping! Enjoy your summer projects and give us a peek. |
venu209
Jersey Shore, NJ
(Zone 7a)
March 22, 2009
11:47 PM Post #6306461
| Help, I'm stuck! I have sketches ready to be done but I'm in neutral and can't get in gear. Is this "writer's block" ? Here's a few others that are complete 
Click the image for an enlarged view.
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venu209
Jersey Shore, NJ
(Zone 7a)
March 22, 2009
11:50 PM Post #6306470
| a hummer 
Click the image for an enlarged view.
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venu209
Jersey Shore, NJ
(Zone 7a)
March 22, 2009
11:51 PM Post #6306478
| a fish 
Click the image for an enlarged view.
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Mazda1994
Oklahoma City, OK
March 23, 2009
11:59 AM Post #6308012
| Great work! |
Gourd
(Zone 4b)
March 23, 2009
12:01 PM Post #6308024
| I just love that fish! the others also, but that fish is so cute. |
Calif_Sue
San Jose, CA
(Zone 9b)
March 24, 2009
01:24 PM Post #6313313
| All stunning!! |
gardenmart
Saugus, MA
(Zone 6b)
March 24, 2009
09:28 PM Post #6315297
| Nemo! |
venu209
Jersey Shore, NJ
(Zone 7a)
March 24, 2009
09:44 PM Post #6315356
| Thanks, I think I will do some more fish :) |
jmp24
Medford, NJ
June 03, 2009
12:52 PM Post #6636462
| Whereabouts at the shore do you live? I lived near LBI, in Manahawkin, for a long time, plan on moving back in summer 2010..
how about a little Barnegat Lighthouse mosaic? |
venu209
Jersey Shore, NJ
(Zone 7a)
June 03, 2009
02:37 PM Post #6636966
| I'm about 40 miles north of LBI. Pt Pleasant area. My favorite time of year at the beach is September. The water and sun are still warm and the beaches are vacant. Ahhh. |
jmp24
Medford, NJ
June 03, 2009
03:26 PM Post #6637208
| ah yes. I had a little top floor apartment in an old house one in from the beach in Ship Bottom the first winter I moved down there. Took it from September till May. Best months of my life, even the cold miserable windy dreary sideways-rain part of it. I know Pt Pleasant area well, but mostly lived on LBI or in Manahawkin. I moved back inland to finish nursing school and as soon as I am done, I am going to look for a house to buy in Ocean County, will prob have to be on the mainland but thats ok, bay life is great too!
Early morning view from my back balcony of the Manahawkin house, it's the bridge to Long Beach Island...
Click the image for an enlarged view.
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tonifafa
Brooklyn, NY
June 04, 2009
09:06 PM Post #6643341
| Ven,
your projects are stunning. how long does it take to complete one from start to finish? how large are the finised projects (diameter) and where do you get your drawings? do you draw or you trace them (as I'd have to do)?
thanks
This message was edited Jun 4, 2009 8:07 PM |
venu209
Jersey Shore, NJ
(Zone 7a)
June 07, 2009
09:18 PM Post #6656207
| I'd love to live inland on the bay!  I live inland too far from the bay. I'm about 4 miles west of the Atlantic as the crow flies. Just far enough to lose the cool ocean breeze. Just close enough to always have sand in my shoes.
toni, There are sites that offer free patterns, I used one for the hummingbird, but once I got the feel for turning a photo into a drawing, that's what I have done. As far as the time for completion...it is totally dependant on how intricate the project is. The fish was 3 days including all the curing time for the glue and the grout. I did one stone of an Iris that took 2 weeks to complete. It was a lot of cutting of tiles.I am currently working on something that I do not expect to be finished before September. I have found it to be rewarding and lowers blood pressure without pills. |
jmp24
Medford, NJ
June 08, 2009
08:14 AM Post #6657739
| I know what you are saying, especially about the sand! When I would rent winter rentals, as close to the beach as possible (I wanted to see that ocean from my windows) the only downside was that when you are that close to the water, and esp. when you are in an older home, everything always feels damp - everything! The towels, the floors, the walls, everything! Guess it is the moisture in the air. I didn't notice it to the same degree living on the bay, so I am assuming it is an ocean thing, all the water forced into the air by the crashing waves.
And then there is the sand...all that gritty sand under your feet on the tile floors - seemed you could never get it all up, no matter how much you swept or vaccumed. Just a part of shore life. But there was nothing better than waking up at sunrise and grabbing a sweatshirt and my coffee and drinking it out on the beach - watch the sun come up and the dolphins passing by, nothing better than the smell of the ocean or listening to the waves from bed at night, nothing better than the quiet peaceful winters after all the people leave...I MISS IT, sand and all!!!
Sadly, I never owned any of the homes I lived in, all rentals. The house from which I took the picture above wasn't even all that great, but 8 yrs ago it would have sold for about a million. Today it might be a little less with the market being the way it is, but still more than I could ever afford, less I win the lottery or marry some money. However, the shore is the shore, the closer the better, and thats where I want to be. A single friend just bought a great house, very affordable, within walking distance from the Mullica River and the bay in New Gretna...I'd settle for that! |
katiebear
mulege
Mexico
July 06, 2009
10:46 PM Post #6787292
| Ven,
Another possibility for bases for your mosaics are broken up pieces of concrete. I often see these on craigslist.
With your talent you could probably put odd-shaped pieces to creative uses.
katie |
