Check Out Our BlogLog

There are so many things we want to say and do that we have found it necessary to maintain a number of blogs and sites. If you would like to try to keep up with us, then check out our Blog Log.

On our Blog Log you will find most of our sites, plus links to some very creative and interesting communities. At present we are undergoing MyBlogLog verification for this site. In essence it's just so you will know we are who we say we are.

So if you've got a few minutes it's a great time to kick up your feet and thumb through all the many blogs and sites we, and those in our community have.

Artfire (Artfire on Twitter) was nominated for a Shorty Award

Artfire (Artfire on Twitter) was nominated for a Shorty Award

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We Made Copper Wire Jewelers Magazine!

What an honor! We were chosen to be included in the first edition of Copper Wire Jewelers Magazine!
It's a great privilege to be included with such great jewelry artists. Check out the magazine and see if you don't agree! We are on page 14, but you'll see that each and every page shows a unique and very talented artist. We extend our thanks to Lois Linquist for all her hard work on putting this together. She did a wonderful job!

Copper Wire Jewelers Magazine

Winter Solstice Serenity

Well here we are in a new year. We dearly hope that 2009 was a remarkable year for everyone and that 2010 will be even more remarkable.

We opened our site “Crystal Wand Links” to help you take advantage of all the great online deals that were being offered for the holiday’s, and we hope you all had a chance to view and take advantage of some of them.

Now that the holiday’s are over and old man winter has settled in, we thought we would revise the site to offer you some great online deals that would help with that quality time you’ll be spending indoors. The new links are geared towards all the sites that will help you be a better person, inside and out. It’s that time of year when we all need to feel good about ourselves, so that’s what these links are all about.

You may see some of the same sites from the holiday list, but you will also see some new ones too. Each site offers online deals that will be offered for a limited time only. We will do our best to keep only the deals that are still active listed so you know you will be able to take advantage of each great deal. Just remember to check back often because we will be adding new sites to the list as we come across them!

From incense to music to PJ’s and craft ideas, we have given you links to some on the web’s greatest online deals for your winter solstice. We hope you take advantage of these great sites, and wish you a comfortable and relaxing Winter season!

Looking For the Unique?

Unique is where it's at when it comes to Artfire! If you need a little help finding that one-of-a-kind gift for your special someone, then Artfire is the answer. We are so excited about the Holidays that we've put everything in our Artfire studio on sale! Take a look and see if you don't agree that Artfire is the best place to shop!

Coming Attractions!

The Art Of Stained Glass 101 - Applying Patina

Your final step now is to apply a good polish to your completed piece. There are many quality polishes for stained glass on the market . I have used Kem-O-Pro Finishing Compound for years and have never been unhappy with it. There are many car wax products that would do a nice job as well; however, with some of these products you may end up with a bigger mess and more work on your hands than is necessary. If you decide to try this route I would suggest trying it in a small area first. If it works well there then gradually increase the size of the area as you go.

Here is a video on how to polish your piece using whiting compound. It’s a method rarely heard about, but one you might like to try.

Well pat yourself on the back, you’re finished! If you chose to frame yours in wood, then a frame shop will be able to assist you with that, unless your handy enough to do it on your own. In that case, you can find many stained glass places on the web that will have the supplies you need.  If you choose to hang yours up, then just apply a nice looking chain (never use suction cups!) and hang it from a cup hook screwed into you window frame, or a nail tacked into the top portion of your outer window frame. The latter will keep any holes to your window framing out of site.

Now just sit back and enjoy your creation! Don’t forget to let us hear from you and know how your projects turned out. Heck, send a picture of your project to crywnd@yahoo.com , and we may just feature it in our blog!

The Art Of Stained Glass 101 - Applying Patina

O.k. now your staring at your completely soldered piece wondering “what is patina, and should I apply it to my piece?”. Well maybe this will help you make up your mind. According to Webster’s Dictionary, ‘Patina is a film or incrustation, usually green, produced by oxidation on the surface of old bronze and often esteemed as being of ornamental value.’ The look of patina can be applied to many different surfaces other than bronze. In stained glass work there are many types and colors of patina you can apply to your piece to achieve this aged look. Most of the patina applied to stained glass is for achieving the black or dark bronze look; however, there is also a copper patina, as well as a green patina to achieve the weathered copper look.

With all patina’s you will need to wear gloves. Having a long sleeved shirt on would be a good idea too. You should always have some form of protective eye wear on while doing stained glass, and this holds true while applying patina as well. Before starting, you should always make sure you have good ventilation. Use a fan to keep fumes away from your face. Most patinas have an odor, though slight, some people can be highly sensitive to certain smells. If you are sensitive to the smell and it gets to be too much, then use a mask to help alleviate the problem.

For small pieces, I suggest applying the patina with a cotton ball. It absorbs a lot of the liquid and makes it easy to get into small spaces. Also, I recommend applying the patina to the entire piece, glass and all. If you just apply patina to the metal portions of your piece, you will end up having a halo effect around each piece of glass. This is where the liquid touched the glass when you applied it. If you apply the patina to the entire piece, glass and all, then this halo effect will be over the entire piece and add a slight iridization to all your glass.

After your entire piece is patinaed, let it sit for a few minutes, then wash the patina off with cold water. Dry your piece with a soft cotton clothe and let it air dry for a while longer to get it ready for polishing.

Here are some videos on applying patina. You‘ll notice that everyone has a slightly different approach. The choice is yours as to how you will apply yours. Just remember, patina is an acid and it does burn and can cause harm to you if handled incorrectly.
Applying patina 1, 2, 3, 4 .

Now all you have to do is polish your baby up, then hang it. Next entry we’ll discuss polishes. Come on we’re almost done!

The Art Of Stained Glass 101 - Making Your Hook

Now your at the point where you need to decide if your going to hang your piece, or frame it in wood. If you decide to hang it, then you will need to solder on a hanger. For that you will need two pieces of 16-gauge wire approximately 2 1/2-3“ long. This can be tinned, thick copper wire, three strands of smaller gauge wire twisted together and tinned only on the two ends, or 16-gauge stainless steel wire.

Using a pair of needle nose pliers, gradually bend one end to form a small circle. On the other end of the wire do the same thing with the circle going the other way. You should end up with something that resembles a fancy “S” shape for your hook. If your wire is tinned on both ends, this is the time to finish the tinning process. Completely tin your wire starting from the middle and working out. This will keep if from unraveling and losing its shape.

If your using the pre-tinned pieces of wire, then flux the hook and the area where you want to apply the hook to your piece, and solder it on. If your using the 16-gauge stainless steel wire, hold the hook with your pliers and pre-tin the two areas where your hook will be applied to your piece. Repeat this pre-tinning process twice to get a good amount of solder in those two areas, then solder your hook to your piece.

Now just wash your piece real good in Ivory dish soap and cold water. Then dry it off good and let it sit out to completely dry for 24 hours. To prepare it for a good patina finish, polish the solder with 0000 steel wool. Remember when polishing, don't press too hard, you don't want to break all your hard work.

Next entry we'll discuss applying patina. So until then enjoy your handy work!

The Art Of Stained Glass 101 - Soldering Part II

Place your soldering iron in its holder and plug it in. If you have an iron with a built in rheostat you will need to set it around 3 ½ to 4 for soldering solder. For zinc, copper, brass and lead, your rheostat may need a different setting. If your solder doesn’t seem to be melting and flowing like it should you can always adjust it higher.

Make sure your pieces are secured to your board. I find using small pieces of wood with holes drilled in them, or scrap pieces of lead came used as spacers between the glass and the nails helps tremendously, but whatever you choose as long as it is not a nail against your glass is fine. After checking the alignment of all your pieces and verifying everything is in its right place, dip your brush into your small bottle of flux (NOTE: don’t saturate it, just wet it and press it against the side to drain the excess) and brush the flux on a small section of the copper seams. You should notice the copper becomes brighter as the flux cleans it.

Take your solder and unroll about 4 - 5 inches and slightly curve the end in a “J” so that it will easily touch onto your iron. Now holding your solder in your gloved hand and your soldering iron in your ungloved hand turn your iron so the flat edge is vertical (or straight up and down). Holding the iron above the seam to be soldered apply the solder to the iron. When a small drop of solder slides from the iron onto the seam gently set the iron down into that drop and gradually run the iron down the seam while feeding the solder to the iron at the same time. (NOTE: First, when soldering try to keep a small ball of solder on the seam where the iron is sitting. This ball of solder will gently flow down the seam as you feed more solder to it. Secondly, if the solder starts to splatter this means you have added too much flux and need to burn off the excess. DO NOT leave your iron on one spot for too long or your glass will crack! Go over this spot, then let it cool down and come back to it. You may have to reflux lightly when you come back to it.) When you have finished soldering your seam stop feeding your iron with solder (you should do this just before the end of the seam) and gradually pull the iron off the seam at a 90 degree angle. Now go on and do the rest of your piece.

Once you have completely soldered the front then flip the piece over and do the back. For the edges you will need to “tin” all three sides of the copper foil, then bead them. Tinning is applying a thin layer of solder to the copper foil, and beading the edges means turning the piece on its side and lightly applying small drops of solder to the edge. The drops can then be touched lightly with the iron and will flow into a hard rounded edge, or when left as drops they form a beautiful decorative edge. This may take some experimenting, but isn’t too hard to master.

For tinning, apply flux to the outer edge on all three sides. Unroll your solder so that a length of solder is sticking up. Leaving the unrolled solder laying on your table, hold the fluxed piece to be tinned in your gloved hand and take a small amount of solder onto your iron. Run the hot solder along one side of the copper foil adding more solder as needed. Turn the piece and do the same to the back side and the edge. When all three sides are silver from the solder and there is no copper showing you have just completed tinning your piece.

One more note, some people prefer to "tack solder" their pieces first. This is especially helpful when you just can’t find anything to hold your piece together. Tack solder just means fluxing the area to be soldered and applying a small amount of solder to basically “tack” that area together. Place your soldering iron in its holder and plug it in. If you have an iron with a built in rheostat you will need to set it around 3 ½ to 4 for soldering solder. For zinc, copper, brass and lead, your rheostat may need a different setting. If your solder doesn’t seem to be melting and flowing like it should you can always adjust it higher.

Make sure your pieces are secured to your board. I find using small pieces of wood with holes drilled in them helps tremendously, but whatever you choose as long as it is not a nail against your glass is fine. After checking the alignment of all your pieces and verifying everything is in its right place, dip your brush into your small bottle of flux (NOTE: don’t saturate it, just wet it and press it against the side to drain the excess) and brush the flux on a small section of the copper seams. You should notice the copper becomes a bit brighter as the flux cleans it.

Take your solder and unroll about 4 - 5 inches and slightly curve the end in a “J” so that it will easily touch onto your iron. Now holding your solder in your gloved hand and your soldering iron in your ungloved hand turn your iron so the flat edge is vertical (or straight up and down). Holding the iron above the seam to be soldered apply the solder to the iron. When a small drop of solder slides from the iron onto the seam gently set the iron down into that drop and gradually run the iron down the seam while feeding the solder to the iron at the same time. (NOTE: First, when soldering try to keep a small ball of solder on the seam where the iron is sitting. This ball of solder will gently flow down the seam as you feed more solder to it. Secondly, if the solder starts to splatter this means you have added too much flux and need to burn off the excess. DO NOT leave your iron on one spot for too long or your glass will crack! Go over this spot, then let it cool down and come back to it. You may have to reflux lightly when you come back to it.) When you have finished soldering your seam stop feeding your iron with solder (this will usually be done just before the end of the seam) and gradually pull the iron off the seam at a 90 degree angle. Now go on and do the rest of your piece.

Once you have completely soldered the front then flip the piece over and do the back. For the edges you will need to “tin” all three sides of the copper foil, then bead them. Tinning is applying a thin layer of solder to the copper foil, and beading the edges means turning the piece on its side and lightly applying small drops of solder to the edge. The drops can then be touched lightly with the iron and will flow into a hard rounded edge, or when left as drops they form a beautiful decorative edge. This may take some experimenting, but isn’t too hard to master.

For tinning, apply flux to the outer edge on all three sides. Unroll your solder so that the length of solder is sticking up. Leaving the unrolled solder laying on your table, hold the fluxed piece to be tinned in your gloved hand and take a small amount of solder onto your iron. Run the solder along one side of the copper foil adding more solder as needed. Turn the piece and do the same to the back side and the edge. When all three sides are silver from the solder and there is no copper showing you have just completed tinning your piece.

One more note, on those occasions when you just can’t find anything to hold your piece together so you can solder it you may need to “tack solder” it. Tack solder just means fluxing the area to be soldered and applying a small amount of solder to basically “tack” that area together. Some people tack solder their entire piece prior to soldering it. Others only tack solder when they have to. It’s up to you. Experiment. Try a few things. Try it on some things before you use it on your project. The sky is the limit!

Next entry we’ll discuss whether or not to patina your piece and give it that rich black color that everyone loves, and how to apply polish. I’ll also tell you how to make your own hook and how to apply it your piece. In the meantime, here are some videos on soldering stained glass that might help answer some more of your questions: How to Solder 1, 2, 3. Boy we’re almost there, are you as excited as I am? Remember to have fun and keep “kicking ass with glass”!

The Art Of Stained Glass 101 - Soldering Part I

We have finally reached the point of no return. That beautiful moment when you get to solder all your hard work together to finally see what beauty you have created. When you’re soldering, just keep a few things in mind. First, be calm, pay attention to what you are doing, and think ahead. Those three things can save you not only your hard earned money, but your sanity too!

Now there are a few guidelines to remember before you jump right in. Apply bandaides to any cuts on your hands or fingers. Lead is poisonous and can gain access to your bloodstream this way. Turn on a fan and place it behind or to the side of you. You don’t want to be breathing the fumes of any of the items used for soldering, each is hazardous in it’s own right, so have the fan placed so that it will blow the fumes away from your face. Wear glasses or protective goggles. Solder, when heated can splatter, so protect your eyes!

Unless you are using a flux that states it is not harmful to your skin I recommend wearing a glove on your left hand if you are right handed, or on your right hand if you are left handed. You will be holding the soldering iron in your other hand and will not need a glove on that hand. The gloved hand is the one you will use to pick up your fluxed piece when you need to move it. (TIP: If you have problems with the glove sliding down or coming off while working try cutting an old pair of panty hose into rubber band like pieces. These pieces can be stretched out to give you added length, and are soft and comfortable against your wrist. I have a lot of these in my shop that I use just to hold my gloves on.) There are a lot of good fluxes on the market and there are some not so good ones too. Most of them contain zinc chloride which is something you do not want to get on your skin. Some of them have other ingredients that are just as bad, so take precautions and wear the glove.

Set your soldering station up with all your supplies within an arms reach. Pour your flux into a small marked jar that you can easily dip your brush into. This jar should have a lid so you can cap it off to use for your next soldering project. Never pour this flux back into your main bottle of flux, it will contaminate your main bottle and weaken it. You should have your solder, flux and iron as your main items on your soldering station.

Make sure you have plenty of paper towel and a spray bottle of alcohol close by. The alcohol is an excellent glass cleaner. Use this to clean the flux off your soldered piece once you have finished soldering it. If you are going to patina your piece I recommend you wash your piece with Ivory dish soap and rinse well after soldering. The Ivory soap is an excellent flux remover.

Now that your soldering station is set up in part II we will get down to soldering. Are your hands just itching to hold that soldering iron yet? Well hold on, we're almost there. Patience is a virtue my friend, and in this business you must have patience.