I have two more stained glass creations to share with you and they both center around rainbows. I’ve always loved rainbows and actively hunt for them after rainstorms. Lately, I feel like I’ve needed more rainbows in my life so I decided to make a rainbow honeycomb panel.
For this panel, I created my own pattern and learned a lot from it (once again). Looking back, the little pieces around the top and bottom are WAY too small and I should have adjusted the pattern to get rid of them. For the first time, I used sticker paper for my pattern pieces and that was an absolute game changer! Even with the challenges, I love the way that this one turned out.
As I was cutting each glass piece for the panel, I kept all the scraps in a little container. I loved the colors I used and realized that they would make a really fun scrappy sun catcher.
Here’s what sparked the idea:
This sun catcher turned out to be so dang difficult and I had to teach myself how to do a bunch more things to make it happen. It started off as scraps, which I then foiled and soldered individually. I then made handmade jump rings for every single piece of glass, and soldered them on to the top and bottom of each piece.
I tried hanging on jewelry string and clear plastic string and just didn’t like the look of it. So, I purchased some jewelry making chain, cut each piece to the length I wanted, added jump rings and attached them to each piece of stained glass. And then, I hung each strand on a piece of driftwood.
This was absolutely one of those “for science” pieces because I had to stumble through each and every step. Also, I’m not sure if this is going to hold up long term. When soldering on jump rings, you typically need to extend the metal into a space between two pieces of glass to anchor it. Since I was working with just individual pieces, that wasn’t an option. So, it is quite possible that the weight of the piece eventually pulls the solder away from the glass. Guess I’ll see! And learn from it, of course.
Next Up on the Horizon
I still have a plan to try 3D designs like plants/succulents, as well as use scrap glass for mosaics. However, my next challenge is… plant stakes!
I have a couple designs in mind that I’m going to start with, including a bee and hexagonal hive, and some cute cactus/succulent plants. I plan to gift some of my plant stakes, so in addition to learning how to solder them onto a copper stake properly, I’m also going to be experimenting with lead-free solder.