Beat the Summer Heat with Gallery Glass

Here are some whimsical summer designs to cool you down and provide quality time with the kids and grandchildren. Everybody loves food and what better way to be creative than with these cool ice cream shapes and junk food. Add a few fun in the sun activities, and you have a prescription for a sizzling summer. These projects are fun for the young at heart--of all ages. Use the colors of your choice. I apologize for the visual aspects of the images. I took these designs straight from my loose leaf pattern book and they are not the best, but you can print them out and make them on the round blank plastic plates that you can buy from party store or you can alter them slightly to fit 8"x10" glass from old picture frames. Have fun with them.

 

Fly the Red, White and Blue

My heart swells with pride and my eyes fill with tears when I see our flag flying on patriotic holidays. I am a push over for striped banners, colorful draping and loud and obnoxious fireworks. And possibly because all 3 holidays during the summer are patriotic in nature, I identify flags with summer picnics, beach vacations and trips to visit relatives we don't get to see during the winter. So for all you patriots out there I re-post this elaborate flag panel because I think we couldn't have July 4th--without it!
I was making a gift for a friend this weekend when I remembered that I hadn't shared the July 4th vases with you. They are a wonderful gift for someone--especially if they work in an office. Who doesn't love to visit an employee that has CANDY on their desk?
I filled these vases with red and white peppermints and red cinnamon hard candy. It was colorful and will be a big hit at the office for the rest of the month. AND the suncatchers can be peeled off and other motifs can be added later. By the way, I combined it with the 2 patriotic 10" circles shown in the post, below for a more impressive showing of the colors. So, find a pretty vase and put some suncatchers on it--something thematic that the recipient can relate to--if not patriotism, then their hobby or favorite sports team. That's a sure way to win someone's heart!


By the way, they actually fit together BETTER the other way, with the small one on the left. I didn't figure that out until after I looked at the picture.

Patriot Gallery Glass - We love the Red, White and Blue

The reason flag colors are so popular in the summer is because all 3 summer holidays are about patriotism and being proud of our heritage. I love to make these flag plaques for the kids at the Children's hospital because I know that they will leave the painted project hanging in the window until school starts and it gets replaced with sports themes. The flag panels also make a great summer gift for older Americans who remember war times or had relatives who fought bravely for our country and the democratic principles that we support worldwide.

Even though the 4th is not yet here, we have to move ahead of the season a bit so that you can make the plaques and hang them or give them as gifts in advance of the holiday.

So here are 2 of my favorites. These are great July 4th designs because they are so traditional. Perfect for any holiday celebration--large or small. The colors are bright and cheerful, in the Uncle Sam's hat that is pictured above, I used Hologram Glitter for the whoosh's. The designs in this post are perfect for 4th of July picnics, Vacation Bible School projects and campground craft classes. They are timely and also very simple to do, so they can be done quickly and effectively in a group setting. It should only take each crafter 10 to 15 minutes, so the stations can turn over fast enough to keep the line moving.

To create these simple designs, simply right click on the image, then choose "open link in new window" which will bring it up on a window by itself. Then you can print it out on plain copier paper. If you are doing it on the 10" blank, you will need to enlarge the design to fit the blank. If you don't have the round blanks, you can do the hearts at the smaller size, duplicate them on the leading blank and mount them on the window as suncatchers. 

Gallery Glass Supplies:
Snow White 16002, Ruby Red 16015, 16011 Blue Diamond,  16442 Hologram Glitter, 16074 Black Liquid Leading.

Honor the Fathers in your life with Gallery Glass

We honored the Mothers last month, now it's Dad's turn. What a wonderful idea someone had-- to have a national day of "honoring" for both parents. The special days are observed by almost all the diverse groups that make up this great country. Because having parents is universal--everybody had to start out with a set. Lots of people have a good relationship with them and these special days challenge us to make those relationships even better--every year when they roll around. (Wait for it...........)

In my mind, Gallery Glass is a perfect way to spread it on thick because it is a gift they can't eat or wear--so it doesn't go away when you do. It's nice that special diets and "hard to find sizes" don't matter. In my mind, it's the "one size fits all" commemorative plaque. There are several ways to approach the project for fathers. You could go with the historical favorite "Man's Best Friend" motif. I couldn't pick out the "best" color scheme, so I decided to show you both of them. The style of the dog is a bit generic, but you could possibly tailor it to your man's favorite breed with a little imagination. It could become a Golden Retriever by just leaving off the spots and painting him Amber.

The second approach is to go for Dad's favorite hobbies to commemorate his status. I posted this example to show you the idea, but you could probably come up with a more appropriate icon for the Dad in your life. The only problem is that all the oval blanks are gone, unless you had some stashed away somewhere. But this motif is small enough to be a suncatcher. You could do it on a reusable leading blank and then peel it off and apply it to one of his windows. I would change the "green" a little, however, if I were doing it as a suncatcher. Make it a little more "backyard pool" shaped instead of egg shaped. That would look more realistic.

The third approach is to give him an "award". Give him a blue ribbon (it's his favorite color) for being a great dad. Sometimes the easiest alternative is also the best one. Again, no oval blank, but you can do it as a suncatcher and apply it to the window closest to his favorite chair, where he will be able to stare at it after you leave and remember you fondly.

There is another smaller dog that would also make a good suncatcher. This is a beagle type dog and is really cute.

I'm not going to post a pattern for these items. They are simple enough that you can just right click on the image. Then click on "open link to a new window" and you can print it out from there. 

A Gallery Glass Toast--to Mary's Talent

 

Occasionally, our blog brings us together through another person. Mary's husband emailed me looking for colors that have been discontinued and we were able to hear of Mary's wonderful business and infinite talent. Here is her story and some of her stunning work. Her work will be an inspiration to you--to follow your heart!

Mary received her Master of Education Degree from Virginia Commonwealth University, and had planned to make a career of teaching. However, after several years of teaching, the artist in her wanted to be unleashed. She originally started with craftwork; hand-painting t-shirts, and making seasonal craft baskets. During a farmers' market, on the Northern Neck of Virginia, she saw someone hand-painting "sunset" windows, and thought, "I can do that." She started not only hand-painting sunset windows, but also wineglasses, cocktail glasses, and even martini glasses, all with her "signature" blue crab design. She now has increased her artistic repertoire to include striped bass, mahi-mahi, flounder, ospreys and snowy egrets.

A short time ago, she an her husband were coming back from a 2 day even, Arts in the Park (in Richmond), and they encountered 5 peacocks coming across a four lane highway. They literally had to stop their vehicle, to allow the peacocks to stroll across the highway. Because of that impromptu inspiration, Mary started painting peacock ice tea pitchers. And was also inspired to create  Peacock window.

 

 Mary shares this comment, "Many customers have asked me what I use (for the artwork) and I always tell them about Gallery Glass paint. They have even asked why I don't use the glass paint that you bake on. Other paints have an acrylic look--they don't have a 'stained glass' look. I would much rather sell a glass that has to be hand washed because of the beautiful stained glass effect, than switch to one that is dishwasher safe and has the flat acrylic look."

 

 

 



 

 

Plaid celebrates Memorial Day!

Last year I posted this panel around July 4th, but maybe it's even more fitting as we move towards Memorial Day Weekend. We will also be celebrating Flag Day on June 14th to honor the United States flag and to commemorate the flag's adoption. Flag Day falls within National Flag Week, a time when Americans reflect on the foundations of the nation's freedom. The flag of the United States represents freedom and has been an enduring symbol of the country's ideals since its early days. During both events, Americans also remember their loyalty to the nation, reaffirm their belief in liberty and justice, and observe the nation's unity.
In 1777 the Continental Congress replaced the British symbols of the Grand Union flag with a new design featuring 13 white stars in a circle on a field of blue and 13 red and white stripes - one for each state. Although it is not certain, this flag may have been made by Philadelphia seamstress Betsy Ross, who was an official flag maker for the Pennsylvania Navy. The number of stars increased as the new states entered the Union, but the number of stripes stopped at 15 and was later returned to 13.
To celebrate Flag Week and as a build up to the 4th of July, I chose to create a Gallery Glass interpretation of an oil painting by Childe Hassam, (1859-1935), Allies Day, May 1917. I found the line drawing in a Dover book entitled Color Your own American Paintings by Marty Nobile, which features line drawings of 30 American masterpieces. ISPN 10: 0486445267. You can order this book on http://www.doverpublishing.com/ for $3.95.