stained glass cabinet doors

I took up stained glass this past year, and if you’ve been around for a while you probably know I’m a teensy bit obsessed. It’s therapy, y’all. Today, I wanted to share my newest little creation!

This one is a little bit of a more modern take compared to the ones I’ve already shared, and I love the way they turned out. {BTW, in this photo for some reason they look really uneven… I’m just leaning one farther back and on an angle, I guess.} 

But once upon a time, we purchased this cabinet for our son’s room. It was awkward and didn’t work. So we moved it downstairs instead, because I really liked it. And one day our youngest was traipsing through the living room when he said “You should turn that into stained glass!” {Much to the rest of the family’s chagrin}.

My children are brilliant, I tell you, despite the over-arching theme of distain for my more in-depth projects. 

And so turn to stained glass, I did. 

The reed glass that was in it before, was kind of great too. No worries… I held on to it, as I am sure I will find a use. But in the meantime this is now a working art piece in our home and I couldn’t be happier. I was frustrated when shooting this one, because the photos truly don’t do this one justice.

This iridescent glass really ups the ante for one of a kind and I adore the way it turned out. 

So today, I’m sharing how to make some of your own! 

Want this pattern? They measure 13″ W x 31.5 ” L – Get them here! You can resize them to anything similar that would work… these are true rectangles because it was the easiest way to piece them together inside the cabinet. I also didn’t want to waste glass with the massive edges, so more on how we attached them, below. 

But first, a history
{You’ll want to refer back to some of these if you’re just getting your toes wet in the world of stained glass. I highly recommend familiarizing yourself with the entire process so that you know what I’m talking about below. This post will merely serve as outline form, while the in-depth process can be found below. I’ve covered them thoroughly in the past, so I’ll be covering them briefly in this actual post. Links needed are below}:

• Check out all the supplies I listed + a little take on getting started, here.

See these two new additions to all things supplies:

I was ready to take my stained glass game up a notch, so after doing a little research, I decided this was the best saw for me. It’s not something that you use all the time, and it really helps cut down on all that grinding time when you do need it. I use it for really difficult angles {these doors definitely had some} and it’s just my new favorite toy. 

Silberschnitt Running Pliers – I frequent a lot of facebook groups for all things stained glass, and basically these are the Luxury version of all things running pliers. Lightweight, easy to use and really handy on those awkward angles. If you’re thinking of leveling up, definitely check out these pliers. 

And for more…

• We covered the basics of stained glass, here.
It’s pretty in-depth with good videos referenced as well, so be sure to check it out.

• Tracing – There are three ways to trace your pattern: You can see more of that process in detail, here.

1. Transparency film + sharpie + glue stick – Lay your transparency over your shape, trace + cut. Then lay it over your glass, and repeat to achieve the same shape. This is the process I used for this piece, because the pieces are so large, and my glass is not transparent. 

2. You can also just lay your glass on top of the pattern, trace, and cut. See this method, here. 

3. The Cricut method: I simply load the same pattern into my Cricut and cut it on vinyl. –This only works with smaller sized projects, but once you get the hang of it, it is a nice time saver. Check it our more in detail with this star ornament post, here.

• Cutting + Grinding – Again, I definitely outlined it in more detail, here.  

Whichever way you choose, make sure you get that shape as tight as possible. Simply cut and grind it down, fitting each shape into place as you go. As always, when grinding, use protective eyewear, and I’d recommend a mask, too. This is a photo from last year, but I’ve started to wear one more often than not.

Always remember to label your pieces as you go, too. It helps to keep everything matched up and organized as you cut. 

Slowly but surely I filled all the pieces in, and I think you can see where the saw helped here. There were some harsh angles in this glass and it definitely paid off. 

• Foiling + Burnishing

When every piece was in place like a very satisfying puzzle, I was ready to foil and burnish. 

Again, you can find all of that outlined as thoroughly as possible, here. Be sure to read up on this post. I tend to clean up and grind each piece again, so that there are no shiny edges. It helps get that fit just right. This pattern is particularly complicated, so I wasn’t worried about perfection, so much as getting it as close as possible where the edges came to a point in one area. I was delightfully surprised when I didn’t have much leak-through to the other side during the soldering process. 
 

Here’s my new little fume extractor. I had the windows up but that with the filter definitely helps keep fumes out of the way. 

• Soldering 

Again, I’ve outlined it all here.
{Please follow all safety precautions from open windows to ventilation systems here.} 

It’s starting to take shape! 

Once I get my initial layer down, I go back over it with my soldering iron to get those lines as pretty as possible. I still need help with the “perfect” part of it, but I was pleased with my first go at this made-up pattern. I have found that the more I do this, the less hesitant I am to actually just dive in. So let this be an encouragement to you, if you’ve always wanted to try.

When you’re finito, your first side should look a little like this. 

Once it’s all soldered together and cool, you can lift it up to admire that handiwork! {This particular shot is actually after the patina below, but it does give you an idea.}

For the side coats of solder, be sure to carefully brush on your ruby fluid, and gently touch the sides to spread the solder as you go. 

Always check the temperature of your glass often. 

This is the perfect moment to go ahead and polish + wax that first side of your glass just so that it gives the glass a moment to cool down, and you can get all that flux + excess solder off. 

• Clean it up {see more detail here}

Breaking it down, the order just goes like this for each side: 

1. Flux + Solder {You’ve already done this} 
2. Kwik Clean {rub it on and clean the glass / solder
3. Clarity – It’s a stained glass finishing compound {it really makes everything shine – technically it is wax – oh so satisfying} 

Flip it over, and you’re ready to do the second side. 

Frame it out

For our next step, when each side was done, it was time to frame it out with came. 

This step is really important, because these two pieces actually had hinge points. I was so intent on making the patterns meet up with the design, I forgot about the dangers of hinge points, because honestly I know just enough to be dangerous, and I was determined to make it work.

From this site: 

Anywhere there is a straight, or fairly straight line from one edge of the piece to another, you have a hinge point. Because of the straight line, if any pressure is added to the front or back of the piece, it’s going to bend right along that seam.

Think of it as a door that swings open. With a straight line in your stained glass piece, the finished piece will “hinge” or swing open like a door. 

So the frames are important, to offer more support. Just be really careful when moving the glass, because without the supportive frame, it is more fragile.

Simply cut the came to size with a dremel, {or saw} and connect it at all points with the ruby fluid and solder, just like you did previously with the glass. This time, you don’t need the tape, because it connects automatically to the metal. 

Wouldn’t you know that as soon as my glass was almost done, I went to order some more copper came, and they were on backorder? Except no one told me. So there I was, waiting… and then I decided I would order brass instead. Yay. Still waiting on that copper, so I’m glad I caved. 

A word of caution: Be sure to keep your orientation straight when placing them in a cabinet. You’re flipping and turning and still want to make sure these pieces connect. They actually connect design-wise, and when flipping them over it’s good to be mindful of how they work together. 

For our next step, I cheated a little with this cabinet, and since it was larger than the actual glass, we used an adhesive to make it stick. JB Weld was perfect for the job, and we added it with a stick {it comes in the package} down the sides. We let it cure for a night, and it was ready to go the next morning. 

Tada! We love the way they sat in the doors. Winning. 

The final outcome was totally worth it, and we love the way it all turned out. We use this cabinet as our makeshift entertainment bar, so it’s just perfect. 

And here we are!
As always, let us know if you try it. We’d love to hear!

Have an inspired day!