The Delphi Blog

If you love making stained glass projects, then you’ll love the cool effects that painting on stained glass can have. It gives you more of a chance to be creative, allowing for more of a flow of ideas without having to worry about cutting or other processes that need your complete accuracy to ensure a beautiful outcome.   The paints used for stained glass painting are made by taking ground glass and mixing it with a variety of colored pigments and a flux. They can be applied in any number of ways and then they get permanently affixed by being fired in a kiln. These paints may be transparent or opaque, and you can mix them together though it is advised that you stick to the same manufacturer when mixing paints for consistency reasons.   While stained glass painting is a wonderful way to experiment with a broad range of vibrant colors, you’ll need to make sure you keep exact records of your paint color tests to see what you mixed and what temperatures you used or it will all be for nothing.   When you buy paints for stained glass painting, you’ll need to find out which ones are low or high firing. Low firing paint is better suited to stain

Kaleidoscopes are a fun tool to use to enjoy optical illusions. With some mirrors, glass and colorful tidbits, you can create your own kaleidoscope that takes you to a world of beautiful images thanks to the items inside of it rotating along with the light coming in from the opposite end. The result is magical and can awe both children and adults.   Glass kaleidoscopes are particularly beautiful. They often look impressive on the outside as well. Magic on the inside and out, glass kaleidoscopes are an ideal summer stained glass project. Here’s how to make one of your own!   In addition to all your glass cutting tools, you’ll need: clear glass colored glass in the colors of your choosing copper foil brass rod solder (to use in your soldering iron) flux mirror kit disc kit faceted beads decorative copper or brass elements for adornments and leg supports patina solution felt circles Instructions: 1. First, line up your colored glass with your straightedge to make three strips that are 1x8 inches and mark them with a permanent marker.   2. Score the marked lines using your glass cutter, mak

Summer is a great time to unleash your creativity. It’s also a great time to grab a KraftyBlok or two from Delphi and bring your ideas to life. KraftyBlok is a multifaceted glass block that you can turn into pretty much anything you can dream up. Think of it as a blank canvas in glass block form .   Its smooth and clear surface is the perfect base for mosaics, etching, painting and plenty more. Plus, it has an opening where you can easily add embellishments or even lights to really make your KraftyBlok project shine. You can purchase KraftyBlok stands to display your KraftyBlok creation too.   There are endless possibilities to bring your KraftyBlok project to life on so many levels. Turn it into a piggy bank for your children or grandchildren. Make it into a stunning vase to hold your fresh-cut flowers. Night lights, picture boxes, bookends and more can all be easily made by using a KraftyBlok.   If you still need inspiration, get our free KraftyBlok eBook . There are step-by-step instructions and templates so you can recreate the projects featured in it. This free 48-page eBook brings you ideas for every season too, so you can find some in

Summer is a great time to unleash your creativity. It’s also a great time to grab a KraftyBlok or two from Delphi and bring your ideas to life. KraftyBlok is a multifaceted glass block that you can turn into pretty much anything you can dream up. Think of it as a blank canvas in glass block form .   Its smooth and clear surface is the perfect base for mosaics, etching, painting and plenty more. Plus, it has an opening where you can easily add embellishments or even lights to really make your KraftyBlok project shine. You can purchase KraftyBlok stands to display your KraftyBlok creation too.   There are endless possibilities to bring your KraftyBlok project to life on so many levels. Turn it into a piggy bank for your children or grandchildren. Make it into a stunning vase to hold your fresh-cut flowers. Night lights, picture boxes, bookends and more can all be easily made by using a KraftyBlok.   If you still need inspiration, get our free KraftyBlok eBook . There are step-by-step instructions and templates so you can recreate the projects featured in it. This free 48-page eBook brings you ideas for every season too, so you can find some in

With Armed Forces Day and Memorial Day coming up (May 21st and May 30th, respectively), Delphi Glass has those who have served our great country on our mind. Everyone knows someone who has served, whether it’s a grandparent, parent, sibling, spouse or friend. Being part of the armed forces takes a lot of dedication and leaves an indelible mark on those that serve forever.   Our veterans have learned powerful lessons in their lives that have shaped the way they are, but they also have to cope with the negative aspects of their experiences. Some of these brave men and women have seen things more horrible than we could ever fathom. Our veterans looked after us and kept our country safe. Now it’s time for us to return the favor and look after them.   If you’re looking for ways to support our great veterans, first and foremost, thank a veteran for their hard work when you pass them in the aisle at the supermarket or are waiting on line at the post office or bank. Secondly, try to find ways to give back and honor these courageous patriots. At Delphi Glass, we contribute to Operation Family Fund (OFF) an organization that was started by relations

The biggest names in glass are coming to Delphi Glass and you don’t want to miss out on joining a class!   As glass artists, we’re always looking for ways to improve our techniques. Every day that we create something, we learn something new. But when we’re presented with an incredible opportunity to work with award-winning artists, we’ve just got to get in on it before our chance to learn from one of the greats is gone.   This summer, Delphi Glass is excited to present you with the opportunity to join in on classes from some very special guest instructors. You don’t want to miss your chance to sign up with these talented folks. Class space is limited to ensure you have the best and most intimate learning experience.   Coming up in June, there’s still some room left to join in on Joseph Cavalieri’s class for stained glass painting. If you’re not familiar with Cavalieri’s work , he owns and runs the CAVAglass Studios in New York City. His projects are amazing, showcasing his expertise in hand-painted, silk-screened and airbrushed stained glass. It’s amazingly unique and if you sign up now, you&rsq

The biggest names in glass are coming to Delphi Glass and you don’t want to miss out on joining a class!   As glass artists, we’re always looking for ways to improve our techniques. Every day that we create something, we learn something new. But when we’re presented with an incredible opportunity to work with award-winning artists, we’ve just got to get in on it before our chance to learn from one of the greats is gone.   This summer, Delphi Glass is excited to present you with the opportunity to join in on classes from some very special guest instructors. You don’t want to miss your chance to sign up with these talented folks. Class space is limited to ensure you have the best and most intimate learning experience.   Coming up in June, there’s still some room left to join in on Joseph Cavalieri’s class for stained glass painting. If you’re not familiar with Cavalieri’s work , he owns and runs the CAVAglass Studios in New York City. His projects are amazing, showcasing his expertise in hand-painted, silk-screened and airbrushed stained glass. It’s amazingly unique and if you sign up now, you&rsq

Saws are great for cutting glass, but sometimes, it’s a more precise cut we need for an obscurely-shaped piece. When you want to make circles with glass or cut out unusual shapes for your stained glass project, what should you use?   Many glass artists loathe cutting circles because it is so difficult to make it just right. Fortunately, you don’t need to scrap any glass project that contains circles anymore because the Silberschnitt Pro Circle Cutter is just what you need.   This German-engineered product uses a strong suction cup to hold onto the glass. You’ll need to make sure the glass is stationary on your cutting area so that it doesn’t move. Then you can set the Silberschnitt Pro Circle Cutter to the width of your desires.   To make that perfect circle, you’ll need to apply continuous pressure as you cut. The 6-wheel cutting turret is designed to make flawless scores. You can avoid dullness by rotating the wheels. The cutting ruler on the Silberschnitt Pro Circle Cutter can measure in inches and centimeters too. It’s ideal for any project that requires circles in sizes of 2 ½ inches on up to 24 inches in di

As the weather starts to warm up, everything around us begins to blossom again. The flowers bloom, the trees start to turn green again and the birds come back to sing for us. It all means that spring is here. Now is the time to embrace this beautiful season where nature seems to be calling us back out into the wild.   When you think of spring, what comes to mind first? Is it flowers? Or birds? Perhaps it is a beautiful landscape that’s lit up by the lingering sun that now sets later in the evening. Whatever it is, all you need to do to find inspiration to create something spectacular is open your door and walk out into the world.   But if birds and flowers aren’t your idea of the perfect theme for your next stained glass, fused glass, mosaic or glass jewelry project, you’ll have to dig deeper. Sure, all of it has been done before but no one has seen what you have through your eyes, and isn’t that what it means to create art?   Butterflies are a great spring theme and you can make them your own by creating them in the way you see them. You can also imagine yourself somewhere else, where the world might look different during spring t

Ask anyone what the most wonderful time of the year is and you’re bound to get a lot of responses about the winter holidays. But here at Delphi Glass, our favorite time of the year has to be during National Art Glass month when we host our Annual Art Glass Festival.   We love it because we truly have some of the most talented customers around. Every year, it seems the entries get more and more incredible. Click here to visit the gallery of our previous Art Glass Festival winners. Whether you’re a beginner or a seasoned pro at creating glass art projects, we encourage you to enter for a chance to win great prizes ranging in value from $100 to $400. We have a wonderful variety of categories that you can enter your work under. Some of them include beads & jewelry, blown glass, flameworked glass, kiln formed glass, lamps, large panels (entries for this category must be larger than 2 square feet), mosaics and small panels (less than 2 square feet).   You don’t need to be in Lansing, Michigan either to participate. You can enter from anywhere online until March 31, 2016. If you’re going to bring your entries to the Lansing location, make su

Whether you’re making a fused glass project or a unique piece of glass jewelry, why not let it really shine by adding some glowing pigment? CBS Aqua Glow is a powder that works well with glass fusing as well as fused glass jewelry. While it appears yellowish in color, once exposed to a prolonged light source such as a lamp or the sun, it illuminates in an illustrious aqua color in the darkness.   What’s neat about this pigment is that it reflects a gentle color to the art you create when you see it in the light. But once the lights go out, it becomes even more spectacular. CBS Aqua Glow is compatible with all COEs too and that makes it an excellent pigment to use when creating anything from glass beads to lampworking and beyond.   If you’d like to use this pigment in your next glass project, you’ll want to get the ratio just right. Glow pigment mixed with glass powder uses a ratio of 1:4, with the smaller portion being for the glow powder. You’ll also want to cap, or encase, your glow powder inside layers of glass so that you’ll get a smooth texture when creating your pieces and keep the glow pigment from wearing away, which w