Large Christmas Sleigh

While I do not consider this stained glass sleigh to be a 'work of glass art' like so much of the fine work I have seen in Delphi's galleries, I wanted to put some photos of this project on the site in case anyone out there has been thinking about building a glass sleigh.   They are fun yet challenging to build, and make for a good project.   I have made 4 of these over the last 10 years or so, of which three were gifts to close friends.  I made three of them using Fischer German full antique glass, one red, one light brown, and one green, and now I have completed this blue one, in which I used Fischer German semi-antique cobalt blue glass.  Of course any type and color of glass could be used, I myself just like using the antique glass for it's clarity and natural brilliance.  This sleigh of course is an old design that I found in some stained glass book years ago, but I enlarged it and these sleighs turn out to make absolutely wonderful and very popular gifts, as they are something that can be enjoyed each Christmas for decades and then passed down to future generations, becoming a family heirloom.  The people I have made them for really love and cherish them,  which is why I wanted to share.  I build these to be 14-1/2 inches long x 6-1/2 inches wide (the width gradually tapers down to 5 inches wide at the front) x 8-3/4 inches tall at the highest point.   I use 10 ga. copper wire to make the runners.  The sleigh itself is copper foiled.  The bells can be found at most hobby supply stores.  Like the runners, once I have built and soldered them, I tin the bells and when everything is finished I go over all of the metal parts and copper foiled soldered parts with a copper sulphate solution, (copper sulphate crystals dissolved in water) which darkens and 'antiques' the metal surfaces and makes the sleigh look 100 years old.  Anyway, give one of these a try if you are so inclined.  My photos should show you enough detail where you can easily make your own patterns.