A flyer advertising continuing education classes at a local community college introduced advertising copywriter Rebecca Huether to her newfound hobby of working with stained glass. "I decided I wanted to take a class," explains Rebecca. "I wanted to learn something new and a stained glass class caught my attention. I was always interested in colored glass and used to collect perfume bottles until I got cats and then all of the bottles got broken." Rebecca signed up for the class and quickly realized that stained glass was not only something she enjoyed but also something that she could easily do. "Anybody can do it. If you can move your hand in a straight line then you can create stained glass pieces. And you can make a lot of different things, sun catchers, window and door panels, night-lights and lampshades. Anything that light can shine through can be made with stained glass." The costs to begin a stained glass hobby are relatively modest. "I spent about $100 getting started," recalls Rebecca. "I scrimped a little at first until I figured out exactly what I would need." Rebecca purchased stained glass from a local hobby store. And also bought a cutter with which to score the glass into the shapes she needed and a pair of pliers to break the glass after it had been scored. She also purchased a brush to sweep away shards of cut glass. You'll need a soldering iron, solder, flux and a flux brush. The solder fills in the spaces between each piece of glass and the flux is applied to the glass edges before you begin soldering. Flux cleans the surface and promotes the bonding of the solder. You'll also need copper foil, which is wrapped around the edges of the cut stained glass before soldering. Rebecca also recommends using something to protect the surface on which you'll be working. She uses a 2X2 piece of plywood One other essential piece of equipment for making stained glass pieces is a special pair of scissors for cutting the pattern from which you'll be working. "You cannot use a regular pair of scissors," explains Rebecca. "You need a pair of scissors with 3 blades which enables you to cut on either side of your pattern line. This is important because the scissors will leave a small space between the various cut pieces of the pattern. This space will later be filled with solder. As for patterns, they are readily available at hobby shops and Internet sites. "Start with a very simple pattern," advises Rebecca. "My first pattern was the Star pattern. It has all straight cuts, only nine pieces, and no more than four cuts per piece. It also only requires three colors. It's easy to see how the pieces will fit together and it's a gorgeous pattern. It makes a great sun catcher. I like it so much that I still make it." "Working with stained glass is fun and easy," says Rebecca. "You just kind of loose yourself when you're doing it. You know that you're going to have something beautiful. And in the end, when you pick it up and let the light shine through that's the reward. It's a wonderful feeling."
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