If you have an interest in making stained glass art work―and who doesn’t, it’s some of the most beautiful pieces of art around―but you’re new to the process than stained glass kits can be a great way to get started.
Stained glass kits not only help you learn valuable glass techniques but also create some fantastic-looking pieces you can use to decorate your home or give away as gifts. (My stained glass suncatchers are a big hit at Christmas.)
Whether you’re a stained glass newbie or a glass art veteran, here are a few common stained glass kit questions answered.
Stained Glass Kits FAQ No.1: Are They Hard?
Absolutely not. If you can use a glue gun―and tie your shoe―you can create great pieces with stained glass kits.
That being said, there are a bunch of different “levels” of stained glass kits to help you along your stained glass learning curve.
For beginners I would recommend looking at pre-cut stained glass kits which have the glass pieces already sized and grounded for you. (This can be a a big bonus when trying to figure out if you acutally want to pursue this hobby.)
Once you’ve got the hang of the basics, you can go with a slightly more advanced stained glass kit where you’ll get a whole assortment of tools to help you realize your creative vision.
Either way—simple or slightly more complex―using a one of those glass kits is way way easier than you think.
Stained Glass Kits FAQ No.2: So…What Do I Get in a Kit?
Well, it depends on the kit. For the pre-cut glass kits you’ll generally just get the pre-cut glass pieces. (All you need to do with these is assemble the pieces, add some nifty foil (usually copper) and solder it into one piece. (Don’t worry about the solder. It’s easy!)
For the tool stained glass kits you’ll generally get: glass cutter, glass pliers, soldering iron, and other good stuff. (Some even come with a solder, flux brush and its own supply of copper foil.) You’ll have to look around to see what you get.
Generally, the more advanced tool kits are a great bargain because they give you so many of the supplies up front that you won’t need to buy much more after that than the glass itself.
Stained Glass Kits FAQ No.3: Are They Expensive?
Again….it really depends. Prices for a stained glass kit can range from as low as five dollars for a simple put-together kit to as much as 120-130 dollars for the whole she-bang.
Still, if you buy the more expensive kit it actually pays off in the long run because you’ve invested in a lot of the tools you will use later.
Also, one great way to save money is to buy related color pieces so you don’t have much waste. By knowing which color scheme you’d like to work in you can make sure any spare pieces can be used in a stained glass lamp as well as a stained glass angel.