Two true confessions
First confession: I’ve always been behind on trends (I remember when third-grade classmate, Stacy Rosenblum, came to school with the cutest brightly colored string-tie head band…I just LOVED it and really, really, really wanted one of my very own… but I didn’t get my first string-tie headband until seventh grade, by then, a bit geeky to wear. So, so far behind.)
Second confession: I’ve always wanted to start a trend (unrealistic for someone that ain’t too trendy) but I may be onto something here!
In the process of the restoration our 70 year old house, an old exterior door was discovered. My then-21-year-old son said that he wanted to put frosted glass in it and use as his bedroom door. He then left the country. I was stuck with the door. I stared at the door a long time. A real long time. Long enough that I can’t recall whether the stain glass was my idea or his. But I digress.
It was decided (!) that stained-glass would be PERFECT for the door. I googled stained glass, made a few phone calls and coerced my husband into loading the door into the SUV and headed to Armstrong Glass in Kennesaw, GA.
The place was amazing…all colors, textures, patterns, and sizes of glass…it was a true feast for the eyes. Being who we are, we migrated to the bargain bin. And since the plan was to mix and match a lot of different colors it was perfect! Everyone was super helpful and friendly and made us feel like we belonged there. (I wanted to fill in a job application, but Tim dissuaded me. No fun.)
The price was right for the glass, but not for the installation, and that is when Tim (said husband) piped up and proclaimed, “You can DO this!” I shouldn’t have, but I rolled my eyes. He always says that. It makes me crazy.
We loaded up our door and our 15 panes of freshly cut stained glass and headed to Lowe’s and to purchase a tub of DAPS WINDOW GLAZING. Glazing is stuff I had never heard of and, quite frankly, stuff I thought Tim was just making up. He wasn’t. He knew what it was, but acted like he didn’t know how to use it (we’ll never know the truth about that one). Anyhow, we decided to leave the door in is discovered form, putting a clear coat on the chipping paint, lest there be lead in it.
Tim took the old glass out (the dangerous part. Note bare feet), while I watched multiple youtube videos on the art of glazing until I reached level 5 of properly prepared.
I kneaded the stuff like silly-putty and then rolled it into a snake. No, not that kind of snake. I just wanted to make sure you are still with me.
Anyhow, I slapped it into the corner where the pane and the opening thingy meet (you’ll have to youtube it to get the technical terms and details cause I simply didn’t retain all that.) Then I grabbed my putty knife, and, holding it at just the right angle, crammed it into the crevice, while scraping off the excess glazing.
After HOOOOOOOOURS of doing that, I was finally done. It took DAYS for the GLAZE to
dry and then we (ok, Tim) hung it. I then spent quite a bit of time playing with the light switches in room and the hall, just ooooohing and aaaaahing at how wonderful it looked. It really is quite stunning during different day parts.
The stained-glass door is definitely an eye-catcher in our new/old home, and hopefully will start the TREND that I have SO LONGED TO BEGIN….only time will tell! I secretly hope that Stacy doesn’t already have an interior stained glass door…
Click on any of the pictures below for a slide-show. Woo hoo