Tools of the Trade to Create Stained Glass Stepping Stones

Tools and accessories you use for stepping stone construction should be strictly designated for stepping stone work. Do not use any of the following items later (even after washing) for food preparation, food serving or food storage. Keep all items separate and for use only with your concrete.

You will need

•Two large mixing buckets. 10 gallon plastic paint containers are more than adequate and are what I use when mixing for a large stone. Other favorites come from the local bakery where the containers have held the likes of corn syrup or baking mix. Sometimes these buckets are free. Sometimes the bakeries sell them for a dollar or two. Of course, there’s nothing wrong with a trip to the hardware store for a traditional metal bucket. They work too!
•Medium sized mixing buckets. 5 gallon size containers are handy for mixing trivets.
•A smaller container. Got margarine? A three pound plastic container is perfect for mixing trivets
•Measuring cups. Two sets, metal or plastic. Both will work. One set is used for dry measuring, one set for water.
•Measuring spoons. Again, metal or plastic.
•A paint stir. If you’ve ever purchased paint, you’ve probably got a few million of these lying around. Wood or plastic. It’s all good. And free.
•Rubber gloves. Cement mix is extremely abrasive and tough on the hands.
•Dust Mask
•Safety Glasses
•A glass cutter, if you plan to cut your own glass shapes.
•Running and/or breaking pliers, if you plan to cut your own glass shapes.
•Sandblasting resist or heavy contact paper (I prefer clear).
•Petroleum jelly
•Scissors, pattern scissors, or an exacto knife
•Marking pen
•Spray adhesive or glue stick
•Paper
•A pattern
•Mold (the plastic type, not the penicillin type)
•Assorted stained glass
•Newspaper
•Level
•DiamondCRETE
•6 – 8 Pencils

Optional items

Handy if you have them, but not required:

• Glass Grinder
• Mosaic Cutter
• Reflective Tape (which might be optional depending on the type of glass you use.
• Grozing Stone (cheaper than a grinder and you can use it to abrade any edges that need it.

Some folks like to have an electric drill with a paint stir attached. I personally don’t recommend it. It adds far too many bubbles to the mix and unless you come up with a way to get all of them out before your concrete mix sets up, you risk a stone that is riddled with tiny air bubbles and is thereby weakened. Use those rubber gloves and get in there with your hands. You can then feel for clumps or areas that need more blending and mixing.

Stay tuned for the next installment!

Brands of Glass for Your Stepping Stones

Brands of Glass

These are the primary brands available, although you may not have access to all of them locally.
• Armstrong
• Bullseye
• CBS Dichroic
• English Muffle
• Chicago Art Glass
• Kokomo
• Optimum
• Oceana
• Spectrum (remember that coupon deal at Hobby Lobby)
• Uroboros
• Wissmach
• Youghiogheny
• Wasser

Also available are brands such as Pattern 80, Duncan Architectural, German New Antique, French New Antique, Lamberts, New Antique Mirror, Krosno, Saint-Just Antiques, as well as jewels, crystals, engravings, medallions, bevels in various lusters and clusters, and probably more.

Again, many of these brands will be carried at local retail stained glass specialty stores, but you’ll pay a premium for them. Some are positively gorgeous and worth every penny. But for starters, I’d still stick with Spectrum for all the reasons listed previously.

Opalescent glass works well and doesn’t need any special treatment when using it in a stepping stone. Since it is opaque, you won’t see concrete through the glass.

Cathedral glass, on the other hand, needs a special step. Venture Tape makes a product called BriteBak Reflective Tape. It comes in silver or gold and is extremely sticky. You can back your cathedral pieces with this tape to prevent concrete being seen through the glass and to produce a wonderful dimension to the glass. Read all about it here.

Types of Glass and Your Stepping Stones

In a broad sense, there are two basic types of glass: cathedrals and opalescents, sometimes called opals. You will want to work a little differently with each when using them in stained glass stepping stones.

Cathedral glass, while colored or colorless, is transparent. In other words, you can see your hand through it. You can read a book through it, and you can see concrete through it. So, when using this type of glass in stepping stones, it is necessary, in my opinion, to back the glass with wide Venture Tape. More on that later.

Opalescent glass is more opaque. It comes as a solid color but also with several colors or shades mixed together to produce a beautiful pattern of waves and swirls.

Within each of these two categories are several sub-categories. In alphabetical order they are antique, Baroque, collage, crackle, dichroic, drapery, Flemish, foxtail, globs, glue chip, fibroid, granite textured, hammered, honeycomb, iridized, noogie, pinnacle, ring mottle, ripple, rondels, rough cast, rough rolled, seedy, slush, machine rolled smooth, smooth ripple, stipple, streakies, trapunto, wispy, and more. Some of these terms are used exclusively by one company or another, but the majority are fairly common to most.

When making stained glass stepping stones, smooth glass is preferred. I find Spectrum brand to be good for many reasons.

• It has a nice smooth texture which is particularly suited to stepping stones.
• It is reasonably priced.
• It cuts easily.
• There is a wide variety of pretty colors and types available.
• It’s made in the USA.
• It is easily accessible because it’s the brand that Hobby Lobby carries.

Unless you’ve got a wholesale account with a stained glass supplier, craft stores are a great source for manageable amounts of glass that won’t break the bank. Go to Hobby Lobby's website and sign up for a weekly email notification of their internet coupons. Or, if you prefer, click here to see what’s offered for the week. Sometimes, the week’s special is 50% off stained glass. Just print that coupon and take it to Hobby Lobby for a great deal. Buy one piece or buy 100. There’s no limit. Other times, a coupon for 40% off one item is offered. Also not a bad deal.

Next up: Brands of Glass for Your Stepping Stones