It's always fun to share the process behind our stained glass projects, so here's a peek into our first ever Adventure Time themed design. First off, we have our initial sketch showing Finn and Jake's high five forming a gothic arch frame over the treehouse with the Ice King mountains in the distance. This is going to be such a fun one to work on!

After a few modifications from the initial sketch, here’s our full color mock-up for our custom Adventure Time stained glass project. Well use this as a reference for selecting all of the various glasses that we will use in the project as well as a basis for hand painting all of the detailed pieces.

To begin with, we create a pattern for all of the pieces that will be used in the design and separate those based on the glass used for each piece.

We hand-paint and then fire each color in a kiln to bind it to the glass - a process that takes 6-8 hours for each pass. For Finn's face, we started by testing out colors and tints to find the shade that's the best fit. Then, the piece starts with a solid white glass, and will have 4 separate paint passes when it's finished ( Black for the lines, peach for the skin and 2 layers of red for the mouth and darker red tongue), so it will take 4 days overall. Next: on to the foiling!

In a stained glass window, each piece of glass is individually foiled in order to securely hold them together in the final design. The process of foiling involves wrapping a thin strip of copper foil around the edges of each glass piece, which serves as a bonding agent for the solder that will later be applied to join them. The foil not only strengthens the connection between the glass pieces, but also helps to create a more precise fit, ensuring that the final design looks as intended. This meticulous process of individually foiling each piece of glass is a crucial step in the creation of a beautiful and durable stained glass window.

After the individual pieces of glass have been foiled, they are carefully arranged to form the desired design. The foiled glass pieces are then held in place using a tack solder, which is a small amount of solder applied at the joints to keep the glass in place. Once all the pieces are securely held together, the joints are filled with molten solder, using a soldering iron. This creates a strong and durable bond between the glass pieces and the copper foil.

Patinating and polishing are the final steps in finishing a stained glass panel. Patina is a chemical solution applied to the soldered joints to create a darkened, aged effect that highlights the design. Once the patina has been applied and allowed to dry, the panel is polished to remove any excess patina and to bring out the shine of the solder.

And just like that, our original Finn and Jake inspired stained glass panel is complete and ready to go to its new home. (Spoiler alert, they loved it!).