Stained Glass Sign for Compass Rose

For Pennsic this year, I've made a faux stained glass sign for my group. 

I wanted a sign that could be illuminated at night (ideally from candles or torches) and that would hang from either a tree or an iron hook (I think they're usually used for hanging lanterns or plants.) 

My original idea was to build a frame that would hold the glass but that would also hold a shelf behind the glass where I could set some candles. In order to hold the shelf and protect it from the elements, it would have to be a deep frame (I don't really know how else to describe it) so that is you where to hang on a wall like a normal picture frame, it would look like a box sticking out from your wall. Of course, building even a normal picture frame would have been a big undertaking for me, given how little woodworking experience I have.

I decided to start with a pre-made frame and build the box part off of the back of it. My father had an old, beat-up picture frame laying around that I thought would be perfect. Step one was measuring the frame and getting a piece of glass cut to the right size to fit. I went to Rex Glass & Mirror Co on Route 19 in McMurray and gave the wonderful people there the dimensions. A couple days later (this was over a weekend) my glass was ready and the very nice owner gave me the glass for free! Meanwhile, I had begun to refinish the picture frame. The frame has some plaster gunk on it, and it looks like that was used to repair gouges in the wood at some point. After a bit of sanding, the frame look better, but still had so weird light colored patches. I next bought a 6 foot long piece of 3" x 1" clear pine to construct the box. After some measuring, cutting, and nailing, I had the back of the frame put together. It's five pieces on wood: four line up with the edges of the existing picture frame and the fifth is a shelf that run horizontally through the middle. Think of how the number 8 looks on a digital clock. 

It was time to stain this sucker! Because I had two different types of wood, I decided to go with a stain that matched the dark wood. I chose a maple color and got to work. Then I put about six coats of urethane on the whole mess. Since the sign is going to be sitting outside for about two weeks, I wanted to try and make it as weather resistant as possible. I know it'll age a bit while it's out in the elements, I just want to give it some longevity.

In between coats of urethane, I made the stained glass piece. Craft stores sell "liquid leading" and glass paint that let you easily create things that look like stained glass from far away, without all the glass cutting and sharp edges. Plus, it's a lot easier to make curved lines, which was important because I wanted to include the name of my group (Compass Rose) in calligraphy styled script. Rather than having unfinished, clear glass for the negative space on the sign, I wanted to have a frosted look. I thought about using etching cream, but I was worried that it might damage the glass paint I had already applied (it's pretty caustic stuff.) I noticed that the craft store was selling a (new?) line of Martha Stewart paints and that some of them are 'effects' paints. I chose the frosted one and it worked pretty well. I had to do a couple of coats so that the brush lines weren't visible, but I'm very pleased with the effect.

So, the glass was finished, both parts of the frame were finished and dry. Time to assemble! I put the glass in the pre-made frame and ran a bead of hot glue around the edge. This was to prevent the glass from shifting around in the frame. We can get some high winds at Pennsic, and I'd like this to last for a few years. I then used wood glue to attach the two pieces of frame together and clamped the whole thing together while it dried. This essentially traps the glass in place and acts as a shelf for the candles. I also installed two eyelet screws in the top of the part of the frame that I made so that the whole thing can be strung up to a tree. I've tested out some candles in it, and I'm really pleased with how the whole thing turned out.

Here it is unlit:

And lit:

Sorry the picture of it lit is so blurry. I'll try to get a better one at Pennsic, that way you'll be able to see it in it's natural environment :-)