If you look at the start of any beautiful glass piece, it always starts with a basic stained glass patterns. And suprisingly, some people just getting started in stained glass have no clue where to start to find a design to start their project with. Stained glass patterns can be created from just about anything. All it requires is some attention and a little pad of paper that you can trace it out on.

A quick and easy option is to go online and purchase stained glass designs from a glass shop that sells pattern books, but this is an expensive option if you are on a budget. Inspirations for stained glass patterns are everywhere. If you are looking for a few ideas you can just take a look around the neighborhood and then find a design that might look good for a glass pattern. Perhaps your grandmother loves to quilt and has a variety of quilting books. They can make for a great pattern and sometimes borrowing from another art form can give you something a little different then you get in the same glass pattern books. Maybe there is some artwork in your home that you would like to transform into stained glass art. All you need to make sure is that it's easy to trace and it isn't too detailed, then it can be difficult for you. The obvious benefit of this is that you will have your own unique pattern and you can make changes as you want to improve your artwork.

Once you have chosen your subject matter, the next step is to copy it onto tracing paper. If the piece you are tracing has some opacity, a light table will make this job easy. Holding it up to a window is another low-tech method that often works well. When you're done tracing the pattern, you'll need to convert your pattern onto a couple of sheets of heavy paper. It's a great idea to keep a big file of all the patterns that you ever design on yourself. You just never know when you might want to alter them or use them for another project. You might be able to give back to the art world by making your free stained glass patterns available to other people that are looking for ideas With your other piece, that will be your actual working design.

The next time you are lacking motivation for a stained glass masterpiece, remember there are ideas all around you. It is very rewarding to be able to design your own pattern, then you know that the piece that you eventually will create will be truly unique. You need to keep in mind that a good glass pattern is just as important as all the stained glass supplies that you have in your shop.