Stained glass was developed in Europe when the Gothic building style moved the load bearing walls perpendicular to the pillars and the space between pillars could be filled with colored glass. The windows that were developed then were for the glory of God, and are quite awe inspiring today.

To collect stained glass in the 21st century is a relatively simple task. Sun catchers, made to hang in house windows, are available at most craft shows, and there may be stained glass artisans in your community. If so, you can commission exactly what you want, to fit a specific window. I do not recommend replacing the actual window glass, as that would leave the stained glass vulnerable to hooligans. Hang the stained glass panel inside the window, and it can be taken with you if you should move.

If you like the look of older look windows, frequently they are removed from houses and kept, along with fireplace mantles and fine woodworking from houses that are being torn down or remodeled. These stained glass windows from remodeling jobs are available at used building material businesses and antique stores. If those businesses in your town do not have old stained glass windows, they may be able to tell you who in your community might. Old styles are also available as new windows from various building and decorating businesses. Or you can commission a new window in an older style.

Also included in stained glass are windows that incorporate enamel paints. These paints allow the artist to provide exact details in his/her design. The enamels may be fired onto the glass, or just air dried. Since the window is not going to be exposed to weather, it does not matter in modern situations which it is.

Some front doors are available with clear glass shaped in elaborate mosaics that could be considered as part of this classification of glass. The leading holding the clear glass in place is just like that used in stained glass, and the procedure is the same, although it is carried out in a factory setting.

You last option for collecting stained glass is to make it yourself. Many people are pursued this craft for a while in order to provide the pieces they wanted. Like anything else, a little practice before starting a large or complicated design is in order. If you have a stained glass studio in town, chances are they have regular classes, or you can have private glasses to help you get started. The glass available, as well as specialty holder are quite amazing. Metal bugs and dragons that only need stained glass wings are available, and look really cool when completed.

Stained glass also includes the Tiffany lamps mentioned in the entry on this site about lantern, lamps and lighting. The shades of these beautiful lamps are made from relatively small pieces of colored glass, arranged into patterns to form flowers, fruit, birds, butterflies or geometric shapes. It is also possible to find small night lights made of stained glass that use a very low wattage bulb to provide navigating light at night in your home. These are sometimes in the shapes of fish or frogs, and there are even smaller stained glass shades for the plug-in night light that consists only of the plug and bulb.

Once you start looking, you may be surprised at the variety of stained glass objects available ans the businesses that have them ready for purchase.

If you just want to cover a window for privacy, without using fabric or wood, as in a bathroom, there is decorative window film that is even removable, and comes in beautiful faux stained glass patterns.

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