George Shannon and Pat Torlen are avid gardeners and remarkable stained glass artists. In The Stained Glass Garden, they combine their two passions in projects designed to enhance and reflect the natural beauty found within a garden. The projects are both practical and decorative, and can be created for use indoors and outside. They feature rich, sumptuous colors that sparkle and reflect light, a distinctive characteristic that has made stained glass an appealing craft for so many artisans.

You'll need materials and tools found in most home workshops as well as a few specifically designed for stained glass crafting. They are inside along with explanations of the basic techniques.

The extraordinarily beautiful projects can be completed by craftes of all levels using two construction methods.

The copper foil technique, developed by the studios of Louis Comfort Tiffany, enables you to craft intricate and detailed glass work such as window panels. Shannon and Torlen's panels mirror the splendor found in a garden while still letting sunshine into a room, from the bright and cheerful Spring Tulip to the fanciful and astral Dreamweaver, a design that spins with the breeze. Other copper foil projects include a series of stunning Green Leaf Patio Lanterns that will set the night aglow and a pretty Blue Diamond Planter, a perfect refuge for trailing plants like ivy.

The 3-D lead came method is employed to create glass projects with sculptural forms. The Botticelli Faerie Garden Stake is a terrific example of this technique. This project is a dimensional work of art that looks as if it could flutter around the garden on its highly detailed wings. For a contemporary yet still whimsical design, try the Spider Web Obelisk. Made with stained glass and copper plumbing parts, it offers a contemporary twist on classic stone obelisks.

Stretch your skill and imagination with Shannon and Torlen's magical Stained Glass Garden.