(function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start': new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0], j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src= 'https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f); })(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-NB88MHB');

Miami Heat Stained Glass Mosaic

The Miami Heat are a champion caliber franchise having had hardcourt legends such as Dwayne Wade, Lebron James, Shaquille O’Neal, and Alonzo Mourning, all wore the uniform.

I decided to make a stained glass mosaic of the team’s logo, since it is one of my favorite logos.

Read along as I teach you how you can also make this incredible piece of art.

Materials

Here’s what you will need in order to make the Miami Heat Stained Glass Mosaic:

  • Wooden Board – mine was 12″ by 12″
  • Stained Glass – Black, White, Yellow, and Red
  • Running Pliers, Breaking Pliers, Pencil Style Glass Cutter
    • You can purchase all these tools from Amazon here.
  • Glue
    • I recommend Weldbond. My local craft store didn’t have it, so I purchased another brand.
  • White and Black Grout
    • I recommend sanded grout from Home Depot. Charcoal and Snow White were the shades used for this project.
  • Tracing Paper (Optional)
  • Stencil (Optional)
    • A stencil can be used to trace your art on the wooden board.

Tracing the Miami Heat Logo

I used my electronic cutting machine to cut out the Heat’s logo. After sticking the cut out vinyl on the board, I traced the logo onto the wood.

How to Cut Stained Glass

Click here to read our entire detailed article on how to cut glass. It includes lots of quick gif video clips showing you how to cut the glass to the desired shape and size.

Creating the Miami Heat Logo out of Stained Glass

Keep in mind, we are all artistic in our own way. That’s what makes everyone’s art so interesting and fun. I personally like to make my pieces more exact with more preplanning. Some people like to work in a more free flow manner. Do what makes you have the most fun! Below I’ll be describing how I created my piece.

My tip is to start with the smaller details located in the middle and to work my way out, finishing with the background last. But, there is no right or wrong way to start!

Last tip, you don’t want the glass pieces to touch one another. Think of every piece of glass on an island.

Yellow Flame

Begin with the flame located above the rim in the logo. Using tracing paper, traced out the shape of the three small flames.

Then draw thick lines inside each of the traced flames. The lines are where you want to cut the glass and the shapes you want inside the flames. With scissors, cut along the thick drawn lines. Each flame will now have a few oddly shaped cut outs.

Place all the small oddly shaped cut outs on the glass. Then score the glass along the outline of the cut outs. After scoring and snapping the glass with the pliers, your desired pieces are created!

Fit your newly cut glass pieces inside the traced flames on the wooden board, like a puzzle. Make sure the pieces are not touching one another.

When the pieces are laid down at a desired spot, glue them.

White Basketball Rim

Like the yellow flame, trace the shape of the rim on tracing paper and cut it out.

Draw thick lines for where you want to cut the glass. I drew my lines from one edge to the other, making the shapes rectangular. Using scissors, cut along the drawn lines from the tracing paper.

Then use your newly cut out tracing paper shapes as guides for scoring the white glass. Score and snap the glass to create your desired glass pieces.

Lay the white glass pieces inside the traced basketball rim. Again, the pieces should not touch each other.

When the pieces are positioned at a desired spot, glue them.

Red Basketball Flame

Continue the same process used in the Yellow Flame and White Basketball Rim steps above.

Trace the nine basketball flame shapes. Cut them out and draw thick lines inside each of them. Cut those smaller shapes out and use them as a guide to recreate those pieces in red glass.

Fit the red glass pieces inside the nine basketball flames. You don’t want the pieces to touch each other.

Glue the red glass onto the wooden board when they are positioned in the desired location.

Black Background

This is not necessary, but I generally try to make my background glass pieces larger than the center or detailed pieces. Your piece to be easier to look at from afar and allows you to finish your project quicker since you will be working with less pieces.

Grouting

Click here to read my detailed article on how to grout your stained glass mosaic.

But here I’ll describe quickly how to grout the Miami Heat mosaic.

You will want to make two different grout colors, Charcoal and Snow White. Mix each of the grouts with water in a bucket.

Once your grout is wet and ready, cover the Charcoal grout over the red, white, and yellow glass. Also cover the black glass that is encircled around the white glass basketball rim.

Some of the Charcoal grout will seep to the black glass. If that happens, take a small tool or pick to push the grout back or lift it up to remove it.

Using the Snow White grout, cover the remaining black glass that makes up the background of the mosaic.

Allow the grout to for 15-20 minutes. Keep it in the shade, away from the sun. After 15-20 minutes, take a wet sponge and wipe across the mosaic, removing the left over grout that was drying on top of the glass.

See your stained glass mosaic is coming to life?

Final Touches

Vinegar is a great way to clean off your mosaic and allow for it to shine! Wipe some vinegar over the glass and it will sparkle.

Get a hanging hook, find your favorite wall space, and hang that masterpiece up. Congratulations on making an incredible, one-of-a-kind piece of art.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *