With a pointed brush and a lamp overhead, Patty Rondeau quietly paints in her Colleyville bedroom art studio while her five pets lounge nearby. Rondeau said she started painting in her free time after her daughter left for college. "I've always liked art," Rondeau said. "I never did very much of it, though. I worked. I took care of my daughter." After working her way through some art books at home, she began to take a few basic art classes. Little did she know that those art classes would evolve into painting intricate designs onto pieces of Italian crystal and selling them locally through the Texas General Store on Main Street in Grapevine and globally through Etsy, an online e-commerce website that focuses on handmade items. She said her specialty is foliage and her preferred medium is crystal, but Rondeau paints poppies, bluebonnets or trees onto items including wine glasses, oil bottles, soap dispensers, coffee cups and beer mugs. Rondeau said she found Etsy in 2008, and the site was not very successful at that point. As Etsy grew, so did her business. Her shop GlassWorksEtc is approaching 500 sales and 125 online comments from customers. She has now sold to 50 states, England, Canada, France and Australia, she said. However, the items that are sold at Texas General Store often have more local themes. "Customers really seem to like the red, white and blue themes [of the Texas flag]," Rondeau said. One of Rondeau's best sellers was a fluke and was created as a small joke. She simply painted the state and patterned it with the flag colors. On the opposite side she wrote "TEXAS."

What's the difference?

The difference between glass and crystal lies in their chemical composition and how they are made. All crystal products technically fall under the broader category of glass. Glass

• Glass occurs naturally; man made examples date back to 3500 B.C., and clear glass dates to the year 100 A.D.
• It is made with silicon dioxide, or sand, metallic salts, such as iron oxide, sulfur and carbon, can be added for color.
• Glass is inexpensive and easy to produce.
• It is typically used in items such as lightbulbs and windows.

Crystal Source: www.wisegeek.com

• Crystal is also called lead glass because it is made with silicon dioxide and a high percentage of lead oxide.
• The lead oxide makes the crystal heavier but also makes it easier to sculpt.
• It refracts light better and allows it to sparkle in the sun.
• It rings when it is tapped. Glass makes a thud.