Turn An Old Window Into Wall Art
I always loved the way the windows looked in my church, the intricate stained glass that was breathtaking when the sun shown through. I have an antique window hanging in my apartment as wall art and I was inspired to turn it into a custom stained glass piece!
I started with my window. I cleaned the glass well and chose which side I wanted to paint on. One side of the window is white and the other is natural wood. Whichever side you choose to show, paint on the opposite.
I chose to do a floral pattern on my window. I printed out a few outlines off the computer for me to trace. These are so easy to find if you just google whatever you want to trace and the words "outline" or "coloring page" behind them.
After I taped the papers on the window, I mixed my "led lines". In traditional stained glass, these are the thick black lines that outline the graphics. They are normally made from lead, which is black. I mixed about a table spoon of black acrylic paint into my Elmer's white school glue bottle. I used a skewer and mixed it well to disperse the paint.
I then began to trace. This takes awhile so make sure you're in a comfy spot. (;
Once you're doing tracing everything, remove the printouts and you're left with your basic outlines!
Next, you'll mix up your colors! I used Elmer's clear school glue, acrylic paint and a cupcake tin. This was the easiest way to keep the paints from mixing. I used about 2 tablespoons of clear glue to 1 teaspoon of paint. Be sure to mix this well.
And let the painting begin! This was so relaxing just like coloring.
After, you're left with this one of a kind work of art! It was so rewarding for me to finish this and turn it over to reveal my beautiful stained glass! I'm not displaying mine in front of a window because I love in an apartment and they are floor to ceiling, but I LOVE the way it pops on my white wall! The best part is, you don't have to be an artist!
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Read this guide to find out how to clean stained glass!
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Beautiful! Would love to try this!
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What a creative idea! So beautiful!
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HELP?? I’ve seen this done with food coloring too. I painted a bottle and used food coloring gel, colors were beautifully vibrant! After it dried, I sealed it with spray clear coat. It was placed on a covered porch sometimes, not always,,, and within cpl months,, it looked awful 😰💔 Didn’t look like stained glass at all,, colors faded & looked “melted & mixed” & “gummy”
ANYONE have any ideas why? I can’t see why using the gel would matter,, but,,
I have to try this ! I was wondering, if the completed project is to be placed in a window, how does the glue/paint mix hold up to the heat of the sun? Goes it melt it? Does it fade it? Does it loosen it? When its done, should I seal it to protect from any of these issues from happening? I know, questions, questions, questions ! But before I invest a lot of time, I need to know what I'm getting into. Thanks to anyone, in advance, for helping me problem solve before I have a problem.
I love this&think I'll try on cpl pieces of glass I have. You say to use clear school glue for the flowers but I don't see it listed...only white school glue listed. Also, just wondering, I believe they have paint pens/markers could that be used for outline instead?