Glass Painting

My latest obsession is painting glassware. I will paint anything I can get my hands on. It is a fun way to occupy my time.

It is pretty time consuming. You have to let the paint dry in between coats.

You  have to bake the glass to set the paint. You have to wait at least 48 hours for it to dry before you bake it.

I like to let the paint set up for at least 7 days before I would use the glass or give it to someone. You don't want your hand painted projects coming in contact with water too soon.

 

 This is definitely not a project for someone with little patience.

You need good eyes when adding the small details (which I do not have). I have to give myself a break in between or I start going cross eyed.

 I use acrylic paint. Martha Stewart has a whole line of paints just for glass painting. I have a few of her colors. I  have a few random acrylic palettes as well. Make sure you have plenty of paint brushes if you are using different colors.

I use this dotting tool to give some dimension. You can also use it to pick up crystals.

 Martha Stewart makes a whole line of stencils for glass painting. They cling to the glass nicely, no tape needed. It is definitely harder to get a pattern going all the way around say, a wineglass. It just will not be straight using the stencils. You do need to be able to paint free hand for some things.

I like to get a nice clean line when doing initials.

 I bought this special glue for when I add my crystals. It stands up to washing and water. 

Make sure your glassware is clean and dried. I use rubbing alcohol all around the glass to make sure it is clean.

After I let the paint dry for at least 48 hours, I line a cookie sheet with tin foil. I turn the oven to 350 and put the glass on the cookie sheet and bake it for 40 minutes. You do not let the oven heat up, put it right in. This step is to keep the paint on the glass through washings. I do not put the crystals on until after I have baked my paint on.

I made this glass for my friend for her birthday. I wrapped it up with a nice bottle of wine.

 I found these cute little wine charms at Michael's. I hand painted my initials on instead of using the decals. I thought it would be much nicer. I  used the same colors for the charm as I used on the wine glass.

She can take this wine charm off and use it on a different glass if she wants.

 I am working on this glass for my daughter.

I have so many projects going on right now.

 

 I am sometimes too much of a perfectionist for my own good.

 You have no idea how many times I have taken all of the paint off and started again because it wasn't just right.

 If you don't like the way your project looks, even if it is dry, you can remove paint  with rubbing alcohol before you bake it.

 I like hand made things but I do not like them to look hand made if that makes sense.

If you are looking for a fun project to do, I would recommend this. Make sure you have a steady hand and some patience.

 

Have a great week!