Create stained glass designs quickly using glass paints.
Glass painting mimics the effect of a stained glass window without cutting and soldering pieces together. With practice, you can create designs that are hard to tell apart from a real stained glass window. Choosing the proper tools for your glass painting toolkit is the first step in creating your hand-painted projects. Always work on your projects in a well ventilated area.
Basic Supplies
Save money by using clear glass jars or other items lying around the home for your first painting projects. Get a cheap plastic table cover to protect your work space, and paper towels for cleaning up. Keep a roll on hand along with water for wiping away mistakes before they dry, and a dry towel or washcloth for drying the glass after cleaning up a mistake.
Choose a set of brushes with both small and medium-sized tips for creating varying size lines and details. A craft knife proves useful for scraping off dried outline paste. An old pair of scissors can cut through the lead lining you'll apply around the edges of your glass piece.
Glass Paint
Choose a set of glass paints from a craft or hobby store, or purchase several individual colors made by the same company. Check the label to find what the paints are made of and clean them out of your brushes. Purchasing from the same manufacturer allows you to mix paints. Pick a few basic colors and try mixing them at home. If the paints do not mix well, you may need to buy each color individually or try a different brand.
Before purchasing glass paints, ask the sales associate if you can remove the lid to check for strong odors. Read the label to find out if the paint needs to be baked in the oven or will dry on its own, and whether you need to seal it with a clear lacquer after painting. Purchase a small jar of clear glass paint, which may be labeled as clear lacquer, for mixing with colors to lighten them and for coating the outlining paste with to seal it.
Materials for Outlining
Select an outliner paste. This paste typically comes in black. Find a tube you can hold comfortably in your hand. You'll use the outliner paste to draw the design outline on the glass. Finding a comfortable size tube with a small tip is important to give you control over drawing small details with the paste.
If you are working with a flat piece of glass with uncovered or sharp edges, consider applying lead liner around the edges to finish the piece. Purchase thin self-adhesive strips and buy a pair of gloves to wear when handling the lead. Always wash your hands afterward. Lead is toxic and should be used with care.
Design Materials
Create or select a design for the piece you want to create, taking into account the size of your piece of glass. Use tracing paper and a felt-tip black marker or pen for tracing a design out of a book. A washable marker also works for drawing the design on glass before applying the outlining paste, though this step isn't required.
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