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A Beginners Guide to Painting on
Glass
by Gail Miller
If you are anything like me, you will hate to throw anything away.
Plastic bottles have to be made into super vases, door stops or musical
instruments for the kids. Those scraps of wrapping paper from last year
just cannot be consigned to the bin; they will always come in useful for
decorating frames, papier-mâché jewelry or hand made cards. Although
this eccentricity is frowned upon by spouse, family and friends alike,
in this day and age it is thought fashionable to transform everyday
rubbish into useful or decorative articles.
As a designer, my mind is always working out ways of turning ordinary
household garbage into utilitarian or elegant pieces. Some of these
ideas have ended up between the pages of magazines in ‘How to’ articles,
many are in my home. Here I concentrate on painting on ‘glass’ - by this
I mean not only glass as such; but plastic, mirrors and acetate. You
don’t only have to paint on glass with glass paints either! Later I will
tell you how you can paint on ordinary household tin cans, making
stunning metallic and jewel like objects.
Glass painting is really, really easy. However when I first started
painting on glass I was really intimidate by what I would need to start
this most engrossing hobby. I was very nervous of going into craft shops
and showing my ignorance. I bought most of my materials by mail order
until I knew what I was doing. I now know now of course that I shouldn’t
have been so nervous. You really don’t need a lot of materials. In fact
it is a craft that needs very few compared with other more complicated
crafts.
Added to this is the wonderful effects you can get without having to be
Van Gogh! Glass painting has an immediacy and naivety to it so it
doesn’t matter if your first attempts don’t look like artistic
masterpieces.
Painting on glass (and other suitable materials) has become extremely
popular in recent years. Every craft fair these days has a painted glass
stall, and I remember a few years ago seeing some exquisite perfume
bottles at a craft market painted in the most sumptuous colors and
patterns. I now know of course that these items are in fact easy to
make. Although the results are extremely beautiful, the technique is
surprisingly easy to do, even for the complete novice.
Basically, what you need are only four major items to paint on glass.
1: Your base.
This can be acetate film, mirror, plastic boxes and containers, even
ordinary glass jars and bottles which we throw out of our households
every week. In fact throwaways are the best things to start with because
you are not losing anything should you not be very happy with your first
results.
2: Brushes
3: Glass paint.
Water or solvent based. Water based ones are the easiest to work with as
you don’t need a medium to mix them with or to clean brushes with. These
paints come in sets or can be purchased individually. They come in
approximately 25 shades including clear.
4: Relief outliner paint.
Cerne relief, which comes in many colors such as black, copper, gold,
old gold, silver etc., is the better known brand, although there are
other makes.
Outliners come in tubes with a nozzle at the end through which the paint
is squeezed through onto your chosen surface. I often also use fabric
outliner paint for outlining too. These come in a multitude of colors,
including white and cream; not only the metallic ones. They also come in
glitter and pearl shades. If you want to do things 'by the book', so to
speak, then use glass paining outliner.
To follow is a very basic instruction for painting on any glass object.
These instructions apply to any type of work, be it a three dimensional
object such as a bottle, or a flat surface such as a mirror. As you will
see however, there really is nothing to it! Here are some projects which
are very easy to follow to give you some practice in your new craft.
Basic Glass painting
1: Clean your glass bottle or jar thoroughly. Using ‘leading in a tube’
(Cerne relief) or fabric relief paint, draw the outline of your pattern
on the surface of the glass. Leave this outliner to dry completely.
2: When your outliner is dry fill in each section with the glass paint.
You may need to practice on small pieces first, as glass paint has a
unique quality to it and takes a bit of getting used to. Paint has to be
flooded rather than painted onto the surface of the glass. Leave to dry
thoroughly as it goes tacky as it dries therefore there is the risk of
leaving fingerprints on the surface of your painted objects.
Painting on glass is one of the easiest and most delightful ways of
transforming items which would usually be just tossed in the bin,
namely, empty jars, bottles and glass containers. I have literally
dozens of glass items around my house decorated with all manner of
patterns and effects. I also give decorated coffee or sweet jars as
presents. They cost next to nothing to make, but always elicit the most
enthusiastic response from the receiver.
Some ideas for painting on glass are:
Small jars, painted and given a ‘handle’ of fuse wire. Place a night
light in to make a gorgeous lantern.
Large coffee jars painted in pairs to make decorated matching tea and
coffee or sugar and flour containers.
French dressing bottles decorated and turned into olive oil containers.
It is little known, but you can actually paint onto metallic surfaces
such as silver foil or tin cans with glass paint and relief.
Trendy tin cans
1: After removing the labels from your cans, clean them with soapy
water. If there is any label glue left on the outside of the tins clean
it off with white spirit.
2: To decorate with glass paints, draw a pattern on the tin with relief
outliner and leave to dry. Paint in the design as you would do on glass.
You can also make some super Christmas decorations made from ordinary
clear or frosted plastic juice or milk bottles.
1: Wash out the bottles. Cut into different shapes. Using different
colors of relief paint, for example gold, silver, black or even bright
colors, draw designs onto the plastic. Let dry completely. Paint with
glass paint (optional.).
2: Pierce a hole in the top of each decoration and thread string
through. Make a knot for hanging.
You can also make Christmas tree ‘lanterns’ from decorated empty
aromatherapy oil bottles.
1: Take any labels off the bottles and wash in hot soapy water, inside
and out. Wrap some fuse wire round the neck of the bottles and make into
loops for hanging. Replace the lids.
2: Using the glass paints, make squiggles, dots or lines on the surface
of the bottles. Alternatively use a tiny sponge and dab the colors on,
merging together where they meet. Let dry.
3: Using PVA glue, stick sequins on the bottles if desired.
As you will see, this craft is excellent for the less confident crafter,
as the techniques are simplicity itself. I hope you enjoy making some
delightful objects with the aid of this guide to basic glass painting.
About the author
Gail Miller is a writer and artist. Her websites include
Gail’s Gallery;
http://home.freeuk.net/gails-gallery
Stage Your Home To Sell; http://homestager.web1000.com and
Cash For Crafts;
http://home.freeuk.net/cashforcrafts
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