Stained glass art from windows to walls

Stained glass is not only for windows, use it for wall art too…

Loving those stained glass windows in Victorian and Mission style houses and wanting to bring the charm inside the house?  While its beautiful looks make the sunlight look like a lovely rainbow of colors, it is difficult to not get inspired by it.  Stained glass in picture frames is an idea if you want to bring the style to other spaces.

The old technique is precious and is truly amazing.  The technique used here resembles the traditional art but at a much lower cost.  Try this technique and explore, small art is a great way to learn and develop the skill prior to tackling a large area.

First, you will want to gather all the materials, with this simple technique you will only need:

• glass rectangles or squares – I am using the glass from old frames that needed a brightening up and are great for decorating a wall in the hall or in a room.
• glass and leading paint – you can buy these at any craft store.
• chalk paint for the frames
• pattern printed in the correct size for your selected glass
• tape
• scissors
• ruler

I have chosen two designs here (you see three in the picture above because I loved them all – it was difficult to choose only two).  One modern art design and one more traditional style that you may see in real stained glass.  When selecting your design, keep in mind what type of décor you are trying to achieve.  There are several free patterns on the internet, the sky is the limit as to the number of designs you can make.  You can also draw your own design on paper and make it even more personalized.

How to make stained glass art for decorating the home

First clean the glass well with alcohol to remove any grease from fingerprints and dust as needed.  These ones certainly needed a good cleaning.

Print out the pattern with the correct size and attach it to the glass.  Tape the pattern to the back and your working surface will be the front of the art.

Make the leading.  The leading is the area of the design that divides the colors and resembles the channels in the stained glass windows.  Follow the lines in the pattern and allow it to dry for up to 30 minutes.

Apply the glazing paint directly from the bottle.  The glazing paint bottles have a fine tip that helps fill the areas and minimize the bubbles.  If bubbles form, burst them with a toothpick.  You can also use a toothpick to spread the paint to the small corner areas and make sure the paint is as close as possible to the leading pattern.

For the traditional art, I tried a marbling technique by combining pink and white colors.

Allow up to 3 hours to fully dry.

While the glass art is drying, paint the frames with your favorite color.  I used chalk paint for these ones.  Since I started using chalk paint I have fallen in love with it.  It is so forgiving and easy to use!

Here is the final product.  I hope you enjoy making these as much as I did.

Click here to see the list of great parties I will be linking to this week.