How to Paint Designs on Glass

Finished Glass Painting

For years I considered ordering a specialized decorated glass with a family crest on it. But, last Christmas a friend made a suggestion that I do the glass painting myself. So, I decided to give it a try and found it to be easier than I anticipated. Here are the steps you can use to paint glass designs for a personalized decorative glass.

Things You'll Need

• A glass
• Glass paint
• Thin paint brush

Instructions

1. 

   To begin painting your own decorative glass, first, you'll need some glass to paint on. You can select a drinking glass of any kind or a flat piece of glass, such as a glass plate. You can buy a new item for this, but I found this old glass mug at a thrift store. You can usually find many glass items at a thrift store that are quite inexpensive to use for glass painting.

2. 

   Next, you'll want to decide what kind of paint design you will want on your glass. Consider photos or other images you have on hand; design your own image; or find something off of the internet to use as your glass design template.

   Create a copy of, or print your image and cut it to a size that fits on the surface area of the glass that you'd like to have the design on.

3. 

   Place your design on the back side of the glass that you'll be painting on. For instance, if you're painting on a drinking glass, you would place the design on the inside of the glass with the design facing out. Tape the glass design template in place so it doesn't slide around.

4. 

   Using the color of paint(s) you would like to have for the glass painting, use a small brush and trace/paint the glass design on the outer side; or the side you would like the design to be seen on.

   You may have to go over the lines a few times so the paint becomes a more solid color.

5. 

   Let the paint dry and remove the glass design template. You can further add personal touches to your decorative glass painting by gluing on gems, ribbon, lace, etc.

   I used some fabric I had on hand and made a bag that this decorative glass can be stored in. The fabric is a dark color, so by placing the bag inside of the glass, it brings out the glass painting for a nice display of the glass design.

Tips & Warnings

• Paint drying time may vary upon the type of paint you use. I found that mine dried within 30 minutes.

• To be sure the glass painting is cured and set well on the glass, you can place it in an oven for around 10 minutes at 200-250 degrees. Use caution when removing the hot glass from the oven.