How to Paint a Stained Glass Panel

Stained glass is timeless and beautiful but can be very expensive. For a fraction of the cost, you can color regular glass to look like a very realistic-looking stained glass. And if you get tired of it, it's easy to remove. Here's how.

Things You'll Need

• PLAID Gallery Glass window colors in colors of your choice
• PLAID Gallery Glass instant lead lines
• PLAID liquid leading
• Razor blades (preferably with a small handle)
• Craft knife (like X-acto)
• Tooth picks
• Paper towels
• Scissors
• Low-tack tape
• Drawing paper, pencil, or computer and printer (if you can reach the back of the glass you're painting)
• Carbon paper (if you can't reach the back of the glass you're painting)

Instructions

1. Choose or draw a design for your project. For a first project, try a simple design. You can find clip art and stained glass art in book stores and on line. I like the Dover clip art books.

2. 

   Cut a piece of paper so that it will fit onto the glass. Draw or trace the design onto the paper. This is your template.

3. If you can reach the back of the glass you're painting (like on a French door), tape the template onto the back of the glass.

   If you cannot reach the back of the glass you're painting (a high window), put the carbon paper on the glass and tape the template on top. Trace the design onto the glass, moving the carbon paper as needed.

4. Peel off a strip of instant lead lines, then gently place the strip along a line of the template. At the end, cut with the razor blade or craft knife. Where several ends join, let them overlap and then cut through all layers at the same time. Remove excess bits so there are no overlapping lead lines. Repeat for all of the lines on your template. Don't worry about areas where the ends don't meet perfectly, but do be sure to remove overlaps.

5. 

   When you've created all of your outlines with the instant lead, fill the spaces with paint. DO NOT SHAKE THE PAINT BOTTLES. Shaking adds undesirable bubbles. Start at the section in the top left corner of the template (if you're right handed). Squeeze paint onto the glass directly from the bottle. Use a tooth pick to push the paint into tight corners. Make sure the paint touches the lead lines all around the border of the section.

   If you're working on a vertical surface like a window or door, the paint will run downwards. Use caution as you reach the bottom of the section; let gravity fill the very bottom. If excess paint seeps over the edge, use the toothpick, parallel to the glass, to remove the excess.

6. 

   Let the paint dry overnight. If paint drips over the lead lines like in this photo, let it dry and then trim the excess with a craft knife.

7. With the liquid leading, dab at intersections of the lead lines to simulate where the "lead" was joined. Let dry.

8. Optional - to make the lead lines look older, rub on a small amount of silver craft paint with a soft cloth. Wipe off of the paint, but leave small amounts on the leading.

Tips & Warnings

• This paint is perfect for projects like windows and doors that are not washed frequently or used for eating. To decorate glassware, see my article, "How To Paint Wine Glasses or Other Glassware."

• Gallery Glass paint colors change a lot from wet to dry. For example, Crystal Clear goes on white and dries clear. Diamond Blue goes on milky light blue and dries shiny crystal blue. Try out a few colors before committing to a whole project.

• To remove the faux stained glass panel, lift an edge with a razor blade and then peel it all off.