Tutorial Tuesday - How to Glass Paint

Finally!  As you requested, I have created a short video tutorial showing you how to paint on glass.

With the holidays coming up, knowing how to paint on glass comes in handy.  You can make your own ornaments and create unique, personalized gifts for your loved ones.

I use a specific brand of glass paint called PEBEO 160.  There is also Pebeo 150, but that is used mainly for porcelain.  You can get them at Michaels craft stores, but I buy mine at dickblick.com.  Sometimes the product is old at the craft stores and difficult to use.

I use their glass paints, paint markers AND cloissone tubes.  The cloissone gives a raised, 3-D effect to whatever you are painting and it helps to add definition where you need it.



Quick Tips-

• Paint glass in LAYERS.  Do not try to make it the color you want with the first layer.  It will look gloppy (is that a word?) and will take forever to dry.  Be patient and layer your colors, waiting 2-5 minutes per layer.

• If you are painting a bold, solid color on clear glass, do one to two layers of WHITE first.  This will make the colors really pop.  If you are going for a very transparent look, then this step is not needed.  Layering with white first helps with painting on dark glass as well, like wine bottles, so that the colors stand out from the color of the glass.  Glass paint is transparent, so it is a little bit different to work with.
• Consider using blue iridescent paint to add shimmer to your projects.
• Use synthetic soft bristle brushes.  Do not use cheap, hard bristle brushes as the bristle marks will show up in your paint.  Get a variety of brushes-  flat round-ended for flower petals, angled brushes, large flat brushes for large surface painting and small rounded detail brushes.  
• Get a bottle of the clear glaze that Pebeo makes.  The clear glaze creates a brilliant finish and deepens colors that appear matte.  It also works as a medium to hold glitter if you are adding glitter to ornaments or whatever...
• Pebeo 160 paints need to dry for 24 hours and then you bake the items at 325 for 40 minutes.  If you want to add to your design or start over, you can, as long as you have not baked it yet.  Just scrub hard with water and the design will come right off and you can being again.

Please watch the video for more details.

Here are the finished champagne flutes that I started on the video:

Also, here are a pair of flutes where I used the stencils you saw on the video:

Happy Crafting!!