Tutorial: Painted Glass

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Customised glass is a unique and original gift for a friend or family member; it’s also great to add a more personal touch to your home!

Read on to find out how to paint glass yourself to create your very own, one-of-a-kind customised wine glass! This project would be great for Mother's Day.

Time needed: 45 minutes (dependent on design; excludes drying times)

You’ll need:

A glass

Contour paste

Glass paints

Paintbrushes

Paper and pen/pencil

Kitchen towel

Water

Newspaper

Note: Contour paste and glass paint can be a little fiddly at first--if you can, try to practice on a spare piece of glass (e.g. empty jar)

 

1. Wash and dry your glass and put down newspaper to protect your work surface.

2. Cut a piece of paper that fits inside your glass and draw out your design. I chose a simple flower design. Try not to put in too much detail, since it will be harder to define with the contour paste. 

3. Slip the paper inside the glass, design facing outwards. Use contour paste to trace over the pattern onto the glass. Leave to dry thoroughly. 

4. Paint in your design with glass paint and allow to dry. (Use kitchen towel to wipe excess paint from your brush and rinse in water in between colours; try to start with the lightest colour!)

5. Pick out any other details you might wish to add. This glass has a nice stem reminiscent of a Roman column, so I decided to pick it out with a vibrant green.

Leave overnight to ensure the paint is entirely dry.

Glass care: Wash with warm soapy water. Do not put in the dishwasher!

Cleaning your brushes: Glass paint can be difficult to wash off brushes--water doesn’t have much of an effect! I cleaned off mine by washing them in brush cleaner to remove the paint, then in warm soapy water to remove the brush cleaner. A small amount of conditioner smoothed through the bristles helps to keep the brush in good condition.