Lesson 7: Applying Paint and Etching Cream to Glass
Outliners as Stencil Substitutes
You can actually use some outliner paints to make a sort of stencil, if you don't mind the obvious bridges. Some paints, like Deco Art's Liquid Rainbows, or Pebeo's Artisticks, are peelable. This means that if you paint them onto a hard surface - usually a polystyrene blank that you buy along with the paint - once that paint has dried you can peel it off and it will adhere to any other hard surface.
I've seen people paint entire several blanks in different solid color, let it dry and then cut the resulting film into "tiles" which they then apply to a glass object as though it were a mosaic. The film is transparent, and so imitates glass, making it ideal for faux mosaics and stained glass. The film will adhere to that surface as long as you don't try to wash it.
But using the outliners you can lay down an outlines design, peel it up, place it on the plate of glass you are decorating, and simply paint the openings, just as you would with a stencil. You them remove the peelable outline and it will stick to the next piece. Very useful if you are trying to create an identical set of something.
This technique is great if you are trying to paint on a curved surface. A cardboard or mylar stencil may not conform to the surface very well, and could create all kinds of problems for you. The peelable paint, however, is very flexible. So why not use your stencil to trace the outline in peelable paint? Let it dry, carefully peel it up, and then place it on your bowl or other curved surface. You have the same stencil design, except that now it is in a flexible medium that adheres and conforms perfectly to your surface. Peel carefully and you can use it again and again.
