Lesson 7: Applying Paint and Etching Cream to Glass
Two Glass Painting Projects
Bonus Project – Decorated Bottle
Take an old, clear glass bottle. And old wine bottle, or vinegar bottle is fine. Make sure it is clean, and wiped down with vinegar or mineral spirits to eliminate any grease.
Have on hand the following
- glass paint in a deep color
- cosmetic sponge (2)
- gold outliner
- the ConTact paper leaves, hearts, stars, etc. left over from cutting your glass etching stencil. (NOTE: If you don't have these, try using small squares or triangles cut from any adhesive backed paper, or get some peelable stickers in interesting shapes. The shape is important, not the transparency.)
First stick the adhesive backed cutouts on the clean bottle in a pleasing pattern. If you haven't anything to make shapes from, you can try using masking tape to create stripes, or squares and triangles. The idea is to use these to create a mask for areas that are to remain clear and paint free.
Now take a cosmetic sponge, dip it into your deep colored paint, and start sponging the entire bottle. To steady the bottle without getting your hands all over it try just sticking a finger into the opening. The more densely you pounce your sponge, the more even and realistic your finished look will be. But if you prefer a texture, pounce the paint on with a sea sponge. Allow to dry for about half an hour before moving on to the next step.
Now take another small sponge and dip it into a small pool of the gold outliner paint. Pounce this very lightly around the edges of your cutout shapes (or stripes). Do this very, very lightly. You want to create a misty effect.
Now you can carefully remove your cutouts and view your finished project.
Second Bonus Project – Painting Round Things
For this project, you will need an old record player with a working turntable. Don't use a good one as you may splatter paint all over it. If your turntable has a 45 adapter sticking up then you can turn a wide bottom bowl or something over it and then set the bowl or bottle that you are painting upside down on that.
- an old turntable. NOTE: If you don't have access to one you can still paint stripes by filling the bowl or bottle with water to the levels where you want the stripes. This will give you an accurate guideline. It will just be trickier to get around your object in a single, swift stroke.
Have ready 2-3 compatible colors of paint and some wide brushes. If your paint comes in bottles that you can easily dip the brushes onto good. If not, pour some paint into a flat jar so you can easily reload your brush.
Optional - a couple of cotton swabs.
Take a round glass object - a bowl, jar, etc. and place it on the turntable upside down. Paint the bottom first, making sure it is evenly coated, then switch the turntable on at low speed.
Load your brush with paint, and apply it to the bowl right at the rim. Hold it steady. Let the turntable do the work. You should soon see a nice strip of even color at the rim.
Now load the brush with a second color, position it below the rim, and repeat the process. Remember to keep that brush fairly wet - try to anticipate how much paint it will take to complete one full turn.
You can alternate colors all the way down, or leave some clear spaces, Do whatever pleases you, just trying to keep your stripes relatively even. Don't worry if in places the two stripes merge and the colors blend. This only adds interest.
For design interest, if you are using the turntable, you can take a cotton swab and draw a squiggly line into one of the stripes of still wet paint. Allow the turntable to revolve several times - 3-4, at least. You will see your squiggly line take on an interesting, almost Art Nouveau effect. You can do something similar on the bottom, when it it wet, by drawing triangle shapes with your cotton swab while the turntable revolves slowly. Stop when you like the effect.
You could also have prepped this bowl or vase ahead of time with adhesive cutouts in the areas you plan to stripe.
Other possible finishing touches - outline your stripes with a gold outlines using a fine line. Try placing random groups of 3 dots in unstriped areas. Stencil squares and triangles over the surface in a third color. Use your imagination.
