Painting fun!

I've been painting glass for more than 7 years! It's been a blast. What a fun, unique gift for family and friends. It's also been a source of income for my family.

A couple tips for beginners:
1. Use enamels! They are meant for glass and porcelain.
2. Take your time! Don't rush just to get it done, craftsmanship is important!
3. Try different brushes! Small detail brushes are great but if you're painting large areas make your life easier with the right size brush.
4. Practise! You're not going to get it perfect the first time out of the gate. You can wash the paint off before it dries or scrape it off if it air dried.
5. Don't be wasteful! Remember your art teachers saying, "Dot, dot, dot, not a lot!"? Dip your brush right in the bottle of you're not mixing colors. You'll save a bunch of paint over the many glasses you're going to want to paint!
6. Images! There's a lot of free clip art out there. Using your computer print images out about 3" square. This size tends to fit nicely on most glasses. Better yet, create your own images... use lines, patterns and shapes to create a unique personal image.
7. Have fun! Don't be afraid to try unusual items. Try painting with a makeup sponge or a flower from your garden.
8. Get creating!

Get your DoodleDaze on!

 

Have you ever started to doodle while you were on the phone or in a meeting? Maybe you started with a word or a simple shape and added a line, then another and another. Before you know it the entire side margin is filled with lines or shapes... you were in a DoodleDaze!

 

 

I teach my students some basic lines, patterns and design tips and we create beautiful images. We spend hours in our DoodleDaze. It's so relaxing and a great way to relieve stress and reduce blood pressure.

 

All you need is paper, and pens or markers. Doodle in color or leave it black and white for a timeless masterpiece.

Here are some samples from my students...

  

 

 

 

How to make a roasted salsa.

Step 1: roast your tomatoes and peppers in the oven, broiler, or grill.

Step 2: remove the skins from the tomatoes and peppers

Step 3: cut up onion and cilantro

Step 4: Using a blender or food processor, add tomato, peppers, onion, cilantro, lemon juice, salt, pepper, oregano and garlic. Pulse until well chopped and blended.

 Step 5: Taste! You might need to add more peppers, or more tomatoes until you get the heat you like. You may also need to add more of the other ingredients too.

Once you have it tasting the way you like it, ENJOY! We make a lot at a time so we can ours and you can too.


The amount of the ingredients will vary based on your own personal tastes. The heat of your salsa will vary based on what peppers you use. If you like A LOT of heat, add some habaneros! But beware, you might need a box of Kleenex once your nose starts to run and your forehead starts to sweat. Hope you enjoy experimenting! Happy Creating!

Christmas candy dishes

How cute are those candy dishes I posted earlier? Way cute! I've been busy making more! So here they are!

 

***UPDATE*** In case you haven't looked at earlier posts (the scarecrow candy dish) I will let you know how to make these here.

 

What you need:

terracotta pot and saucer(s) (I got mine on clearance at Menard's)

glass bowl (dollar tree has a few sizes to choose from)

knob for top (I used cedar moth balls from Menard's)

glue (E6000 or hot glue)

paint (acrylic for the pots and Enamels for the glass)

brushes, work space, water, embellishments

 

The total cost is around $2.50!

 

Step 1: Paint the pots, saucers and knobs anyway you like.

Step 2: Let them dry completely!! (Glue doesn't like to stick to damp paint)

Step 3: Paint the glass with enamels. (Bake in oven to set the paint-follow instructions on paint)

Step 4: Glue the glass bowl to the painted clay pot. Make sure they line up so the head is facing the front (Hot glue dries fast! E6000 is more forgiving.)

Step 5: Glue the knob to the saucer and place on the glass dish for a hat. It's best to not use the knob to lift the hat off the bowl in case your glue didn't adhere completely or you might break your candy dish.

 

You can create many different dishes for many different occasions! They are cute and don't take a lot of time to make. Embellish your candy dishes how ever you like. Make them your own!

Happy Creating! 

 

More candy dishes

Since so many have liked my scarecrow candy dish I figured I'd share with you images of other candy dishes I have made. Hope you enjoy! Happy creating.

 

 

I paint faces with enamel paints and bake the glass in the oven to make them more permanent.

I use acrylic paints on the clay pots and saucers.

Other materials used... twine (for straw), miniature clay saucers (mickey ears), yarn (Matthew's hair), bolts ... I used hot glue to fix everything together.

Make sure you clean the glass surface really well before painting faces or glue together.

Scarecrow craft for Halloween

As I was driving home today an idea popped into my head. As soon as I got home I got to work. This is a super cute craft for fall or Halloween.

I'm sure you've seen similar items and it's the same concept just a different design painted on it. It's a scarecrow candy dish. When I was finished I showed a photo to my mom and she showed her man. He's not into candy so I told him to fill it with peanuts!

What you need:

• clay flower pot and saucer
• acrylic paint and brushes
• glass bowl
• wooden ball (I used cedar moth balls from the hardware store)
• hot glue gun and glue
• twine
• scissors

What you do:

• Paint the clay pot. I made mine look like it was in overalls and a plaid shirt.
• Cut the twine into little pieces, about an inch long, and glue them to the neck line and above hands. It looks like straw popping through its clothes.
• Paint the saucer and ball to be its hat. Once dry, glue the ball to the saucer.
• Cut twine into slightly longer pieces and glue to the underside of the "hat" so it looks like hair coming out from under it.
• Paint a face on the glass ball.
• Glue the glass ball to the clay pot and place the saucer on top.

Another version I made was a witch. I painted the twine orange for her hair. I plan on filling the scarecrow with candy corn and the witch with something green... maybe those "orange slices" candy but the mint ones so they're green.

Want to paint on glass and make it look GOOD?

I started painting on glass in 2009 when I saw a painted glass at a store in my local mall. I saw the price they were selling them for and thought... that's too expensive for something so simple.

First you need to know a little about the paint. First I tried acrylics covered with a spray clear enamel. That worked on plastic if you hand washed them, but not on glass for everyday use. I went to my local craft store, NASCO, and looked to see what I could find. I found  pebeo vitrea 160, transparent paint for glass that you bake on in the oven and it makes it dishwasher safe. Problem with this paint is the limited color selection and it's TRANSPARENT! I didn't want a stained glass look. So I turned to the Internet. I know I should have just looked here first. I found Enamels for glass. I can buy them anywhere, online, at craft stores and even Wal-Mart. They are less than $3 for a 2oz bottle and they have so many colors, some even with glitter in.

Enamels are dishwasher safe, something you want for glasses that you plan on using. After they dry for an hour, place them in a cool oven, turn oven to 350 degrees, and bake for 30 minutes. I start my timer once the oven reaches 350 degrees it's about 45 minutes total in my oven. Then you let them cool in the oven. Wash and they are ready to use, or sell!

Now I told you I was going to teach you how to paint it and make it look GOOD. It's easy. Create a design on paper first, whether you draw your own or use clip art, that depends on your artistic talents. Make sure the size of the image will fit on the glass you want to paint on. I use Microsoft Word and Paint to create most of my images. I have big glasses (20 wine glasses) that I use and I know that I can't make the total image bigger than 4"x4" if I want it to look right on the glass. Once I have the font and image just right I print it out and cut it out. I just cut a square around the image so it fits better inside, yes inside the glass. Tape the image inside your glass so you can follow it when you paint.

Take your time and make sure everything is lined up and looks the way you want it to look. Remember the paint is going to be permanent and if you want to give them as gifts or sell them they need to look great! Before you bake the paint, you can still clean up some boo-boos but it can be tricky, especially if you don't want to start all over and wash the whole image off.

Get used to the brushed that you will be using. Have water, a rag and paper towels near by. I also have my x-acto knife and a orange wood stick near by. (An orange wood stick is a nail tool you can ask your manicurist for one next time you get your nails done.)

Once you have a clean glass and the supplies ready, you can start painting your glasses. If I want to make a set, I print out the image more than once and tape each of them into place, this helps me make sure they are all lined up in the same spot (again, little attention to details will pay off big).

Make sure you have enough paint on your brush or re-dip in the paint frequently to get a nice even coat. I've noticed that certain colors need more than one coat. The more you use your paints the more you will know about them. Think of the image taped inside the glass as a paint by number or a coloring book page. All you need to do is follow the lines to make sure the image turns out like the one you printed or drew.

Glasses curve so your image will do. If you have horizontal lines or really long words or phrases, they will tend to look like they are bending up on your glass. The easiest way to avoid this is to make sure they fit on the glasses without wrapping around too much. Another way to fix that is to curve the lettering on the paper slightly before you tape the image inside the glass. This will make your letters straighter on the glass. Another option is not to have things straight ... make it crooked on purpose but make sure it still looks good. Use your best judgment and artistic eye.

Using this method, you will have beautiful glasses in no time! Happy Creating!

Check out my Facebook page for hand painted glasses! A Glass of Art & More