Saturday, January 10, 2009

Decoupaged Glass


Want a creative way to recycle your old glass containers into functional pieces of art? Think about those baby food jars, candle holders, vases and old jar candle jars you might have stashed in a closet or under the kitchen sink. With a few other simple items and a little bit of time, you'll be able to proudly display them in your home.

This is a great craft for the kids to help with, too. They'll love tearing the paper and getting their fingers all gluey! They can make these for teacher gifts, Mother's Day, Valentine's Day or birthdays! What a nice, practical work of art to give!

Materials
Glass containers (any size or shape will do)
White Glue that dries clear (school glue works well)
Several colors/patterns of tissue paper
Paint brush
Water
Scissors
Clear craft sealer (optional)
Step 1: Remove and labels from the glass containers and wash and dry the glass thoroughly. A dishwasher works great for this.

Step 2: Tear the tissue paper into different sizes and shapes.

Step 3: Mix about 1 Tablespoon of white glue with about the same amount of water.

Step 4: Using a paint brush, thinly coat a small area on the outside of the glass conatiner. Place a piece of the torn tissue paper on the glued area and smooth out with another coating of the glue mixture. Repeat with more tissue overlapping pieces to cover the glass completely.
At this point, I recommend cutting the stray pieces of paper around the top edge OR cutting a straight-edged piece to finish off the top and avoid having to wrap paper over the edge to the inside of the container.

Step 5: Give one final thin coat of glue mixture to the entire outside of the container. Let dry for 1 to 2 hours or until completely dry.

Step 6: Spray or brush on a clear sealer (epecially if you plan to use it for flowers) if desired and let dry completely.

Notes: I do not recommend burning candles in these containers, but they work very nicely with the small LED candles that can be purchased at most craft stores.
Heather is a wife, mom,
school cafeteria worker,
councilwoman and babysitter from Ohio.
She also blogs at Its All for the Best
and The Fat Bottomed Girl.

3 comments:

  1. Great idea. My son made one for me about 25 years ago. I've used a votive and/or tea light candle in it with no problem. When he married a few years ago, I gave it to him. They still use it. Just be sure NOT to have paper over the top edge. Bellen

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  2. Hello, this has absolutely nuttin' to do with this message, I just nominated you to receive the Lemonade Stand Award, you can check it out here...
    http://wretha.blogspot.com/2009/01/lemonade-stand-award.html
    or
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    Wretha

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  3. What a great idea!

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