Glass Painting

Glass Painting

Rita Hill gave some old glassware a fresh new look by painting it, then baking it in the oven!

You will need

  • glass jars, tumblers, pitchers or vases
  • porcelain glass paints (45ml)
  • porcelain outliner pens (20ml)
  • stencils
  • felt-tipped pen

Step by step instructions

  1. Wash your glassware thoroughly in hot water then dry it.
  2. Choose a stencil and trace it onto the glass with a felt-tipped pen, or draw your design straight onto the piece, freehand.
  3. Paint your designs with bright colours. You may have to go over the design a couple of times to get strong colours.
  4. Use the outliner paint to go around the edges of the design. It is best to do this once you have finished painting so that the colours don’t bleed into each other.
  5. Once the outline is complete put the piece aside to dry properly for 24 hours. (Note: allow a longer drying time when colour is applied thickly.)
  6. The next day put the piece or pieces into an oven at 150°C (300°F) for 35 minutes. This will seal the paint so that it won’t wash off when you next clean your glassware.

    Tip: It’s a good idea to carry out a few test runs on scrap glass before baking the final creation!

    Getting started

    Rita used Porcelaine Paints, which are available from craft stores and cost from $4.50 each. Outliner pens are available in a range of colours from craft stores for around $8.50 each.

    Further reading

    Rita Hill’s article on glass painting is in the March edition of the Burke’s Backyard magazine, available at newsagents for $4.60.