Friday, April 5, 2013

Craft Project: Pour Paint Wine Glasses

My mom's birthday was yesterday and I wanted the girls and I to make her something fun. I had come across this post on doing pour-paint on a glass tumbler. I was so excited to have another idea for pour-paint. We made pour-paint flower pots a year ago for teacher gifts and the girls LOVED it. Okay, I admit it, I LOVE pour-paint projects too. :-)

My mom and stepdad drink wine often and I thought it would be neat to make them some fun wine glasses to use. And with these, each glass is unique, so you don't have to use wine charms, glass markers, or anything else. You just have to remember which color glass is yours!

Will admit this project was done over several days and took some trial and error. But hopefully, I can hash all that out for you so that you can just cut right to it and do the project without added steps. However, I really enjoyed the PROCESS of this art project.

Without further ado, here are the supplies you will need:

--Wine glasses (or glasses of any sort)--I got some great ones from the Dollar Store! They also had some decent stemless glasses there

--High gloss enamel acrylic paint. I used Americana Gloss Enamels (which is opaque) and Americana Crystal Gloss Enamels (translucent)--the Crystal paints were hard to find in a store. I had to order online.

--Glazing Medium or Americana Clear Medium 

--paper cups, plastic spoons OR small squeeze bottles

--blue painter's tape

--newspapers and paper towel

--Krylon Triple-thick Crystal Clear Glaze spray (optional)

STEP ONE: Tape off any area you do not want paint to cover. In the case of the wine glasses I did it around the top one inch where your mouth would go. And the base of the bowl of the glass. There was a natural line where the stem met the bowl.
Then suspend the glass on top of something so the glass will not sit in a pool of paint. I used paint bottles. I've found putting a paper towel between the glass and the paint bottle helps contain a bit of the mess.
(SKIP DOWN TO STEP 2 if you just want the nitty gritty and don't want to wade through my process) ;-)
What the girls found waiting for them after school.

I actually tried this project first to see how it was going to work and what adjustments I might have to make for the girls. So here is my initial glass:
I used the Crystal translucent paint without thinning it out at all. I really thought the paint would lighten a bit more than it did. This was waaay too dark for a wine glass, at least in my opinion. Though it would look wonderful painted on glass for a faux stained glass image!
Next, I poured the glazing medium into a throw away aluminum muffin tin and added some translucent paint to it. We used our plastic spoons from IKEA that we keep in the art room.
 The paint is thin enough that you can turn the glass to help direct the flow of the paint.
 My daughter also masked off some stripes with thin blue tape.
Finished and drying.
Here are the first round of completed glasses:
They are gorgeous and I love them! However, I decided I wanted us to make some that were a little LESS translucent. In order to find MY happy medium, I decided to do a little experimenting so I took the glass out of one of our Dollar Store frames (good thing I just keep some on hand). I tested both the opaque and translucent paint mixed with varying amounts of glazing medium. Here are the results:
1) opaque High Gloss Enamel paint
2) with a bit of clear fill medium (1:1 ratio)
3) more clear fill medium
4) 1:2 ratio of 1 part opaque paint, 2 parts clear fill medium
5) 1:1 ratio of opaque paint and glazing medium
6) more glazing medium to one part opaque paint
7) 1:2--1:3 of glazing medium--I didn't actually measure anything out just eyeballed it. This last one is somewhere in the ball park of 2 or 3 parts glazing medium to 1 part opaque paint.

A) translucent Crystal Glass Enamel Paint
B) 1:1 translucent paint with clear medium
C) 1:1 translucent paint with glazing medium
D) 1:2 translucent paint with glazing medium

You can see how it flows better once it's thinned and I decided that I like using the glazing medium over the clear medium. We used quite a bit of glazing medium for all the glasses we made. We used two 8 oz. bottles.

*Tip* Paper cups, small light weight plastic spoons work best for holding the paint. Initially we tried a muffin tin, but the paint was so thin that it was easy to drip into the other paints.

STEP TWO: Mix paint and glazing/clear medium to your desired translucency and pour on glass with a spoon (or small squeeze bottle)
FOR STEMLESS GLASSES:  Just like with the pour-paint flower pots, just pour paint in one spot on the bottom of the glass. Keep adding paint to the same spot and it will eventually fall down over the sides.
*Tip* Next time I do stemless glasses, I think I will mask off the bottom of the glass as well. I think they are much brighter and lighter if there is light flowing all the way through the glass. You can see this in the stem glassware below.
FOR GLASSES WITH A STEM:
Just use a plastic spoon and drip paint down the sides. You will have to rotate the glass or pick it up and let the paint drip around the glass.
STEP THREE: Let dry for 24 hours. I was actually amazed at just how quickly these dried to the touch! I think even after 12 hours they were pretty much dry to the touch.
The aftermath! After they dried for a few hours, I cleaned up and took the paper towels off, just leaving them suspended to dry overnight.

STEP FOUR: After they were dry to the touch, I took the blue tape off. I used a small sharp pair of scissors to go around the edge of the tape so it would come up easy without pulling the paint off. You can use an Exact-o knife too. I am just a bit clumsy with sharp objects and felt like I had more control with a small pair of scissors. After the tape was removed, I used a mild scouring pad to rub off any excess paint that might have transferred where I didn't want it. You can use your finger nail too. I found the paint came off very easily. I then rinsed the glasses and patted them dry.

STEP FIVE: You can cure your paint for 21 days. But who wants to wait that long to be done with a project that looks this amazing??? So put your glasses on a cookie sheet in a cool oven. Turn it on to 350 degrees and let the glasses heat up with the oven. Leave in there for 30 minutes (I might have left mine for 40). Leave in the oven until cool to touch. Once I could remove the pans I just let them finish cooling on the top of the stove.
You can see a difference in the paint once it's baked. It definitely feels and looks more enamel-like. But the colors stayed just as bright and vibrant!
After this step, you can be done. (Optional STEP SIX) I plan on retaping the glasses and spraying with Krylon Triple-Thick Clear Glaze just to ensure the paint will last and not scrape off. I will update with a review of this process once I'm able to complete this step.

Lastly, they should be top-shelf dishwasher safe. I read you shouldn't soak them in water for a long time. But otherwise, they are fine to be washed.

And just because they are so darn pretty, I took them out on our deck with my white backdrop in full sunlight and obsessively photographed them!

21 comments:

  1. Wow, those look awesome! What a fun project to pretty up some glasses! I like the translucent ones from your first batch best :)

    Cheers, Anni
    bastelbazooka.blogspot.com

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  2. Love these! I really love the shape of the stemless glasses. They are so cute! I need to find me some of those. Great job.

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  3. Wow, oh wow! That's pretty easy to do! They are so awesome! I've been to art lately and I'm trying to find some easy glass painting designs that I can try as beginner. Thanks for sharing ideas.

    Cheers xxxx
    Jess

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  4. Thanks for sharing great ideas on how to make clear wine glasses colorful and fancy and I'm glad to see the kids enjoy making this projects that also help improve their creativity. I would like to apply this idea on my stemless wine glasses.

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  5. this is such an awesome idea... my husband has been saving wine bottle to paint and decorate them on in kitchen... will surely have a wonderful time with him this weekend... thanks for sharing

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  6. thanks for sharing such a wonderful idea. My husband has been saving wine bottles to decorate kitchen cabinet tops. I am sure we wil have a wonderful time this weekend.

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  7. Thanks for sharing. I have been looking for something like this to do with my grandchildren. A question about step five. Is this step with the oven door open? Thanks :)

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    1. Hi Sue! Thanks for stopping by! You bake them with the oven door closed. I just had it open to take the photo. ;-) Have fun with your grandkids! This is one of my all-time favorite projects!

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  8. Question: I've painted a jar using the Americana Gloss Enamel (metallic silver) and the top and bottom have the paint on them. Is it okay if that part is touching the baking sheet? Is there a rule that the paint can't touch the baking sheet you put it on?

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    1. Hi Brandi! What a great question! Unfortunately, I can only give you my best guess answer because I don't really know. I have a feeling it might stick to the pan. Though maybe you could try putting parchment paper down first? The paint also cures in 21 days if you just leave it sit. So you don't have to bake it. Your project sounds pretty! Good luck! And please come back and let me know how it worked!

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    2. Thank Holly!
      I'll let you know how it goes. I'm going to let it sit for 24 hours like you suggested and then balance it on something upside down. The inside isn't painted so I thought I would get that a go.

      I'm making #3 on this list of crafts: http://www.buzzfeed.com/pippa/bookends-diys

      It is the Starry Tea Light Votives! Really excited about it!

      Thanks again for your reply. I'll be sure to come back and let you know how it goes!

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  9. I was wondering if there were any problems with the paint peeling or running after sealing? Are the glasses then hand washable? I'm looking at giving a few sets as gifts.

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    1. Hi Jennifer!

      Once I sealed them they were good to go! I've used them over and over again for over a year and they are still going strong! None of them have peeled at all. I definitely hand-wash them. Have fun with the project!

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  10. Just wondering if you had read the warning label.. known to cause cancer and birth defects. Krylon triple thick is not food safe.

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    1. Thanks for your comment. I feel that in this case it is ok to use the Triple Thick glaze because I taped the top of the glasses so no triple thick on there where your lips go, and the paint/glaze is on the outside of the glass. So the liquid you're drinking doesn't touch it. But again, I've marked it as optional. So it's up to each individual whether they want to do that step or not.

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  11. What a beautiful project! Love your results. Have you tried painting anything with the Americana Gloss Enamels without using a spray sealer topcoat? Am wondering how they hold up on their own, and if they are durable and scratch resistant.

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  12. What a beautiful project! Love your results. Have you tried using the Americana Gloss Enamels without a spray sealer topcoat? Am wondering how they hold up on their own, and if they are durable and scratch resistant.

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  13. Hi!! Love this project!! How can I use this idea as a project for my kids, but with plastic wine cups?

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    1. You could possible try the pour paint with acrylic paints on a plastic cup. I'm not sure how well it would adhere as it dries.

      We have also done pour paint on terra cotta flower pots! That might be more kid-friendly than the glass paint on wine glasses. :-)

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