Create Your Own Stained-Glass Painting

Stained glass can be made in a variety of ways. For more information, please read Stained Glass. For another stained-glass craft project, please see Melted-Crayon Stained-Glass Masterpiece. Below, you will find a second stained-glass project. Be sure to ask an adult for help with this project.

Materials Needed:

Glass Picture Frame, Any Shape and Size
Surface Conditioner
Transparent Glass Paint in Several Colors
Paintbrush
Paper and Pencil or a Printed Picture
Clear Tape
Plastic Container and Lid


Gather your materials. Lay newspaper over your work space.

Remove the glass from the picture frame. Clean and dry the glass. Make sure you have permission to paint on the picture frame! Paint the surface conditioner over the area you’re going to paint. You can find a surface conditioner in any craft store in the same place you find glass paint. Try Delta PermEnamel. Let the surface dry completely. This may take up to 24 hours.

Choose the picture you want to paint on your glass. You can either use a picture from a magazine, print something from the internet, or draw your own on a piece of paper. Tape the picture to the underside of the glass so the image shows through. Now you can use it as a guideline when you paint your glass. Feel free to skip this step and just paint your picture straight on to the glass.

Fill your plastic container with water for washing your brush between colors. Use the lid as a palette but when you squeeze paint from your bottles, remember that glass paint dries quickly. You can also buy glass paint in small pots that can be closed when you’re not using them.

Paint your picture onto the glass. If you want light to shine through the picture, paint in thin layers. You can also paint your image thickly but light will not show through the way it does through a stained-glass window.

When you are happy with your stained-glass, read the directions on your glass paint package. You may need to place your glass in the oven so the paint won’t peel off. If this is the case, make sure an adult helps you. Don’t forget to remove your drawing or printed image from the back before heating your plate in the oven.

Glue the glass back into the picture frame. Regular white glue will not hold. Try Tacky Glue instead. You will not need the back of the picture frame anymore. Now you can place your stained glass in the window and the light will shin through.

You can paint anything that is made of glass (as long as your parent says it’s okay). Below is a picture of two wine glasses I painted for my mom for Christmas one year.

Return to Main Page.