Hand Painted Glassware...A GREAT DIY GIFT IDEA

One of my favorite things to paint and top sellers are my hand painted wine goblets and glassware. It fun and easy and most important....inexpensive!!

The first thing you need to do is practice a few times first. The Dollar Tree has an amazing selection of glassware...all only $1 each. Pick up a few to practice and a few to do when you feel comfortable creating a magical gift!

Then head on over to your nearest craft store and pick up gloss enamels found anywhere the inexpensive acrylic paint section is located. It is made by almost all the paint companies but I prefer the brand "Americana." Pick out the colors you want to use and always get black and white....you will need them!!

Then you will need a variety of small to med. paint brushes making sure to get at least one very, very fine tip paint brush for detail.

Start by washing and drying the glass.

Draw out your design on paper and have it next to you.

Adjust the size in your head to fit on the glass.

Start with the largest area of color on your design....so for instance....if I am doing a rose....I would start with the pink.

Always mix your color with white first to make almost a primer coat. Glass paint is thin and you may have to use a couple coats to get it exactly right. You can use the true color on your next coat. You will see what I mean...if you start with just the color right out of the bottle and no white first...its very see through and may take much longer to get the correct color you are trying to achieve. If white is mixed in on the first coat....it will adhere the second coat much better which will be the true color you want (no white.)

So.....paint your primer coat of entire design and let dry. Then do your second coat in the true colors. When you have the basic design all painted.....now is the fun part!!

I end by outlining my design in black with a super small brush. Its up to you. You can also use the super small brush to make curly cues and dots etc. on your glass to fill in space. Add some white highlights or polka dots....whatever suits your fancy. You can always get puffy paint to do this is well if its easier to use. You can find that at any craft store in the fabric painting section.

You can write a name or saying on the base of the glass to for extra special people ;)

Let it dry overnight and then you bake in the oven at 350 degrees for 1/2 hour. Stick right on the rack....they will not break!!

This allows the paint to adhere to the glass so you can wash it but never put in dishwasher if you can help it.

Wash and dry after they have cooled completely and they are ready to go!!

Don't get frustrated and start with very, very simple designs. As you improve...you can try some harder ones but its not as easy as it looks.

You can always contact me for a Paint N Party as we often do them for groups of 4 and up. For glassware its usually $35 per person, everything included. Check out the Paint N Party section on my main website page for more info.

Feel free to contact me anytime with questions!!