DIY Network

Faux Stained Glass Create a great fake with glass paint. From "B. Original" episode DBOR-120

Go for a bold stained glass look with paints.

Stained glass is beautiful, but most of us don't have the skill—or the budget—to create huge stained glass installations. Michele Beschen comes to the rescue with easy techniques that give the illusion of stained glass without the high cost of large stained glass panels. It's also a fun way to play around with colors and techniques.

The B. Original host's technique uses glass paints and some simple tools. The process is simple and inexpensive, allowing you to create big, bold statements in faux stained glass. Scroll down for Michele Beschen's easy how-to.

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Faux Stained Glass

Figure A

Materials:

glass paint (different colors, air-dry type)
rubbing alcohol
bamboo skewer
spatula

• Clean glass with rubbing alcohol.

• Squeeze out lines of different colors of glass paint along the top of a glass panel (figure A).

• Drag a bamboo skewer through the paints to roughly combine the two colors (figure B). Continue adding rows (figure C) until the window panel is completed. As it dries, the paint will become more transparent, and the colors will blend together (figure D).
  

  Figure B

  Figure C

  Figure D

  
  

• You also can use a rubber spatula to spread the paint (figure E), which dries to a swirly pattern like that found in some stained glass (figure F).
  

  Figure E

  Figure F

  
  

• The key to painting faux stained glass is to avoid using a paint brush; play around with different tools for spreading your paint. Also, experiment with different color combinations and techniques: You may want to put down a plain base coat of a single color, then texture other colors over it.

Faux stained glass is a fun way to B. Original with stained glass without busting your budget. Try it today—you never know what masterpiece is waiting for you.