Glass painting has been a part of my life for over 25 years. I still remember starting out with just two colours of paint and a single outliner, decorating a personalised decanter and glasses as a wedding gift for family. What I love most is the versatility. Glass painting works across so many surfaces, with a wide variety of paints and outliners available. The best part? Paint pots last for ages, making this a wonderfully inexpensive hobby.
Materials required:
- Tempered glass jar (mine is 10cm tall, 8cm diameter)
- Glass paints: black, white, red, blue, yellow, green
- Paintbrush (with a fine tip for detail)
- Tray or pot for mixing paint
- White spirit (for cleaning brushes)
- Relief outliner (gold)
- Pencil, rubber, pen, paper, ruler, scissors
- Blu‑tac (or similar, mine is pink!)
- Cocktail sticks
Tip: Don’t worry if you don’t have everything listed. Any heat‑resistant glass works, jam jars are perfect. Acrylic paints are also a great alternative. My daughters painted Halloween jars with acrylic years ago, and they still come out every autumn looking fantastic.
Creating your template:
- Cut paper to fit neatly inside your glass, leaving an overlap for joining.
- Add top and bottom borders.
- Sketch your design so it flows across the overlap.
- Greaseproof paper works brilliantly for tracing repeat patterns or borders.
For my project, I designed a cheerful snowman with sections above and below the border. I sketched in pencil first, then outlined in pen once happy. I think of the design as stained glass and the template makes a guide for applying the relief outlines. Secure the template inside the glass with blu‑tac.
Applying the Relief Outliner:
If you’re skipping the outliner, head straight to painting.
Otherwise:
- Think of it like piping icing – gentle pressure is key.
- Follow your template lines, working top to bottom.
- For holly leaves, outline each section carefully, using cocktail sticks to refine shapes.
- Hold the glass in a way that avoids smudging the paint. Fingers on the rim, thumb at the base works well for the main sections. For the bottom border, one hand in the glass and the writing hand steadied by resting the little finger on the base is a good trick.
- Smooth out lumps or blobs with a cocktail stick.
To improve the shape of small areas like the berries, leave the outliner for 10-15 mins then run a cocktail stick around the inside or outside edge and gently maneuver the outliner into a better shape.
I added wiggly lines in the sky to create smaller stained‑glass segments. You can keep it simple with solid colours or experiment with bordered sections.
If you are new to this, practice outlining and painting on empty jars, which you can turn into vases or larger candle holders.
Painting your design:
Glass paint is thick and gives a lovely finish without brush marks. Ripples or uneven areas add charm, reminiscent of antique glass.
- Remove the template occasionally and hold the jar to the light to check progress.
- Paint one colour at a time, planning colours on your template helps.
- I used green for holly, lightened with white for mistletoe leaves.
- The sky was a blend of red, blue, and purple tones.
- White areas needed two coats, with grey shading for the snowman.
- Quick brush strokes work best; use cocktail sticks to tidy stray paint.
Once dry, pop in a tealight and watch your design glow.
I love re‑using templates. This snowman design will also feature on my Christmas cards, painted on acetate or transparent film, mounted behind a cut‑out window, with outliner borders and a personalised festive message.
Whether you’re making a single jar or an eclectic set of mismatched glasses, glass painting is a fun, creative way to bring handmade charm to your Christmas décor.
Happy crafting, and best festive wishes to all!