Shoebox: Faux Stained Glass, Cross-Stitch Stationery

Connie sent in a photo of her wicker table that has a round glass top. Though you could see the design of the wicker through the glass, she wanted the glass top to be decorated. She wanted a stained glass look, but not having the time nor the space to make real stained glass in her one-bedroom condo, she experimented with substitutes. First she found a tulip pattern that she liked in an iron-on transfer book. Then, using fabric paint for the outline and glass paint for the fill, she traced the pattern onto adhesive-backed clear laminate sheets. She repeated this process until she had 10 copies. When dry she cut them out and placed five of the tulips in a circle on the underside of the table top and the other five tulips on the inside of sliding glass doors, resulting in a faux stained-glass look. It looked great.

We also applied another dragonfly on the outside of a glass jar and another "stained glass" design, this time a sun, on the top of a plastic container. Lots of possibilities there but, of course, the ones where the surface would be one where light would shine through would be the most effective. Connie accomplished this by placing a tap light on the base of her table so the light shined up through the design.