No fake stained glass project is ever going to look as good as the real thing. Nothing quite compares to the beauty of a stained glass window. Craft stores sell products now that help you make stained glass windows for your own home but they’re expensive and nearly impossible for a child to do. Kids enjoy the look of stained glass, too, though, so why not let them have some fun making fake ones? They can make most any image of their choosing with a stained glass effect that’s not too shabby! Since the project doesn’t require any real glass, or any real paints, you don’t have to worry about glass getting broken or paints being spilled.
In addition to being a very easy and non-messy craft making fake stained glass is also very inexpensive. In fact, it’s downright cheap! Start with an ordinary coffee filter to create the design you want. Kids can draw and color on the filter with washable markers. It’s important that you use washable markers so that the stained glass will turn out right. You’ll have to make the colors bleed and run, and to do so, you need a washable type of marker.
Kids can simply scribble on the coffee filters or they can make deliberate designs. They can use many different colors or use just one or two. After the coffee filters are colored spray them with water. Using a squirt bottle is the easiest way to do this. Spread newspaper or plastic bags on a table, lay the colored filters out, and spray each one with water. Lifting the filter up and allowing the water to drip off helps the colors bleed and run.
Kids can create a tie-dye effect for their new stained glass creations by mixing different colors of powdered drink mix, like Kool-Aid, and squirt it onto the coffee filters. Kids will have a lot of fun squirting the colored liquid onto the filters and creating various designs. After the coloring is finished allow the coffee filters to dry completely. It doesn’t take long for them to dry but it’s important that they are completely dry – not even damp.
Cut the shapes you want to use from thick paper, thin plastic or even really thin cardboard. You can cut a cross, geometric shapes, animals, or even window shapes. There are no rules for the shapes you cut except to use simplistic designs rather than intricate ones and make sure the image isn’t larger than the coffee filter. You can use pictures cut from coloring books or magazines or you can draw simple shapes and cut them out. Cut the coffee filter to the shape of the paper or cardboard. Glue it on one side. Use clear contact paper to laminate the coffee filter pictures. Lay the sticky side up and position the picture on it. Cut out around the sticky paper to finish.
The above designs are one-sided. If you want a design on both sides cut two pictures – mirror images – of the shapes you want. Glue the two coffee filter shapes to opposite sides of the plastic, paper or cardboard shape. Cut two pieces of the contact paper and position the coffee filter on one of them. Cover the opposite side with the second piece of contact paper. Another way to finish the pictures is to first laminate the pictures and then attach them to the paper or cardboard picture.
You can hang the finished stained glass piece on a wall with double-sided tape or even poke a hole in the top, add a piece of stretch cord, and hang it on a rearview mirror. Eliminate the paper or cardboard between the two coffee filters and just laminate the two coffee filter shapes. This design makes a beautiful bookmark.
Kids will have lots of fun making assorted stained glass pieces that really turn out quite nice. Since it only takes a few minutes to grab a filter and some markers you can keep bored kids occupied and entertained anytime. Keep a roll of clear contact paper around and you won’t have to run out and buy supplies every time your child is in the mood to make another picture!
Reference:
- Purchase coffee filters here: www.amazon.com
