Stain glassed window art

So a friend of mine passed this idea to me and I was instantly ready to plan it out for my girls.  Apparently, this is something that is trending around Facebook right now.  But, after our experience with it I thought I would share some tips and tricks to make it fun and not stressful.  Plus, share the how-to that I did.  

So let's get started:

What you will need: 

tempera paint or finger paint (we used both) 
plastic containers ( we used old yogurt containers) 
paintbrushes
dish soap 
painter's tape 
scissors  (to cut the tape) 
wax paper 
paper towels (damp) 

First: Tape your design

Now depending on how you want it to look, tape off your window while your kids are sleeping or being entertained by something else.  This for me was the hardest part, I also only had thick tape so I had to cut it each time, but after a bit I just let it be how it was and in the end it turned out pretty well.  There's no right way to make designs, it's just how you want.  If your kiddos are older maybe they can design their own first.

TIP: tape the edges of the windows too, the paint WILL come off even after dry because of the soap and that its water based, but the less you have to remove later the better.

TIP: I also taped some wax paper to the bottom to catch any drips. (don't have wax paper, take the bag from a cereal box and use it, you can see my how-to on that here.)  We have laminate so it comes right off, but if you have carpet this will help, you can also add towels on the floor too. 

Look at all those drips it catches! 

 

Second: Mix your paint

Pick your colors and have a container for each color.  Then add a few squirts of soap to each container.  You can't really add too much, so if you are concerned add a little more. 

Third: PAINT! 

So I did add some towels to the floor because I just wanted to make sure, but we ended up with two containers spilling and it ALL wiped off the laminate just fine.  I haven't washed the towels yet, good thing I used old ones!  BUT, if you have carpet, I'd put something down, we did get some paint on the rug and it came out, but I didn't let it sit and it's hard to clean up as they paint.  BUT, this is the fun part, put on some old paint shirts, give them a paint brush and let them have a blast! 

Fourth: Clean-up 

So clean-up is pretty easy, the wax paper caught any drips from hitting the walls.  The floor wiped up real easily, as I said above and they used most of the paint I poured so it wasn't too bad.  The next day I found a couple spots I missed on the wood and it came up with a damp paper towel no problem.  

TIP: only use paper towels unless you want your washcloths paint stained.  Even though it's washable it might not all come out in the washer. 

TIP: If you have a enough paint left over, don't put it down your sink, mix it all together in one container and throw it away.  It will harden and clog the sink.  A little isn't bad, but make sure you use a lot of warm or hot water to keep it flushed down. 

Fifth: Ready to take down

Now we plan to leave ours up for awhile, but I wanted to include how to remove once you are ready to do so.  Years ago when I taught art we use to decorate the windows of our community building for our local Winterfest.  I used this same method for putting the paint on the windows and it was pretty easy to clean off.  

All you need is to first remove your tape. Then a simple window cleaner will remove it.  Or you can use wet paper towels and then wash your windows afterwards.  

Well I hope this helps and I hope you have fun with it rather than it become stressful.  It's one of those things you want your kids to have fun with paint, but it's easy to stress out about it getting places and being permanent!  Overall my girls enjoyed it! And it's really pretty to look at, at night from outside!