I’ve had three requests for painting on glass surfaces recently. Two are for storefront windows, which I will tell you more about in future posts. The third request was to help a bride-to-be with her wedding centerpieces. The bride and groom are both musically inclined and wanted to incorporate this design:
I was emailed the design, along with this photo, showing the centerpiece set up:
The bride was unsure whether she wanted the design etched or done in black, so I started by creating some samples for her:
I did them on flat panes of glass. I shot these pics with the glass sitting on a green fabric, so the designs would show up better. I tried the design in 2 different sizes, in black and etched. I also tried a reverse etch. I liked the reverse etch look the best, but in the end, the bride went with black because she is having a black runner under the centerpiece.
Once the design color and size were finalized, I was ready to begin.
My first task was to find a black paint that would cure quickly. The wedding is August 29th. I ran around to three different stores and finally found a glass paint I felt would work.
I had 24 cylinders to work with. First, they all had to be prepped.
I wiped each cylinder with alcohol.
Then taped the image to the inside of the glass.
I used Prime Etch to ‘etch’ the glass a bit, so the paint would adhere better.
The paint used, was a black enamel made by Folk Art. This paint is formulated for glass and will air cure in 30 days or can be heat set.
I opted to bake all 24 in my oven. I was afraid they would shatter in the oven, so did a test, using a sample cylinder I bought. After consulting with my very helpful,decorative painter friends, and following the directions, I was ready to go. I baked six cylinders at a time, for 30 minutes, in a 350 degree oven. You put the glass in a cold oven, turn on the heat, and bake. After 30 minutes, the oven is turned off, but the glass is left in the oven to cool completely before removing.
The temperature numbers wore off my oven dial, long ago. That is why I have these little white paint pen marks on my dial… and the oven thermometer!
I baked some early in the morning and others very late at night. It has been so very hot and humid here that I did not want the additional heat in my kitchen during the warmest parts of the day. Here they are, all done. They now need to cure for 72 hours before I can wrap them up and deliver. By Wednesday they should be ready to go. I hope the bride will send me a picture of one of the tables, all set. So far, the only change is that the candle will be shorter than the one pictured above; about 3" in height.
