Sher's Creative Space: Tutorial - Painted Glasses, Dots!

Hand painted glassware seems to be all the rage right now. I've come up with this super simple, super cute, and super inexpensive gift you can make in a jiffy! They make a great hostess gift alone, or paired with something yummy or a bottle of wine. You can even make them for yourself, in fact, I think you should!

SUPPLIES:
Glass or wine glass
ENAMEL paints, usually sold near the acrylic paint
Paintbrush end, pencil eraser, or tool of your choice
Palette, plastic lid, or paper plate to hold your paint
Alcohol
A couple of paper napkins
Cookie sheet to hold glasses while baking
Oven

IMPORTANT - READ FIRST:
Always start with a squeaky clean and dry glass. Wipe down the glass with alcohol. Once you have done this, it is very important not to touch the area of the glass you will be painting. The oils from your hands can actually keep your paints from sticking to the glass. If you accidentally touch the glass during the painting process, just grab your alcohol and wipe that are while making sure not to smear any paint. Since I will not be painting the inside, the stem, or the upper inch of the glass, those are the only areas where I let my hands touch the glass. I found it easiest to hold the glass from the inside.

Decide how big you want your dots, then choose your tool accordingly. For the bigger glasses I chose bigger dots and I found the eraser end of a brand new pencil gave me the size I wanted. For the wineglasses I wanted smaller dots so I chose the wooden end of a paintbrush. It helps if you choose something that is perfectly flat rather than a "rounded" tip. Experiment "dotting" paper until you find what works best for you project.

Shake you paint well and put a small amount (about the size of a nickel) on your palette, I used a paper plate for this. It's best to use one color at a time. If you plan on having your dots touch each other, you'll want your paint to dry before applying your next color(s).

Simply dip the pencil, paintbrush, or tool of your choice into your paint, then dab it on the glass. Remember to be careful not to touch the area you are painting with your hands or fingers. You can also become super creative with the dots by making swirls or shapes from a group of dots. I've seen glasses like this and they are really cute as well.

Once you have finished your first color, repeat the step above using any additional colors you wish to add. Don't worry about any little "peaks" that appear in the center of your dots. Once the paint dries, your dots will flatten out. If you have any tiny splatters, you can gently scrape them off with your fingernail once the paint completely dries.

For the final process, you will have to follow the manufacturer's instructions on the bottle of enamel paint you are using. For example: the brand I'm using instructs me to:

Allow paint to air-dry for 48 hours. Then set in a cool oven, heat to 325 degrees, bake 30 minutes, turn oven off, let them cool down in the oven before removing.

After these glasses are baked, they can be washed, but I would not recommend putting them in the dishwasher.

These were so much fun to make, you may become addicted like me. These paints are also great to use on any white dishes or serving pieces as well. I had so much fun that I painted some in other colors too. Next I think I'm going to try a confetti style and use lots of bright colors!