craft ideas old windows
How to turn old windows into faux stained glass…?
Ok, so lately I’ve had an over-whelming interest in crafts. I’ve made a birdhouse…a picture frame…basic stuff but I’m ready to take it up a notch. 
We have probably 30 old windows that have been outside for a few months now and I’m interested in using them. I’ve already checked to make sure they’re not rotting or anything and they’re still in good shape, surprisingly. The paint is chipping so I plan on sanding it down to the original wood and then staining the wood to make it look better. Then I want to make the panes stained glass. I’ve looked online and I know what materials I need for that part but I’m not sure what type of sander I need…Ideas? Any suggestions for staining the glass too? I’m open for any ideas or suggestions. Thanks!
Paint stripper might be a good idea, beats sanding all the paint off, you’ll still have to sand some. A palm sander should be sufficient for flat surfaces, and you might also want a sanding pad for hand sanding any detail. A power sander can take off too much in the wrong places. Keep the sandpaper away from the glass. Most craft stores sell fake stained glass stuff, which consists of black tape or lead tape to make your ‘lead’ outlines and paint to fill in the colour. I think they still make spray-on ’stained glass’ paint, which is good for large areas, might find that at Home Depot.
If you want your windows to look realistic, go look at some stained glass design books and use those designs or draw your own. There are some things that are very difficult to do with real stained glass, such as circular or square holes floating in the middle of another colour, inside corners and tight inside curves. That’s why real stained glass will have several pieces making up one object. Cutting the entire shape from one piece is impossible or not worth the trouble. I made a window once with some tricky cuts in it and had to cut one shape 4 times. The other 3 broke during cutting.
Mosaic Stained Glass
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