Christmas Stained Glass

Christmas Stained Glass Mirror by Neil Burley

I'm not entirely sure why this month's theme sparked off this particular inspiration - I'll warn you up front it has it's difficulties! But before you wander away, I've got some top tips for creating similar glass projects using the fabulous WOW! Embossing Powders and Glitters.

• Make sure the glass surface is very clean - wipe it over with rubbing alcohol to get rid of any last traces of grease. The trick then is to keep your fingers off it!
• Make sure your self-adhesive lead strip is firmly stuck down. It will stay put during heating.
• Mask off areas with low tack masking tape, and apply embossing ink direct from the pad. Alternatively, colour in the areas you wish to emboss with a WOW! Embossing Pen.
• Try and put powder on all the areas you wish to emboss, and heat set it all at the same time - this prevents nearby areas re-melting and becoming uneven.
• The opaque powders (WOW! Sparkling Snow and WOW! Nice Ice Blue) need a couple of layers to get an even coat on the glass.
• The translucent glitters (WOW! Red Glitz and WOW! Green Glitz) work best on top of a corresponding translucent primary colour (WOW! Primary Apple Red and WOW! Primary Evergreen).
• To get a glass like finish, cover all the embossed areas with a layer of WOW! Clear Gloss Ultra High.
• Embossing powder may stick where it shouldn't on glass or the lead, just brush it off with a dry brush. Any heat set embossing powder will chip off when rubbed with a finger nail or sharp knife. This includes areas you may wish to keep, so take care.

PLEASE NOTE:

• Start with your heat gun further away from the mirror at first, and as you get closer, keep it moving. This reduces the risk of the glass shattering.
• Glass retains heat for quite a long time - do not handle it after heat setting until you are quite sure it is cool. Bear in mind this will also mean the powders take longer to set.

For photographing mirrors... take the photo at an angle on a garden table on a cloudless day, then do some jiggery pokery in image editing software (e.g. Adobe Photoshop) to correct the perspective distortion.

If you've any questions about the technique, do leave them in the comments below - I'll do my best to answer them. The mirror will be at the NEC with me this week if you want a closer look :)

WOW! Shopping List
WOW! Embossing Pen

WOW! Sparkling Snow
WOW! Nice Ice Blue
WOW! Red Glitz
WOW! Green Glitz

WOW! Primary Apple Red
WOW! Primary Evergreen
WOW! Clear Gloss Ultra High