Last fall I decided to turn a pair boring wine glasses into a spectacular pair for special occasions. So, of course, I started out with looking for ideas on Pinterest. After looking a number of ideas and tutorials I finally decided to experiment on my own.
The hardest part was finding a set of glitter paints that were non-toxic, bake-able, and would not change color after being baked onto the glassware. I found after some experimentation that no matter what, the glitter would change color and tone during the baking process. But I lucked out with some gold paint that happened to change to a prettier color than the original color! (That's the trick of this project!) And even though I could find non-toxic glitter paints, they were still recommended not to be "food safe," which meant that I needed to keep the paint low enough to not cross over the area of the glass people would touch with their mouths.
It took me a couple of days to apply the paint. It took nearly 10 coatings. And it was important to let each coat of paint dry completely before beginning the next coat.
The baking process was fairly easy. I put the glasses on a parchment lined sheet pan and baked them at 200 degrees, checking and rotating them them every 10-20 minutes until the paint was uniform in color and appeared to be adhered to the glass. It is a smelly process and be prepared to air out your kitchen and oven after the process is over. You will not want that smell baked into what you are making for dinner!
I was very surprised that my glasses became super-popular on Etsy. I only sold one pair, but while it was listed it was featured in many, many treasuries and had thousands of views! I'm debating on making some more for the fall and re-listing them in my shop. However, with the pregnancy right now I'm not sure if I want to be inhaling the paint fumes until after the baby arrives (and she is spending the afternoon with Grandmother and Granddaddy!). So perhaps I will wait until October....
Happy Crafting!
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