colors on bottles

Try this out on your old jam bottles and get Ready for a candle light dinner!!! Wind a wire around the neck of the bottle add some colorful beads ,a hanging candle stand is ready.....
Coloring on bottles is a bit time consuming task as you can roll and paint the other side only after the paint dries on the current side.

Tips for the beginners

For cleaning the glass: Clean your glass with Dry cotton then with Glass cleaner or thinner or with water. (Cleaning Fluids / Thinner / Glass Cleaning Solution or Nail polish remover can also be used.)

Keep this handy while you start: Cotton Buds & Cotton roll (Cotton buds are invaluable for mopping up the Mistakes while painting.)

Glass, Mirror, Clear Plastic, Acetate Sheets (transparent sheets) or Bottles can be used as painting surface.

A blade or a craft knife to remove the unwanted thickness from the outline.do not scratch the glass hard as u end up leaving scratches on the surface.

A design or pattern that u desire to draw. Beginners start with designs having wide areas to paint rather the very intricate designs.

Take care of your hands from the sharp edges of the glass while painting .You can stick cello tape on all four sides of the glass n remove it once u have finished painting.

Stick the design with tape on the corners and make the outline of the design to avoid position changes. Remember the design should be of mirror image. Now do the outlining .You can use black colour outliner or any colour of your choice.

The outliner takes 10 to 20 mins. to dry. Start painting with the colors only after it dries.

For the beginners

step:1  First n foremost thing you have to do before beginning glass painting is-clean the glass n make sure its dry.

step:2  Next place the picture below(that which u r going to trace) the glass.carefully sketch out the outline using a outliner. Let it dry completely to avoid the merging of colors .liners of all colors r available in the market nowadays.

step :3  Apply glass colors to the painting .Here the outliner helps u from mixing up of the colors.

framing and care

• while painting  avoid bubbles do not shake the bottle before painting.Still if bubbles persist than burst it with a pin immediately.This is a tough job to do.If many small bubbles appear,carefully  try wiping the paint from the glass using a cotton bud.Bubbles form void space when the paint dries thus spoiling the finishing of your painting.
• Always work in ample light so that u can see even the minutest details in your painting.Keeping a white paper underneath your glass enables you to see the design without much strain.This helps u to see the colors  properly too.
• Do not expose the painting in direct sunlight or harsh lighting conditions as the colors may fade.
• Keep the painting dust free for its long life :) You can use the sandwich method in framing your painting to keep it dust free i.e.,u can place another thin glass on your painting and sandwich your painting in between glasses (only after drying).
• while framing you can use the sandwich method or keep a white board at the back or place crushed aluminium foil to give your painting a glitter.
• while taking out your painting for framing ,do not use cloth or paper to cover it instead u can either keep another plain glass (sandwich method) or bubble plastic sheet.
• Buy small bottles of paints if you do not paint regular user to avoid the paints from drying.

Reverse glass painting

Reverse Glass Painting is a technique used in glass painting wherein you apply the paint to a glass surface and view it from the other side. i.e., you have to frame the painting in such a way that the painted area remains unexposed. This protects the painting from dust. While using this technique make sure that all the details in your painting is colored properly, so that the painting doesn't appear dull. Unlike stained glass painting, here you have to paint the intricate design first, then the other details and finally the background and hence the name reverse glass painting. If this is neglected then the artist will not be able to correct the error as the colour will not go inside the glass and the colour already applied.

Effects

Different effects can be given to the painting using different materials.

• Sponge effect:After outlining your design ,apply glass paint using sponge.Dab the paint using sponge (try out both soft and coarse sponge to get different results).
• Bubble Wrap:Use a piece of bubble wrap to get a textured effect.You can use this technique while making a photo frame or while giving texture to a sari in the painting.
• Polythene Bag: Even a polythene piece ,which you get from the grocers, can do wonders on your glass.

colours.....

We can always experiment with various mediums of colors.
The advantage of using glass paint is that it gets dried up fast.Although Shading is pretty difficult using these colors once you are familiar with the techniques its fun.Glass paints are of two types :water based and solvent based.

we can also try experimenting with acrylic (fabric) colors and the acrylic 3d outliners and glitters which are easily available in the market .You wont get white glass paint so it would be a good idea to use acrylic white paint  instead  .Acrylic glitters can be used to give good effect to the jewellery,crown etc.,in your design.The outliner takes longer time to dry but the acrylic clors dry up pretty fast.Shading is easily done with these colors.

oil paint can also be used as a medium to color glass.Oil colour is used with linseed as base. this also takes more time to dry but the shading comes very good with it.
We can use fabric glue to give texture to the painting.Fabric glue turns transparent once dried up, then you can apply your solvent based glass colors(not water based) on them to get the textured effect.For example,It can be used on the borders of the dress,layers on the saree,design for a fabric etc.

You can enhance your painting by using crystals which you get from art or fancy shops.stick it with fabric glue on your glass and leave it for a day to dry.Then color the painting using water based glass colors.