Some arts and crafts make the perfect gifts

So there was a time when I was all caught up on my favourite online TV shows, and I took it upon myself to engage in some serious arts and crafts. I had some vacation time where I chose not to travel anywhere and instead did meaningful activities like... bottle-painting! Or jar-painting. Or, just painting on glass. Anyways, it's the process of painting on glass that I wanted to share with you. And by you I mean a fellow artsy person who likes to use their hands, make pretty things and doesn't necessarily have a consistent creative pursuit or is even that talented. Sound familiar? Well, if so, here is something fun, cheap and easy you can do!

Here are the steps:
1. First you need to decide what glass object you want to paint. I always go with glass bottles or jars which you can get for just $1 at Dollarama! In the past I have also painted mirrors and candle holders, but glass plates could be cool too. Apart from Dollarama, Honest Ed's and Zellers are good places to look for this sort of thing.

2. Then you need to go out and buy glass paints by a make called Pebeo. They come in small 45 mL jars, offering a 20-plus colour range. They can be purchased individually or in a set. You have two options. You can buy the Pebeo Vitrail or the Pebeo Vitrail 160. What's the difference? The former is purely decorative so use it on objects that won't need to go in the dishwasher. The latter is dishwasher safe and meant to be used. However, you have to bake the glass once it has been painted. I always go with the former, because I don't know the first thing about baking glass! These paints are not available at all art stores, but in the downtown area De Serres carries the line, and they cost around $4 per jar. And, given that the amount of paint used per project is so minimal, these jars will last you for years.

3. To make your design more fabulous you need to purchase an outliner as well. This is a puffier paint that comes in a tube in different colours like brass, silver, lead, grey etc. and it is used to shape and outline your designs, or for you to draw out the bulk of your illustration. This outliner I have found in other art stores too, including Midoco on Bloor near Bathurst.

4. Now it's up to you to use your imagination and put paint to glass. As you can see from our p my friend chose a forest animal theme (see first image above) and chose to paint the entire jar blue. I chose a starry night theme and used more doodles (see image right). Regardless of what you do, your final product will look so pretty in the sunlight, sitting on a window-sill, and it makes the perfect gift for birthdays and holidays.
Keep in mind that the paints might be hard to remove from your paint- brush so use turpentine or a cheaper alternative like nail polish remover.

That is it; those are all the tips that I have to offer you, my fellow arts and crafts lover. Easter vacation is coming up around the corner, so if you're not doing anything, and tired of online TV, this is the way to go. Have fun!

S.