How to Paint Wine Glasses - What You Need to Begin! (Part One)

Ever wonder how those wine glasses with all the fun sayings and creative designs are created? Well, if you like to paint, why not create your own?

Over the next few blog posts, I'll be teaching you how to create your own masterpieces on any glass piece you chose. You can paint fun designs on glass cookie jars, glass bowls, and even Martini glasses. But painting is just one step in the process. The finishing touches - a little glitter and a few gems- are what gives the glass piece it's true beauty.


First, what you will need to purchase (supplies) and where.

• Enamel Acrylic Paint. When purchasing your paints make sure they are enamels. Also, make sure you read the label. I ended up purchasing Martha Stewarts translucent glass paint once, so I tried it out. It wasn't my favorite look for a wine glass. I also wasn't a big fan of her red glitter paint. There just wasn't enough glitter in it, so I resorted back to putting the glitter on using Clear Gloss Glaze. Any of the below brands work great!
• FolkArt Enamel Acrylic Paint available at Michaels.
• FolkArt Multi-Surface available at Michaels.
• Americana Enamels available at Michaels.
• Paint brushes.
• Plaid One Stroke paint brushes. These are my favorite. I've tried Martha Stewarts paint brushes and a few other brands. The Plaid One Stroke is still my favorite! I these at Michaels Arts and Crafts. But I have found them online at Amazon and Blicks.
• Line paint brush is a must. I use this to write words on the glass.
• Glass paint markers: These make writing on glass easier. Sharpie Oil-Based Paint Markers and Pebeo Vitrea 160 Glass Markers work great. There are other glass paint markers on the market that I haven't tried yet like DecoArt. So far I've been pretty happy with the Sharpie Oil-Based Paint Markers which come in lots of different colors. Heads up though...they are much more vibrant than glass paint and typically will not match enamel paint color, so test and plan before you begin creating your masterpiece. Also, sometimes the paint comes out of the Sharpie pen too fast, making the paint run down your glass. And it can come out too thick. I've also had to put the clear glaze over it, so it doesn't wash off. If you use these, take your time and practice.
• Glass & Bead platinum bond. This is a clear adhesive glue that comes in a tube. I use this to adhere the gems to the glass. It smells awful, so good ventilation is important.
• Clear Gloss Glaze - Air-Dry PermEnamel. This is a must! It seals the bottom of the glass, making sure the paint doesn't chip or get scratched up. I also use it to adhere glitter to the glass.
• Mod Podge: Another alternative to adhering glitter to glass and sealing the bottom. Both Clear Glass Glaze and Mod Podge work wonderful. You have to put one coat on glass, first. Then sprinkle the glitter. And then, when the first coat is cry, I highly recommend putting one more coat on to keep glitter from coming off.
• Glitter. You can purchase any glitter, but the finer the better. My preferred glitter is the Creatology brand. The glitter is more fine.
• Wine glasses. Most of my wine glasses were purchased at Bed Bath and Beyond using a 20% off coupon. I use the Libbey brand which comes in a box of 12 pcs. I've purchased some from Pier One's clearance section in the past, but found it was too hard to get them all to be the same size. Walmart also has a lot of different glass pieces available.
• Rubbing Alcohol. I use this to remove mistakes and clean the glass.
• Paper towels.

Other supplies:

• Stencils. Martha Stewart now has stencils available that stick on and peal off. I tried them and they just didn't work for me. Paint leaked through and some pealed off when I took the stencil off the glass.
• Gems. I purchase them when they are on sale at Michaels. Usually they are in the scrapbook section or on display in the middle of the aisles. Every holiday certain gem colors go on sale.
• Old clothes to wear. Enamels do not wash off clothes. It's important to wear old clothes that you don't mind ruining.

How to Paint Wine Glasses: Beginning painting and painting techniques (Part Two)

How to Paint Wine Glasses - Adding Glitter and Gems (Part Three)

Hope you'll also check out my ten published children's books!

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