DIY Fake Stained Glass Home windows
10 min read
Learn the way Linda turned her current window into a fake stained glass window with straightforward to put in leaded strains. It’s a good looking traditional design and provides privateness to a plain window, and it’s straightforward to make your personal stained glass at house!
You can too add privateness with this straightforward DIY lace window movie or this low-cost DIY window movie trick — plus discover ways to make a no-sew DIY magnetic curtain for extra window protection.
🎨 In search of children artwork challenge concepts? Listed below are 60 Simple Artwork Concepts for Children Wall Decor.

DIY Fake Stained Glass Window Tutorial
by Linda at It All Began With Paint
This publish comprises affiliate hyperlinks. Study extra and skim our full disclosure coverage right here.
Hello everybody! My identify is Linda from It All Started With Paint and I’m thrilled to be taking part within the Remodelaholic ‘All Issues Home windows’ occasion.
Earlier than I share my faux leaded glass window challenge, let me share a little bit background about me. I’m a Jersey-born-and-bred Midwestern transplant who lives in Chicago with my husband and two youngsters. Seventeen years in the past I left a profitable profession in public relations to remain at house and lift my youngsters. Since then, I’ve balanced baby rearing with freelance public relations work.
Then three years in the past I found the world of DIY and residential décor blogs. I used to be impressed by the wonderful – and inexpensive – transformations so many gifted girls (like Cassity) have been making to their properties. It woke up my ‘inside Martha’ and I made a decision so as to add my voice to the blogosphere.
Since then, I’ve been chronicling my DIY, room transform, crafting, and cooking journey on my weblog, It All Started With Paint. And, simply because I’m a glutton for punishment, I even began a second weblog, Mason Jar Crafts Love, the place I share revolutionary methods to craft, prepare dinner, and embellish with mason jars.
Again to my house DIY journey. Our home is over 100 years outdated. Don’t get too excited. It comes with not one of the outdated world attraction you may think a house constructed within the late 1800’s would possess. It does, nonetheless, include an entire lot of outdated home money-pit complications! However that’s a publish for “This Previous Home Complications Week” …

I delight myself on being a make lemonade out of lemons particular person. And when confronted with modern-looking home windows and mouldings that didn’t actually match with the coastal-nautical-city-cottage vibe I’m hoped to infuse into our house, I set about giving them a little bit of outdated world aptitude. On a budget, in fact, with a fake stained glass window therapy … sure you’ll be able to stain glass in an current window!

In search of one thing even simpler? Seize this cheap privateness movie for a one-step fake stained glass window.
DIY Fake Stained Glass Home windows
Step 1: Draw the glass design
I began out drawing my fake stained glass design on a bit of paper the precise dimensions of the window opening. For sure, there was numerous erasing and redrawing to get the right match.
My window design is all straight strains, which made it straightforward to attract and simple to create utilizing primarily the peel and stick DIY stained glass main strains.
For extra natural shapes, you may use stencils or cups, bowls, and many others to make good even curves and easy designs.

Step 2: Switch the design to the window
Now, if I may simply attain the skin of the window, I might simply tape that drawing to it with painters tape and hint the sample proper onto the glass. However that wasn’t an possibility. So I put my drawing up in opposition to the window and, utilizing a pencil, frivolously marked off my lead line beginning factors on the perimeters of the window body.
PS: You’ll want to clear your glass nicely with glass cleaner earlier than transferring the fake stained glass black outlines!

Step 3: Apply leaded glass strains
Then it was time to seize my Gallery Glass supplies, which I discovered on the craft retailer. These provides are additionally out there here on Amazon. I used window leading strips, liquid leading, and crystal clear window color (and there’s a combo kit here).
I used the clear window coloring so as to add a frosted glass look to my stained glass window. When you’d like a extra colourful stained glass window, use the colored Gallery Glass paints as an alternative like Madigan added to her sidelights right here. There are additionally colorful window films you may use.

These leading strips are pure genius. You possibly can simply reduce them. Simply reposition them to observe the strains of your sample. I simply used a stage to maintain my vertical strains straight. Press firmly on the sting of the lead strips to make sure good adhesion.
Associated: DIY Lace Window Movie. It’s simpler than you suppose!

The I added some liquid leading “solder” to scrub up the leaded areas the place items didn’t fairly join. That is principally fancy black acrylic paint.

I let that dry for 8-10 hours, per the directions on the bottle.
For curved strains, circles, or different natural shapes that aren’t straight strains, Gallery Glass recommends creating a DIY stained glass window cling. You’ll use a spare piece of glass (like from an image body), place the sample beneath, apply the liquid main and the stained glass paint, then let it dry and peel it from the glass to put on the window.
Step 4: Apply stained glass shade paint
Section two was the applying of the Crystal Clear glass color. Which, clearly, is colorless. After it dries, that’s. Throughout software it was milky white.
The colorful DIY stained glass window paint applies the identical method — opaque throughout software and translucent after it dries (form of like Mod Podge or Elmer’s glue).

I used to be a bit heavy handed. Squeezing it out instantly from the bottle onto the window. Fully forgetting in regards to the results of gravity. There was some revisiting all through the day to wipe away the Crystal Clear from the lead strains and the underside of the window pane.
My advice is to skip my heavy-handed technique and use some sort of applicator. Like a paintbrush. And portray on a number of mild coats till you attain your required look.
Gallery Glass recommends making use of the DIY stained glass window paint on to the window from the bottle, then utilizing this pick tool to brush/stir to unfold and mix the paint. This additionally helps take away air bubbles trapped beneath the paint.
In the long run, I’m actually proud of the way it turned out.

It actually does praise my dining room remodel.

In truth, I cherished it a lot that I created one in my lounge as nicely.

You possibly can see my totally reworked coastal-nautical-city-cottage-look eating room and residing rooms (full with fake leaded glass home windows) — in addition to the fake stained glass window I created in my entryway throughout my pre-blogging days — by visiting the room remodels section on my blog.
Thanks a lot Cassity for inviting me to share my fake stained glass window tutorial together with your Remodelaholic readers! Hopefully they’re impressed so as to add a little bit of outdated world home attraction to their very personal properties – with out the outdated home money-pit complications!


You can too discover me on social media, together with Facebook, Pinterest, and Twitter. I’d love so that you can cease by and socialize!
Extra DIY Privateness window concepts
DIY Stained Glass Window FAQs
Is DIY stained glass costly?
Fake stained glass will not be costly and it’s a really inexpensive option to create your personal privateness window and add some traditional model to your property. A pack of leading strips and a combo kit of liquid leading and glass paint value lower than $50 (and you should utilize coupons at most craft shops!) and can cowl a number of common dimension home windows, relying in your design.
Is that this DIY fake stained glass window paint removeable?
Sure! The paint may be very sturdy however will also be eliminated in the event you’d prefer to return to the flat glass window. Simply use a glass scraper tool or craft blade/utility knife to attain the perimeters, then fastidiously scrape up the paint — it might even peel off in a single piece.
How do I clear a fake stained glass window?
For the reason that stained glass paint and main are utilized to the within of the window solely, you’ll be able to proceed to scrub the outside of the window like normal. For the textured inside the window, wipe clear frequently with a lint-free microfiber material to take away mud.
Can I take advantage of this technique for a children glass window artwork lesson?
In fact! The Gallery Glass provides are an awesome possibility for youths and adults alike to create your personal imitation stained glass artwork and stain your personal “window” in a photograph body or any sheet of glass. (We love artwork historical past!)
When you’re on a finances, you’ll be able to exchange the liquid main with black glue (coloured with paint) to hint the sample or silhouette on transparency film sheets as an alternative of glass. Add meals coloring or a pair drops of acrylic paint to a couple tablespoons of clear glue, white faculty glue, or Mod Podge Gloss in a disposable bowl or muffin tin, then paint the coloured glue within the sections you’d like.
Can I take advantage of window movie to appear to be stained glass?
Sure! When you’re searching for a fast set up, there are various stunning privateness window movies that appear to be stained glass, plus different stunning designs. Listed below are just a few of our favorites:
- Window main strips
- Liquid main black
- Crystal clear window paint or coloured Gallery Glass paint
Step 1: Draw the glass design
-
I began out drawing my fake stained glass design on a bit of paper the precise dimensions of the window opening. For sure, there was numerous erasing and redrawing to get the right match.
-
My window design is all straight strains, which made it straightforward to attract and simple to create utilizing primarily the peel and stick DIY stained glass main strains.
-
For extra natural shapes, you may use stencils or cups, bowls, and many others to make good even curves and easy designs.
Step 2: Switch the design to the window
-
Now, if I may simply attain the skin of the window, I might simply tape that drawing to it with painters tape and hint the sample proper onto the glass. However that wasn’t an possibility. So I put my drawing up in opposition to the window and, utilizing a pencil, frivolously marked off my lead line beginning factors on the perimeters of the window body.
-
PS: You’ll want to clear your glass nicely with glass cleaner earlier than transferring the fake stained glass black outlines!
Step 3: Apply leaded glass strains
-
Then it was time to seize my Gallery Glass provides, which I discovered on the craft retailer. These provides are additionally out there on Amazon. I used window main strips, liquid main, and crystal clear window shade (and there’s a combo equipment).
-
I used the clear window coloring so as to add a frosted glass look to my stained glass window. When you’d like a extra colourful stained glass window, use the coloured Gallery Glass paints as an alternative. There are additionally colourful window movies you may use.
-
These main strips are pure genius. You possibly can simply reduce them. Simply reposition them to observe the strains of your sample. I simply used a stage to maintain my vertical strains straight. Press firmly on the sting of the lead strips to make sure good adhesion.
-
Then I added some liquid main “solder” to scrub up the leaded areas the place items didn’t fairly join. That is principally fancy black acrylic paint.
-
I let that dry for 8-10 hours, per the directions on the bottle.
-
For curved strains, circles, or different natural shapes that aren’t straight strains, Gallery Glass recommends making a DIY stained glass window cling. You’ll use a spare piece of glass (like from an image body), place the sample beneath, apply the liquid main and the stained glass paint, then let it dry and peel it from the glass to put on the window.
Step 4: Apply stained glass shade paint
-
Section two was the applying of the Crystal Clear glass shade. Which, clearly, is colorless. After it dries, that’s. Throughout software it was milky white.
-
The colourful DIY stained glass window paint applies the identical method — opaque throughout software and translucent after it dries (form of like Mod Podge or Elmer’s glue).
-
I used to be a bit heavy handed. Squeezing it out instantly from the bottle onto the window. Fully forgetting in regards to the results of gravity. There was some revisiting all through the day to wipe away the Crystal Clear from the lead strains and the underside of the window pane.
-
My advice is to skip my heavy-handed technique and use some sort of applicator. Like a paintbrush. And portray on a number of mild coats till you attain your required look.
-
Gallery Glass recommends making use of the DIY stained glass window paint on to the window from the bottle, then utilizing this decide device to brush/stir to unfold and mix the paint. This additionally helps take away air bubbles trapped beneath the paint.
-
Let it dry and luxuriate in your new stained glass window!

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