DIY NZ...Stained Glass Windows

Michael and I have been hard at work since Sunday working on the latest DIY NZ article. Christine wanted us to paint some stained glass windows. Michael was pumped. Painting, on the kitchen window with real paint...and painting his favorite thing in the world (right now)...a pirate ship. The first thing we had to do was decide which window to use. We decided that this one way out of the way...no dogs or boys or even babies could get to it if we kept the shutters closed when we weren't looking at it. Then came the most challenging part for Michael. He had to do it all by himself because I was the photographer for the whole process...taping the paper down so we didn't get paint everywhere. This probably took longer than even painting of the five sea stars.
As you can see by the smile on Michale's face...this was fun! I think he mixed all but two of our paints. And we managed to keep it off of us and the table.
Michael wanted to use the big mixer to do the job. The cornstarch doesn't want to mix very fast...it takes a little more time than Michael was willing to spare.
Just in case you are worried about the clean up process...not to worry. We added liquid detergent to the paint and cornstarch. Supposedly it will easy to clean. They suggest using a spatula, but I think we will use some window cleaner and about a million paper towels.
As you can see we have very special containers...Allyson's empty, cleaned, recycled food containers. They are just the right size and have lids that are tight. This was we can store the paint in the fridge and they are stackable. Perfect. Always thinking, I am.
Ready to go. He was so excited. That grin was from ear to ear. He was actually was going to get to paint on the window and not get in trouble. I could just see those little wheels turning...what else will she let me paint on? We talked about it and he wants to take an art class this summer with the park district. Sounds like a great plan to me.
Bet you can't guess what he started out with? He started right in the center of the paper (window). I love the way he holds his paintbrush. He was telling me some long tale about how artists do things...he knows because he saw it on TV once.
Sea creatures are very important. You know that they are some really creepy ones way deep in the ocean. They never see light and they are really creepy. I had better not ever go to the dark, deep cave down there.
Oh, this was great fun! The funnel was a great hit. We had to add more corn starch to the black to make it thicker to go in the squeeze bottle to make the 'staining' of the art work. Michael decided that we would outline the sun, around the entire outside of the painting and make the line between the ocean and the sky. He tried so hard to do it but all he could get to come out of the bottle of paint was air. I have to say that it was a little challenging for me.
And if you check really close, you might be able to see that he signed his artwork...just like all those famous artist.

Once Christine and the editor finish what they do...we will have four article published. If you would like to see what we have done, they are just a click away...
wind chimes
garden lanterns
tie dying t-shirts
birdhouses