I’ll be the first to admit, our giant faux stained glass cross was a little crooked, so maybe I’m not the best person to share how we did it. But I still love it and when the neighbors applauded after we removed the tape … I can say that we were incredibly proud of it!
Make a Giant Faux Stained Glass Cross
First you need to find the washable paint recipe that is right for you. I found one that called for water and flour and it was too runny. Another suggested dish soap. I mixed a few things around – but the most important thing to me was starting with WASHABLE PAINT! Ours ended up a little bit thicker, and I had to scrub to get it off – so maybe the water would have been helpful.
Pick a window that will get a nice amount of sun! I picked the west-facing window because I like sunsets and mountains. Also – many people in our neighborhood walk along the sidewalk that is right up near that window.
Decide your measurements for the cross. We made marks on the window with dry erase markers. We really did try to get it centered.
Tape of sections of your cross with tape. We did one with masking tape and one with painters tape. I prefer the painters tape because we’re working with paint! You can either paint each section a different color or paint everything purple. Wait for paint to dry & then carefully remove each strip of tape.
We made a giant red heart for Mother’s Day but we picked the south facing window and could never get a picture without a horrible glare.
Tips
It’s going to be messy. I did this with a 13yr old and it was still incredibly messy. So here are a few tips.
- Keep paper towels close by – like REALLY close by!
- Pick up any spilled paint immediately.
- Don’t leave it on for too long because it will get caked there and you’ll need finger nails to scrape it off.
- Test your paint before going crazy – you might not like how thin or thick it turns out.
- Assign areas. Even with a 13yr old he was still leaning over me dropping paint splatters in my hair. If someone is working high make sure someone else is working right – not directly below.
- Invite the family outside to watch the big reveal. We had no idea the neighbors were watching from their back deck. So when we ran out to see it finally finished they started clapping. I wish the family would have seen what they did.