Nebula Painting on Glass: Fine Art for Kids 

Miss R and I were hard at work today on arty-crafty-slimey projects. One positive result of being internet deprived is that there’s more (too much?) time for hands-on activities. I’d like to say that my family is becoming more Zen-minded and present and less device-attached, but in truth we’re all going a bit crazy. Still, we have been sowing a good deal of creative oats — and for that, I’m quite thankful. Yesterday, in addition to the bloody fun DIY Jupiter Juice activity and a yet-to-be-posted perfect puffy slime project, we worked on a stained glass painting we’re donating to kelleysDIY blog. Kelley is orchestrating a huge giveaway to celebrate her blog’s successful first year, and we’re happy to have been asked to be a part of it. While originally it was requested that we donate one of our Princess Glitter Globes, I just don’t trust the combination of water+glass+figurines in the mail. So, miss R and I agreed that one of our stained glass paintings, affectionately dubbed Nebula Paintings or Translucent Twist Ups, would fit the bill. Now, don’t get me wrong — I deem much of R’s work as fine art, and I strive to foster an environment in which she can proudly create artistic gems. But I’m not sure that the masses at large would jump for joy at receiving just any of our messily-made-with-love kid projects in their mailbox. The Nebula Stained Glass Paintings, though, are beautiful in their own right — the technique renders pieces similar to those of accomplished glass painters. So, yesterday we decided to make a couple extra Nebula Paintings, just so our hearts won’t be longing for whichever one we donate. While I provided a step-by-step tutorial in this previous post, I’m going at it again here — just because this is so a craft you need to be doing. It demands almost nothing in the way of materials, and can take as little as five minutes (or, if you feel like incorporating design elements or experimenting with color blocking, you can continue flexing your creative muscles for as long as you wish).

Supplies: 

1. Glass from a frame
2. White school glue
3. Food coloring in several colors

Step-By-Step Directions 

1. Remove glass and back from frame
2. Clean glass 
3. Squirt glue over surface of glass in any design you choose. 
4. Squirt food coloring, in chosen colors, on various parts of the glass so coloring is evenly distributed. 
5. Using a toothpick, combine the glue and color. Allow the glue and color to swirl together.

Create designs within your composition if you like. I enjoyed making stars and fireworks in mine — though these will spread as the glue dries and leave you with a lovely visual surprise. 

Once dry, the air bubbles within the glue contribute to the cosmos-like composition. 

I’m still figuring out how to display this piece — which is incredibly difficult to photograph due to the translucency of the glass. I’ll probably use a suction cup to hang it on the window and showcase the magical transformation of light and color. Please, do let me know if you try this awesome project — with or without the kids!!