We are going to learn the most basic techniques for working with Gallery Glass by doing an adorable little birdhouse sun catcher!

You will need to print out the pattern picture and in addition you will need:
– 1 sheet of white freezer paper slightly larger than actual pattern size
– Gallery Glass (available either online at many retailers or in most hobby stores and discount stores with craft departments) in Cocoa Brown, Ivy Green, and (optional) White Frost.
– Gallery Glass Liquid Leading – 1 small bottle in your choice of color available. (It comes in black, silver, gold and white).
– 1 fine tip permanent marker
– Masking or scotch tape, small amount
(Approximate project cost $15.00. You will have enough leftover supplies to make several other projects so do not throw the paints away!)

This will be the type of sun catcher that you will simply stick on to the inside of a window OR you can stick it to any glass object (picture frame, mirror, etc!) It can be easily removed later with a razor blade scraper if you wish.
Step 1
Place the freezer paper shiny side UP on top of the printed design. Place the two pieces of paper together over a bright window and tape down the edges so you can see the design through the freezer paper. Trace the design onto the freezer paper with a fine permanent marker. Now you can take the two pieces of paper apart, remove the tape and place your traced freezer paper on your work surface (smart to protect work surface with newspaper or more freezer paper).
Step 2
Open the bottle of Liquid Lead. You will need to puncture the tip to open it. Don’t lose the cap! Practice squeezing the leading in a line on extra freezer paper a few times. Perfection is NOT necessary – just do the best you can and remember you can always clean up leading boo-boo’s after it dries!
Once you are comfortable with the technique, squeeze the liquid lead directly onto the traced freezer paper, outlining every line. Allow to dry THOROUGHLY. Overnight is sure-fire but many times I have dried leading quickly in a few hours lying on a sunny table.
Step 3
If you have any boo-boo’s you want to fix, do so now with a razor scraper or tiny scissors. Just trim anything you need to – like large blobs, etc., back to the line you want.
Step 4
The fun part!! Now open your Gallery Glass paints. You will be filling in green in all the green outlined parts, and brown in the brown-outlined parts. Again, practice your technique first! The glass paints are much thinner and come out faster than the liquid lead. Since we will be removing the painted object from the paper, we want a pretty thick cost of the glass paint but never let it go over the top of the leading lines.
Simply squeeze and paint with the tip of the bottle. I usually like to go in little circles but do what works for you. Make sure the paint is in contact with all edges of the leading. If you have little bubbles, simply pop them with the tip of the bottle until they go away.
Special advanced tip (for the optional white paint!)
After you have painted the first coat, drop a small drop of white into a colored area. Take anything small and pointy – the ballpoint of an old pen, the end of an old paintbrush, a straight pin, a tootsie pop stick, anything you have handy – and work the white paint swirling it into the other colored paint creating interesting designs! Have fun with it, there are no rules, just enjoy – the results will be beautiful! You can swirl the white into both the brown and green areas and you will have a very pretty piece!
Now just let it dry very thoroughly – this time definitely overnight. When completely dry it will not have any sticky parts at all, it will feel smooth. It will be flexible. Just peel gently off of the freezer paper and stick on your window!
If for some reason (like really thick paint for instance) you lift it up and it’s not dry, don’t panic! Just flip it over with the damp side facing up and allow to finish air drying.
I hope you enjoy your Gallery Glass creation! You can use the tracing method above to create your own custom designs too! The sky is literally the limit to your creativity! If you enjoy using premade patterns, there are dozens available through the Gallery Glass folks. Good luck and have fun!
“Craft Corner” by: Sheila Talley, Butyoudontlooksick.com, © 2006