It's Wedding Season...

Need an officiant? Need a location for a smaller wedding?  Get ahold of my friend Cindy atmarionsplace.com (do click this link!)for a beautifully unique experience.

Need a gift to take to a wedding?  Pick up a set of glasses at a home wares store, (or hit the thrift store for a set that may have never been used-hold them up to the light to check for scratches), then stop at your local craft store for Pebeo Porcelaine paints (their "Vidrio" ones for glass are way too sheer), and give this a try:

Stained glass patterned wine glasses make beautiful wedding gifts

The process for this is fairly simple, but it is time-consuming, so you can't start it the day before. The paint is dishwasher proof, but you have to let it cure 24 hours, then bake it, and that's after you spend an hour or so on each one. You can copy what I did, or to make it more personal, check out a few stained glass books from the library. You will find everything from simple mod geometrics to elaborate scenes, so no matter what the couple is into, this gift will fit.

Along with jars of whatever colors you want, you will find Pebeo makes tubes of cloisonne paint, and you will want one or two of these in black, for the outlines. Also pick up one of those little plastic pallets with six or eight divots to hold paint. This stuff dries quickly, and working from the jar will cause it to thicken.

Any stained glass book will be full of patterns you can adapt to glassware.

Make sure the glasses are squeaky clean, and if you are using patterns from a book, make photocopies small enough to slip inside the glass. Now, you're ready for some fun. Put on some good music, or an audio book, and settle in.

My technique for these is to do all the outlines first, starting with the top borders, then the motifs, then the filler lines.  Let that dry to the touch, giving your hand a rest, then go back and fill in the colors.  The outlining takes a bit of practice, and you might want to do some straight and curved lines just on paper first, to get a feel for how much pressure to use, and how fast to move the tube.  It's trickier when you get to the glass, until you get the feel of it, but remember, you can wipe off wobbly lines while wet, and if you really need to redo, you can soak it off even if it's dry, as long as you haven't baked it yet.

Stylized flowers are a timeless motif.

If you love them, but don't want to do them yourself, I will take commissions for these, at $45 apiece, but if it's for a wedding officiated by Cindy Faus Heimerl, or an event at Marion's Place, the price is $30 apiece. Again, they can be any color and any theme, so tell me about the lucky recipients, and I'll help you come up with the perfect design.  Email for more info dawnmariedelara@gmail.com.  Of course, if you are doing them yourself, and run into questions, email me and ask.  Really, I love helping people do creative things themselves.

Of course, you can always give the newlyweds a really extravagant gift, with a certificate for my services to decorate the nest they'll be sharing.  Check out my website theartofthehome.com to view my portfolio, and all the info on how to hire me.