Glass Painted Coaster Project.

This glass painted coasters project can be very simple. I say “can be” because it really depends on the design(s) you choose to work with. Chose a simple design and the project will be fairly straight forward. Chose a more complicated design and the project will be harder. In this way the project is suitable for both beginners and more advanced glass painters.

I bought the blank coasters from Amazon. I’ve noticed that they are available for sale in both the UK and the US. So far I haven’t checked other countries. If you can’t get hold of them this way you may be able to get a local glazier to cut them for you but don’t forget to tell them you want the edges smoothed as well. Wouldn’t be good if you visitors cut their fingers on them!

Materials and Equipment.

• Pack of blank Coasters.*
• Bubble Feet (although you may want to reclaim the ones you take off).
• Outliner.
• Glass Paints (I used Pebeo Vitrail along with the complementary outliner).
• Parchment/Greaseproof paper paper for a piping bag (if you chose to use one).
• Scissors.
• Craft Knife.

*I bought a pack of blank coasters from Amazon and they were very good value for money. If you are unable to do this then you could ask a local glazier to cut them for you but don’t forget to ask them to grind the edges.

The Design.

You have unlimited choices for  the design here. Simple design, difficult designs. 4/6 design which go together or 4/6 designs which are complimentary.  I ended up doing 4 celtic designs but did think about fish (thought it’d be nice having fish “swimming” across the coffee table. I also though about Noughts and Crosses (Tic, Tac, Toe) pieces, flowers, names and quite a lot more. As normal I ended up resizing and altering the designs on the computer although you could also design something freehand.

You will find the designs I used in this project in the relevant part of our Free Designs section (Projects).

Glass Painted Coaster Project. Step by Step.

1. Remove the bubble feet. If you want to reuse them (and have suitable glue) ten do this carefully and put to one side.
2. Clean off any residue from the bubble feet (I found my paint thinners worked well for this but I suspect nail varnish remover etc. would work equally as well).
3. Clean the coaster in warm soapy water to get rid of any finger prints and grease marks. Rise in clean water and leave to dry.
4. Use Blu Tack (or something similar) to fix your design underneath the glass.
5. Outline the design.
6. Wait to dry.
7. Place the glass on a completely flat surface and paint using the flood fill method.  It is best not to paint adjoining areas until one has gone at least tacky dry (unless they are the same colour). You can use blocks of colour, marbling or blending depending on your design.
8. Once the paint has dried you can add the bubble feet back on. These should be placed in the corners ON TOP OF the paint. Doing in this way means the painted surface is on the bottom of the coaster where it will be protected.

That is basically it. As I said it can be a very simple project but one with endless possibilities. Hope you enjoy it.