Stained Glass Mini Greenhouse
My Latest Endeavor
Happiness quite unshared can scarcely be called happiness; it has no taste.
-Charlotte Brontë
I want a greenhouse - quite badly. It would be very helpful in getting my plants started a little earlier here in the frozen north! Unfortunately, I don’t have the money to drop on as big of a greenhouse as I want. So, I’ve been collecting all the free windows I can find to make a greenhouse in the great someday.
Greenhouses made from windows are pretty neat as is, but in our scrolling for inspiration, my mom found a cooler way to do them: faux stained glass. Gallery Glass makes a paint that dries looking like stained glass, so you can “stained glass-ify” anything.
I don’t have all the windows for my greenhouse yet, so I haven’t started the art for it. But, I did make a cold frame using the IKEA Akerbar mini-greenhouse, and paint it stained glass. Here are the steps and pics of my progress!
The Supplies
I ordered this kit from IKEA. It feels pretty flimsy when assembled, so I don’t love that part of it. But, it was cheap and easy to build. The panes are polystyrene - so don’t expect real glass.
From Amazon, I ordered these (affiliate links - I get a small commission if you order after clicking this link, at no additional cost to you):
Big bottles of filler & leading paint
I used quite a bit of the leading, and not quite a full bottle of the clear filler paint
This set of colored filler paints
There are plenty of other options available, these are just the ones I liked
I also didn’t want a set that had additional leading paint, as I thought I’d have enough (I did)
Toothpicks
Napkins
Clear tape
Pattern & Leading
I followed the pattern and instructions from this article from Entertain the Idea. The pattern she provides goes pretty perfectly with the Akerbar (as that’s what the pattern was designed for). You tape the pattern to the outside of the window, so you can paint on the inside (see my pic).
I found it very helpful to put a tape tip on my leading bottle - just wrapping a piece of tape around the end of the bottle to make the paint’s exit hole smaller.
Then, I traced the lines of the pattern with the black paint. It was kind of tedious, and my hands hurt afterward as it’s a thick paint. It does bleed some, but it’s actually rather forgiving - wipe it off completely while it’s still wet and retry, or can clean it up a little as it sets.
Filling in the Gaps
Using whatever colors I desired, I filled in the little spots on the project after the leading had dried (~24 hours). The colored paint goes on opaque and dries clear. This part is pretty much like coloring a coloring page.
I found it helpful to put in a squirt of paint, then swirl it or push it around with a toothpick. I think the result is also more interesting that way (it’s patterned instead of flat)
Painting the Clear Places
Once all the colored paint was on and dried, I filled in all the empty space with a clear paint (also from the big bottles in the set linked above). This paint goes on white and dries clear. If you swirl it around when it’s wet, it leaves a really cool pattern on the project that makes it seem like it’s actually stained glass. There was a lot of empty space to fill, but it was definitely worth it.
Assembly
As it was an IKEA kit, some assembly was required. However, it was pretty easy. Keep the instructions from the kit, and you’ll have no problem putting it together!
Finished Product
It was cool to see the mini-greenhouse all put together. I gave this one to my grandma (:
I would do the stained glass part again for sure - I’ve purchased a few more colors and have other projects in mind. Again, I don’t love the Greenhouse kit. My family is notorious for over-building things - if you can’t drive over it, it’s not strong enough. You definitely can’t drive over the Akerbar.
But it’s pretty. It was a fun and easy summer project.
Why does this matter?
PROCESS - God makes everything beautiful in his timing. Patience is hard for me. But maybe I need to sit for a little bit before it’s time for the next step.
GENEROSITY - the joy of the making is in the sharing. I’m glad I got to give this greenhouse away, and I’m glad I got to share this journey with you. “A joy shared is twice the joy, and a sorrow shared is half the sorrow.”
GROWTH - each new beginning comes with a series of beginnings before it. Whatever is grown in this little greenhouse is preceded by my work, which is preceded by the work of the manufacturers, etc., etc., etc. So also, each new beginning in our lives has a past.
CLARITY - the paint that went on opaque dried clear. There are many places where initially, we don’t understand. But given time, all will be revealed.
In Conclusion
If you’re looking for something to pass some time this summer - or better yet, this winter when you’re bored out of your skull - this is a good option. I have a bunch of ideas for what I’ll put on the real greenhouse … when it comes.
Did you know you can become a paid subscriber to Musings? I set that up a couple of weeks ago. If you want to contribute to the greenhouse fund, consider this as an option.
If not, no worries. Thanks for being here and making it this far! Until next time, weed your garden, give black coffee another shot, and break a sweat (the sunshine makes it easy!).
Faithfully,
Katie Stacey
So beautiful!