Faux Stained Glass Ornaments

I took an art history class eons ago that studied some of the most incredible cathedrals in Europe. While the professor prattled on and on about the flying buttresses and other architectural feats, I marveled at the beauty of all that stained glass.

When I saw Housing a Forest's "Stained Glass" Ornaments, the craft was immediately shortlisted to our must-do afterschool activities. (Stop by to see the amazing ornaments Tammy's kids made by visiting her blog here.)

I upcycled a 2-pound plastic strawberry container, cutting shapes out of the flat parts (top and bottom) and grabbed my beloved collection of permanent Sharpie markers. A little black construction paper and some yarn and we were set.

First, we read a little about stained glass.

We learned that stained glass is an artform that has been around a VERY long time - more than 1,500 years! We both found it fascinating that during the Middle Ages when few people could read, stained glass windows often taught the stories of the bible through the scenes they depicted, sort of like a big glass picture book.

Now it was time to create our own faux stained glass. I gave my son a few templates to choose from and let him get started tracing - first with permanent black marker, then with the colors. (Note: Plan to retrace the black lines after the colors have been added.)

When he was done with one ornament, it was time for another. I made one too! Both of us loved this craft and the results are beautiful!

I cut black frames for each ornament and we glued them with white school glue. To keep them in place while they dried, we added paperclips. A few hours later, the paperclips came off, a hole was punched, yarn strung through, and they were hung on our tree.

Stunning, I'd say!