How to Make a Stained Glass Christmas Tree Skirt

Use Liquid Glass Paint and a Tablecloth for This Holiday Craft

Aug 15, 2008 Mary Welling-Bonney

This Tree Skirt is really different and gives the look of stained glass using nontraditional materials.

How do you combine the use of stained glass with the concept of a Christmas tree skirt? It is not as hard as you might think.

Materials Needed:

• Clear plastic tablecloth
• Liquid lead
• Liquid glass paint (at least 6 different colors)
• Sponge brushes
• Scissors
• Water based marker

Instructions:

1. Begin with a 45" square of the clear plastic tablecloth. You can purchase this by the foot at fabric stores if you don't own one. Fold the square in half and in half again. You will have four corners. One corner will be the centermost point of the fabric. The opposite corner will have no folds and be all of the outermost tips. The two other corners will be a combination of folds and edges. It is important to identify which corner is which.
2. At the centermost point use your marker to draw an arch about four inches in from the tip. When you open the fabric it should look like the beginning of a circle in the center. If it goes in the wrong direction wipe the marker off with a damp cloth, dry the area and start again. If you have your circle fold the fabric back into quarters and cut the centermost corner off following your line you drew.
3. Leave the fabric quartered and go to the opposite corner. You are going to remove this corner by drawing an arch from the adjacent corner to the opposite adjacent corner. Once again, open the fabric to see if your drawn line looks like the beginning of a circle. If so fold the fabric back and cut on the line. If not wipe the marker off, dry and begin again.
4. Cut a line from the center to the outside edge to make a slit. This will be the back of your tree skirt and will allow you to wrap it around the trunk.
5. Lay the plastic out flat. Using your liquid lead create geometric patterns all over the surface. Allow the liquid lead to dry completely and then go over all of the lead lines again. Let the lead dry completely.
6. Fill in each of the geometric shapes you created with the glass paint. Use the sponge brushes to cover the entire area. You can blend or partially blend two different colors to create a unique effect. Once dry you can turn it over for a different texture of leave it upright.

You can also try using stained glass sheeting. It is contact paper sheets that look like stained glass. If you use the sheets instead of liquid paint you will lead after the panes are done. You do this by cutting the sheets into random geometric shapes and fit them together like a puzzle. When the entire surface is covered you go back and lead at every line where two colors meet. It is easier to do this using the lead adhesive strips cut to size rather than the liquid lead. This tree skirt will look good only face up as the leading will not be visible from underneath.

The copyright of the article How to Make a Stained Glass Christmas Tree Skirt in Crafts is owned by Mary Welling-Bonney. Permission to republish How to Make a Stained Glass Christmas Tree Skirt in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.

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