Stained Glass Easter Basket
Here's an Easter basket you can use over and over -- and the Easter bunny
never needs to refill it! Learn to make this fun holiday craft project.
 The Stained Glass Easter Basket is beautiful and fun to make. |
What You'll Need
Tracing paper
Pencil
Masking tape
5x7 inches clear shrink plastic
Poster board or cardboard
Black dimensional paint
Paintbrush
Various colors glass stain
Print out and copy the pattern below onto tracing paper.
 Use this pattern to copy on to tracing paper. |
Roll 4 pieces of masking tape into loops with the sticky side out; place them on the 4 corners of the tracing paper without covering any of the pattern. Set the piece of shrink plastic on the pattern with the edges properly aligned, and press down firmly until the tape holds the plastic in place. Place the shrink plastic and pattern on the poster board to protect your work surface.
Beginning with the horizontal line at the top of the pattern and working your way down, carefully trace the pattern onto the shrink plastic with the dimensional paint. It is important that all the lines and corners are solid so the different areas of the pattern are separated. If the paint smears, use a damp paintbrush to wipe away the smear. Let dry.
Remove the pattern from the shrink plastic, and set the plastic back on the poster board. Figure out what color scheme you would like to use before you begin to stain the shrink plastic. To prepare the stain, gently tip the bottles back and forth without shaking them (this prevents bubbles from forming).
Apply 1 color of stain to 1 area of the shrink plastic, using the bottle nozzle to move the stain into the corners. Press any bubbles against the edge of a black paint line. Apply enough stain so it's bright in color but not so much that it runs over the dimensional paint lines. Repeat with the other colors to fill in the other areas. Let dry.
Apply to a window, and let the sun shine through your basket of colorful Easter eggs! For a cute Easter craft project to hang on the wall instead of the window, try our Beautiful Button Quilt. See the next page for instructions. For more fun activities and crafts for kids, see:
