Elegant Stained Glass

RATED: 3 For Difficulty

What dream dollhouse would be complete without elegant double doors and stained "glass"?  The most difficult thing about this project is working with the hand carving wood tools, if you have no experience a simple design may be best.  I apologize for the lack of photos during the carving stage - I wasn't planning on creating this blog when I carved it!

Cut and sand the doors. 

Start by cutting the doors from the wood of the dollhouse.  (For more details visit the Planning Your Dollhouse article.)  We did a simple, arched pair of doors.  Sand them with a power sander to ensure the edges aren't sharp or chipped and you won't be getting splinters while you hand carve the piece.

Draw out the design you want to place on your doors.  I liked the curly-q hearts I found on one door and simplified that.  (I Googled elegant doors under the images tab for inspiration.)  Transfer the drawing or pattern out on the wood with carbon paper or using the old "graphite on back trace front" trick, then carve, carve, carve.  Mine probably took me about 6-8 hours per door over the course of a week or two, I did it while listening to reruns.

Draw the Pattern, Carve, Sand, Stain, Dry.

If you have no experience with wood carving it's fun but also can be a bit overwhelming - use some scrap and get a feel for your tools before digging in.  Straight-knives are great for the edges of your design, tracing the design with the straight knife will help protect your piece while you're removing material.  V-knives and U-knives are probably the easiest for removing a lot of material, and the Planar helps to remove the bumpies at the base.  Some bumps are nice though as it adds a bit of dimension, texture, and catches light differently. 

I would certainly not consider myself an expert (I've only carved 2 - 3 things before this piece.) but I feel I achieved a pretty product with my "novice" skills.  Remember this is a dollhouse and your child will love the detail you put into it.  

Sand the edges down once you have the pattern carved into the piece.  I found wrapping my sandpaper around the tip of a pencil let me get into the tiny edges without getting frustrated. 

My favorite Acrylic paint.

Once that is said and done, stain it with a nice color.  I recommend Minwax because it goes on smoothly and easily.  

Let it dry fully before working with it again.      

Once dry choose the color you want the "stained glass" to be.  I asked my daughter if she wanted red, silver, or gold, and she decided gold.  

Liquitex is by far my favorite acrylic brand, they are rich and creamy and hold color well.  I have found some of the cheaper brands to be clumpy and dry out faster...not to mention I've had several tubes explode on me from simple use, which is frustrating, messy, and a waste.

I simply poured a pool onto my wax paper and using a small flat brush painted the crevices in my carved doors. 

Using a small flat brush paint your "background." 

 My gold showed a tiny bit of the dark stain through, but I liked that as it added dimension to it, the parts that showed through it worst I added a second coat once dried.

Knowing that I was using Dimensional Mod Podge after painting I wasn't too concerned about getting the gold smooth and finished, I was more concerned about getting the brilliance and tones I wanted.

If you accidentally get some gold on your wooden "frame" take a clean brush and using water dab it off - the stain is also a sealant and it should wipe away cleanly.  (Alternatively you can use your finger.)

I wanted it super shiny, so I did about 3 layers on my flatter portions, allowing the shine to really stand out.

Dry completely and seal it with Mod Podge, dry again.

I completed both doors before working with the Mod Podge as I wanted them to a bit of time to dry.  I have since found out that in order to protect against "Cloudy" or "Milky" discoloration in your DM, you should ensure that the acryllic is completely dried and sealed with regular Mod Podge.

Mod Podge: Dimensional Magic (DM)

Simply squirt out the Dimensional Magic in the design.

If you have never worked with Mod Podge, its a very simple paint (or squirt) and dry product.  Mod Podge: Dimensional Magic (commonly referred to as DM) is especially awesome because it gives you that 3 dimensional "glass-like" look without the toxicity and frustration of resins.  The simple ease of use and non-toxic recipe made it worth the "risk" of cloudy for me.  Another note - keep it in a dry "non-humid" climate as I have read that it may crack with humidity.    

Applying the DM is super easy, it comes with a nice sharp tip and is awesome at staying where you put it.  Simply squirt out the milky "goo" in the shape you want, with the wood frame its really simple.

The most difficult things about DM is the bubbles, you want to take a sharp pin and pop them rather quickly, as the longer they sit the quicker they develop a film and are harder to pop.  It did not effect the look of my piece to poke and prod at them for about 10 minutes.

Pop any bubbles with a sewing needle

Some bubbles were simply stubborn, I had a lot of difficulties popping a few because they had nothing but the DM to push against and were tiny.  I finally ended up turning my pin around and using the ball pulled the bubbles out.  I did the smaller sections first and then the outer sides.

The "experts" recommend lining the edges and filling in the center, I found that simple enough and followed their lead.

I will offer this tip - I found my DM "shrunk" some as it dried.  If you look closely at the photo on the left, you can see the DM is actually puffed up above the wooden frame some (note the shine on the left of the heart) when it dried it has become concave - I'm fine with it, it actually looks more "real".  But I am debating on a second coat to make it closer to flat.

Fill in the entire design - these doors took almost all of the 2 oz. in my dimensional magic, but they are large carvings.

Finish with the design.  Wait until it dries clear before moving.

It is important that you let them dry completely without touching them.  (I have a finger print where my 2 year old couldn't wait haha.)

It is also important to have them on a flat surface to dry or the Mod Podge will pool to one side.

Once dry they look like the photo below, very shiny, and nicely sealed with a smooth plastic-like surface.

When we have finished staining and assembling the dollhouse I will hinge them and put them into place, of course showing pictures of that as well.

Thanks for Visiting!

                                               

The finished doors, simply waiting to be put into the dollhouse.