Here’s how to make faux stained-glass heart art with black glue. An easy kids’ art activity for Valentine’s Day.
Updated January 2024
This faux stained-glass project was one of those ideas that our founder, Jean, did a few years back with her girls. It was a hit back then, and it was a hit again when we tried it recently!
The basic idea is to mix white glue with enough black acrylic paint to color it. Squeeze out a glue design onto heavy paper and let it dry, then paint with watercolor paints.
The black glue acts as the “lead” in the stained glass and keeps the paint colors separate in the finished artwork. It lends itself to any design (try spiderwebs!), but we especially love the way it loves when making heart art!
How to Make Stained-Glass Heart Art
MATERIALS
- Half-empty bottle of Elmer’s white glue
- Black Acrylic Paint
- Watercolor paper (or blank note cards)
- Watercolor Paints in a tray or liquid watercolor paints
INSTRUCTIONS
- Make black glue
First, make your black glue. Open the top of your half-empty bottle of white glue. Add a good squeeze of black acrylic paint to the bottle. Screw the top of the glue bottle back on tightly and shake well to mix.
- Create your design
Next, squeeze out a glue design onto watercolor paper. You can do this with any sort of image, scene, or abstract art. We used the technique to create hearts for Valentine’s Day.
- Let glue dry
Allow glue to dry completely, preferably overnight. The black glue will flatten somewhat as it dries and that’s okay. Waiting for the glue to dry was the hardest part!
- Paint with watercolors
Finally, paint your heart art or other glue design with watercolor paints. You can use either watercolor cakes in tins, as we did, or liquid watercolors.
The black glue looks like the lead in real stained-glass windows and also helps to keep the colors separate in the finished painting. Neat, huh?
Here’s a video showing the Black Glue Stained-Glass Activity in action!
Ready to try this? You probably have everything you need, already, except perhaps the black acrylic paint which you can pick up at the craft store.
More Valentine Art Ideas
- 30 Valentine Activities for Kids (with a FREE printable list!)
- How to Make DIY Valentines for Kids with Cardboard Hearts
- 12 Valentine’s Day Crafts for Kids
- 6 DIY Valentine’s Decor Ideas
- 12 Homemade Valentines Cards for Kids
- The Best Valentine Books about Love to Inspire Creative Family Fun
Want even more creative ideas?
Check out our Hearts Activities pack!
We think you’re going to LOVE this sweet collection of adorable heart activities! This 32-page printable eBook is full of coloring pages, drawing prompts, games, and more!
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