DIY: Stained glass 'windows'
Last year, I had this brainwave for a deco for my room: faux stained glass windows made from shadow box frames with stained glass decals backed by led lights. I'd seen some on Etsy that I really loved and I thought it would be pretty for a wall I don't have much art on.
Fast forward to this week, where I've been poking at it more seriously, and I've run into a bit of a snag. I'll save y'all the journey to get to this point, but here are the options I'm looking at:
1. Buy made-to-size decals from DecorativeFilm.com
PROS: They'll exactly fit the shadow box/frame I want to use (9"x9" Ribba frames)
CONS: They're a lot more expensive than I was expecting ($31-34 per decal, not including the $10 price of the frames) and I'm not totally in love with the available patterns.
2. Buy 'rose window' decals from OShardsofColorO on Etsy.
PROS: They're inexpensive (only $10 per) and I love the look of them
CONS: They only measure 8"x8" (meaning I'll have to make up an inch somewhere) and I don't know if I love two enough to put in my room (and my mind is set on two)
(Alternatively, I might be able to get away with using a 7 3/4"x9 3/4" frame and one of the half-size ones for $20, but there's still the problem of not wanting to do two of them, especially at that size)
3. Find Creative Commons-okay images of stained glass I like and print them out on transparency film
PROS: Likely cheaper, a lot of printing businesses (like Kinko's) will do transparency printing, and I could make sure I love the images
CONS: I might not be able to find images I love appropriate for it
4. Paint my own
PROS: Satisfies my DIY crafty itch
CONS: Start-up cost would be prohibitive, as the paint I found that isn't cheap shit is pricey (pricey enough to make #1 feasible if we're comparison shopping) and I'd be limited to some extent on my subject matter since I'm not a great line artist
To be honest, I'm waffling between #2 and #4. Painting my own is appealing because I'd love to learn how to do it, but then I'd be left with all these supplies leftover and what do I do with them? (Unless I was to try to continue making stuff and selling it on Etsy, but I'm not a good enough original artist to do that). I reaaaaaaaally want to do #2 (the Star Wars one, OMG), but I'd have edging to compensate for...which I could do with the paint, and I wouldn't necessarily need as many colors so it wouldn't be as expensive.
So, tell me, what would you do?
Fast forward to this week, where I've been poking at it more seriously, and I've run into a bit of a snag. I'll save y'all the journey to get to this point, but here are the options I'm looking at:
1. Buy made-to-size decals from DecorativeFilm.com
PROS: They'll exactly fit the shadow box/frame I want to use (9"x9" Ribba frames)
CONS: They're a lot more expensive than I was expecting ($31-34 per decal, not including the $10 price of the frames) and I'm not totally in love with the available patterns.
2. Buy 'rose window' decals from OShardsofColorO on Etsy.
PROS: They're inexpensive (only $10 per) and I love the look of them
CONS: They only measure 8"x8" (meaning I'll have to make up an inch somewhere) and I don't know if I love two enough to put in my room (and my mind is set on two)
(Alternatively, I might be able to get away with using a 7 3/4"x9 3/4" frame and one of the half-size ones for $20, but there's still the problem of not wanting to do two of them, especially at that size)
3. Find Creative Commons-okay images of stained glass I like and print them out on transparency film
PROS: Likely cheaper, a lot of printing businesses (like Kinko's) will do transparency printing, and I could make sure I love the images
CONS: I might not be able to find images I love appropriate for it
4. Paint my own
PROS: Satisfies my DIY crafty itch
CONS: Start-up cost would be prohibitive, as the paint I found that isn't cheap shit is pricey (pricey enough to make #1 feasible if we're comparison shopping) and I'd be limited to some extent on my subject matter since I'm not a great line artist
To be honest, I'm waffling between #2 and #4. Painting my own is appealing because I'd love to learn how to do it, but then I'd be left with all these supplies leftover and what do I do with them? (Unless I was to try to continue making stuff and selling it on Etsy, but I'm not a good enough original artist to do that). I reaaaaaaaally want to do #2 (the Star Wars one, OMG), but I'd have edging to compensate for...which I could do with the paint, and I wouldn't necessarily need as many colors so it wouldn't be as expensive.
So, tell me, what would you do?