Festive Faux-Stained Glass Tutorial

The faux-stained glass look is such an easy technique to master, and it’s versatile too! Simply cut a couple of the same die-cuts, stack them together, add colour (by any means you can think of!) then fill the ‘wells’ created by the stacked dies with Nuvo Crystal Glaze. Leave the base piece to dry overnight, then simply add another die-cut over the top to give a neat and finished look.

For a really deep effect, you can add more layers of die-cuts to create deeper ‘wells’, but you will need to apply the Nuvo Crystal Glaze in multiple layers if you choose to do this, as it’s recommended to apply multiple thinner coats rather than one thick one.

In this masterclass I’ve tried to show a variety of different products you can use to colour the stained-glass portions, from basic Copic colouring to using shimmer powders and Nuvo Crystal Drops, you can even just sprinkle coloured glitter into the wet Nuvo Crystal Glaze too.

This technique is a great way to add that ‘wow’ factor to your projects, either as a small accent, or as the focal element too. In the illustrated step-by-steps I have shown the simple technique for a basic card, using Copics to colour the recessed image and simply fill the area with the glaze, but I’ve also given you an advanced step-by step detailing how to use Nuvo Crystal Drops in the fine details of a smaller very intricate die-cut too.

Don’t panic though! You can keep this technique really basic by adding your colour followed by the glaze, or you can apply ‘colour’ and glaze in multiple layers to give a different look too. For the ‘Falalalalala’ card on, I used multiple layers, adding fine glitter each time, in this case doing the multiple layers intensified the overall colour of each glittered area.

So whether you keep to the original stained-glass look using intricate doily type dies, or you mix it up a bit by adding the Nuvo Crystal Glaze over the top of a coloured more solid die-cut, have fun experimenting and putting your own spin on the basic idea.

Shopping List

• White cardstock
• Tonic Studios Nuvo Crystal Glaze
• Dies

This technique can work with lots of different types of dies - but here are some of our favourite recent releases which would make stunning stained glass cards:

• Hero Arts Nativity die
• Apple Blossom Festive Globes
• Sue Wilson bauble dies

1

Die-cut the main Christmas tree twice, making sure to place the die in the same place both times. You’ll also need two of the inner tree die-cuts

This article is tagged as:

Paper techniques Christmas Panels & Apertures step-by-step Simply Cards & Papercraft skillbuilder festive SCP183 faux-stained glass papercraft how-to