How to make Faux Seeded Glass

What is Seeded Glass?

Do you ever see those expensive glass pieces in the stores or adorning mantles, light fixtures, bookcases, or glass vases and jars that have the tiny are bubbles throughout and wonder how it was done? Well, generally it is a process that the glass goes through during firing. You can buy it premade and cut it for your projects, but if you are like me, cutting glass is a messy and trying experience and I always end up with a lot of bandaids adorning my poor fingers. Here I have a safe and less messy solution. Anyone can do this, even the kids!

How to make Seeded Glass DIY

Here is the before pic, you can plainly see everything I wish I could hide away and don’t want visitors to see. If you are in this ‘spot’ then you will understand. But how to make it look nice while hiding the organized (somewhat) mess? So glad you asked! Let me show you 🙂

How to make faux seeded glass with glue is really super simple and inexpensive. School Glue…good old fashioned, non-toxic, easy cleanup school glue! White or clear works fine but you will get a more opaque look with the white.

You will need:

• School glue
• Mod Podge
• Sponge roller or cleaning sponge (one with open holes like swiss cheese is best to achieve a seeded glass look or use a smooth one for cabinet doors for a smoother finish).
• Bowl with water
• Tape (I just freehand it)
• Paper towels
• Hairdryer
• A small brush (for edges, if needed)

Steps:

• Start by cleaning the glass (you can also do this over any clear plastic surface) you will be applying this to.
• Set your bowl of water off to the side but within easy reach, you may need this later in the process.
• Next, combine your school glue and mod podge in equal parts either directly onto your glass or mix in a separate bowl and roll-on or sponge on.
• Apply in neat even layers ensuring all edges are covered. You can use a brush for this if you can’t get close enough with your roller or sponge.
• Go back over areas you feel are too light once it starts becoming tacky, if you do it before this you will just end up removing more.
• Dip your roller or sponge as needed in the bowl of water to help smooth it out. Or you can dilute the glue mixture in the water and apply that way.
• Use a hairdryer to help dry it faster if you don’t want to wait for air drying.
• Wipe off any excess around edges before drying. If you forget don’t stress… It can be scraped off.
• If you mess up don’t worry! You can use a paint scraper and strip it all off and start over or do what I do and apply more as it sometimes fills in any mistakes. Remember this does not have to be perfect!

TIPS to achieve different looks:

1: Drag a brush through the glue for straight lines or push down on the roller and drag through the glue for a similar effect, let it set up a little bit before doing this or your glue will settle and the lines could disappear.

2: You can make swooshes through the glue by gently pushing down on the roller while creating the swoosh or using a brush for a more decorative fanned glass look.

3: You can create a cross hatch appearance by crisscrossing your lines while dragging your roller or brush through the glue.

4: Or you can do the ponce method with paper towel or a sponge. Simply pour your glue and mod podge mix directly onto the glass pane and ponce it all over the glass. This method can get messy but is alot of fun.

6: Wipe off your edges if it bugs you, I admit I am not perfect but it bugged me so I wiped it off. If you forget remember you can always peel it off or scrape it off wherever it got that you don’t want it. I forgot to take a pick of that, but I’m pretty sure you get it.

7: Now once you have your design, let it dry naturally or again use the hair dryer method…though it can ruin your design if you hold it too close or have too high of heat setting, it’s faster but you still need patience 🙂 Here are some photos of the progression of the seeded glass look I did and dried with a hair dryer. 🙂

Nearly completely dry 🙂

• 8. Let dry and put back in its place!

The finished project! I am very happy with how this turned out. I hope this helps you in your mission to organize and hide those interesting albeit messy areas that you don’t want others to see.

Note: You will NOT want to use this method if you live in a high humidity area. There are window films and seeded glass films you can purchase online though not as fun to do 🙂 You can also try using spray paints which I will discuss in another article.