This craft is great for both adults and children. The end result is a very beautiful piece that can be hung in windows around the house or in the bedrooms of children. Although this craft is very simple, always remember to be creative with your crafting. In order to make these beautiful stained glass window panels, you will need to have the following supplies:
-Craft foam sheets
-Cookie cutters
-Sheet of tissue paper in many bright colors
-Elmer’s glue
-Hole punch
-String
Step One: In order to make this stained glass piece look the right way, you will need to create two identical pieces of foam. This foam is thin and made specifically for craft purposes. You can find it in a variety of colors at your local craft supply store. For this project, black foam looks the best, but let your kids pick whichever color they want to use! Using cookie cutters, trace a design on one sheet of foam and cut it out with a sharp crafting knife. Never let young children use this kind of knife! If you have young children, cut out the shapes for them! If you are working with older children, make sure to explain how to use the knife before you let the older children use it. Always supervise the children!
Step Two: Once the pieces have been removed from the first piece of foam, place that piece of foam on top of another piece of foam of the same size and color. Trace the shapes onto the second piece of foam. Then, using the same techniques as in the first step, cut out these pieces. When you put the two pieces of foam together, you should be able to see through the sets of identically shaped holes.
Step Three: Imagine the two pieces of foam are like the side of an Oreo cookie…you will need to “open up” the cookie and work where the cream would be. This way, when you put the two pieces of foam back together, all the work is inside the foam and not outside. Using strips of brightly colored tissue paper and glue, cover the shaped holes. This is the stained glass part of your panel! You can mix colors by overlapping them, or choose to use only one color for each hole. Make sure the glue stays on the inside of the foam, so that the glued portion of the tissue paper is not visible when the piece of foam is held up to the light. Let all of the glue dry completely.
Step Four: Apply glue to the inside edges of one of the pieces of foam, and then place the other on top of it so that the shapes match up. Let the glue dry completely.
Step Five: Using the hole punch, punch a hole in the top of the foam panel. Cut a bit of string and tie it through this hole. Hang from a window and enjoy your new stained glass window!
