stained
“People are like stained-glass windows. They sparkle and shine when the sun is out, but when the darkness sets in, their true beauty is revealed only if there is a light from within.”
– Elisabeth Kubler-Ross
This project dates back to the end of summer last year. I’m a huge fan of natural light, and am known for always having windows and doors open whenever possible to let the sunshine in. At that time of year the sun shines so hotly through my dining room windows that the poor air conditioner has to work overtime to keep us cool. It isn’t practical to have the shades up. And, to me, it’s unacceptable to have them drawn. So we created our own solution!
Using the same glue-and-tissue paper method as we did to make our pretty autumn and Halloween votives, we did two entire windows! The method is so simple, all the little ones could help (though I’ve only pictured T here), and there was more than enough window to go around! It took a bit of tenacity (and 2 or 3 sessions) to complete this project, but the result was so worth the work! My poor husband is so good – he barely bats a lash anymore when I tell him about the latest scathingly brilliant idea. How silly it must be to come home from work and find your dining room windows have been entirely covered over in tissue paper!
I was a bit worried that it might be a beast to get this stuff off again a month or so later, but it was actually very easy to clean with nothing but warm soapy water, and the windows have since been restored to their previous transparent state.
We did the entire (lower) window surface, because I wanted to block the sun a bit, but this project is also great for seasonal decorating. I’m posting about it now because I’ve been thinking about letting T make rainbows and clovers in this way for St. Pat’s – or maybe some beautiful springtime flowers. . .
Huginn, Muninn, and me 