Joining the 21st Century

I finally broke down and did it; I started a blog. I've been thinking about it for a while and caved in tonight when a crafty project went well and I wanted to share it.

Let me introduce myself: My name is Myka F. I'm a 24-year-old woman and I'm married to the amazing Joe. I'm a computer programmer by day, a DIY and photography guru by night. I'd like to use this blog to share some of my photos and crafty ideas and projects with the world.


The title of my blog, "Ideas [Don't] Cost Money," comes from my husband. He's always teasing me that whenever I have an idea, it costs money, going so far as to cover my eyes whenever a Lowes or Home Depot commercial comes on TV. However, he's actually fantastic about letting me spend a little on my pursuits. I do try to be thrifty on my projects too. Case in point: today's project involved Mod Podge, food coloring, and wine glasses. When he came upstairs and caught me in action, I started to explain that I got the glasses at Goodwill and Wal-Mart (for about $5 total), and I already had the other items, he shrugged it off and ran back downstairs to play his video game. How awesome is that?

On to today's project: I've read about using Mod Podge and food coloring to tint mason jars and vases. Why not wine glasses?

What you need:

• Mod Podge
• wine glasses
• masking tape or painter's tape
• food coloring
• water
• X-acto knife
• waxed paper
• disposable containers
• foam brush
• acrylic sealer (I used Mod Podge brand)
• disposable stirrer (I used bendy straws!)

Wash and dry your glasses, then tape off the areas you don't want colored with masking tape. I taped around the top of the glass; I don't think anybody really wants their mouth on the Mod Podge'd part of the glass. Using several short pieces of tape helps keep a line perpendicular to the rim. I used my X-acto to trim the tape for a straight line.

I also taped up the stem; for now I just want the "bowl" of the cup to be colored.
Next, stir up your Mod Podge & food coloring mixture in a disposable container. To be honest, I didn't measure, but I have seen some websites use 2 Tbsp Mod Podge with 1-2 Tbsp water. I just squirted in a little Mod Podge and added a few sprinkles of water from the tap. Mix in your food coloring. I did four glasses in four colors, and ended up with leftovers of each color. The more water you add, the more transparent your glasses will be.

On the waxed paper, flip your glass upside-down, and use your foam brush to start painting. You might be able to get away with a regular brush, but I was a little worried about seeing the brush strokes. It'll look streaky at first, but once they're dried, they look more frosted. I really don't mind the streaks much, though; I think the add character.

Once dry, cover the remaining un-colored space with tape or newspaper, and spray with acrylic sealer (in a ventilated area, of course). Mod Podge isn't waterproof (I don't think it is, anyway), so the sealer should help with that. I doubt these would work well in the dishwasher, so I definitely recommend hand-washing.

I'll post photos of the finished product soon (they're still drying and I got antsy to share!)
Let me know how yours turn out!

Update: I sprayed with acrylic sealer after writing this post. I'm not sure if I put it on too thick or what, but it's uneven and you can't even see the color in spots. It was a bit dark when I sprayed them, so maybe the sealer was thicker than I thought. This might be a better summertime project. :-( I have also decided that two of the glasses are too streaked, and thankfully, I didn't seal those two, so hopefully I can start over.