Faux Leaded Glass Heart – Easy Crafting

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Oh my, did I have fun experimenting and creating this easy faux leaded glass heart. It’s been on my “to-try list” ever since I made these elegant tabletop trees for Christmas. I just love how it resembles the real thing. And those gorgeous hand-drawn images inside the “glass” add a whole new dimension to the look. I popped my heart in a miniature rose bush. A gift to myself for Valentine’s Day. I’ll relocate her to the garden as soon as it warms up. For now, she can keep my leaded glass experiment company. In this easy craft tutorial, I’ll show you how I made this faux stained glass heart. But, before we get there, do me a favor and follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, or Instagram. And don’t forget to subscribe so you’ll never miss a post!

What you need

• Pretty printed napkin
• UV resin and light
• Glue gun
• Black hot glue
• Craft wire (optional)
• Free leaded glass heart template (optional)

How to turn a napkin into faux leaded glass

Before you start, separate the napkin layers. You only need the top printed one. If you use a template, pop it inside a ziplock bag so the resin doesn’t mess it up or get stuck. Lay the napkin over the bag and tape it down. You should be able to see the design through the napkin. Using the template as a guide and working in sections, drizzle UV resin on the napkin and spread it out with a wooden craft stick. Try not to leave any gaps and smoosh the resin all the way to the edges of the design. You can always add more if you need to. Cure under a UV light for the recommended time on the packaging. I did mine for about 2 minutes. Once the resin hardens to the touch, it’s ready to use. You can watch this short video to see how easy it is. 

Trace around the design or template with a black marker. It makes it easier to cut out the shapes later. Peel the resin napkin heart away from the Ziploc bag. It should come away without any problems. If it’s sticky, cure the resin for a few more minutes. The resin turns the napkin into a glassy sliver of transparent gorgeousness. Remove the excess napkin and cut around the shapes. Isn’t that so pretty?

Adding faux lead

Now for the fun bit—adding faux lead to complete the heart. Use a hot glue gun and black glue stick to add a gluey, leaded border to the edges. This is probably the most difficult part of the tutorial, but if you’re a regular glue gun user, it should be no problem. Use small dots of glue to connect the shapes together to form a heart. For fun, I added a few wire curls around the edges. This faux leaded glass heart was super easy. I’m dreaming up all kinds of things I can make using the same technique. I just need to practice my hot glue skills. Those gluey outlines are a bit chunky for my liking. But hey, it was an experiment, and I love how the heart turned out. What do you think? Is it something you would try?

If you like the idea of making faux leaded glass, don’t forget to pin the tutorial for later

Sharing is caring Oh, and if you’re looking for some of the things we used, we’ve got you covered. Disclosure: Clicking on the links below means we may receive a commission from Amazon. But don’t worry; it won’t come out of your pocket, and it helps us make more amazing crafts to share with you ;-) 

And if you prefer to buy rather than DIY, then these may appeal.

And as always, wishing you a wonderful, crafty week filled with lots of love. Thank you for popping in for a visit.