Part 2 of How to Distress a Window Frame tutorial
Once I had the window frame painted and stained, the second part of this project would be that I wanted to add our last name to the glass using vinyl. If you missed the first portion of this project, you can read it here. Then, come back to see how I added the vinyl.
This is the example that I used for inspiration. I thought the name on the glass and the way to hang pictures were so cute together. I am sorry but I cannot find the details to properly tag the maker.
This project was definitely not done all at once, but bit by slow bit. To be honest, the frame had been done for over a year before I worked on the glass portion. Don’t not do something because you don’t have a huge block of time. Go, get started! And work on it as you can.
Remove tape and clean glass
After the stain is dry, remove the painter’s tape from both sides of the glass. Use an exacto knife to cut the seal from between the dried paint and the frame. Using slight pressure with the knife, follow the line where the glass meets the frame. Therefore, this will help the tape to release and not tear as easily.
Scrape off any paint splatters that may have gotten on the glass. Look closely for these bits of paint, my window had some pinhead sized flecks. You might need a scraper for this, but I was able to use my fingernail to scratch the paint off the glass.
Clean the glass well. Really put in the elbow grease to remove all the smears and streaks. If possible, look at the glass in bright sunlight. This will allow you to see any streaks and smudges that may have been missed. During this portion is when I realized to not waste my money on generic glass cleaner anymore. The more I wiped, the more it streaked. Ugh! I will have to keep some newspaper on hand from here on out. I hear that it can be used in place of paper towels and not cause streaking.
Cutting the vinyl
After the glass is cleaned, the next step is to add the vinyl design. The library in the next town has a vinyl cutter that I used. If you don’t have access to a cricut machine or know somebody that can get vinyl cut for you, I can offer assistance. Message me with the dimensions that you need and I will get back with you.
I had previously purchased brown self-adhesive vinyl and transfer tape from Hobby Lobby, so that is what I used for this project. I took the vinyl to the library and cut the design I wanted.
I used the Lucida Calligraphy font for all the wording. I don’t have an exact size of the font I used; but can tell you that I made the name portion bigger than the year portion. I know…very helpful aren’t I? I just eye-balled it to what I thought looked good against the size of the glass I had to work with. The size of my glass was 35.5 in. x 17.5 in. with “Moore” being roughly 29 in. x 5 in.
At home, I used a pick to help with removing the negative parts of the design. This process is called “weeding”. There is something therapeutic in pulling the unwanted vinyl away. It’s my favorite part and is very satisfying.
Adding the vinyl
With the backing still on the transfer tape, I held it over the wording and cut just beyond where the letters would hit. I only removed the backing of the transfer tape down the middle of the section. That way, I could attach the tape to the vinyl a little at a time to try to avoid bubbles. I pulled the left side up to 45° angle to the middle and rolled the backing away; smoothing the tape down as I made my way to the end. I repeated this process with the remaining right side.
Once all the transfer tape backing had been removed, I used a credit card to better attach the tape to the vinyl and to smooth out any bubbles. I then flipped the whole thing over and removed the vinyl backing. This left the vinyl on the tape with the adhesive exposed.
I turned it back over with the sticky side down and applied it to the glass. I had the assistance of my husband for this part with the tape being so awkward for one person. We lined the top edge of the tape with the top inside edge of the frame and smoothed it down. Again, I used a credit card to better attach the vinyl to the glass and to smooth out any bubbles. When removing the transfer tape, I moved it to 45° angle and slowly pulled it away from the glass.
I repeated the process above for the “est.” and “1996”. I had placed a cutting mat under the glass to help with the alignment for the rest of the vinyl.
Follow up to see the finished project
This is how I added vinyl to the glass of my window. Be sure to check back to see the finished product for this project. In conclusion, I will finish it up by adding twine, mini clothes pins and pictures.