how to paint a window

People love painted windows.  When I have my winter windows out or they see the one on my patio, I always get compliments and questions.  You don't need special paint or equipment to make a painted window for your home.  First step find a window, maybe you or a friend have one in the basement or go to a Habitat or salvage store, they usually have a stack.  Be sure it is a wood frame, unless you like the aluminum look.  Clean up the window with soap and water, rinse let dry.  Sand down any splinters or rough spots on the frame and make sure the caulking is mostly there.  I left this window frame as it was, I liked the chipped, peeling paint look. I found something similar to this snowman on Pinterest but you can find ideas any where.   I usually print out and words on the computer and hand draw the outline and big features on news paper.  On this one that was the face and nose with just marks where the eyes, cheeks and smile would be.  I lay the widow down over the paper, you can also tape it to the back, and painted in the head with two coats of white acrylic paint, letting it dry between coats.  Then I added the carrot nose, 3 coats of orange, ovals for eyes and a circle of pink for the cheek.  When that was dry I came back and added shading to the nose, high lights to the eyes and cheeks. The snow flakes and dots were also added.   When that was completely dry I taped the letters to the back of the window, being extra careful with the spacing, then painted over them.  For the back I used a dark blue and black paint poured on a paper plate and the brush dipped in both colors at the same time.  The background took three coats of paint.  The next day I added a heavy coat of Mod Podge to the  picture.  If it hadn't been 15 and windy I could have taken it out side for a couple coats of clear sealer.  This sealing is the key to keeping the paint from scratching off or peeling, but you do need to be careful with it.  I hung this guy above our corn stove in the kitchen and added 3 whiskey decanters filled with greenery.  It will stay there until spring.

This is a lot of words to explain something that is really very simple.  Total painting time was about an hour and a half.  I did it over a two day period but most of that was drying time.