Use food coloring and Mod Podge to tint any glass the shade you want – this tutorial on how to color glass is amazing, and really easy!
Skills Required: None. Even if you’ve never Mod Podged before or have little crafting experience, you should have success with this project.
Learn how to make amber glass with a simple tutorial. Did you know that you can add food coloring to Mod Podge to make amber glass?? Yes, you can.
And you can use said food coloring/Mod Podge mixture to create a stained glass look on mason jars, like Carolina did. She’s going to have amber jars as one of the centerpieces at her wedding, and what a great budget way to do it.
Follow her tutorial to stain glass any shade that you like. Learn how to color glass with Mod Podge by reading her instructions below.
Faux Colored Glass. One of my wedding centerpiece elements will be amber glass jars. I chose amber to coordinate with the traditional brown glass of beer bottles.
Of the many Mod Podge and food coloring methods around, I chose to follow the tutorial at Carolyn’s homework because she had done some protocol troubleshooting.
For coloring, I started with the “light brown” recipe on the back of a food coloring box and tweaked it several times to get the right color.
Even with Carolyn’s instructions, it took S-I-X attempts to get my colored glass to look presentable. I didn’t even take a picture of the first attempt (the Mod Podge never dried!)
Amber Glass Attempts
No brush marks, bubbles or crusty goop! Here’s what I did below.
Amber Glass
Ingredients
- Glass Bottles
- Mod Podge Gloss
- Food Coloring
- Wax Paper
- Teaspoon
- Aluminum Foil
- Baking Pan
Total Cost = $4
If you have jars, Mod Podge, and food coloring on hand – this could be a free or very cheap project for you! I highly encourage you to save glass jars from the recycle bin just for this purpose.
Let’s get into the how-to. *You may notice the tutorial pictures are pieced together from different jar “attempts”!
Have you found a good mason jar painting method? I’d love to know in the comments! Enjoy!
How to Color Glass
Learn how to tint glass using Mod Podge and food coloring! You'll be able to dye glass any color you like with this tutorial.
Materials
- Glass jar(s)
- Mod Podge
- Food coloring
Tools
- Bowl
- Mixing spoon
- Wax paper (to cover work surface)
Instructions
- Clean the glass jar with soap and water or rubbing alcohol; let dry.
- Add two heaping tablespoons of Mod Podge to a container.
- Add 8 - 10 drops of food coloring (you can mix colors) plus 1/2 teaspoon water and mix well.
- Pour the Mod Podge into the jar and swirl to coat. Place upside down on your work surface to let drain. Allow to sit until all excess Mod Podge is fully drained.
- Turn over and allow to dry for 24 hours. Alternatively, you can place in a 200 degree oven and bake until dry (do not leave unattended).
Notes
The more thoroughly you mix the food coloring, the less streaking that will occur in the finished product.
If you notice the Mod Podge mixture doesn't reach certain areas of the jar inside, you can use a paintbrush to assist.
Summer Lamb
Wednesday 15th of December 2021
Would this work the sameone the outside of the glass? I have some glass mugs I want to color but I want the handle, steam and back to match.
Amy
Wednesday 15th of December 2021
I would recommend doing this with permanent glass paint if you are doing it on the outside. Because with glass mugs the Mod Podge will just wash off, unless you use Dishwasher Safe, and I think it would be more streaky to mix with food coloring than to just use a glass paint.
brandy dixon
Sunday 23rd of September 2012
Can I use it on the outside of the jar instead on the inside?? If I bake it on the outside will it be waterproof and permanent?
Amy Anderson
Sunday 23rd of September 2012
Hi Brandy! Yes you can use Mod Podge on the outside instead of the inside. Also, Mod Podge is acrylic and waterbased, so it won't be permanent. I'd look into stained glass paints that are permanent for this type of application.
Diona Castillo
Friday 22nd of June 2012
Can you clean this off? I have an old window and I wanted to do the mod podge with color to give it kind of a stain glass look. If i do this and then change my mind in the future can it be cleaned off? If so how?
Amy Anderson
Friday 22nd of June 2012
Diona, I wouldn't use Mod Podge - I'd use a product called Gallery Glass:https://plaidonline.com/brands/gallery-glass
It will give you the stained glass look and then peel off later.
Kathi
Monday 19th of March 2012
Gotta try this! Thanks for sharing! :D
DECOR8Rgirl
Wednesday 7th of March 2012
Any ideas on what to do if your glass doesn't fit in your oven? I really want to do this with a wine bottle, but it's too tall!