Today I have a fun, quick, easy and ridiculously cheap craft (my favorite kind of DIY) that you can do with an old window.
I bought this old window months ago thinking that I would turn it into a chalkboard for the large blank wall in my kitchen.
It sat in the garage collecting dust and waiting for its makeover when I spotted a vintage, solid wood mirror at my local ReStore for a mere $10.
As soon as I spotted it I knew it would be perfect on the same kitchen wall I had in mind for the old window, after a date with my paintbrush and some chalkboard paint, of course.
Now that my plans had changed, I wasn't quite sure what I was going to do with the old window. Should I add a shelf and hang it on a wall?
Maybe find a place for it outside and hang it on the garage wall? I wasn't sure, so I just gave it a good cleaning and brought it inside.
I had recently moved the starburst mirror that hung over the black cabinet in the dining area and the wall was empty, so I plopped the window up on the black cabinet and leaned it against the wall.
As I was decorating the cabinet for my fall home tour, I kept looking at the window, trying to figure out what to do with it, when I had an idea to stencil some fall leaves on the panes as a temporary fall decoration.
My plan was to use Rustoleum frosted glass spray paint and a leaf stencil to add a subtle touch of fall to the old window.
To make my stencil, I traced two artificial leaves, I was using for decoration, on a stencil board.
I used both the leaves and the cutouts to make it a little more interesting.
I just taped the stencil on the glass pane and sprayed a light coat of frosted glass. Then, I carefully pulled the stencil off so I wouldn't have any sticking issues.
I had some overspray with the solid leaves so I just used a razor and scraped it off, once the paint was dry.
There's so much you could do with the stencils but I was going for subtle, as usual.
I did go a little wild and tried some silver spray paint on the cracked middle pane. It's still subtle but I like the little bit of sparkle.
See, subtle...which is code for "difficult to see in a photo". 😉
To give you a better look, here it is in my guest bedroom against the teal blue wall color. The leaf in the second row on the left is painted with silver spray paint, while the rest are with the frosted glass.
The beauty of this is, when I want a change, all I have to do is scrape off the paint with a razor blade. Maybe I'll add some snowflakes when I decorate for the holidays.
Ugh, I know I'm not ready for that yet!
Have you done any fall decorating yet?
Lindsay says
I like the subtle, frosted look! Great job!
Kristi says
Thanks Lindsay! 🙂
sandi magle says
Very Cool and simple...would be tempted to spray some orange just for fun...too. Thanks for the great Idea.
Kristi says
Thanks Sandi. I'm so glad that you liked it, and I think that trying orange is a fun idea.
Nancy says
Well, aren't you clever? I've seen some really neat things done with old windows, but never something like this. I love it. I've never heard of this Frosted Glass product. Shows how out of touch I am. 🙂 I finally started some fall decorating today, Kristi. We needed to hang artwork in the cottage, and since it's fall we chose paintings from Dennis' gallery that have an autumn theme. Hope your week is off to a great start! xo ~ Nancy
Kristi says
Thanks Nancy! I discovered the spray during the summer and I think I'm a little obsessed with it. 😉 I bet Dennis' paintings look absolutely beautiful in your new home. Can't wait to see what you've done.
Hope you enjoy the rest of your week!
Jessica [Havok] says
I didn't realize that the frosty spray paint could come off of glass - I may have to give that a try! And absolutely love that it can, indeed, come off and then you can do it up for the winter months as well! 😀
Kristi says
Yes, it does come off! I made some mistakes doing one of the leaves and it was easy to scrape off and redo. Hope you try it out, it really is a fun and easy project. 🙂
Thanks for dropping in Jessica and I hope you have a great weekend!
MaryJean says
Oh, I love it! Now i don't know what I'm going to do with my window pane. Mine has mirrored glass in it and I originally was going to use it on the side of my tool shed (I have two), but after talking to you and looking at the backing I don't think it's such a good idea. So I decided to use both of them (or as my grandson says,"Two a dem") in the house. I was going to paint the panes with chalkboard paint and use the the attached planter as a place to hold the chalk. Now I'm thinking maybe I should use the frosted spray paint. Oh, dilemmas, dilemmas. Unless I do one with the chalkboard and the other with the frosted paint! That would work, right? Thanks!
MaryJean says
By the way, love the antique mirror! What a find!
Kristi says
Thanks MJ. I know, I saw it in the store and practically plowed people over to get to it. I literally stood in the store whistling for my husband to come and pick it up because it was really heavy and I didn't want to leave it alone so someone else would take it. ;P
Kristi says
Thanks MJ, I appreciate it. I remember you asking me about your mirrors. You could do one with chalk paint and another with frosted paint. The great think with the frosted paint is that you can scrape it off if you don't like it or you want a change. Keep me posted on what you decide.
Vel says
Looks great! So creative!
Kristi says
Thank you Vel, I appreciate it.
dkhalcomb2 says
Another great idea. I still have not found an old window that isn't outrageous in cost. Eventually it will show up. I love those pine cones too. Debbie
Kristi says
Awww, thanks so much Debbie. I know that old windows can be really expensive. I got a deal on this one but it took me a really long time to find. Keep looking, it's out there somewhere. 🙂 Have a great weekend!
Phyllis says
Very clever. You have given me inpieation. We have a ton of old windows from replacing with new. Im loving this idea. Thanks so much
Kristi says
Yay, so glad my project inspired you Phyllis. We talked about you replacing all of those old windows and now you can do something with them...a few of them at least. 😉
Brenda says
Very nice! And I bet it is even prettier in person. I have used Krylon Matte spray varnish and it frosts nicely. I, too, love the pumpkins. I guess you could use pine cones but that seems a bit tedious. Can't wait to see what you have come up with.
Brenda....Florida
Kristi says
Thanks Brenda! It is prettier in person and I only wish I could have photographed it better, but alas, I am not a professional. 😉
I'm glad you like the pumpkins. I think they're awesome.
So happy you stopped by today.
Ellen Kincaid says
Kristi, if you put the window in front of something darker, it will show up, white on white does very little stand out. I saw a old window waiting in front of someone's house the other day, my husband would not stop, he went back, knocked on door, nobody home, went back and gone. Procrastination
Kim says
I love that! You are queen of the crafty spray paint ideas. I need some old windows now!
Kristi says
Awww, thank you my dear! I'm trying to figure out what I'll do for the holidays. 😉
Kim says
You came up with a very cute idea!
Kristi says
Thanks Kim! 🙂
Ellen Kincaid says
I like your easy peasy fall window décor, but my question is about the pumpkins in front of photo, how are they made and of what, love them, thanks Ellen
Kristi says
Thanks Ellen. I can't take any credit for the pumpkins. I bought them at Target and was going to do a post and share them next week. Aren't they so cute? 🙂
Ellen Kincaid says
I bought 2 from Target tonight, thanks for sharing, love them to pieces, made from birch bark, too cool.
Kristi says
That's great Ellen. So glad that you were able to find some for yourself. Happy fall decorating! 🙂