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My favorite project during the retreat at Sunset Shores was making an altered window.

When I first learned we would be creating these, I will admit that I was a bit skeptical. While I am a country girl and I love antiques, I’m not really into the primitive, paint-peeling, dirty sorts of things that old windows are. But, I figured I would give it a try and see what happens.

As you can see, here, it turned out amazingly wonderful!

My house is a little lake cottage, so I took measurements of the only wall I could think to hang it on before I left. Fortunately, I was able to select a window that fit — just barely — into the space.

I forgot to take a photo of the old window before I started, but here it is after just the first step:

It was plain, devoid of most paint on the inside and came with two tiny nails and a screw where a handle used to be.

The first step was a technique I had not heard of before … gesso and a stencil. We just spread the gesso on like frosting over a home decor stencil and let it dry. It is absolutely amazingly beautiful and I am sure I’ll be trying it on different objects soon … it added just a bit of depth.

Next came the paint. I used Adirondack Paint Dabbers (although I used a brush) in Butterscotch, Hazelnut and White. I kept going over the layers using a dry brush with little paint until I got close to the patina I wanted. Then, I went back with a lot of water and a little paint and created sort of a whitewash effect.

(click on the photos for a better view)

Next came another technique I hadn’t tried before, but loved … printing clip art on tissue paper and then using Glue ‘N Seal to adhere it to the frame. I added another coat of whitewash over the top to tone down the colors a bit.

After that was done, we made a banner. I brought my own paper and modified it a bit (I’m not a fan of rosettes), so I used the Tattered Flowers die from Tim Holtz and two layers of dimensional foam adhesive to make mine. The letters are cut from chipboard and cardstock (adhered together), inked with Distress Ink and then covered with UTEE. It spells out Family, although it is hard to see in the photo.

For the bottom two windows, I glued a piece of chalkboard paper to the front side of one (still have to get some chalk) and then used Glue N Seal to glue a photo of my kids on the back side of the window on the other. The color you see on that pane is the wall.

For this pane, I used Alcohol Inks to alter a piece of chicken wire and stapled it along the edges. Then I used cute little hooks to hang a couple of photos of my chickens on them. The vintage buttons are glued on the front of the window pane. The color behind is the wall.

For the final pane, I taped a piece of printed paper to the back side of the window.

On the frame, I screwed in two screws and wrapped some wire around a tiny glass bottle to hold it in place. The bottle is decorated with Tissue Tape and filled with rye grass. I made a charm with paper, Glastique and a tag from Tim Holtz.

I used the same technique to attach this old insulator the frame. I plan to use it as a chalk dispenser.

These pieces of faux metal hardware began life as corrugated cardboard.

I ran them through an embossing folder and then used Piccolo enamel powders from Globecraft Memories to make them look like metal. They were too shiny for the window, so I sanded them down and applied a bit of Ranger Archival Ink to them. I still didn’t get the look I wanted so I used a friends brown wash to paint them a bit. Eventually, I got the look above, which was perfect.

And, there you have it … one amazing window. I still would like to hang something off of the screw at the bottom, but until I figure out what I want, it’s done …