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DIY Artwork: Colorful Cut Glass Glitter Word Art

As per my plan, I’ve made new, more colorful DIY artwork for the sitting room. This time, I decided to go with colorful cut glass glitter word art. This is probably my favorite artwork project I’ve made to date. Sadly, no matter how hard I try, there’s no way to capture how beautiful this is in a photo. Every picture I take falls flat, because a picture simply can’t capture the sparkly goodness of the cut glass glitter that I used to cover the whole piece of artwork. But I’ll do my best, and I’ll add a video to my Instagram later today so you can see it “in action”, so to speak.

*This post contains affiliate links.

UPDATE: I’ve added a video to my Instagram showing the glitter in all its glory. You can see that here. If you aren’t on Instagram, you can see it on Facebook here.

This artwork was inspired by one of my favorite artists I follow on Instagram, Kristi Kohut at Hapi Art. She has one piece in particular that I absolutely love and have admired for a long time now, which is her striped “LOVE” piece that is bathed in cut glass glitter. Her work is next level — only high quality art materials, framed in custom Lucite frames, some of which have custom lighting, etc. And that’s why hers cost in the thousands of dollars. Mine is a very simple version inspired by her creations.

This was my first time to ever use cut glass glitter, and let me tell you, that alone is next level! When you compare cut glass glitter to the regular craft glitter you find at your local craft stores, there’s simply no comparison. I had never even heard of cut glass glitter until I started following Kristi on Instagram, and then I had to go in search of it. I found it on Amazon.

It is absolutely gorgeous, and so incredibly sparkly. As the name would suggest, it’s actual glass (so be careful!!), and the tiny pieces are irregular shapes and sizes, so they all catch the light differently. The sparkle is so pretty.

Anyway, I made two 24″ x 36″ canvases, and I wanted to do something different from just “LOVE” or other single words. So I decided to do something from one of my favorite Bible passages in Galatians that lists the fruit of the spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Those are words that have more meaning for Matt and me, and I figured those are good things to be reminded of throughout each day.

I divided the words up into two canvases, and here’s how the second one turned out…

DIY word art made from cut glass glitter, acrylic paint, and white sticker letters

*Sigh* I so wish y’all could see these in person. The beauty of cut glass glitter simply cannot be captured on an image.

But anyway, let me tell you what I used to make this, and show you the process.

Materials and Supplies:

DIY artwork: How to make colorful cut glass glitter word art

1. Tape off the edges of the canvas

I started off with a 24″ x 36″ canvas. Using 1.88″ painters tape, I taped off the edges and wrapped it around to the front of the canvas.

DIY colorful cut glass glitter artwork - step 1 - tape off edges of 24" x 36" canvas

Then I used a second row of tape to create a white border around the edges of the canvas.

DIY colorful cut glass glitter artwork - step 1 - tape off edges of 24" x 36" canvas

2. Seal around the painters tape

Before painting any color on the canvas, I sealed the painters tape by painting white acrylic (latex) paint on all of the edges where the tape met the canvas. This seals this tape to the canvas so that the paint colors won’t seep under the tape. The end result is a very crisp line with no colors bleeding under the tape.

3. Tape off and paint the stripes using various colors of acrylic paint

Once the white paint dried, I used that same painters tape to create stripes. I had already arranged my 15 paint colors in the order I wanted to use them. I used a combination of Behr sample paints, craft acrylic paints, and art acrylic paints, all of which I already had on hand. And then I started painting every other stripe.

DIY colorful cut glass glitter artwork - step 3 - tape off and paint colorful stripes

Once I had every other stripe painted, I removed the tape and painted in the rest of the stripes. I didn’t retape anything, because I didn’t want the stripes to be perfect. I wanted a very freehand, imperfect look.

Once all of the stripes had two coats of paint, I went back and added more wet paint to each stripe, and then streaked in some white paint. You can see the difference below, where the stripes on the right have the white paint streaked through, but the stripes on the left do not.

DIY colorful cut glass glitter artwork - step 3 - tape off and paint colorful stripes

And here’s how it looked once all of the stripes had the white added to them.

DIY colorful cut glass glitter artwork - step 3 - tape off and paint colorful stripes

4. Tape off horizontal lines and add sticker letters

Next, I used some 1/4″ tape to tape off where I wanted the words to go.

DIY colorful cut glass glitter artwork - step 4 - tape off horizontal lines for sticker letters

I had to search for these letters, but finally found them at Hobby Lobby in the scrapbooking section. So using the taped off lines, I added all of the words, trying to keep the spacing as consistent as possible. The letters were repositionable, so that was helpful.

DIY colorful cut glass glitter artwork - step 4 - add sticker letters

And here’s how it looked once the tape was removed…

DIY colorful cut glass glitter artwork - step 4 - remove tape after adhering sticker letters

In hindsight, I wish I had spaced the letters a little more, but I only realized that after the glitter was on, so it was too late.

5. Apply Mod Podge and add cut glass glitter over the whole canvas

I used a foam brush to spread original Mod Podge over the entire surface of the canvas, and then sprinkled a generous amount of glitter over the whole thing.

DIY colorful cut glass glitter word art- step 5 - spread Mod Podge over entire canvas and add cut glass glitter

UPDATE: After the first layer of glass glitter and Mod Podge were dry, I ended up adding a second layer in the exact same way. This second layer toned down the colors, but added even more glittery sparkle.

Tips I learned along the way:

I did two canvases so that I would have one for each side of the pantry doorway. The first canvas was tricky because I didn’t really know what to expect. The Mod Podge dries (or becomes sticky) really fast, so on the first one, I ended up with that line just over “Joy” where you can see the Mod Podge was too thick. But it was already too sticky for me to spread it out more without making a bigger mess. Fortunately, it dried clear, but I can still see a difference in that area. (Update: That line evened out when I added the second coat of Mod Podge and glass glitter.)

On the second one, I added a tiny amount of water to thin the Mod Podge, and that went much better. I still had to work very quickly, but I was able to get the Mod Podge on the whole thing very evenly, and then quickly get the glitter over the whole thing before any of it dried out.

After sprinkling the glitter on, I spent a few minutes pressing it down with my hands and making sure it was spread evenly (again…carefully…because it’s glass and will cut into your skin), and then I poured off the excess glitter (such an incredibly messy process!!) and removed the tape around the edges of the canvas before the Mod Podge had time to fully dry. I didn’t want to take a chance of actually Mod Podging the tape to the canvas.

Oh, how I wish y’all could see it in person! It’s not just the sparkle of cut glass glitter that is so pretty, but it’s also the texture. It’s irregular and chunky and gorgeous.

DIY colorful cut glass glitter artwork - closeup view
DIY colorful cut glass glitter artwork - closeup view

And I couldn’t help but to use my star filter app on my phone to get a picture. 😀

DIY colorful cut glass glitter artwork

But even the star filter doesn’t do it justice. The glittery goodness of cut glass glitter simply must be admired in person.

DIY colorful cut glass glitter artwork - closeup view
DIY colorful cut glass glitter artwork - closeup view

UPDATE: Here’s how they looked once the second coat of Mod Podge and glass glitter dried.

diy artwork - cut glass glitter word art - after two layers of Mod Podge and glitter

You can see that the second coat toned down the colors, but also ramped up the sparkly goodness of the glass glitter. These things are so sparkly and beautiful in person! If you like sparkle, and you haven’t tried glass glitter yet, I highly recommend it! This is the exact one I used.



Want more DIY artwork project ideas? You can find all of my DIY artwork and wall decor projects here!

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57 Comments

  1. Kristi, that is so pretty!! I really like that. I certainly does not look garish!! Way to go. Another piece of artwork very well done!!

  2. Very very cool! I’be never heard of cut glass glitter before. I bet you my 12 year old daughter would absolutely love using it for some of her thrift store remodels, where she repaints little knickknacks she finds. And even writing that makes me laugh because of your previous post about being told your house looks like a 12 year old girl’s fantasy, but it’s true, it would look amazing on some of the stuff she does. And for the record, I love how bold you are with colour, and I use a lot of colour in my house too. I really like how your artwork turned out too.

  3. YAY! I have loved the Hapi art for so long but sadly it is not in my budget. I thought about DIYing but didn’t know where to start. Thank you so much for the step-by-step. I am going to try it very soon!

  4. I don’t have Instagram, but this is beautiful. Can’t wait to see it up on the walls in your sitting room! I know it’ll be fabulous!!!

    1. I think I’m going to add a second layer of glitter, so I’ll use the Golden fluid medium this time. I know that’s what Kristi uses on hers because she posted a process video a while back and she was using Golden. I almost bought it, but I wasn’t sure if I would even like this project, and Golden products are quite pricey (since they’re products for actual artists and not craft projects). But now that I know I love it, I think it’ll be worth the additional cost for that second (and hopefully final) layer.

      1. It’s so beautiful. I had never heard of cut glass glitter either or the Golden Fluid medium I hope I can use this on a project one day. Kristi I’ll say it again, you are so amazing, keep it up!

  5. I am in love! All in for the materials about how much was it to make? I know you had the paints, but I was wondering about the frames and the glass glitter.

    I can imagine some people in my family getting some thing very much like this for the next gift giving occasion!

    1. I would say about $50-$60 for one canvas. The canvas was on sale for 50% off at Michael’s, so around $20, I think. Depending on the wording for one canvas, you’d need 1 to 2 packages of letters, and those are $10 each at Hobby Lobby. Then the glitter is $12.45 for one container. I actually bought four because I had no clue how much it was going to take. I’m pretty sure one container would be enough for one canvas, although if you want to do two layers of glitter (which I’ve decided to do), you’ll want two containers. Then about $5 for Mod Podge. And then I just used cheap unfinished strips of lattice from Home Depot (sold by the linear foot) to make the frame, so it was just a few dollars. It would probably be more than $50 if you have to also buy paints, but you can use craft paint.

  6. when I saw the stripes, my mind went straight to the gym. something like this with inspirational workout words would be nice in the gym…maybe with horizontal stripes to contrast? it’s going to be super wow in the sitting room. I love the comment about using it on thrift store figurines. all kinds of ideas coming from this project.

  7. I love colorful home decor. Yours is so beautiful and cheery and your blog is the most educational….Thank you for sharing your creativity with us.

    1. Educational is right! I went to a previous post of Kristi’s to get the scoop on how to do my porch railing. She makes it so easy to understand.

  8. Oh Kristi they are absolutely gorgeous. I wish I had the wherewithal to attempt one myself but I don’t have that talent. Where are you going gto hang them.

    1. These are taking the places of those landscapes that used to hang in the breakfast room above the benches flanking the pantry doors. I’ll get wider angle pictures soon…as soon as I can finish the new pillow covers that are going on the benches. 🙂

  9. This is amazing. I sell pictures made using this stuff in my shop (it’s called diamond dust in the UK) and you are right, it’s impossible to photograph. But I can imagine it and you’ve done a superb job. They must give such a different feel to your landscapes that were there previously.

    1. Oh, yes, those are coming. I had hoped to get a full view shot today, but I haven’t had a chance to make my new pillow covers yet. And the old pillow covers clash terribly. I’m replacing the cool color originals with more of the warm colors I’m adding to the room.

  10. They’re just great! I hadn’t heard of cut glass glitter, but now I really want to try it! Maybe Christmas ornaments- that’s about the o my time I can get away with glitter in our house, lol.

  11. Kristi, that is gorgeous!
    Instead of pressing glass with your hands, use a rubber float that tilers use to press small tiles down and then use to distribute the grout. Larger areas covered and no injuries.

    1. That’s definitely a good idea. I had more than a few glass shards pierce my skin, but thankfully, no blood. 😀 Well, maybe a drop or two.

      And I think if I were to do this again, I’d use wood art panels instead of stretched canvases. That way I could really press the glass glitter into the adhesive.

    1. In all seriousness, I’d LOVE to have an open house one day and invite all of the people who have walked this house remodel journey with me. Maybe that can actually happen one day!!

      1. Girl! I will be the first one there! I’ve been following you since your condo days and have always hoped I would run into you at Home Depot in Waco (I swear I’m not a stalker! lol)

  12. I’ve seen the glass glitter done with artwork for Christmas themes. ( I can’t remember her blog, but a lady named Marian, who makes a line of chalk paint uses it, and she gets hers fro France.) It’s really pretty. If you’ve ever seen old fashioned Christmas decor or cards, they often used glass glitter. Your paintings came out so pretty, and I know they are awesome in real life! (A hint for future…maybe use a roller to apply the Mod Podge. It will be faster and more even!) (You could even use a rubber roller to press the glitter down, saving your hands.)

    1. I’m pretty sure it’s the same thing. And German glass glitter is available in a ton of gorgeous colors. I actually started out looking for German glass glitter, but couldn’t find anything with that particular name that came in clear. They were all colors. But I’m almost positive it’s the same.

  13. Kristin,

    Love it x 18! No wonder you fill your mind with these beautiful sentiments repeatedly throughout each new day!

    I just watched for the first time your Home Tour from 2018. I guess you’d lived there five years by then. I couldn’t get over the progress, the updates, how your style has evolved to how your home is LIVED IN today. YOU’VE COME A LONG WAY, dear girl. I wish you’d do a new Home Tour just like that one. You are real, and heaven knows we need more REAL today.

    *hugs*
    Mrs. Kelley Dibble

    1. If I can ever get it all together, I do plan to do a new house tour video. It seems like every time I’m close to being ready, something comes up. I had all of the main rooms pretty much ready for a home tour video a month ago, and then all of my orders for the bathroom remodel started pouring in. Now my entryway is filled with boxes and boxes of sconces, plumbing fixtures, and trim for the home gym, which I can’t actually take into the home gym until the guys are finished using the home gym to store their tools and supplies for the bathroom. 😀 I hope to goodness that one day soon, everything can be in its place, and I can actually get a new video. That 2018 video is quite out of date now!

  14. Kristi, I so agree with you…this is one of your finest. It will look awesome in your sitting area and the words also serve as gentle reminder for what is so important in our lives, everyday

  15. I made something similar a few years ago. I put the letters on the canvas, painted and sprinkled the glitter on, and then pulled the letters off while the glue was still wet (I used diluted white glue). My letters are white because Id painted the underlying canvas white. Mine is just one color (silver) and has the words from the first verse of “My favorite things.” I made it as a winter decoration because I thought my house looked sad after I packed up Christmas stuff.

    Also, you can make glass glitter. If I happen to drop a glass Christmas ornament, I don’t toss the pieces. I save them. Then I roll them out in a ziplock bag with a marble rolling pin, crunching the glass I toI try bitty pieces I agree glass glitter is beautiful.

    Nice job.

  16. Just gorgeous! I’m now contemplating making something using that beautiful clear sparkly glass 🤩Admittedly I have not watched the video so I’m not sure if you mentioned this there- are you noticing any of the glitter falling off? With regular glitter no matter how much adhesive is used it always seems to flake off the project even without being touched. Is your planned second layer to seal what’s there or to add even more glass and texture?

    1. After giving it overnight to dry, I stood the canvas on edge and tapped a lightly brushed the surface with my hand (and got a few pieces of glass stuck in my skin…ouch!) to get all of the excess off. So I don’t anticipate having glitter continually falling off of the canvas. I ended up doing a second layer of Mod Podge and glitter on one of the canvases last night. I wanted to fill in some areas that didn’t have as much glitter on them as I liked, plus tone down the color a bit. It’s gorgeous! And way more sparkly than the original layer of glitter was.

  17. Oh my! That is beautiful and is just perfect for your home. You are so talented! I would love to know what frame you used for the canvas. I have a large canvas that I painted, but have not been able to find a suitable frame.

    1. For the frame, I just used unfinished strips of lattice (sold by the linear foot at Home Depot), cut them to length, mitered on the corners, and nailed directly into the edges of the canvas. Super simple!

      1. Thank you so much for sharing that information! I do not have the talent that you do, but it does sound fairly simple. I will give it a go. Thank you again for sharing your expertise with us!

  18. So pretty. I honestly thought each color had their own colored glass glitter and thought WOW that’s dedication… I think I am going to have to try this out.

  19. What?!?! Kristi! This is so beautiful! I clicked over to the FB link to see the true sparkle. Wow! I love the colors you used & the verse as well! Do you have any idea if this will drop glitter pieces at all?

  20. Absolutely beautiful! Glad to see your process for adhering the glass glitter. I went to a gallery to see a new Hunt Slonem exhibit and some of his rabbits had glass glitter. I’ve made my own knockoff rabbits and now I know how to give them a gorgeous sparkle!