I told you guys that I ordered a half dozen more of those gorgeous Iron Orchid Designs transfers from Sweet Pickins. They arrived last Friday and I was so excited!
I had decided that I wanted to use one of them on an old window. I actually nabbed this window last year at a neighborhood trash to treasure day (you can read about that here).
The window is leaning against the back of that pile of stuff, on the left, see it?
Just your basic old window. Not super old, probably from the 50’s or so, but it had a cute little handle which gave it a little extra personality.
To give it a little additional appeal, I first painted it with Sweet Pickins’ milk paint in a color called In A Pickle. I love this rich green color!
Next I cleaned the glass thoroughly. I got out one of my new transfers, removed the backing paper and went to place it on the glass. That’s when disaster struck, well, sort of. I forgot about how glass and rub-on transfers are attracted to each other like magnets. As soon as that transfer hits the glass there is no picking it back up again. This was quite different from the experience I had with the Specimens cupboard. With that I was easily able to move and re-position my transfer several times before I got it straight. Not so this time. I put it down and it was not going anywhere.
I definitely should have known better. I’ve used plenty of transfers before, on glass, metal, wood, paper and plastic. I just wasn’t thinking.
Luckily I had placed it down fairly centered and straight! I would have preferred to have the design centered a little bit better vertically, but it wasn’t a total fail.
The instructions on the box this transfer came in say “these rub ons adhere best to a matte surface” so I guess I was breaking the rules a bit by putting it on glass. Forewarned if forearmed though people! So if you decide to try using a transfer on glass, use extreme caution when you place it. Be sure you’ve got it in exactly the right position the first time.
I added some eye hooks and chain to the window so that it would be hung somewhere.
By the way, I used the smaller version of this transfer which is 11″ x 17″.
There is also a larger size and I’m hoping to use that on a dresser I’m working on next, so be sure to stay tuned.
q is for quandie 
I think it looks great. I’d like to try that sometime. I have some old windows I was going to try and “frost”. A neighbor of mine used a stencil and frosted glass spray paint to make a design on her basement window bc it was seen from her backdoor entrance and it turned out so cute. I like this transfer idea too.
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I’ve done that too Becky. The tricky part is keeping your stencil lines crisp (not getting spray under your stencil). When I did it I used my Cricut to cut out the word “OFFICE” from adhesive vinyl. Then I placed the word on my window, sprayed the entire window with the frosting and then removed the vinyl leaving a clear “OFFICE” behind. If you’re going to do the opposite, use a stencil and just leave the design frosted, I would recommend using a stencil adhesive to keep bleed through of the spray to a minimum. You can see my “OFFICE” door here.
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Love your office door too. Thx for the info. I appreciate it.
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You can hardly tell…but once you make a mistake and you know it, you always “see” it, where other people may not even notice. Since it’s just a little lower vertically than you would like, you could always add a little border or one line of flourishes or something to the top to balance it out a bit. Love the whole look on the window and really like the color…
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I love that color too. I painted a dresser in it two summers ago (here) and it was one of my all time favorites. It took forever to sell though, so I hesitate to go there again.
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I love it! It looks perfectly imperfect! I’m wondering if you prefer Miss Mustard Seed’s milk paint over Sweet Pickin’s milk paint? Any difference, other than the color selection? I’d appreciate your thoughts on this.
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I think they are very comparable products, and really it is just the color choices that would have me choosing one over the other. Miss Mustard Seed has a much lighter and more 50’s-esque green, Luckett’s Green, and a darker more muted and slightly more olive green in Boxwood. But she doesn’t have a green anything like “In a Pickle”.
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Broken record here, because it seems, I am always saying “I love it”! But I do love it the concept, the color and the rub on. I would like to replace my laundry room door with an old one with a glass pane so I could do something similar. And the pantry as well but I would definitely want to use frosted glass there.
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That’s OK, I’ll take that kind of broken record 😉 I love the idea of using door with window panes as interior doors. I once toyed with the idea of using one for the bathroom door, but since my bathroom is off the kitchen … well … I decided that was probably going over the line. But I love the old windowed door on my pantry!
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And since I know you so well, I laugh at how close we probably came to having a window on our bathroom door!
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Love it. Love it. Love it! So vintage and clever! ❤️
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Thanks Tabi!
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Really turned out well despite the flub. Hadn’t heard about these but going to Sweet Pickins to check it out.
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You’ll love them!
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Thanks for the heads up
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You betcha 😉
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I would love to own one like this to. Beautiful!
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did you seal the transfer? How is it holding up? I am about to apply one and was told I would need to seal it or it would dry up and peel. It is a window so I dont want to make it cloudy where there is still glass. I am wondering how yours did? I love it!!
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As far as I know, there is no good way to seal a transfer on window glass. Not without clouding up the glass anyway. I did not seal this one, but I also sold it so I can’t say whether or not it has held up. Will your window be exposed to the elements? Or just hung on a wall indoors? If indoors, the transfer will hold up just fine. If outdoors, what kind of climate? I have put transfers on metal that have held up quite well outside in Minnesota.
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