Medieval Goblet from a Dollar Store Wine Glass.....

Hello all of you lovely DIY'ers! I have this thing about medieval and pre-renaissance times - castles, knights in armor, horses, peasants, gothic architecture - yeah all of that. According to my DNA test I'm 99% British so I'm pretty sure it's in my genes..... Being an ambassador and affiliate for WoodUbend moldings and appliques gives me the opportunity to create all kinds of medieval looking things out of everything from blank canvases to dollar store wine glasses. Given the popularity of Game of Thrones these days - I thought you all might like to see how easy it is to make your own Medieval Goblet from a Dollar Store Wine Glass..... Are you ready? Here we go!

Step #1 - Find an empty wine glass. You might find one in your kitchen cabinet but I didn't have any. I know - who doesn't have a wine glass? I'm SORRY - I don't drink wine. I rather wish I did. It sounds like fun.... all those cool wineries you can visit and do taste testing...... But I didn't have one so off I went to the Dollar Tree store. I have no affiliation to Dollar Tree but let me tell you - if you need wine glasses - it's the place to go. Great selection and they're all $1 !! This is my kind of budget....

Step #2 - I recommend this step to EVERY person for EVERY thing they are going to paint. Whether it's a glass or a china cabinet - Wash it with Dawn dish detergent. I have no affiliation to Dawn dish detergent either. I asked them if they'd like to provide a coupon to my blog readers and they politely declined - saying that washing furniture with Dawn dish detergent wasn't something they had tested or could recommend. Silly people. Maybe they'll change their minds one day. My thought on using Dawn (the blue one please) is - if it is gentle enough yet strong enough to clean those poor animals caught in oil spills - it's good enough for my DIY projects. So there you have it folks - my #1 prep step - Wash it with Dawn dish detergent (and rinse completely)

Step #3 - with your now nicely cleaned glass in front of you - measure the circumference of your glass. Tape measure.... can't do it with a ruler :) This is important - because you have to choose WoodUbend moldings that are going to fit around your glass.

Step #4 - Choose your moldings! Just to make it easier for you - In the USA WoodUbend shop there are measurements of every molding and applique. You can find the shop right here https://woodubend.us.com/ref/TTrombetta/ What you want is a combination of moldings whose length is equal to the circumference of your glass because you're going to wrap the moldings around your glass. It doesn't have to be EXACT. That's one of the amazing things about woodUbend moldings. When they are warmed up - they become flexible. You can move them around, stretch them a bit until they fit where you need them to. So much fun.....

Step #5 is optional. Since you are going to be wrapping the moldings around the glass - I thought it would be best to paint the moldings first so that it didn't look like raw wood on the inside of the glass. I decided to paint. I also decided to paint with spray paint. Bad choice..... The moldings will need to be heated up to be flexible and let me tell you right now that warmed spray paint does not smell pleasant.

So Step #5 (optional) is pre-paint your moldings with a good, non toxic chalk/mineral paint.

Step #6 Decide where you want your moldings to be on your glass and warm them up. For this project I recommend either keeping the moldings ready to use on a warm griddle (my favorite way) OR just use a regular hair dryer. You can use a heat gun to warm them up but that's a bit much for this project. You'll warm your fingers up a bit too much with a heat gun...... Warm your moldings up (no glue yet) to the shape of your glass. Hold them there for just a minute and when they cool, they will maintain the shape of your glass. How cool is THAT???

Step #7 - When you move your cooled molding away from the glass - it will be curved and will stay that way until heated again. Now you're ready to put glue on your molding and stick it on to the glass. Use any good quality WOOD GLUE. Yes - I yelled that. Just because a glue says it can be used on wood does not make it WOOD GLUE. Gorilla glue (bless their cotton socks - I have nothing against them but regular Gorilla glue is not WOOD GLUE). You must use a good quality WOOD GLUE. (Pretty sure I got my point across there lol) You can apply the wood glue with a paint brush - just make sure you have all of the surface covered. Press your glued piece on to the glass and hold it there for at least 10-15 seconds. If you have excess glue - wipe it off with a q-tip. You want to do this while the glue is still soft. Hardened wood glue is virtually impossible to scrape off glass. (Take my word for it - I found this out the hard way.....)

Step #8 Once you have the molding in place with the glue - give it a shot with the hair dryer and make sure it is pressed on there firmly. This will allow it to mold completely to the the shape of the glass and somehow cements the glue, molding and surface. Repeat this entire process with the molding on the other side of the glass.

Step #9 - We'll call this the "glutton for punishment" step and point out that it's optional but it also adds a "WOW" factor to the glass. We have several different styles of woodUbend trim. Each roll/coil is over 80 inches long and they are fantastic for frames & edges. You can purchase different trims here https://woodubend.us.com/product-category/woodubend/trims/ref/TTrombetta/ I decided to try wrapping one of the "rope style" trims around the stem of the glass. When you heat up a roll of trim, just lay the entire roll on a table and heat it with a hair dryer. When you pick it up - it will no longer be in a coil- it will be flexible and you can cut off whatever length you need. When it's warm - you can easily wrap it around the stem of a glass Let it cool for just a minute and your trim will be in the shape of the glass stem. Painting the glue on the back of the shaped trim isn't a problem. The tricky part? Is getting the curved trim (with the glue on the back) back on to the stem of the glass. Patience is golden. Just stay with it. Heat the trim as you're applying it on to the stem. Use your paintbrush to add a little glue if needed. DON'T WORRY if it snaps - just glue it back on. This step takes a bit of patience but I think the final effect was definitely worth it!

Step #10 -You are ready to paint!!! What type of paint you use depends on what you want to use your glass for. If you mean to use it to enjoy a sip of wine from time to time you're going to have to wash it. Wood Glue is water resistant. I painted mine with an exterior grade/water resistant chalk and mineral paint and then used a metallic water resistant glaze to dry brush and highlight the details. (You can make a delicious glaze by combing Posh Chalk metallic pigments with your favorite top coat. You will find 10 colors of pigment to choose from here: https://woodubend.us.com/product-category/posh-chalk/pigments/ref/TTrombetta/ ) All of that water resistance should make it hand washable for quite some time to come! To get the medieval effect - be sure to paint from the molding on down. Your finished product will look half metal and half glass and is sure to impress anyone who joins you in having a glass of wine. Or champagne. Or whiskey. You might just have to make a whole set :)

I hope you've enjoyed this project and will visit again for the next blog post! If you haven't visited yet - please visit the website at www.tracysayerstrombetta.com. You'll find my original paintings and supplies that will help you create your own masterpieces - including #woodUbend moldings, #Satlwash texture additive, #decoupage supplies and more!

And so we come to the end of my third blog. If you've stuck with me until this part - THANK YOU!! I would appreciate any feedback and comments as I'm planning to do this regularly and would like to have a happy bunch of customers and followers. Take care and have a great day!!I

Tracy