15 Cool Window and Glass Frosting Designs and Tutorials to Try This Fall
Updated on October 3, 2017
We’re pretty big fans of DIY and crafting, particularly when it comes to home décor. We tend to craft and make things for our home all year round, but there’s just something about fall that gets us in the home décor spirit even more than usual. This year, we’ve found ourselves completely obsessed with window frosting because it’s an awesome effect for both fall and winter. We also love that it’s completely customizable and you can create yourself just about any window design you please! Not every window, mirror, or glass frosting project we’ve created as of late has been definitively seasonal, but many of them suit the season change well regardless. Besides, window frosting is just plain fun to do!
Just in case you’re just as obsessed with window frosting as we are lately, here’s a list of 15 awesome frosting tutorials, patterns, ideas, and inspirations to get your started on your fall crafting!
1. Square and diamond grids
Have you always admired the way homes with fully frosted and evenly patterned doors look but you’ve always sort of assumed that the doors are purchased that way or done professionally by a contractor or designer? Then Classroom DIY has a cool surprise for you! They show you how to actually cut, lay out, and apply your very own near, visually appealing diamond design made with clear contact paper. The whole process actually only takes a few simple steps.
2. Frosted glass spray paint
Sometimes glass frosting is purely decorative, but we’ve also often seen it used for privacy reasons on houses that are in busy areas and have windows near personal use rooms, like bathrooms and bedrooms. Many people choose glass frosting for privacy because it’s quite a pretty effect and it still lets a little bit of light in, so it beats blocking out the window all together. Atkinson Drive, however, shows you a simpler and more unconventional way to get the frosting effect in rooms where you know you want to have the window obscured at all times. Check their tutorial out to learn how they got the effect with spray paint!
3. Frosted glass Christmas decor
If you can frost windows and doors, which are made of glass, it only makes sense, then, that you can also frost certain decorative pieces that are also made of glass and similar materials. These are things we especially enjoy doing in the fall because it helps us get into the holiday spirit for winter. Keeping busy as the weather gets colder helps us avoid being bogged down by increased darkness hours as they days get shorter! Sew Many Ways suggests making this little “Ho Ho Ho” frame for some simple wintery side table décor. It’ll also help you practice your window frosting stencil techniques.
4. Painted glass frosting monogram mirror
If you’re not a fan of contact paper and or sprays, which some people aren’t, then perhaps you’d prefer to work with a painted glass frosting instead! Enchanted Events and Designs shows you how easily glass frosting can be done on a mirror, especially for delicate lettering that requires very neat stenciling. Just because they’ve done their monogram pattern on a mirror, however, doesn’t mean that you can’t do yours on your window if you prefer!
5. Frosted section shower doors
Just as you can use glass frosting techniques to block our certain sections of window for privacy, Mike Hermes is here to show you how you can use the same techniques to block our certain sections of a glass shower door to make the shower a bit more of a private area too! We quite enjoy this clean looking geometric striping pattern, but you could create designs with softer lines if you preferred instead.
6. Colourful frosted jars
Have you been doing glass and window frosting so much lately that now your kids are interested in trying it out as well because they’ve watched you make things so many times? Well, as cool as they think the project is, we’d be willing to bet that they’d rather create something a little more interesting and quicker to do than putting a repeating pattern of neat diamonds all across a door. That’s why we were pleased to find this cute coloured jar frosting craft! It’s bright enough to get your kids excited about doing it but also a fast enough project to do that it’ll keep your kids’ attention until they finish. Check the whole idea out in more detail on Craftown.
7. Frosted glass bathroom jars
If you can make letters on the glass of a frame or on a window pane, it makes sense that you should be able to stencil them onto a glass jar too, right? We love the idea of doing just that because it makes it easy to label things in a decorative way. We love these DIY bathroom storage jars from TDA Decorating and Design (and we also think this idea would be great for laundry rooms or in the craft room).
8. DIY stained glass window painting
Are you still quite taken with the idea of frosting glass windows or door windows out for privacy but you’d rather do something with a bit of texture or visual pattern? Then check out this awesome finger painted window frosting idea that, besides looking cool and swirl at the end, is an absolute blast to make! This affect is clear and more textured, almost like stained glass would be, as opposed to being blurred like some of the spray frosting techniques. Green Village Gazette guides you through the steps for making it happen.
9. DIY frosted quote flower vase
We’ve talked about frosting windows, doors, mirrors, and frames, but those aren’t the only kinds of glass things you can frost around your household! Instead, A Beautiful Mess suggests making yourself a pretty frosted flower vase with a nice quote on it. You’ll use the same stenciling techniques you’ve seen elsewhere on our list, but this tutorial lays the steps out very clearly if you’re still in need of some pointers.
10. Polka dot frosted candle holder
Are you intrigued by stencilled frosting patterns but you’re still not quite ready for the challenge of stencilling winding letters, or even block ones for that matter? Then try out with a more beginner level project that still lets you practice the steps! We’ve made these cute polka dot glass candle holders from Sew Many Ways before using glass frosting spray (but you could use paint) and polka dot stickers that are peeled off once the project has dried.
11. Frosted wine bottle lamps
Did you try the stencilled glass frosting idea a few times before and enjoy it so much that now you’re looking for other similar projects to do that will give you some fun décor this fall and winter? Then check out these fun “frosty” wine bottle lamps by Nick Jager! We love the way they put a string of lights inside after so they shine through the frosting effect to make the whole thing glow.
12. Frosted rubber band glasses
Stenciling is fun and all, but sometimes it’s even more fun to do classic DIY techniques using more unconventional materials than you have before. We like experimenting with different things because you can create all kinds of different angles and effects in lots of cool ways. Jump Into the Fog, for example, shows you how to create a series of criss-crossing lines across the surface of a glass or candle holder by frosting it after you’ve wrapped several elastic bands around it.
13. Frosted mason jar drinking glasses
Have you already made polka dotted candle holders and you liked them so much that now you want to make all kinds of matching things across your house so you can have a set? Then here’s an idea for you so you can start building your collection! Lovilee suggests upcycling some mason jars into drinking glasses and frosting them with cute polka dots, just like you did before.
14. Epsom salts and beer frosted glass
Have you tried just about every store bought frosting product you can find at your local craft store, just to make sure you’ve really looked at all of your options, but now you’d like to get really DIY with your projects? Then we have a feeling you’ll be rather interested in this awesomely crafty idea from Craft Forest! They guide you through the process of making your own glass and window frosting solution using Epsom salts and, believe it or not, beer!
15. Patterned frosted glass closet doors
By now, you’ve scrolled through quite a number of different glass frosting techniques, but are you still quite enamoured with the first idea you saw of creating a neat, even repeating pattern all across and down a windowed door, even though you’re not quite sold on the idea of straight-lined diamonds? Then check out this tutorial from My 3 Monsters instead! They’ve used a classic sconce-like shape instead to create a different aesthetic.
Do you know a fellow DIY enthusiast who loves the frosted glass aesthetic whenever they see it but has never tried actually making it happen themselves? Share this post with them to help get them started!