- 1). Purchase paints or glosses that can be used on glass. If you plan on covering large portions of the glass shade, purchase vitreous or transparent glass paint so that light can still shine through.
- 2). Print off patterns if you would like to paint a stained glass design; you can also print off stencils if you want to create your own design. Tape the patterns on the inside of the shade and trace on the outside of the shade with a pencil. If the glass is a dark color, and the pencil markings do not show up, use a washable marker for tracing. If the lamp's base is also made of glass, cut out design shapes, tape them to the neck and trace around them. If the glass already has engraved curvatures or designs, you do not have to trace any patterns.
- 3). Squirt each paint color you will use on a paper plate. Lay out some newspaper and place the lamp on top. Remove the shade from the lamp. If you can't, cover any part of the lamp not being painted with newspaper. Apply one color at a time, using a small paint brush. Either fill in your traced designs or paint on top of the existing indents. Allow this color to dry. Do the same for each additional color. If you mistakenly apply paint in the wrong spot, wipe it off with paper towel.
- 4). Follow the directions on the paint bottles. Some glass paints require a baking period in the oven so the colors can set.
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