Tissue paper is available in a lot of colors, and comes in handy when making a project that calls for a stained-glass look. In this article we’ll make a simple suncatcher using tissue paper, a piece of acetate and some black cardstock.


You will need:

* Tissue paper in three colors
* Acetate sheet or overhead transparency, around 6 inches square
* Black cardstock, around 6 inches square
* Decoupage medium like Mod Podge
* 12 inches of narrow, sheer ribbon
* Scratch paper, around 6 inches square for drawing a template
* Pencil
* Black permanent marker
* Paint brush or foam brush
* Scissors
* Puncher

With a pencil, draw a heart about 4 inches wide and 4 inches tall on the scratch paper. (You can also print out a slightly bigger template here.) Cut out the heart template and put it on top of the acetate. Trace around the template with a black permanent marker and cut out the heart. Now using the acetate heart as the template, trace two hearts on the black cardstock with a pencil. Cut out both hearts. Next, carefully cut out the center of each heart, leaving a 1/4-inch border all around to make an outline of the heart. Set the pieces aside.

Cut the tissue paper into half-inch squares; they don’t have to be perfect. Brush a strip of decoupage medium across the top of the acetate heart. Stick a row of tissue paper squares in alternating colors, overlapping the squares slightly. Repeat with the second row, again sticking the squares checkerboard-style in alternating colors. Continue sticking the squares with decoupage medium in this manner until the whole heart is covered. Trim off the excess tissue paper. Take one of the black heart outlines and stick it over the tissue paper squares with decoupage medium. Brush decoupage medium onto the entire front. Let dry.

Take the other black heart outline, brush one side with decoupage medium, and let dry. Apply decoupage medium to the other side of the heart outline, and stick it to the back side of the acetate heart. Let dry. If any of the acetate shows up along the outer edge of the black heart outline, color it using the black permanent marker, or trim it with scissors.

Punch a hole at the top of the heart. Thread the ribbon through the hole and knot the ends together. Hang the suncatcher at your window and let the colors in!