Tissue Paper Stained Glass Christmas Shapes

SUPPLIES NEEDED

• Tissue paper in various coloirs

• Scissors

• White glue or liquid starch

• Paint brush

• Wax paper

• String to hang

Cut small pieces of colored tissue. Cut various colors of tissue paper into small pieces. If you are making themed suncatchers (e.g. Valentine's day, Easter, autumn, etc.), use colors of tissue paper that go with your theme. For this tutorial, I chose reds, pinks, and purples to make heart suncatchers for Valentine's day.

Prepare wax paper. Lay a sheet of wax paper on a flat surface.

Place some paste. Create paste by using either undiluted liquid starch or diluted white glue (2 parts white glue to 1 part water). Pour some paste onto a portion of the wax paper. Spread the paste into a thin layer using a paint brush.

Lay pieces of tissue over the paste. Place a few overlapping pieces of tissue onto the section with paste. Brush on some more paste over the pieces, smoothing them around the edges as you go.

Lay more tissue pieces. Continue adding tissue paper pieces until you've made a collage that almost covers the entire wax paper or until you've got a big enough collage to make the intended number of suncatchers. Allow the collage to dry completely.

Peel off the wax paper. If you want suncatchers that are more see-through, you can carefully peel off the tissue collage from the wax paper once completely dry. Leaving the wax paper on is perfectly okay—the suncatchers will still catch some light, though not as much as wax paper-free ones.

Cut shapes. Cut shapes out of the tissue paper collage. You can cut directly or draw the shapes onto the tissue prior to cutting. If you need shape patterns or templates, you can check out these printables: