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Stained Glass Mitten Window Decor Tutorial

January 24, 2014 Maria Manore Gavin 55 Comments

With the cold, blustery weather in full-force this winter, I decided to bring some seasonal coziness into my classroom decor. Last week we made stained glass mittens to adorn the windows of my kindergarten classroom. By now you probably know of my great love affair with stained glass-style window decorations. This one is definitely my new favorite. I know I said that the last time, but now I REALLY mean it.

This post contains affiliate links. I earn a small commission each time someone makes a purchase through one of my links, which helps to support the blog.
Tutorial for ADORABLE mitten window decorations
For this project, each child made a pair of matching mittens. The partner mittens are displayed next to each other in my window. They look adorable in my bright kindergarten classroom  and are the perfect compliment to the Rainbow Chalkboard theme from Melanie at Schoolgirl Style.
tutorial for making cute "stained glass" mitten decorations
Prepping the project was easy!  I selected a few different shades of tissue paper in five color schemes (pink, blue, green, orange, purple) and cut the tissue paper into 1″ squares. These were separated into 5 different containers according to their color. Each child also needed two mitten frames. (You can download a free template for the mittens on TpT. Just print, trace onto black construction paper and cut out along with one 9×1/2″ strip of black construction paper for each pair of mittens.)  This project also requires two sheets of 12″x18 sheets of clear contact paper per child.

(Side-note: If you don’t already know, I love clear contact paper. I use it for everything. I go through SEVERAL rolls of it each year and if you don’t already have contact paper in your classroom, I highly recommend you go on Amazon right now and purchase a few rolls. You can thank me later.)

It is easiest to set this project up while students are away from their desks. I usually prepare for the activity while my class is at a special or playing with toys on the floor. Begin by peeling the sheets of contact paper and placing one sheet sticky-side-up on each child’s desk. Next, place two frames side by side on top of the sticky paper. Cut or tear the 1/2″ strips of construction paper to create cuffs on the mitten. That’s it!

Students then lay the pieces of tissue paper into the mittens to fill the “stained glass window.” Most students can complete this entire project within 15 minutes.
simple and adorable "stained glass" mitten craft
This particular window decoration was unusual because each child used a specific color of tissue paper.  I set up a separate station for each color around the classroom to easily manage the supplies.
simple and adorable "stained glass" mitten craft
simple and adorable "stained glass" mitten craft for kindergarten
simple and adorable "stained glass" mitten craft for kindergarten
make "stained glass" window decorations with tissue paper
make "stained glass" window decorations with tissue paper
make "stained glass" window decorations with tissue paper
Once the mittens were filled with tissue paper, I placed a second sheet of contact paper sticky-side-down on top of the project to seal all of the tissue paper inside. To complete the project, each student trimmed the excess paper from their mittens.

make "stained glass" window decorations with tissue paper
With a little bit of scotch tape, these stained glass mittens were ready to display on my classroom windows!
Tutorial for ADORABLE mitten window decorations
You can download a FREE Mitten Template from my TpT store.

FREE template to make stained glass mitten decorations
ADORABLE "stained glass" window decorations made with tissue paper
The weather outside might be frightful, but my classroom is delightful!

More Holiday Fun

Looking to get into the spirit of the holidays? These posts offer great fun ideas for all while emphasizing the magic of the season.

Find More Stained Glass Window Projects

If you are looking for more stained glass window decoration ideas, check out these blogs posts! They are filled with exciting ideas that are sure to spruce up your windows.

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Art, Freebies, Tutorials art, Celebrate the Holidays, crafts, FREEBIE, Kindergarten, stained glass, window decoration, winter

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Comments

  1. Alys Fras says

    January 24, 2014 at 1:55 pm

    Love this! Thanks for sharing.

    Reply
  2. Barbara says

    January 24, 2014 at 3:28 pm

    Awesome!!! Thank you for sharing! 😉

    Reply
  3. diditeach says

    January 24, 2014 at 5:51 pm

    So adorable, love these projects !

    Reply
  4. Jodi says

    January 24, 2014 at 6:45 pm

    These are gorgeous!!!!
    ❀Jodi
    Fun In First

    Reply
  5. Bec Perry says

    January 24, 2014 at 7:42 pm

    These look so cute!
    Books, Bugs and Boxes

    Reply
  6. Luv My Kinders says

    January 24, 2014 at 10:58 pm

    Love these mittens and they are perfect for my plans next week. I too love tissue paper “stained glass” crafts. We made leaves in November and they came out great. These should brighten up our room. Thanks so much for sharing!

    ~Laura
    Luv My Kinders

    Reply
  7. Marcia Nicholas says

    January 25, 2014 at 10:29 am

    We will make these mittens this next week. I can’t wait to see them! We are being Accreditation Team inspected the next week and I know the team will love our mittens! You ROCK, Maria!

    Reply
  8. Stacey- Monkeying Around in First says

    January 25, 2014 at 10:51 pm

    Ohmygosh! Using contact paper is GENIUS! I can’t believe I’ve never thought of doing it this way. I’ve always had them put the tissue squares on wax paper and brush with starch…so messy! Thanks for sharing this.

    Stacey
    Monkeying Around in First

    Reply
  9. Kristen Smith says

    January 26, 2014 at 7:28 am

    These are absolutely adorable. I’m heading to Jo Ann’s right now to buy some BRIGHT tissue paper! Thanks so much for the cute idea!

    Kristen
    A Day in First Grade

    Reply
  10. Jess says

    January 26, 2014 at 5:06 pm

    You have some amazing free printables. I really appreciate all your hard work and sharing so many amazing things. You are great. Looking forward to many more TPT purchases and ideas from your blog. Thanks!

    Reply
  11. Katie Smith says

    January 27, 2014 at 8:49 am

    Darling! Thanks for sharing!
    Katie 🙂
    I Want to be a Super Teacher

    Reply
  12. Christin says

    February 5, 2014 at 5:12 pm

    Thanks for this idea! I’m going to do a spin on it with hearts for Valentine’s day. Your blog has been so helpful- your materials and ideas are so useful! Thanks for all you do!

    Reply
  13. Zoe says

    June 27, 2014 at 3:04 am

    Hi Maria, love this craft!
    My children had so much fun doing it this week.
    I’ve posted about it on my blog and would love for you to have a look 🙂

    Zoe
    Oh the Little Wonders

    Reply
  14. Diana says

    December 29, 2014 at 2:25 pm

    I teach upper elementary and always looking for neat ideas for my students to remember they are still “kids” . Gathering supplies to do this our first week back to school! Thank you for sharing

    Reply
  15. Megan says

    January 14, 2015 at 8:08 am

    Quick Question:
    How much tissue paper did you have to purchase? I am trying to figure out how much to purchase for my class – I have 21 students!

    Reply
    • Maria Manore says

      January 14, 2015 at 5:34 pm

      Hi Megan! It’s tough to say exactly how much I used because I have sort of a revolving supply of tissue paper in my classroom. Have all the different colors in separate bags so I just grab the ones I need when I have a new project.

      To be safe, I would say to plan on 15-20 sheets of tissue paper total for the whole class. As long as all your colors add up to that many sheets, you should be fine 🙂

      Reply
  16. l says

    January 14, 2015 at 11:46 am

    While trying to download the mitten template I am stuck in a loop. Everytime I click on download it brings me back to the blog page then tells me to click on the store page and then page is missing.

    Please help

    Reply
    • Maria Manore says

      January 14, 2015 at 5:37 pm

      Oh no! I just tested the download and it was working for me. If you email me at kindercraze@gmail.com and let me know you need the template, I’ll email it to you 🙂

      Reply
  17. nikki says

    December 13, 2016 at 5:22 pm

    Do you tape down the contact paper while they work? Mine wants to roll up from being rolled up.

    Reply
    • Maria Manore Gavin says

      December 14, 2016 at 5:32 am

      No, I just usually lay the contact paper flat and tell my students to try very hard not to touch it. I don’t usually have a lot of issues with it.

      Reply
  18. Jordace says

    December 7, 2019 at 11:02 pm

    Hi. Super excited to try this with my class. How much contact paper did you use per kid. I’m planning to do this for our winter rotations with the 5 kindergarten classes at my school and wondering how many rolls I would need to order. Thanks!

    Reply

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 Maria Gavin round Hello there and welcome!
I'm Maria Gavin - a kindergarten teacher, curriculum developer, educational blogger and founder of Kinder Craze.

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