Stained Glass Stickers
Stickers must be a theme here lately. hmm. if that’s not an interesting theme, I don’t know what is.
oh right…boobs. (that one was for you mom!)
So the window on the side of our house has this very ornate stained glass window.
You can see it from the living room corner. It ain’t my style. If it’s yours, well, you must be fancy nancy.
please excuse the mess…we are still moving in.
And one day I got really close. Almost close enough to clean it. Almost 
While I was thisclose I discovered that I’ve been jipped. This ain’t even real. It’s a darn sticker. A decal that is made to look like stained glass. And then I felt that familiar feeling…the same one I had after seeing Twilight for the first time…and I knew what I wanted to do. And no it didn’t involve a tanning bed and Rob Pattinson.
So I got to peeling. It was applied in layers…so it definitely wasn’t as easy as I thought it might be.
And about thirty minutes of peeling later, I had bits and pieces that I was scraping with a razor blade.
But little did I know but I had just opened a whole box of crickets (which by the way is an awesome dorm prank if you are in college and wanna punk someone….they go everywhere and then sing all night)…underneath all that vinyly plastic was some kind of superhuman adhesive. Clark freaking Kent of glues.
Two bottles of finger nail polish remover later and two weeks later, we have a clean window. It was the only thing in my arsenol that worked. And for those of you wondering, Will was a very funny while high on Acetone.
It’s actually really nice because now I have a view of the sky at sunset from my spot on the couch. And since we have been having those pink nights, it really does put a smile on my face. Although, I thought it might be nice to do something a little less traditional in it’s place. Maybe something like this…
Now comes the hard part…
This beast is at least three times as big. Quick someone do the math – that’s like ten bottles of finger nail polish and six months, right? if I’m lucky!
Although I must say – it’ll be pretty amazing to rid the bathroom of that faux stained window. Like I said – not my style Nancy. I have a plan for that wide open window too. I mean, nobody wants to see Jeremy & I in the tub at night…so we definitely want a little blockage. And here’s a hint of one of my ideas…it involves these old windows I got for free from my mom’s neighbor…
I can’t wait.
Anyone else in sticker shock (aka surprised my stained glass window was a big fat phony!)? Oh just me then…great.
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OMG so much better without the pretend fancy schmancy schtuff on the window. I am SO jealous of those amazing windows you got for free!!!!!
I use orange oil for the really bad goo jobs and eucalyptus oil for little ones. It works so fast, it’s cheap and my home smells yummy.
I vote for the frosted film in the bathroom too. We all sound like we are yelling in a canyon!! Say’n the same things over and over!!
The window looks so much better. Good job, even though it was painstaking. Btw, I just now read your blog from yesterday & I’m glad you are moving forward. I was just wondering why you moved from there? You may have blogged about it previously but just curious.
The main reason is that we felt lead. Ever have that feeling that you should do something and you can’t necessarily justify it but you just know. That was reason #1. And in hindsight we realized that the other house is meant for a different family…we loved it but the new house is a great investment and a better fit for our needs long term so it’s bittersweet
xo – kb
I am thinking that you should list everything you tried to use to take the sticky stuff off! A friend got super glue on his hands and I told his wife to use nail polish remover and she said I don’t think that will work we tried gu-gone – I told her it was worth a try and she called later to say it worked amazingly! Best of luck with the window in the bathroom!
Two thoughts:
1. Your house (as done by the previous owner) is a perfect example that money doesn’t buy taste. What a mess! Fortunately you guys are fixing it.
2. I definitely didn’t need the mental image of you and your “boyfriend” in the tub together. I’m about to go asleep for crying out loud!
Two thoughts backatcha:
1. Amen.
2. You liked it. Just admit it.
xo – kb
The window looks so much better without the faux stained glass!
I just wanted to say I’ve been loving your blog lately, even the random photos of Will (what a cutie). Can’t wait to see what you’ve got planned for his room, the rest of the house, and the wedding!
Katie have you tried a heat gun or even a hairdryer for removing stickers – I was told to try it on a super-sticky window sticker in my car, and it worked a treat! Maybe give it a go – far less effort than all the scrubbing and scraping!
Love the blog btw; your new house is amazing, can’t wait to see how all your decorating comes along! x
Yup tried a hairdryer…and it didn’t help. I imagine Will thought I was crazy up on the chair drying the window
xo – kb
Make sure you’re using pure acetone, it’s the main dissolving ingredient in nail polish remover. You can get it cheap a the hardware store. Also, you can put aluminum foil on the back of whatever you’re using to apply the acetone (felt works great & is kind of scrubby) to keep it from evaporating as fast. Good luck with your second window! The first one looks great!
So funny. I didn’t mind the “stained glass” but it’s hilarious that they are just stickers. Good find!
not really related….but I love your birdhouse.
http://www.homedepot.com/h_d1/N-5yc1v/R-202256081/h_d2/ProductDisplay?langId=-1&storeId=10051&catalogId=10053
Maybe this comment is too late — but the above product may work better than acetone. We applied some frosted film to our windows, and this stuff removes it like a charm. The stained glass stickers adhere the same way, so it should remove it easily too!
I use orange degreaser to get rid of sticky stuff. I stole it from my husband, he uses it for bike cleaning. It’s made by Pedro’s (bike company) and is non-toxic. Maybe Jeremy has some? It definitely needs to be sprayed on and sit for a bit but it’s worked on all of my sticky problems!
I can’t believe they make faux stained glass stickers!
Have you considered Naptha? It is an industrial solvent that will pretty much eat through anything!
Katie, you’ve inspired me! My husband and I have lived in our home for almost 5 months now. It’s a modular house so everything came with stickers on them. I finally went around today with my razor blade and nail polish remover and took all the stickers off of everything; the mirrors, sinks, toilets, inside of the shower…Thanks Girl!!
Try a little Zippo lighter fluid. In high school I worked at an engraving shop and that is what we kept to remove adhesives from products. It came right off!
Didn’t read through your comments, but you might try Goo Gone. I would spray it on a papertowel and stick it to the window to let it soak a little. I’ve been amazed at some of the things it’s helped me get off.
They sell cans of acetone at Home Depot/Lowes/Aco/Ace/Harbor Freight. That and a rag might REALLY help!
Also, taking a top section off then rubbing/dripping the acetone into the cracks, then letting it sit there for a while should work pretty well.