• Sparkling Masquerade Mask with Testors Craft Intense Glitter Paint

    My last two blog posts, found Here and Here I talked about the 6th annual Prime Networking Event in January.  At this event, bloggers, designers, authors and brands in the craft industry came together to network, make new partnerships, and learn about new product information.  Educational, informative, with food, drinks and free product samples provided by this year’s sponsors. Afterward, the event attendees were encouraged to try out and create art for the Favecrafts Best Blogger Craft Event.

    A sponsor at the event was Rust-Oleum with the Testors paint brand (Testors once its own company is now part the Rust-Oleum Group). During the blogger event attendees were asked to cast a vote for their favorite new Testors Craft/Rust-Oleum product. The winner of that vote was the Testors Craft Intense Glitter paint. As per the label it can be applied to wood, plastic, metal and more, with excellent adhesion, perfect for special occasion tablescapes and home accessories. Testors Intense Glitter paint is water based, low VOC and the glitter is made out of very small Mica particles (Mica is a naturally occurring mineral found in granite, rocks and crystals).

    Many at the event were excited with this new paint and were excited to try it. However I will let you in on a secret: while a fan of the Rust-Oleum/Testors paint lines I am not a huge fan of glitter. I know I probably broke a crafting world rule by saying that but I have never found myself using much glitter in my projects. I use it mostly as a highlight, a minor shimmer or a tiny amount encased by resin. I have found many glitter paints in the past to be messy, have bad adhesion and not cover well. That being said I wanted to give this new paint a chance.
    Upon opening the can of paint I realized how tiny the particles of glitter were. I painted a small swatch onto plastic, which it coated smoothly and even, when dry it looked amazing.  I was staring to understand why so many were eager to try this paint. Inspiration for this project came from not wanting to coat furniture or small wood objects with glitter. I wanted to try turning something common into something beautiful. Grabbing a plastic Halloween mask from a .99 cent store I wanted to give this paint a true test, only to be very happy with my end results!

    Supplies:
    Testors Craft Intense Glitter Paint
    Plastic Owl Mask from a .99 cent store
    Multi Surface Acrylic Paint in Grey and Black
    Metallic Multi Surface Acrylic Paint in Blue and Green
    2 Paint Brushes
    Beacon Gem-Tac Glue
    Swarovski Rhinestones Flatback Vitrail Medium SS20
    Clear Crystal Rhinestone Flatback 4mm and 3mm
    Crayon
    Silver Ribbon
    Beads, Bead Thread and Jumprings *optional

    Starting by cleaning the plastic Halloween mask with soap and water, I made sure to remove any oils or dirt left from the manufacturing process. I cut off the elastic headband and filed any sharp edges.

    I noticed on the can of Testors Craft paint it said for best results to use a acrylic paint base coat similar in color to the glitter. Using a multi surface acrylic paint I painted the front and back of the mask, making sure to get complete coverage over the original black plastic.

    As you can see from the photo there is a intense amount of glitter in this paint. Before applying the paint to any surface make sure to stir thoroughly the Testors Craft Intense Glitter paint. This step MUST be repeated before each application because there is so much glitter in the paint it settles to the bottom when resting.

    I applied one coat of paint brushing it on in uniform direction. With no need to rush, slow, steady and even brush strokes got the best and most even application of the paint. As long as you do not overload the brush the paint is not a messy paint and sticks well to the plastic surface. It dries in about one hour to touch and can be painted with a second coat in 4 hours. In the top photo you can see one coat of paint, each additional image with another coat of paint. I chose to paint three coats to get the most vibrant and intense glitter coverage, though I could have easily gotten away with 2 coats of paint.


    By applying a light color wash of black multi surface acrylic paint in the groves of the feather details, it added more contrast to the mask. I let the paint dry fully.

    Beacon’s Gem-Tac is my go-to glue for applying small decorative elements to most craft surfaces. By squeezing small dots of glue on different portions of the mask I added flatback crystal rhinestones to add that extra special sparkle and shine. Applying flat backed rhinestones can be tedious but using an old costuming trick you can quickly apply them: pick up each rhinestone by pressing the top of each stone with a crayon. The wax is soft enough it temporarily sticks to the rhinestone allowing you to move it to wherever you would like it applied.

    I loved the look of the rhinestones to the mask but I felt it was missing a little something. I went ahead and created a second acrylic paint color wash but this time with metallic blue and green paint. I applied this color directly on top of each glittered feather element of the mask and in the eyelid creases. This created a lovely transparent metallic hue. I let the paint dry fully.


    Silver ribbon was threaded through each side of the mask where the black elastic use to be. I folded the end of the ribbon under and glued it in place, pressing down firmly with my fingers and used a clothespin to hold in place while the glue dried.


    One more element of sparkle was added by stringing some crystal beads onto a 9 inch length of beading thread and threading it through two tiny holes that were part of the original mask. Now the masquerade mask was finished, ready to be worn or displayed.

    Testors Craft Intense Glitter paint truly won me over and I look forward to finding out what other paint applications I can try!

    Until Next Time, Safe Travels!

  • A #Cre8time trip to Ancient Greece with Amazing Casting Products and Stencil Girl Products

    Hello! Tracy here with something special this month, a wonderful collaboration between Amazing Casting Products and Stencil Girl Products! Showcasing projects by incorporating Stencil Girl stencils along with Amazing Mold Putty and Amazing Clear Cast.

    When I was given the chance to look through the Stencil Girl Products online catalog of stencils, there was so many to choose from! After seeing their Three Owls and a Branch stencil I immediately got an idea for a canvas piece. One of the owls in particular reminded me of Athena’s owl from the original Clash of the Titans movie, and once I saw the Stitch a Greek Border stencil I just knew I had to do a Grecian inspired piece!

    Supplies:
    Amazing Mold Putty
    Amazing Clear Cast Resin
    Stencil Girl Products Three Owls and a Branch 9″ X 12″ stencil
    Stencil Girl Products Stitch a Greek Border 9″ X 12″ stencil
    12″ X 24″ Canvas
    Painter’s Tape
    Paint Brush
    Cosmetic Sponges
    Acrylic Paint (Black, Yellow, Pale Yellow, Brown and Orange)

    I mixed together the Yellow, Brown and Orange acrylic paints and applied it to the surface of the canvas. I did about two coats of paint to get a mostly even color tone.

    While the paint on the canvas was drying I scrubbed and cleaned a rough patch of sidewalk in my front yard. Once the cement was dry I mixed up some Amazing Mold Putty{CLICK HERE to view mixing/preparation}, and pressed the putty into the most textured spots of the sidewalk. I let the mold putty cure and carefully peeled the putty off the sidewalk.

    Once removed from the sidewalk I now had wonderful one of kind texture plates to use as stamps!

    To each Amazing Mold Putty stamp I applied a light coat of acrylic pant and stamped it all over the surface of the canvas. There was no rhyme or reason to the placement, just anywhere I wanted to create a controlled splatter of color. By using several colors of paint the surface started to mimic aged Grecian frescoes and pottery. I let the paint dry fully.

    Using painters tape I taped in place the Stencil Girl Products Stitch a Greek Border on the bottom of the canvas and picked two different trim patterns to stencil. By using painter’s tape, it will hold the stencil in place but not damage the painted surface (nor the stencil), allowing for easy repositioning. I then poured a small amount of Black acrylic paint on a palette and dabbed a cosmetic sponge lightly into the paint. I carefully applied the paint while holding the stencil in place to prevent any slight slippage of the stencil. If an area needed a second coat of paint it was easy to go back and reapply paint without any worries of paint overloading. I repeated this for the top of the canvas as well.

    The Stencil Girl Products Three Owls and a Branch stencil allowed for a lot of artistic freedom by simply blocking off sections I did not want paint to go through with painter’s tape. By flipping over the stencil or moving it around at different angles I was able to create many tree branches with ease.

    With a few branches I even taped off some of the leaves to create the look of tree just starting to sprout leaves in Spring. Once I was done stenciling it was easy to clean the stencils by placing them in a small tub with soap water and gently rubbing the paint off.

    Once all of the paint was dry I went back to fix any stenciling mistakes I had made with a small paint brush. I then added some Light Yellow acrylic paint to the eyes of the owls and trim to further replicate the look of ancient Greek art.

    I mixed up some Amazing Clear Cast Resin, let it sit for 10 minutes, and applied a thin layer to the front of the canvas with a cosmetic sponge. I applied the resin slowly, a downward motion, top to bottom of the canvas. I didn’t mind if I had little bumps and canvas texture showing through, as the resin was acting as a color intensifier and a thin protective coating. I let the resin fully cure for 24 hours before handling.
    *If I wanted a more of a glassy smooth surface I would apply a second or even third layer of resin without a cosmetic sponge.

    Now completed, Athena’s ever watchful owls seem to be right off an ancient fresco!

    Until Next Time, Safe Travels!

  • The joys of glitter, glue and old cataloges.

    An industry buzz word being thrown about rather heavily lately is “Indie Crafting” : Art that is not standard or common, using everything including the kitchen sink and maybe even a good dash of recycling. Oddly enough most artists were already doing these things before it was trendy because we didn’t like doing cookie cutter art, were/are on a budget and honestly like nature.

    Which brings me to a problem I have, I go to a lot of conventions and events, receive oodles of catalogs and paper, often when I don’t even ask for them. The ones I can I shred into animal bedding or for making homemade paper. But often there is a design or pattern I like, so I save the best for cutting up to apply to wood and in this case DIY Bangles. The people at DIY Bangles are very friendly and honestly listen to consumer requests, such as making bracelets in larger sizes, they also carry many shapes and cuts to the bracelets which makes them very easy to stain, wood burn and attach small objects to.

    In this selection I have used acrylic paints, mica powder, glitter, wood burned, Pentel Arts pens and even used Washi paper scraps. All get many thin coats of Mod Podge as all purpose glue for paper and small objects or Diamond Glaze for anything I want to have a glass like finish (remember thin coats with a touch of water make it go on even smoother). Always let the first coat dry, be it paint, glue or glaze, before doing another coat, this way you make sure nothing moves, smears or gets wiped off.

    This selection I have used acrylic paints, glitter, wood burned, Pentel Arts pens and cut panels from scrapbooking cataloges. Same coats of Mod Podge and Diamond Glaze as before. The key element is to really work with any paper you apply, carefully getting all the creases out and cutting small bits of the paper, like cutting darts in a gown, to make it fit better on the round curves.

    The fun part is by using scraps, small treasures and saved items makes sure it will be a fun and different look every time you make one. 🙂

    Until next time, safe travels!