Monday, July 18, 2016

My Other Creations: Mermaid Art Kit with Distressed Bottles

This week's theme at the Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge Blog is Nautical / By the Sea.  I got to wondering what a mermaid's art kit might look like, so that's what I tried create here:


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 This project started as a 6" x 5" shiny metal tin, which I sanded down and painted with acrylic paint in shades of teal and brown.  I set is aside to dry and went to work on its contents.  I'd never done much bottle-distressing before, so it was a fun new thing to try.  I started by painting Aleene's Turbo Tacky Glue on the bottles, then when that dried, I painted them with a thick layer of Tim Holtz's Clear Rock Candy Crackle Paint.  I was grateful for online research which told me that you have to put a clear layer of something else  on the glass first in order for the crackle paint to stick.  Here's a pic of how the bottle started, then how it looked with the dried crackle paint on it:


Once the crackle finish was dry, I wanted to experiment with different coloring techniques.  Here I used paint on top of the crackle for a more milky / opaque look:


On this bottle, I used alcohol inks, which gave the bottle vibrant and bold colors:


On the bottle below, I used Distress Stain.  I like how it kept the bottle more clear, but still colored it beautifully.


In the end, I decided the opaque look worked best for this project, so I added paint to all of the bottles.  In addition to acrylic paint, I added some Prima Metallique paints which have a metal sheen.



I added some Tim Holtz mini numerals to the bottles, which I first sanded and painted to match the bottles they went with.  I also distressed the paintbrushes.


I wanted this to have an underwater vibe, so I hung yarn and ribbon from the back of my painted box to replicate seaweed, then glued iridescent beads here and there to give it a feeling of bubbles.  I also clipped on an "ocean" card from Tim Holtz's Elementary Flashcards set.


For the other side of the tin, the lid, I wove a basket out of wire, painted it with shades of brown and teal to match the rest, then I added more distressed paintbrushes.  I buy cheapy paintbrushes that I can cut down and use for projects without feeling guilty for destroying them.


I punched out some mini tags made from Simon Says Stamp Vintage Dictionary paper and adhered them to the brushes.


Not sure how many mermaids are out there doing art, but I hope I've done justice to what one of their art kits might look like!

Here are the supplies I used that you can find at Simon Says Stamp:



I know you must have some sort of brilliant vision to go along with this theme and I can't wait to see what you come up with!  Upload your creations to the Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge Blog for your turn to win a $50 voucher to the Simon Says Stamp store!


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