An Elegant Something-or-other

Last month when I made this Mermaid Silhouette Luminary, I had an extra frosted vase that demanded a little attention.

I grabbed a few supplies and ended up creating something very pretty and elegant in no time at all.

I simply painted pieces from the Mini Birds & Nests Shape Set, Scribble Frame Leaves, and a sentiment from the Word Tags Travel set, with a healthy layer of white acrylic paint. Then I added three white paper flowers.

Self adhesive foam squares provide a bit of depth to the layering of the different elements.

Now, I've called this a 'something-or-other' because you could use this as a candle holder, vase, center piece, and I'm sure a slew of other things. I think they'd be super pretty for weddings or showers, christenings, or even as a hostess gift. And while I love the all-white look, you could totally change this up to match your colour scheme.

Here's what you'll need to recreate this look:
• Mini Birds & Nests Shape Set
• Scribble Frame Leaves
• Word Tags Travel (coming soon)
• prepared glass vase
• paper flowers
• self adhesive foam squares
• glue

Note: if you'd like to see the vase being frosted, pop over to HERE to see last months tutorial

Mermaid Silhouette Luminary

The weather has been absolutely glorious here and my pool is all glistening ripples. I'm going to be taking advantage and become a total mermaid this summer. I created a little something to encourage my sea maiden ambitions.

I've used an simple, straight sided vase as a base for my luminary. You could absolutely use a jar for but this was inexpensive ($2) and the was no mucking around to fit your hand inside. 

I've used a spray to frost the glass and tinted it with washes of acrylic paint. You can see my process by visiting THIS video walkthrough.

I've placed two figures from the Mermaids Shape Set inside my vase. The firgures in this set are quite sizable, so if you're working with small jars I'd recommend considering the Mermaids Miniatures instead.

I've added shells. cheesecloth, and unraveled twine at the base of my luminary, as well as a Word Tag. There's some wired glass baubles that poke out here and there and look wonderfully like bubbles.

For a seaweed effect, I've used snips of the Leafy Swirl cutouts.

You could add an led candle inside the vase, or a string of lights, but I think it looks rather pretty just sitting in front of a bright window... especially one that overlooks the pool and reminds me to jump in, make a splash and mermaid my heart out!

Here are all the bits I've used for this project:

Mermaids Shape Set

Word Tag - Travel (coming soon)

Leafy Swirl Cutouts
• Rustoleum Frosted Glass spray

• glass vase

• acrylic paint

• sea shells

• cheesecloth

• twine

• wired glass baubles
• glue

And HERE is where you can find out how to put all the bits together.

Make these easy colorful tags to add to your projects

When most of the world is sheltering in place during the Coronavirus Pandemic, many artists and crafters are basking in creative time. I, however, am having the opposite experience.

Because of a plethora of personal reasons, I have had little creative time. Plus, when I finally do get time to head up to the art studio, I either am too tired, or am facing a massive creative block.

To counteract this challenge, I decided to instead take on an easy project and make some embellishments.

I began by painting Gypsy Soul's new Word Tags. Paint the chipboard as lightly as possible, so as not to cover up the engraved words. Immediately after painting each tag, I then wiped it with a baby wipe.

After drying the tags with the heat gun, I drew around the edges of each tag with an embossing pen. I then added Seth Apter's Eclipse Baked Texture and activated with a heat gun.

I coiled some black wire around a pencil to make a jump ring and then threaded three of the tags onto it.

In a case of serendipity, I discovered that the tags were the perfect addition to finish a mixed media page that had been sitting in the studio for several months.
-Betsy

Great Stuff

Gypsy Soul Word Tags - Coming Soon!
Paper Artsy Blue Lagoon
Paper Artsy Butter
Paper Artsy Magic Moss
Embossing Pen
Seth Apter Baked Texture Eclipse Embossing Powder
Black wire