Tuesday, July 5, 2011

A Pretty Little Thank You by Laura Drahozal


Need a little something to decorate a bridal shower table? Or maybe as a gift for a neighbor who walked your dog while you were away? For this post, I created a versatile little gift. Initially, I thought of this as part of a wedding centerpiece or a shower decoration, which is why I chose a monochromatic color scheme--all blues. I also wanted to explore and illustrate the differences between three types of beautiful Art Glitter: Ultrafine Transparent, Ultrafine Pearlescent, and Microfine Opaque.


I am truly excited about this experiment with one color, but let me start at the beginning. First, I found a terra cotta pot, which I painted with three quick coats of white acrylic paint. While that dried, I cut some vinyl masks with my Silhouette. The patterns were purchased from the Silhouette Online Store. The one that I used for the base was actually a cupcake liner, that I made a little larger. The pattern for around the top was a border lace pattern. I used a simple label pattern and the font Argos for the sentiment. I cut an additional, blank label of the same size. While I used the words "Thank You", I could just as easily have cut the names of a lucky couple or even "Get Well Soon".

When the vinyl was cut, I removed the parts that I wanted to be glittered from the original sheet and used transfer paper to move my masks from their backing to the pot. Since the cupcake liner wasn't the exact dimensions of my pot, I had to cut a couple of small slits in the bottom to make it fit properly. Then, I smoothed it all down and removed my transfer paper. I selected the location of the label and put that blank vinyl label in place over the other mask.


To start glittering, I put a some Desinger Dries Clear onto a clean sour cream lid and added just a little water. I used a paint brush to brush this mixture onto the pot. Because of the water, the mask resisted the glue a little, pushing it into the empty spaces. I poured the Blue Boy Ultrafine Transparent over the top of the glue and lightly pushed it down with my hand. I chose transparent glitter because I knew that I was going to use a very busy background pattern, but I wanted the overall look to be subtle. Going back to that idea of using this for wedding or shower decor, I imagined the background as a beautiful, glittering lace. I let it dry for a few minutes before brushing off the excess glitter and removing the vinyl.

I then removed the letters from the vinyl backing on the other label. I moved it to the spot I had saved for it. I used the same technique that I did on the "lace" portion, but had more glue in the mix because I wanted to make sure that my coverage was completely solid. I glittered this with the Microfine Opaque Blue Diadem, pushing it well into the crevices. The Microfine glitter really gets in against the edges of the mask, creating a crispness to the letters. I used the opaque because I wanted the color to be strong and vibrant for the message.

Before I even removed the vinyl mask for the letters, I replaced the Ultrafine Metal Tip on the Designer Dries Clear Glue and used it to glue around the edge of the label. Because I wanted this section to be a little more precise than the "lace", I used Noodgers to push any stray glue back into the right area. I glittered it with Pearlescent Varsity Blue. I also glittered around the top, bottom, and between the top edge and the base.



Of course, it wouldn't be a project of mine if I didn't pull out the Art Glitter Designer Dries Clear Fabric. I laid a 18" long piece of wide white organza ribbon on my craft sheet. I then put the Ultrafine Metal Tip on my fabric glue and made some swirl designs on the ribbon. I glittered it with the Microfine Opaque. When it was dry, I ran a needle with embroidery floss about 1/4 " from the edge all the way down the ribbon. I pulled the ends of the floss together and tied them off to create a rosette. I tied a ribbon around the pot and glued the rosette down with fabric glue.



When I was finished, I had a pretty, customized special little gift. I also had some fun glittering with masks and experimenting with a monochromatic color scheme. Think of something like this the next time you need a few inexpensive centerpieces for a party. You will have a good time before the party even starts!

Supplies Used:

145 Ultrafine Transparent Blue Boy

185 Ultrafine Pearlescent Varstiy Blue
504 Microfine Opaque Blue Diadem
Art Glitter Designer Dries Clear
Art Glitter Designer Dries Clear Fabric

Ultrafine Metal Tip
Noodgers

Terra Cotta Pot
White Acrylic Paint
Paintbrush
Silhouette Machine
Silhouette Vinyl
White Organza Ribbon
Needle
White Embroidery Thread

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