Tea Light Christmas Lanterns / Giftboxes

Hello to you. Today I have a little project to share with you. 

I was invited to go and talk to a local WI group and was asked to do a quick project to do with Christmas so I designed a Tea Light Lantern that could double up ad a gift box. 

I will be the first one to put my hand up to say the measurements for this lantern aren't 100% but you can make a pretty cute gift box.

If you would like to download a copy for yourself then please  click here

 You can print this straight off onto pattern paper but I found it was better printing it off onto thick card stock.

 Cut around the solid lines, and cut out the template pieces.

Next you need to score and fold all the dotted lines and use the smaller template to cut out the windows. I found using a sharp blade and ruler the best way to do this or you can use scissors

 I painted the lantern cutout first with white gesso then when dry use IndigoBlu's Metallic Pheasant Bronze Acrylic paint. When this was dry I added strong double sided tape to all the roof and side tabs ready to stick the lantern together once the vellum was added.

 Use the larger window template to cut out some vellum or acetate to cover the windows. Again use a double sided tape to do this.

 To decorate the lantern I used a couple of Tim Holtz dies. I used Red card stock and the same patterned vellum I used for the lantern windows

 I decorated the red card stock with the French Script stamp by IndigoBlu and red ink

 The different sizes of the poinsettia cut in card stock and vellum were then layered together and a gold gem put into the centre.

 The leaves I had die cut were glued in place around the lantern and ribbon was added to finish off the lantern and a battery candle was added to the inside.

 I also used the Sizzix Bigz XL Luminary 3D Die to show the ladies different ways to make Lanterns, which again you can light up with battery candles.

I hope you enjoyed this tutorial and hope you will have a go at making a Lantern for yourself.

I have added this extra link on making small lanterns/ gift boxes. Click here

You will also find a YouTube video showing how I made them.

Happy Crafting xx

Experimenting with more Dirty Pours

Hello there, hope you are well and enjoying your crafting.

I found out about Dirty Pours, yes that really is the name for one type of Acrylic Paint Pouring, quite by accident on You Tube and now I'm hooked. 

Before I go any further I just want to explain what a Dirty Pour is! 

When you have mixed up the colours you want to do a pour with, you get yourself a empty container and start to add those different colours in layers in the container. Simple as that. By adding the colours together you get whats called a dirty pour as the colours blend in part to each other making new colours.

What I then enjoy doing, is to 'Flip' that cup over onto the canvas, giving the paint a couple of minutes to slide down the cup then lift it up to see the paint flowing out. You never quite know what will happen!

 This photo shows that once the single colours have been well mixed with the PVA Glue, water a little Floetrol and a few drops of Silicone oil they are then layered up into what now becomes a 'Dirty Cup' of Acrylic paints.

 The Dirty Cup is then flipped on top of the canvas and left to settle.

Then the cup is lifted up. I never get bored of seeing this step. New colour emerge, you never quite know whats going to happen!

Over the last few weeks I have been experimenting with a few different techniques and materials so thought I would share a couple of these with you.

Now most people know I love the IndigoBlu products so of course have quite a few of their products so used these in my 'experiments'.

The first one I have to share with you is using the IndigoBlu Super Thick Slap it on, watered down and used instead of the PVA glue. Now this medium has been produced to use through stencils and  multi media work so although watered down it kept a thicker texture so pouring this with the acrylic paints produced a thicker pour that held its shape and needed a little bit more persuading to flow across the canvas.

 The Super Thick Slap it on has been mixed with water, just enough to drip off the lollystick

 A dollop of paint has been put into mixing cups. Love these colours together, very autumnal!

 I first of all mixed the paints with a dash of Floetrol which helps the mixture to flow better.

 I then added the Super Thick & water mixture

 Once thoughtly mixed I added 3 drops of Silicone to each colour of paint

 I then poured layers of single colours on top of each other into a spare cup

 This was the outcome when the cup had been flipped and pulled up. I wasnt so keen on all the brown so I tipped the canvas this way and that until I was happy with the other colours that came to the top. You may well have also noticed there were a lot of bubbles in this mixture. I managed to get rid of a lot of them using the torch but think because I used a thick medium it held on to some of them.

I then tillted and moved the canvas until it was completly covered with the paint mixture. You can see the cells forming.

This canvas took about 3 days to dry out before I was able to varnish it. As you can see over that time the colours did change slightly

So the next experiament I carried out was to use the IndigoBlu Luscious Powders to see what would happen. 

So to start this experiment I added some Luscious powders to a small drop of Floetrol and mixed the powder in well 

 I then topped up each shot glass with PVA glue and mixed this in together. One of the things I have learnt is that you really need to mix things in well

Once mixed I added 4 drops of Silicone oil to each of the colours but not the white

 I then has a spare shot glass at the ready to pour in layers of the Luscious mixture

 Here are the layers of those Luscious colours

When I had flipped the cut over it reminded me of those sand bottle you often see in souvenir shops abroad. 

 This mixture poured really well, just look at those colours and the shine was brilliant.

 After an hour the colours were blening more together than the paint normally does but the cells were still visable.

So after a week of drying out this is what the Luscious Powder pour looked like. You don't get the same depth of colour you get from paint but a lovely shiny, yet muted finish.

For each of the pours I had Paint or Luscious mixture left so tried pouring it on different surfaces. I have to say pouring on anthing other than a flat surface will take some practice, I  have a lot to learn lol!
I first tried pouring onto Dura-lar and it worked really well. It took almost a week to dry out though so its not a quick process but im hoping I can die cut this place for some card making.

 Next I tried  using the Metallic paints mixed with PVA Glue, a little drop of Floetrol and Silicone.

Next I used what was left of the mixtures to cover some small clay faces I had made using molds.

Paint and Luscious covered faces

Paint Pouring over Paper Mache. I first of all covered the face in white Gess-Soo-Good. Because the face is a curved surface you need to be patience when pouring as the paint flows off the curves. Next time I do this I will make the paint mixture a little thicker.

 I also used some small wood pieces I had. I painted them with Gee-Soo-Good first of all so that the mixture wouldnt soak into the wood. 
Look at the sparkle in that Metallic paint!
They look so cool when they are first poured but went quite dark when dry. 

Acrylic Paints

That's all for today but i'm still experimenting. Hope to have more to share with you soon.
If you haven't aleady seen my other post on Dirty Pours here is the link


To learn so much more about this adictive craft check out the videos on Youtube. Some very talented people out there!
Happy Dirty Pouring xx