DIY Foil Mirror

Hello my dear reader,
Welcome to my post on DIY foil mirror.
This was an experiment that succeeded!!
You must have seen my previous foil work post Faux metal wall art
This one is on similar lines....Lets have a look at our center of attention here.....

DIY Foil Mirror

Let me show you the materials used:

• Heavy duty metal(aluminum) foil.
• Small round mirror.
• Round wooden/ MDF base.
• Wooden tool...I used scratch art tool.
• Acrylic color-black.
• Paintbrush.
• Heavy duty glue... I used Fevibond.
• Glue gun.
• Hook/frame hanger.
• Kitchen tissue (Bounty).
• Clear Varnish spray. 
• Lots of enthusiasm :)

Materials

Materials

Take the foil in an inch bigger in diameter than your base circle.

Keep it on the wooden base and mark the outlines.

Now place the mirror in the center and mark its outlines.

You get two circles, one inside the other.

Preparing the foil base

Now, make your design between these two circles by gently pressing with wooden tool.

Make sure your tool is really blunt, and keep a foam sheet under your work or it will not create the embossed effect.

I chose the simplest design as it was my first try.

Slowly and steadily I finished the embossing.

It looked like this...

Embossing method-Part 1

Embossing Method- Part 2

This is the embossed side with design completed...convex...

Completed design

This is the side with the work surface...concave...

Completed design

To maintain the shape of the embossed design, fill the concave/ scooped part with hot glue using a glue gun...

Hot glue

Hot glue

After the glue is dry, apply adhesive to the base and the foil...Then glue the foil with embossed side up...

Gluing to the wooden base

Smoothen out the sides of the embossing with a Q-tip/earbud to make the design pop out.

Smoothening

Then, press and glue the foil on the wood firmly.

When it is dry, turn it over and cover the embossing with black acrylic color..

Black acrylic color

When its dry, rub it gently with bounty or thin cotton cloth..

The black color comes off the embossing but stays in the grooves, giving the design a tarnished silver/ antique effect....

Antique effect

Now, spray it with 2 coats of clear varnish and let it dry for a few hours...

When its completely dry, glue the mirror on the base and the hook for hanging...

Glue mirror on base

Finished Foil Mirror

Hope you like this artwork...

This is copyrighted work, kindly give due credit if replicated...

Comment below to let me know you were here and thanks for visiting...

See you soon!!

Till then, happy crafting :)

DIY Hand Painted Diyas

Hi...Today's post is about the most fun I had doing something special for this Diwali....I painted so many diyas this year that I am going to share with you today.

You must have seen some of them in my previous blogpost Diwali 2014 

I have used the following materials:

•  Terracotta Diyas- varied sizes.
•  Acrylic colors- Regular and Pearl finish.
• Rhinestones- Different colors, shapes and sizes.
• 3D Outliners/ Puffy paints.
• Glue- Any strong glue will do.
•  Paintbrushes.
• Water- for cleaning the brushes.
• Rag cloth.

I soaked the diyas in water for 15-20 mins, then rinsed them and let them dry completely....

When they were dry, I used acrylic colors in different combinations to paint them....

When the paints were completely dry, I further decorated them with 3D Outliners....

After it dried, I glued the rhinestones to the diyas...It was a backbreaking project, but the final output washed away the pain....I was very happy with the way they turned out...

Let me show you some pictures now....Here, I have used big Diyas, approximately 6 inches in diameter.....I have tried to give them an Antique look....

Antique look diya

Hand painted diya

Diya

Terracotta diya

Antique look diya

This is the diya that I am really proud of.....This is a big diya too....I spent nearly 6 hours for making a pair of these.....

Peacock diya

These are the regular sized diyas that have been painted in different combinations....

Krishna diya

Flower diya

Flower diya

Flower diya

Flower diya

Flower diya

Flower diya

Flower diya

Hand Painted Diya

Terracotta diya

Hope you liked these hand painted diyas.....If you paint some, feel free to share their pictures in the comment box....Thanks for visiting....See you soon again...

Diwali 2014

Happy Diwali and a Happy New Year my dear friend...
Hope you had a very fun filled Diwali this year...
I had so much fun decorating and beautifying my house for Diwali this year...
Let me walk you through how I decorated my house for this festive season....

This was my center table decor...

Diwali decor

This was a small floral arrangement with a floating LED diya....

Floating diya

I tried something different with a diya this time...I painted a big diya and instead of just putting a tea light inside, I lit a tea light inside a mosaic glass, which I then put inside the diya....The light filtered through the colored mosaic casting its glow on the whole interior of the diya...I loved the dramatic effect this combination gave....What do you think?

I also made this string lantern for this Diwali...I kinda wanted to make a non traditional 'Kandil' this year.....So, I experimented with this technique and it came out beautifully.....
I filled it up with battery operated string lights and hung it outside my front door...
Not bad for the first time, eh?....Will be posting the tutorial soon....

String Lantern

I was so pumped up after seeing the result of the Kandil, that I thought of making votive holders too...
These are those two string votive holders that I made for the first time....Glad to see how they turned out :)

String votive holders

Finding rangoli is next to impossible in the US, so I made these two rangoli's, one out of foam and the other out of a wooden (MDF) board, both of which I had on hand....I'll post the tutorials for these two rangoli's very soon....So , keep visiting !!

Rangoli

I also put some LED lights in small diyas and lined them up on the stairs....Cute, huh ?

This is a readymade marigold Toran I put up outside my front door....

Hope you liked my Diwali decor....If you make something like this, please don't forget to mention and link this post....And, feel free to share your pictures in my comment box....

Thanks for visiting...see you again soon....

DIY Paisley Key holder

Hello my dear reader....welcome back!!
Today I am about to tell you about a craft that happened by chance....
I was seeing paisley prints and designs all around me this summer, and I wanted to do something with this beautiful shape.....
I've grown up wearing paisley printed clothes, making paisley rangolis and henna mehendi's and much more....but I had a block while thinking about a paisley craft....
I was going through my craft supplies, when my sons broken taekwondo board fell down...It was a square soft wood board....and then the idea struck....a key holder!!!

See what came out of my idea into reality....

Paisley Key holder

I was so excited, I forgot to take step by step photos, but I'll walk you through the process...

Materials used:

• Soft wood board
• Green handmade paper
• J- hooks
• Rhinestones
• Golden bead string
• 3d glitter- gold, green
• Frame hanger hook

I covered the wooden base with green handmade paper (I love the thickness and textures of handmade papers). Then I attached the frame hanger hook behind it with a small screw.

Next, I drew a paisley on the desired place and filled it up by gluing rhinestones,  golden bead string and 3D glitter. 

When I was satisfied with the design, I let it dry completely for a few hours and the screwed in the J-hooks to hang the keys.

I found out one more use for it...a necklace holder...

Now, why don't you start making your own key holder/ necklace holder...Link back to my blog (and credit me) when you make one....and you can also post pictures of what you made, in my comment box to help me see your creations.....

Thanks for visiting and see you soon.....

Baby Footprint Plaque

Hello my dear, so nice to meet you again!!
I'm really sorry I was away from the blogworld for some time....
Family kept me busy :) and I ain't complaining!!
Today while browsing through some of my archived photos, I came across a craft I had done for a very special person in my life....my little niece..She is such a cutie patootie.....
Well, I was not so craft savvy when my son was born, and I still regret not making a footprint memento of him....So, I guess to compensate, I took to this mission with full vigor :)
Let me first show you the footprint plaque I made, and then let me walk you through the process...

Footprint plaque

I took a circular cardboard of six inch diameter, made holes on top to hang, and covered it with a layer of epoxy clay....You can use salt dough, bread dough or any air dry clay too if you like....

Then I stuck a quarter inch thick circular layer of the same clay on top.....
When it was semi dry, I took my niece's footprint imprints on it....we used tons on baby talcum powder on her feet for protection, and immediately cleaned them up after we were done.... I didn't wanna hurt the precious little one !!

I repaired the minor kinks with my fingers, and then left the plaque to dry.....

When completely dry, I painted it with pearl silver color....
Then I made a decorative twine and some flowers around the footprints to pretty them up a little....
When they were dry, I painted them with pearl metallic green and pink....

Finally when everything was nice and dry, I looped a pink ribbon through the holes on top, to hang up this cute memory....I forgot to take a picture with the ribbon, but I hope this post gives you a fair idea of how to proceed.....So now, try to make something for your own.....and link back your pictures in the comment box for me to savor...Till then, happy crafting.....