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 :)

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.....

Fancy Key-holder

Key-holder

Today I will show you another key holder I made recently.......
I really love making these :)
This one especially is one of my favorites.....
The design is really simple, but the final product turned out very impressive....
Pardon the image quality.....It doesn't really do justice to the real thing :(
However, let me tell you how I made this...... 
I painted a wooden block 4"x 6" in acrylic color- black.
When it dried, I made some squiggly lines for the branches with my favorite:  3D outliner- gold......
Then I made some leaf outlines with the same outliner along the branches......
I finally stuck red teardrop shaped rhinestones inside the leaf outlines......
Thus, my fancy key- holder was ready......
This was sold the very next day :))
Hope you liked it.....
You can see the other 3D key holders I made, in my previous posts, Happy Home Key Holder and Under the Sea key holder
Have Fun and Thanks for visiting :)

DIY 3D Photo Frames

Photo Frames

Hi....

Today I would like to share with you the 3D Photo Frames I made with my son for

gifting his teachers on the occasion of  'Teachers Appreciation Week'  :)

We bought some blank wooden frames by Plaid.......

My son painted the frames with acrylic color- yellow.......

He did two coats of paint and, we let the frames dry for an hour......

We had also bought wooden cut-outs of a sun and a ladybird......

We glued the sun on one frame and the ladybird on the other.....

We even glued some googly eyes on the sun and the ladybird....... :D

Then my son stuck foam stickers of flowers and butterflies on the frame......

I gave it the finishing touches with 3D glitter for the butterfly trails......

And......Our Frames were ready......

My son was very happy to make such lovely frames on his own.....

And, I was so proud of him !!!

The best part was that, his teachers adored their gift as well :)

Sun Photo Frame

Ladybird Photo Frame

You can leave a comment here to let me know if you liked the 3D Photo Frames.......

"Happy Home"- 3D Key Holder

3D Key Holder

Hi....This is another key holder commission piece I made a few days back......

This is a 3D key Holder and I call it "Happy Home"......

I made this design on a Wooden Ply 4"x7", using epoxy / M-seal.....

The details on how to make this can be found in my earlier post: 

'Under the Sea' 3D Key Holder

I think it turned out pretty cute.....What do you think ???

Do leave a comment to let me know how you feel about it ....

Have Fun :)
And Thanks for Visiting .....

DIY Recycle Craft- Pen and Card Holder

Pen and Card Holder

Welcome to my latest post on Recycle Craft......

I have made a Pen and Card Holder by recycling toilet roll tube, cardboard and a scrap piece of wood......

I prepared the base by sanding the wooden piece......

Then, I glued the tube on the wooden piece using a hot gun......

I cut two cardboard semicircles and glued them on the wood as a card holder....

I also used PVA glue to  create texture on the roll and the cardboard and left it to dry.....

You can see the initial assembly in the picture below....

Recycle Craft

After everything was nice and dry, I painted the whole thing with acrylic color- black......

When the paint was dry, I used 3D outliners to create some wavy string designs and added a few diamantes for some added glitter....

I also dusted some golden powder on the whole piece to give it an antique look....

To finish the borders I used some braided golden lace.....

Finally, I gave it two coats of spray varnish for a glossy finish.....and it was ready!!

This Pen and Card Holder now sits on my hubby's desk :)

Recycle Craft

Do leave a comment, to let me know if you like this craft.....

Have fun, and.....Recycle !!

"Under the sea"- 3D Key holder

3D Key Holder

Hi and welcome to my post on how I made this "Under the Sea" key holder....
This was a completely hand-moulded, made-to-order piece for my cousin......
I used a wooden piece 3x6" in size, as the base for this key holder.....
I painted the base with acrylic colors in shades of blue and left it to dry.......
Then I hand-moulded epoxy to make the fishes, shells, plants, turtle, octopus, starfish and 
the bubbles.......
After arranging the creatures and the foliage, I moulded some epoxy pebbles for the 
base and some epoxy borders for the top corners......
Then came the fun part.....coloring !!!
I used bright acrylic colors for all the creatures....I wanted them to look happy!!
Then I added some 3D glitter for the waves and the design was complete.....
Lastly I added some hooks to hang the keys....after all thats what it was for ;)
It turned out pretty cute, and my cousin absolutely loved it !!!
Thank you for reading, and do let me know if you liked it .... :)

Kalamkari on Wood

Kalamkari on Wood

Kalamkari is a persian word formed by 'Kalam' (pen) and 'Kari'(drawing) which means drawing with a pen....Kalamkari is a traditional Indian art form originating in Andhra Pradesh.....Traditionally the drawings were done with a bamboo pen on cloth using natural dyes.....The pictures drawn in Kalamkari usually consisted of  Gods and Godessess, drawn in very intricate patterns.....

I have used a traditional design on a square wooden tray, which i painted using brushes and acrylic colors instead of a bamboo pen....

The deity forms in the center are traditional designs but the framework temple pattern around the deities is my own design!!

This painting took quite some time to make because of the intricacy of the design.....The most difficult part was the fine detailing which took a lot of time and effort....but the fruit of my labour made me forget my fatigue :)

After finishing the painting inside I finished the borders of the tray using acrylic color- gold to give it a framed look......Last but not the least I gave it two coats of varnish to protect the colors and the wood.....Now it doubles up as a wall- art frame and a serving tray too !!!

Hope you like it as much as I do :))

DIY Artsy Mixed Media - Deer Family

Mixed Media

Hi, today i'll show you the artwork i created for a friend, for her housewarming. 

This is mixed media on a wooden ply 6 inches by 6 inches in a wooden frame.

Deer Family

 I started by painting the wooden frame with acrylic color- black and kept it to dry.......
In the meanwhile, i sanded the base and painted it with acrylic colors- blue and black.
I made the tree with 3D outliner- gold and the leaves with rhinestones .

Last i painted the deer silhouettes with acrylic color- gold.

The last step was to assemble the base in the frame and voila!! a beautiful piece was ready to gift....

I just loved the way it turned out and my friend loved it too!!!
You can leave a comment below to let me know if you liked it too.....
I can also make this for a custom order....
Email me at amber.art2012@gmail.com if you want one :)
Thanks for visiting and come back soon for more!!!