More Keys

Sometimes you TRY something out and then you get on a roll and become addicted. So is the case with the abandoned keys I have around the house. You may remember this one from an earlier post. VeCl saw and admired it so I told her I'd make one for her. I asked what color she'd like and the response was orange. As with a lot of my projects I try to employ more than one method of doing things so that I can see which works the best.

I'm using acrylics, sandpaper and decoupage sealer (not shown).

First I wash and sand the key so it'll have some traction for the paint.  I mixed the orange with some yellow to achieve the right color to match the decorative bits I have in orange below.

I like to dump out what I have in the colors I may use onto a palette (read as: piece of paper), then choose what I want. The shiny cut glass gem was what I decided on.

I painted two keys. These keys have numerous coats of paint. At least three on back, front and sides. One key I painted with the acrylic and one with the glitter paint. The glitter paint didn't cover the surface as well and I ended up painting it orange. NOTE: Future endeavors will have me using a solid base color and then topping with the glitter paint.
 I dipped both keys in decoupage and hung them by a toothpick stuck in a foam block so that they could drip dry. I let it hang for 24 hours.
It gives a great finish. I'm sure I would have gotten an even better finish with Dimensional Magic. It supposedly gives items a resin finish. I didn't have any and I haven't tried it yet so I used what I had.

I placed a few single orange stones down the shaft of the key. Filigree from other jewelry served as leaves on the side. 2 tortoise shell colored beads on a gold elastic cord completes the necklace.

VeCl was very pleased and said she received many compliments.

 I've been asked to display some of these at an arts and crafts show so I guess I'd better get started. I plan to make ten. You will see them in a later post.

That's It***

Mercury Glass

According to Wisegeek.com , mercury glass is a glass with a silvery appearance but contains no mercury. Whew! That’s good to know since buildings and schools have been evacuated  and closed for several days while HAZMAT teams do their thing all because someone dropped a thermometer.


The real mercury glass never contained mercury because it was too expensive to produce and was hazardous. Instead the glass was double walled and infiltrated from the bottom with liquid silver nitrate. For more views of mercury glass you can always visit PINTEREST.


I really like the look of it so I scouted the NET and went to source after source to see how they achieved the faux mercury glass look. 



I bought this heavy bell shaped vase
at a flea market for 75 cents. It measures
10" x 6"



After faux mercury. The light you see is from
the flash of the camera. (Why do bathroom
photos always turn out so great?)

Just as an experiment I decided to silver glaze a sea shell and a wooden knob I had laying around.

The materials I used were Krylon Looking Glass spray paint, half and half  water and vinegar in a mist type sprayer,  You will want to have droplets on your vase or whatever so that the paint will have the distressed look when it dries.
 If there are streaks, that's good too.



Materials needed

 Paper towels or rag to blot with and gloves (optional). 

Once again number 2 photo is MIAI did this project outdoors because I didn't know how noxious the fumes might be.
Tutorials on the WEB were inconsistent as to whether to spray the paint inside of the vase or outside of the vase,   I chose to mist the outside.

In photo 3 as soon as I misted with water I sprayed the vase lightly with the looking glass paint. 

• After about 45 seconds I lightly dabbed the area just painted. I did this all the way around the vase, left it outside in the sun for about an hour.
• I came back after the hour and redid the entire process.

I took this photo outside under the
 shade of the porch after I'd done the
treatment a second time.



Inside of the vase



The shell turned out great but
the wooden knob not so.



Unfortunately great photos by amateur photographers is difficult but the lamps give the vase a  cozy look.

The paint is a little pricey  ($8 for about 5 ounces)  for the teeny bit you get but  after spending 75 cents on the vase, who's complaining?

I will be trying this technique with more glass items.

THAT'S IT***