Episode 52

Bonjour les amis!

How are you all doing? With school in sight, let’s focus on enjoying the rest of summer.

Our project today is DIY paint markers.

You will need:

  • Empty and clean waterbrush
  • Liquitex Flow-Aid (it will last you a long time!)
  • Acrylic Paint
  • Water
  • Eyedropper or syringe
  • A container with a tight lid
  • Wipes
  • Scratch paper (to test the ink)
  • Gloves (optional)
  • Patience

Step 1. Gather Materials

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I’m using a rather worn Niji water brush and Liquitex Soft Body Acrylic paint in Blue, Black, and Titanium White.

Step 2. Squeeze about 1 teaspoon worth of paint into your lid-able container.

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Step 3. Mix the paint up with a toothpick or chopstick.

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Step 4. Pour about 3-5 drops of Liquitex Flow-Aid. It helps to dilute the acrylic paint without having the paint separate. Add about 1 tablespoon + of water until the solution is rather runny.

Step 5. Pour into your waterbrush.

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It takes trial and error to make a solution that will work with a water brush. I would lean more on the watery side.

Live creatively!

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Episode 42

Hi!

Do you have a ton of old and empty mint/candy tins? Ever wonder what to do with them other than throw them out? I have a small collection and was wondering how to spruce the tins and make them artsy!

Let’s begin! You’ll need:

  • old metal tin
  • acrylic paints (I’m using Jane Davenport Acrylic Paints in portrait colors)
  • brushes
  • water
  • paper towels
  • paper scraps/stickers/ephemera (I’m using Jane Davenport Collage Papers)
  • texture pastes/mediums (I’m using Heidi Swapp Metallic Paste and Art Screen Ink)
  • PVA glue/Mod Podge to seal it
  • masking tape/painter’s tape

Step 1

Separate the tin into the lid and the bottom. For taping, you have two options regarding the lid–tape the border and just paint the top OR paint the whole lid. For the bottom, tape the upper half, where the lid rests when closed.

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I’ve created a tape holder to reduce messiness.

Step 2

Think of a theme. Brush on smooth and thin layers of paint. Allow it to dry between coats. You will need at least 2-3 coats of paint depending on your paint quality and coverage. Wash your brushes between coats and dry before re-painting.

 

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After several coats of paint…

Step 3

After you are completely finished painting, glue on paper scraps and seal with PVA glue. You can use any texture medium as well (I’m using Heidi Swapp Metallic Texture Paste in teal and Heidi Swapp Art Screen ink). I applied the paste with my fingers. Wash your brush and fingers every so often to prevent a stiff and unusable brush OR messy fingers. After I applied the paste, I glued on some Jane Davenport Collage papers.

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Drying out…

Step 4

Seal and protect your painted surface with PVA glue diluted with a few drops of water. Let dry completely for a few hours before putting the tin back together.

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Finished and Complete! Aren’t they gorgeous?

That’s a wrap folks! What did you think? Will you try this? Have any questions (maybe about the paint, brushes, etc.)? Ask me in the comments.

Live creatively,

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This post originally appeared on quaint & darling.