Underwater Glass Painting

I'm still using the oil based paint markers from Sharpie to paint on glass. A good friend gave me a large piece of glass and I got some Martha Stewart glass paint and silk screens on clearance and decided to give it a shot. I wasn't sure what to paint but had recently purchased a mermaid stamp @ Michaels, and one of those kids scratch engraving kits (for the pen they include because I heard it kind of catches the scrapings, which would be helpful when I am using mica to sgraffito on glass) and thought they had the same theme and went for it.

This is the silk screen results. I love it! Not hard to do...although I am notorious about not washing out the screens and ruining them! I made sure to wash them out this time. Such lovely detail! I used MS copper colored paint but it dried rather gold tinted. Considering it was hard to find any other brand of paint for glass that had metallics, I was very happy! The hardest part was the spacing on the sides...you can't see through the silk screen to see how to line it up to merge with the last one. Oh well, no one ever said I was perfect!

Here is the kid's holographic engraving kit all scratched off. I have an aunt who loves seahorses and I thought I would give it to her - I didn't think it was going to be so pretty! :) Might have to get another for me...

And here is the part I freehand copied the seahorses to. Artistic licence, dontcha know. :) I added a few other details, anything I could think of to make it look like an undersea scene. Not really sure about the giant clamshell near the seahorses head...looks like either an egg or a thought bubble. :D 

Here they are next to each other so you can compare. The nice thing about this painting on glass....you can either use paint thinner or a razor to scratch off any paint you don't like and try again. :) I modified this one quite a bit from my original attempt. Some of the plants were painted with actual paint instead of markers, Americana gloss enamels, meant for painting on glass. I used gold paint marker for the seahorses and starfish, and accented it with yellow to brighten it up, or black marker to shade with some fresh gold over it, to blend. Using markers is a little different from using a brush. And I used the tool from the engraving kit to scratch into the paint for texture and to add dark accents, since the glass is dark through the paint.....

Here is the back of the rubber stamp I used as inspiration. I just love this stamp! Her eyes remind me of the drawings that were in the Oz series of books by Frank Baum. LOVED those books! I read them all....But anyway, you can see why I connected the two, with the baby seahorse she's holding!

And here is the part of the painting I did with her in mind.  Her hair could have been a little better but I don't have the thin tipped markers and it's harder to get fine detail. I used some real glass paint here, as well, since the markers I have don't have any flesh tones. You can see the original stamp and a stamped/embossed piece of blue glass I made with that stamp above the painting. (The glass is laying on a towel on my kitchen counter in the pics.) I decided to give her a rock to sit on and I had never painted a rock before (of course, I have never painted any of the other things in this painting, either!) and watched a couple of videos...didn't turn out too badly! At least from a distance. :D This one is an earlier version from the completed piece...I made her thighs thinner (are mermaid's thighs called thighs? :D) and blonded up her hair quite a bit in the final version...I used the same copper paint I used on the edges on her hair and then used a yellow paint marker over top to lighten it up. 

Here it the completed painting, all hung up. One cool thing about this is that it's dry very quickly because the markers dry so fast. I used some glass paint and some glitter paint meant for glass for the bubbles on the critters I added. The entire piece of glass is about a foot wide and 32" tall. It is a dark purpley color with a deep texture on the back, and you can't really see through it, so we decided to put it in this corner behind our kitchen cabinets on the wall instead of trying to hang it with a light behind it. It really brightened up this empty corner! Even though it's dark...:) It enhances the dark cabinets, though.

No, I am DEFINITELY no professional, but I am still happy with it. Especially her face! I was afraid I would have to call her Butterface. :D I wanted to post it to show you you can use these markers on just about anything! I did not bake it because I also used some Lumiere paint on her tail and I am not sure you can bake it at temps needed to make the paint permanent. Still need to do some investigation. I don't plan on washing it anyway and it should hold up to a damp sponge once in a while!

Here are a couple of closeups. You can see the blue streaks of glass paint on the top one...doesn't show up well on the dark glass but makes a nice wet effect.

Here are the seahorses. You can see a better shot of the rock...so proud of that rock! :D And my little Nemo...and friend. :D And yes, I know those are not water plants but I liked them anyways. Hehe.

Thanks for looking - make sure to stop by my Pinterest page to see a lot more of my creations, and please like my Facebook page, Karmic Confetti! 

Oil Based Sharpie Paint Pens and Glass Fusing

On one of my glass fusing groups on Facebook, someone mentioned you could use an oil based Sharpie paint pen on fused glass. I was surprised to hear that so I went to the store and picked up a package. Managed to hit a 50% off coupon at Michael's so that helped....these pens are not cheap! I bought a white and a black one to start and made a flower pendant (in the style of Margot Clark and her MUD) using sgraffito techniques. I used black glass and the white paint pen. I was pretty happy with how it came out for a first try. I had a problem with this pendant...it broke in the MWK, but I managed to fuse it back together and otherwise the paint did well in the kiln. You can see the faint crack in the upper third.

Second try with this paint. Fused beautifully! I am pretty sure it will not scratch off!

My lion. The lines seemed to get finer on firing. I am trying to remember to include a quarter with my photos so you can judge size...this one is very small. Less than an inch wide.

On these two and the lion, I rubbed some gold mica powder into the ink before firing. They got a golden hue from doing so, which added to the plain white. Looks better in person, of course. :)

Then I tried this one, after I bought a full set of five colored pens. Blue water on the back piece of black glass, with green "grass" coming up from the bottom. Did a little sgraffito on the background and the betta...his rear front fin was on the back side of the clear piece of glass, while the main part of him was painted on the top, for depth. I was so proud! It looked pretty good for a first attempt. (I fully credit Mark Hufford from my FB group for the inspiration to even try this stuff...he's so talented!) 

And then, I fired it..

Sorry, no pix of how it looked immediately after I fired it. I was THAT disappointed! 

ALL the paint was white. You can see the remnants of the blue and green paint inside the glass. And there was a huge black burnt bubble inside under the fish. I may not have let it dry long enough, I'm not sure. The most disappointing part is that apparently you lose ALL the color on firing these paint pens to full fuse. So, being a cheapskate, and not wanting to waste the glass, I decided to paint another fish over top to try and cover it. I should have ground the edges and fired it again beforehand but I didn't because I was worried about the bubble inside...thought it might pop in the MWK....so this one will be mine. (I changed the betta's color to blue btw, because it blended into the red background too much otherwise. So this paint is pretty thick...Tried red on top of the fused white paint first before settling on blue..)

The one below is not fired; I baked it in the oven instead. I went online and read that you can use these oil based paint Sharpies on the mugs they are always pinning on Pinterest and bake them in the oven to make them "permanent"...So I decided to go that route instead of fusing in the kiln. I do not think they are THAT permanent, however. But since I fused the betta the first time, maybe this will be less apt to scratch. If I do get a scratch, I can always repaint it, lol. I TRIED to hide the burnt spot...it almost looks like a shadow from the fishie in the photo...:Ok, no, it doesn't. .D You can see how the paint changed from the photo above, though. It's less shiny and colorful, although it didn't lose much detail. I baked it for thirty minutes at 350F. More about that below.

Then, since I wasn't going to fuse the paint anymore and don't want to waste it, I decided to try painting some stained glass I had and bake it to try to make it more permanent (they call it "dishwasher safe"). I only colored the eyes with this one...wanted to make it look more like etched glass.

Wanted to show the difference between the look of this one and the etched on I made using my Dremel. It isn't as permanent, but much safer to create! 

Just wanted to show how the real etched one does not show up the same on a light background! (Two photos above shows the painted one on the same background.) And yet....this is far more delicate and beautiful, in my opinion! :) I just hesitate to do it without proper protection for both me and my animals, and I can't find room for all that!

Here's my tiger. I think my animals are getting better, at least! :) Still using sgraffito to make these. The glass on this is actually transparent, although very dark. The only colors I used were pink, yellow and white...the darker areas in the white are where Super Copper mica powder is rubbed into the paint. Oh, and these are both about 8 x 10".

One of the pins I saw about these pens said to use 450F as the temperature to bake them at, and to bake them for 45 minutes. Apparently it sort of melted the paint and the mica powder I applied melted into it and turned it golden! OR the oven was too hot, since they seemed to darken a bit...not sure. The higher temperatures muted the colors quite a bit, too. The betta above, I baked at 350F for the thirty minutes recommended elsewhere, just in case! The colors on that one did mute a bit but not as much as the higher temperature did. But at least it's still got its original color and isn't white!

The tiger had Super Copper powder rubbed into it which also melted into the paint. You can sure see the color difference in the eyes and nose. These paint markers still scratch off after baking, by the way...so, not so permanent...I guess for fused glass, I have to find real glass paint for fusing. If I want white paint, I CAN use the Sharpie paint pens, though. :) 

Someone had recommended Pebeo pens made for ceramics that is largely indelible after baking in a regular oven but I haven't found them locally yet. And reviews were mixed as to whether they held up well and it was stated that they are pricey.  I would order the paints I've read about for fusing but unless I can get it locally I can't really allow myself to purchase it. I would have too much explaining to do about why I need ANOTHER kind of craft, considering my craft room is filled to bursting as it is! I did cheap out and buy some sample enamels for glass from Folk Art and some Testors, so stay tuned! I don't know how I'll do with a brush though...the pens seem so much easier!

Thanks for looking - make sure to stop by my Pinterest page to see a LOT  more of my creations, and please click "like" on my Facebook page, Karmic Confetti! 

Mokume Gane Technique by Marilyn Knopic (Along With A Few Other Techniques)

I got inspired by a post on my polymer clay Facebook group about a Mokume Gane technique by Marilyn Knopic. I had to go search out her blog to learn it....here is the link!

I haven't been so happy to learn a technique for PC in a long time! Here are the pictures that explain why :D There are many more, but these were my favorites! I used one block each of black, white and transparent...and a whole lot of other clay to layer the Mokume Gane on! Probably 6 additional blocks! Whew....lots of sanding! And after doing all that sanding...I will just stick to Magic Glos!

A word about the first picture...the bezel is not attached yet, but you get the general idea. I have been doing so much sanding and buffing I didn't get that far yet but I will soon! But the colors...!

This is my first wire wrapped one. Been so busy with the Magic Glos I haven't had time to do more than this one so far!

These may seem a little large but I wanted them to be statement pieces. 

This one reminds me of the pictures of the Painted Desert I've seen. I also get a zebra vibe, some how! :)

Aren't the colors luscious? I love alcohol inks! Gotta work on this bezel, too...

This is one of my favorites. The back is as nice as the front. The "front" is not Magic Glos, btw. It is Liquid Kato Polyclay. I love the gloss that liquid PC has! But I do like the MG better...it just doesn't do well on curved surfaces! I sanded this side, all the grits I had!

This is the reverse side. Since it was flat, I used the MG...love that glossy shine! No sanding needed, either!

They are all so different, and yet come from the same MG batch...

This one reminds me of modern art...pop art? This is a smaller cab.

These three were done with a different technique. I cut them with a larger circle cutter. Then I draped them over the back of a smaller cutter and made sure it was securely stuck to the cutter. Then I flipped it over onto another piece of clay and cut them both out, capturing air in between, so it is hollow. Kept their shapes nicely! AND bonus...for some reason, when I did my sanding and sanding and sanding (grits 220-400-600-800-1000-1500-2000-2500), and then buffing with the Dremel - these came out SO GLOSSY. Didn't need a finish at all. I have several others that had the exact same treatment and weren't nearly as shiny! But dang, my hands are so sore today...it stinks having arthritis and making clay some days!

And one last technique I tried with these beads...I used a slice of copper pipe as a bezel.  I saw someone else use it and thought it was genius! Perfectly round and sturdy as heck! I can even solder connections to it....Great idea, no? To use the Magic Glos on it, I had to seal the edge or it would have just run out between the clay and the pipe slice.. I tried to keep it tight but I believe it must shrink a bit while baking...anyways. I decided to use the Liquid Kato Polyclay on it to seal the edge, because these were rounded and we all know you can't use Magic Glos on a curved surface! And it sealed the bead inside the pipe so then it was just a matter of using MG on the other side. Came out just as I wanted! 

Thanks for looking - make sure to stop by my Pinterest page to see a lot more of my creations, and like my Facebook page, Karmic Confetti! 

And now, for something completely different....(Pebeo Prisme & Moon)

Playing with my Pebeo Moon and Prisme paints again! I really never stopped, I have just been waiting for them to cure completely before trying to put Lisa Pavelka's Magic Glos on them to protect the paint. I redid a few of them, too so double the wait...But I finally took a break from the glass fusing to do this now that a few weeks have gone by. I have so much mica and glitter floating around my house that I don't think I can use my ICE Resin anytime soon! And someone just told me the stuff has a shelf life...and I've had mine for at least a year! Sigh...Anyways, on to the creations! :) 

These are several different colors. I'm afraid I couldn't tell you what they are, though! I am sure it is the English red, the Onyx, Eggshell White, Violine and probably the Moon  Gold.

I like the way the cross came out. Same colors, probably Carmine and Vermillion in addition.

On this one and the one below, I added some Super Copper mica powder to it. It came out very metallic looking.

Then I started playing around with some Formica samples I had. Love the way the colors combined! You just never know what you're going to get, with this paint! These are not sealed yet.

Then I thought to add a fairy charm I had on hand. I ran out of Magic Glos on this one! I'll have to get more and figure out how to finish it. I had been trying to get a flame effect in the paint.

 The Magic Glos is so clear you can't even see it in these photos. :)

This is the first side...I see a flower.

And the reverse side. Kind of like a Phoenix in the flames, eh?

 First side....Volcano? :)

Reverse,,,View inside the volcano? Hehe. 

Then I bought a couple of paper mache boxes to experiment with. I love the way they came out! I was trying to do flames again, on most of the sides....

These still haven't been sealed. Maybe that's when I'll try the ICE resin...

This one was interesting, the way it came out. I put a couple of tiny droplets of paint and it must have had a lot of the stuff in it that makes them move and it spread out like crazy!

Similar thing happened to this box, as well. Stir, stir stir! I thought I did....

And then, a different project. This is a piece of chainsaw art my husband and I bought in St. Augustine about a decade ago. It's been hanging outside for ages and we discovered the back of it was very rotted. It has some sentimental value to us, so I found a product to reinforce the wood and it did a great job! It's a liquid that soaks into the wood fibers and makes them strong again. I then filled all the cracks with wood filler and repainted it. What a mess it was!

 Ta da! I was very happy to see it back almost better than new! I decided to try my Pebeo paints on  the turtle...

Pictures don't really do it justice! Very happy with the way it came out. I'm still waiting for it to cure completely and then I'll give it a clear coat...

Closeup of the shell. Aren't the effects lovely! Love this paint...!

Thanks for looking - make sure to stop by my Pinterest page to see a lot more of my creations, and like my Facebook page, Karmic Confetti!