Thursday, April 17, 2014

Dreamweaver Stencils: Glowing Inspirations

We're already into the third week of April, and no foolin', the Dream Team has had a spectacular month...filled with exciting news and inspiration for all of your crafting dreams! The exciting news being announced on the Dream It Up! post today. Each team member has posted what inspires them in their creative life...maybe a Pinterest pic, a magazine pic, a quote, a book, a place, an artist, a crafter friend...along with their creation. We are hoping that you will feel inspired as well, and link your projects (and inspiration) to the inlinkz tool on the Dream It Up! blog, or at the bottom of this post.

The following is a project that I intended to complete last summer. Lol. I found this pic on Pinterest of these colorful, almost stained-glass-appearing solar lights, and knew that I wanted to create something similar using Dreamweaver products. I was so excited when I was able to find solar path lights with flat sides! Perfect for stencils! And...bonus...they were on sale at Target two for $5! And then they sat in my storage closet...until recently.

http://www.pinterest.com/pin/101542166573475736/
 I have to admit that mine turned out far better than the photos suggest, so I'm posting a plethora (yes, a plethora!) of photos so that you get an idea of how fab they turned out. This first pic is in my back yard just before sunset. They aren't lit,  but you can see the light filtering through the  colors.


How did I get that beautiful, vibrant, transparent color on these? I used Dreamweaver Color Solutions Artist Grade Alcohol Inks...drop by drop, building up color, letting some dry in between. They dry fairly quickly, so I was able to layer the colors easily. I used the Mojito Green, Iceberg Blue, and Aquamarine on the first and third ones, and Winter Red, Lemoncello, and Cosmo Pink for the center one.

Using Black StazOn ink and a fingertip dauber from Tsukineko, I ink-stenciled the Dragonflies, the Peacock, and the Tall Poppies on each flat sided bases of the lights.

At this point the color was on the glass, the designs were stenciled over the stainless sides, so now I needed to add some pasted designs on the glass that would contrast against the glowing light within.

I used the Poppy Circle with Matte Black Paste on one, and the Petite Dragonfly on another in Silver Paste. I could do two sides at once before I needed to set them aside to dry. When dry, I could complete the other two sides. On the third light, I let just the pretty colors be the only decoration.

Curious as to how they'll hold up? Well, the sprinklers have watered them a few times now, and the paste is fine. The alcohol inks won't wash off, but maybe down the road the colors could fade a bit. For the price that I paid, I'm not too concerned. In fact, I think it would be great fun to decorate some of these for each season and the holidays as well!

I hope my project has inspired YOU to take a chance, and play with your Dreamweaver products on different surfaces. Let's see what the "A" team has been creating, as well as a few of our new Dream Team members that didn't want to wait until May to play!





10 comments:

Irish Cherokee said...

VERY creative and a neat way to light the patio, deck or path. How much fun is that?

Lynn Mercurio said...

Oh please come to my house and let's make some of these for my yard. They are amazing, Pam...such a great job!

Alison said...

Wow! Those are really stunning! You did an amazing job creating something so unique.

Lea said...

These are so freaking cool! I love them!! You know, I believe you're like me and you look at things and see potential in them that others would never see. Man would we have fun if we lived in the same city! Anyway, your lights are gorgeous!

Louise said...

Wow, wow, and wowsie! These are fabulous! What a creative idea and so beautifully executed! These must look great in your yard.

Janeen said...

wow, that's amazing talent. what a nice project.

Jamie Martin said...

These lights are BEAUTIFUL! I could use them in my yard :)

rose s. said...

such a great idea pam!! never would've thought of it haha. I am sure they will look so nice in your gardens this summer. thanks for the inspiration :)

Lyn Bernatovich said...

My jaw is dropping over how gorgeous these lights are! Not only are the alcohol inked tops beautiful, the stenciled bottom portions are breathtaking. You have a wonderful creative eye Pam.

CreativeJanine said...

Amazing!