Decoupage on Candle

Good Evening, 

I am here today with a technique. For those who don't know me, I started my crafting journey with candle making and till date do make candles, especially during the festive season.

Also in the last few years, I have been bitten by the decoupage bug.  The reason being that it is the one art form which is very very versatile.

And today my project is a combination for my love for candle making and a passion for decoupage. So here we go...

I am sure you may have seen a lot of videos and projects on decoupage on candles.  Most of the videos follow the following technique.

1. Cut the tissue to the required size and place it on the candle.

2. Put a wax paper on the image and hold the wax paper and the image in place with your hand.

3. Using an iron/heat tool,  melt the image on to the candle.

And you have a beautifully decorated candle.

I did try this technique a few times but somehow this never worked for me.  Mainly because of even a slight shift the napkin gets wrinkled and the image is not crisp. Also as at times working with small candles, there is a chance of accidents, especially with the heat tool.

So to ensure that my image is absolutely smooth and there are no wrinkles, this is what I came up with

1. Cut the tissue to the size and the motif you want it put on the candle.  Ensure that the image is not cut with a scissors, and is torn with hand.  This ensures that the image blends well.

2. Place the tissue on the candle and have the image perfectly aligned as you want it.

3. Taking modpodge,  glue the tissue to the napkin.  Ensure that the glue is very thin coat and is below the tissue.  Do not put the glue on top of the tissue because it may bubble with heat.  (Also follow the motto of - The lesser  the better(for glue)).

4. Stick the tissue in parts especially if it's a large image. Gently smoothen the tissue on to the candle.

5. Once the tissue is stuck leave it to dry. You need to ensure that the glue is completely dry before you go to the next step.

6. Taking a heat tool, slowly run over the image. Do not stay on a particular area for too long -  as it could lead to the candle melting more on that particular area.

7. Smoothen the hot wax with your hand as it embeds to get a smooth even surface.

8. Wait for the candle to cool and check if the entire napkin is blended on to the candle.

And voila your decoupage candle is ready.

Here are some candles done using this technique

Here are some more examples of the same

I do hope you like this alternative technique. Do give it a try and let me know if it works for you too. 

Supplies used are:

Decoupage Napkins
Candle
Modpodge 
Heat Tool
Wishing you a wonderful day !!

Bottle Candle Holders

Good Evening,

Its fun to alter something old or useless and give it a new lease of life. There is a lot of things we throw out, because we feel that their utility or the purpose is over.

Moving towards this goal, I had attended a bottle cutting working in the early part of 2017. And it was super fun. Not only because I learned how to cut a bottle (which was something I had been wanting to do for quite sometime) but also it was fun with the whole bunch of us absolutely excited every-time we cut a bottle smoothly.

Cutting bottles in itself are not the end objective. What you use them for or how you use them gives them a new life. Cut ends of the bottle once decorated can be completely transformed into something new.

Here I have used a few of the beer bottles and have converted them into candle holders. I did use different mediums of decoration to give completely new look to these candle holders.

And voila!! here is the final outcome...

And here are some closeups of the individual candle holders.

Hope you do like them.

Also it is not necessary that they be used only as candle holders. A lot of things can be made out of these - pen stands, organizers, cutlery holders and even drinking glasses to name a few.

So next time you are about to throw something out, do think about what else you could use them for. I do hope this inspires you to look at upcycling and recycling a bit differently.

Wishing you a wonderful day

Wooden T Light Holders

A very good evening to all of you.

I recently bought some pine wood T light Holders for the festive season. These are cute little blocks of wood about 2 inches all the way around. Thus they are small but cute.

Initially I thought of decoupaging all of them with scrap of tissues that I had in my stash. On second thought I decided to experiment with them.Considering that the base is square of 2 inches by 2 inches I selected some small stamps and stencils and tissues.

And here is what I came up with....

Though they have a very small surface they are ideal for being stenciled with small motifs and designs. Using traditional Indian motifs I did these two sets. I also added a bit of bling on one of the sets.

I had a few small stamps in my stash. So the next attempt was to stamp them. And I was surprised and pleased at the final effect. 

Lastly I did decide to decoupage two sets of the holders. One in floral pattern and the next set in my favorite butterfly pattern.  And I loved them. And I added a bit of stamping to create more interest and continuity in the pattern. 

Here is the final look at all the T Light Holders together

Do let me know what you think

Vintage Pen Stand

Good Evening,

For those who don’t know I come from a defense background and thus a lot of my projects are based on the themes that dominate our lives.

Living in a Naval community thus ensures that a lot of projects are in a nautical theme. And very frankly there is a certain charm in working with prints of old sail boats and sea colours.

Recently I made a Pen stand with a tissue paper that I have had in my stash for sometime. It’s a very beautiful tissue with a map and old sail boats around the map in the sea. The tissue’s background is already in a vintage colour thus making it easier to create the vintage look.

Each panel of the pen stand has been created from a separate part of the tissue but has been put together so that it looks like a seamless pattern. I have added a little bit of antique gold paint and Prima waxes to give it a hint of opulence.

Here are some pictures of the completed project

Hope you enjoyed this...

Hexagon Coaster

Good Evening,

I have done a lot of projects on coasters. And I have done various art forms and techniques on them. Starting  from Warli and Madhubani I have come a long way to Decoupage.

Coasters are a perfect way to test new products and papers. But I have done a lot of projects in both square and round shaped coasters.

But recently I managed to pick up a set of Hexagon shaped coasters. And I was super excited to try out some new papers on these. And having collected a large collection of papers from various places I set about trying to find a suitable print for the coasters.

And I found this beautiful English shabby chic pattern paper. Its soft green with yellow daffodils all over and it was perfect. Being a decoupage speciality paper it was super easy to work with this paper and here is what was the final outcome.

Using brown as the base colour for the coasters I completed with a distressed look at the edges using brown and rust coloured inks.  

Hope you like these... 

Daisy Tissue Box Holder

Good Evening,

I recently got a request to do a tissue box holder. And I was super excited to do that as it’s been a while since I did a tissue box holder.

The print selected was a beautiful napkin with daisies on it. I especially like this tissue as it’s soft and vibrant at the same time. And considering that it is going to be a functional object the client did not want too much texturing, on the box.

It seemed to be a simple project at the start. But what I had not expected was that the pattern would not fit on the box if used in the original form. Either it would end up on the corner or would be cut in strategic places and thus lost it beauty.

Thus to ensure that the main motifs are visible and the pattern covered the entire tissue box I decided to cut out the motifs and place them at the places where I wanted them.  Thus in this way the entire project was created.

To create the vintage effect without overpowering the design, I  have used a combination of antique gold and brown to create a distressed look. This ensures that there is enough hint of gold to give sheen over the project yet it antiques the project to give it a vintage look.... The edges have been highlighted in brown and gold.

Here are some pictures. The gold effect is not visible too much but I can assure you the project looks very beautiful in reality.

Hope you enjoyed this project as much as I did making it

Do leave your comments below

Peacock Tray

Good evening,

On the onset wishing you a very Happy Diwali...

If you have been following my facebook page then you would already know that I have been fascinated with decoupage for sometime now.

For the festive season I decided to experiment with colours which I usually don’t play with. Thus for a big rectangle tray I chose a beautiful paper from Bob and Betty featuring the peacock.

With blue as the base colour I have added acrylic colours in silver, emerald green and pearl dark blue as accents for the stenciling on the back of the tray.

And to add to the to the look of the peacock I have added Prima waxes on the inside and edges of the tray.

And here is how the final the final project turned out....

Here is the back of the tray....

Close up of the stenciling - hope you are able to see the different shades of the blue, green and silver

Do let me know what you think

Mix Media Vase

Good evening,

Its been a long time since I have posted something on my blog. Actually its been more than a year since I have been posted.

I am really sorry to all for that.

Though I have not been posting I have been active in terms of learning new crafts and making projects....And yes I will take some time out and share all the projects that I have created in the past year. Also I have been practicing my already learned skills in creating new looks and stretching it to create new ideas.

One of the art forms that has held my interest in the last few years has been  mixed media. I did attend a workshop on the basics while I was on a holiday in Pune a few months back and it was super fun. Also the one thing that I truly love about this form is that there are no specific rules for creating a look.

At the same time even ordinary things lying around the house can be used to beautiful works of art. So you could experiment with expensive craft supplies, or you could take common items lying around the house and create something beautiful.

Here is the project that I created when I attended the workshop in Pune. This is made using all the beautiful and expensive products used by mix media artists.

But I wanted to create something different and experiment with items that were in my stash and things found at home. Thus a small ordinary terracotta vase was given a new look....

I have used things I found at home like gauze, rhinestones, sand, handmade flowers coupled along with some left over embellishments from previous projects and MDF embellishments to create this mix media projects.

Here is the beautiful mix media vase.

What do you say? I do hope you do like it....

And I will surely be posting more projects in the future.

Happy Crafting....