Raise Your Christmas Glasses

It's Christmas time again, why not hand-paint some festive glasses to enjoy with your celebrations?

Here is all you need for this project:

• 6 Champagne Flutes (or any number and type of glasses you prefer)
• Pebeo Vitrea 160 Glossy Markers in Emerald and Pepper Red
• Pebeo Vitrea 160 Glossy paints in Oriental Green and Pimento Red
• Pebeo Vitrea Outliners in Pearl and Gold

Step 1: Begin by taking your Gold outliner and draw five lines around each glass, from the rim down. Make them a little wavy and of different lengths.

Step 2: Use your red and green markers to draw round baubles at the end of each line. Use a small round brush and a dabbing motion to fill in the baubles with red and green paint. Do a few layers (drying in-between layers) to get them as dark as you like. Allow to dry about 15 minutes or so.

Step 3: Take your Gold outliner and decorate each red bauble ...

Step 4: Take you Pearl Outliner and decorate each green bauble...

Step 5: Let dry for 24 hours then bake in oven to cure the paint as per instructions on your Pebeo Vitrea packaging. MERRY CHRISMAS X

Paint Your Own decorative Tile Pot Rest

Decorative Tile Pot Rest

When I set out to experiment painting on a plain tile I wasn't quite sure what would come out of it, but as my design evolved, so did my idea for what I would do with this decorative piece - a pot rest. Not only can it be handy in the kitchen, but would be a great design piece for the centre of the table at your next dinner party or a beautiful hand-made gift for some one special.

The finished design

For this project you will need:

• a 30cm X 30cm plain ceramic tile (they are relatively inexpensive to buy singularly from hardware stores such as Bunnings, so I recommend buying a couple and having one to practice on.
• Stick on surface protectors, so the bottom of the tile doesn't scratch any delicate surfaces

• A pencil, eraser and ruler for drawing your design
• A selection of Pebeo Porcelaine 150 Paints and Markers in your desired colour scheme. The colours I used were Parma Violet, Turquoise, Malachite Green, Citrine Yellow, Olivene Green, Ming Blue, Lapis Blue, Black (paints) and Amazonite Green, Peacock Blue, Marseille Yellow, Peridot Green, Lapis Blue, Black (Markers)

I began with my design with both a Mandala and Zentangle in mind, but nothing specific. I started by making some pencil markings radiating from the centre like below.

Then I made up pattern instinctively as I went along.

You can copy my design, make up your own, or follow one of the many instructions for drawing mandalas that are on the internet.

Once I was pretty happy with design I used a combination of the Black Pebeo Porcelaine 150 Marker  and Fine Liner to mark in the lines I wanted to keep and few extra ones here and there.

Your design could look equally effective in Black and White, or just one extra colour or many colours like me. Once your marker pen is dry you are ready to paint.

TIPS

* Use a baby wipe to wipe off the pencil lines you know longer require. A baby wipe will also remove the Pebeo paint while its still wet. 

* Use Isopropyl alcohol such as ISOCOL or DIGGERS to remove dry paint marks that you don't like, smudges or mistakes. Cotton wool balls and buds are handy for this.

* A tooth pick is also handy for scratching off errors in tiny areas

If you find yourself getting brush marks you don't want, try using the paint sparingly with a very soft brush. Do light layers, allowing to dry thoroughly in between, to build up the colour.

In small areas you can try "flooding" the paint, dropping a lot of paint into the area and sort of using it around without creating brush strokes. Practice on your "practice tile" to see what effects you like.

with pink area

Pink area removed

Really Easy Porcelaine Painting

 It is so easy to transform cheap, plain, household items into cute, hand-decorated ones with Pebeo Porcelaine 150 paints and markers.

I used Salt n Pepper shakers and a hand-soap dispenser both found for under $5.

For the Salt n Pepper shakers design, simply start with circles as below, drawn on with Black Pebeo Porcelain Marker.

Use Scarlet Red Porcelaine Marker to draw in the petals.

Use Peridot Green Marker to connect the flowers and make a "S" and "P".

For the soap dispenser, remove the lid and place the container in a disposable plastic bowl.

Pour Pebeo Porcelaine 150 paints in Ming Blue and Turquoise straight from the tubs and let drip...

Give it a good few hours or more to dry, then use the Peacock Blue marker to draw some swirls onto your drips.

Then use Lapis Blue Marker to do some dots on around your swirls.

DONE!

Decorative Terracotta Pot with Pebeo Porcelaine 150

I love having cute decorative items around my office to brighten things up and a painted terra cotta pot is a great idea for holding pens and office supplies.

To complete this project you will need:

•  A small terracotta pot
• Pebeo Porcelaine 150 Filler Undercoat
• Pebeo Porcelaine 150 paints in Lapis Blue, Citrine Yellow, Olivine Green, Scarlet Red and Anthracite Black
• Pebeo Porcelaine 150 markers in Amazonite Green and Earth Brown
• Reference photo of Sunflowers (optional - you can choose to paint something from your own imagination)
• A few Brushes, I recommend at least one small round, and one small flat/angled
• Water

To start with you will need to give your pot a coat with the Filler Undercoat, you must let this dry for 24 hours before commencing your project.

Once your prepared pot is ready to go, you can use your earth coloured marker to draw on your flower designs.

I then used my Citrine Yellow paint and a small round brush to colour my petals. *Note: You will need to do at least three or four coats to get the desired effect.

A few coats in, more coats required

Use your Green Marker to draw in some leaves. The Lapis Blue Paint is for the background. Remember, it will look patchy at first, but will come up beautiful after three or four coats.

Here is the semi-finished product. I found the leaves weren't standing out enough against the Blue background so I went over them a bit with a mix of Olivine green and Yellow to lighten then up. I also used a mix of Black and Scarlet Red paints to make a brown to paint the centre of the flower.

Bake your pot in the oven as per instructions on the packaging to cure the paint. You can then use it in the garden or anywhere in the house to decorate or hold stuff.

Butterfly Frenzy Vase with Pebeo Vitrea 160

To paint a beautiful butterfly vase like mine you will need:

• Plain glass vase
• Butterfly stencil (optional - you can draw free-hand)
• Piece of thin craft foam (if using a stencil)
• Scotch Tape if (if using stencil)
• Pebeo Vitrea 160 Glass Paints, frosted colour;s Azure, Rose Pink, Ink Black, Sky
• Pebeo Vitrea 160 Markers, frosted colours; Natural, Gitane Blue, Rose Pink, Mauve, Black
• Have Isopropyl alcohol on hand (Isocol or Diggers) and a cotton bud to clean up smudges or remove mistakes
• A few small brushes in different shapes and sizes for variety
• Water jar

If you don't want to draw/paint your butterflies free-hand, here is a way to at least get the basic shape of the insect onto your vase.

First find a butterfly stencil, always handy to have, mine has been well used as you can see. Alternatively for this process you could also cut out shapes of butterflies you have printed on your computer.

Trace through the stencil (or around your cut-out shapes) on to a piece of thin craft foam. I used butterflies in four different sizes. Cut out your shapes.

If your vase is curved like mine you may need help keeping in onto the surface, so just put a bit of scotch tape on the back.

Use a Pebeo Vitrea160 marker to trace around the basic butterfly shapes on to your vase. Keep your butterfly "masks", they may be handy for another project.

Stick your foam shape on with sticky tape. It will remove and re-use easily.

Once you have marked in your basic shapes it's time to paint them in. This is where you can have playful fun and get creative. Set up a pallet with your paints. Experiment making many as many different colours as you can from just those few colours.

As well as experimenting with colour, try creating different brush strokes with the different brushes. See how the marks made with paint and brush differ from those made with a marker.

Remember colours will mix together on the pallet, or blend together on the surface if still wet. If you want to keep some colours pure, make sure you wash and dry your brush in-between different colours and let the paint dry first before painting another colour adjacent.

Do one layer, then let dry, then add more to your designs if desired. No two butterflies will ver be the same.

Here I have put rice in the vase so you can see the finished designs more clearly.












Bake your finished design in the oven as per instructions on the packaging. 

Hand-decorated Giraffe with Pebeo Porcelaine 150

Hand decorated Giraffe Money Box

Recently in was in Spotlight and realised how many gorgeous, simple, white ceramic products there are which are perfect for customising. Whether you want to add you own decor colours, decorate something as a gift or just enjoy a creative project, there are so many ideas and options.

For this project I chose this cute Ceramic Giraffe Money Box , but you could use any ceramic figurine that appeals to you.

If you have problems removing the sticky label before starting, try OOmh, (below) it's available at Bunnings and worked for me. 

*TIP * I also recommend keeping some Isopropyl alcohol such as Isocol or Diggers handy as it an easy way to remove a smudges (use it with a cotton tip) or rub off something you are not happy with.

Other materials for this project:

• Pebeo Porcelaine 150 paints in Olivine Green, Ivory and Scarlet Red
• Pebeo Porcelaine 150 Markers in Scartlet Red, Anthracite Black, Amazonite Green, Lapis Blue and Black Fine Liner
• Small round Brush

Start with some simple flowers, I used Pebeo Porcelaine 150 Marker in Scarlet Red.

Mix Pebeo Porcelaine 150 Paints in Scarlet Red and Ivory to make a pink to fill the petals with a small round brush. Use Pebeo Porcelaine 150 Marker in Amazonite Green to draw stalks.

Use your green marker to add leaves and  Pebeo Porcelaine 150 paint Olivine Green and small round brush to add colour. Use your Lapis Blue and Black Markers to daw eyes and nostrils, and Scarlet red Marker for lips.

Use Pebeo Porcelaine 150 Marker in Anthracite Black to draw circles around the flowers.

Draw random dots with the Black marker the use Pebeo Porcelain 150 Black Fine Liner Marker for the little lines.

Use the fine liner to make dotty stalks.

Use Green Marker to draw in swirly leaves.

To make the Paint permanent bake in the oven as per instructions on the packaging.