GINAGRAPHX Illustrators
Artists ~ Muralists ~ Illustrators ~ Designers
Glow-in-the-dark Mural |
By day, this cityscape mural makes a great backdrop for playing with toy cars and trucks. When the sun goes down, all it takes is a night-light to illuminate the buildings and night sky.
DIRECTIONS
1. First, make sure the wall you plan to decorate is clean and dry. Then pour a shallow layer of white wall paint into a flat-bottomed container (you need an opaque white undercoat to make the buildings clearly visible during daylight).
| Materials | |
| • Interior acrylic white wall paint • 2 or 3 sponges of assorted sizes • Paintbrush (optional) • Interior acrylic glow-in-the-dark paint (generally available in several colors and sold at most hardware or craft stores) • Night-light (the moon-shaped one shown here, manufactured by Lightning Bug Ltd., is battery-operated) • 1 or 2 dozen glow-in-the-dark stars |
2. Dip one of the sponges into the paint to evenly coat its surface, then holding it upright, evenly press the sponge against the wall just above the baseboard to create a "building" imprint. You may want to practice on newspaper until you are able to achieve an effect you like.
3. Continue in this way, using all the sponges to stamp a row of buildings. You can even trim a sponge into a triangular roof or steeple shape or use a paintbrush to add finer details.
4. Once the paint is dry, use the same method to apply a topcoat of glow-in-the-dark paint to all the buildings.
5. Let the final coat dry thoroughly. Then attach the night-light and glow-in-the-dark stars to the wall.
Crafts & More....
Painting Clay Pots!
Painting clay pots is the perfect activity for a rainy afternoon, suitable for any age group and skill level, from toddler to OAP, allowing creativity and imagination to run wild. Painted flower pots brighten up balconies and windowsill and make the perfect personalised gift.
Instructions for painting clay pots
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Wash the clay pot in warm soapy water to remove any traces of dirt or grease.
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Cover the table or painting area with newspaper, find paints, paint brushes and a mug of clean water (to clean the paint brushes when swapping colours).
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When the pot has dried, start painting whatever design you like!
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Ensure each layer of paint dries thoroughly before adding another colour on top.
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Allow the painted flower pots to dry out.
And hey presto! you have delightful one-of-a-kind painted clay pot!
Tips
Since clay pots are porous, they do dry out very quickly by themselves, but to hasten the process, pop them on top of a radiator, on a sunny window ledge or in the cool oven of an Aga or Rayburn.
If you want an intricate design on your painted flower pot, use a normal lead pencil to draw the design on the pot before starting painting.
To be able to use the painted clay pots outside, or extend their life span, you can either spray or carefully paint them with suitable varnish (eg clear varnish) - but be careful, this can make the colours run ... test it out on your own painted flower pot before touching your child's piece of art work!
Painting flower pots which are glazed
The basic principle for painting flower pots which are glazed is exactly the same as for painting clay pots. The difference is that you will need specific ceramic paints or pens, and probably be more careful in your design!
The benefits are that glazed flower pots are already available in a multitude of colours, and a lot of the ceramic paints are dishwasher proof, which also means that they will withstand standing outside without any need for further treatment!
We hope you enjoy your afternoons of painting clay pots as much as we do. We would love to see photos of your painted pots and welcome any further suggestions and ideas for decorating flower pots! Please do contact us!
Painting Harlequin Diamonds on a wall produces an interesting pattern that can either be very bold or very subtle depending on the colors you choose. Make sure you do a small test of the pattern with the colors you want before starting on your wall. This will take a lot of patience and tape, but it will be well worth it in the end. There are many variations you can use to create a nice design on your walls. What you see to the right was the basic layout design for one of my customers. You can see the finished results by clicking the link at the bottom of the page.
To get started you will need the following supplies:
1. Lots of 1" or 2" Blue Painters Tape How much you need will depend on how big the room is that you are painting. There is a new green tape that is boasting no bleed. I have not tried it yet, as it is a bit pricier than your standard blue tape. It may be well worth the price in the end however.
2. Two different paint colors. Make sure you measure the length and width of your walls and get the square footage to estimate how much paint you will need. (square footage = length X width of wall)
3. drop cloths
4. roller pan with liner
5. I regular size roller with refill and one small roller
6. one or more neaded erasers if drawing lines with a pencil (buy them at an art supply store like Michaels) The pink ones make a mess.
7. at least one pencil with a sharpener
8. razor blade
9. Chalk if you would rather use this than a pencil (make sure you buy the correct color chalk so you can see the lines, white chalk may not show up well on a light background.)
10. Baby wipes if you use chalk to draw lines.
Step 1: Figure out the size your diamond pattern is going to be. See our Handy Dandy Harlequin Diamond Calculator below! The rule of thumb is that the height of the diamond should be twice the width. Once you have figured out how big your diamond will be you can move on to step 2.
Step 2: When you have all your supplies ready, and the room cleared for painting, your drop cloths in place, paint your base coat of paint on the wall using one of the two colors you purchased. Let it dry. You may want to leave it for a day, before you get to the hard stuff.
Step 3: Once you have calculated the width and height of your diamonds it is time to draw your lines vertically down the wall where your diamonds will be. Measure the width of each diamond and using your level, draw a straight line the exact width of the diamond all the way down the wall vertically. Keep going until all vertical lines are drawn. Start with the wall you see as you enter the room. After you finish that wall, draw your lines on either side starting from the ends of the wall you just completed. The reason for this is you want to use the same dimensions on the additional walls. Some adjustments may be necessary once you reach the ends of the other walls. You can adjust the width of the diamonds slightly, but never adjust the height.
Step 4: Draw horizontal lines the height of your diamond the entire length of the wall. Now you should basically have a bunch of rectangles on the wall.
Step 5: Find the middle of each rectangle and mark the top, bottom, right and left side. Then connect the dots by drawing lines to form your diamond pattern. Keep in mind that all these lines will have to be erased at some point, so you may not want to make too dark a line with your pencil. Chalk, however will wipe off easily with a baby wipe. It is possible to connect the dots with tape without drawing lines. If you do not feel confident, DRAW THE LINES that will form your diamond. Don't attempt to tape all the way down your wall in one line as it is impossible to keep the tape straight enough on the wall without a partner, and even then, it may be difficult. Rather, tear off a piece of tape just long enough to cover each side of your diamond.
Step 6: Once you have your diamond drawn you will need to paint in alternating patterns. The picture you see to your left has some diamonds left out. This is simply to illustrate which diamonds to tape first. In other words, you will paint the first and third, fifth and seventh etc, vertically and horizontally. SOOOOO, you need to tape up these alternating rows of diamonds skipping one in-between.
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Step 7: When you have painted your odd rows go back and paint and tape your even rows.
Step 8: repeat until finished