Beach Life Decorative Frame

Materials: 

Makin's Clay® - Earth Tones Multi Pack, Black, White 

Makin's® 

• Clay Mixing Ruler
• Sea Shell Push Mold 

Makin's Professioanl® Cutting Mat 

Wooden star frame 

Round mirror 

Alphabet push mold 

Cheese cloth 

Beacon Tacky Glue®

Proxxon® Delta Sander

Plaid® Coastal Paints - High Tide, Sand Dollar and Seal Gray 

Alphabet stickers or die cut lettering

Etchall® Dip n' Etch

Tattered Angels Copper Glimmer Mist

Script stamp

Permanent ink 

Paint brush 

Instructions:

Use the Clay Mixing Ruler to create your own colors of shells, adding different colors of clay in any number of holes.  I initially chose 3 colors from the Earth Tones pack to work with.  Then I simply removed the clay balls and mixed them together.  This way you can create some very realistic looking shells.

Place the clay in the Sea Shells push mold gently pushing the clay into the cavities so the clay picks up the all the details in the mold.

Once removed, you have beautiful shells to work with.

To create the letters to spell LIFE, mix black and white clays together until you've created gray.  Then place the clay in an alphabet mold.

To create the mirror/frame, begin by sanding the frame with the Proxxon Delta Sander.

Paint the frame with  Plaid Coastal Paints using High Tide for the base color.  Then add touches of Sand Dollar and Seal Gray to create a beachy feel.  Once dry, use Tacky Glue to adhere some mesh around the right side of the opening.

Determine the placement of the shells and use Tacky Glue to glue them around the frame.  Glue LIFE in the opposite corner.

Use etchall® dip 'n etch to etch Beach into the mirror.  Directions on how I etched the mirror can be found on my blog.

Spritz Tattered Angels Copper Glimmer Mist on the shells and the mesh.  The glimmer mist adds a nice tone to the shells when it gets into the crevices.

Use a script stamp with black ink and stamp it randomly around the frame to create some additional detailing.

I hope I've got you in a beachy mood today.

What will you create today?

Steph

Live Beautifully Altered Mirror

Mixed Media Mirror by Steph Ackerman

Supplies:

Makin's® Clay - White

Makin's Professional® Cutting Mat
Makin's® Roller and Cutters Set

Beacon Adhesives - Tacky Adhesive

Prima Mold

Prima Acrylic Paint

Prima Stencil

Molding Paste

Mirror

Instructions:

Place white Makin's Clay® in the mold.  Then use the clay roller to flatten the clay against the mold.  This ensures that the clay gets into the tiniest of areas of the mold.

Remove the clay from the molds and clean up the edges of the molded pieces.  While still fresh, the clay can be easily cut with scissors or a craft knife so you can remove excess clay around the edges.  Allow to dry at least 24 - 48 hours. 

Once dry, paint the elements with Rose Gold acrylic paint.

Once the Rose Gold paint dries, add touches of Gold and Blue acrylic paints.

Use molding paste with a stencil to add details and dimension to the mirror.  Allow to dry completely.                                                                                                                                                                        

Use Beacon Tacky Adhesive to adhere the flourishes to the upper corner over the stenciled dots.  Check out the heart that was formed with the 2 flourishes.

Use Beacon Tacky Adhesive to adhere the angel in the lower corner above the stenciled words.

Adding clay embellishments finishes off a project but adds no additional weight.  

Who wouldn't love hanging this mirror in their home?

Day of the Dead Decorative Mirror by Cindi McGee

Cindi McGee recently shared this Day of the Dead Decorative Mirror project featuring an etched sugar skull and hand made roses made with Makin's Clay®.  Find her instructions here on her blog.