Faux Pottery - from Upcycled Jam Jars!

A casual observer might not necessarily guess the humble origins of this make....

Monday again and I am at my desk and ready to go! Those of you who read my work regularly will know that I am quite a fan of upcycling and making something gorgeous out of, well rubbish. 

This gives me satisfaction just to look at it - you will be astounded with the results.

This time, I have collected a few jars which are the same (I really wanted to make a set) and decided that it was time for more faux pottery.

I love this shape and it works really well as a set.

You actually don't even need to get the labels off - you won't see them when they have plants in them and the old label, scratched a bit gives something for the clay to grab onto.

This is such an easy technique and so totally transformative that I guarantee that you will not let a single jar or tin can into the rubbish ever again.

You can swap the colours of the bases to suit your decor - there are many to choose from!

Best of all, it really doesn't need any painting skill at all. That makes it suitable for the little people in your life to join in too.

So what do we need for this....

Paint:

DecoArt Americana acrylics: light buttermilk, lamp black, saffron yellow, melon, lemonade
Media:DecoArt Media Texture Sand Paste
DecoArt triple Thick Gloss varnish
Everything Else:3 similar jam jars, washed and the labels removed
Older 1” flat brush
DecoArt Traditions ¾ flat brush
Toothbrush
Das air dry clay: white

You can buy DecoArt products in the UK here and in The USA here.


Begin by rolling out the clay and affixing it to your clean jars. 

Use your hands to smooth the clay onto the glass and work any air bubbles out.

Aim to have enough on the top edge to roll over and extend inside the jar by about 1”. Allow to dry.
Put  the jars somewhere warm but not hot overnight to dry. An airing cupboard works well. If they are dried too quickly, the clay can crack.

Using the older flat brush, paint the jars inside the rim and two thirds of the way down with Texture Sand Paste.

Leave the bottom part of the jar free of texture. This will be ultra glossy when we are done and will provide a nice contrast.

TIP: your good paint brush will not appreciate this texture paste! Have an older or cheaper brush on hand to do the job.

This bit extended down inside the jar is really important because it is what helps to disguise the fact that it is a jam jar - no actual glass can be visible when you are finished or your cover will be blown.

Allow the texture to dry and then paint the textured part with light buttermilk and dry 
Paint the un-textured bottom third part of the jars with either saffron yellow, melon or lemonade.

Like I said, no previous experience necessary - get that paint on there!

Rather than a hard edge, allow the colour to blend softly into the cream.

Keep the top edge soft.

When this is dry, take the lamp black paint and the toothbrush and splatter the pots all over.

It is starting to look like the real thing now!

TIP: if you are working inside, it is an idea to work inside a cardboard box to avoid splattering everything!

You must do these things to the inside of the rim even though you won't see most of it - we are trying to convince people that this 'pottery' is solid!

You can water the black paint down to get a larger splatter. Don’t forget the inside of the rim.

This Triple Thick Varnish is so satisfying! It acts like a real glaze!

Finally, when everything is very dry (some of the larger, thicker splatters take a little longer) varnish the coloured bottom part of the jars with Triple Thick varnish using the ¾” flat brush (the good one this time!). Really apply this thickly and it will run like a ‘proper’ pottery glaze.

Don't just put the pot somewhere and forget about it - for the first 20 minutes or so (depending on the temperature and the weather) keep turning the pot so that the varnish stays on the bottom bit of the pot. Gravity will make it want to run onto the textured part.

TIP: you will have to turn the pot as it dies so that the glaze stays where it should be and doesn’t pool.
Your pot will be matte on the top two thirds and very glossy on the bottom .

All done! No-one will guess I promise you!

Plant something! The great thing about these jars is that although they are made from air dry clay on the outside, they are glazed inside and can take a small amount of water. Cacti and succulents are a great thing to put into them.

Those colours!

You can do this with tin cans too so start collecting!

I do hope that this post has inspired you to start collecting some jars and tins to upcycle. These make great craft stall items too and if you start finding and cleaning jars now, you will have a fabulous inside activity for the winter when the weather is not so nice.

Thank you for stopping by!
Hugs
Debbie
xx

Faux Pottery Planters

Definitely something that it is not! #upcycling

I don't know about you but I am always rather intrigued by things that are not quite what they seem - things which started life as something else (and far less) and have been raised by upcycling.

Looove that cactus vase in the background that my son gave me for Mother's day too :-)

You would have to live under a fairly well sealed rock not to know that we produce a lot of rubbish in our world and upcycling is a great way to reuse things and to try to do our bit to reduce the burgeoning problem.

To fool the eye, pay attention to the details - the edges can give the game away.

This week's offering is a jam jar. Just a common, garden variety glass jar now living its new life as a pottery planter!

The glazes maketh the pot.

See what I mean!? I am counting this one for the win. What was destined for the rubbish heap, is now living a bright new existence as a little pottery planter.

Dem textures!

And of course, it is super easy to do. Start with a nice clean jar....

Start with a nice clean jar and turn it into something else!

What else do we need.....
-Air dry clay. I am using DAS brand in white.
-DecoArt Acrylic, water based paint. Mine is flesh tone, and terra coral
-DecoArt Texture Sand
-DecoArt Triple Thick Brilliant Brush On Glaze
-DecoArt DuraClear Matte varnish
-1" flat paintbrush (you don't need any particular skill though)

-Your usual painting needs

-Oh and a little plant and some potting mix

Begin by cleaning your jar so that it is near enough completely clean. If there is a little bit of label and glue on it, that doesn't actually matter. You won't see it and it can help the clay to stick.

Next roll out the clay so that it is reasonably thin and use your hands to mould it around the jar, gently persuading it into nooks and crannies (like the thread around the top) and also slightly over the rim.

Perfectly smooth is actually not needed!

As you can see from mine, it is quite artisan looking and a bit on the rough side. That is absolutely fine. Pottery comes in all sorts of styles and right now, the trend is for a slightly rough hewn style. Lucky too because it is easier to do!

If you don't want it so rough, wet the clay or your hands with a spray bottle and smooth it gently.

Trim the inside and underneath. The base is important so that the pot sits flat. Mine will be getting a little more neatening later on....

Tidying needed.

By extending the clay over the top and into the jar, when it is filled, it will look more like the real thing. The glass however will mean that watering it possible because it is glazed inside.

Allow the pot to sit somewhere and dry slowly and naturally for about a day. The slower the drying, the less likely to end up with cracks. If it does crack, either love them and incorporate them into the design or mix some clay with water to make a loose sludge and fill them in.

When the pot is dry, it is time to decorate!
Take the textured paint and paint the top two thirds only.

Keep the brushstrokes horizontal for this make.

This is a wonderful painted finish which gives real pottery texture (and fills in some of the pot holes too). I see that it is a bit harder to find now and if you do have trouble, recreate the look with some real sand mixed with white acrylic paint or another texture medium.

Don't use your most precious brush!

The clay is looking a bit smoother now. You can fill in as little or as much as you like.

Don't forget to extend the texture paint over the rim and inside too. basically, wherever there is clay, there needs to be paint!

Allow this coat to dry and then paint the whole pot with flesh tone acrylic paint. Just cover the top two thirds.....

LOOOOVE that perfect boho peach shade!

Don't worry if the edge is not perfect. This bit is supposed to mimic a pottery glaze.

Now come back in with terra coral and paint a band of that colour on the bottom 1/3.....

Don't  worry about the half smooth/half textured edge.

As you can see, the line between the two is not perfect. I have dry brushed it with what was left on my paintbrush to get a sort of 'desert sunset' vibe going.

The dry brush effect is really pretty.

Allow these to dry (trust me it is worth making a few of these and drying them all together). 

Seal the top with matte varnish. That bit is actually finished now. To add contrast, we need a shiny base like a glaze. The colour is already there. The next step is to coat this with a very glossy varnish. I am using a triple thick one and allowing it to dry between coats. I  gave it only one coat to get the look that I want.

The next shot will show how glossy this is - and how like a glaze!

Seriously, to a casual observer.....

This varnish is lovely and thick and it runs in a way that looks just like a glaze. 

One of its great properties is that it is self levelling. Like an epoxy but without the fuss.

I put it into my kiln airing cupboard and turned it every ten minutes until it was set a bit to stop it from dripping off the bottom or going too far up. Then it was left to dry properly.

One more!

Let this dry and cure - I like to let things cure in a warm dry place for about 10 days but it is up to you. You can carefully plant straight away and then it will cure as it sits on the shelf!

Um....I might not have mentioned it but the plant is not real either! Trust no one!

By the way, 'curing' means to allow the paint and varnish to reach its maximum hardness.
And that is all there is to it! Fill it with your potting medium next and then add a little plant. I guarantee that once the bug is biting you, you will not let any containers into the rubbish again!

I am going to do HEAPS more of these!

By the way, this works on bottles and tins too....
Happy painting and thanks for dropping by!
Debs
xx

Upcycled Photo Stands

I have been looking at my die cutter this time and wondering how we could achieve something great with cardboard (because I have cardboard) to display photos on shelves.

I really like those little wooden 'thingies' (sorry about the technical language!) where you slot the photo in the top and then they sit on a shelf. but there are a lot of them around and what if you want to recycle something and make the a bit different....

And, me, being me, there had to be a challenge and I wanted to make this an upcycled make too. Plus, not everyone wants to work with wood. I find it difficult actually. Don't laugh but cardboard is easier!

I have a lot of scraps of quite stiff chipboard from other things and these bits and pieces are too small to use in a larger make but too bit to throw away. You know that feeling I am sure.

So, that set me to thinking about what could be created.

Laminated photo stands! A little bit of paint and paper. And leather. And glitter fabric and....well you can see what I came up with.

And they are easy. You need a die cutter and some dies that will take the strain of some stiff materials and a dab of glue. 
I am using a Sizzix Big Shot and some cute dies which are flat on the bottom and will sit on a shelf.
If you haven't got a die cutter, don't worry. It is slower but you can find other things and cut around them. So long as the base is flat or you can make it flat, you are good to go!

This one started with a circle and then I made a flat base by cutting about a third off.

You need some chipboard or other thick cardboard (not corrugated box though. If your card is thinner, simply add more than six layers until it sits up securely.
You need a PVA glue or similar - anything which will handle paper is fine and perhaps something more specific for the leather one. I have used hot glue.
Also some paint and a brush. I have opted for DecoArt Americana Extreme Sheen metallic paint in 24 K gold.
For the fronts, choose leather scraps (available in mixed bags online) and pretty paper. I have some glitter fabric which also worked beautifully.

These little stands can actually be reversible so for example, leather goes on one side and paper on the other and then you can turn them around. It really is a versatile make - you can see what you can achieve with one simple idea and three variations.

Okay...here we go! Begin by choosing the die and then cutting 6 pieces from the cardboard....

The six pieces will be laminated together to create a shape that will stand up. You can add a couple more if it isn't stable enough.

Also cut two (one for the front and one for the back) from your leather or paper.

That leather doesn't look right....

That's better! Leather needs stitching!

Now glue the card pieces together with your PVA glue. Before you do though, this is the important part- glue the six pieces of cardboard together in two groups of three and allow them to dry with something heavy on them.
Trim the edges and make them as neat as possible and then paint the edges with a few coats of gold paint...

As you can see, no need to be über neat! You won't see these bits and it is much better to have good coverage on the edges.

Now, they will be joined to make one whole but only glue half way up this time. 
The reason for this is to provide a slot in which to put the photo.

I have put in a piece of paper so that you can see the rough idea of where the photo might go.

TIP: you can actually gently sand this chipboard to improve the edges. Do it outside though, it makes a  mess.

You can clearly see the slot for the photo once the stand is dry and the paper is removed.

They sit on a flat surface really well.

Finally, glue the leather  motif onto the front or the paper or whatever you think is nice.

The stitched leather looks much better than unstitched.

I have had some lovely Threaders Glitter fabric come across my desk just recently and I used that for one frame with great results.

The photo absolutely does not do it justice!

I love this stuff - it is everything that you want glitter fabric to be and in the UK you can get it here.

Okay and that is all there is too it! These make great gifts and stocking fillers for the upcoming you-know-what season (closer today than it was yesterday) and they sell well on craft fairs.

Off to print some photos now!
See you next time
Debs
xxx