6/22/2016

Layering Glitter and Metallic Paints to Create Paperweights with Sparkling Borders


This is the second post in my series on painting PhotoWeights to achieve a variety of different looks for your glass paperweights.

In my first post, Add a Little Color to Your Paperweights with Enamel Paint, I started with a simple project that involved a single color.  Today I'll be using two different paints; a clear paint with flecks of glitter and a metallic paint.  I love the result when these are layered.


As I mentioned in my previous post, I recommend Plaid's line of FolkArt Enamels designed specifically for glass and ceramics.  A 2oz bottle sells for around $1.99.  They're available in most craft stores.

I'm using a glitter paint (FolkArt, 2798 Gold) and a metallic (FolkArt, 4129 Metallic Gold).

Remember to follow the instructions for the particular paint you're using. Also, before you begin, be sure to thoroughly clean your paperweight.


I started by applying a coat of glitter paint to the bottom surface of one of our Scalloped Paperweight Kits.  The glitter paint went on cloudy and dried clear.

Tip: As you're painting, keep a few slightly damp cotton swabs on hand to clean up your lines and wipe away any small mistakes.


After the glitter paint dried for an hour, I brushed on a coat of metallic, gold paint.  As you can see in the photo above, the metallic paint appears semi-transparent in some areas.  Another coat of metallic paint should give you complete coverage.


After the previous coat dried for an hour, I brushed on the second coat of metallic paint.


When you look at the paint through the top of the paperweight, the glitter sparkles against the metallic background.


CURE TIME

FolkArt enamel paints have a recommended cure time to make the paint top-rack, dishwasher safe.  It also makes the paint more durable.

The cure time for the paint I used is 21 days if you're air drying.  If you're like me, and you're not that patient, you can air dry the paint for one hour before baking it in the oven.

To cure the paint in the oven, I set the paperweight on a metal cookie sheet, placed it in a cold oven, and set the temperature to 350F.  After the oven reached temperature, I set my timer for 30-minutes.  When the time was up, I turned the heat off and allowed the paperweight to cool in the oven before I removed it.

Be sure to follow the instructions for the particular paint you're using.

After the paint has cured, you can personalize your paperweight as your normally would.  The self-adhesive bottom pad can be adhered directly to the painted rim.

6/21/2016

Add a Little Color to Your Paperweights With Enamel Paint


Applying paint to the underside of your paperweights can change the appearance of your finished design entirely.  You can paint the glass to coordinate with the decor of your office.  You can also choose a color that compliments the artwork or photograph being captured.

Painting your paperweights can be as simple and straightforward as using a single color, like the example pictured above.  You can also use decorative painting techniques to achieve specific looks.

My next few blog posts will show you several examples of how you can use paint with PhotoWeights.


I recommend Plaid's line of FolkArt Enamels designed specifically for glass and ceramics.  These are available in most craft stores and sell for around $1.99 for a 2oz bottle.

I'm going to start with a simple project that involves a single shade of paint applied to our Elegant Oval Paperweight Kit.  The color is Lime Green (Plaid FolkArt Enamels 4138E). Although this paint has excellent coverage, you should plan to do this in no fewer than two coats with one hour of dry time in between.  The number of coats required will vary by paint brand and color.

As you're painting, keep a few slightly damp cotton swabs on hand to clean up your lines and wipe away small mistakes.

Remember to follow the instructions for the particular paint you're using.  Also, be sure to thoroughly clean your paperweight before you begin.


The first coat of paint (shown above) should be applied evenly to ensure you've covered all areas of the glass.  If you look closely (click the image to enlarge), you can see the paint appears semi-transparent in some areas.  This is perfectly fine.

This first coat is what will be visible through the top surface of the paperweight, so turn it over occasionally to check your work for air bubbles and skipped spots.  Wait one hour before applying a second coat, or according to your paint's directions.


The second layer of paint should give you full coverage.  If any spots need to be touched up, this can be done when the paint is mostly dry.


The photo above shows how the paint will appear when viewed through the paperweight.


CURE TIME

FolkArt enamel paints have a recommended cure time to make the paint top-rack, dishwasher safe.  Although you're probably not going to run your paperweights through the dishwasher, I cure my paint because it makes it more durable.

The cure time for the paint I used is 21 days if you're air drying.  You can also use the method I prefer which is to air dry for 1 hour before baking it in the oven.


To cure the paint in the oven, I set the paperweight on a metal cookie sheet, placed it in a cold oven, and set the temperature to 350F.  After the oven reached temperature, I set my timer for 30-minutes.  After a half-hour, I turned the heat off and allowed the paperweight to cool in the oven before I removed it.

Be sure to follow the instructions for the particular paint you're using.

After the paint has cured, you can personalize your paperweight as you normally would.  The self-adhesive bottom pad can be adhered directly to the painted rim.


5/03/2016

A Modern Spin on a Vintage Mother's Day Pin


In honor of Mother's Day, I wanted to create a paperweight for our Design Blog that put a modern spin on a classic 1950s Mother's Day pin.

Some lipstick red paint and a scrap of toile print paper are all it took to give this pressed metal relic the character it desperately needed.


The materials I used for this project include an Heirloom Dome Paperweight Kit, scrapbook paper with a toile pattern, the "Mother" pin, and an oil based paint pen in red (Sharpie).


I started by removing the pin mechanism with a pair of pliers so the back of the piece would lay flat.


The pin was placed on a scrap piece of cardboard before it was painted with an oil based paint pen made by Sharpie.  Spray paint would also work very nicely for this step.  You could even try a bright shade of nail polish.


The self-adhesive mounting board was placed on the back of the scrapbook paper and trimmed with a pair of scissors.


After the paint dried completely, I applied hot melt glue to areas of the back of the pin where there was a larger surface to work with.  (I avoided smaller, intricate areas such as the letters because the glue would be visible.)


After the pin was glued to the mounting board, the mounting board was placed in the center of the adhesive side of the paperweight kit's bottom pad.  The adhesive area of the bottom pad that remains exposed is what will adhere to the bottom of the paperweight.


After the paperweight was cleaned to remove any dust and fingerprints, the bottom pad was centered onto the bottom of the paperweight and pressed into place.


This design idea can be applied to so many different things... coins, Monopoly pieces, or something as simple and ordinary as a key.  Brightly painted, these objects become art.

3/23/2016

Personalizing Paperweights with Text: A Family Recipe with Grandma's Photo


Many families have recipes that have been passed down from mother to daughter (or son) for two or more generations.  They're often written on index cards with corners and edges that have been lovingly worn and tattered throughout the years.  Some have been stained by a drop or two of vanilla, or even scorched from a slight mishap.

These written family treasures are often stored in a recipe box or scribbled on the inside cover of a cookbook.  This design idea, following my series on personalizing paperweights with text, will turn  timeless recipes into beloved keepsakes.  Adding a family photo will make your paperweight even more special.

Here's how I made it...

I used the Large Rectangle Paperweight Kit for this project because it has a generous display area that measures 4 1/2" x 2 3/4".  Granted, not all recipes will fit into this space.  You can edit the text of your recipe to shorten it.  You can also experiment with fonts, font sizes, and different layouts.  Still, a recipe with many steps will be a challenge.

The layout for the design was created using a simple publishing program called Microsoft Publisher.

I started by drawing a box that was slightly larger than the measurements of the Large Rectangle's display area.  This was easy to do using the program's ruler feature as a guide.

The text of the recipe and the ingredients were typed into separate text boxes so I could position them independently.  After moving them around a little, I decided the best fit was to place the instructions on the left and the ingredients to the right.  The font (Times New Roman) was sized to 9pt which was still very easy to read.

The photograph was added to some blank space above the ingredients.  To make the title of the recipe stand out, it's in a larger, red typewriter font.  I also added a vertical, dashed line in red to separate the two columns.

ADDING A BACKGROUND COLOR

I wanted to include an alternate version of the same artwork to show you how a few simple changes can dramatically transform the look of your design.

The alternate version has a blue background, white text, and white lines.  Everything else is exactly the same.


PRINTING

I printed my artwork on premium photo paper using my inkjet printer.  I used the best print quality setting possible.

3/08/2016

Personalizing Paperweights with Text: Woodgrain Background with Handwritten Font

This is the second blog post in my series on designing and laying out text for your paperweights.

Today I've used a woodgrain image for my background and added some text in one of my favorite fonts, Brannboll Smal.  I also incorporated some red hearts to add some much needed balance and color.  The hearts also manage to bring the message to life.

Here's how the design came together.


As I've mentioned in the past, you don't need expensive, complex software to work on your designs.  I used Microsoft Publisher to make this point.

I started by drawing a circle 3 1/4" in diameter.  This is the size of the display area for the Large Dome Paperweight Kit.


Once the circle was on the page, I begin to add the elements of the design.  I imported a whitewashed, wood background and added the text and hearts.

I don't have authorization to distribute the woodgrain background.  However, you can find many woodgrain images through Google in a variety of colors and textures.  

 
The font I used is Brannboll Smal which may be downloaded from FontSpace.com.  (This is a third- party site that is not affiliated with PhotoWeights.)


LAYING OUT YOUR TEXT

If you don't have much experience laying out text, and you need a little help, do a Google search for Faith Hope Love and click on 'Images' at the top of the page.  You'll see a number of artwork examples in different fonts, colors, and styles.

Once you've worked on a few examples of your own, you'll become more and more comfortable working with different fonts, backgrounds, and colors.

3/03/2016

Personalizing Paperweights with Text: Chalkboard Background & Fonts


Since I started PhotoWeights more than 15 years ago, I've answered thousands of questions from customers who needed a little advise to help them complete a design.  One of the most frequent dilemmas is how to lay out text when you want your paperweight to showcase quotes, names, and special sayings.

I thought I'd do a series of blog posts that show a variety of ways you can easily design and arrange text for your paperweights.  We'll start with one of the most popular styles, chalkboards.

You can find a variety of free chalkboard backgrounds and fonts online.  I'll provide you with the sources I used.  You can also search for additional resources on your own.

CHALKBOARD BACKGROUND

The foundation of this design is obviously a chalkboard background.  You can use a solid color (black, charcoal, or whichever color you prefer), or an image background like the one I used (below).  To download this background, click on it to enlarge and right click to save. (This may work differently on your computer.)


FONTS

Because chalkboard art is so incredibly popular, there are scores of fonts to choose from.  These range from beautiful, handwritten fonts to more bold and boxy typeface.

FontSpace.com has a very nice selection of free chalkboard fonts.  If you'd like to view them, go to http://fontspace.com/category/chalkboard.  (This is a third-party site that is not affiliated with PhotoWeights.)

THE DESIGN

You don't need expensive, complex software to put your designs together.  I used Microsoft Publisher.

After I placed the chalkboard background onto my Publisher page, I sized it to fit the display area of the Rectangle Paperweight Kit. This is easy to do with either a scale or cropping tool

After I typed the text and placed it over the background, I played around with a few different fonts before I chose DJB Skritch Skratch for the quote and Cambria for Pearl Bailey's name.  The hearts are from the font KG Flavor and Frames Six.  (The heart outlines are the letter 'e' and the solid heart is 'z').  The hearts were sized differently and rotated slightly.

After your text and decorative elements have been positioned on the background, print a draft copy of your artwork so you can place it under your paperweight to make sure you like the way it looks.  Each time you make a noticeable adjustment, print a draft to check it again until it's just right.

PRINTING

I printed my artwork on a B&W laser printer using plain paper on the fine setting.  This gives it a matte look that you sometimes lose on an ink jet printer.


Need Help?

If you have any specific questions about designing text for your paperweight, leave a comment below.  You can also email me directly at susan@photoweights.com.