DIY Floating Orbs

I'm going to start this post off by taking my position as Captain Obvious and say one thing: 

The first half of this tutorial contains HORRIBLE lighting.

I mean, it's awful. It's yellow/orange and created some crappy photos. I was so bummed........buuuuuuut I was more lazy than I was bummed so I didn't redo the tutorial just so I could take better photos.  Whatevs, I'm over it hahaha :D

Anyway! Last week, during finals, I had a presentation for my Hospitality Layout and Design class in which I had to create the theme and layout of a fictitious restaurant.  If I may, I'd like to pat myself on the back because it....was...AWESOME! We got an "A!"........and when I say "we" I really mean "I" got an "A" cause, let's be honest here, I literally did 90% of the work.  We've all been part of group projects where that happens, right? Ugh, they've always been the bane of my scholastic existence and I know there isn't an "I" in team but there is one in "FAIL" and that's just wasn't an option for me.  Can I get an amen? 

Back to my point. The theme of the restaurant was Japanese-Mexican fusion and part of our color inspiration came from Japanese floating orbs like these. 

I was trying to figure out how to make something tactical that I could bring into class that would allow everyone to see exactly what I was talking about and then, literally ONE day before the assignment was due I stumble upon this DIY tutorial. It's like Kim at Sand and Sisal read my mind and created that post just for me! Ugh! I could not wait to try it out. No, seriously. It was due the next day so I had to chop, chop!

My process was a little different from her's in that hers doesn't look like crap and mine....well, let's just say it looks uhMAYzing when it's really dark and you squint your eyes and maybe shake your head back and forth really fast. You'll see what I mean later... 

Difficulty level: Easy

Here's what you'll need

1. Clear bulbs (either plastic or glass) I got mine on sale at Michael's but I forgot how much I paid. My bad.
2. Fishing net (if you're planning on doing the floating orb look. Skip this if you just want the color/treatment)
3. Food coloring in green, blue, and yellow.
4. Scissors
5. White glue
6. Measuring cup
7. Hair dryer
8. Stirring tool
9. About 5-20 minutes per bulb- depending on your speed 

So, like I said at the start of this post, prepare yourself for some pretty awful lighting.  It bums be out that my iPhone takes better quality pictures than my regular camera but whatevs. I'm over it.

Here's that I started out with. 

STEP ONE
Measure out a crap-load (that's metric, not imperial) more glue than this and and add a couple drops of food coloring til you get the color you want.  By starting with a bunch of glue you can just add to it rather than starting from a whole new batch after finishing each orb.  

To get the color I wanted I used trial and error and just added a couple drops at a time then mixed. I repeated the process until I achieved the desired shade or until I got lazy and decided it was good enough. Don't judge me.
 

STEP TWO
Pour your tinted glue into the orb.  I didn't have to use a funnel because 1) my measuring cup has a a little pouring thing and 2) I'll be damned if I had to wash another piece of equipment.
     

STEP THREE
Once it's in, just swirl it around a little (bahahaha, that's what she said)  until the inside of your orb is coated in glue.  Please note that it's glue so your ability to swirl it around like your aerating a fine glass of 1907 Heidsieck will be somewhat limited by the fact that it's glue so, be patient.

STEP FOUR
 Once it's coated pour the excess back into the original container.  Add more glue and food coloring but this time, get all cray cray and mix in a few drops of yellow or green, or stick with the blue.  Whatevs, just do whatever feels right :)

STEP FIVE
Once completely coated on the inside, place them hole side down in another container to drain out ALL of the excess.  I chose mugs because we have a plethora of them and cause I'm cool like dat.

This is what they looked like wet

After one day I realized that they weren't drying because they weren't getting enough air so I got impatient (hmm...imagine that) and took it upon myself to help expedite the process.

It was all going rather swimmingly and I got all cocky like Lucy in the chocolate factory episode where she watches the dame making the chocolate and gets over confident and by the end of it she's having to eat all the chocolate on the conveyor belt.

Well friends, this is my metaphorical mouth full of chocolate.

Who would have known that plastic melts when exposed to prolonged periods of direct high heat?

::sigh::
Yup, that's me. ALL kinds of special.

Anyway, here's a little before and after for you.  I know they're not labeled but can you guess which one is which?

I thought I would try and use them as Christmas ornaments like Kim did but quickly realized that they had too many drips so that wasn't going to fly.  Even shoving a peacock feather and some peacock down in them didn't help.

So, I did the next best thing and grabbed a pretty bowl and displayed them in a way that hid their flaws.  Isn't that what life is about though? Working with what cha' got?



Don't you think these could look really neat for Easter if they were tinted pink or purple?
You could even do it with clear, plastic Easter eggs like these

  or these

Let me know if you do that. I'd LOVE to see it!

So there you have it, folks, Japanese floating orbs a la Americana  :)





Til next time,

.V.

DIY Gilded Cement Tealight Holder

I've been wanting to do this project for a while.  It was one of those, "I'll do it when the stars align and I just so happen to have all of the ingredients."  Well, last week was one of those days when it all came together and I finally got to make my very own Gilded Cement Tealight Holder.  Join me, wont you, as I take a trip down memory lane and reminisce on the many failures and successes brought on by this deceptively "simple" project.  In fair warning, however, this post is basically going to chronicle how to do this project in the most back assward way possible.  

For this project, you will need:

1. A container aka mold
2. Cement
3. Smaller DISPOSABLE containers (like shot-sized Dixie cups)...you'll understand why I stress disposable 
4. Masking or painters tape
5. Scissors
6. Something heavy
7. Sand paper or sanding block
8. Needle nose pliers
9. Spray paint- optional

 Ok, so while walking Dexter, I happen upon some of my people (read: fellow Mexicans) doing some landscaping and brick laying and recalled a time when I read this great DIY cement planters tutorial from Kate of Centsational Girl.  I literally visit her site every day while making my internet rounds because her blog and talent is er.may.zing!

 Anyway, I had this on the back burner for a while because I seriously could not afford to buy the 55 lbs bag-o-cement she recommended.  But when I saw my people working their magic with that cement mixer and a gazzillion bags of cement I felt like a slot machine cause all I could hear were those glorious KLING KLING KLINGING sounds that let you know you've hit it big. 

As soon as we got back home, and much to my man's embarrassment, I grabbed an empty Q-Tip container, a couple bucks (just in case they took me up on my offer to pay for it), walked back to the house where all the landscaping was taking place, scored some cement for free, and walked back home with prize in hand 

:) 

Anyway, this is what I started with: container full-o-cement, glass tea lights (cause I'm that kind of smart special), some saran wrap, and masking tape. 

  

Look at all that cementy goodness. Isn't it magnificent? 

 

OK, so, here's the part where you head-desk or face-palm or SMH your little heart out cause I straight up used 3 glass votive candles because the original intention was for those 3 little guys to fit in there all snug-like.  But, BUT! How, HOW I ever thought this would work in the end I have no idea.  Actually, that's a lie.  I sincerely thought the magic saran wrap would help slip them out like a rabbit being pulled out of a magician's ass hat.

Either way, I wrapped my 3 little guys up nice and tight. 

You'll see why later, but this ended up being one of the biggest P.I.A. in the world and I would recommend using some of these bad boys instead of glass for the same textured effect that was achieved with the saran wrap.   If you want it nice and smooth, skip the saran.

Like the genius I am I went ahead and just shoved the wrapped candles into the wet cement but that just tore the saran and I had to clean and re-wrap all 3 candles. 

I finally put two and two together and figured out that I had to empty the mold and put the candles in first so I scooped the cement out into a separate bowl, then poured a 1/2 inch layer it into the mold, set the votive candles on top of that layer, then poured the rest of the cement into the mold. 

LEARN FROM MY MISTAKES, KIDS!

See how sad my hand looks?

***Be sure to wash off any cement that gets on your existing cement*** 

I used the brick as a leveling tool to make sure all 3 votive candels were in there evenly. 

The cement set after two days of forgetting about it and looked like this.

 

I used a pair of scissors to cut the plastic and just tore the rest off by hand.

 

 Free at last and I was pretty surprised because it didn't look insanely horrible.

 Here's another genius moment.  As you can see, the middle votive slipped out pretty easily. I'm glad because I kind of liked the way that one smelled. But the rest? They weren't so lucky :(

 

So....yeah....after whacking it a couple of times and having shards of glass shoot up into my face I realized that I was really close to winning one of those Darwin Awards so I moved the party into a plastic bag. 

I got a little carried away with the hammer and cracked the cement. 

Sonofa!

 

Fail, right?

No worries, though.  I just poured a crap load of Elmer's glue in the cracks, wiped off the excess et voilà! It was as good as new.

A couple things not pictured here:

1. I used the needle nose pliers listed at the top of this post to pull out the saran wrap that got stuck in the dry cement.
2. I sanded down the rough edges with sand paper and a sanding block.
3. The spray painting process, but that's super easy.  Just tape the edges you don't want sprayed and cover the rest of the cement block with paper or plastic, then tape that down.   

I used Rust-oleum Metallic Gold spray paint. Seriously LOVE the stuff!  I have it in silver too.

The light was absorbed by the flat grey cement so the bright metallic gold paint really helps reflect the warm glow of the flame and highlight the interesting textural effects of the saran wrap impressions.   

Here's how it looks in my bathroom. 

 

Not too bad, huh?

Til next time, 

.V.