I saw a cute idea on Pinterest for a patriotic luminary and wanted to re-create it for the upcoming U.S. holiday, with the supplies I had on hand . . . These were the results!
I think we all have a stash of jars either on hand or in the recycle bin, so this is a great way to recycle them AND make a cute gift for friends, neighbors, family OR to add a prettier flare to your summertime patio mosquito repellent candles! My jar was a hamburger dill pickle jar, about 5" tall and 3" in diameter.
There are probably a lot of different ways this project could be accomplished, but here's what I did, like I said -- with supplies I had on hand:
1. After throroughly scraping off the jar label and washing the jar, I wiped it down with alcohol to make sure all sticky residue was removed. Then I masked off the top and bottom of the jar with 2-inch 3M Post-It Labeling Tape (any area I did NOT want to be painted white). I left about 1/4 of the back of the jar "open"/unpainted just so a little more candle light would show through it, but you could certainly paint it all around (click on any photo for a larger view):
I painted on one coat of Gesso, let it dry, then painted on another coat in the opposite direction (just to try and avoid streaking). I like the slight "linen" look this yielded. (Photo below shows the first coat drying):
2. Again, with what I had on hand, I found this My Favorite Things Waves Stencil in my stash. Had I planned better and wanted to be perfectly "American Flag correct", I may have used any number of straight line stencils Ellen carries, but I like that mine looks like it is waving in the wind!
3. After the Gesso dried, I made about a 2" x 2" square mask from the 3M Post-It Labeling Tape and applied it to the upper left of the white area (this is the area that will be painted blue later).
4. I taped the wave stencil over the whole white area and then airbrushed Copic R27. This is one of the beauties of flexible stencils ... they will bend around most anything!
5. Next, I removed the wave stencil (rubbing alcohol will clean it up quickly) and 2-inch square mask, and then masked around the square so I could do the blue airbrushing.
6. Airbrush the square area with Copic B37.
Next, I'll tell you what I thought would work (but didn't!) and what I did to fix it! I die cut masking tape with MFT's Scattered Stars Die-namics and then used it to apply paint through:
I placed the star mask over the blue airbrushed square and painted on another coat of Gesso. Either my mask wasn't stuck down well enough, the Gesso was too gloppy, or my brushing skills are lacking/too messy (most likely!), because somehow I ended up with globs instead of nice crisp stars! Soooo to fix that, I quickly wiped off as much of the Gesso as I could and re-airbrushed blue back over the square.
Seeing all those tiny stars still stuck to my die cutting plate above, I decided to lift those off and stick them to the blue airbrushed square (yes, each individual little one!) . . . it worked perfectly!
To make sure the stars would stay stuck to the luminary (since they are cut from a removeable paper), I sealed them on with a coat of Ranger Gloss Multi Medium.
To finish the luminary, I tied Tim Holtz Silver Tinsel Twine & Winter Tinsel Twine (Red) around the neck of the jar, then tied on a Jenni Bowlin Vintage Cream Button with blue striped twine.
Here's a look at the luminary lit up in a semi-dark room (along with my summertime framed subway art!):
I hope you have a lovely upcoming holiday and are enjoying your Summer!
~ Sharon
