Mercury Glass Shell

You have seen all the mercury glass projects on the net and have probably been on the hunt for the mirror finish spray paint.......and if you live in a rural area like me, you have yet to find it in your stores.  So I  improvised.And I am very happy with the results!  I simply used some shiny silver and black spray paints I already had.  The only thing I bought was a shell (2 bucks) from the craft store.  First I sprayed the shell with the black paint and let it dry ( I found that putting the shell in my electric oven which was turned off but with the light on really sped up the drying).  Then I sprayed shiny silver all over the shell, waited a few minutes and, using a plastic sandwich bag, I dabbed off a bit of silver.  I kept repeating the black and silver coats, dabbing off paint until it looked "right".  Let thoroughly dry.  I then sprayed gloss clear finish on the shell.  It took a few coats but finally it looked shiny enough to resemble glass.

And I have never seen a mercury glass shell!  Think of all the things you could turn into mercury glass.......ohhhhh, the possibilities are endless.  Diana

Dollar Store Fimo Kitty

Remember the fimo egg I did a few days ago? Well it got me thinking.....I had seen some VERY expensive fimo pieces in an artsy shop a while back. They were made of fimo canes and were fantastic. Snakes, frogs and bears carved by the artist and then covered in bright colored canes.....Well I am no sculptor but I figured if I could cover an egg with canes, could I cover other things to get a similar look as those pricey pieces of art? Using my calico cat as an inspiration, here is my own little piece of "art". I pick up a cheap figurine at the Dollar Tree (below) and made a lot of fimo canes. My one regret is that I played it safe by using too much white and not enough color.

Here is the cat as it came from the store. It was important that the figurine be a simple shape, without much detail. I would be adding a lot of bulk so a skinny cat worked best.

The canes were sliced at 1/8 inch and they stuck to the gloss finish of the cat just fine. After it was all covered, I mushed the canes together to cover the spaces in between. Then I used a small roller to blend the seams until they disappeared.

This took some time. The face was the hardest. The fimo obscured most of the detail of the face so I had to form it with my poor skills....I am no artist for sure! Cooked at 220 for 15 minutes and let cool. Then about three coats of polymer glaze. I can't wait to make another and I am on the look out for other figurines to cover! Diana