Tuesday, July 30, 2013

50 Shades of Turquoise

I finally got around to starting the homemade part of the centerpieces last weekend, dying the Ball jars different shades of turquoise! 


Ombre Shades of Turquoise
I have known what I wanted to do for them for a while now but wasn't sure which tutorials to follow. There are some that say you can used food coloring and glue but I was wanting to go for something that would be more permanent. I happened upon a few tutorials where the people ordered Vitrea 160 glass paint from Cheap Joe's. The tutorials used the Vitrea 160 Turquoise and Vitrea 160 thinner to get the translucent blue effect on the jars. Soo.. taking my own spin on it I ordered the Vitrea 160 Turquoise (and the Blue Lacquer as well which I didn't end up liking as much for my color scheme) and decided to used Modge Podge as my thinner. 




I started with about a dime size of the Vitrea 160 Turquoise and then slowly added a tablespoon of Modge Podge until it looked about the right consistency and color. I changed up the amount of Vitrea I used to get the different shades of color. The amount below worked for about 5-6 jars and then I would mix up a new batch. 


Once you have the right shade stirred up, then paint a VERY light coat on the jar. This part is actually more difficult than it looks, especially for a perfectionist like myself. No matter how great of a painter you are or how careful you try to be, there are inevitably going to be brushstrokes on the jar. The brushstrokes do fade as the jar dries and even more later when you bake them but if you are a perfectionist like me you are just going to have to BREATHE and accept that these homemade beauties are going to have some brushstroke character. 

TIP: Despite this photo on a cookie sheet, I found out later on that using single paper plates for each jar works much better than the plastic sheeting on a cookie sheet. It gives you the ability to turn the plate and get to all sides of the jar quickly and efficiently.


Next step, once the jars have dried for 24 hours or in my case at least 12 cause I was impatient, you are going to bake the jars in the oven at 350 degrees for 35-40 minutes. I fit about 6 jars on a cookie sheet. Just be careful! 


Finally, after letting these blue beauties cool down, they are all set and ready to go. I love, love, LOVE the different shades of turquoise that I made because they each have their own character. Now picture these on wood tree slices with beautiful peach and pink flowers and you have my centerpiece vision!! (See my inspiration below!)

Via
Did I mention that I did this to 24 Ball jars?!? It took about 4 hours (not counting the baking) but it was totally worth it. 


50 Shades of Turquoise.
Please enjoy the array of turquoises that follow! 





Hope you love them as much as I do! 

Peace!
Allison 

.: If you like this wedding post, check out our Rustic DIY Barn Wedding tab above or click on the link!:. 


No comments:

Post a Comment

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...