Sparkly Sea Urchins...

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Here's a quick little tute for you on this snowy Sunday while I wait for paint to dry on a dresser that I'm in the process of repainting... I have a pile of sea urchin shells... sans spikes.... that I'd collected while back home on various trips to Newfoundland...  and it hit me the other day to glitter them!...

No urchins were harmed... by me... in the making of these sparkly little treasures!... You see... seagulls pickup the live urchins from the shoreline... carry them up onto the marshy cliff tops and peck out the tasty morsel inside... EW!... the sun dries them out and BAM!... THEY'RE ALL MINE...

This one is another one of those easy quick little projects that you can bang out quickly... so quickly that you won't make it through one full glass of bubbles before you're done!... ;)

So there are a couple of ways that you can paint sea urchins... spray painting is one option if you have a large number to do... or with some craft paint and a soft paint brush... don't be rough with the shells... they are delicate...

For this project I opted for a very fine glitter and of a good clear glue... Check out what Martha Stewart has to offer... there is a lot of choice!... With a thicker glitter like the German Glass Glitter you would lose the details of the urchin shells... though it may be a neat look it wasn't the one that I wanted this time... 

Use a resealable container when you're glittering... this way you contained the mess sparkly magic while you're sprinkling... after the base coat of paint has dried lightly apply glue to the urchin... I brushed glue onto 1/3 of the urchin at a time... lightly glue then glitter... lightly glue then glitter... lightly glue then glitter... aaaand you're done!...

To test out this project I started with just two urchins and white iridescent glitter... they're pinky and green looking depending on the angle of the light... I'm whipping up a batch of these this evening for the Vintage with Flair sale this coming Saturday!... it's sooo close now!... 

I'm going to give them a spin in fine silver glitter... I'll post a few shots after they're done tonight... if you give this a try let me know how it works out!...

xo

Lacey

Sparkle and Shine...

Feathering My Nest has moved!... come check all of this out over at www.featheringmynest.ca/blog

Well... I've had most of these supplies for a good 11 months now… found thrifting… the Eiffle Towers… and gifted… the Martha Stewart Glitter was in my stocking last Christmas… some Furbear loves me!.. and the German Glass Glitter I picked up this past summer on our road trip to Spokane to check out the Farm Chicks!.. well it's hit me to put them together…

Experiment with different types of glitter… as you can see the German Glass Glitter… although its the fine stuff… is still rather chunky and makes a more rustic looking ornament… then Martha's fine iridescent glitter makes a more sleek sharper looking ornament...

It was very easy… all you need is a small paint brush… heck a q-tip would work even… some white clear drying or clear glue… or modge podge… even spray glue would work… though I suspect it would get quite messy and then sparkles would be stuck to everything around you… stick to a brush and glue!.. brush it on lightly… then sprinkle your sparkles!.. 

Sprinkle your sparkles over a container or piece of paper so that you can pour them back into their container when you're all done glittering… oh and don't goop on the glue… you only need a thin layer… now if you go too thin it'll dry really quickly… trust me… it's easy and you'll figure this all out rather quickly… perhaps do a practice piece first to make sure you get your technique down and then you'll be sure to get the results you want!.. 

I did this quite a few years back with some small plastic animals… there isn't much cuter than a gold glittered turtle… really the possibilities here are endless!.. so bust out that glitter and show me what you got!..

xo

Lacey

This is too fun not to share… link party time!..
My Romantic Home
The DIY Showoff
Coastal Charm
DIY By Design
Savvy Southern Style
The Shabby Creek Cottage
The Shabby Nest
Chic on a Shoestring Decorating
French Country Cottage