Creating a Sunflower Shadowbox with Perfect Paints
Hi, friends - Walter here!
Sunflowers have always held a cherished place in my heart, serving as a vibrant reminder of my mother’s joy. Her face would light up at the sight of a fresh bouquet filled with these sunny blooms, particularly when they were accompanied by a few delicate daisies. The garden she lovingly tended to was a testament to her affinity for sunflowers—an enduring legacy that my older sister now continues in her memory. In the spirit of honoring this beautiful connection, I often find myself drawn to creative projects that echo my mother’s love for these joyful flowers.
Recently, as I rummaged through my crafty stash, I stumbled upon a plastic bag overflowing with foam packing peanuts. My propensity to save seemingly useless materials often leads to unexpected bursts of inspiration, and this time was no different. The idea of transforming these ordinary items into artistic sunflower petals ignited my imagination. With a few simple tools and an array of beautiful Perfect Paints Shimmering Acrylics and texture mediums, I began experimenting, excited by the prospect of turning nostalgia into creativity. Join me as I explore this delightful journey that combines fond memories with a playful, eco-friendly twist.
Here's a pic of the finished project:
Here's what I used to make this project:
8"x8" Shadowbox
Bottom circular part of an aluminum soda can
TCW Mini Believe Scripts Stencil
49 and Market Curators Botanical Solids 4 Paper
49 and Market Meadow Laser Cut Elements
Piece of chipboard (or cardboard) for die cuts
Nesting circle dies and a leaf die
Ranger Tim Holtz Distress Ink - Vintage Photo
Pearl gems from my crafting stash
I started by cutting the 49 and Market paper down to 8"x8" and centered the Believe Script stencil on it. A mixture Organic Sugar Polishing Plaster and Aged Copper Shimmering Acrylic paint was then applied to the stencil with a palette knife, and then used a hair dryer on low to dry it. Once dry, I took the Distress Lace stencil, aligned it to one side of the paper, and applied Organic Sugar Polishing Plaster to it using a palette knife. I did this several times to get the lace pattern around different parts of the paper and set it aside to dry.
Next up was creating the disk flower. Did you know that the brown center of the sunflower is called that? It's actually made up of several small flower that mature into the sunflower seeds. So interesting! Anyway, I used the round bottom part of an aluminum soda can to create the disk flower. I started by taking that piece and using some wire cutters to snip off the edges and create an aluminum circle.
I used a paint brush to adding "Organic Sugar" Polishing Plaster to this circle to add some texture to it.
I used a hair dryer on low to speed up the drying of the Polishing Plaster and then painted the disk flower with Aged Copper shimmering acrylic paint.
Now it was time to start making the sunflower petals. I took packing peanuts and flattened them out by pressing them between my fingers. I created at least 50 of them in varying sizes, and then used detail scissors to round them off a bit. In this pic, the first peanut is just the normal peanut, the second is one that has been flattened, and the third is one that has been trimmed.
I needed something to adhere the petals to and grabbed my nesting circle dies. I chose one that looked like it would be large enough and tested it by placing the peanuts around it in a circular pattern. It worked out well and so I used that circle die to cut a circle from a piece of chipboard. I also decided to cut two leaves from the chipboard since I knew that I would need them.
I was now ready to start attaching the petals to the circle with craft glue. I glued them into a circle pattern and then started to fill in between them.
I started to paint the petals once the glue has dry. I used the Honey Gold shimmering acrylic paint on them because I wanted a nice, light yellow on them.
I glued down the disk flower in the center once the petals were dry. I used a combination of craft glue and super glue to make sure it was secure. Light touches of Cantaloupe shimmering acrylic paint were then added the petals around the disk flower.
I wanted to add some little green leaves around the sunflower. I painted a strip of chipboard with Vintage Patina, let it dry, and then cut small triangles using detail scissors and glued them in between the outermost petals.
For the larger flower leaves, I added a thin coat of Shimmering Stucco to the chipboard leaves to give them some texture and then dried them with a hairdryer on low. A coat of Vintage Patina Shimmering Acrylic Paint was added to each.
I decided where I wanted the flower placed on the paper backdrop and glued the leaves down to the backdrop. I then glued the flower down into place. I took a piece of torn paper ephemera and a saying and glued them together, and then adhered three pearl gems to it. That piece was glued to the backdrop just under the flower.
The final step was to place the project into the shadow box, place the back cover over it, and secure it in place by pushing down the brads that keep it in place.
I truly love how this project turned out! I think that my mom would have really enjoyed this shadowbox. It's another great example of how to create with up-cycled items and use Perfect Paints to make them look amazing. I'd enjoy hearing what you think of it! Be sure to leave a comment and also feel free to let me know if you have any questions.
Thanks for spending some time with me on the blog today. I'll see you again soon! - Walter
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