Virtual Advent Calendar Day 12: Glitter Deer

13 Days Left Until Christmas!

Glitter deer in fabulous 50's turquoise!

Today's project comes from Suzie Millions' "The Complete Book of Retro Crafts."  While not a vintage book itself, it is a book that celebrates all things retro craft.  Actually, I'd say it is the definitive book of all things retro craft.  I LOVE THIS BOOK!  

 Not only is this book chock full of great crafts, the tips are fantastic, and the writing is hilarious!  Put this book on your Christmas list.

One day, I found this adorable little deer at Goodwill:

Poor little thing had a broken ear:

But he isn't ruined, he's just a perfect candidate for glittering!

Materials Needed:

• Animal figurine who is in need of a little love.  It can be plastic, ceramic, metal...  just about anything, though cloth would not be ideal
• Paint to match your glitter
• Glitter
• Two trays, one that you can easily poor glitter out of and another larger tray to put beneath your work
• Paint brush
• Spray fixatif

Instructions:

Ready to get to work.

Step 1: Get your stuff together.  Here are a few hints.  

1. Instead of using glue to adhere your glitter, use paint.  If you use a paint that matches your glitter, it will disguise any "bald" spots.
2. I like to work with two trays.  The smaller tray is made for working with glitter.  It has a little spout on one end so you can pour glitter out of it and back into the tube.  They can be found at craft stores and are relatively inexpensive.  The second tray is to catch any overflow.  Let's face it, glitter is messy.  You'll need to make a little effort to contain that mess.
3. If you can find it, use vintage glitter.  Glitter used to be made out of metal.  While it prone to tarnishing, it was much more sparkly.  Today's glitter is made from plastic and it is not nearly as pretty.  Whenever I find a bag of vintage glitter at a thrift store, I snap it up.  It's like gold to me.

Step 2:  Begin painting your animal.  You will need to work in sections so you can sprinkle on the glitter before the paint dries.

Paint a small section

Shake on some glitter.

When your tray is full, pour the excess back in the tube.

Keep painting small sections and adding glitter.

Step 3:  Once your animal is completely covered and has dried, spray it with a glossy fixative.  This will help to keep the glitter from falling off everywhere.  It will help, but it won't completely solve the issue.  Glitter is, indeed, messy.


Step 4:  Tie on a bow, or give it some goggly eyes or other decoration.


That's it.  Glittering things is fun and easy, until it's time to vacuum! See you tomorrow for Day 13.  We'll be over half way to Christmas!
 

 

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