Channeling My Inner Craftiness with Faux Paper Mache Vases

I passed up a Rachel Ashwell paper mache bucket on eBay last month.

I'm still kicking myself.

But being the semi-crafty (?) person I am,
I wondered if I could make one myself.

I did.

Well, sorta.

I bought some pretty dinner napkins...

dug out a terra cotta pot,

and hauled out some Mod Podge from my stash.

I set the pot upside down on a stack of bed risers,

and then tore the napkins into 2" strips, peeling the three layers apart.

Letting my free spirit flap feebly soar while totally winging this project,
I slathered on the Mod Podge,

laid on a strip of napkin, and tapped it into place with my fingers and with the tip of the paintbrush.

Eventually, the entire pot was covered and looking pretty ugly.
My inner-craftiness was quickly disintegrating into a pile of "What-was-I-thinking"?

So I tried it again on a glass vase.
Same technique.  Different napkins.
The glass was a bit more difficult to work with,
but I kept going.
Slathering and laying and sticking and tapping.

I turned out the basement lights,
and trudged up the stairs ~
expecting no miracles.

The next morning, my wary eyes peeked apprehensively at the mess on the basement table.

Okaaaay....not tooo bad.
Not too bad at all!
I gave them both a light coat of poly and let that dry.

I turned them over in my hands and decided that they both needed more of an aged look.
So, I pounced on some dark wax and rubbed it around, creating a vintage patina.
After giving them a little buff job,
they were ready for their photo shoot.

I'll let you decide if they're photo-worthy.  :)

Glass vase

Glass vase

Terra cotta pot

Terra cotta pot

I am ready to try another one and will be looking for a large pot this spring at the garden centers.
Instead of napkins, I plan on trying it with some floral wallpaper.
Yep.  Totally winging it again.

Looks like my inner craftiness will be getting another workout...


~  Blessings  ~

Linking to the linky parties on the lower right of my sidebar.




Follow my blog with Bloglovin