Magical Paintbrush

 Magical Paintbrush

Hello, it's me Patti Campbell, this week's guest artist. I'm here to share with you my idea for magical paintbrushes. I came up with this idea to give as Christmas gifts to my artist friends. 

For this project you will need:

• a new, clean paintbrush of your choosing
• Apoxie Sculpt
• disposable gloves
• wooden skewer
• Field of Wild ArtFoamie by Kae Pea
  
• cutting mat or plastic placemat
• small amethyst crystals (or crystals of your choosing)
• black gesso
• gold acrylic paint
• clear acrylic spray sealer
• small glass bottle or jar

Step 1:

I mixed together the 2 parts of the apoxie sculpt according to instructions. 

Step 2:

I rolled the apoxie sculpt into a small ball a little bigger than a bouncy ball. The amount of apoxie sculpt you will need depends on the size of your brush. 

Step 3:

I rolled the ball into a log a little longer than the length of the paintbrush handle to leave space for the crystal at the end.

Step 4:

I flattened the log and wrapped it around the handle of the paintbrush and smoothed out the seam. 

Step 5:

I rolled the paintbrush on my cutting mat to even out the apoxie sculpt. 

Step 6:

I took my skewer and poked a hole on the end of the apoxie sculpt and placed my amethyst crystal in the hole. Then I pinched around the crystal to make it secure.

Step 7:

I set the paintbrush aside to let it set slightly about 5-10 minutes.

Step 8:

I moved on to my glass bottle, wrapping the apoxie sculpt around the bottle using the same method as the paintbrush.

Step 9:

I made a thick log of apoxie sculpt and wrapped it around the top of the bottle slightly higher than the lip. 

Step 10:

I smoothed out the seams, and I pushed my skewer down across the top of the bottle and gently rolled it back and forth to make an indentation where the brush can sit. 

Step 11:

I set aside the bottle to let it harden slightly about 5-10 minutes.

Step 12:

I went back to my paintbrush and rolled it using gentle pressure along the Field of Wild stamp to make an impression in the apoxie sculpt. 

Step 13:

I repeated the process with the bottle.

Step 14:

I let both the paintbrush and the bottle set for 24 hours.

Step 15:

I used my gesso to paint them black, and let the paint dry completely. While painting them black I discovered that the impression from the stamp on the brush handle did not stay. 

Step 16:

I loaded up the stamp with the gold acrylic paint and rolled the brush handle across it.

Step 17:

I balanced the brush between 2 jars to allow it to dry.

Step 18:

I brushed on the gold paint into the impression on the bottle and then wiped away the excess with a damp cloth.

Step 19:

After the paint had dried completely I sprayed them with the clear sealer. 

Step 20:

Now they're ready to box and wrap with a tag that reads "May you harness the magic of this handmade paintbrush as it inspires and delights your artwork in the most enchanting ways."

Happy Holidays!

Love and laughter,

Patti