SCRAPS of (my) Life: Rita Barakat Designs: Altered Mermaid Paint Brush and Tag

Thursday, October 17, 2019

Rita Barakat Designs: Altered Mermaid Paint Brush and Tag

I am excited to participate in a unique swap with my fellow Rita Barakat designer peeps! The challenge was to alter a paintbrush using Rita Barakat products and her partners' products in creating something FUN! Of course, I had to go with MERMAID!! The colors I had were perfect in making that happen :)

Did we mention a giveaway? Check out Rita Barakat Instagram for more details. In the meantime, I'd like to walk through how I altered my brushes.

**I receive products from Rita Barakat Designs, Plaid, Aladine, Spellbinders Paper Arts and Scrapbook Adhesives by 3L® for use in my projects. The opinions are completely my own based on my experience and doing so I can share what I personally love to use.**

Mermaid Altered Paint Brush Step Outs

I had these paint brushes for at least a couple of years and they were collecting dust. Each one had a rubber grip and a bar code sticker. It was easy to take off both (PHEW!) so I decided to give them a try. Before applying the gesso, I sanded the entire area with the exception of the bristles.

Next, I applied a thick coat of FolkArt® Color Shift™ Acrylic Paint in Aqua Flash. Note: I wanted texture so I tap the paint on. Let dry and then tap on another heavy coat of paint. Let dry. This would become the mermaid tail.

For the skin tone, I mixed Ceramcoat® Acrylic Paint in Spice Tan and FolkArt® Acrylic Color Wicker White Paint until I got my desired color. I applied two heavy coats (dry in between coats) over the area where the rubber grip was. This will be the mermaid's torso.

After the torso color dried, I used a palette knife and edge the top and bottom of the mermaid tail with Glitterific™ in Clear Hologram. Note: make sure to use a heavy coat. Let dry. It will take time to let this dry.

For the rest of the handle, I covered with Adhesive Sheet 4 x 6-inch and burnished it well with your fingernail to transfer the adhesive to the handle. You may need to do re-apply in missed areas.

Next, cover the handle with Kiss of the Fairy Embossing Powder and use a heat gun to melt.

Note the plastic handle does melt and bend. That was done on purpose. I'm thinking her "hair" is pink and wavy. Remember she's a mermaid so she's underwater and her hair is flowing up. #DesignMethodToMyMadness LOL!

For her top, I wanted something sparkly so I added two self-adhesive pink rhinestones. It works well with the FolkArt® Glitterific™ Acrylic Paint in Clear Hologram!

Since she has this glorious hair, she needs a headband. I created one with Extreme Double-Sided Tape 1/8-inch by wrapping it around where the hair meets the head. Remove the red liner and pour over Tropical Teal Sand. Press to secure and if I missed a spot, I reapply.

Lastly, I die cut a circle in white cardstock and stamped Sea Grass Cling Rubber Stamp with Izink Pigment Metal Ink in Silver. It's highly pigmented and stays wet longer so I poured Midnight Magic Embossing Powder on top of the image. Tap off excess and melt with a heating tool.