shimmer and shine tray

Project Note: Keep in mind that, because of drying times, this project takes a bit of time to finish. Expect the paint pouring to take about 24 hours to dry. The glossy finish will take another 24 hours to dry.

First, paint your wood plaque with Mother of Pearl paint. Let the paint dry; then paint as many additional coats as you need until you’re happy with the level of coverage.

TIP: Always let your paint dry completely before adding another coat.

Now it’s time to prepare your paint. Divide your bottle of pouring medium between individual cups: one cup for each color you plan to add.

TIP: Don’t worry about measuring out your pouring medium, you don’t need to pour the same amount into each cup. In fact, varying the quantities a little can create some interesting effects.

Repeat Step 4 to mix the rest of your paint colors into the remaining cups of pouring medium. Always use a new craft stick for each color! Match the amount of paint you add to the amount of pouring medium in each cup; the amount should increase or decrease based on how much pouring medium is in the cup.

TIP: Half the fun of paint pouring is being able to improvise your quantities and colors! There’s no exact ratio when blending paint with pouring medium, so just aim for a mixture that pours smoothly.

For this project, you’ll be doing a ‘dirty pour flip cup’. This means you’ll layer all your color mixtures in one large cup before pouring it out onto your surface. To do this, pour a bit of the white, Gold, Silver and rose copper mixtures, one at a time, into a clean cup. Continue adding each color a bit at a time until you’ve poured them all into the cup. Feel free to vary the amounts and the order of the color mixtures as you pour.

TIP: Do not stir this mixture! If you do, you will get one grayish hue. Instead, let the paint layer organically within the cup.

Now it’s time to flip your cup; here’s how:

• Hold your tray in one hand and your cup with all the color mixtures in the other.
• Place the tray upside-down over the cup. Holding both securely, flip them over together in one motion, so the cup is now on top and still held securely against the tray.
• Carefully set both down onto your covered surface.
• Now, lift the cup and let the paint spread out over the tray. You can tilt the tray back and forth just a little to help distribute the paint across its surface.

TIP: Have fun with this part! You’ll see different patterns emerge from the layers of paint as you tilt the tray.

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