Altered Pen Stand By Maansi Vaswani

Good morning everyone,

Recycling and altered art is becoming a buzz word today.  This is mainly because we have started to realize that we cannot go on depleting our natural resources forever.  

There are many things in our surroundings that can be modified or altered to not only look more beautiful but also to get another lease of life.  

So this time I decided to make something functional for my craft table.  Thus came out the tin can that had been saved from being thrown for storing my paint brushes.

For those who know me, I usually prefer working with earth tones or warm colors. And pink is a colour that usually does not figure anywhere. A friend of mine had recently challenged me to experiment and work with pink. Thus I decided to create this pen stand in shades of pink, lavender and purple.  The palette of colours I don't work with.  Also this would be a constant reminder to work in colours and styles that I usually don't follow.  

Before we start on the project we need to ensure that all the sharp edges of the can is completely smootten out.  Now we are ready to start creating. 

So here is how I went about recycling this can

First, I adhered a piece of ordinary cloth bag to the entire outer surface.  I did this because most of the cloth bags have a beautiful texture.  To that I added some dry wall tape and a lace with pearls on that.  

After sticking it I covered the entire surface with gesso. I also added a bit of coarse modelling paste (modelling paste mixed with fine sand) in some areas to add some interest.

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Then I went about creating a composition of flowers.  In this composition I have used a fair amount of homemade clay embellishments(flourish and leaves). I have used several big mulberry flowers from my DT kit.  Also I have created a lot of small handmade flowers to add to composition.  In the end I have added glass beads with modelling paste.  

Once everything was stuck properly I have given everything a few coats of gesso.  The flowers I had used were of different colors so it was important to cover everything in white.  

Once everything was properly covered I started with adding color to this. For this I have used sprays,  acrylic paint  and some home made sprays too. I have added many layers of colours. For dry brushing between coats of colour I have used white gesso mixed with pearl white colour.  This added a very beautiful shine to the project. I continued adding color till I achieved a deep shades of pink and purple. 

Once the entire project was completed, I dry brushed it again with pearl white colour. I also painted the insides and the bottom of the can with chalk colours in the same palette. 

And finally I had a altered pen / brush holder for my desk ready. Here are few pics of the completed project....  

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Supplies used
Gesso
Modelling paste
Lace with pearls
Clay embellishments
Mdf embellishments
Metal embellishments
Mulberry flowers
Specialty papers for flower making
Embossing mat
Perforating mat
Wire pollens
Glass beads

Hope you liked these and so leave your comments on the same. 

Regards
Maansi Vaswani
Artfire Creations