Create A Unique Gift For Someone Special Using A Decorative Lantern
Creating one-of-a-kind gifts for special people in your life will show them how important they are to you and allow you to express your inner creativity at the same time. A great gift to give someone as a housewarming gift is a decorative lantern. Many of the lanterns that are on the market today are very inexpensive and have intricate designs on their frame. If you want to create a unique gift, you can paint the glass of the lantern to create a unique gift anyone would love to receive. Use the following guide to learn how to transform a lantern into a work of art.
Choose Your Design
You will first need to decide what design you want to create on the glass of the lantern. Be sure to take the time to consider the size of the glass because you will only be able to fit so much on each piece of glass. You can find great inspirations for beautiful designs on the Internet. Once you find a design that you love, print it out on regular printer paper.
Outline Your Design
Tape the paper that you printed the design directly onto the inside of the piece of glass you plan to paint first. Use black glass paint and a small paintbrush to paint an outline of the design. You want to create the outline of the image first so that you can be sure that the different colors of paint do not run into one another. Allow the outline to dry for two hours before continuing with the painting process.
Add the Color
Next, you want to add color to the design. Be sure to thoroughly rinse your brush between colors as glass paint tends to take a little more effort to rinse from the brushes because of its texture. You do not want the colors to mix, so a thorough rinsing is important. Apply the colored paint in thin layers and allow each layer to dry thirty to forty minutes before applying another coat of paint. Applying the paint in thin layers ensures that it has a uniformed look when you are done. After finishing the first piece of glass, you can move on to the rest of the pieces to finish off the painting. Allow the entire piece to dry overnight to ensure the paint has time to set.
Once you have completed the lantern, place a small battery-operated candle in the lantern and turn it on before giving the gift to your loved one. The light will flicker through the glass to illuminate the beautiful image you painted on the decorative hanging lantern.