Graphic 45 "Mermaid Crown" with Mixed Media

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 I recently attended an "Under the Sea" event. In anticipation of going, I decided to handmake this crown for myself to wear. I realized after looking at Pinterest that the place to shop was Dollar Tree for $1.25 because it would not break the bank. Unfortunately, we live in Orlando, and our stores have more people shopping at them than other cities and so it took getting someone to drive me to many of them before I was able to find the shells and supplies to purchase. I did buy 2 headbands made for birthdays in blue which had the stars on the ends of the "candles" that were apart of the plastic base. These were perfect and I'm so glad I bought 2 because the first headband broke as I was taking everything off of it before making it. I used Krylon Gold Metallic Maxx (cheapest at Michaels) spray on the headband and the shells. I  covered the stars with tape as they didn't need anything done to them. This took some time to insure that all sides were covered. I did have left over smaller shells that were used in the table centerpiece seen below. I waited overnight to make sure the layers of spray were dry. Florida is very humid and heat dries things fast but layers of spray may be wet still underneath.

 I used the Graphic 45 Voyage Beneath the Sea in 8x8 size for the Mermaid and regular 12x12 for the coral and greenery. After fussy cutting the Mermaid and fish she was riding and the sea creatures and coral and such I added them all over the crown itself. The coral pieces are seen on the stars on the ends. The sea kelp was positioned behind the Mermaid herself. After they were adhered, I painted a coat of Plaid Ceramcoat Delta Creative Sparkle Glaze to create a shine and iridescent sparkle to the paper. Some light dusting of the gold glitter was the last touch.

For the Sea Shells, I spread a coat of Art Glitter glue over each of the sea shells and meticulously dipped them into Tim Holtz Distress Glitter Dust in Vintage Platinum to cover the spiral ends. I set them aside to dry over night so that it had time to cure. Eventually, I attached them beginning with the tallest in the centers, to the smallest going toward the ends. The blue foam and tulle were added as the front.

Many jewels in blue and green, as well as large pearls were attached with my hottest glue gun due to their weight. A Pearl strand was glued running from one end to the other. The turquoise shear ribbon was looped behind the straight pieces of the crown and flowed off the sides. The left over shells, and gold sprayed shells were added for the Table Centerpiece with added die cuts, blue and pink confetti, and a Mermaid doll from that Dollar Tree. 6 pearl necklaces from my jewelry box were also added for display. The box of Swedish Fish and note were a surprise to me when I opened up all of the bag of stuff after I got to the event. The note said, "To my favorite Mermaid, Enjoy some Mermaid food." What a great hubby I have!! <3

I hope this gives someone some ideas to make such a "crown" like this for themselves.

Challenges:

Simon Says Stamp Monday: Use your favorite technique-Mixed Media

Won Favorite Technique Designer Spotlight:

:#37 Beverly Jordan Andrea says: I don’t know how you can NOT pick a mermaid crown as a stunner this week! I love the sheer creativity of this piece and how many different components were skillfully included. This definitely displays the favorite technique of “mixed media”!

Park Hopping, My Happy Place Fairies Tales-Ariel's ride

I was spotlighted for August 2023!! Here: #45-Beverly. Inspired by Disney’s Under the Sea – Journey of the Little Mermaid ride. I adore this fun crown! 👑💙 A crazy creative piece.

Word Art Wednesday #607-608