T Light Candle Holder Tutorial - Decoart and some exciting news

Thank you for stopping by. 

Today I am sharing a little tutorial on how I made this candle holder.

But first I need to share some news that I have been sitting on for a couple of months. If you have stopped by before you may have noticed I use and love using Decoart products. 

I was lucky enough to have been asked to be part of their New Decoart International Design Team, headed by Andy Skinner, and I am sure at least some of you will recognise the other members of the team.

To say I am happy would be an understatement (doing a little happy dance).

The new DT will be focusing more on mixed media and altered art projects and producing tutorials along the way so keep checking back to see what everyone has been creating.

Ok so stick with me, I'm new to this tutorial thing ;)

Here is a list of the products used with a link to the item on the Decoart site. You should also be able to find a stockist on their main site as well.

Decoart Gesso

Decoart Traditions Faux Finishing Medium

Decoart Traditions Satin Varnish

Decoart Traditions Paint: Hansa Yellow,Carbon Black,Quinacridone Burnt Orange and Napthol AS Hue.

The traditions range is an Artist quality pigment acrylic paint.

Archival Black Ink Pad

Some Stencils and some sand paper as well as your wooden candle holder.

I started by giving my candle holder two fairly light coats of Gesso and gave it a light sanding just to smooth it out a little when dry. I also gave the whole thing a coat of the Faux Finish Medium. I did this because it adds an extra layer of protection when sanding back the top coats. I did not want to rub through the Gesso to reveal the wood, I wanted the white of the Gesso to be the last layer seen in the distressing phase.

When the Faux Finish Medium was dry I painted the holder with the Hansa Yellow first, then a coat of the Quinacridone Burnt Orange and finally a coat of the Napthol AS Hue

Now the fun starts, grab some sand paper and start sanding away through the layers, It's best to start gently and go through the layers slowly as you can not undo it if you get a little carried away ;)

Keep going till you are happy with the result. When this is done on a wooden Item like this candle holder you get to see all the wood grain come out as you sand through the layers and get some lovely effects.I also painted the insides where the candles sit with the Carbon Black.

You can of course use any stencils to add decoration but I have always loved the look of random numbers when applied like a an issue number (think old delivery crates/containers)

To get the numbers straight I used some of tape you can use for masking your projects.It will not peel the paint off when it's removed.I lined the stencil up and used a stencil brush to apply the Carbon black paint 

I painted the numbers in the same spot each side as this would make a great centre piece for a table and I did not want to have a front and back. I also used a hexagonal patterned stencil and randomly applied the paint 

When the black paint had dried I very lightly sanded over the numbers and hexagons as they looked to stark and harsh and needed to be given a more shabby look.

It really starts to come together with the finishing touches. I used some cut and dry foam and swiped the edges with black archival ink. I went round all the edges twice building up the depth of the black slowly rather than putting it on to thick and heavy in one go.I let the ink dry and gave the whole piece a coat of the Faux  Finish Medium.

Finally I gave it two coats of the Traditions Satin Varnish giving a very light sanding between coats just to get a really smooth to the touch finish. It also helped really make the colours pop.

The candles did not want to play ball, it was a little breezy out today. 

Here are a couple more pics of the finished piece.

As always a great big thank you for stopping by and if it is your first time here thanks for stopping by. Hopefully Ill see you back here.

Remember to check out our brand new International Decoart Design Team where you can meet the other members and see more tutorials. Keep checking back to see what's new xx

I would like to enter this into the challenge over at Anything But A Card. they are having an Orange And Black theme.