I got a couple different kinds of ornaments in the name of
science. There was a set of black, white and silver ornaments at Wal-Mart I saw
as blank canvasses, and I got a box of small clear ones from Michael’s that had
an iridescent coating on them.
I didn’t want to waste good polish on this, so I figured I’d
try some Sally Hansen Color Foils on them. I picked up a couple when they first
came out. (I should have waited.) Ocean State Job Lot has them for $2 right now,
which is about the right price for party polish. When I tried water marbling with Purple Alloy,
Liquid Gold and Minted Metal, I wasn’t happy with the results. However, Pink
Platinum and Cobalt Chrome work great.
I found I got the best results when I combined one of the great ones with one
of the difficult ones. I also used a bottle of Claire’s Gold Roses, which is
another reluctant to marble polish.
I ran into some pitfalls along the way. First of all, if
you’re going to try this, go easy on the
polish. Don’t do this:
If you use too much, they take
forever to dry, leaving the design highly vulnerable to damage. Assuming that
doesn’t happen, the dreaded air bubbles appear. Or, you get both.
I really liked how they worked on the clear ornaments best. They made me think of blown glass.
The other ornaments worked well too, so
depending on what look you want, these are totally viable options.
All in all, this is a great way to make fantastic looking
ornaments. I’m totally doing this again next year!
