Painted Plaster Dipped Flower Tutorial

I'm thrilled to share how I created this framed piece featuring Luminarte's Twinkling H2Os paints. I'm always looking for new mediums to incorporate into my crafting.  When I have exhausted the products in my scrap room, I often venture to other rooms of my home to see what I can find.  My garage has offered up many great finds like metal tape, sand paper and small pieces of hardware.  I found a container of plaster on a recent hunt and decided to use it to cover my favorite embellishment, flowers.

Supplies:
Plaster of Paris
Flowers with Stems
Luminarte Twinkling H2Os (Or Similar Shimmery Watercolor Paint)
Paintbrush
Plastic Tub
Water

Step One: Combine 2 parts water to 1 part plaster in a plastic tub and mix well.  Holding a flower by the stem, quickly dip it into the plaster solution.  Note: The plaster sets in about five minutes and will no longer be workable after that time.  Several batches of plaster are required for this project, a new batch for each coat of plaster needed to cover the flowers.  It is important to NOT dump any plaster down the drain as it will harden and clog plumbing systems.  It's best to work with tubs and brushes that you don't mind tossing after this project.

Step Two:  Hang the flowers by the stems to dry.  Note: The flowers must be completely dry before adding a second coat of plaster.  Plan to wait several hours before dipping flowers again.  If your flowers become too wet and the plaster is not drying, rinse off the plaster, let the flowers dry and start again with Step One.

This is one of my large flowers after one coat of plaster.

Step Three: Mix another batch of plaster and dip flowers again.  Hang the flowers from the stems to dry.  Note:  I let my flowers dry overnight after this step.  The small flowers, branches and leaves that I dipped required two coats of plaster.  Many of the large blooms still had small portions of the petals showing through the plaster, even after two coats.  Rather than dip the entire flower again, mix a small batch of plaster and use a paintbrush to apply plaster to the uncovered areas of any flower, or, leave as is for a slight pop of color.

Step Four: Gently cover the flowers and leaves with a light coat of Luminarte Twinkling H2Os paint.

The plaster-covered flowers are quite delicate and not suitable for a layout destined to be stored in an album.  The plaster also adds a significant amount of weight to the flowers.  I glued my patterned paper to a piece of cardboard to add more stability to my framed piece.  I love the subtle shimmery color from the Pearlesque Luminarte Twinkling H2Os.  I used the following colors for this project: Oyster, Pearl Red, Pearl Gold, Pearl Violet and Pearl Green.

For a more dramatic look, add a painted flower to the top of a small gift box.  I used Twinkling H2Os in Poppy Red to color the rose and Mallard to color the leaves.

Playing with plaster was a lot of fun.  Try keeping the flower stems long and create a plaster-covered floral arrangement for the home. Thanks for stopping by today!  I hope I have inspired you to use Twinkling H2Os in a fun new way.

Pin It!