This week we are making glue Sun Catchers! Now I’m going to be honest, this craft didn’t go as great as I’d hoped. At each step I found myself thinking ah this isn't going to be good, but I persevered and kept on going. It was actually really fun to marble the glue and cool seeing how the colours interact with each other. At this stage having finished the craft and doing all the film editing I’m still not completely sure that I like it, but I’m my own worst critic (as are a lot of artists). So when looking at a finished product I see all the ways I could have improved it or adapted it. And yes it would be interesting to develop this, but at the same time this series isn't about creating something amazing. It’s about creating for fun and enjoying the process. It’s about letting yourself have some fun whilst everything is in chaos!
So I think that I need to take a piece of my own medicine (is this the right saying?) and remember that I did have fun and that's the important bit. Not the outcome because not everything needs to be perfect or good for it to be enjoyed!
Now we’ve got that out of the way we can talk about glue. PVA Glue is the main ingredient in these glue sun catchers, which makes it pretty important. I used some clear PVA which also dries clear, this was mostly so that I could see how it was going to end up as I was adding the colours. I personally haven’t tried making it with white pva that dries clear, but if you have tried or know how its going to work please let me know.
The second most important part of this is the moulds. This is the receptacle that the glue is going in so that it can dry to the right shape, as a chronic crafter I happen to have lots of miscellaneous craft supplies lying around. So I actually had some silicone moulds from an old abandoned craft, these worked really well and were interesting when it came to the shapes that it made. But I did find that they were quite small and at times restrictive. The other type of mould that I used was a Pringles lid (I’m sure that the flavour doesn't matter but it was sour cream and chive) I found that these lids worked the best, they were sturdy enough to hold shape whilst transporting, and they had a nice area to play with the paint in! Plus you get to eat Pringles.
Lets make some sun catchers!
Materials:
- Clear PVA Glue
- Acrylic Paint
- Glitter
-
Ribbon/Cord
Tools:
- Silicone Moulds/Pringle Lids
- Cocktail Sticks
- Hole punch
- Scissors
Step 1: Prep the moulds
The first thing you’re going to need to do is make sure that the moulds are clean, if you are like me and have had these lying around for a while then they're probably dusty or covered in pet hair. Just give them a quick rinse or wipe, making sure that they’re dry.
Step 2: Fill the moulds
This step is pretty self explanatory. We need to fill the moulds with glue. The depth of your mould will dictate how much glue to add, but a good rule of thumb is you want between 1-1.5cm as when it dries down we don’t want it to be too thin.
Step 3: Add paint (and glitter?)
This next step is entirely up to you, as this is the decorating stage. Take a small amount of acrylic paint on the end of a cocktail stick, then swirl it in the glue, you can do any colours you want, as many or as little in any variation.
If you’re feeling really adventurous you can even add glitter! I found the best was the smaller glitter as it hangs in the glue easier, but if you’ve got a big mould then the heavier sized glitter would work too.
Step 4: Let it dry
The least fun bit, letting it dry. I recommend letting it dry for at least 72 hours, this will make sure that it's good and dry. If the glue is peeling away from the edges of the mould, that's okay, it just means that it's dry.
Step 5: Peel and trim
Once they are fully dried, remove them from the moulds. Do this slowly as you might tear the sun catcher. Now that they’re out of the mould you can see the translucent shiny colourful sun catcher. You might have some glue that's stuck out of the edges, these will be because of the edges, you can trim them up with some scissors to neaten the sun catcher.
Step 6: Hanging
To finish off the sun catcher you can either use a hole punch or scissors to create a little hole near the top of the glue shape. Then feed a piece of ribbon, cord or string through it, tying a knot about 2 inches away from the shape. Trim the ends then you’ve got a completed sun catcher.
All you need to do is put it in a sunny window and let the magic happen!
Remember it's about the process and the journey not about the final product.
If you ever do any of these crafts, I would love to see them! Send them or tag me in them on facebook, insta or tiktok at worldofthoodles
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