International Art and Soul Challenge 41

This fortnight, we'd like you to use a non-craft item or recycle something. Now, when I read the requirement for this, I didn't spot the 'recycle' option, so I headed in another direction altogether. I had just got a couple of new dies with images I love, and thought I'd like to do a stained-glass effect. Some trawling around the internet later, and I came across a technique called caught in crystal and I decided to have a go, although I didn't follow it exactly. First problem, find some of the right floor polish. Fail!  Couldn't find any of it in the major supermarkets. Wandered to our local shops, and in the one called Cheapjacks (I'll let you work out what sort of shop that is) there was some polish which, although it was a different brand, sounded like the right stuff. (Astonish is the brand name.) I bought it and had a go.

The die is from Pretty Quick, and as a lover of anything Mackintosh-esque, I love it. I stuck the die cut to the front of a piece of acetate. then, on the back, I used acrylic paint to colour the main image parts. Then, it got really messy. I poured floor polish over the back and added a little perfect pearl powder. With hindsight, I could have added a lot more, but I was wary of overwhelming the image. Then, I added a little glamour dust glitter which really isn't obvious in the photo. Finally, I put some scrunched tissue paper on the back and left it to dry. I attached the result to some silver card with brads, and that's about it. I don't know if I'll use the technique again. It's really messy. You only realise that your work surface has an incline from front to back when you try something like this and find acrylic floor polish heading towards your carpet. And, several other attempts I made failed abysmally!

I hope you can join us this time!