I've posted before about my process, but it's been a while, so I wanted to post about it again. Here goes!
First, when brainstorming I knew I wanted to somehow incorporate their wedding invitation and the colours they used for it. This was the top portion of the invite:
I loved the font of "All You Need is Love", so I thought, why not just trace that onto the glass of the frame with their wedding date on it?
When tracing anything onto the glass (text in particular), it has to be traced backward so that it will read the right way when put back in the frame. Luckily, a very generous person gave me a very nice light table to use, so that makes it much easier to see through the paper without having to buy tracing paper. It's also easier on the eyes. I'm getting rather good at writing backward!
After drawing with the ink it is still possible to make changes and clear any parts I'm not happy with by using a wet cloth or Q-Tip. Once I'm happy with the way it looks, I seal the ink onto the glass by using a clear spray varnish. 2 coats and I let it dry for a whole day.
Once the ink is sealed I can paint on it. I use opaque acrylic paint on the parts I don't want to show through once the piece is all put together. I also sometimes use a transparent glass stain if I want texture to show through with colour. In this case though, I only used acrylic. I decided to trace white over the words to highlight them. Also, instead of painting the whole background dark purple like the invitation, I painted purple hearts so that I could add a textured background and make it more unique.
I tried about ten different backgrounds from paper to tin foil to fabric, but I wasn't happy with any of the materials I had. So, I went to Paper Source in Studio City and found just the right background for this piece. I also discovered that Paper Source is the perfect place to go to the next time I'm looking for backgrounds!
After I've measured out the background and cut it to size, I put everything back into the frame. And here is the finished piece!!
When I got to the wedding, I was delighted to see that my present exactly matched the decor of the whole ceremony and reception. I hope it is a gift they will treasure years from now that will remind them of their special day.
~LH
