I definitely have a fascination with skulls. I have them in one form or another scattered throughout my home. And while every project I work on for my home certainly does not have a skull on it… this week I was just in the mood to show a little skull love. I combined my affinity for antique finishes, Victorian Baroque styling, and of course skulls to create these Gothic Baroque Skull Candle Sconces.
To be completely honest, I’m sort of bursting at the seams over this project. I absolutely love the fact that I can barely recognize the before version of these sconces. I am also thrilled with how damn cute these turned out. OK, cute’s probably the wrong word.. but you know what I mean. And I am the most thrilled that I discovered a completely new medium to play with!
One of my new year resolutions for my business was to really push myself to learn some new skills and expand the crafting tools that I use. As a result, I’ve been trolling the craft stores… picking up products and tools I’ve never used before…. and then teaching myself how to use them. Thanks to that resolution, I discovered Paper Clay, and my crafting world has been forever changed! My mind is literally racing with all of the things I want to do with this stuff. But a girl has to start somewhere…. so for my first official paper clay project…. I bring you bit of trash to treasure Gothic home decor.
I was on my typical hunt though the thrift store when I happened upon the saddest pair of candle sconces I have ever seen. (The sun was so bright when I snapped this picture of them, you can’t even appreciate how awful they were!) There was absolutely no surprise why these ugly things were sitting on the thrift store shelf… but of course I had to have them!! The uglier the better… I love taking that transformation challenge! And these were the perfect candidate for my first full paper clay project.
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Here’s what I used to transform these sconces from boring to baroque:
- Iron Orchid Mould – Baroque No 1
- Iron Orchid Mould – Escucheons 2
- Corn Starch
- 2 Small Paint Brushes
- Paper Clay
- Set of Painting Knives
- Aleene’s Tacky Glue
- Plastic Skulls
- Craft Blade
- Heat Tool (optional)
- Flat Black Paint & Primer Spray Paint
- FolkArt Acrylic Paint – 405 Teal
- Paper towels or cloth
- Grecian Gold Rub ‘n Buff
- Polycrylic Spray
I think the hardest part of this entire project is figuring out which molds to use. I used a few different molds from the Baroque No 1 and the Escucheons 2 Moulds, but Iron Orchid makes sooooo many amazing molds. I would venture to say that you can’t go wrong no matter which style you choose.
Once you select a mold, brush a bit of cornstarch into the mold cavity.
Pull off a piece of the paper clay. Secure the remainder in a sealed bag. The clay is air dry, so you don’t want to allow your block of clay to dry out accidentally.
Firmly press the clay into the mold. Use enough pressure to ensure the entire design imprints onto the clay.
Use the painting knifes to level the clay and clean up any clay that may be protruding out of the mold. You could also use a putty knife, but I find the smaller details of the painting knives come in handy.
Once the clay is fully pressed into the mold, you can remove it immediately and mold it onto your project. This is amazing, because it allows you to manipulate the shape of the mold to fit whatever you’re working on. To remove the clay from the mold, start by bending the mold all around to basically break the seal all around the edge.
Then slowly roll the mold away from the clay until the clay is free.
Add tacky glue to the back side of the clay casting and gently press to secure it onto the surface of your project.
I worked with one piece at a time and then continued to layer the clay casting onto the sconce until I was happy with the coverage. Castings can be layered over one another to create new designs… just be careful when pressing them onto the surface not to damage the design details.
To add the plastic skull, I used a craft knife to cut the skull in half, leaving only the face to work with.
I choose a round mold that was just big enough to fit the shape of the skull.
Once I made and glued the round mold to my surface, I added a line of tacky glue all along the cut edge of the skull, and then firmly pressed the skull down into the round clay mold.
Allow your clay to harden…. It doesn’t have to be completely hardened when you paint it, but I like to let it set for a bit just to ensure it doesn’t slide around while I am painting. Use the heating tool to help set the clay quicker.
Spray with a coat of flat black paint & primer. Repeat until fully covered.
Now step back and admire how cool this clay is!! Even without the distressing, it is amazing how much it can drastically change a simple candle sconce!
For the distressing, I started by combining some teal acrylic paint with a bit of water.
Brush the watery paint onto the castings.
Using a paper towel or cloth, wipe away the excess. This should leave the color in the creases, and gives a nice patina look. If you accidentally wipe too much away, just repeat. Add as much or as little paint based on your taste.. I think it’s pretty hard to go wrong here. If the cloth doesn’t wipe enough away before the paint starts to dry, simply dip your brush in a bit of water, and cover the area again, then wipe away.
Lastly, using your finger, VERY LIGHTLY apply the rub n buff to the raised surfaces. I also ran a line of it around the sconce’s backplate and candle base. The picture above shows a closer look at the sconces after the patina and gold wax steps.
Spray with a coat of polycrylic…. because I always like to seal everything I do!
Hang it up, light your candle, and enjoy the ambiance!!
So beautiful!
Thank you Candace!!
Effing amazing! I love it!
Thanks Shannon! 🙂
Your talent never ceases to amaze me my love! You know what else is truly astonishing? How similar our paths are once again. Guess what one of my goals is for 2018 is? Yep, to learn new craft/DIY skills. And what did I pick up and can’t wait to try? You got it… air dry clay!!! I can only hope to make as good a job of it as you have. *skulks off to seek out Iron Orchid and hope they ship to the UK* Sx
You did a fabulous job with “goth it yourself”! I love the details of the distressed painting you did! It’s truly inspiring!!
Thanks so much Heather!!