glow-in-the-dark fabric panel

the fabulous folks at the blueprint social challenged me to create something for halloween or fall, using puffy paint™ from iLoveToCreate.

not just any puffy paint, but glow-in-the-dark puffy paint.

my first thought about puffy paints was a kid drawing outlines of simple images on shirts. my next thought about glow-in-the-dark was the little plastic stars that kids put on the ceiling of their bedrooms. i remembered how i used to like to see the stars glow for a few minutes right after turning out the light to go to bed.

alas, i have no kids...what to do, what to do. i decided to create something that combined these two initial thoughts, but with a grown-up twist.

my own bedroom is small and uncluttered with dark furniture, drapes, and bedding. i'm trying to pay attention to the stress gurus who say that your bedroom should be a calm, meditative sanctuary. so it is indeed that...but i've been wanting to add a pop of bold, graphic color on the wall above my bed - like a pair of paintings or fabric panels. i am wary of hanging anything heavy over my sleeping head though, since we deal with earthquakes here in california, so creating some light fabric panels were my first choice. but like so many other diy ideas i have, it has been on that perpetual back burner...until now!

i had this yummy african batik fabric panel (20"x26") in brighter shades of traditional fall colors that was perfect for outlining with the glowing colors of the puffy paints.

i knew the falling leaves pattern would look really cool glowing in the dark, too.

i found some flat glass beads and a wide striped ribbon that matched the fabric really nicely and i chose three shades of puffy paint—natural, yellow, and gray—that blend well with the fabric colors.

here's how it all goes together - super easy!

  • outline parts of the fabric pattern with desired color(s) of glow-in-the-dark puffy paint™
  • use a skewer to clean up and smooth out your outlines as needed
  • adhere decorative beads and a ribbon border with aleene's clear gel tacky glue™
  • apply a self-adhesive picture hanger to the back of the mat (or have it framed)

i gotta say, i really like how the puffy paint works with the beads to add dimension to the fabric...and i love how it glows when i go to bed at night. it was pretty easy to squeeze out a consistently smooth line when you're tracing a pattern. even if it gets wobbly, bubbly, too thick, or too thin, a few pokes and scrapes with a skewer will fix it right up.

plus it's easy to wipe away with the corner of a damp cloth while it's still wet if you make a mistake (or lean your wrist into what you just painted like i did, more than once, lol). the paint dries in just a few hours.

please visit the iLoveToCreate site - there's lots of inspiration to explore!
follow their facebook, twitter, and pinterest pages for lots more yummy creative ideas.
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be sure to check out all these talented bloggers who created great projects for this challenge!

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