Tutorial Tuesday: Making Your Own Cloche Marriages

I love going to thrift stores and looking for things that can be repurposed into something else. And I know I’m not alone in this as I’ve seen many wonderful and creative things that other talented bloggers have done with their thrift store finds. From turning folding chairs into hanging storage at yiconglu.com

to creating beautiful hanging lights from insulator lights at powerlinewifes.com

to using tooled leather belts to create picture frames at designsponge.com

The number of creative repurposing posts are endless and continually amazing to me. Our fellow bloggers are so creative!!

Today’s tutorial is about a simpler repurposing idea than some of the ones I just mentioned. I love making cloches from thrift store finds. I often find old cheese domes at thrift stores along with fun candleholders and different styles of plates and platters. Although the finishes on each of these pieces are different and even the type of material is not the same, I know that I can put them together and use the power of paint to unite them into one look.

Here’s a picture of what I started with:

As you can see, none of this looks like it goes together. There is metal, wood, cork, tin, glass and ceramic there, but since I know the secret to dealing with each of these materials before painting them, I know I can unite them together. And today I’m going to share this secret with you!

Each of these materials has a potential problem with them. The metal, tin, resin and ceramic can present a problem in that they tend to be smooth surfaces without a tooth that paint can latch on to. For example, a lot of the time when you paint metal, the paint will scratch off once its dry because it doesn’t have a good tooth to cling to. Metal or tin that has started to rust or oxidize may have surface changes that may leak through paint. And wood, particularly unfinished or stained wood, may have sap or stain that can begin leaking through the paint. My secret solution will take care of all of these problems.

First I wash the surface I’m working with if it is resin, metal, tin, finished wood, ceramic, etc. Then I lightly sand if it is metal, tin, or wood and dust any sanding residue away. Then I complete my secret step. The step I never skip because it is so important. The step that eliminates so many problems! The step that I feel sorry for other people who do not know about it, and I am going to share this secret step with you!! Come closer so I can whisper this to you so no one else hears. Closer… Closer… Okay, here it is. Please don’t share this secret with anyone. It’s power is just too great to be put out there for public consumption.  And here it is – I “paint” the surface with Heritage MultiSurface Sealer.

This sealer is amazing stuff! It creates a tooth on smooth surfaces while simultaneously sealing it so it inhibits things from coming through the new paint. I love it!! Then to provide even more protection, I add this same sealer to the paint that I am putting on the surface. I have had such great success with this technique!!

Then I have fun with paint. I love coming up with color schemes for my cloches. If the candleholder is detailed, I love to pull out or accent the detailing with a different paint color as seen in the photos below.

Once I’ve painted all of the parts I plan to put together, including any florals I add like on the platter base of this cloche,

I then varnish everything with a UV protected, waterproof varnish called Heritage MultiMedia Matte Varnish.

Lastly, I create a strong stable surface that I can use to glue everything together. For example, if the candleholder that is going to be the base for the cloche was meant to hold a wide, chunky candle, the rim may be too small and narrow to provide a stable gluing surface for the platter I’m going to put on top as in the photo below.

To solve this problem, I fill in the candle opening with patching plaster and level it off even with the top of the candleholder. Once it dries it provides a strong stable surface to glue to.

Now I’ve experimented with a couple of different glues. I know people love Gorilla Glue because it provides such a strong bond between surfaces. I tried this one first and while it did create a very strong bond, I found it very difficult to control the amount of glue. If you’ve never used Gorilla Glue, if you put too much on, it seeps out and becomes a hard white lumpy mess that expands to several times its original size. It’s very unattractive and really detracts from the finished look. Other people may have more success using this than I did or may have tips to using it so you don’t have this problem. I solved it by switching to a different type of glue. I used Loctite All Purpose GO2 Glue. It worked great for me, creating a strong bond while being easy to apply since it had a nice small applicator tip.

Once everything was all put together, I ended up with this.

Good luck with your cloche marriages. Please contact us if you have any questions.

Thanks for visiting,

Cathy

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