Valesca van Waveren lives in Amsterdam with her husband, son and cat. Every day she cycles or walks to her studio, where she makes her delightful, colorful illustrations. She also works in ceramics – a medium that has become a huge passion of hers since she discovered it two years ago. As this month’s guest blogger, Valesca gives us a peek behind the scenes of her work and life. You can also see her work at valescavanwaveren.com.
Hello Flow blog readers,
Picture this: a bathroom where a shampoo from L’Oreal is lined up next to a Kneipp shower gel, that’s flanked by a bottle of Andrélon conditioner… I get kind of annoyed by all the different logos and colors clashing with each other. A feeling that is even more enhanced by the fact that I think the bathroom should be a little sanctuary of peace and quiet, where you can gather your thoughts and energy for the day to come. So I decided to create my own packaging and make bottles that would be more in tune with each other, without any distracting logos. If you, too, would like to create a more serene setting in your bathroom, here’s a DIY project for you.
What do you need:
– Small plastic bottles (recycle old drink ones)
– White acrylic paint (can also be spray paint or white water-based varnish)
– Large paintbrush for the base coat (a small paint roller gives a flatter finish)
– Small paintbrush (for details)
– Self-hardening or Air Dry Clay
– Wooden cocktail stick
– Thread
– Colored acrylic paint
– Plant mister with water
This is what you do:
1. Soak the labels off the bottles (use a scouring pad for stubborn bits if necessary).
2. Using the clay, make letters for the various products: G for shower gel; B for bath foam; S for shampoo; C for conditioner… Use the cocktail stick to poke out the centres of the letter B.
3. As the clay dries, spritz the letters with a plant mister every now and then to stop the clay from cracking.
4. Prick a hole in the top of each letter and put the thread through the hole.
5. Paint the clay letters in colors of your choice.
6. Paint a base coat on to the bottles. (I picked white varnish and used a small paint roller to get a neater effect than a brush can achieve.)
7. Next, use the colored acrylic to paint a cute face or simple patterns like lines, crosses, large polka dots, small dots, diamonds or triangles.
8. Hang the clay letter around the neck of the bottle to identify which bottle holds which product.
9. If you still have a pump from a hand soap or other bottle, use this to close your painted bottle, otherwise just put its own top back on.
10. Bathe away!
Next week will already be my last guest blog here! I’m going to write about my sources of inspiration: beautiful plants and flowers, and more. Meanwhile, you can also find me at:
Site: Valescavanwaveren.com
Shop: Etsy.com/shop/valescavanwaveren
Instagram: Instagram.com/valescavanwaveren
Pinterest: Pinterest.com/valescawaveren/
Until next week!
Valesca
