Pilisa's Place

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My last ARTsignment is complete!  The slideshow gives you a look at all the sides of the candle that I altered.  If you’re wondering how I did it, here is the really quick and easy tutorial for how to do it:

1. First, you need to print your text or images onto tissue paper.  If you are a rubber stamper, like me, you can use rubber stamps and any kind of ink to stamp onto the tissue paper.  I used three different colors of tissue paper and Ranger’s Vintage Photo Distress Ink.  If you’re not a rubber stamper, you can iron a sheet of tissue paper to the shiny side of freezer paper that you can get in any grocery store.  Cut it into a sheet that will fit your printer and print onto the tissue paper side whatever text and images you might want to adhere to your candle.  Carefully peel the tissue paper off the freezer paper.  If you have difficulty, you can re-iron a section at a time and pull them apart while still warm.
2. Once you have all of your tissue paper words and images printed, cut them out.  You can either cut close to the words and images, or you can leave a small border, as you prefer.
3. For this next step, you can use a craft heat tool, if you have one.  If not, you can use a hair dryer.  It will also help to have a long handled pair of tweezers or scissors, a chopstick or skewer, or whatever you have handy to keep you from burning your fingers.  Position the word or image where you want it on your candle, hold it in place with your tool, and apply heat gently to the candle just until it starts to soften.  If you are using a heat tool, you should start about 6″ or so from the candle and bring the heat tool closer as needed.  As the top layer of wax softens, the tissue paper will wick up the wax and the word or image will be absorbed into the candle as it cools.  Don’t overheat or you will have wax running all over the place!
4. Repeat step 3 for as many words, images, or embellishments that you want to add to your candle.  That’s it!  As long as you aren’t using a dinner taper or other very skinny candle, you don’t have to worry about the tissue paper catching on fire.  The candle will burn down the middle and the tissue paper images and words will softly glow while the wick is burning.

There is a purpose to this particular candle.  I am using it to help illuminate creative ways of looking at a particular issue.  My issue that I was looking for clarity on was whether I should have my coaching/healing practice separate from my fused art glass business.  Should I use the same name and website for both or should I give them each separate names and websites?  I have my name for my coaching practice now, Creative Gateways, and it just didn’t feel like it suited my glass work.

So, I did a little ritual where I lit the candle, asked for guidance from the Universe, and took dictation for about 25 minutes.  Out of the dictation came the knowing that the two parts really are separate and they should be named that way.  The name for my fused glass work is AMusinGlass.  I love wordplay, can you tell?

I’m not really sure how the two parts of my Blissness will come together as a website yet.  Right now I’m thinking that I’ll just have a single page on my site that has links to my fused glass store.  At the moment, I’m planning on using Etsy, but if anyone has 2 cents to put in the pot with regard to other options, I’m all ears!

So now all I have to do is fill out the last of the record sheet and submit it to Marney and I’m DONE!!!