All That Glitters...with Sandstone

 

Because the client will call you to get that stuff off their floor, the sofa, and the cat.

 

Although kids don't seem to mind it.

 

 

 

 

There are ways to incorporate glitter into your finishing that won't leave you looking like a MAC ad and the client's home topped off like a cupcake. Oh yum..cupcakes with sprinkles...

 

 

 

No, BE MINE!

 

 

 

OK...back to our story.  One of the products that I like to use with glitter is Sandstone.  This might not seem like a good choice since Sandstone is a thick plaster but when it is whipped with some water and glaze medium, Sandstone is a great base for several additives.  The natural light color doesn't compete or obscure the glitter. And the added water plus glaze makes the sandstone creamy to trowel.

 

To a gallon of Sandstone, I add 1 cup Aquacreme and 1 quart of Water.  Then mix with a drill whip. You can always add more water to form a nice creamy paste.  My sample is applied over a tan Setcoat mix (3 parts Neutral White and 1 part Camel).  Setcoat will stick to paint but test on a sample board coated with the paint.  When in doubt, you can put Clear Setcoat (Aquaseal) over a previously painted finish.

 

 

 

 

After flat troweling an area, I use a Japan Blade to butter my blade and pop in areas of more Sandstone. This creates more texture in one step-saves going around the room again.

 

 

Then gently use your blade, almost flat to the surface to lightly compress the peaks.  The Sandstone should dry in 1-2 hours. The Aquacreme will slow this down some.

 

I took some of my whipped Sandstone and mixed it with our Deep Blue Glitter.  You want to mix in enough so you clearly see the glitter.  One 5.5oz container will be enough for a half-gallon of Sandstone.

 

 

 

I selected a Diamond Harlequin pattern from Cutting Edge Stencils for this sample-I like the classic (almost nautical) look of the blue with the natural plaster.  Apply the mix over the stencil using a Japan Blade.

 

 

 

You can control how much of the glitter shows be simply sanding over the pattern with a sanding block.  With a light sand you will reveal more plaster without creating much dust or spreading the glitter.

 

 



This is the finish with the Sandstone left natural. One thing about Glitter-it is hard to capture the shimmer in a picture!

 

 

 

I mixed some of the Aquacreme I used to thin the Sandstone with some Dark Brown Faux Creme Color. Brush on and wipe with a damp cloth. I like to spritz with water to push the glaze into the texture and ten use a dry cloth to remove the glaze from the top.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



 

Want over-all bling? Dump the glitter into you Sandstone mix and trowel this as your base. For the finish below I used a fine silver glitter for the base Sandstone. Sanded it and then lightly glazed with the Dark Brown glaze.  For the pattern (also Cutting Edge), I mixed in the real Silver Glass Glitter and troweled it over the pattern. When it was dry, I sanded the pattern and then glazed the whole surface again.  Spritz with water as you glaze to keep the pattern from getting dark and hiding/dulling the glitter.

 

 

 

Still not blingy enough?  Add mica flakes to your Sandstone with glitter.  These come in several colors to coordinate with a finish-I am partial to the Gold and Black Mica Flakes.  Trowel this as your base and then use a clear plaster like Aquawax or Palette Deco mixed with more glitter for your pattern.

 

This pattern is from Royal Design Studios.  I mixed Aquawax with Bronze Glitter and Black micro beads from Michael's. The beads are denser then the glitter so when you trowel them they collect at the edges creating a cool shadow effect!

 

Next time, I will show you how to add glitter to some of my other favorite plasters. Till then...