Trumatter_Roses

Hey there! A good evening to you and how’ve you been in your neck of woods? We have a glow in the dark vase here in Trumatter land and I think you all should totally check this shabby chic vase: It’s a pretty pink in the morning and glows aqua at night! Yes, yes this is a two faced harlot-y, extremely good looking vase which deceives people into doing crazy things when its dark 😉

I love a vase with a story or two, and I love, love, love everything glow in the dark. It’s almost magical to see objects glowing at night around you: believe me! much as I am a beach house enthusiast, I am a trippy-stuff lover. Everything which gives me the slightest hint of illusion and magic quickly becomes my favorite. Don’t ask me why! If I could, I would have done away with reality a long time ago. But let’s keep those ultra-philosophical-discussions for drunken times yeah?

Trumatter_Container gardening

For now, let’s concentrate on the Rum bottle DIY!

What you see here is a quarter of Old Monk Rum (they have these XXX written on the label…I have no idea what is that supposed to mean but I am guessing it means you’ll see stars once you have drunk the entire bottle) and it goes fantastic with Thumbs-Up: reason why we see a lot of these in our life. Lat week, when a friend left one of these at home, I decided to put it to some good use other than throwing it away.

trumatter_trippy lamp

I’ve been thinking about making one of these for long: thanks to me quitting the rat race that I finally got around to. I got home some Asian Paints Glow In the Dark paste, which glows aqua, and tried painting a couple of lamps with them.

Oh me! Do I love them or do I lurrrveeee them! here’s how it looks at night!

glow

Yup! Trippy right? Look at how beautifully it changes color.

Karma Chameleon must be looking just like this!

In case you are a GITD enthusiast, here’s a little tutorial for you.

You know, when I started making them, I faced with a lot of problems. But the one that bothered me most was, there was way too much information on the internet but not enough answers! It was like finding myself in a pool of glow in the dark info but no boat to wade through and get somewhere.

Some websites asked to use powder, some paint, some paste, some pigment: It is way too much information floating around but not enough meat. So I thought it would be good if you get the meat and one that’s cooked too 😉

Here’s all you want to know about Glow In the Dark

1. You will get powder, paste and premixed colors. You can mix pigment to the paste, powder to colored solutions and use premixed glow in the dark colors directly.

2. If you use acrylic colors with glow in the dark paint, will it glow the same shade? NO. You can mix acrylic colors as ‘tint’ to glow in the dark paste but it will not glow orange if you use orange. It will glow aqua or green or whatever light the particles emit. This is a phenomenon called Photoluminescence. By definition it is the emission of light from a molecule or atom that has absorbed electromagnetic energy. So what you use is a compound of Phosphorus: Zinc Sulphide and Strontium Aluminate are the two  most common phosphors used in making GITD paints.

3. Just so you might ask, if you are like me, isn’t something supposed to emit heat when it radiate? a material can emit light either through incandescence where all atoms radiate or luminescence where only some atoms, called emission centers emit light. Glow in the dark paints uses luminescence to glow. Precisely why you’d get a better result if you use multiple coats to paint something. The more emission centers, the more the glow.

4. Can I paint over Glow In the Dark Paint? Yes you can but it won’t glow. The opaque, plastic paints will mask the particles.

5. How can I get maximum glow out of my glow in the paste paint? Multiple layers is the key. Paint a coat, let it dry, paint another. You should end up with a thick coat of Glow in the dark paint. Keep it under sun all day or fix a plain bulb on top. It’ll glow. For best result, use white paint as base and then paint with GITD paint.

6. What are the materials on which I can use glow paint? Glass, porcelain, Tshirts, wood and everything you please.

7. What colors are available in the market? You can get some cool colors like green aqua and red available. You can get from grade O to Grade 7 (80 to 60,ooo micron), depending upon the brightness you want. Larger the particles, brighter the glow, rougher the surface.

Look at it, putting a pretty face now…IMG_1665

 

This is me signing off and very happy! Hope you’ve enjoyed this little glow in the dark craft. And if you did, leave a comment or two. It makes my day.

Toodles XO

 

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