Bloody Fingerprints, Maker Faire and Forensics!

Things are getting creepy around here - I LOVE Halloween!  It's simple to create your own "bloody fingerprint glassware" with Jacquard Pinata Inks and Earth Safe Finishes Eco Epoxy!

I love Halloween and the silly, mindless fun it brings to our world: spooky movies, complete with creepy costumes, make-up and sets; adding fun Halloween decorations to our home and yard; baking Halloween goodies; helping make costumes for our boys to wear for trick-or-treat… Let the spooooooky fun begin!

The idea for bloody fingerprint glasses came to me when I saw this necklace created by Laura Drahozal for Connie Crystal (find out how Laura created this unique piece here: http://ccsparkle.com/a-little-batty-fun-with-laura/) She created a bright “bloody crystal” effect that I just had to try to create some fun party goblets for Halloween.

The local dollar discount store has flutes, goblets, martini glasses, and wine glasses galore.  At $1 each, I keep a few in my creative stash for when inspiration strikes.

Materials:

• Chili Pepper Red Pinata Ink (www.JacquardProducts.com)
• Earth Safe Finishes Eco Epoxy (www.EarthSafeFinishes.com)
• Clear drinking glass
• Disposable plastic bowl, paper towels
• Optional: Scraperfect’s Best Cleaner Ever (www.Scraperfect.com)

Instructions:

For this “bloody fingerprints” glass,  create a ring, about the size of the glass base, of Chili

Pepper Red Pinata ink in the bottom of a disposable plastic bowl (which I also tend to hoard when we get take-out, etc. – they are great for craft projects!) Place the glass into the ring of wet ink and let set.

Apply a drop of red Pinata ink directly to each fingertip (this WILL stain your skin, but if you use gloves you won’t get the great effect of an actual “fingerprint” complete with those little swirls and whirls). Take hold of the glass as if you were going to drink from it, and gently, yet firmly press inked fingertips onto glass, being sure to get some onto the stem also. Let dry. (Tip:  Scraperfect’s Best Cleaner Ever safely removes the ink from your skin – and from almost anything else it might need to be removed from – www.scraperfect.com)

Directly from bottle, add a few drops of red ink to around the top of the base of the glass. Let dry.

To permanently seal the “blood” to the glass, coat the inked areas with Earth Safe Finishes Eco Epoxy. Eco Epoxy, when used according to manufacturer instructions, is food safe and dishwasher safe, which makes it great for this type of application. It dries clear so the bright, fresh blood color remains vibrant.

The latest episode of When Creativity Knocks is a review of Maker Faire Bay Area 2012 - take a peak at some of the fun at this amazing event!   My book review for this week is The Illustrated Guide to Home Forensic Experiments by Robert Bruce Thompson and Barbara Fritchman Thompson