How to Jazz up Sospeso Flowers

Festive Lantern

Hi friends I am thrilled my introductory post to Sospeso Transparente was so very well received!

Ice Effect

Though the Sospeso Transparente flowers look gorgeous just as they are ,...you can jazz them up still further by playing with them , adding a few things you may already be having in your crafty armament or using some material specifically designed for Sospeso Transparente .

Frozen Leaf

        At the onset itself I have to specially thank Shalii Mittal for patiently explaining to me how to use vetrificante in gel , ground crystal glass and all the other techniques I will be sharing in the coming posts .Thank you so much Shalini you are truly a Crafter's Encyclopedia and I am so lucky to have got a chance to learn from you albeit over the phone!!

Gardenia Printed films

You can use any of the material listed below to make gorgeous Sospeso Transparente flowers.

1. Tissue paper napkins+ thermoformable plastic
2. thin paper[called Paper veils]+ thermoformable plastic
3. Fabric + thermoformable plastic
4. Printed films on their own  

Of these using printed films is my favorite as its fast and utterly non messy!I used the beautiful  Gardenia printed plastic films shown above to make some 

gorgeous pearly white Gardenias.

Heated and embossed flowers

They look beautiful just as they are dont they...but let's see how we can play around with Sospeso Transparente a little bit more....To illustrate a few techniques ,I made Gardenia flowers and added them to a swinging Lantern

Lighted Lantern

The lantern swings prettily on a hook and has a base which can be removed to add a candle or LED light inside it.

I used crystal beaded pollen on the centers of my Gardenia flowers as well as added a few pollen on the lantern

Crystal Beaded Pollen

3 ways to Jazz up your Sospeso Transparente flowers

Stack the flowers on top of each other

Flowers to stack

Depending on the designs of your flowers..choose a small flower to stack atop a bigger one. I even stacked a Gardenia bud in the center of a larger flower[ shown in the extreme left of the picture above]

Hot glue flower layers

            Hot glue is the best way to glue your flower layers together. Put hot glue on the center of your larger base flower and after putting the smaller topper flower use the wooden embossing tool to press the flower centers together to get a good firm adhesion + give shape to your flower center at the same time as the heat of the hot glue can alter the shape of your flowers slightly.

            Another tip is if you are planning to stack your flowers don't emboss the center of your base flower as much as you normally would-- that way its easier to stick on your top flower

Ink the flowers

Inking flowers

If you are using paper veil flower designs you can actually use your normal stamp pads to ink your flowers but with the printed film flowers you can use permanent markers or even glass paints.

Inked flower petal edges

If you are using glass paints use a paint brush to apply your paint onto your flowers.

Crystal flowers and Crystal Pollen

You can add glass paint even after adding the ice effect with the ground crystals.

Make "Iced Flowers"

Ice effect

Special Sospeso Transparente materials are required to give the ice effect: Vetrification gel + Ground crystal glass

Ice effect

The technique  described by Monica Allegro as "Ice effect" involves mixing approximately equal parts of the vetrificante in gel + ground crystal glass in a plastic dish and applying it over your formed flowers.

Ground crystal glass

You have to work fast while mixing and applying the crystals as it dries fast while its on the dish and can clump together but the crazy thing about it is that takes quite a bit of time for it to dry on your flowers and if you are impatient like me and try to keep touching the flower or lifting it...the crystal will just fall off your flower...so BE PATIENT and allow it to dry...even leave it overnight!

Ice effect

You can be really generous and paint your whole flower with the crystal + gel mix using a small spatula or stick or just apply it in places like I did. The most frustrating thing I found about this way of doing it was the gel+crystal mixture had a will of its own and kept sliding off the curved petals.I tried painting with a brush [crystals stayed put to the brush!], hand smearing[ oof that was messy!] and even a bit of speech therapy [translate that to cursing and stomping feet in frustration!]

Ground crystal Use

Well I had to find another way...and this one is believe me less frustrating ..Place your flower on a plastic surface  and carefully and I mean really carefully  [as the gel is quite liquidy in consistency] pour drops of the gel on to your flower. Add crystal ground glass on top and wait..dont even touch it or move it...just wait! 

Crystal Ground glass

After 30 mins or so you can lift the flower and shake off the excess crystal .With this technique variation you wont get a thick crystal covering of your flower and the adhesion of the crystals is not as strong   as with the other way of applying the crystals but its much easier and you can use this method if you are making non jewelry projects / show piece items .

Ice Crystal flower Pendant

Here is a super short  14 sec video showing my swinging Lantern with the "Ice crystal " flowers.

Ice Crystal Flowers

I hope you like my Ice crystal flowers though they are nowhere as perfect as some of the beautiful Sospeso Transparente flowers I have seen around the net but I hope they are passable for a first attempt!

Do come back later for more techniques on how to jazz up your Sospeso Transparente projects...

More Sospeso Transparente Tutorial Links

• How to make the domed center of the sunflowers : Sospeso Transparente flower tutorial 
• How to make a bouquet with the Sospeso Transparente flowers : Sospeso Transparente Bouquet tutorial 
• Basic Sospeso Transparente tutorial 

Where to buy Sospeso Transparente Materials : Sospeso Transparente materials, Pollen