Greek Ideas

So this semester three of my close friends pledged. Two became sisters of the Beta Alpha Chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Incorporated, and one became a brother of the Beta Nu Chapter of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity Incorporated. Instead of buying gifts I decided to make a few things. I've been getting some good reviews on them so I decided to do a DIY post on it. You can use this post to get some good ideas, try it yourself, or contact me for commissions on your own project. I would admit though, I didn't take a lot of pictures so this is less of my usual step by step tutorial and more of a 'give you some ideas' piece. Sorry about the pics. >_<

Ok so I did two paddles and a mirror. I tried to design their paddles to fit their personality. It gives the gift a more sentimental touch. Here's what I used in the making of all three gifts:

acrylic paint: white, black, pink, green, gold
paint brushes (small and large)
mod podge
small frat/ sorority's wooden letters
pearl beads
small mirror
white paper
lighter
tacky glue
clear vanish: glossy and matte finish

 

Firstly I'd like to note that making gifts for girls is so much easier than for guys! I could take more liberties in my artwork with the girls' gifts but I couldn't go all out with the guy's without risking it looking less masculine. 

The basis for the paddles and mirrors are in the pictures above. Before using the colored paints put a coat of white. this helps the color to pop more, and you won't have to use as many coats. After the white coat, I used two coats of colored paint and left it to dry. 

Let's start with the Jazmine's mirror:

I bought a small mirror to place at the center of the board. Around it I painted Ivy vines, and the Chicago Skyline. Jaz is from Chicago and reps her city like no one else I know! I think people know she's from Chicago before they've even met her.

Above the mirror I glued wooden A K A letters. I painted them green first, glued on pearl beads, then glued the letters to the board. (sorry again for my lack of pictures)

I also glued pearls on to the board itself outlining her number. Here's the basic ensemble below.

Before I glued on the mirror, I spray painted the entire thing with clear glossy vanish to give it a finished look. 

Paul's Paddle:

Paul goes hard for anything he is really passionate about. I wanted to capture this in addition to showing the Ice Cold theme of A Phi A.

This paddle was all paint work. I found this really nice picture (below) online and decided to put it on the paddle. In keeping with the Ice Cold theme, I painted icicles on the letters.

 

I then painted his name and line number on. I figured then that it just didn't seem 'cold' enough. So I decided to make the entire paddle look like it was freezing over. This was a bit tricky. i went the route of icicles rather than frost (seems more masculine). On the slopes and top of the paddle was the most feasible place to paint icicles so that they seem to naturally hang. Also, painting the sides of the paddle white gives the look of the ice freezing over from the back of the paddle to the front. 

I then took a dry paintbrush, and using a very small amount of white paint, lightly brushed it across the entire paddle. This gave it a windswept look.

 

Finally I coated the entire paddle in glossy vanish. Here's the finished product:

Christina's Paddle:

Christina is girly but less Bratz and more Audrey Hepburn. In fact she's so 'Audrey Hepburn' I decided to paint her (Audrey) on the paddle. Okay this is the one I have the least pictures of because I was so excited while doing it. 

Similar to the mirror's wooden letters, I painted them green, glued pearl beads on, then glued them to the paddle's handle. I also used pearl beads as her accessories (earrings and necklace). 

I wanted to finish off the paddle with a quote from Audrey herself. I printed "Elegance is the only beauty that never fails" on white paper. I then burnt the edges, crumpled the paper and tried to smear the ashes from the burnt edges as much as possible. This gives the paper an antique look. You may need to try this a couple times. I kept burning right through the quote!

I then mod podged the paper on to the bottom of the paddle. I spray painted this with a matte finish vanish. Here's the result:

That's it! 

Oh and they all loved their gifts!