DIY Jonathan Adler Inspired Face Vase

Technically this isn't strictly a Valentine's Day project but the timing was just perfect for anyone looking for something simple, fun and personal to give tomorrow.



Inspired by the beautiful pottery of Jonathan Adler (specifically the Misia and Salvador vases), I added a little personality to an $8 ikea vase to create a cheeky display for a single bud.





I started by rolling out a bit of Sculpey clay (i couldn't find my rolling pin so I just used a drinking glass instead) and cut out some face shapes. I wanted to do a girl and a boy so I made cat eye glasses, a pouty mouth, manly eyebrows and a mustache. Of course you could make these just about anything that suite you. Once they were cut out, I baked in the oven as directed to firm up the clay. Once it was cool I used E6000 glue to attach to the vase and then spraypainted the whole thing white.




tip: I thought I was being smart by priming first but the primer I used had a texture I didn't love so if I were to do this again, I would skip that step and go right to the paint. If your vase is going to be handled a lot, you might want to add a clear coat on top to seal it all in as well.

Finally I added single spider chrysanthemum (which last forever!) and voila. A little quirky valentine for about $10 bucks. Not nearly as impressive as the $100 version but still fun.

ps: if your Adler fixation is more of the pattern variety, check out this tutorial from Design Megillah.