Glow in the Dark Mod Podge Art

My five-year-old has been a Mod Podge-aholic ever since he first used opened a bottle of glossy Mod Podge to create his autumn leaf lantern a couple of years ago. One project was all it took to get him hooked, and he now asks if he can use Mod Podge on practically every craft we create. When a huge box of Mod Podge goodies landed on our doorstep a few weeks ago, he was beyond excited, and immediately started naming off all the cool things he was going to make with it.

Here's some of the stuff that was in the box. If you want to see it all, check out the video I made as I was unboxing it! Many of the products shown are part of the brand new Mod Podge line, available at Michaels stores nationwide. Sutton was immediately drawn to the bottle of Mod Podge with a lime green label, taking his time to sound out the bold printed words, "Mod Podge. Wash. Out. For Kids! Oh my gosh, Mom! This one is for kids! Can I use it?" 

Naturally, I said yes, as I do most of the time when my boys are initiating a creative project of their own. I pointed out to him that there was also glittery and glow-in-the-dark Mod Podge in the box (Did you know they made that? See, fun new products!), and it only took a minute to come up with this simple but impressive piece of artwork.

What you'll need:

• Wash Out Mod Podge For Kids (or Glossy Mod Podge if you prefer)
• Glow-in-the-Dark Mod Podge
• Gold Dimensional Magic
• Mod Podge Roller Aplicator (or foam brush)
• Canvas, painted a solid color
• Paper shapes for decoupaging (we used gear shapes)
• Small paint brush

Begin by placing your shapes on the canvas to get an idea of how you want to lay them out. Once you have a layout that you're satisfied with, carefully move the paper shapes aside.

Fill your foam roller bottle with Mod Podge, and give the entire canvas a thin coat. This little applicator is so convenient and easy to use! Just give a light squeeze and then roll on the Mod Podge.

Apply your paper shapes and use a smoothing tool or an old credit-type card to gently press out any air bubbles. Allow to dry and then top the entire canvas with a sealing coat of Mod Podge. Allow to dry completely.

Here's where we take our artwork from ordinary to extraordinary! Use a small paint brush to cover your shapes with Glow-in-the-Dark Mod Podge. Allow to dry between coats. I gave our shapes 4-5 coats to ensure a nice bright glow. You may also choose to give your artwork a final finish coat of Washable or Glossy Mod Podge to seal the entire piece.

Note: you can paint your shapes with the Glow-in-the-Dark Mod Podge before adhering them to your canvas, but I don't recommend it. We tried it both ways, and we got far better results from painting our shapes once they were already Mod Podged to the canvas. When we pre-painted the shapes with the glow medium, they were incredibly resistant to adhering to the canvas which resulted in some light wrinkling of the shapes. It takes a bit more time, but the shapes that were painted with the Glow Mod Podge after they were stuck on the canvas had a better glow and didn't have any wrinkles!

Use the Gold Dimensional Magic to add some sparkle and depth to your piece of artwork. We added some dots and filled in some of the spokes for just a bit of sparkle. The Dimensional Magic goes on cloudy, but will dry crystal clear.

The finished artwork got a seal of approval from the 5-year-old...

...but the real magic happens when you turn off the lights and watch your new artwork come to life with a brilliant green glow! I love that you can still see the pattern and texture of the papers through the Glow-in-the-Dark Mod Podge, but it's practically invisible during daytime! It didn't even change the original color of the papers at all - magic, I tell you!  

We've been having so much fun playing with all of the products in our box, so stay tuned for more fun Mod Podge tutorials from Mom's Crafty Space! For even more project ideas, follow Plaid on Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest, and check out the blog Mod Podge Rocks! which is packed with more ideas than you can imagine! Happy Podging!

 Disclaimer: I wrote this post as part of a paid campaign with Plaid Crafts and Blueprint Social; however, all opinions expressed are my own.

Posted in: Art, Blueprint Social, Kids, Mod Podge, Plaid