ICE...

ICE. 

So how in the world am I going to make mardi gras beads look like ice..?

And how do I make it look like there's a little bourbon peeking through under the edges....?

Those were some of the things I'd never done before and I had to ponder a bit (and stress out about a little) while I was working on my recent mint julep piece....

So I tried painting a few parts of the underlying plywood with a metallic brown paint, then overlaid a huge array of clear beads on top..some sparkly, some opaque, some clear, and all different sizes. The brown showed through just enough at the edges. Then, to give it a kind of 3D 'ice' appearance, I layered extra layers of beads on top of certain patches of the first layer...and....

I think it turned out pretty icy!

At least for mardi gras beads.....

;)