Bespoke Phoenix in Ilumitextra Glitter

Great to do this little bespoke piece in Ilumitextra glitter.

Not every job is a wall. This one came to us as a cut-out phoenix — head, crest, arched neck, a swept wing and long trailing tail feathers, all cut from a single flat piece with the feather detail slotted right through.

It went up on tins across the bench so we could get at every edge, and the whole thing was finished in Ilumitextra glitter. Rose pink underneath, with red, gold and cream flake scattered through it, so the colour shifts as you walk past. Then a coat rolled over the top, worked around each cut slot in turn — it goes on milky and the sparkle keeps coming through it.

The fiddly part is the cut-outs. Every feather has an edge on both sides and a slot between it and the next one, so there is a lot more surface here than the size of the piece suggests. Do it properly and the finish carries right round the edges instead of stopping at the face.