"Bone" replacement faucet handles

[craftewoman]

One of the perils of having so many children is having things in your house broken...frequently . So I wasn't surprised to hear that someone broke the porcelain handle for the faucet, but I was disappointed.
I made a call to my aunt who has some schooling and experience in interior design, thinking that she might know of a place I could go online or maybe a store to replace the porcelain part of the handle.  Her answer to my problem was that I wouldn't be able to buy a replacement, but I could make one!



Initially I thought that I would just make them look like the originals, But that was easier said than done. I wasn't able to get them smooth enough, so I decided to make them look like carved bone instead. There's so many things that you could do to make them unique.
I used an aluminum foil armature, and then sculpted white Fimo plasticine clay which hardens in the oven. After it was cooled, I carved it with an exacto blade, and then painted it with a mixture of cream and brown paint, and wiped it off so that it just stained the clay. Then I used my drill to drill a hole through. There's a square knotch needed to fit the shaft of the handle through, and that was carved with the exacto blade.
Then spearing them on chopsticks, they were dipped in polycrylic twice waiting until the first coat was dry.

The bathroom these go in is decorated in a forest theme. So they go perfectly.




How do you like seeing my reflection in that faucet. Fun huh?

[bunny1kenobi]

Ok, THAT is clever!  pinning, and this rocks! Awesome job!  If I were in your shoes, I just know I'd have a little proud moment every time I turned that faucet on! 

[that1spazticchik]

Wow, you did a fantastic job! When I saw the thumbnail, I wasn't sure why someone had posted some store-bought faucet handles...but you MADE THEM!!!! I'm really impressed!

[TheMistressT]

ACK!  I knew these would be awesome when I saw your post on FB!  Dang, girl!  When those kids are grown and in their own homes they are going to break things on purpose so you will make them even better replacements.  Mark my words.

[fortheloveofwhimsy]

This is a great idea!  I love it so much better than the store bought handles.  Great way to add personality to your bathroom!

[cackle]

These are so cool! Great idea.

[Eclecticlyfe]

These are awesome. Now, I wanna know how you had time to accomplish this....with so many children in the house ?
 

[craftewoman]

These are awesome. Now, I wanna know how you had time to accomplish this....with so many children in the house ?
 

I have 5 children. I stay up late every night. These were done at 11pm. LOL!

[jillybeans]

Oh wow, that is such a cool idea and so well done!  Amazing job!!

[CinnamonSeahorse]

Wow, such a good idea. I'm totally going to look at whether I can do this with my taps when I get home.