Swirl lamp (My glitter lamp attempt)

[Zach Nelson]

Ok so its not a glitter lamp but it is as close to a glitter lamp one can get while still being homemade. the lamp liquid cost less than 5 dollars total. 

http://youtu.be/TMLCVKr0SkI

The liquid is dollar store eye shadow in water with a dash of soap and food coloring. I don't know what the soap does but I think it helps the eye shadow stay suspended in the liquid loner without sinking so fast, too much will block the light and the top of the bottle doesn't light up. It is a very "chill and mellow" swirl as subtle and looks like a wisp of smoke. It takes a 40watt bulb to get hot enough to swirl acceptably. It is the exact same thing as a glitter lamp but the glitter is much much smaller and there is a lot more of it.

There are a couple more test I want to run but don't have the time to do them all riht now:

eye shadow in rubbing alcohol - it is less viscous and might flow faster than the water but it miht not hold as much of the eye shadow

ES and oil - might move slower but will hold more ES

"PearlEX" (a powdered pigment with similar properties to ES) as a substitute - since it is a powdered pigment it might stay in suspension better than the eye shadow but it costs 5X as much (although 5 dollars will let you make several lamps) 

What I have in there now is 1 liter of water and 2 or 3 knife blade scoops of the ES. 

I want it to be a faster swirl with a higher saturation of ES in the liquid. As soon as my friend finishes his bottle of Bombay Sapphire gin I'll post some pics of the swirl in the bottle.

I developed this idea as an alternative to a liquor bottle lava lamp for bottle like Jack Daniels and Bombay, bottles with labels that obstruct the main body of the bottle

-edit

Just saw someone use pearly hand soap in water. I wonder if that would hold thicker clouds...

[lava luva ~ Tiffany]

hmmm...interesting...

[Zach Nelson]

I know this would attract some attention and I hope I can get enough people to test out some formulas!

lava luva ~ Tiffany said:

hmmm...interesting...

[Loren]

You're using mica powder! :D I bought a crapload of that stuff a while back, to experiment with. I was trying to do something kinda similar, actually! I really wanted to use it to make metallic lava, but it was too heavy, clumped up, and was murder on the flow. I actually wound up mixing it with acrylic medium, and painting with it!

Yep...that's painted with eye shadow. LOL! Or rather, it's made of the same thing eye shadow is made of.

I also have a friend in the UK who made what he called a cloud lamp. It looks very similar!

Great minds think alike. :)

[lava luva ~ Tiffany]

lovely painting Loren :)
 
Loren said:

You're using mica powder! :D I bought a crapload of that stuff a while back, to experiment with. I was trying to do something kinda similar, actually! I really wanted to use it to make metallic lava, but it was too heavy, clumped up, and was murder on the flow. I actually wound up mixing it with acrylic medium, and painting with it!

Yep...that's painted with eye shadow. LOL! Or rather, it's made of the same thing eye shadow is made of.

I also have a friend in the UK who made what he called a cloud lamp. It looks very similar!

Great minds think alike. :)

[Dr. WHAT?!]

I did this as well but using pearlized handsoap and using a emptied glitter vortex lamp. It will work with heat but not well as a vortex lamp.

[Zach Nelson]

Dr. WHAT?! said:

I did this as well but using pearlized handsoap and using a emptied glitter vortex lamp. It will work with heat but not well as a vortex lamp.

Do the clouds settle if the lamp has been off for a while?

[Dr. WHAT?!]

yes

[Zach Nelson]

How thick can you get the clouding?

[Dr. WHAT?!]

Its pretty thick, I did add lots of soap in there I dont know how much though.

[Zach Nelson]

Cool. One of the issues I'm having with the eye shadow is a very thin cloud density and I want them thicker

[Loren]

Keep in mind though...you're using a pulverized mineral, and he's using an emulsified oil, as is my friend that I linked to.

When I tried to do what you're doing, I had a huge problem with clumping when I tried to go thicker. Once the mica powder settles to the bottom, the heat won't lift it by itself, you have to shake the bottle. If you have found a way around that, then do tell please. :p

[Zach Nelson]

That's a similar problem I have been facing. I tried the sapy water and I think I like it. I will post pics of the final lamp after this weekend. I'm waiting on my forend to finish up with his Bombay sapphire so I can have the bottle