Pumpkin Bling

Here is my take on pumpkin decor. I don't have a full tutorial this time but the process is pretty self explanatory.

I used a real mini pumpkin and painted it white with regular acrylic paint.



I didn't have a small squeezable glue bottle so as an “adhesive” I used a small bottle of glitter paint because it had a tip small enough to make dots for the rhinestones.



So I glued the rhinestones on in between the pumpkin indentations and let dry. I also painted the stem silver.




Next time a may glue the rhinestones in closer together, I just wanted to make sure I had enough to cover this time around. And I also thought about gluing the rhinestones all around the stem too.


Happy Fall!

Linking this project to...

Like mother, like daughter

I thought I'd share a couple of projects my 8 year old daughter did all on her own. She often asks to join in my crafts. This time she did this without mommy.

First here is balloon man.

Using a glue stick, she glued on googlie eyes, a puff ball for the nose,

and taped yarn on for the smile.

He's so cute, the smile is just perfect.

And here is the luminary.

Today we were cleaning up my craft supplies, in which I found stuff that I'd totally forgotten I had, not even opened, but that's a whole other story.

So, she placed these blue marbles into a glass votive, placed the LED light in the center and topped off with a small wicker basket.

I'm so proud! :)

Giraffe Glitter Paper - Make it!

This glittery giraffe print paper was fun and I love the results.

Wrapped around a candle creates stunning decor.

Materials:

Plain cardstock

Plain candle

Martha Stewart Fire Opal glitter

Mod Podge

I cut out a strip of paper.

I hand drew the splotches. The spots don't have to be perfect. You can find a giraffe print online to use as a guide or simply print out a giraffe print and skip this step altogether.

I then painted in the splotches with my favorite metallic paint.

I poured some Mod Podge into a bowl for easy access. This particular Mod Podge is an antique kind but it doesn't matter since the paint and glitter are gold.

I painted over the gold with the glue, a thin layer is best for a nice even coverage.

Cover the glue with glitter.

I must note that I love this Martha Stewart glitter - it's very fine which makes coverage even. And it's not just one color, there are several tones complimenting each other.

I did a few spots at a time. I love seeing a project come to life a little at a time!

It doesn't take long to get all of the splotches covered.

Here's the candle.

To hold the paper in place, I used a nail which this idea is from my other candles.

Wrap the paper completely around the candle and tack down with the nail.

You can vertically adhere a nice ribbon if you wanted to cover the seam, like if your candle were in front of a mirror.

Linking to...

Giveaway Winner!

Congratulations to..............

Lanie @ laniejandco

Thank you to everyone who entered and checked out Jennifer @ her LaughingChicken etsy shop!

Lanie - email me by Sunday, September 12th to claim your prize!

Clock Makeover

Clock Makeover

This clock is about ten years old and I have always loved its cute shape. I remember getting it on clearance at Wal-Mart for $10.

It was getting a little dingy and scuffed up so naturally I wanted to give it a nice fresh coat.

So I lightly sanded first.

And then I decided to paint it a nice clean matt black.

And here’s how that turned out.

Blahhh!

And this was only after a measly one coat, but I could tell that a couple more coats of paint wasn’t going to help this mess.

I mean, it doesn’t look terrible, it just looks so serious. And the point of a makeover is to make something look fresh and nearly new, a sort of upgrade, if you will.

The only thing this black paint did was take it from ok to “ehhh...”

Where’s the wow factor? There wasn’t one.

So.... Makeover #2.

Since I decided to give it a much uplifting color, I had to give it a bright undercoat first.

After its white undercoat, I painted the clock a regular matt red which I regret not getting a picture for the before.

I knew that it needed a nice glossy finish but I didn't want to use a spray gloss because that would mean I'd have to mess with taping up the glass face.

I know, pretty lazy, huh?

So, what I ended up using was a wood stain/polyurethane. Using a sponge brush I brushed the wood stain on. Other than the few drips, I must say I am pleased with the results. I like how the stain gathers in the creases, it really adds to the whole dimension and texture thing going on.

This paint process was similar to the recent lamp project I did, here. The varnish will be tacky for a few days but will then be dry and remain glossy.

And now for the wow…

Much better!

Linking to...