Paint

DIY Painted Tray Set

1 · May 19, 2014 · 4 Comments

+ This DIY Painted Tray Set post brought to you by the lovely folks at Elmer’s +

With the spring in full swing and summer fast approaching, my creative spirit has started longing for all things beach. The nautical trend is one that I whole heartedly adopt. I love the colors, the simplicity, the way that it takes me back to slow days on the beach with my family and especially my sweetheart. Yea, I’m loving it!

Last month I had the chance to meet a couple of the lovely ladies that work at Elmer’s while I was attending SNAP. Now, I’ve worked with Elmer’s products for years and I’m on the Elmer’s Craft It Crew this year and while hanging out in their booth at SNAP, I started to realize the potential of a product that has kind of hung out in the background of the Elmer’s family of products… Their line of Painters Markers!

Painters Markers are acrylic paint markers that come in fine, medium or chisel tips. They are easy to use and virtually mess-free. The are permanent on most surfaces and can be used on pretty much any type of surface. Wood, glass, ceramic, tera cotta, plastic, metal, foam board & even fabric. They are streak-free, non-toxic & acid-free. Yea, they ROCK!!

Recently, I found a fun wood and metal serving tray at Target and thought it would look great with the addition of some coral to give it a bit of a nautical theme. I decided to take these Elmer’s Painters Markers for a spin to see how well they worked!

First, I found a coral image that I like and cut the image out on Stencil Vinyl from Silhouette on my CAMEO.

Then I colored in the image with the Elmer’s Painters Marker in Sea Mist Brume.

Tip… I did learn that you need to shake it up really well and draw on another piece a paper for a little bit in order to get the color to regulate.

Once I was finished coloring it in, I removed the stencil and then outlined it with the with Gold Ore Painter’s Marker which is a FABULOUS metallic marker. I LOVE IT!!

The acrylic paint from the markers dries so fast and the ease of being able to “paint” with acrylic paint in marker form just makes my day. No more brushes, and all the mess that comes along with painting. I decided my tray needed some matching glasses to complete the look so I took some jar glasses that I also found at Target, and using the same stencil process, stenciled a gold anchor onto the glass.

The gold paint goes onto the glass so smooth and looks fabulous.

Tip… I did learn that you need to remove the stencil while the paint is still wet, or you may pull some of the dried paint off when removing the stencil.

I even painted the silver metal lids that I have for my jar glasses gold with the Painter’s Markers. It was super slick!!

Now, I have a stylish nautical display piece for my house or I can make a few more glasses and I have a fun serving set for a party! I LOVE it!!

The cool thing is that it really only took a few minutes to make all of these creations, less than an hour for sure and the paint was dry within minutes.

As for the anchor glasses… I’m not sure how this paint will react to a trip though the dishwasher and I do think that it could scratch off easily so I would hand wash for sure. I plan on using them mostly for display and not really for everyday use. If you would like to use them everyday I would try to find some type of sealant to make the gold image a little more permanent.

Now, that I’ve hopefully inspired you… What would you like to paint with Elmer’s Painters Markers?

Disclaimer // I am a member of the 2014 Elmer’s Craft It Crew and was compensation for my time while preparing this post. However, all thoughts, idea and opinions are my very own!

Simple DIY Art

4 · Apr 2, 2014 · 8 Comments

Simple DIY Art // Hey all! It’s Jenn from My Fabuless Life! Last month I shared my embroidery hoop bulletin board I did for my daughter’s big girl bedroom, and since then, I’ve caught the makeover fever, because I’ve moved onto my master bedroom and am here to show you a quick, simple art project you can do for less than $10. Finding large scale art for those bigger walls can get expensive, which is why I love creating my own. You can customize everything about it, for next to nothing!

I started with a 4′ x 4′ piece of thin, pine plywood from my home improvement store (in the lumber section with the peg board), and stained the whole thing. If you’re more into the painted look, you can do that too, it’s up to you.

My original plan was just to put the text right on the wood (which you’ll notice below), but after I wrote directly on the wood, it was hard to see, so I got out the paint. I wanted a really unique, sort of “messy” look, so I just grabbed one of my favorite sponge rollers and roughly rolled out the paint in the pattern I wanted. I let that coat dry, added another, and filled in some spots with a paint brush, and then it was time for the writing.

Remember, I tried writing first, so this picture is a little backwards. You’ll notice though, that if you’re writing with white, it would be just fine. Anyway, I measured for where I wanted the writing to go, and then drew a line with chalk so that the text wouldn’t be all over the place. Then, I wrote out my phrase with chalk and wrote right over it with a gold paint pen. After the gold was dry, I just wiped off the remaining chalk with a damp cloth.

I did mine free hand, but if you’d rather use one of your favorite fonts, this method is AWESOME for transferring the font to your board.

To hang it, I just hot glued a pop tab to the back of the wood like a picture hanger and hung it on a little nail. And that’s it! Super simple art!!

Faux Fireplace // Turn a Cork Board into a Chalkboard

15 · Dec 20, 2013 · 3 Comments

The post brought to you by DecoArt // We have moved TWICE in the last year. Yea, good times! Along with new homes, we have also become renters for the first time ever. We decided that when we moved the family to Nebraska that we weren't in a huge hurry to buy a new place. We wanted to rent for a while to see if the Cornhusker state stuck, 'cause… You never know. To be honest, I'm kind of loving renting right now. If something breaks, I don't have to figure out how to fix-it… I have a lovely landlord who takes care of it. One thing I don't like, being stuck with less than ideal style choices in the house.

We were super excited to have a fireplace and a mantel for the first time in a while. However, our landlord had recently added a weird fake electric fire insert to the fireplace and totally ruined the whole look and feel of the thing. I scratched my head trying to figure out how to still decorate the fireplace without the dorky insert killing the whole effect. I decided to cover it with a chalkboard and create my own faux fireplace!

Now, of course I can't find a chalkboard that will fit just right for the size and shape that I was looking for, but that's NO PROBLEM with the Americana Chalkboard paint from DecoArt. You can make ANYTHING into a chalkboard!

I found a cork board at Target that was perfect. The size, the shape and even the frame were perfect… The question, how well will cork work as a chalkboard? The answer, amazingly well! Here is how I made it…

Supplies

Cork board

Americana Chalkboard paint – Black

Americana Multi-Surface Satin – Black

Sponge roller

Sponge brush

Chalk

Pencil sharpener

Directions

Now, this is the easiest pant project EVER!! Take your cork board and lay on a flat surface. Gather your supplies…

Start with the Mulit-Surface satin. You don't even need a paint bowl, just pour a bit of paint on the board and roll-out. Cover the whole cork board…

I used my foam brush to do the edging. Once that paint was dry, (it only took about 20-30 minutes) I repeated the process with the Americana Chalkboard Paint. I made sure the whole board was covered and then let it dry.

Now this is the hard part… Even though the paint is dry, you need to wait for two days before you season your chalkboard. Your paint needs time to cure and to fully set, so give it time to do just that. After two days, you then need to season your chalkboard.

What is seasoning? When you use a chalkboard, you don't want to have ghost images left behind when you erase them. If you draw or write on a chalkboard before it has been seasoned little particles of chalk will fill in what ever holes are in the board. Little minuscule holes that you can't see, but the chalk undoubtedly will find, move in and never leave! In order to avoid that, you rub chalk all over the board and "season" it. That way you fill in any possible holes before you write on it and thus prevent any ghost images left behind.

Place the piece of chalk on it's side and rub all over the board. Then with a paper towel, rub the chalk into the board.

Now, your chalkboard is ready to use. I commissioned my talented daughter Hannah to draw a fire for me. She has WAY more talent than I have when it comes to that kind of work.

Then all I had to do was place it in front of the fireplace insert and voilá the problem was solved! Now, I have a cute fireplace that I can finally dress up!

I placed a few birch logs that I bought at Michaels in front to add to the illusion. I think it turned out super CUTE!!

The "May your Days be Merry & Bright" hand painted sign was created by At Home with K, she is a local artist here in Lincoln and her work is SUPER CUTE!! You should check her out.

I made the stockings myself and even though it's a little late for this year, I will post a tutorial and you can save it for next year if you are interested. They turned out super fun and you won't believe what I made them out of.

Disclaimer // I am part of the DecoArt Core Blogger Group. I received product and payment for this post.

Basswood Trees with eat.sleep.make.

1 · Dec 12, 2013 · 1 Comment

Hi all! Shannon from eat.sleep.make. here! So excited to share this inexpensive and easy project with you! All you need is a sheet of basswood, a craft knife, a rule, pencil and some paint!

First – Decide how big you want your tree to be. My first one I made 6 inches tall and 4 inches wide. Mark the wood and draw your triangle

Second – Use your ruler and craft knife to cut along the lines you drew. It may take several scores with the knife to get through the wood. Don't press too hard or you may crack the wood.

Third – Draw a line half way up from the middle of the base on one triangle. Then draw a line half way down from the tip of the triangle on the other. Use your craft knife to cut a slice about 1/16 to 1/8 inch where the line was.