Paint

DIY Polka Dot Denim

1 · Jun 25, 2013 · 7 Comments

DIY Polka Dot Denim Jeans // Here is our last Creative Team post for this month. I'm thrilled to introduce Haley from Life is Sweet! Haley has been a long time WhipperBerry friend from back when WhipperBerry was the new kid on the block. She has always been so supportive and a wonderful friend. Haley may not know this but she is a real example to me… She is such a wonderful mother and a positive example that has a gift for lifting others and making them feel special. Haley has amazing style and shares fun projects and recipes peppered in a blog about her beautiful family and the lessons she learns in this daily journey we call life & parenthood!

Hello WhipperBerry friends! I'm still on cloud 9 to be able to share here with the rest of the lovely ladies on the WhipperBerry Creative Team…thank you Heather! Today I'll be sharing a tutorial involving one of my favorite patterns: polka dots. They can be fun and casual, classy and bold. I've seen polka dotted pants here and there for a little while now, and I love them! Recently I found a pair of white denim pants with black polka dots that I couldn't help but gush over, sadly the price tag put a stop to that train rather quick. So I made them happen with a pair of pants I already owned! And they're my new favorite pair of jeans. Do you like polka dots? If so, give this a try!

– Denim (or any kind of pants or skirt really…needs to be washed at least once prior to painting)

– Fabric paint (I love the Tulip brand…can be found at most craft stores and even Walmart)

– Pencil to mark the dots

– Stamp/Eraser of a pencil to stamp the dots (or something that is the right size of dot you're wanting)

– Paper, cut in a diamond-shape for the stencil (mine had a long cross-section of 3 inches, and a short cross-section of 2 inches)

STEP 1:

You'll want to set the diamond stencil on the denim and mark all four corners with small dots. Then move the diamond, matching up one of the sides with two of the dots, and then mark the remaining two corners. And repeat…over and over.

TIP: Do your best to match them up, but don't stress about having them be exactly in alignment. 🙂 That is why I chose to do a diamond as opposed to a square, I think it hides imperfections better.

STEP 2:

Lay your pants on a flat surface. With your eraser (or other tool for painting the dots) dab a small amount of fabric paint and then lightly press it onto denim over your pencil marks. Repeat for each dot.

TIP: You may need to dap/press twice if the dot needs to be darker/more solid, just be sure not to have too much paint on the eraser, you can always mark it again, but you can't make an already-painted mark smaller.

STEP 3:

Let the one side dry (a couple hours should be good, but lightly touch the last dot you painted to be sure the paint isn't wet) and then flip over to mark and paint the other side (Steps 1 and 2). Let fully dry…then have fun wearing them out on the town!

Past posts:

Shabby to Chic DIY Photo Gallery

Roasted Coconut and Almond Hawaiian Pizza

"You Are My Sunshine" Printables

You can also connect with me here:

Instagram // Pinterest

xo,
Haley

Picnic Caddy

2 · Jun 17, 2013 · 6 Comments

This post brought to you by DecoArt // I am always keeping my eyes peeled for fun items that I can dress-up with a little paint. Fun little finds that have some character, but with a little zip of color make them the star of the show! I found this great "Junk Shop" here in Lincoln called Simply Bungalow and it's FULL of all kinds of goodies. Heidi and her Mom do a fabulous job of curating a wonderful shop and I have fallen in love with it. The other day I stopped in a found a rustic caddy that I thought would make a fabulous picnic caddy…

Isn't it fun how a little paint can really add some pizzaz to an item? The contrast between the wood and the ombre paint is just lovely. It's going to be perfect to carry out our plates and utensils outside into our backyard oasis this summer. You can make one for your table as well.

Keep an eye out for a great wood caddy. This one was made with old reclaimed wood, but you can find newer ones and stain them the color that you like, it's super easy.

If you're handy you can even make one of your own. Ana White has a great reclaimed wood caddy with all the plans, that would be perfect for this project.

Supplies

Wood caddy
DecoArt Americana Acrylic Craft Paint – I used Whispering Turquoise, Sea Breeze and Bahama Blue

Some type of graphic stencil – You can find all kinds of stencils at any of the craft stores out there or you can make your own out of vinyl with your Silhouette or Cricut craft cutting machines. I made mine with my Silhouette CAMEO using the 12×24 cutting mat. It was perfect for making the large stencil that I needed.
Painters tape
Sponge brush

Instructions

Clean and dry your wood before you apply your stencil. This just makes sure any dirt or dust is removed before you try and paint. Apply your stencil to the wood if you are using vinyl, or tape any other type of stencil onto your surface.

I even added an edge of painters tape around the vinyl just to make sure I didn't have any over paint issues.

Next, I started at the top and added one color of paint (Bahama Blue) on the top row, the second color (Sea Breeze) on the middle row and the third (Whispering Turquoise) on the bottom row. This creates a subtle ombre effect.

Let that dry for just a few minutes and then carefully remove the stencil. Let it completely dry and then turn and start your next section. I used a chevron stencil for the sides and the raindrop stencil for the front and back of the caddy. I distressed it just a bit to have it look a little more rustic and then I was finished! Isn't it cute?

My kiddos love to load it up and take it out to our picnic table outside to get things set for our breakfast, lunch or dinner…

You won't need a center piece anymore! You'll have a beautiful and functional caddy for your table. No ones needs to know how easy it is to make!!

Disclaimer // I am a member of DecoArt's Core Blogger group and received free product along with compensation for this post. However, all thoughts, ideas and opinions are my very own!

Team Spirit Writers by DecoArt

16 · Jun 11, 2013 · 5 Comments

This post brought to you by DecoArt // Yesterday, I sent Haley and Hannah off to Girls Camp for the week! Girls Camp is a fabulous event that our 12-18 year old girls from church participate in every year. This is Hannah's first year and she is super excited. Haley is a veteran and couldn't wait to get together with all her friends and introduce Hannah to the elusive creature the Snipe (wink, wink!) Back in Vegas we had a fun tradition of using Team Spirit Writers to send the girls off in style to camp in style…

I don't know when the tradition started, but for the last several years the girls would always get a hold of these window paint pens and decorate all the cars for the trip up to camp. It was always fun to see what they came up with. Now that we live in a new state with a whole new set of traditions, we thought we would bring one of our old traditions with us.

It was perfect!! The girls felt right at home and everyone at camp drop-off thought it was the coolest thing ever. The Spirit Writers come in several colors and with their easy to use applicators they are super fun to add a little spunk for your next event!!

They are also super easy to clean off with a little window cleaner. You can find the Team Spirit Writers and Jo-Anns.

Disclaimer // I am a part of the DecoArt Core Blogger group and did receive product and payment for this post, however, all thoughts, ideas and opinions are my own.

Cute DIY Folding Chairs Makeover

140 · Jun 9, 2013 · 92 Comments

WhipperBerry Creative Team // Today I’m super excited to introduce you to another member of the WhipperBerry Creative Team… Jenn from My Fabulous Life. She is one talented lady with an amazing list of talents…

I’m Jenn and I blog about DIY, furniture refinishing, and other random creative endeavors over at My Fabuless Life. I’m beyond thrilled and flattered that Heather has asked me to be a part of her team. Today I’m sharing a cute folding chair makeover story in DIY style!

It’s probably no surprise that I love to host parties and gatherings at my house and volunteer my abode for events whenever possible–my husband totally loves it. So this past year, when the parents asked me what I wanted for Christmas, I told them, without skipping a beat, FOLDING CHAIRS! Buuuttt….I feel like nothing puts a damper on my party quite like adding some drab, ugly folding chairs to a perfectly planned table setting. You can imagine the parents’ joy when they granted my Christmas wish and I immediately said, “Oh, I’m so excited! I can’t wait to paint these and recover them.” Queue collective, “Aww, no, don’t do that…they’re perfectly good and new…wait until they’re at least beat up a little….”

I had a little guilt about going against the wishes of the gift-givers, but seriously, these girls were not going to be invited to my parties in this outfit.

How to Makeover Folding Chairs – Do it Yourself Style

I originally set out to do some vintage florals, but plaids have stolen my heart in a big way lately–for some reason whenever I say this, I hear Tim Gunn in my head talking about menswear. Anyway, I was at Walmart, of all places one day, and found the blue and pink plaid (on the right) in their remnant bin for like $2.00 and knew EXACTLY what I was going to do with the chairs. The gold, polka dot burlap was not in the original plan, but when you find GOLD, POLKA DOT BURLAP (at Joann’s), you USE IT! I may need meetings for this burlap addiction because it is quickly appearing all over my house and I can not get enough.

How to Add Cushions to Metal Folding Chairs

Metal folding chairs are a bit uncomfortable. So, if you don’t already have the one’s with cushions you’ll want to add cushions first. This might seem hard if you want to do it yourself but it’s actually easy! The things you’ll need for adding a cushion are below.

Things You’ll Need to DIY:

Spray paint (about one can for each chair)
Fabric (less than 1/2 yard for each chair)
Staple gun (can be purchased for about $10 just about anywhere that sells basic tools)
(4) 1″ screws for each chair

Start by removing the pads from the chair. On my chairs, the ones on the back just came off by unscrewing three little screws.

The seat cushion was attached with some type of plastic screws so I just clipped the ends off with wire cutters (just something will cut through thick plastic). DON’T TRY TO PULL THEM OUT. They have a flat head that’s attached to the wood under the padding and you’ll just rip a hole through the seat–learned that one the hard way.

Then spray paint the chairs. I used Valspar Brushed Rose and Mellow Spring from Lowe’s. While the paint is drying, you can upholster your cushions.

Just lay the cushion on the fabric, cut a piece of fabric big enough to pull around it, and staple it down right over the top of the existing fabric. Make sure to keep it pulled tight, and if you’re using a fabric with a pattern, keep flipping the cushion over as you go to make sure you’re keeping the pattern straight.

Trim the excess fabric and reattach the cushions. To attach the seat cushions, just drill a new screw up through where the old plastic screw used to be.