DecoArt

Halloween Bat Jars

9 · Oct 4, 2017 · Leave a Comment

Chalky Finish Halloween Bat Jars • Have fun creating spooky Halloween decor with these Americana Decor Chalky Finish Ball Jars filled with creepy bats. Decorate your mantle or use them as a table centerpiece. Either way, they will add some stylish fun to your Halloween decoration game.

+ This post is brought to you by the amazing folks at DecoArt +

I LOVE, love, love creating simple and, (strange as it may seem,) elegant Halloween decor. I’ve said it before, I don’t really go for the macabre but, I do love a good bat or six flying around the room. This year I thought it would be fun to use two of my favorites and create spooky mantle decor OR a centerpiece for our Halloween gatherings.

Not All Jars are Created Equal • What Jars Are Fun to Use

We’ve all seen those classic chalk painted jars used for everything under the sun. They are great but, they can be even better when you use the NEW Ball jars that have a little flair to them. The have a new Spiral Jar, a Giving Jar and a little Mini Ball Jar. All three of these jars have something fun to add to the chalk paint jar scene. The Spiral jar has great spiral lines with a somewhat hour glass shape, PERFECT for a chalky finish. The giving jar has great lines and, can we swoon over the cute mini mason jar! That would be perfect for a place card at a Halloween dinner party.

The Benefits of Chalky Finish Paint vs. Typical Acrylic Paint

These fun new jars are a match made in Heaven when it comes to the DecoArt Americana Decor Chalky Finish paint. The two main benefits to using chalk type paint for this application is:

Dry time– Chalk or mineral type paint has a super speedy dry time which is fabulous when you are wanting to a quick project. Whether big or small, furniture or jars, you want to move quickly and not have to sit around literally watching the paint dry.
Manipulatable – With a chalk based paint like the Americana Decor Chalky Finish paint, once the paint is dry, that’s when the magic happens. You can use sand paper or even a wet cloth to play with the paint giving it a nice worn look. With typically acrylic paint you wouldn’t be able to do that. It would just become a sticky mess. The paint would gum up in your sand paper and the result wouldn’t be consistent. And really, chalk painted projects are far more interesting than just your basic flat paint job. They have character!

Supplies Needed for the Halloween Bat Jars

Ball Jars- Spiral, Giving Jar & Mini Jar –
DecoArt Americana Decor Chalky Finish Paint – Everlasting
DecoArt Americana Decor Satin Enamels – Classic Black
Chalk paint brush
FloralCraft Dry Foam Mug Plugs
Wire cutters
Black Aluminum Floral Wire
Hot glue gun – I LOVE my cordless Ryobi Glue Gun
220 grit Sand paper
Round pencil or pen
Bats
lint free cloth to protect your surface

I actually purchased most of my supplies here from Michaels or Target. I’ve found Target has the best selection for the Ball jars at a good price. The bats are a chipboard bat from the Martha Stewart Crafts line at Michaels but, you can totally make your own bats out of black paper as well. If you have a Cricut machine it would be a snap!

Instructions for the Halloween Bat Jars

Place a lint free cloth or paper down on your surface to protect it from the paint.

You will begin by painting your first coat of paint with the Classic Black Americana Decor Satin Enamel. Now, I want these jars to look rough and not polished at all. I don’t mind brush strokes or a rough edge at the top. I actually purposefully created a feathered look at the top with my brush.

I turned them upside down and let them dry for an hour or two. You don’t want the paint to be tacky at all when you move onto the next coat.

Once your black layer is dry after an hour or two, you’ll paint on your white layer with the Americana Decor Chalky Finish in Everlasting (white.) I left about a 1/2 to a 1/4 inch section at the top of the black. That way a little more of the black paint is showing through. Again, I kind of feathered the top with my brush.

PRO TIP: For the white layer, I found a thicker application of the paint is best. I wouldn’t go so far as to do two coats. Just paint it on a little heavy.

Then I set them aside to dry again. This time I didn’t have to wait too long. The Chalky Finish paint dries super quick even if it is layered on rather thick.

Then I took the 220 grit sand paper and LIGHLY swipe the paint on the jar with a flat hand. You don’t want to attack it like a jack hammer. You want to lightly distress the high points of the jar so that it look natural.

If you don’t want to worry about paint dust from the sandpaper, you can distress your jar with a wet cloth. Just make sure not to get the paint too wet. It will pull large areas of paint off the jar if it is not done carefully.

Now, put the floral foam into the jars. You may need to cut down the foam in order for it to fit into the jar.

It’s time to add your bats! You have several different choices for wire. If you are using a lighter, cardstock type paper for your bats, you’ll be able to use a 24 gage wire like the one pictured above. If you are using chipboard bats, you might opt for a heavier wire like the black aluminum decorative wire that I used.

Have fun twisting and curling the wire to create fun lines and swirls just like the swirls on the jar! I used some jewelry making tools along with a circular pen to create the twists and turns in my wire.

I hot glue the wire to the back of the bats and then arrange them in the jars sticking the wire into the floral foam to keep them in place.

Doesn’t the jar look fun with the distressed swirls?!

I love how these turned out and can’t wait to make a few more to dress up our home for Halloween. It would be fun to make some jars with ghosts and such… Ahhh, fun!

Creepy Halloween Taxidermy Plaques

9 · Sep 1, 2017 · Leave a Comment

Add a little flair to your spooky Halloween decorations with taxidermy plaques! I used the DecoArt Metallic Lustre to turn simple spooky objects into creepy yet classy home decor. Come check it out… If you dare!

{ disclaimer • I am a DecoArt Ambassador and they have sponsored this post. However, all thoughts, ideas and opinions are my very own.}

O.K. guys… It’s never too early to start thinking about your Halloween decorations! Over the years I’ve become quite the fan of decorating for this creepy holiday. I used to hate it, but I’ve kind of fallen in love with what you can create for this spooky night. I wanted to create some new pieces to add to my collection for the new home and found myself wandering the isles at Michaels wondering what to make. Then it hit me… I wanted to make some “taxidermy” plaques to add some cringe worthy art to my front entry way. I wanted to keep it simple and still classy so I thought a little Rose Gold Metallic Lustre from DecoArt would do the trick! Here’s how you can make them.

Taxidermy Plaques Supply List

wood plaques
DecoArt Metallic Lustre – Rose Gold
Americana Curb Appeal – Black
iron spider
iron keys
skeleton hand
small Staghorn Fern
paint brush
lint free cloth
drill
8 screws
floral wire
moss
large bowl of water
baking sheet
drop cloth or something to protect your work surface

Instructions for Taxidermy Plaques

To begin, you will need to prep your work surface and cover it with a drop cloth or some type over covering to protect it.

Next, place your moss into a large bowl of water so that it can soak while you are working with the other pieces. Set it aside.

Then, grab your Americana Curb Appeal paint and paint 2 of your wood plaques. Keep one natural for your Staghorn Fern.

I really like the Americana Curb Appeal paint and traditionally it’s not really used for crafting, it’s used to paint door and shutters typically. I had some on hand and thought it would work just fine for the wood plaques for this project. PLUS… I have used that same paint for my doors, fireplace & banister therefore, my plaques would match the rest of my space. Not only that but, I really like the finish that it create on the wood. You won’t see brush strokes, the coverage is phenomenal and you’ll still see the wood grain through the paint. I really like that! I like to paint wood but, I don’t want it to look plastic… you know?

Once those are both painted, set them aside to dry. Don’t worry, they dry pretty quick.

Next, let’s drill a hole into the skeleton hand before we add the DecoArt Metallic Lustre.

The hand is made out of a resin so it isn’t a problem to drill a hole into it. It might be a little hard to start, but once you get the hole stared, it’s not a big deal.

Next, grab the skeleton hand, keys, spider, the rose gold Metallic Lustre and your lint free cloth (or paper towel if you are in a pinch. Just don’t rub too hard.)

Now, the DecoArt Metallic Lustre is a wax finish, not paint. IT AWESOME!! I love this stuff! I put a little onto my cloth like so…

… And then, rub it all over your object that you are wanting to add a little flair to.

It cures really quick so, if you don’t want to have full coverage, make sure you work in small sections and work quick. With these pieces, I didn’t want full coverage, I still wanted them to look a little rough. As for the keys, I only wanted the rose gold at the top of the keys and then left the bottom black.

Once the paint on the plaques is dry and the Metallic Lustre has cured (it only takes a few minutes) you are ready to mount them on their plaques.

I just used a 1 1/2 inch screw to adhere the skeleton hand to the plaque. However, I did drill pilot holes into the hand and the plaque before to ensure a proper fit.

Now… I’m sure you’ve noticed that there is now a unsightly screw in the hand.

No worries!! I took a stick and roughly added more of the Metallic Lustre to cover the screw head.

Once it cures, it’s hard and voilá… You can’t see the screw! Nice, huh?

For the spider, I placed a screw on the plaque and hung the spider on it. If you use the same spider that I used, it has a screw hanger on the back so it works perfect. I did add some of the Metallic Lustre to the screw to help it blend in.

Now it’s time to mount your Staghorn Fern. Grab the plaque that you didn’t paint along with your drill and 6 1 1/2 inch screws and some floral wire.

First, I drill pilot holes into the plaque.

Three on each side about an inch away from the edge of the board. Then I add my screws but keep about an inch sticking up from the board.

At this point, I lay my plaque in a baking sheet. This part can get a little messy and the baking sheet will help contain the mess. Then I take the floral wire and make a little loop to help start the process and attach it to the top screw.

Then I wind it around the rest of the screws making sure to keep the wire close to the base of the screw close to the wood.

Do not cut the floral wire yet. Take some of your moss, gently wring it out a bit and lay it on top of the wire.

Then take your Staghorn Fern and gently take it out of the pot and remove as much dirt as possible. Staghorn Ferns are air plant so they really don’t need to live in soil. They get their nutrients from the air and the moisture on their frawns. For a really great post on Staghorn Ferns and how to mount and care for them, check out Vintage Revivals. Mandi has a real love for these plants.

Once I’ve removed as much of the dirt as I am comfortable with, I lay it down on top of the moss.

Here’s a funny tip…

Staghorn Ferns love banana peels. Apparently, they provide the kind of nutrition that the plants really like. Before I cover the plant with moss, I add a little bit of banana peel.

Next, cover it with more moss and then criss cross the wire over the whole mound like before, until it is secure. The wire actually melts right into the moss and you don’t see it at all.

Check out Mandi’s post for tips on how to care for your new mounted Staghorn Fern. Now you’re all set to hang your macabre little scene on your walls.

Another little trick… I hung mine with those Command Strip Picture Hanging Strips. LOVE those babies!

I love how these add a little creepy and yet class to my entryway if that’s even possible!

Painted Nautical Signal Flags for Boys Room Decor

7 · Jul 13, 2017 · Leave a Comment

Looking for a fun way to dress-up your boys room? Vintage Nautical is one of my favorite ways to decorate for my little guy. Come learn how I created these painted nautical signal flags for our little guy’s room…

• This post brought to you by Michaels •

I’ve always been inspired by vintage nautical pieces. All of the fun gadgets and gizmos, the style of the ships, the anchors and I especially love vintage nautical signal flags.

One of my picker friends here in Nebraska does a fabulous job collecting vintage nautical items. Here are a few of Cody’s from The West Place, vintage nautical flags among other items.

Aren’t they cool?! I purchased a flag from him about a year ago with the intention of using it for my little boy’s room in our new house. The one that I have is (if you look at the chart above) the letter “Z”. It’s colors are amazing! The perfect red, blue, mustard yellow and black. I’m using that as my inspiration for Gage’s room.

If you’re following along, Gage and I introduced you to Davy Jones, Gage’s new octopus wall art for his room…

I thought it would be fun to create a few more nautical signal flags to go along with Davy Jones. I was thrilled to find out that the Michaels Maker challenge for July is craft paint! Of course this is a perfect opportunity to create these fun flags using a wood canvas that I found at Michaels and the NEW DecoArt Americana Premium Acrylic Paints.

If you don’t already know, Michaels has all kinds of new craft paints in-store now. You need to check it out! They have acrylics, milk paint, chalk paint… All kinds of specialty paints. Not to mention stencils, canvases, brushes and more. Painting with stencils makes things really easy so definitely pick those up. I actually just painted my front door with paint that I purchased at Michaels, the new DecoArt Curb Appeal paint. Who knew you could find that kind of paint at Michaels!

I’m also totally in love with these Art Wood Panels that you can find at Michaels. I wanted my flags to look vintage and a normal canvas wouldn’t be able to create the kind of look I was going for. Nor could I find wood that would look somewhat like a flag. Other wood options would add a lot more bulk and I didn’t want that. This wood canvas is perfect.

Gage and I talked it over and decided that we would create flags for the letters W-X-Y to go with our actual Z flag.

Supplies for the Painted Nautical Signal Flags

DecoArt Premium Acrylic Paint

DecoArt Premium Medium • Matte

Artist Loft Art Wood Panel Value Pack

Painter tape

Sponge Brushes

Painted Nautical Signal Signs Instructions

Each flag is going to have a different process due to the designs of the signal flags. You will have to figure out how to best create the design for the letters you create. I’ll show you how I created the letter “Y” flag.

First, I painted the base layer in Yellow Oxide and let it dry. I only did one coat of paint because I was planning on distressing the sign so why make my job harder with an extra layer of paint.

Next, rather than busting out my mad math skills (of which I have none) I layed 2 inch painters tape diagonally across the entire board with the tape bumping right up to the base of the other tape.

Then, I removed every other strip of tape to then create perfect diagonal stripes. I then painted the red stripes on the board. For this stripe, I did paint two light layers of paint. I wanted a truly bold color even though I was still going to be distressing the board.

After the paint was dry, I pulled the tape to reveal the PERFECT stripes!

I love how you can still see the wood grain on these art boards. Not to mention, look at those beautiful bold colors. I love this paint! Next, I used my detail sander to distress the board a bit to give this faux flags the vintage look.

I LOVE how they turned out. I can’t wait to see how they look in Gage’s room when it’s finished.

Looking for more painting inspiration? Michaels has you covered. You can follow along on The Glue String (the Michaels blog) OR, checkout these other projects from the other Michaels Makers…

An InLinkz Link-up

DIY Octopus Wall Art

6 · Jul 10, 2017 · 2 Comments

Create a simple DIY octopus wall art piece with The NEW DecoArt Americana® Premium Artist Acrylics found at Michaels.

• This DIY Octopus Wall Art Post is brought to you by DecoArt •

Back in December we purchased our PERFECT home! Perfect for everyone but our little guy Gage. His room was a rather bold pink and purple. This kiddo has spent 7 long years with only sisters. We have a soccer ball and a volleyball that he plays with and they are hand-me-downs from his sisters and they are, you guessed it… PINK. To say that the little guy is over all of the pink, is an understatement. This week we are starting his room transformation and we are going vintage nautical for the theme.

Now, any vintage nautical themed room NEEDS a cool piece of art. This year in Gage’s 1st grade class he worked on a really cool report on his favorite sea creature, the octopus. We decided he needed a cool octopus for his room and set to work to create “Davy Jones,” Gage new octopus friend.

Gage’s sister Jane helped to create this with me using the NEW DecoArt Americana Premium Artist Acrylics and Mediums.

DIY Octopus Wall Art Supply List

DecoArt Americana® Premium Artist Acrylic Paint in Prussian Blue Hue, Dark Grey Value 3, Titanium White
DecoArt Americana® Premium Artist Acrylic Matte Medium
Art Wood Canvas (I found mine at Michaels)
Paint brushes
Paint rags
Jar of water
Pencil
eraser

DIY Octopus Wall Art Instructions

The cool thing about this project is that you really don’t have to be an artist to create fun art for your home. With this type of vintage looking painting, perfection is NOT NEEDED. Whew! That’s my kind of painting!

First thing you need to to is to take your Titanium White and mix it with the Matte Medium. Why would you mix the paint with a medium? Here is what the matte medium adds to the acrylic paint…

“Add Matte Medium to Americana Premium acrylics to create a matte finish, extend color, increase transparency, and enhance color blending. Can also be used as a clear coat for a matte finish. It is water-based and fast-drying.”

Pretty cool huh? Now if you don’t want the paint to dry too fast, you want to have more time to work with it, you may want to use and Extender Medium…

“Add Extender Medium to slow the drying time of Premium Acrylics. It can also be safely added to the other mediums in the line. Any time you want the paint or medium to have more working time add some Extender to it. Extender also allows you to perform oil techniques using acrylic paint.”

Once you have your white and matte medium mixed together, roughly paint on a white surface onto your boards. That reminds me… I used 2 of the 16×20 art boards to create a longer octopus to fill up more wall space. Because we all know… Davy Jones needs to be huge!

I left a boarder around the edge leaving some of the raw wood. But, if you notice, it’s all really rough. We aren’t looking for perfect lines here.

Next, Hannah sketched the octopus onto the boards with a pencil. Again, we aren’t looking for perfect. She even traced the legs off of the white section to make them look like they were coming off the canvas. Don’t trust your sketching skills? No worries, Angie from The Country Chic Cottage shares a great tutorial on how to use transfer paper to create a good sketch for sign making on the DecoArt Blog. It’s PERFECT for those of us who are artistically challenged.

Again, we added the Americana® Premium Matte Medium to the Prussian Blue Hue Americana® Premium Artist Acrylic Paint and mixed it well.

Then we set to work painting good ole’ Davy Jones the Octopus for Gage’s room…

I wanted as much texture as possible so we tried to create really rough brush strokes. I was really impressed with how fast the paint dried, it was so easy to use!

Next, we painted on rough circles for his tentacles and eyes. Again, we wanted things to look really rough. That’s why this type of project is so good for beginner artist. That leads me to the Americana® Premium Acrylic Paint, here’s why is it the perfect type of paint for this application… Americana® Premium™ acrylics provide a medium-bodied formula for the hobbyist-artist at an affordable price point. Its satin-sheen formula was created to work well on canvas, and other artistic surfaces. Its simplicity of design and use takes the intimidation factor out of fine art painting. Use it alone or mix with mediums to create original pieces of art at a budget-friendly price. It’s the perfect, easy to use, budget friendly paint for this kind of home decor project.

I’m even thinking of drilling some holes into the two boards and connecting them with rope. I think that will look really cool. I’ll let you know as we get started on Gage’s room. Davy Jones will for sure make a few more appearances!

Looking for more fun painting projects for the family here is another one from WhipperBerry that you might like…

Gnome Garden

Disclaimer • This post is sponsored by DecoArt. I receive product and payment to help create this fun project. Please remember, I will only share what I truly love and use all of the time.