Monday, November 9, 2015

Seaglass Starfish Ornament

Hey Everyone!
Today we are going to learn how easy it is to make your own beachy adorable seaglass starfish ornament!


The Supplies you will need are as follows:

*clear glass ornaments of any size
*Krylon Seaglass Spray (I used the color Aqua)
*a teal tube of Scribbles puffy paint (or a pearlized BoBunny Pearler Pen)
*a dowel rod (to make spraying easier)
*a white fine tip Deco oil based paint pen
*some jute/twine to finish off


FIRST:

Remove the metal top of glass ornament. Then after setting up your sturdy dowel rod outside, place your ornament on its end. This way, you don't have to touch the glass as your spray it, and it can completely dry without being damaged.

Spray from 8-12 inches away, being sure not to focus on one area too long. Apply repeated thin coats for best effect. The more you spray, the more intense the color. After you have your desired amount of applied frosty aqua, allow to dry for at least an hour. This ensures no chipping of color happens, and that your paint pen can write on a dry smooth surface.




SECOND:

After your ornament is completely dry, you can begin the dotted starfish. Taking your Scribbles paint, or Pearler Pen, tap your paint upside down with the cap on to ensure there are no bubbles. With a basic star you can dot your self a guide by dotting 5 spots in the shape of a pentagon. I freehanded my star, but a pentagon shape makes the best guide for beginners, making a triangle come from every two points. The dots will be pointy at first. Don't worry. As it dries it will round out.

After dotting my star outline, I filled in the star with bigger dots at the tips and smaller dots towards the middle.

When you're done, let sit for another hour. Only 2 more steps left!





THIRD:

After your dots have completely dried, take out your white fine tip Deco paint pen and draw the outline of your star! Don't hug the dots too closely. The space will create it's own clean edge!
 And the rounder the corners are, the more "starfishy" and less "pointed star" your shape will look.

In nature starfish move and sometimes one leg is bigger or wider than the other, so don't be afraid to make your outline unique!








FOURTH:

After  your white line is dry (which should only take 5 minutes at most) You are all set!

Just loop your bit of jute around the metal tab that goes in the top of your glass ball and you've made an adorable starfish ornament!!























Bethany @ Enchanted Lake

Tuesday, November 3, 2015

Chunky Letter Photo Holder

Hey, everyone!
I hope you guys had an awesome Halloween last weekend. 
So, it's November and it's almost time for Thanksgiving!
Time to count your blessings and be grateful for what you have. 
Family, friends, pets... I know we all have a small photo of them somewhere
on our work desk or in our planners.  So today I will be showing you a fun way
to display a special photo using our brand new mini paper mache letters!
 
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 
Supplies Needed
Mini Paper Mache Letter
Chalky Finish
Acrylic Paint
Foam Brush
Natural Bristle Brush
Small Paint Bowl
Thick Floral Wire
Montana Marker (not pictured)
Pliers (not pictured)
Needle
 
 
 
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 
Let's get started!
 
First, use the foam brush to paint the letter with the chalk finish in the
color of your choice.  I decided to go with a teal
tone with a white distressed accent.
 

 
Second, after letting your base color dry, I used a dry natural bristle brush
to distress the letter with white acrylic paint.  Lightly dip the tip of the
flat brush in the paint, wipe the excess off on a paper towel or scratch paper,
and use light strokes to apply the paint.  The light strokes create the light and streaky
look.  Only apply a heavier amount of paint on the angles so it appears scuffed.
 
 
 
 
Next, color the bent floral wire.  The Montana paint marker provides
a smooth matte finish and it also dries pretty quickly, so I went with that instead
of spray paint or regular acrylic.  I had actually bent the wire with a pair of long nose pliers to form this curled shape. It's pretty easy.  Just start by bending where you want the base of the curl and go upwards from there.  I recommend leaving about
3 inches for your "stem".  This curl is where you will stick your photo on.
 
 
After that, poke a hole into the top of your letter with the needle.  Be sure not
to make the hole too big.  You want it to be tight around the stem so that your photo
stands up straight.
 

 
Lastly, stick the wire in and you're finished!
 
 


 
These are great for gifts, favors and place markers for parties! 
Embellish with glitter, stickers and rhinestones or tie on some beads.
Glue on some shells or pom poms.
Mod podge some scrapbook paper on each side!
Whatever you do, have fun!
 
Erika @ PC