Hanging Glass Lanterns - Faux Blown Glass

Ever since I got my bottle cutter last year, no glass bottle in my house is safe.  I'm constantly slicing and dicing them to create whatever comes to mind!  I was recently at an Italian restaurant (love pasta) and saw these small hanging lanterns around the bar and wanted to replicate them in some way.  This is what happened and I LOVE THEM!  They look like blown glass and the glow is just beautiful.  Experiment, try using thing you normally toss and always Make Your Mark!

Beautiful when the sun starts to set 

Use battery operated tea lights if you're worried about open flames

Should I hang them in my living room?

Watch how to make them here!

Happy UPCYCLING, my friends!

Stained Glass-tic Beads DIY

It actually makes me sad to see the big plastic salad containers just tossed into the bin after just one use.  So much waste and soooo much plastic.  It's frustrating.  Daily I challenge myself to find things to make with what most would consider garbage and I take that challenge very seriously.  Recently I remembered a Tyvec bead project using a heat gun and thought that the technique just might work on these salad clams.  Guess what...It did!  Add a little bit of Marabu Alcohol Ink to give them some amazing color and you have some beautiful, stained glass beads!  Think out of the box (or in this case, salad clam) and always Make Your Mark!

Attached to paper clips for art journals

Strung with gold spacers for jewelry!

Watch how to make them here!

I just can't make these fast enough!

Gorgeous Decorative Candles DIY

I originally made these candles for the holidays, but I love them so much they're going to stay out for the rest of the year or until they're gone!  I used real wax pillars for these, but honestly, the battery operated pillars would have been a better choice.  Still, I'm just super happy with them.  I painted the hot glue pieces with metallic silver and then added some Galaxy Glitter to make them sparkle even more.  If you haven't tried using hot glue in silicone molds, it's addicting!  Hot glue is also much more sturdy than most clays and you can shape it with a hair dryer!  

Be a mad scientist when you're creating and always

Make Your Mark!

 Nothing like a crystal ball to magnify the candle glow!

Clustered on a silver thrift store tray

Watch how to make them here!

LINK to my favorite molds: https://amzn.to/2tifkAM

Fill a mini cloche with your favorite souvenirs!

Decorate the way you want!  It's your home!

Sea Glass Jewelry with Images

I'm obsessed with making my own DIY Sea Glass.  My rock tumbler is constantly rotating with a new batch for my projects!  When I figured out how to add images to the glass without a big hassle, my mind was just blown.   Watch how easy it is to make in the video below and just in case you want to make some for yourself, here's a link for everything I used including the rock tumbler: https://www.amazon.com/shop/markmontano?listId=25XR6D4ECQJIC

Have fun and don't forget to Make Your Mark!

 Delicate and magical

I made mostly necklaces, but earrings would be lovely, too! 

Watch how to make them here!

Large, flat pieces are the best canvases for your decals

Enjoy!  xo, Mark

Wooden Boho Table Runner

I saw several versions of wooden table runners on Pinterest and decided to make one of my own.  Gotta say, I wasn't 100% sold on this project until it was actually done and draped across my striped patio table!  The color, pattern and brightness just made everything on the table POP!  Also, did you know that you can press wood on a Gel Press?  Who knew?!!!  If you're wanting a different look, you could decoupage this runner with family photos or flowers or paint both sides, each with a different pattern.  Draping the tassels on the ends will give you that boho feel instantly, too!  Rethink traditional materials, my crafty friends, and always Make Your Mark!

I mixed my own colors of Unicorn SPiT for this project.  

You can literally make any color you want with this product!

 The funky tassel trim just made this for me!

Watch how to make this here!

 You're cats will love this, too!

Make dinner special!

Tin Can Candles

When I was a kid my dad had a metal work table in our garage with this incredible vice grip that could smash almost anything if you could muster the strength to twist the handle hard enough.  Not sure why, but tin cans were my favorite things to smash.  I have had a long relationship with tin cans and to this day I can't stand to throw them away.  They're perfect for soooo many things AND an excellent upcycle item!  Since many of you are pet parents, use LED tea lights in these candles instead of the real thing and they'll be just as gorgeous.  Reuse and repurpose as much as you can, my wonderful friends, and don't forget to Make Your Mark!

 Already wrapped and given away to my sweet friends

 Use any image you want!

Antique family photos would be a fun choice!

Watch how to make them here!

Links to the products I used HERE

Links to the images I used HERE

Light up your life, possums!

Mermaid Seashell Ornaments

My mom loves seashells.  Seashells are quite exotic to us folks who grew up on the plains in southern Colorado!  On my first trip to the coast I bought her a seashell windchime and countless years later, it still hangs in her bathroom with her collection of other seashell stuff.  While I made these ornaments I thought alot about my mom.  Crafting often gives us the chance to calm our minds and think about the people who mean the most to us.  It's a bit like church, but much more fun (for me)!  Enjoy your creative time, my friends, and don't forget to Make Your Mark!

My mermaid Christmas tree!

You could add even more rhinestones!

Watch how to make them here!

I love the shimmer of Unicorn SPiT Sparkling!

Merry Christmas Ariel!

Glittery Holiday Dishes

I've seen tons of tutorials on glitter dishes, but none that were dishwasher AND food safe!  A few amazing supplies from DecoArt and a healthy layer of Galaxy Glitter and you'll have the 

GLITTERY-EST dishes in town!  Fill them with cookies to give to friends or add some sparkle to your holiday table!  Check out the video below and don't forget to 

Make Your Mark!

 Imagine them filled with gold foil covered chocolates!

Galaxy Glitter has different size & color flakes...It's soooo glittery!

Watch how to make them here!

 Mix & match all the colors!

Sparkle ON, my friends!

Vintage Mirror Ornaments

There is a 99c store in my area that has a HUGE craft section filled with tons of odds and ends.  Everything from tiny mirrors to funky colorful beads and wood shapes ready for painting & staining.  I finally grabbed some tiny mirrors last year but have been holding on to them for the perfect craft, and when Christmas rolled around I was ready!  Something about the book pages mixed with the light blue & gold remind me of Francois Boucher, the French Rococo painter.  They also feel like they belong on a tree in the late Victorian era, too.  The best part of these ornaments is that they're made from cardboard!  Yup, that's right!  Use what you have, my crafty friends, and don't forget to 

 Make Your Mark!

 One of these would make the perfect gift!

Cheap pearl trim mixed with sparkly cup chain makes a great combo!

Watch how to make them here!

Print on standard copy paper and don't forget to mark your notches!

That's  me at your front door singing carols!  Happy Christmas!