Antique Mirror DIY

Why just have a plain full length mirror when you can have one that looks like an antique?  A little wood trim and some air-dry clay and you can have your very own hall of mirrors!  I grabbed my trim at Home Depot...They have tons to choose from and it's not very expensive at all.  Make 3 of these and you have an entire wall that doubles the size of your room.  Remember to reinvent your every day items and always Make Your Mark!

It's all in the details!

Seeing double

STUFF I USED

Air-Hardening Clay

Americana Decor Chalky Finish in Victorian

Americana Decor Metallics in Vintage Brass

E-6000 Glue

Wood trim

Full length mirror

Corn Starch

1/2" thick pine wood board

Jigsaw & Sander

Putty knife

HERE'S HOW

1. & 2. Measure 2 pieces of wood trim for the inside length of the mirror and cut to size

3. & 4.   Measure the 1/2" thick wood boards to fit inside the top (between the trim), measure and cut

5.  Measure decorative wood trim to flank the sides of the 1/2" wood board

6.  Dust a silicone mold with cornstarch

7. & 8.  Fill the mold with an air hardening clay and wriggle out of the mold to dry

9.  Glue the wood pieces directly on top of the full length mirror

10.  Glue the dried clay pieces on the wood

11.  Paint the entire mirror with the chalky finish

12.  Dry brush all of the details with metallic gold

Done!

It's a mirror-acle!

Trash to Treasure Garden Planters

It's that time of year when people clean out the garage and toss everything on the side of the street for pick up.  It's also the BEST time of year to find things for your upcoming DIY projects!  That's right, it's ROADSIDE RESCUE SEASON!  Today I'm making standing garden planters with some old broken chairs and random wood drawers.  By the way, I'm madly in love with this project!  It was the perfect boost of color for my very green, California garden.  Remember to think twice before you add to our landfills and don't forget to Make Your Mark!

These just make me so happy!

Filled with flowers for my garden!

Watch how to make them here!

STUFF I USED

Old chairs and drawers

Americana Decor Outdoor Living Paint

Amazing Goop II Max

Laser cut wood frames 

Cosmetic sponges *the best for stenciling

Tacklife Drill, Sander and Jigsaw

Americana Decor Mandala & Brocade Motif Stencils

2" wood screws

 HERE'S HOW

1. & 2.  Saw off the legs making sure they are all the same length

3.  Sand the ends so they are flat

4.  Mark the leg placement on the underside of the drawers

5.  Drill a small hole in the center of each marked placement

6.  Glue the legs to the underside of the drawers and let dry

7.  Screw in each leg from the inside of each drawer using the small hole as a guide

8. & 9. Mark and cut the laser cut frames into 4 pieces

10. & 11.  Paint the drawers in your favorite colors of Americana Decor Outdoor Living paints

*These paints are meant for your outdoor projects!

12. & 13.  Paint the wood frame pieces

14. & 15.  Stencil the sides and front of each drawer in white

16.  Glue the painted wood frame pieces on the drawer fronts and let dry

Color burst!

Happy SPRING!

Mini Crate Organizer

When you run out of desk and table space, it's time to start filling up the walls!  I have an abundance of pens, markers, brushes and pencils and I was sick of them cluttering up my work table.  I made this sweet, little wall organizer to save me some serious work table real estate.  I have my tools loose in each mini-create, but you could use pencil cups for easy removal AND to keep them even more organized.  Big thanks to Walnut Hollow for providing the pallets and mini crates for this project! Remember to stay organized and always Make Your Mark!

I'm going to need about 3 more of these!

 Grab and GO!

Watch how to make it here!

STUFF I USED

Rustic Pallets from Walnut Hollow

Mini Crates from Walnut Hollow

2' x 3' 1/4" thick plywood

DecoArt Vintage Effects Wash in Orange, Patina & Turquoise

Masking Tape

Amazing Goop II Max

DecoArt Stencil

Tacklife Jigsaw and Sander

Optional:  Drill

1.  After measuring the size I needed for 2 mini Rustic Pallets, I cut a pattern for my plywood back

*Everything is glued on this back so make sure you measure your pieces first

2.  & 3.  Trace the pattern and cut with a jigsaw

4.  Sand the edges smooth

5.  Drill a hole in the center top so you can hang it from a nail or screw

6. 7. & 8. Paint the plywood in Turquoise, the pallets in Orange and the mini crates in Patina making sure to wipe them as you paint to expose the wood grain

9.  Stencil along the top, sides and bottom of the plywood base

10.  Sand along the edges of the plywood back and pallets to give a weathered, aged look

11.  Using Amazing Goop II Max glue, adhere your pallets to the plywood back

12.  Measure the spacing between the crates and glue them in place with more Amazing Goop II Max

Let dry overnight and you're done!

See you next time!

Art Journaling

Last week I got to teach an Art Journaling class at Craftcation in Ventura!  What an absolute blast I had, too.  The first thing I emphasized when I began the class is that there are no rules in art journaling.  None at all!  I mean it, too.  What I'm sharing here today are the techniques I use to create my pages.  Of course I use DecoArt paint because I love it and the colors are just amazing, as you can see.  So with that, cut a fancy magazine in half or grab an empty notebook and start creating your art journal.  I guarantee you'll be more healthy for it!  Remember to use every color in the box and always Make Your Mark! 

 A few of my pages

 Stenciling, clip art, rubber stamps...Oh my!

Watch how I art journal here!

STUFF I USED

Gel Press and brayer

Americana Premium Tube Acrylics

Americana Premium black and white gesso

Americana Matte Medium

Americana Neons in Sizzling Pink

Magazine Art Journals

Art Foamies stamps

DecoArt Stencils

Book pages, masking tape, plastic cups & clip art

HERE'S HOW

1. Bray orange and hot pink on your Gel Press

2.  Press an art journal page on the Gel Press to transfer the color

3.  Bray green and teal on the Gel Press

4. & 5. Create circles with the mouth of the plastic cup and transfer to a book page

6.  Apply strips of masking tape to the plastic Gel Press protector

7. & 8.  Load the Gel Press with hot pink and yellow, create squiggles with a comb and press on the masking tape to create washi tape

9.  Press more yellow and teal on another book page

PART 2

10.  Stamp the journal pages with Art Foamies using white and black paint

11.  & 12.  Rip and adhere the printed book pages to the journal pages

13.  Cut and adhere clip art to the journal pages

14.  Dilute paint colors to add a color wash to the clip art

15.  Add some of your printed washi tape

16.  Stencil some large flowers using the white gesso

17.  Color wash them with diluted paint

18. Stamp the pages again with the Art Foamies

DONE!

Don't like a page?  Keep adding to it until you do! 

Happy journaling!

Dip Dyed Mophead Tassels

Hit the dollar store for some cotton mops and make these lovely boho, dip dyed tassels to hang everywhere this spring!  Drape them around the patio with some twinkling lights or hang them from every doorknob in the house!  These tassels are like colorful jewelry for your home and we all know that accessories can make all the difference.  Remember that small things can make a big difference.... and don't forget to Make Your Mark!

I can't wait to start hanging these!

Super soft and comfy

STUFF I USED

Wood Beads

Unicorn SPiT

Cotton Mops

Water

Cotton ribbon

Minwax Clear Lacquer

HERE'S HOW

1. & 2.  Take the mops apart and separate the "ropes" into bundles of 5-7

3.  Cut the bundles in half

4.  Thread about 12" of cotton ribbon through a wooden bead and knot the loop so it doesn't slip

back through the bead

5.  Tightly tie the tails of the cotton ribbon around the center of the bundle of mop rope

and trim evenly along the base of the tassel

6.  Dip the tassel in some water and ring out the excess

7.  Mix Unicorn SPiT and water to make a dye solution and stand the tassel inside the cup for about 20 minutes

8.  Ring out the tassel after it's been soaking for a while and let dry

9.  OPTIONAL:  Spray the base of the tassels with Minwax Clear Lacquer if they are going to be exposed to rain or moisture outdoors

Boho Beautiful!

Flow Painted Chargers

DecoArt has a new Pouring Medium that is super easy to use. Just mix in the paint and start flow painting!  I used a 1 : 1 ratio of the pouring medium with Americana Acrylic paint and it worked perfectly.  These chargers are a great way to add some color to a dinner table and show off your mad flow painting skills!  Using clear glass dishes will allow everyone to admire your talent.  Remember to use all of the colors in the box and always Make Your Mark!

Toss on a glass plate and you're good to go!

Love all the colors!

 Dinner is almost served!

Watch how easy they are to make here!

STUFF I USED

Americana Acrylics in some of my favorite colors

DecoArt Pouring Medium

Plastic cups

99c store chargers

HERE'S HOW

1.  Squirt some paint into your plastic cup

2. Squirt the same amount of pouring medium in the cup

3. Stir like a maniac!

4.  Drizzle all of your colors (one at a time) on the charger in a circular motion

5. & 6.  Tilt the charger until you're happy with the design and the entire surface is covered in paint

*Let dry overnight

 Dinner at 8!  Don't be late!

Woven Wall Hanging

I have an addiction to colorful, 99c store, polyester yarn.  I can't help it.  I see it and I load up!  Well, it finally got to the point that I had to do something with it or it would just take over my craft house.  I grabbed a book called Weave This by Frances Kletz and Brooke Dennis for inspiration and devoured all of the amazing techniques they shared and came up with these little numbers.  Truth be told, at first I thought this might get a little boring, but after I allowed myself to relax and get into the rhythm, I started to truly enjoy myself.  Remember to check out all the wonderful books out there for inspiration (not just the internet) and always Make Your Mark!

 A more traditional "over under" weave

 My crazy version!

Watch how I made mine here!

STUFF I USED

1" and 1/2" wood trim to make the frame

99c store yarn

Amazing Goop II Max

Americana Acrylics

Cotton fabric

Pattiewack Tassel Maker

Blunt yarn needle

HERE'S HOW

1. Glue your wood pieces together to make a frame

*Mine was 14" long by 12" wide but you can make yours any size you want

2. & 3.  Paint the frame with Americana Acrylics and sand the edges for a weathered look

4.  Wrap the frame lengthwise about 40 times using 2 different colors of yarn

5.  Thread your large blunt needle with about 48" of yarn and start weaving at the edge of your frame

*Don't worry about counting, just keep going over and under every 2, 3, 4 or 5 strands of yarn

6.  When you get to the end, go around the side of the frame and weave back the other way

*You will not be removing your woven piece from this frame, it's part of the project

7.  When you get to the end of your first color, tie on another color and keep going

8. Add in some textured, fluffy yarns

9. & 10.  Rip cotton fabric into 1/4" strips and weave them in, too

11.  Try two different colors of yarn together

12.  When you're finished weaving, create 30" bundles of yarn to tie around the base of the frame to hang as fringe

13.  Wrap the tassel maker about 60 times using 2 different colors of yarn

14. Slip yarn between the loops of yarn and tie a knot at the top

15.  Slip 2 strands of yarn through the slit and tie the tassel at the neck, 

trim and slip off of the tassel maker

16.  Add several finished tassels to the sides of the woven frame and hang the entire piece from more yarn and a center tassel

Done!

No rules, just have fun!