Lisa Frank Pottery

Like many of you, I have a closet full of glass vases from flower arrangements, parties and centerpieces from weddings.  I save everything in hopes to use it in a project one day.  Yes, I know that's what a hoarder says and I completely own it!  A while ago I made a very serious version of this project (see below) but thought it just wasn't colorful enough for all of you.......so I tried it again using vibrant, luscious colors.  My assistant, Julie, said they reminded her of Lisa Frank so that's what we ended up calling them.  Remember to use your stash, get inspired by color and always 

Make Your Mark!

My colorful, Lisa Frank inspired (faux) pottery!

I want an entire wall filled with these! 

My first attempt from several years ago using much more serious colors.  

Still, I think they're quite handsome!

Watch how easy they are to make here

STUFF I USED

Krylon Spray Paint

Glass vases

Cardboard

Kid's pottery wheel

Masking tape

 HERE'S HOW

1.  Cut a large cardboard circle and tape it to the top of the pottery wheel

*This keeps it from getting mucked up with paint

2.  Center and tape a glass vase on to the cardboard

3.  Turn on the pottery wheel and spray a base coat of paint on the vase

4.  Heavily spray a second color so that it starts to drip

5. & 6.  Continue until you've reached your desired effect

7. & 8.  Try this technique on different vase shapes

9. Done!

In love!

Easy Holiday Decorating

I have tons of clear glass vases from who knows where!  They just seem to pile up year after year. This year, in my attempt to make everything merry and bright, I decided to break out the Krylon stained glass paint and some Allure and deck my halls!  Hey, if you want to skip the stained glass paint, that's fine.  I saw beautiful red glass vases a few days later, for next to nothing.

Happy decorating!  xoxo, Mark

I've officially decked my halls!

This would make a wonderful gift for a friend!

See how easy it is here!

Stuff You'll Need

Krylon Stained Glass

Allure Dimensional Design Adhesive Paint in Gold Leaf

Flat back gems

Glass vases

E-6000 glue

Paint your glass vases with the stained glass

*Or skip this step and buy a colorful vase

Start decorating with Allure

*Careful not to smudge as you circle the vase

Glue on gems with E-6000 and let dry

Add more Allure until you're satisfied with your design

Try this on all different shaped vases

Merry Christmas!

Sugar Skull Plates DIY

Nothing better than a funky plate to make your dinner table look amazing, don't you think?!  These sugar skull plates are super easy to make AND you can eat off of them!  How cool is that!  Because all of the paint and decoupage is on the back, they're completely food safe.  I got my images at GraphicStock.com.  They're having a free 7 day trial and you can download tons of images for free.  Just like the images I used for this project.  My glass plates are from the 99c store, but you can get them for pennies at Ikea.  Have fun! 

xoxo, Mark

Love this color combo!

I made them in every color under the sun

Try picking a color from the skull for your background

This citrus yellow is one of my favorite Krylon colors

Watch the short video tutorial here

You might also like this Sugar Skull T-shirt DIY!

YOU'LL NEED

Clear glass plates

Rubbing Alcohol

E-6000 Spray Adhesive

Krylon spray paint in white and colors you like

Images from GraphicStock.com

Scissors

Black Short Cuts Paint Pen

Minwax Polycrylic

More images at GraphicStock.com

I got these roses on GraphicStock.com

He Crafts She Crafts: Black Plate Special

We're back with another installment of He Crafts She Crafts and I'm seriously excited about this post.  There are a few things that I truly love in this world and the work of the designer Piero Fornasetti is one of them.  Many of his home decor designs used images of an early 20th century opera singer named Lina Cavaliere.   I think he had a "thing" for her!  I'm also madly in love with my friend Stephenie who writes this He Crafts She Crafts blog with me.  For this post, we trolled the dollar store and found some amazing square black plates which I thought would be perfect for some wall decor.  Stephenie turned her square black plate into a beautiful cake plate by adding a stand.  Fantastic!  Check out how she made hers at www.MyCraftyAdventures.com.  I gave my plate some Fornasetti images and turned it into a terrific wall hanging.  BTW, leave a comment on our 

blogs for a chance to win some amazing goodies!  

Inexpensive plates make a great canvas

Here's my how-to video

Plates are also a terrific way to decorate your home without spending a fortune!
These were one dollar each at my local 99c store.

Stephenie took the same plate and created an embellished stand for it.
She has a way of making everything look effortless and beautiful.

Learn how she made this at www.MyCraftyAdventures.com

 HERE'S WHAT YOU NEED TO MAKE MY PLATES

Print out of Lina Cavalieri (below)

White glue

Paintbrush

Scissors

Acetate print out of butterflies (images below)

Gold Krylon Spray Paint

Minwax Clear Aerosol Lacquer

Small dish for your glue

Click on this image and drag it to your desktop to print on plain paper

Images of butterflies to use.  Take a print out of this to your copy shop and have them print it on a clear sheet of acetate.

Cut out your image 

Spray paint one side of the acetate print out
with the Krylon Metallic Gold and let dry.
You'll end up with wonderful metallic gold butterflies.

Carefully cut out the butterflies.

Spread a thin layer of glue on the back of your image of Lina.

Carefully position her on your plate and let dry.
Press out any bumps and make sure that your image is smooth.

Add your butterflies with a thin layer of glue and let dry.

When your images are dry, coat the entire plate with 2-3 coats of the Minwax Clear Aerosol Lacquer.
Wait at least 10 minutes in between coats.

This will give it a nice finish and it will be ready to hang on your wall!

Here is a photo of the beautiful Lina Cavalieri.
She is the woman who inspired Piero Fornasetti's work.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Happy New Year everyone! 

What a wonderful year I've had and it's all because of YOU!  You have helped spread the word about my work, my books and my insanity.  It's true, I could not have the life I have if it weren't for all of you. I'm grateful!  To celebrate the New Year, here's a little project to wear to your New Year's Eve party.  Enjoy and may 2013 be your best year yet!

Here's the how-to video I made with my niece and nephew

YOU'LL NEED

Krylon metallic spray paint

E-6000 glue

Kid's magnetic numbers

Glitter

White Elmer's glue

Plastic headband

Feathers

Sandpaper or sand block

Hot glue gun 

Sand the top of your headband 

Sand the base of each number.

Sanding makes the glue stick perfectly!  

 Glue the numbers to the headband giving them about 1/2" in between each number.  Let the glue dry for 40 minutes!

 Spray the headband with the metallic gold and let dry

 Magic fingers!

Add glue and glitter to the face of the numbers and let dry 

Figure out where you want to put your feathers 

Add feathers to the back of a number 

Let everything dry for a bit

Wear in  health and bring in the new year safely!