WIN THIS BEAUTIFUL BOOK by Stan Williams

Not long ago I got back in touch with my old friend Stan Williams through TWITTER. He writes a blog called The Elegant Thrifter which is just beautiful.  Stan is talented, smart, sophisticated, funny......the list goes on.  Last week he sent me a copy of his book, THE FIND and I have not been able to put it down.  The photos are inspiring, the writing is engaging and the styling is timeless.  THE FIND is all about decorating with "thrift shop treasures, flea market objects, and vintage details" and it's just beautiful.  It's right up my alley.

Come on! Walls covered in antique book pages.......I'm in LOVE.

Plaster statuary mixed with antique mirrors and beautiful aged dressers.  Stan has an eye that will leave you wanting to start redecorating every room.

Chapters to inspire every room in your house.

There are also profiles of some of Americas most creative tastemakers.

This is a book worth owning and you can win a copy on my blog today.

RULES

1.  Join THE ELEGANT THRIFTER and leave Stan a message that I sent you.

2.  Leave a comment here that you've done it and tell me about your favorite thrift store find.

That's it! I'll pick a winner and Stan will send you a copy of his BEAUTIFUL book, THE FIND.

Cardboard Butterfly Obelisk DIY

When I first started making this project I wanted to cover it in something really interesting but I just couldn't think of anything that would work better than phone book pages and butterflies!  I have so many phone books and it was time to do something with them other than use them to reach the top shelf in my cabinets.  Remember, have fun, recycle and don't forget to Make Your Mark!

This cardboard Butterfly Obelisk was a project featured in my book

PULP FICTION: PERFECT PAPER PROJECTS 2ND EDITION

I used the same technique to create these FAUX MALACHITE OBELISKS

STUFF YOU'LL NEED

Cardboard

Craft knife

Scissors

Ruler and Pencil

White glue

Americana Decoupage

1" wide paintbrush

Masking tape

Copies of butterflies

HERE'S HOW 

1.  Cut out the shapes in cardboard and tape the pieces together to make the shape

Here's the template to make life easy for you!

2.  Add white glue on the creases to make your obelisk sturdy

3.  Cut strips of phone book and apply with more glue

(add a bit of water to the glue to make it easier to use)

4. Make copies of butterflies, cut and adhere to the obelisk

5. Coat with Americana Decoupage in Matte or Gloss....Up to you!

For this project and 30 more, grab a copy of Pulp Fiction: Perfect Paper Projects!

And the winner is...............

I've generated the winner of the last Glitter Blast Tuesday contest and it's...............Kris Rademacher Stice!

                Congratulations Kris!

GLITTER BLAST TUESDAY! Rock on Krylon!

My bi-monthly contest is here to spread the good word about Krylon Glitter Blast!
Win a set of GLITTER BLAST spray paints with an ongoing contest every other Tuesday from here on out!  Rock on Krylon!

Winners not only get my NEW book, THE BIG ASS BOOK OF CRAFTS 2, they will get all of the colors of glitter blast sent right to their front door.  Just a few simple rules to enter.

GOOD LUCK

And may the glitter be with you....

RULES

1.  LIKE and COMMENT on the KRYLON FB page that I sent you!

http://www.facebook.com/KrylonCrafts?ref=ts

2. LIKE and COMMENT on my fan page that your entering the contest.

http://www.facebook.com/MarkMontanoNYC?ref=ts

3.  JOIN my blog if you haven't.

4.  LIKE my BIG ASS BOOK OF CRAFTS on Amazon.com

http://www.amazon.com/Big-Ass-Book-Crafts-2/dp/1451627807/ref=bxgy_cc_b_img_b

5.  COMMENT here that you've done it AND what your favorite spray paint project is.

Keep an eye out for the winner.  I'll post it here and on my FB page.  

It helps if you can leave a way for me to contact you, too!

GOLD LEAF-ISH IKEA TABLES........So Chic!

We all have them!  The IKEA LACK TABLE and there are endless possibilities on how to use them. This is one of my favorites.  BTW, every once in a while they go on sale for 8 dollars. Can't beat that with a stick!  This project involves my recent trip to Chinatown where I stocked up on some beautiful Chinese papers which are traditionally burned.  My Chinese friends are always a bit wary of my use of these papers so I truly hope I’m not offending anyone.  If I am, my sincere apologies.

We all have them!  The IKEA LACK TABLE and there are endless possibilities on how to use them. This is one of my favorites.  BTW, every once in a while they go on sale for 8 dollars. Can't beat that with a stick!  This project involves my recent trip to Chinatown where I stocked up on some beautiful Chinese papers which are traditionally burned.  My Chinese friends are always a bit wary of my use of these papers so I truly hope I’m not offending anyone.  If I am, my sincere apologies.

YOU’LL NEED

Chinese Tea Paper or Joss Paper (Check out PearlRiver.Com)

Elmer’s glue

1” wide paintbrush

IKEA Parsons table

Scissors

Sandpaper or sanding block

Old magazine

Minwax Polycrylic Protective Coating

HERE’S HOW

Start by cutting off the excess paper from your Joss papers because you won’t need it.

Lightly sand your parsons table so that it has some tooth for the glue to stick

Slightly water down your Elmer’s glue in a cup or plate so that it spreads easily.  Depending on how much I squeeze out to work with, if you just ad a few drops at a time until you get a good consistency you’ll be fine.  You can always add more glue if it gets runny.

Put the gold leaf paper on a page of the magazine and spread the glue on the back with your paintbrush and place it on the table.

  Continue to do this until the entire table is covered with the gold leaf paper.

 After the entire table is covered and the glue is dry, cover your table with the Minxax Polycrylic Protective Coating to give it a nice finish.

Make more than one and create a terrific long beautiful coffee table for your living room!

THIS PROJECT AND OVER 100 MORE IS FROM 

THE BIG ASS BOOK OF HOME DECOR! 

Butterfly Doodle Pillow.....

Seriously, is there a better word that DOODLE? 

And who doesn't love butterflies.

Gotta say, a Butterfly Doodle Pillow seems like something from heaven.

 

YOU’LL NEED:

Sewing machine (love my BERNINA!)

Black thread

Enlarged image of a butterfly, dragonfly, whatever rocks your world.  My image is from a Dover Clip Art book. 

Light box 

HINT: If you don’t have a light box use a lamp under a glass table or a window

1/2 yard white fabric and 1/2 yard black fabric

Pencil

Iron and ironing board

Sewing needle

Pillow stuffing

HERE’S HOW:

1.Enlarge your image on a copy machine (head over to Staples, they have the best copy department and they are nicely priced).

2. Place your image under your white fabric.

3. Using your pencil, lightly trace your image on to the fabric keeping in mind that each line you make will be covered in thread.

4. With your sewing machine, slowly go over each penciled line with a straight stitch.

HINT:  To make your darker areas more interesting, go over them with a zigzag stitch to get more thread on the fabric.

DON’T WORRY!  You can always add more if it’s not quite right.  It’s just thread and fabric.

5. When you’re finished,  iron your piece

6. Cut a piece of black fabric for the back of the pillow

7. Sew the right sides together and leave a 4” hole for stuffing.

8. Clip your corners at an angle and turn inside out.

9. Fill with stuffing and stitch closed with a sewing needle.

 FOR THIS PROJECT AND 100 MORE CHECK OUT

THE BIG ASS BOOK OF HOME DECOR!

TABLE THAT! GLASS TOPPED TABLE

     

You’ve seen those coffee tables at the thrift store with the horrible tops. You know the ones that have cigarette burns on them and the wood is in terrible condition.  Well, take a look under that table top and check out the base.  Chances are it’s in darn good condition and only needs a new top.  I got this coffee table for 5 bucks and the glass for another 15 dollars straight off of another table right next to it.  It was a marriage made in  living room heaven.  I’d say a 20 dollar coffee table is pretty good!

YOU’LL NEED:

A thrift store coffee table with great legs that are attached to a base

Glass top (if you can’t find one with another ugly coffee table then just head over to your local glass cutter and have one made to size.  Pier One also sells round versions.

KRYLON high gloss spray paint

KRYLON paint pen in 18K gold

Plastic furniture no slip dots

Screwdriver

Sandpaper

Dust rags

 HERE’S HOW

1.     Using your screwdriver, remove the table top from the table base.

2.     Sand your table base to get it in great shape for painting.

3.     Dust off the base with your dust rags.

4.     Give your base several coats of spray paint letting it dry about 10 minutes in between coats.

5.     When the paint is dry, take your gold enamel pen and go along the edges to create accents.

6.     Place your plastic dots and stick them to the corners of the table.

7.     Place the glass no slip dots on the table where your glass will be resting.

8.     Place the glass on top and pile on the books and bric-a-brac and you're done.

For this and over 100 more home decor ideas, check out

THE BIG ASS BOOK OF HOME DECOR!

FORNASETTI-esque TABLE DIY

I've always loved Piero Fornasetti's work.  Sadly, it's just too expensive for me to buy so I've created a table in homage to him.  By the way, it looks great in my guest room!  The biggest challenge

was to find a way to make metallic images to apply to furniture.  This table isn’t just about decoupage, folks….This is about finding new ways to do it!  My first failure was spray painting copy paper with gold spray paint and running it through a copy machine.  Boy did I get in trouble for that one!  My next few attempts were just as unsuccessful.  Then one day I realized that you can copy on clear acetate paper.  The light bulb went off and so did I!

YOU’LL NEED:

Images that you want to adhere to a table

Table in need of an overhaul

Elmer’s White Glue

1” wide paintbrush

Black high gloss Krylon Fusion spray paint

Copy center that makes acetate copies

Metallic gold Krylon spray paint

Minwax Polycrylic Protective Finish in high gloss

2” wide latex brush

HERE’S HOW

1. Spray paint your table with the high gloss black paint.

2. Copy your images at the copy center on clear acetate paper.

3.  Spray paint the entire page in the metallic gold spray paint.

4.   Cut out your images after the metallic paint is dry.

    

5.  Experiment with your images and figure out where you want them to be placed.

6.  Paint the metallic side of the image with glue and adhere it to the table.

7. Continue this until the entire table is covered the way you want it.

8. After the images dry for a few hours, cover your entire table in the
Minwax Polycrylic Protective Finish with your 2” wide latex brush.

 For an extra special touch, take a Krylon Gold Painter's Pen and edge the table.

For this project and 100 more, grab a copy of 

THE BIG ASS BOOK OF HOME DECOR

And the winner is.............

JUNE @ I WILL CRAFT!

Congratulations June!

You win a book and all of the colors of Glitter Blast from Krylon.