Thrift Store Furniture Flip

If you're trying to furnish a room on a budget with a cohesive look, here's a quick way to make random, mismatched furniture look like it came from a high end home decor store!   A little paint and some wood trim and all of a sudden your room will come together.  I challenged myself with this project and decided to buy the first 3 pieces I saw to see if I could make them work together in a room.  I was surprised at how easy it was, too.  You first want to look for shapes you like and pieces that work for the size of your space.  Next pick a color you're mad about and get painting.  Details of how I did this are below!  Happy Tuesday and don't forget to Make Your Mark!

A 70's side table, an Ikea knock off and a mission style shelf

Watch how it came together here!

STUFF I USED

3 pieces of mismatched furniture

E-6000 Glue

Spray Shelters in Small, Medium and Large

*Helped me get the pieces sprayed quickly without getting paint on my fence and lawn!

Paint Sprayer

Americana Decor Chalky Finish in Carbon

DecoArt Matte Metallics in Vintage Brass

Jigsaw

Wood trim and molding

HERE'S HOW

1.  First I put together my large spray tent

2.  I wiped down my furniture once it was inside the shelter

3. & 4. Add 10% water to the chalky finish, mix and fill the paint sprayer container

5.  With slow even strokes, spray your pieces

6. & 7.  Pop open the medium shelter and spray your medium sized furniture

8. & 9.  Pop open the small spray shelter and spray your smaller pieces

10. - 12.  Measure, cut and paint the accent wood molding and trim for your pieces with the chalky finish in Carbon and let dry

13. & 14.  Dry brush the trim with the DecoArt Matte Metallics to bring out the details

15.  Accent the hard edges of each piece with a gold metallic paint marker

16.  Glue on the painted trim pieces with E-6000 glue and you're done! 

 My new furniture set!

Flipped!

Wax Seals DIY

I love fancy snail mail!  Send me something with color, collage, beautiful handwriting and a wax seal and I'm ALL IN!  The crazier, the better!  I've had a wax seal with an "M" for a while but I decided it was time to UP my seal game and find some different patterns.  I dug through my stash of metal buttons and found a few that would be perfect for wax impressions.  The only thing I needed was a way to secure them to a handle.  I hit my pile of scrap wood and I was all set!  Remember to use what you have and always Make Your Mark!

Look for flat buttons with interesting designs
Interesting pieces of jewelry might work, too

My new stash 

A little colored hot glue and you have something amazing!

Watch how to make them here!

STUFF I USED

1" x 1" wood trim

E-6000 Glue

Metal buttons

Baby oil

Large craft knife

Drill

Glue gun and colored glue sticks

HERE'S HOW

1. & 2. Trim the end of a 4" piece of 1" x 1" trim to create a circular end

3.  Drill a hole large enough for the shank of a metal button on the rounded end

4. & 5.  Add a generous amount of E-6000 glue and set in your button

6.  When the glue is dry, coat the button with baby oil

*You only need to do this once

7. Squeeze a dime size dollop of hot glue on an envelope

8.  Gently press the wax seal in the center and let the glue harden for a bit

9.  Carefully remove the seal 

Seal of approval!

Artist Trading Card Hands

It's time for my annual ATC SWAP!  This year we're doing something less traditional and creating mixed media hands instead of rectangular cards.  Why not try something different, right?!  I had such a blast making these and I can't wait to see what you come up with.  This is a wonderful way to share your work with other artists from around the world.

RULES for the swap are HERE

Below are some of the hands I made using DecoArt paints and a Gel Press and if you use either of those products to make your hands, let me know and you'll be entered to win a set of Americana Multi-Surface Satin paints and a Gel Press!  Go crazy with color, fabric, beads, paper, paint, glitter and whatever else you have in your crafty arsenal. No rules other than that they can't be more than 1/4" thick or longer than 7".  

I really hope you join our swap!

Gotta hand it to you!

I went wax seal crazy!

 Watch how to make them here!

STUFF I USED

Americana Multi-Surface Satin Paints

Gel Press and Impressables

Paper images

Card Stock

Stencils

Cosmetic Sponges

Book pages

White Glue

Sewing Machine

 HERE'S HOW

1st layer

1.  Dot rows of yellow and orange on your Gel Press

2.  Using a brayer, spread the paint in rows to create stripes

3.  Press the paper to reveal your perfectly blended stripes

2nd layer

4.  Spread a mint green on the Impressables Retro Leaves Plate

5.  Press the Retro leaves on the striped page

3rd layer

6.  Add blue and gold to the Gel Press

7. & 8.  Place a stencil on top of the Gel Press (I used stars) and transfer the stars to your page

4th layer

9. & 10. Stencil (I used leaves) over your page in hot pink and white

11.  Trace and cut a hand pattern from card stock

12.  Trace it on your newly pressed pages (and your stash of other papers) and cut them out

*I used old Gel Pressed pages, scrapbook paper, paper bags & whatever I can find!

5th layer

13.  Glue your favorite images to the hands

*I like faces, birds, butterflies and loteria cards

14.  Try adding a cityscape cut from book pages

6th layer

15.  Dab more color around the hand

7th layer

16.  Stencil another pattern in another color on top of everything

17.  Glue several hands together to create some thickness

18.  Optional:  Stitch around the hand on a sewing machine

19.  Glue on beads, buttons, keys or whatever you want

20. I added a wax seal with ribbons to finish mine off!

*Now it's time to add your information on the back and send them off!

Everyone can use a hand...Don't you think?

Coffee Filter Flowers DIY

Recently I was completely inspired by a bouquet of kid-made coffee filter flowers.  I immediately became obsessed with finding a fun way to make them using my Unicorn SPiT and Unicorn SPiT Sparkling because the colors are extremely bright and beautiful.  The best part of this project is that coffee filters can be found at almost any 99c store!  Enough to make a bouquet for every one of your friends.  Spray them with your favorite fragrance and you're ready to entertain.  Remember to fill your rooms with flowers and to always Make Your Mark!

Watch how to make them here!

With a little sunlight!

Cardboard Tile Mosaic Mirror

Have you ever seen the show Wheel of Fortune?  It's not a show I watch, but apparently I was inspired by the wheel when I designed this mirror!  Despite that, I do love that I got to use all of my favorite colors together at once.  My use of cardboard for mosaic tiles is becoming a true passion and I find it so much more versatile than heavy glass or ceramic tiles.  Once your piece is coated with the epoxy resin, it's tough as nails and smooth as glass!  Remember to use all of the colors in your Crayon box and to always Make Your Mark!

 Mirror of fortune!

I love how it matches everything!

Watch how to make it here!

STUFF I USED

Americana Outdoor Living Paint

E-6000 Glue

Glaze Coat 2-Part Epoxy Resin

Sander and Jigsaw

Round (Dollar Store) Mirror

Americana Outdoor Living Metallics in Vintage Brass

1/2" Plywood

Cardboard (Smooth)

Long Arm Lighter or Small Torch

HERE'S HOW

1. - 3.  Trace, cut and sand a large circle for the mirror base from 1/2" thick plywood

4.  Paint the wood circle in Americana Decor Vintage Brass

5. - 7.  Remove the round mirror from the frame, center it in the wood base and trace around it

8. & 9.  Paint smooth cardboard in all of your favorite colors with Americana Outdoor Living

10.  Cut long, thin triangular tiles (1/2" to 3/4" at base and about 1/4" at top) to fit around the edge of the mirror

11.  Glue them in place with E-6000 making sure that the entire length of the tile is glued down

12.  Mix and evenly pour the Glaze Coat 2-Part Epoxy Resin on top of your tiled mirror

13. & 14.  Evenly distribute the Glaze Coat with a sponge brush and then pop the tiny air bubbles with a long arm lighter or small torch

*This can take a while since air can get trapped in the channels of the corrugated cardboard BUT you can avoid this by using very thin cardboard or thick chipboard

15. & 16. After you cover and cure the Glaze Coat, glue the mirror in the center, let dry and hang!

 Mirror, mirror on the wall......

Enjoy!

Inspirational Mixed Media Rolodex

Seems every time I hit the thrift store I see an old Rolodex.  I always think to buy it, but a lamp or chair calls my name and I forget about it.  When I finally decided to make this Inspirational Rolodex project I hit at least 4 different thrift stores and could not find one to save my life.  The lesson here is simple, if you see an old Rolodex, grab it!   The fact is, with all of our contacts in the cloud, things like a Rolodex are becoming obsolete.  Just when I got into my Rolodex groove, too.  Remember, if you see something and it inspires you, GRAB IT!  

Also, don't forget to Make Your Mark.

Make a page for every day of the year! 

Fill each page with color and inspiration 

You might even add some photos of your friends and family....Just a suggestion.

Watch how I made mine here!

 For this project I created my pages with a Gel Press

I used Americana Multi-Surface Satin Paints because I'm painting paper, metal and plastic

I also used card stock, printed inspirational quotes, book pages and printed tissue paper

 This would be an amazing gift for someone who needs a daily lift!

Believe you can and you're halfway there!

Drippy Paint Thrift Store Table Makeover

This table was sooooo ugly that I actually felt bad for it!  It reminded me of something you might see in Ceasar's Palace in Vegas, so I bought for 10 bucks and it sat in my work space for a solid month before I tackled it.  What the hell, it was time for a challenge!  Even though this didn't end up as part of my decor, a good friend snagged it for her art studio and she loves it.  As far as I'm concerned, that is a success story!  Try to tackle something that makes you feel creatively challenged every once in a while because you never know what you'll learn.  Oh, and don't forget to Make Your Mark!

My drippy paint experiment

I love how the colors blend into each other!

Watch how I did it here!

STUFF I USED

Americana Decor Chalky Finish Paint

Old Thrift Store Table

Sponges

Spray Bottles

Americana Decor Crème Wax & Light Satin Varnish

Americana Decor Metallics in Antique Brass (my fave)

HERE'S HOW

1.  Paint the entire table in Antique Brass

2. & 3.  When dry, coat the details with the clear creme wax and let dry

4.  Paint the top of the legs with the chalky finish in Bestow

5.  While the Bestow is still a bit wet, wipe it back with a damp sponge to expose the gold while letting the color drip down the legs a bit

6. - 8.  Mix Renaissance chalky finish with water in a spray bottle and spray the top of the legs allowing the paint to drip down over the Bestow 

*Use a brush toward the top to blend it a bit and expose the gold

9. & 10.  Mix the Treasure chalky finish with water in a spray bottle and spray the very top of the legs allowing it to drip down into the Renaissance and blend a bit with a brush to expose the gold

11. Paint the entire top of the table with more Treasure, wipe back with a sponge to expose the detials and let dry

12. Coat the entire table with Americana Decor Light Satin Varnish and you're done!

Fresh!

Enjoy!