3D Cardboard Stars

If your like me and you love those metal stars for decorating but find them way to pricey, then here is an alternative that is really easy to make and costs almost nothing.

What you'll need is a star template, some cardboard, and some metallic craft paints.  Of course you'll need some scissors and some primer too but I just used what I had. I printed my smaller star on the computer but to make a larger one I added an inch to each point and valley, then connected the dots.

For my cardboard I used the side of a box of frozen chicken nuggets for the two smaller stars and a side of a beer box for the larger one. You'll want the sturdy cardboard these boxes are made of.   My stars are about 8 and 30 inches.
Open up your cardboard box and lay it flat so you can trace your star template on the back side.  The front of most of these boxes is waxed and hard to draw on.
Cut out your stars and then using something with a firm edge score each star from the V to the point ...repeating for all five points.

Fold on your scored lines so you have valley's between the points.  This will make sense once you start folding and see what happens.  When your done folding you will have the 3D star shape you want.
Now paint a couple of coats of your primer on the front of the cardboard.  Paint on what was the waxed or printed side of your box. I used a thick version of my DIY chalky paint adding a little more Plaster of Paris than I usually do.

For the metallic look I used two different colours, a bronz gold and a champagne.  I used a stencil brush and loaded it with both colours at the same time and pounced it onto the stars.

I painted the little ones with a white primer but thought it would be better to use a dark green for the base. This way when I dabbed on the metallic paints it had a bit of patina. For the smaller ones I added tiny bits of green trying to get the right look.

I love how the paint looks like hammered metal.

Once all the paint is dry the stars are really sturdy.  I just added a bit of twine on the backs with my glue gun so I could hang them.

I think they look really good and am pleased to say that I fooled a few people who actually thought they were metal until I told them otherwise.

One piece... Three Projects. -part three - Paint Caddy

A while back I traded up for a vintage style wash stand. If you read that post you will remember that it was really wobbly and missing a few pieces to fix it entirely.
The bottom part of the wash stand was done over and used (once again) as a wash stand. See that post here.

The second part of that project was the Tween Vanity I created by using the mirror from the wash stand on a early 1900's oak desk.  See that post here.

From the beginning I said  I could get at least three projects from the wash stand.  Well I still have a bunch of little spindles left over from the mirror.  This is what I did with one little piece.

I attached four soup cans to the bottom of the spindle with little  screws, and spray painted it. I threw some pencils and things in it to see how well balanced I had it..  but it was a bit wobbly so I wrapped the cans in jute twine to keep everything together and stable.  Of course I wrapped the handle too, just because I wanted too.

Now I have this cute little caddy that holds all my painting tools.  Lovin' how I can grab them and go  to where ever my current project is happening.

This little caddy could be used for picnic cutlery, for makeup brushes, or for art supplies. What would you use it for?


And there are still spindles left.  I'm sure I will think of another use for them.

Wax Paper Transfers

I've been wanting to try using wax paper to transfer an image to a project for some time now.  There are many tutorials out there for this method so I read three or four different ones and the consensus is that it is a really simple method and requires no expensive tools other than your computer and printer.

Some of the instructions said to attach your wax paper to a normal sheet of printer paper and others said it wasn't necessary.  I tried it both ways and they both worked but it is much simpler to just cut your wax paper to the right size and use it on its own. I stood right at the printer in case it jammed but it went through just fine.  Remember to print using a mirror image if you have text or everything will be backwards when you transfer it and also to print on the side of your paper that has the waxy surface. This is what you are going to rub onto your surface.

The first one I tried was this grocery sign because it was an easy project, and if it didn't turn out, all I had to do was paint over it.  This is a fairly rough piece of wood and it still transferred really well.
At first I thought it was a little on the light side but the print darkened considerably when I added the wax finish.

Since the "grocery" sign worked so well I decided I wanted to try it again to make sure I had it right.  I love serving trays and wanted to make one with a farmhouse vibe.  I chose a nice long board and painted it this pretty "Queen Anne's Lace" colour I've been using for my basic white. And printed a Milk and Cream Co. onto my waxed paper.

I had two door handles in my stash.  I taped off the white enamel on the handles but painted the ugly 70's gold over with black spray paint. These handles attached from the back and I wanted to screw them in directly so I used a metal bit and pre-drilled some holes.  If you do this be sure to paint your screws too.

I painted the grain sack stripe down the side of the board allowing me to place my image off center.

I taped my wax paper image and using a plastic measuring spoon  rubbed the image onto my board.

I sanded a bit over the stripes and  it's ready for some finishing touches.  I used a  coat of finishing wax to protect the surface and added the handles.  Then I turn it over and added little felt dots to the corners.  This protects any surface you sit your tray on and also prevents it from sliding around on your counter etc.

Anyone for iced tea?

Now that I know how easy this transfer method is I will definitely being using it for more projects.  There are so many free graphics to use and you could also use it to transfer script as well.  Way easier than trying to free hand everything.

Rustic sign for the Cottage

This is a little welcome sign for the front door of a cottage that I made. I used my usual transfer method for the lettering but it was really easy to do this one.

All I did was to put a barely there whitewash effect on the board with a watered down primer to cover the board.  I was dry in about 15 minutes the coating was so thin.

Instead of painting the lettering I used a jumbo size sharpie marker to fill in the lettering.  These are great markers for this because they have a wide point at one end and a wedge at the other.  

Then I gave it a little dry brush technique over the whole board to age it just a tiny bit and protected it with a coat of natural wax.  The jute twine hanger gives it a rustic touch. 

Oh Canada

I don't usually do anything special in the way of decorating for Canada Day because I go to the family picnic that's held each year in our little town and catch up with ton's of family and friends I haven't seen for so long.  Some of them I get to see only once a year and this is the day.  That in itself makes it a very special day. 

This year I decided to make a couple of little tea light candle holders from mason jars.  They were really cute but didn't make much of a statement. 

I thought a flag would look good with them but a new one wouldn't blend with my style at all so I headed for my stash and picked out a really ugly old board that I had. I cut two lengths the size I needed and glued them together with some Gorilla glue.   Because they weren't a tight fit I filled the crack with a bit of wood filler. 

I gathered together everything I thought I might need and primed the board. 

I used my tracing method to get the maple leaf shape and hand painted my flag.  I hate the new look so I distressed a little, then protected it all with a coat of wax.

I can't believe how much impact this little project has. I love the little hit of colour it gives my coffee bar area.

I think it looks great, but now I might have to decorate this space for all the seasons and holidays or it will look a little blah.

A Black and White Table Makeover

I purchased this little table at a yard sale for $3 .  It had an arborite top on it and the legs had been replaced with some home made ones but it was the very sturdy.  It looked like a miniature mid century kitchen table except the legs were wood instead of chrome.  It was first thing I ever painted with my DIY chalky paint about three years ago.  At the time I was really concerned about the paint adhering to the arborite surface but I went ahead and painted it anyway.

I distressed the top corners a bit at the time (the black area is the original paint job) and as you can see, the paint had stood up fairly well.  There are a few more little dings in the paint but considering how I've used it,  it's a wonder there is any paint left.  It's been used as everything from a side table to a play table for the kids to run their dinky cars on... and it's been three years. 

I wanted to give it a new look so I decided on a partial make over.  I painted the legs white.  Then I taped off the diamond on the top.  I just left the black distressed as it was and painted the diamond first with a base coat of DIY primer and then two coats of the white.

Then used tracing paper to transfer the image I hand printed out.

Using the tracing method gives you enough of an image but you can fix any missing lines when you paint it in by hand.

A little distressing of the image and a coat of wax to protect it and I'm ready to use it again..

Right now I'm using it a side table .

It makes a great place to put a book or my coffee in the morning.

This little table has so many uses, I think it will be around for a long time to come. 

One piece... Three Projects. -part two - Desk to Tween Vanity

I few weeks ago I  updated a wash stand and had some left over pieces.  I wanted to show you how I use every single piece if I can and promised three projects from one piece. See the first project here.

 

That wash stand had a lovely little  tippy mirror on it that I couldn't use because a few of the spindle pieces couldn't be tightened enough.  However there was nothing wrong with the mirror itself so I wanted to find a new home for it. 

I repaired and painted a turn of the century ladies writing desk and chair last year but couldn't sell it because it was just too small for a desk by todays standards.  There definitely wasn't enough room for a computer and all the stuff that goes with it.   

This is how I married the two pieces together.   First I repainted the desk with a lovely soft white called Queen Annes Lace from BeautiTone .

Then I painted all the pieces that held the mirror together.

It's easier to scrape the paint off the mirror after it's dry than it is to tape it off.

I printed this postage stamp photo and used tracing paper to transfer it to the desk top, and drilled two pilot holes for the mirror spindles. 

At this point I did a dry fit to make sure everything was going to fit together.  You can see the fine lines where I traced my picture.

I  hand painted the picture and when it was dry I lightly sanded and distressed to make it look like it had been there for a long time.

Now I had to get rid of the blue inside.  It just wasn't right for a young lady's vanity.

Ahh... much better. Things are starting to come together.

























I wanted to do something different with the seat so I found a bright pink bath mat on sale and used it to recover the seat. 



I painted the mason jars to add the finishing touch and I think I've created a vanity that any young lady would love.