Painted Jewelery Tray

Inspiration:

First off, I hope everyone had a great Labor Day Weekend!

My roommate wanted an organizer for her jewelry. She wanted an organizer that could hang on the wall and had many sections to organize different pieces. Since this project takes several hours to complete, I thought the labor day weekend would be a perfect time to finish her organizer. Previously, she placed her jewelry in a plastic container. It was a mess and very difficult to find things, so she found a typeset tray on Craigslist for $20.  Printer trays were once used to hold varied letterpress letters for a typewriter. These trays are easy to find on Ebay, Craigslist, or Etsy.

Materials:

Typeset tray

White Primer Paint

Matte Paint (Your Choice)

Paint Brushes

Tape 

*You can purchase paint samples from your local hardware store, such as Home Depot or Lowes. Home Depot was able to create a paint that matched my roommate's bedding. I decided to paint a white border and pink sections. I thought the border would help to make the pink pop more.

Instructions:

1. Paint the tray with the white primer. This makes your desired color appear brighter on the tray.  Ensure that you get in each corner. Allow the tray to fully dry. 

2. Tape the outline of the tray. The tape protects the white areas from being painted pink.*

3. Paint the tray with the desired matte finish paint.  I used two 2 layers of paint. Leave the tray to dry completely.

Results:

Looking at the final product, I thought it would be great to add hooks on the bottom of the tray for necklaces. That’s one of my favorite things about crafting: the project can develop mid-completion and improvements can occur. Once I get the hooks, I will post updated photos.

DIY Painted Phone Case

Inspiration:

         I am currently in the market for a new phone case and I decided to use the opportunity to design one and see if I’d like the outcome.  Our phones are a daily part of out lives, what’s a better way to express yourself than through your phone!

          Every day, I carry my sketchbook with me.  Drawing definitely helps to keep me calm and at times occupied. A couple weeks ago, I kept drawing fish and fish scales on the page.  I thought that would be a great design for a case. Browsing through web, I saw different ways to decorate a case: markers, spray glitter, and paint.  Since the pattern is more intricate, I decided to go with paint.  I was really excited for the outcome of this project!

Materials:

Clear Iphone case (Can be found on amazon.com)

Acrylic Paint

Brushes

Gloss Paint
Scissors

Tracing Paper

Instructions:

1. Choose the pattern for your case. In this case, I drew the pattern out. You can also search for pattern templates online. There are a lot of free resources.

2. Trace the design onto the tracing paper. Make sure the lines are dark. Draw the pattern large enough to cover the case.

3. Cut the tracing paper so it fits the inside of the phone case. Use a few pieces of tape to hold it down.

4. Using the pattern as a guideline, paint the phone case with the colors of your choice. I used two coats of paint of each color. After I painted the individual scales, I outlined them in gold acrylic paint. Let the case dry.

5. Once the case is dry (I waited a day), coat the case with gloss paint.

Results:

It was interesting seeing how it looked being painted almost by free hand. In person, the texture looks amazing. Next, I would like to see how it looks painted with a stencil. or outlining the scales with a gold pen rather than a brush. What do you think? Yay or Nay?

Cutout Painted Candle Vases

Inspiration

I saw this cutout ceramic hurricane at west elm and I fell in love with it. What really caught my eye was the cutout design and I wanted to bring that same accent decoration to my new apartment.  I saw these glass vases in Michael’s that were on sale for $3 and decided to try it out and see if I liked the outcome.  Ideally I would like a set of 3 hurricanes of different sizes displayed together.

Disclaimer: I’m currently in the middle of moving into my new apartment, and my craft supplies are mostly in boxes. I wasn’t able to get candles for the final product. However, once I’m settled in, I will update this piece with the vase with the candle.

Materials

Tall Glass Vase/ Glass Hurricane

Acrylic Paint

¾” Masking tape/Painters tape

Brushes

 

 

Instructions

1. Before beginning the project, wash and wipe the vase clean with water and rubbing alcohol.

2. Tape the vase with the masking tape at a slight angle. Keep the tape at a tape’s length apart. If you’d like you can mark where tape should be placed with a marker (washable preferred).

3. With your choice of paint, paint the sides where the glass is visible.  I recommend that you paint three layers onto the vase and wait about 10 minutes between layers.  After all the layers are complete, Let the paint dry fro 15-20 minutes. Make sure that everything is dry before continuing.

4. Once the vase is dry, pull off the tape.  Do not worry if there were any mistakes with the paint.  The great thing about this paint is you can scrape it (details later on in this post)

5. Tape the vase with the making tape but now in the opposite direction. Use the previous painted lines as a guide to where you place the new lines of tape.

6. Repeat step 3.

7. Repeat step 4.

8. Once the vase is complete, you can use a small glass scraper to take off any unwanted paint. I haven't gotten the scraper yet, but you have a few days until the paint is completely sealed. This brand of paint is specifically made to use on glass surfaces. In the instructions on the bottle, you can either let the glass item air-dry or you can bake it.  Since the vase won’t be used for eating purposes, I’ve decided to let it air dry.

Results:

Stay on the look out for an updated post with candle photos!

Inspire Photo 8/14

Geometric Hangers

Inspiration

We’ve all had those moments where we felt the need to spruce up our closets. I had those same thoughts a couple of weeks ago.  In my case, it wasn’t about sprucing up my closet with clothes, but rather about updating the closet itself.  I’ve always loved wooden hangers, so last year I bought some from Ikea (less than $4 for 8!) I loved them and decided to get some more for the big move  (I have more closet space yay!!!).  After looking at my hangers, I decided they needed to tell more of a story and that is where it all began.  I know you might ask: who will see the hangers? What's the point? It doesn’t matter who sees them, it’s all about the details you put into your items.

At first, I thought I would just darken them with some wood finish.  After thinking about them some more, I decided to put a little more work into it and paint a simple design.  I went with triangles. Overall, I am happy with the end result and I am looking forward to finish the rest of them!

Materials

Ikea

Bumerang Wooden Hangers

Home Depot

Wood Finish

AC Moore/Michaels

High Gloss Paint

Multi-Surface Acrylic Paint

Brushes

Masking tape

Instructions

1. Staining the Hangers

Paint the wood finish onto the hanger and let it dry for about 15 minutes. Then, wipe of the remaining stain.  If you would like the stain to be darker, repeat this step.

In this project, I made the mistake of painting the wood stain after painting the design.  The stain definitely made the design pop. In hindsight, painting the stain first would have made the process a lot easier.  So learn from my mistake!

2. Taping the Hanger

I used the masking tape to create triangles of various sizes on both sides of the hanger. I taped the top and the bottom as well to avoid marks on the edges.

3. Painting the Hanger

Paint each taped triangle.  Between each layer, wait 5 minutes for the paint to dry.  I painted 3 layers of purple. Wait 10 minutes for the paint to fully dry. Remove the masking tape.

4. Outlining

I outlined each triangle with yellow paint.  I painted the lines by freehand.  However, if you’d like you can re-tape or use a straight edge to avoid accidents.  Wait for the paint to dry for 5 minutes.

5.Gloss Paint

Lastly, paint the hanger with high-gloss paint to seal off the acrylic paint and make the hanger stronger for wear and tear.

The Results

Inspire Photo 8/12

Inspire Photo 8/9