I love this family magnetic frame, but it needed an update.
For one thing, see the part of the star that’s bent and lost its paint?(Thanks to our dog who got under the bed to eat all the chocolate that was all ready to go in everyone’s Christmas stockings. In her chocolate frenzy she broke the star that Santa was so thoughtfully planning for my stocking. And yes, the dog lived.)
So first I spray painted the star and sanded the edges so some of the beige could show through.
Then I glued some black buttons onto my plain magnets.
Better, but still needing something.
(Isn’t that a great picture? It’s in our new back yard, just days before we broke ground to build our house.)
That’s what it needed – scrapbook paper for the background!
Mac came by and we had to go through the lineup of who everyone was.Much better! Family loves you for who you are.
Not every project always turns out the way you hope it will! So just ignore my end result and instead, learn how you can make your own stencil.
Here’s a natural coloured wicker basket I got from a thrift store. It’s a nice sturdy box and the perfect size for holding library DVD’s and remotes. I spray painted it Almond and it looked great, but I wanted to add a little more. I really like stars so I decided to paint a little star on one side.
I didn’t have any star stencils that I liked, so I decided to make my own. The first step was to google star clip-art and find the star shape and size that I wanted.
You need Con-Tact paper for this job. I like to get the clear stuff, but any kind would work (this is the type of paper that you would line a drawer with – it’s sticky on one side).
Cut off a small piece so it’s easier to work with.
Put your con-tact paper over your star (or whatever) and trace it on the paper side.
Cutting it out would be the next logical step.
Now, when you peel the paper off the sticky side, you’re left with something that resembles this – a stencil!!!
I stuck my stencil to my basket and then wrapped the blanket all around so I wouldn’t get my dark spray paint on the wicker.And then I sprayed it Oil Rubbed Bronze – a couple of light coats.When I peeled away the blanket and the stencil, I wasn’t too thrilled with the results.The lines weren’t as crisp as I had hoped, and somehow I got dark paint near the top of the basket (didn’t I put a blanket there?).
So then I thought of a new plan . . .. . . using the inside piece of my stencil.I put it over the dark spray painted star, and proceeded to spray paint the basket again – using the almond colour! Pretty brilliant I must admit.
And how’d that turn out?
Can you find it?
Let’s zoom in a little . . .. . . and there it is, not looking too too bad. I could always turn it around, or I was thinking I just might attach a rusty metal star to it.
In our last house we built a beautiful wall unit – cupboards below, TV spot, and bookshelves on each side. Alas, it was attached to the house and had to stay there. But we have something similar in mind for this wall. In the meantime we make do with our $10 dresser that was sturdy enough for the TV and DVD’s. But it will be years before we tackle that wall unit – I think even just some new knobs would make a big difference! Those fancy brass things just aren’t making me happy.
So the star project turned out okay – not great. But now you know a simple way to make a stencil to paint anything on anything!!! Just remember, if you’re doing words or letters, figure it out so nothing is backwards. And obviously, spray paint can get under blankets! I think my problem was simply that the basket weave was too loose so the spray paint could easily get under the stencil because I couldn’t press it down firmly.
I’ve had this lamp for a few years – I have absolutely no idea where it came from! My guy may have got it from a garage sale or something. It works – it provides light, but I’m really not loving the brass anymore. It used to be fine hiding in a corner of the family room, but now, not so great.(Please imagine a lovely stone fireplace in the left side of the photo – someday that black paper and wire mesh will be covered!)
Close up of the details before I get happy with the spray paint.
Now, this marble base I really like.So I got busy with masking tape because that’s all I could find. I taped of every last square millimeter of marble. Then off to the garage to spray paint with my Krylon Oil Rubbed Bronze – took about 3-4 coats from various angles.
While the paint was drying, I tackled the lamp shade. I’d like to get a new one, but for now a good vacuum of the shade worked wonders!
Then I took some natural polished hemp twine and started wrapping it around the edges of the lamp – top and bottom. Hot glue gunned it on every few inches. I used four layers to get my edges covered nicely. No burned fingers for this glue gun expert!!!
Ready to see my “new” lamp?
Oh so much better!!! And don’t you love the marble base? And I even remembered to spray paint the little finial at the very top.
Darn! Should have spray painted the cord!
And here are the detailed parts. No brass is showing through – it just looks that way with the flash.
And finally, a shot with the light on.I love how the edges of the lampshade look so dark when the light is on. Yup, I’m certainly lovin’ the new look of my lamp. And if someday I get tired of the dark base, I’ll go search for a new colour of spray paint!
This cute little tin was a Christmas gift – filled with delicious homemade chocolates. Mmmm, someone knows my weakness (and yes, I ate them all myself – but not all at once!).
My mom grew up in NZ and used the word “tin” all the time. But it doesn’t seem all that common here in North America in the context she used it.
English lesson time here: when I say “tin” I’m referring to the noun, meaning “a pan, box, etc., made of tin” as opposed to the adjective – eg. a tin can. Tin, as we all know, is “a soft, silver-white metallic chemical element”. My guys says that not everybody knows that, but now that I’ve typed it, you all know now!
Anyway, I liked the tin – it’s a nice size and the lid is hinged in the back. I’ve got plenty of things already that are just for Christmas, so I decided to give this little tin a new look so I could use it year round.
Bring on the spray paint!!!
This was after three coats of spray paint. I know it looks like you can still see the red showing through – but it only looks like that in the picture with the flash. In real life it looks like . . .
. . . this – nice and dark. I used Oil Rubbed Bronze Krylon spray paint that I got in Walmart for about $4.64 a can (that’s a pretty accurate estimate!). I used maybe $1.02 worth of spray paint on this.
As you can see, I prettied it up a little with some natural hemp twine.
And now it sits on my dresser, being a cute little catch-all for those things we collect like buttons, pins, pennies, library cards . . . etc.
Love my tin (the box, not the metallic chemical element).
It really is amazing how spray paint can transform anything – how did I not discover it years ago? Stay tuned for some more spray paint projects!
Oh, and you can check out my Forget Not project here.
I have a beadboard shelf that I love, but I thought I’d be able to do a little more with it if it had some hooks on it. So I was looking for oil rubbed bronze hooks at Walmart – and I found some! But they were $2 more each than the exact same hook with the bright brass finish.
So what did I do?
I bought the cheaper brass hooks for $1.97 each and took them home to doctor them up a little with my newest favourite thing – spray paint (which I didn’t need to buy since I already had plenty of at home!).
My guy taught me this little trick for spray painting the tops of screws – just poke them in cardboard so they stand up nicely.
Couple coats later, and I’m now the proud owner of the more expensive hooks, at the less expensive price!!! And I know it’s only $4 I saved, but it makes me feel good! And there’s a lot you can buy at the dollar store for that much!!!
I screwed them on and now I can do so much more with my shelf – like hang things from it!
It’s a fun little place to decorate for the seasons!
For one thing, see the part of the star that’s bent and lost its paint?(Thanks to our dog who got under the bed to eat all the chocolate that was all ready to go in everyone’s Christmas stockings. In her chocolate frenzy she broke the star that Santa was so thoughtfully planning for my stocking. And yes, the dog lived.)
So first I spray painted the star and sanded the edges so some of the beige could show through.
Then I glued some black buttons onto my plain magnets.
Better, but still needing something.
That’s what it needed – scrapbook paper for the background!
Mac came by and we had to go through the lineup of who everyone was.
Much better! Family loves you for who you are.
