Purple flowers

I'm still experimenting here and there with knife painting with oil colors. Here is my recent painting... I think I'm going to try this again but painting more flowers. 

In the Holiday Spirit

The tree is up, the decorations are set and I had one table with just a little too much room. Naturally, the solution for that must involve Pinterest and my abundant collection of empty wine bottles. I had seen a picture of a beautiful centerpiece and decided to investigate further. It was a little messier than what I thought it would be but it turned out great!

I used:

Ivory Indoor/Outdoor paint

Three wine bottles

spray adhesive (next time, I'll use Modpodge.... the spray adhesive turned out to be quite messy and one time use)

Epsom salt

A pretty tray

First, I made sure the wine bottles were clean. I tried taking the labels off using a kitchen knife to scrape but I quickly abandoned that idea when I nearly sliced off the tip of my middle finger. That is an important finger, afterall.

Then, since it has been unseasonably warm, I was able to spray paint the bottles outside with the indoor/outdoor paint. I made sure that the can specified the paint was safe to use on glass without a primer. I think I applied 3 or 4 coats, making sure that the paint dried in between applications. Also, it doesn't have to cover perfectly and smoothly. I used a paint with a satin finish and I, even though there were some thine and rough patches, it turns out fine in the end. I then allowed it to dry for another 24 hours.

Next, I laid news paper all over my work space and grabbed a large paper plate from our tailgating supplies. I poured a good amount of epsom salt into the plate. I grabbed my dried wine bottles and sprayed one down with adhesive... very messy business and I'm glad I had plenty of news paper. I then rolled the wine bottle in the salt. 

It makes for a very frosty look... I finished by placing the bottles in a silver tray, adding a tall, Christmas scented candle and putting little holiday sprigs in them ($0.50 at Michaels). I also used more epsom salt in the bottom of the tray. It turned out great!

December Already?

Blogger is being a little butt while I try to write and upload a post about painting a picture step by step... so we'll save that for another time. 

I can't believe its been nearly a month since my last post! But I promise that I have been really busy since then with work events, football games,and holiday stuff. Fortunately, I did take advantage of some spare time I've had after work and on the weekends to paint and do some crafts.

One thing I tried and loved was making coasters. I did a trial run with some old scrap book paper and really liked how it turned out. So, soon after, I made these for a friend's birthday:

They turned out so well, that I decided to make some for our house! Here is how I did it, step by step:

1. Your supplies:

• Paper: I used scrapbook paper that I really liked at Michaels.
• Tile: shower tile is the perfect size. My parents were kind enough to give me some of their extras from when they installed a shower a few years ago. 
• Modpodge... yep!
• Sponge brush
• Felt: I used the little felt buttons that have a sitcky side.
• Hot glue gun: used to reinforce the felt buttons.
• Sand paper: just to make sure everything is smooth before you put on the sealer.
• A gloss sealer. 

2. Modpodge the paper on to the clean tile after cutting it to the proper size. 

First apply a coat of modpodge to the tile.

Give the paper some time to dry until it is stable and won't move around when you modpodge on top of the tile and paper. 

Apply 4 to 5 coats, allowing it to dry for about 15 minutes in between applications. 

3. After I applied those 4 to 5 coats (quite liberally) I allowed it plenty of time to dry over night. Then, I sanded the edges, making sure they were nice and smooth before wiping them down with a damp cloth.

Rough edges are inevitable. Just use sand paper to smooth them out. 

4. Once they are smooth and dry, move the tiles on a cardboard surface outside or in a well ventilated room/area. I applied 3 coats of enamel to my tiles, allowing them to dry for about 30 minutes in between coats. 

Here is the brand the nice lady at Lowes recommended... It can be used on essentially any surface. 

5. Putting on the feet: Once the enamal has dried completely (about an hour), bring it back inside and plug in the hot glue gun!

And that's pretty much it! The only thing left to do is sit back, enjoy a brew and enjoy not damaging your furniture!