Cherry Red Stones

Last weekend I did several paint projects, I painted my tired old plant stands a lovely bright shade of lime green which perked them up and added a pop of color to my dull looking patio.  The second project was spray painting several decorative stone tiles, they started out one color, which faded over time in the strong sun, and ended up a pale shadow of what they were.  The original colors were great at our former home but didn’t work at this new one; a change in color was definitely called for.

This once cute little decorative garden stone had been stepped on and broken in two pieces, it also became very faded from a rich green to a washed out pale green. I really loved the little animals; they were just so darling I wanted to save them; I glued it together and gave it a good cleaning to see if I could revive the stone with a vibrant new color.

The crack and chalky faded green color pretty much disappeared with a couple of quick coats of KRYLON Interior-Exterior spray paint in a high gloss finish, Cherry Red; it dries in 12 minutes or less.  This is my favorite paint to use on projects which are not metal or rusted; it does not run or drip and goes on super smooth.  For my rod-iron art pieces, plant stands and patio furniture I use RUST-OLEUM, it blocks rust and leaves a nice clean glossy finish.

My final piece was a hanging decorative tile which also started its life a dark green color it faded to an awful pale green.  I used the same process of cleaning it and giving it several coats of, Cherry Red, KRYLON spray paint to protect it from the sun and rain, it hangs on the fence at the top of the hill giving the fence and yard  extra color when the roses are not in bloom.  I could have bought two new pieces but decided to upcycle them with fresh color and use them in my yard instead of putting more stuff in the landfill. Think about looking around at what you have and ask yourself what you can do to use it in a new and different way, you will be surprised at how much fun it is to make something old new again, give it a try and let me know what you did, I would love to hear about it.  For more projects and ideas take a peak at this fun website; www.projectsinacan.com created by KRYLON spray paints.

Thanks for letting me share my Cherry Red painting project with you, I hope it really does inspire you to pick up a can of spray paint and get to work on some of those old garden pieces making them into pretty new show pieces for your yard or home.

See you soon.

Laurette

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Time For Lime

I finally got to work on one of the painting projects I have been trying to get completed the last couple of weeks, re-painting my rusted and faded patio plant stands.  The projects were simple but took a bit of prep time since I needed to sweep and vacuum my outdoor studio floors to reduce any dust and dirt before breaking out the paints.  Because my outside studio cats sleep there at night and during bad weather the cat hair can really mount up no matter how much I clean, it can be a real chore to get it ready for painting. Once the clean up was complete, down went the brown craft paper secured with blue painters tape, to protect the floors from too much over-spray, time to get to work making over my plant stands.

This little number was originally a vibrant deep black color which had faded and rusted over the last couple of years.  Time for a good cleaning with a soft brush and a soft cloth to remove dust, dirt and those pesky spider webs.

In order to get the paint to stick to the metal and to reduce rust I sanded down all of the metal with a medium grit sanding block to remove the rust and any loose paint which had started to crack and peel.  Roughing up the paint on the rest of the stand allows the paint to adhere to the smooth surface creating a better bond.

This plant stand was in dire need of a new paint job as well; it started out a cute shabby chic antique white but rusted over time.  I re-sprayed it white several times over the years when I had white wicker outdoor furniture on my little front yard patio.  Alas, I no longer have that furniture and my tastes have gone away from shabby chic to something more colorful and fun. The stand received the same cleaning and sanding treatment to make it ready for its new coat of paint.

All set and ready for the new color, Key Lime by RUST-OLEUM, I love using this paint the coverage is fantastic and I rarely get any dripping unless I stay in one spot too long and don’t keep a constant sweeping movement with the spray can.  I chose this color because of the new fabrics I will be using to recover my patio furniture cushions which includes the colors of blues and vibrant greens.

I always turn my pieces upside down and spray the underside first including the inside of the legs.  I let them completely dry before adding a second and or third coat of paint depending on how well it is covering everything.  Once it is all dry I flip them over and spray the top side with several coats until I get full coverage in all the nooks and crannies.  It is best to use light coats each time instead of one heavy coat which will cause an uneven looking surface.

All done and looking fresh and new dressed in their pretty lime coats of paint, what a difference.  These plant stands should be just the bright pop of color I am looking for on the patio to go with the new fabrics.  If I decide I don’t like the color I can always repaint them, I just love spray paint it is so quick and easy to do, another one of those simple changes for the price of a can of spray paint.

Thanks for letting me share my Key Lime painting project with you, I have another paint project to share with you this week, let me give you a hint, it matches my front door.

See you soon.

Laurette

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Pumpkin Bling

The bling bug bit me again, only this time it was pumpkin bling instead of black & white bling.  I really love decorating for fall especially decorating with pumpkins of all kinds, shapes and textures.  I have lots of different pumpkins; there are the pretty glass and ceramic ones, and the ones which light up inside and fabric pumpkins too.  When I saw a fun, easy, dazzling copper pumpkin project, created by Michael’s, I just had to make one.  Follow along with me and see how I did it.

I gathered up all the elements I thought I would need; an orange craft pumpkin, metallic copper spray paint, metallic 2 ½” ribbons, leaf/berry picks, hot glue gun/sticks, medium gauge wire, wire cutters and scissors.  Now I was set to get started.  Let the fun begin.

I wanted to be sure my paint would stick to the slick surface of the pumpkin so I gave it a VERY light sanding with a fine grit sanding block, just scratched it up a little then wiped it down. Be sure while you sand you don’t take any of the orange color off.

Since the spray paint is toxic and creates a mess it became an outside studio project.  I put down some brown packing paper on the floor to protect the surface creating a clean place to work.  I grabbed a 2 liter 7Up bottle filled with gravel, which I use for my spray projects, put it in the middle of the paper, then I placed a spray paint cap on the top of the bottle to give the pumpkin a flat surface to rest on. This keeps the pumpkin up off the floor so you can paint the majority of the bottom. Time to paint.

A couple of tips for you first time spray painters;  I usually wear gloves to project my skin from toxic paints and I always wear a mask to keep my nose and lungs clear of fumes and paint particles.  Keep the can at a reasonable distance; too close and the paint will glob up and run, get too far away and the paint won’t make it to the object you are painting, a little practice never hurts, practice on the bottle below the pumpkin if you are not sure.  Now spray it with a light even back and forth motion, keeping the can moving to prevent drips and heavy areas.  Always start to spay just before you hit the pumpkin and just as you get past it to keep the surface nice and even.

Now we’re talking, that pumpkin’s got bling, a dazzling copper bling.  WOW!  I let it completely dry for a couple of hours to make sure I could work with it without scratching off the paint.

Back to my inside studio to begin glamming up my pumpkin, Is glamming a real word? It is now; it must be if I just wrote it.  I heard it on HGTV so it must be real. Giggles.

My studio helper, Honey, is getting everything ready so I can get to work right away.

         

“Now where did she say she put those scissors, she said they were right here?” 

 “I still don’t see them; they must be buried in here somewhere!”

Honey finally found my scissors and assembled all my supplies for me, I am ready to bring some bling to my pumpkin.

I begin by wrapping the pumpkin with the 2 ½” ribbon first down one side then back across the other side, using hot glue as I go along.  Tip of the day; don’t overdue the hot glue, to much enthusiasm can cause some very nasty burns; I have the scars to prove it.  The ribbon I used was very sheer so I had to be careful not to burn or melt it, not to mention burning my fingers if it oozed out through the ribbon, ouch!

Time for the bow, I am not sure I can explain how I made the bow, it is more like something I would have to demonstrate, but I will give it a try, if it is too confusing don’t say I did not warn you.  Here we go; first decide how long you want the first streamer/tail to be.  Once you figure it out pinch the ribbon together between your thumb and first finger, from there make a loop, then pinch, make another loop below that one and keep going back and forth, kind like a figure 8, adjusting the loops so you can see the pretty print, I did three loops on the top and three on the bottom, you can do as many loops as you can hold depending on how full you want your bow or how big you want it.  Leave a tail/streamer to match the other one.  Hint:  I tie it off with the wire first then I cut the tail/streamer to match the first one. I cut a little notch to make the ends pretty.

It was finally time to finish my project by hot gluing my bow to the top of my pumpkin, it took a bit of finessing to get it to stay just where I wanted it, I had to hold the bow in place for a little while to make sure the glue was dry before I let go.  It fell off twice, yikes, how embarrassing.  Isn’t she dazzling?  So shiny and full of bling, a very elegant pumpkin.

If you are not into bling and only want a pretty fall pumpkin you could wrap a plain orange craft pumpkin with ribbon, add a bow and some fall leaf picks and end up with a great table centerpiece or a festive hostess gift.

Wasn’t that fun? I bet all you crafty divas can’t wait to make a dazzling fall pumpkin of your own.  I am issuing all my readers a challenge; make your own version of my pretty pumpkin and e-mail a picture (in JPG format) of it to me at: buttonsbowsbling@gmail.com and I will post your pumpkins on my blog so everyone can see your creations.

As a special treat for submitting your Pumpkin Bling photos, they will be placed into a drawing for a special Creative Winter Craft Pack.  Winners will be announced on my blog the day before Thanksgiving.

The last day for submitting your photos is:  November 18, 2011.  After that date I won’t have time to post your photos, I will be in entertaining mode for Thanksgiving.  I can’t wait to see what you all make.  Happy Creating!

Coming soon is part three of Control That Clutter with more unusual containers for storage, some colorful fun projects, more fall decorating ideas and so much more.  See you soon.