Midweek Mix: Springtime Art Projects

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Posted on 04/17/2013

I always feel more creative in the spring and I’ve been creating up a storm these past few weeks! Here are some of the projects I’ve completed so far:

I’ve had this white jar around forever (I think at one point I had a peppermint plant in it). I figured it could use a makeover so I used my Sharpie paint pens to draw some 1970s inspired flowers and cheer it up a little! The bottom two pictures in the image above show the before (left) and after (right) of two of the flowers.

I recently bought a mirror from Goodwill with a white plastic frame that was in serious need of rehabilitation. I had a lot of fun with this project and the blue and white really cheered up our bathroom when I hung the mirror there:

The most recent thing I’ve been doing is drawing again. I used to draw every day but I’d sort of gotten out of habit. Then I started watching Murder, She Wrote, which is set in the fictional town of Cabbot Cove, Maine. I decided it would be fun to draw a map of my homestate that included some real towns and all the fictional murder/horror related ones I could think of. Here’s the result! Pretty cool, huh?:

I think I might do this idea with some other states too. What state do you think I should do next?

DIY: Monsters painted into thrift store paintings

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Posted on 02/28/2013

Have you ever drawn on a second-hand print? One of my favorite recent developments in upcycling thrift store finds is painting monsters into old landscapes. Here are two of my favorites:

by Chris McMahon (source)

by Thyrza Segal (source)

I recently found a framed landscape at Goodwill for $5 and decided to try it for myself! Here’s the painting before:

And here it is after the cryptids arrived in the village:

If you’re curious, the creatures are (clockwise from the left): a hodag, a Jersey devil, a large yeti, and a small Loch Ness monster.

I used Sharpie paint markers for this project. I hadn’t used them together like this before and I’m extremely happy with how it turned out! If I waited for the previous application of paint to dry I got a clean line for the next layer of paint, which is wonderful to know when you’re working in a space so small. If you try this on your own thrift store painting, I absolutely recommend Sharpie paint markers (and Sharpie didn’t even pay me to say that, I just like them that much!). It’s also a good idea to sketch out what you’re going to draw beforehand so you can get an idea of how big the monsters in the painting will be and where they should go.

Easy DIY Glitter Sunglasses

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Posted on 02/10/2013

Recently, I saw a genius DIY on Rookie Mag about how to make your own glitter frames without lenses. I love the idea but as someone who needs prescription lenses I figured it would be worth a try to modify the tutorial for sunglasses with lenses. Here’s how I did it!
Step 1: cover the lenses with painter’s tape or masking tape to protect them. I did this by tearing the tape up into tiny pieces and covering the lenses from where they meet the frames inward toward the middle.

Step 2: apply the glitter nail polish. I put on two coats, waiting for the first coat to fully dry before I applied the second.

There you go! Easy DIY glitter sunglasses to brighten your day! If you end up trying this project please show me a picture, I’d love to know how it works out for you.

DIY Halloween Mason Jar projects

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Posted on 10/24/2012

I’m not terribly crafty, but boy am I crazy for Mason jars. My mother in law gives my husband and myself canned goods often and after we’ve eaten the contents of the jars I’m anxious to find a new purpose for the containers. There are tons of Halloween-themed projects for Mason jars out there so I’ve compiled a few for you fellow Mason jar enthusiasts:

Click the picture to be taken to the project!

Okay, I admit this particular project is one that I recently wrote up for Goodwill of Northern New England’s blog. It’s an easy project that (with the exception of the paint) uses materials you likely have around the house. Even better, it’s relatively quick to create so if you need something to light the way for trick or treaters up to your front door you can make these rather quickly.

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I can’t get over the cuteness of this Mason jar project. I’m not usually a big fan of googley eyes but when they’re put in gauze on this little pint sized jar I can’t help but think it’s adorable. You can find the instructions this little Mummy Mason Jar over on celebrations.com by clicking the picture below. (There is also an equally cute pumpkin Mason jar project on the site!)

Mummy Mason Jar (click the picture to be taken to the project)

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I’ve been interested in glass etching lately thanks to a cute literal DIY toast etching project on Offbeat Bride but I don’t yet fully trust my ability to create a clean etched design. That’s why I was pleased to discover this tutorial from Every Creative Endeavor that creates the look of etching with little to no chance of messing up the design. Instead of using etching cream this project calls for clear matte spray paint to imitate the look of etched glass. Click the picture of the finished project below to be taken to the instructions.

Halloween Mason jar project from Every Creative Endeavor

“etched” glass from Every Creative Endeavor (click to be taken to the project!)

What’s your favorite project you’ve ever done with Mason jars?

DIY cake stencil decoration

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Posted on 04/25/2012

A few years ago I saw a friend use a stencil to decorate a cake she’d made and I thought it was the coolest thing in the world. Today, my opinion is still the same in regard to stencil decoration (as those of you who follow Freeze Tagging may have guessed) so I decided to make one for a vanilla cake I made on a whim one evening. Here’s the process I used:

Step 1: Find a Halloween pumpkin stencil online and trace or print it out. Cut it out so you have a stencil to use