Ever since I saw a YouTube video on how to DIY the Pottery Barn knotted cement rope using air dry clay, I knew I had to do it.
Pottery Barn’s Knotted Cement Rope was priced at $89!
So…. last night while watching TV, I rolled some clay into approximately 1” balls and poked a hole through using a chopstick. This left a big enough hole for some thicker jute rope to go through.
This morning it was dry enough to work with. Theoretically, it would take about 3 days to dry completely, but I have painted air dry clay before it was completely dry in the past so I knew I could. I will still let it air dry now for 3 days before doing anything more with it. I used my aged stone technique to make the clay beads look like they were made of cement. I painted the beads with our Missouri Limestone Painting Company chalk paint in “Gray Goose”. I added some baking soda and kind of pounced it on to give the clay the texture of stone. Once dry, I applied liming wax then wiped excess off.
I knotted mine similar to Pottery Barn but added a tag on one end I had made. I thought it fit perfectly with my cement rope.
I can’t help myself … posting my lilacs blooming here in Missouri before it is too late.
I was so afraid my lilac blooms weren’t going to make it this year, but here they are with more blooming than I’ve seen in a long time. I can’t believe how big my bush has gotten. I could sit here outside smelling them all day long.
This is an heirloom lilac bush. It is actually two starts I planted together at least 30 years ago. One was from my mom’s yard, which originally came from her mom and dad’s yard. The other came from my sister-in-laws house she lived in at the time that I’m pretty sure had been there for 30 years or more before that. They both had these same color of bloom.
I also read my Surprise lilies need to be thinned, but not until after they surprise me and die back. 🙂
And my leaves are going to be gone Saturday. Yay!!! They had to cancel last Saturday due to the extremely windy weather we were having.
By the way, that is a Redesign by Prima transfer on the white pitcher. The blooms look so pretty in it!
The farmhouse table and chair set we have been working on this week is finished!!
The top, which Danny stripped, sanded and bleached, has 5 thin coats of Varathane crystal clear water based matte polyurethane, yet it looks like nothing is on it. It has character marks but so pretty! The legs are painted white with 3 coats of the polyurethane.
He stripped and sanded the chairs and they also have 3 coats of the polyurethane. The chairs go well with the table.
It was a little difficult taking pics in the middle of the living room at night, but I couldn’t wait to take pics of this cute set! 🙂
Update: I’m still obsessed with the little farmhouse table and chair set we just finished transforming yesterday. Last night I thought it needed a farmhouse centerpiece so this morning I put it together.
I had made a white vase with a design on it some time ago using a clear glass vase. I first sprayed it with a clear matte sealer to help the paint adhere, then put rubber bands around it. I then sprayed it with a frosted spray paint. When dry I removed the rubber bands.
Today I arranged hydreangas I had dried. Some of the blooms on these hydreangas were huge! They are very fragile and need handling with care, but I have had them awhile and they are still beautiful. I love how drying them preserved the beautiful green and pink of the big blooms.
I am so in love with everything about this. I wish I could keep it. However, it takes up quite a bit of space in the middle of my living room and I have nowhere else for it. I would love to put it in a Four Seasons room …. if I had one. 🙂
Relaxing with my crafting. I can truthfully say I am going to be obsessed with white wax for a few days. I started yesterday and have already completed 4 projects.
Project #1 – I updated a duck that already had a lot of detail.
I’ve been seeing many crafters updating vintage ceramic ducks. I bought this one several years ago. I think it was from the ‘80s.
I decided to finally update this one. What a difference a little paint and Briwax Liming Wax makes!
Julie’s Designs and Signs has a great tutorial on painting ducks. I think the ones she painted may even be from the same company, just a different design. I basically followed her tutorial. My paint was different and my wax, but the idea is pretty much the same.
I gave the duck two light coats of our Missouri Limestone Paint Company chalk paint in the color “Trading Post”. I didn’t want heavy coat of paints because I didn’t want to cover up the texture.
First coat2nd coat
Once both coats were thoroughly dry, I covered the duck in white wax. I use the Briwax brand white wax because I’ve had it forever. It works well.
Once the wax was on and pushed into the details well with a Dollar Store stencil brush I have, I took a soft paper towel and wiped it off.
I love the end result!!
Project #2: Mexican pottery transformed to an aged stone look
After using the Briwax Liming Wax on the duck earlier, I started looking around. I have had this piece of Mexican pottery for a long time. The texture of it was perfect. If it wasn’t, from all the videos I’ve been watching, I could easily add some texture to my paint with baking soda to get the rough look.
By painting this piece with our “Missouri Limestone Paint Company “Gray Goose”, letting it dry, then applying the lining wax by dabbing it into the paint, making sure it got onto the crevices with a stencil brush , then wiping it away carefully, I was able to get this aged stone effect.
I thought I’d try some stamps on it after and they worked great.
I added a few more stamps and this one is going on my dining room table. I’m sure I will be making some more aged stone look vases, even if they once started out as glass jars. 🙂
Project #3: An Aged Stone Look Bird Hook
I just had to do this aged stone look again. I knew this little 3 1/2” w x 5” high bird hook would work as it is a textured resin material.
I love how the dark gray paint and Briwax Liming Wax gave it a bluish tint.
Project #4: A Oui Jar transformed into a little aged stone crock
I’m still playing with Briwax Liming Wax. This time I took a plain Oui yogurt jar and made a utensil holder for some cute dessert “sporks”.
I wondered what dark green under the wax would look like. I loved the color it became.
But first I sprayed the Oui jar with a sealer so the paint would adhere well. I added several teaspoons of baking soda to my Missouri Limestone Paint Company “Evening Shade”, a dark green. The baking soda will make the paint nice and thick and grainy.
I painted and dabbed it on thick this time as I wanted a lot of texture that would be like concrete when finished. I let the first coat dry, then applied the second coat.
Once the jar was thoroughly dry, I added the white wax, then wiped it off. Love, love, love this look.
I added a couple of stamps and filled it with the colorful dessert sporks. 🙂
This turned out so well, it will be available, complete with the “sporks”!
I have been discovering all sorts of things to decoupage. This idea of decoupaging a makeup bag is the latest and greatest.
I ran across this Decoupage Queen’s youtube channel – Joan-Marie Domino. She has many great ideas, but the one I saw and had to try was decoupaging a makeup bag.
I was so inspired when I watched her tutorial. I had just bought 3 makeup bags. I knew I could find an idea on line and Wow! I sure did.
I found three beautiful napkins in my stashe I knew would look beautiful with the pink and gray on the bags. Friends had given me these napkins so I have no idea where they came from originally.
Her makeup bag was canvas. These Dollar Tree bags were kind of a brushed fabric and were plastic lined. Good for makeup that might leak, but…..not for the iron on decoupage she used on hers. I was afraid the hot iron would melt the plastic liners.
So I ended up doing regular decoupage, using Saran Wrap to help me push the napkins down onto the fabric. Here are the steps I used.
Step 1: Buy a makeup bag. These plastic lined makeup bags came from Dollar Tree.
Step 2: Place parchment paper inside just in case the decoupage medium goes through. I didn’t think it would being plastic lined, but didn’t want to take any chances.
Step 3: This step is important, according to Joan-Marie’s tutorial. Make sure you use Fabric Mod Podge. I assume it helps with not only adhering well, but also makes the napkin supple and keeps it from cracking.
I applied one coat of the Fabric Mod Podge over the top area of the bag. DO NOT apply to the zipper area. I let that coat dry well.
Step 4: I then applied a second coat and lay the napkin over it. I used Saran Wrap to help press the napkin (cut a bit longer on all sides) into the fabric. I tried to have a very straight line on the bottom edge of the napkin so that it went right up to the edge of the pink area. I let that coat dry thoroughly.
Step 5: Next, I trimmed the napkin a bit more then used a nail Emory board (sandpaper would work) to get a clean edge on the sides and top.
Step 6: Once dry, I added a second coat of the Mod Podge. Note: It will be tacky after both coats even after fully drying.
Steps 7 and 8: It is now ready for TWO coats of a clear matte water based LIQUID sealer. Make sure you use a liquid and not a spray. Let the first coat dry thoroughly before applying the second. I happened to have some wise owl clear matte one hour enamel, but any clear matte water based sealer will work.
Once dry the bag will no longer be sticky and the napkin will very supple. You can wad it up and smooth it out and it will not crack.
And …. just look at the beautiful makeup bags now!
For the basket, I painted it an off white. I cut out and glued bunnies from a napkin to some burlap type fabric with spray adhesive, then Mod Podged them to the basket and added a little jute twine bow I made. I crocheted egg covers last year and I stamped and stuffed the little fabric bag last year, too. I sprayed plastic eggs this morning with Mod Podge pearlized spray to make a soft shimmer. I also sprayed the Happy Easter sign and attached a skewer stick to the back. I made the bow with some awesome fabric yarn I have.I had a Dollar Tree tinsel rabbit face and purple yarn. I wanted to see if this yarn would work. I started at the bottom and made sure the loops lay so that I covered them all the way to the neck when I wrapped the yarn around. Then I did each ear individually and started from the top, making sure the loops lay so that I covered them and ended up meeting the other loops at the neck. I think it gives her a French Poodle haircut. 😁 I reused the eyes and mouth and used felt for the nose and inner ear pieces. I had purple ribbon the exact color. I wired it on and added a jewel in the center. She turned out pretty cute, I think.I’ve had several friends over the last couple of years shared with me examples of crafters that have painted pinecones to look like zinnias. I got out that bag this morning and the pinecones it held were the exact kind I needed, so….. I painted and planted some. I also had the little sign so I cut the “bloom where you are planted” out of vinyl and added to the sign. I also had these cute little tin containers so I planted some faux greenery in them.You can bring this sweet girl out year after year. She looks good enough to eat, doesn’t she? But she is just a styrofoam bunny. I gave her two coats of a dark chocolate brown – Missouri Limestone Paint Company “French Roast”. I even gave her candy/like eyes using white and pink paint pens. I then sprayed her with a clear gloss spray to seal in that rich color. I added a bow around her neck and stuck in and glued a skewer stick in her bottom, cut to fit the bowl, to help her stay upright in the white shredded filler. I painted, distressed, sealed and waxed a wooden bowl for her and she is now complete.I made the Dollar Tree racetrack cloche. The interesting thing is that the white and orange gave it a pretty pinkish cast, so I left it like that. I sealed it with clear matte spray and a coat of Pearlized Mod Podge. I also added nautical rope all around and painted it, too. I added a pretty ceramic drawer knob to the top and paint dyed some gauzy fabric ribbon to put around it.I used paperback books and covered each book with this cool vinyl wallpaper I thrifted. Made a messy bow, spray painted some keys, added a Dollar Tree wood cut out bird, and tried to used the Dollar Tree Transfer words. They didn’t want to cooperate with the uneven vinyl, so I did the best I could then hand wrote the letters over the glittery gold with a metallic gold marker pen.I think I could easily become addicted to making these flowers. I did a lot of searching and finally started finding some using some of the vintage twisted paper I thrifted. Even the tutorial by Artful Affirmations I found on this flower was from 2016. It was very popular in the 80’s but not so much now. It looks like crepe paper, but is much sturdier. This paper, and the little heart shaped plastic box came from the grab bag I got at a thrift store. The flower adhered inside the box is sitting on a napkin. Tutorial found on Pinterest by Artful Affirmations.I saw a technique to use hairspray when you were wanting small crackles. It works! 🙂 I cleaned a 40 oz. tomato juice can and then sprayed it with a clear sealer to help the chalk paint adhere. I let it dry and then sprayed a heavy coat of hairspray all over. I dried it with a blow dryer then put on a thick coat of chalk paint, painting in one direction and did not go back and forth or overwork it or the crackle won’t happen. I then used a hair dryer and the crackled appear. The hair dryer seems to make better crackle. Do not use screws to attach the handle of you want it to hold water.This was the first can I made. I had this old chippy handle I wanted to use. I attached it with screws (not a good idea if you want it to hold water. It didn’t matter on this one because I cut both ends out of the can! What was I thinking!!! I guess I thought I was going to make a smashed can basket. It holds faux flowers, nicely, though. I ended up putting a fake bottom on it because every time I picked it up, the flowers dropped out. Lol
I painted and distressed this 6 pack of Dollar Tree eggs.I went to an Antique mall and came out with some bargains. Then I had to go to Dollar Tree to pick up a cute little bunny. So, basically I just added some rub on transfer carrots to plastic eggs, changed out the greenery on a carrot I had, changed the bow on the rabbit, coffee died some white filler to an off white and mixed it with some brown filler and created this 6” high x 12” wide display.The little stand alone Peter Rabbit was a little 3 1/4”wide x 3 3/4” tall vintage sign with a fabric heart glued to it, probably from the 80’s. Danny sanded off the top and I repainted it white and made a copy of Peter Rabbit from a book I brought with me, cut him out, glued him on, then lightly distressed him and the white paint. Then I sealed him with a clear spray sealer.Dry brushed metal cross wired to a dropcloth covered wire wreath form. Wire hanger in back.I finished another nursing home door hanger. This one is for a friend for the birthday of her friend’s mom.I reimagined a little Dollar Tree birdhouse with paint and stain, then sealed it. I painted a little wooden bird and glued it and a little moss to the birdhouse. I adhered it to a birch round to create a 4” high x 3” wide display. The original birds house is next to it to show what a difference a little paint can make.The little posey pockets look like they could be tiny tin can pockets I’ve been making, but they aren’t. They are made from cardboard tubes. I saw someone do this by cutting a tube about 2” long, pressing the bottom together and gluing it. I painted them white. I took the white part of a napkin layer I saved and used various stamps I had to make my own napkin, then cut and decoupaged the pieces onto the little pockets. I added dragonfly stickers to the board and to the pockets and filled the pockets with Spring flowers. I glued them in so they would stay. I gave the grapevine some white dry brush over the original color of the sign.
I’m at my son Trevor’s helping out with the kids while Lydia is at a conference, but I brought along enough supplies to keep me busy while they are at school. 🙂
I was going to paint a duck today, but instead decided on painting this little 4 1/2” tall by 3 1/2” round embossed galvanized tin. I brought the perfect bunny framed with greenery Prima transfer I bought at The Gray Wall to go on it.
I’m so glad I did! It’s a little overcast today but the lighting seemed perfect when I used their beautiful view as a background for photos.
I usually spray a clear coat on metal or glass first but this tin was not shiny and the Mod Podge sprays I used uusially create a nice hard finish.
I painted the tin with 3 coats of our Missouri Limestone Paint Company “January” and let it dry. Then I gave it a coat of Mod Podge clear matte spray, followed by Mod Podge Pearlized Glaze spray.
I then applied the transfer. I sealed the transfer with another coat of the clear matte spray and a very light coat of the pearlized spray. I didn’t want to use too much as I really wanted the details in the transfer to show up. I just wanted a little shimmer. It’s hard to see on the photos, but it is there.
I love how it turned out and love how the photos show it off!
SharSum Paint 