Category Archives: Fun with Paint

DIY Citrus Collage Canvases – When Life Gives you Lemons

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San Francisco’s fog is not the best climate for gardening, but my little lemon tree is getting established, and I wanted to create something citrus-inspired! I had some old canvases lying around (let’s just say that for me, paint-with-wine events are more about the experience than the product!), so I decided to transform them into something new!

Here’s what you’ll need:

  • Stretched canvases
  • Paint in background color
  • Craft paper in a variety of oranges, yellows, pinks, light greens, and dark greens
  • Mod-Podge

Here’s how to do it:

Paint the canvases in your background color:

ezy watermark_05-07-2019_06-19-21pm

Cut out your shapes:

  • pink blossoms
  • yellow lemons
  • light green limes
  • orange oranges (duh!)
  • green stems and leaves (I started with straight stems, but I recommend adding some curved ones as well)

ezy-watermark_05-07-2019_06-20-01pm.jpg

Start arranging your citrus into branches:ezy watermark_05-07-2019_06-20-42pm

For ideas on how to arrange your shapes, you can look at these inspiration images I found, as well as my finished product.

I am thinking of eventually putting these canvases in my office at work, but for now, I like the feeling of going to sleep in a garden here!

Julie aka “Jewels”

DIY Marbled Clay Ring Dishes

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Here is version two of these DIY clay ring dishes! First, I made some in white with stamped designs. I love how those look, but keeping the white clay as clean as possible is a bit stressful. The marbled dishes, on the other hand, are so addictive and relaxing!

ezy watermark_24-05-2019_05-33-05pm

Here’s what you’ll need:

  • Premo Sculpey in a coordinating colors (approximately 2oz per bowl)
  • Rolling pin or smooth glass jar
  • Parchment paper or wax paper
  • Circle to trace (approximately 4″)
  • Bowl or other oven-safe mold
  • Optional: sandpaper
  • Paint brush
  • Gold paint
  • Clear glossy varnish

Here’s how to do it:

  • Make strips of clay in each color you want to include. Twist and roll them together until you get the amount of mixing you want.
  • Using a parchment or wax paper work surface, roll the marbled clay flat – about 1/4″ thick
  • Cut out the circle – you can take the cut-off edges and add them to your next marbled bowl, so each one is unique!
  • Place your circle on your mold – I tried it on the outside of a bowl, but I think inside would be better, if you have the right size, because the mold indented the surface slightly
  • Bake according to the instructions for the clay
  • Let it cool, and sand rough edges
  • Paint rim with gold paint
  • Coat with clear varnish

Here are some progress shots and the final products!

Here is how to start the marbling process:ezy watermark_13-05-2019_06-01-26pm

This is what the bowls looked like out of the oven.

ezy watermark_13-05-2019_08-55-52pm

Next step: gold paint on the rim!

Last step: clear gloss varnish!

 

I’m seriously addicted to making these bowls… can you guess what’s up next?!

Julie aka “Jewels”

DIY Stamped Ring Dishes in White and Gold

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These little pretty and versatile trinket dishes have been catching my eye for some time now, and I just needed an occasion to try them!

I’ve been so lucky to have a lot of fun dinners/ brunches/ weekends with my girlfriends recently. (See the moms’ brunch I hosted here.) I thought these dishes would be fun to make as party favors/ souvenirs.

I tried making a few different styles of dishes, and I’ll post the variations here soon. While I love the results of all of them, the white bowls are a bit stressful to make (hard to keep clean!), and the marble is really relaxing, so choose your project accordingly!!

There are so many different kids of polymer clay, and when I found myself overwhelmed standing in Michael’s, I appreciated this overview of the different clays and their uses. After reading this summary, I ended up choosing Premo Sculpey.

Here’s what you’ll need:

  • Premo Sculpey in white (approximately 2oz per bowl)
  • Rolling pin or smooth glass jar
  • Stencils and stamps
  • Parchment paper or wax paper
  • Circle to trace (approximately 4″)
  • Bowl or other oven-safe mold
  • Optional: sandpaper
  • Paint brush

Here’s how to do it:

  • This white clay collects and shows dust and lint very easily, so try to keep your hands, tools, and work surface as clean as possible
  • Using a parchment or wax paper work surface, knead your clay and roll it flat – about 1/4″ thick
  • Cut out the circle
  • Stamp your designs in the center
  • Place your circle on your mold – I tried it on the outside of a bowl, but I think inside would be better, if you have the right size, because the mold indented the surface slightly
  • Bake according to the instructions for the clay
  • Let it cool, and sand rough edges
  • Paint rim with gold paint
  • Coat with clear varnish

Here are some progress shots and the final products!

Clay rolled out, stamped, and ready to mold

This is what the bowls looked like out of the oven, before paint and varnish. I like the matte look, but I suspect they’d get dirty over time.

Next step: gold paint on the rim!

Last step: clear gloss varnish!

Here’s a sneak peak at the marble bowls. I’ll get the post up some time (soon?)!

I’m seriously addicted to making these bowls…

Julie aka “Jewels”

Shibori-Dyed Zipper Pouches

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Every year, I make a handmade holiday gift for my coworkers and our kids’ teachers. I love bringing them into school and the office and spreading joy! I’ll list all the past ones at the bottom, so you have more … Continue reading →

DIY Hand-Painted Chinoiserie Christmas Ornaments

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For this year’s Chinoiserie Christmas, I mostly used decorations I already had from our “white and woodsy Christmas,” with the addition of these hand-drawn ornaments! This post is coming late, because it took me all month to finish these ornaments, … Continue reading →

I’m dreaming of a (Blue and) White Chinoiserie Chic Christmas

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It has been a busy few months here, but I’m sitting by the fire and finally have a minute to share our Christmas decorations – just under the wire this Christmas Eve. If there were a graph showing how many … Continue reading →

Unique DIY Lighting for a Loft-Inspired Teen Boy’s Room – One Room Challenge Week 3

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I’m really excited to be a Guest Participant again in the One Room Challenge! This is a great way to get inspiration and motivation for your home. This spring, I re-decorated our boys’ bathroom. For this fall’s challenge, I’m transforming our teen’s bedroom. His new space is inspired by an industrial loft, with an exposed brick wall and other great features! Thanks for following along!

Recap:

  • In week one, I shared my favorite inspiration spaces and mood board
  • In week two, I added a (faux) exposed brick wall

This week, I’m so excited to show you the lighting projects for this space. These are both moderately easy DIYs, and that’s exactly what I need right now with everything else going on at home and work!

Macrame Cord Hanging Lamp:

TOTALLY in love with this project. More details, including materials and instructions, in this post. For now, just enjoy the pictures!

Stenciled Drum Pendant Lamp Shade:

This is actually one of the first projects I did, when I started blogging. The detailed instructions are in the original post. This room used to be my craft room, so I gave myself some license to use more feminine touches. Kai’s not picky, but I did want to update this lamp for him. I originally thought I might be able to just change the shade, but it was fixed in place.  While changing out the light bulbs, I realized that the room looked a lot brighter – and the light looked a bit less feminine – without the bottom glass and finial, so I left it that way for a little update.

Here’s an earlier before-and-after of the light.

And here’s how it looks without the bottom finial and with some fun Edison-style bulbs inside.

Oh, and one more look at my friend the macrame cord light…

Not sure what I’ll tackle this coming week. The answer might be nothing, because I’m co-hosting a big crazy birthday party this weekend…

A huge thank you to Linda for creating the One Room Challenge community, and high fives to all my fellow bloggers whose hard work and creativity were great inspirations! Be sure to go back to the One Room Challenge page to check out all the other projects!

Julie aka “Jewels”

Dyeing to DIY… Shibori!

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I love the look of shibori – which is hardly surprising, since I love all things blue and white, and fabric. I finally overcame my skittishness about dye and tried this technique… now, I am 100% addicted! I’ve got lots … Continue reading →

DIY Mid-Century Modern Plant Stands – Props to Plants!

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Yup, yup, after years of wearing a “brown thumb” badge of honor, I finally fell hard for gardening and house plants about a year ago. As a crazy plant lady, I do, of course, occasionally indulge in buying some new … Continue reading →

Big Closet Dreams in a Small Space!

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I can’t help drooling over pictures of gorgeous walk-in closets with romantic and glamorous touches. We gave up our walk-in closet when we created a fourth bedroom upstairs. I don’t regret this extra room, which was first a nursery and … Continue reading →