Tag Archives: paint

Apr 16 2013

Necklace & Key Rack

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I have been looking for some sort of solution for keeping my necklace’s from getting tangled every time I take them off. I don’t wear them often, but every time I do it seems I have to spend 20 minutes untangling it first. So I came up with the solution of using small cup hooks and making my own rack. While I was at it I decided to update the key rack in our apartment. (Previously a few command hooks by the door, now a cute and colorful rack!)

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Supplies: Some small pieces of wood or wood plaques from the craft store, acrylic paint, paint brushes, small screw in cup hooks, a ruler, a pencil, and some picture hanging command adhesive.

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I started by painting all my wood plaques white to prime them. I wanted the bright colors to really pop and to use the least amount of coats of paint.

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I then began to paint the face of them. I used 1-2 coats depending on the color. I wanted to ad more colors to the edges, but if you like this look of white edges you could stop here too!

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This is how mine looked as I added multiple colors to the sides.

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Once everything is dry you are ready to get some hooks on them! First decided how many hooks you want on each rack. For my key racks I used 3 and the for the necklace rack I used 5 since they are much smaller objects. Using a ruler and pencil I marked out evenly where I wanted the hooks to be.

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The hooks will screw into most wood very easily right over your pencil marks, and then you will have a finished little rack!

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To hang your rack on a wall you could drill a hole for it to sit on a nail or picture holder. Living in an apartment I wanted a solution that won’t hurt the walls and still is easy and looks great. So I used the picture hanging command adhesive (the kind that has Velcro basically.) The reason I choose this kind is because I wanted it to be stronger in order to hold keys and to hide completely behind the rack. Normal command adhesive needs a small piece of it showing in order to properly remove it later. This stronger kind can completely hind though because of how it uses Velcro to attach to your objects! In my picture you can sort of see how I essentially used 4 medium command adhesives and 2 sets of Velcro strips (they come with the adhesive.)

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And there you have it! Some cute and colorful racks for keys, necklaces or other small objects!

-Holly

Apr 12 2013

Woodchip Bugs!

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It’s spring! At least, it’s trying to be. Today is not working out to well weather-wise here in New England. As the warmer weather does start to come around, so do the bugs! These bugs however, are the kind that don’t bite and you might even invite to a picnic. They are very simple to make and so darn cute!

Supplies: Wood chip pieces from a craft store (you will need different size circles and teardrop shapes),  some wire (18-22 gauge seems like it works best), Pliers (the kind that will cut the wire too), Acrylic paint, Paint brushes, a black Permanent marker, Googly eyes, and some glue!

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Pick out the pieces you need for whichever bug you choose to make. Actual size of these shapes doesn’t really matter. The large ones I used for the bodies were about 1 1/4″. For the bee’s wings I clipped a corner of a teardrop shape so it looked a little more wing-like. Then start painting them whatever color you want your bug! I recommend 10 minutes of drying time before painting the opposite sides so they don’t stick to anything. Also, I found that two coats looked far better then just one.

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Once your top piece of your bug is completely dry, use a black permanent marker to draw a design on its back. For the bee I made stripes and the ladybug I made dots.

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Next, I start putting the bug together. I found this part to be rather tricky. I cut out 3 pieces of wire to sit over the bottom side of the body for the legs. (Note: I used 18 gauge wire, be careful not to just buy any wire. You want one that is easy to bend, but stiff enough to hold up your bug)  I wanted to just glue them all on, but that really didn’t work out so well… or at all for that matter. So instead I used a little tape to hold them all on before I could get the glue on. (another option could be a hot glue gun if you are not involving kids in this project.)

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Then I put plenty of glue on his back and put his head and then his back top piece on. I did end up needing some clamps (clothespins, or something similar) to hold some of them together while they dried. Once they were dry, they were standing up pretty good!

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Now you want to flip your bug over to glue his tail on. Let it dry and then help him back on his feet!

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Glue his wings on his back right behind his head. Also make some him an antenna out of wire and glue it on. I used super glue, because that is the only thing that seemed to work for that part. Regular craft glue proved to be too slippery and dry too slow and I didn’t want a large blob of hot glue on his head.

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Finally give him some cute little googly eyes!

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My finished bugs are about 1″ off the ground and 1 1/2″-2″ wide.

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These would be great projects to make with kids, give away as little gifts or even party favors!

Please feel free to share any bugs you create with wood chips, I would love to see them!

-Holly

 

Nov 17 2012

Clothespin Magnets

My Co-worker was looking through her desk drawer and found a clothespin. After a few minutes of us trying to figure out how it could have gotten there, she decided she wanted it to be a magnet. I happen to know that she loves the color purple so I told her I could paint it purple for her and find a magnet. Well, she also has a love of unicorns and therefore decided if I went to the trouble of painting it, I might as well draw a unicorn face on it. Thus, 5 new clothes pin magnets were created.

 

Supplies:

Clothespins, acrylic paints, paint brushes, puffy paint (usually used for fabric), newspaper (disposable table covering), magnetic tape, super glue, small clamps (I like to use small binder clips, cheaper and very effective)

Gather all your supplies and cover your workspace with newspaper or some other disposable cover that will protect it from any stray paint. To keep my paint brushes from drying out and easier to clean I also like to keep a jar of water on the table.

Paint your clothes pins with 2 coats of an acrylic paint of your choice. Allow at least 10-15 minutes of drying time between coats. After second coat, allow to dry again at least 10-15 minutes.

Now using the puffy paints, create some designs on 1 side of the clip. Leave one side completely flat for the magnet to attach to later. Allow the puffy paint to dry for 30-60 minutes, or until it is dry to the touch. They should be close to completely dry or your designs will get smudged!

Here are my 5 designs drying. While they finish drying, get you magnet, glue & clamps ready. Cut the magnet to fit each of your clips. In my case the magnet was about 1″ wide so I cut 2 1/2 ” strips and cut those in half the long way to make two 1/2″ strips.

This type of magnet is suppose to be peel and stick, but seeing as these clips will be used to hold things I find that it is usually best to add some glue to them, just to be sure.

I dab a few small drops of glue over the strips of magnet.

I press my clothes pins firmly down on the magnet and hold it there for a minute or two.

Use some small clamps (or binder clips in my case) to hold the magnet in place while it continues to dry. Leave it to dry for 15-30 minutes.

And there you have it! I use these magnets of my fridge to be ready to hold notes, photos, or even to close a bag of chips! Also, they are great at work if you have any space in your office that could use some nice decorative magnets that are mighty handy to hold notes or documents!

 

Please comment and share!

-Holly