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crafts

Fashioning a Nest

Nests are all the rage right now.  They are so symbolic of new life, protecting your family, and creating a comfortable environment.  Until now, I never really thought about the aspect that a nest is made entirely by the occupants and entirely out of found materials.  I’ve found nests before with gum wrappers tucked in.  When I was a little girl, my mom would trim my hair and we would throw my hair in the yard for the birds to use.  Our feathered friends don’t hire contractors or go to Lowes; they recycle with nature’s litter (and sometimes ours) and toil to make something they are pleased with.  It’s really remarkable.  In addition to all of these deeper subliminal messages, nest are just pretty.  They provide great texture and are a stylish way to bring the outdoors in.  Finding a wild nest is not the easiest thing and one certainly

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Painted Pail Tutorial

I loved how much my large painted pail turned out, so I went out today and bought several smaller ones to work on.  As promised, here’s a step-by-step tutorial and some other ideas for painting and using these buckets.    Start with a galvanized metal pail.  I found these on triple clearance at TJ Maxx, but I’m sure you could find some at any craft store. Apply a sloppy coat of a crackle medium and allow to dry until tacky.  Don’t let it get too dry or it won’t work as well.  Check your perfection at the door with this project.  The gloppier, the better. Apply a sloppy coat of paint.  I used both latex and acrylic paints in varying shades and allowed them to dry for about ten minutes.  If you want to add a pattern, like the red cross, stripes, a number, or words, this would be the time.  I made a

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Zinc Frame…or is it?

Zinc is a hot “thing” right now. You’re seeing zinc furniture, zinc letters, and all things zinc in home decor. It looks so cool, but it’s expensive. Now, I’m going to say that as much as I love paint, I am not a fan of faux. Mainly, because it looks….well, faux. My friend, Jami from Freckled Laundry, recently painted a “zinc” dresser and did a great job, I might add. When we were e-mailing about her technique, she mentioned the possibility of using tin foil to achieve the look of zinc. I had no plans to test it out, but then, I started working on this frame.  It was part particle board, part metal…it was ugly and paint just wasn’t going to fix it.  I needed to decoupage something over the frame to hide the imperfections.  I was a little tired of craft paper and sheet music, so I went

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Gold Leaf Tutorial

I was asked if I would do a gold leaf tutorial and I was happy to share how easy and effective this process is. I purchased an entire armload of large, dated frames at an auction for a quarter.  I was not quite sure what I was going to do with them at the time, but the auctioneer looked at me and almost pleaded with me to take them off his hands.  These two frames were in that lot. They are clearly 1960’s-70’s style frames and not at all my taste. They had an interesting texture that seemed like a great candidate for applying gold leaf. In this tutorial, I’m showing you how to apply gold leaf to a frame, but you can apply metal leaf to almost anything. First of all, make sure your surface is clean.  Also, what’s underneath the leafing may peak through, so make sure it’s

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“Joy” Banner Tutorial

Here’s my tutorial on how to make this cute and easy “Joy” banner for the holidays. It was the kind of project I made up as I went along and I really like how it turned out. (Don’t you love it when that happens?) 1.) First, you need some chipboard letters to spell out whatever word you want on the banner. You can buy them, cut them yourself with an exact-o knife, or with a Cricut or other personal cutting machine. I purchased this package of 26 pages for $10.00 at AC Moore. One cool thing about this package is that once I use all of the letters, I can use what’s left as a stencil. 2.) I decided on the word Joy and picked three letters that were the same size, but different fonts to make it more interesting. 3.) Using a foam brush, apply Elmer’s glue onto the

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I’m Marian, a painter, writer, and lover of all things creative. From art and antiques to home projects and everyday life, I share my journey in hopes of inspiring you to embrace your own creativity and make beauty in the spaces you live.

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