Halloween: From Dollar Tree Fairy Houses to Glam Witch Cottages

 

Last year, I went looking for these little Fairy Houses at Dollar Tree too late in the season, so when I saw them in the Spring, I grabbed up a few. I was thinking ahead to Spooky Season and decided they'd make great Witch Cottages. You may still be able to find them now or use any little ceramic houses from there or thrift shops. 

Supplies: 

• Ceramic Fairy Cottage (Dollar Tree)
• Black Spray Paint (Rustoleum)
• Silver Acrylic Paint (Craft Smart)
• Embellismhments (Michaels)

I forgot to  take pics of them before I started so this is from their website. This is the design I used for these. 

I spray-painted them with the black Rustoleum I used for my Haunted Mansion. It's amazing how different they look, isn't it? I got a different style I'm going to use for Christmas.

I used a bright silver acrylic paint (Craft Smart Multi Surface Ultra Bright Silver, Michaels) to dry brush the roof, stones, windows etc. 

I love scoping the kids crafts sections of Michaels because I always find some goodies like these gems from Creatology. They're iridescent and faceted and can go with anything! 

I used a quick-drying glue to attach the gems along the roofline, door, and plants, and added a few self-adhesive rhinestones as shown. 

I picked up these charms last year (Michaels), which I ended up not using, so I chose the pumpkins to add to the front. 

And there you have it! From Fairy Houses to Glam Witch Cottages! Can't wait to show you what I did with some of the Fairy House accessories I also picked up. Stay tuned! 

Halloween: Dollar Tree Dollhouse to Haunted Mansion

 

Boo! I might be late to "Summerween" but I'm here, and it felt SO good to be back in my craft room really getting to play with some stuff now that things have settled down a bit at Casa Chocolate. I have a few projects I'll share this week and next, getting ready for one of my favorite times of the year: Spooky Season! And no, I will not be climbing on any countertops this year. The scar from last year's Humpty Dumpty fall is the only reminder I need, but trust...friends and family have been a united chorus. 

Supplies: 

• Dollar Tree Doll Houses (2)
• Rustoleum Black Spray Paint w/Primer (Black)
• Acrylic Paints in Silver and White
• Silver Paint Pen
• Embellishments (Details Below)

If you see these at Dollar (Fifty) Tree, don't wait to get them because they come and go! So of course, I got more than two because...

I picked up this matte black Rustoleum paint specifically because it bonds to plastic. As much as I hate spray paint, this covers like a dream. I saw where someone popped out the windows and doors to paint separately. I did one. NOPE. More of a pain (to me) to put back in. NEXT! Those suckers can stay put. You may also be wondering why I used two. Because they're a facade, and half a house with the back open. I wanted a whole house, so...two!

They do come with little hinges so you can attach them in a row. I decided to remove them. I thought my craft knife would work. Ended up using some heavier snips...tin I think...I had in my scissor stash. Snipped right off. 

I ran glue around the back of one house and glued the two together using Loctite Super Glue Gel after I dry-brushed white acrylic paint on the roof. 

Once my house was built, I went over the raised areas with a silver paint pen (Craft Smart, Michaels) and a little more dry brushing. 

I had this sheet of self-adhesive rhinestones in my stash, left over from a Design Team I was once on. I cut a strip of it and adhered it across the roof line, using a little hot glue for extra adhesion. 

On one of my DT excursions, I found these sheets of "Disco Tiles" and used a strip of them on each side of my Haunted Mansion. 

I had some Tim Holtz embellishments on hand that were PERFECT for this project, so I used the canes and buttons to embellish, along with some charms I picked up last year at Michaels, and of course, some bling! 

Displayed here on an as yet unconstructed stand which is a DT mirror and candleholder. Since I haven't actuall started decorating yet, I haven't glued these together, but you get the idea. 

Squeeeeee! I'm in my happy place! Stay tuned...

Papercrafting: Dyed Coffee Filter Flowers Part One

 

I've seen so many Reels pop up in my social media feeds showing how to dye coffee filters for projects and I was excited to try my own. Once you start playing, it's very addictive! It's also a fun and inexpensive craft that is only limited by your imagination. 

Supplies:

• Coffee Filters (I got a 100 pack at Dollar Tree)
• Acrylic Paints (Craft Smart from Michaels)
• Water
• Bottles (Dollar Tree)
• Shallow Tray (Dollar Tree)
• Stamens (80% off JoAnn after Christmas!)
• Dimensional Glue

First, gather your supplies. I chose these colors of acrylic paint (Craft Smart, Michaels) and Dollar Tree has these three-compartment plastic trays that are PERFECT for this! They also carry the small bottles shown which are great for mixing colors. 

I squirted some of the paint into the bottles as shown. Then added water. There's no right formula. I wanted a more watercolor look vs intense colors so I mixed to a thin consistency. Shake well to blend. 

I then prepped my coffee filters and filled the tray with a little bit of water. I tend to crumple my coffee filters to disguise the fluting they come with and give them an even overall texture, plus I have this theory that "working" paper, scrunching, crumpling, etc. strengthens the paper. 

I did the colors standalone in two of the three sections of the tray and mixed them in the third. 

Then I added the coffee filters to their dye bath. I didn't time how long they took to absorb the dye...it's the kind of thing you can do in between other projects. When I was happy with them, I took them out and lay them on some cardboard to dry. 

And here they are all done! Now you're ready to make flowers and I'll show you how in Part Two tomorrow! 

 

Summer Crafting: Painted Llamas

 

I tend toward neutrals but I decided for Summer, I'd do some more colorful things. When I found these wood llamas at Dollar Tree, they were perfect for my Summer vignette on our kitchen display shelves!

Supplies

• Wood Llamas (Dollar Tree)
• Acrylic Paint (I used Craft Smart from Michaels)
• Acrylic Paint Pens
• Pom Poms

These are the llamas I found at Dollar Tree. Laid out this way, they remind me of the "Pushmi  Pullyu" from Dr. Doolittle. For several years as a child, that was my favorite toy. It had a pull string and talked! I took it everywhere with me. 

I painted them white using Craft Smart Acrylic paint from Michaels. Then I got out my acrylic paint pens and just went to town freehand. 

I pulled out a selection of colors and on one, did random dots, and on the other drew a "saddle" and decorated the legs. 

I grabbed my stash of pom-poms and chose colors that coordinated with my llamas. 

I went mostly with these that have little iridescent fibers poking out. 

I'm tickled with how they turned out. I will also post a tutorial on the coffee filter flowers in the background. I had way too much fun with those! 

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Dollar Tree Crafting: Glam Fairy Cottage

 

I hope all of the Mothers and Others had a nice Mother's Day. We had a lovely day with The Mumster and our son joined us electronically from Chicago. 

I had fun with this project. One I hadn't even had on my radar but on one of my Dollar Tree stops, a woman behind me at the register was buying these adorable Fairy Houses and that was that. The store I was at had a LONG line so natch, I just popped into another one on the way home. I can navigate around here by where Dollar Trees are. There's my favorite one by my Mom's, the four on the way to/from my Mom's, the one by me...

Supplies:

• Dollar Tree Ceramic Fairy House
• Waverly Matte No Prep Acrylic Paint (I used White and Steel)
• Craft Smart Multi Surface Acrylic Paint Bright Silver
• Creatology Gem Mix
• Clear Dimesional Glue

They have a few different styles of Fairy Houses and they even have furniture! 

I love my neutrals and I knew where this one was going so I went with a white/gray/silver color scheme. I painted the house white all over.

Now that I had my base, I wanted to accent it a bit so I used the Waverly paint in Steel todry brush the stones, shutters, door, and flower pots. 

Then, I went over the same areas with Bright Silver CraftSmart paint. Now for some fun! 

Don't sleep on the kids crafts section at Michaels! I find a LOT of fun embellishments there like this Creatology Gem Mix. It comes in many different colors and I need to go back and get the multi-color mix because I'm in love with these. I used Glossy Accents (Ranger) glue to adhere these along the roof line, on the windows, and door, and also the flowers in the pots. 

I have a cloche I keep on my dresser and change out seasonally. I thought it was perfect for my little cottage. 

The hammered aluminum base makes it pop.

Tops down view.

And there we go! Fits in with my year-round silver and white scheme. Maybe it's a Gnome Home for my guy sitting behind it? 

After I dropped my Mom off on Sunday, of course I had to stop at my favorite DT by her.

I am in LOVE with these sticker seals which I'll use on handmade cards! The little birds remind me of Cactus Wrens which we see on saguaros all the time and who can resist pom-poms! The tray will be PERFECT for dyeing coffee filters and the baking cups for paper flowers. 

Mr. Chocolate just gives up trying to understand my brain. I don't blame him! 

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