Halloween: Glam Sugared Skulls

 

Happy New Week! Sharing a play on words inspired project with these Glam Sugared Skulls. Living in the Southwest, Sugar Skulls, Catrinas, and Dia de los Muertos iconography and creations are EVERYWHERE and I love them. So, my brain doing what it does, came up with this idea. 

Supplies:

• Plastic Skulls (Dollar Tree)
• White Multi Surface Acrylic Paint (Waverly)
• Mod Podge
• Glitter
• Gemstones (Dollar Tree)
• Silk Roses (Michaels)

I used these plastic skulls from Dollar Tree and my favorite multi-surface Waverly paint. 

Cover the skulls thoroughly with paint. Those sponge spouncers work better to me than brushes. 

I wanted these to look like the skulls were cast from sugar so I grabbed some white glitter from my stash and mixed a bunch into some Mod Podge. Then, using the spouncer thingy (very technical term!), applied to the painted skulls. 

I craft like I cook. "Some"..."a bit"...so I don't have exact proportions but just mix until you're happy!

You can see the glitter effect here. I grabbed some of these irregularly shaped gemstones (Dollar Tree) and decided to use them for the eyes. I just started gluing them randomly and filling in. Yes, they're self-adhesive, but for better adhesion, I reinforced them with some dimensional glue. 

Mr. Chocolate had thoughts on the rhinestones I put in the noses. Pffft. 

I unintentionally made these to match us! Me, with black curly hair represented by black roses, and him, "clean shaven". I used a black rose spray from Michaels, cut it apart, and then glued leaves and flowers as shown.

Mr. Chocolate!

Me!

Us!

I'm planning a future decor tour post when I'm all done using all these projects I've made so you'll see how I used them (if I can stop making more stuff!). 

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Creatively Crafty Linky Party #270

Mod Podge Rocks Stencil Podged Box

My readers know that I love Mod Podge. I've joked before that if it stands still long enough I'll probably Mod Podge it.  I didn't think I could love MP more and then along came self adhesive stencils you can use with Mod Podge  and glitter! 

For this project you will need: 

Surface to decorate

Mod Podge ( I used my go to Matte)

Paper

Glitter

Mod Podge Rocks Stencil (I used Starlite)

The stencils come in 6 designs and are available at Michaels: 

I used a little wood box in my stash for this project and  covered two sides and the top with black and white polka dot paper and left the other two sides bare wood. To stencil, peel the stencil from the backer and adhere to your surface. The adhesive on the stencil lasts for 20 uses. 

The easiest way to use Mod Podge with the stencils is to use a sponge spouncer. Dip lightly and then spounce your Mod Podge on.  For glitter projects,  the instructions say to peel the stencil away at this point but I decided to just plop my glitter on first. I thought I might get cleaner images this way and was happy with the result. 

When the stencil was peeled off, perfectly symmetrical glitter diamond shapes were left behind! The stencil (glitter and all) cleaned up nicely with soap and water so I could finish the other side of my box. 

While I used a flat surface, I love that the stencils are flexible and can bend to rounded surfaces like jars, bottles, vases etc. Possibilities are endless! 

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Elegant and Easy: Dollar Tree Candle Hostess Gift and Table Favors

Tall jar ( prayer) candles are a staple in my craft stash. I love altering them and they make easy and affordable gifts. I pick mine up at Dollar Tree and in all my trips there, I’ve looked at but not picked up the lidded jar candles in the same section. Until now.

While I was at DT, I also found this gorgeous tissue paper…natural colored with metallic dots! It comes in silver, gold and red dots. I bought the silver and gold. Why didn’t I buy the red???

For this project you need:

• Small jar candles ( as mentioned Dollar Tree)
• Tissue Paper
• Decoupage Medium ( I used Martha Stewart Matte)
• Ribbon and beads to embellish

Remove labels from candle. I was so happy that these came right off. Cut tissue paper into strips ( 1.5 x 8 ). Coat glass with decoupage medium and apply tissue. Go over top of tissue with more decoupage medium. Let dry. Embellish with ribbon and beads. Done!

I always like to have a table favor on my holiday tables. A little something guests can take home with them to remember the occasion. I made these for each of my Christmas dinner guests and have them at each place setting.

Easy, affordable, and I hope elegant. Tis also the season for parties and hostess gifts. I made the tall candle for a friend hosting a treat exchange.

Instead of paper, I wrapped the candle in a scrap of drop cloth. I bought this huge drop cloth at Home Depot a few years ago to use as a tablecloth and ended up cutting it up and using it for all kinds of things. And anyone wonders why the Home Depot people look at me funny?

I used the Glitter Finish Martha Stewart decoupage medium for this one. The focal is this little Kaiser Craft laser cut wood holly piece I picked up in the scrapbooking section somewhere. I added self adhesive rhinestones and glued on some additional jewels and wrapped the center of the candle with ribbon yarn.

To finish, I tied on a big glittered bell and two small bells using plain twine.

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Ghosts of Christmas Ornaments Past: Paper Mache Ornaments

You could say I love ornaments. Did you say it? I have all kinds but some of the ones I love the most were the simplest to make.

 One of the easiest types of ornaments to decorate are the plain paper mache ones that every craft store carries. They come in all kinds of shapes...the basic ones like circles, squares, etc can usually be found year round, and during the holidays there are lots of choices.

I thought I'd share some past projects using them . The original posts / tutorials are all linked. They are an easy and inexpensive way to add to your decor or to make as package toppers, gifts etc.

French Stamped and Glittered

For these, I stamped directly onto the ornament and embellished with rhinestones and glitter. 

Stamped Glittered and Beaded

These were done the same way as the first but I added some beads to the end of the ornament. 

Vintage Sheet Music and Santa Ornaments 

These use a combination of vintage sheet music, graphics from The Graphics Fairy, and Mod Podge. The only limit is your imagination!

Sheet Music and Stickers

These are a combination of the two. Mod Podged with sheet music and edged in glitter. The focals are metallic snowflake stickers. Again, you could use any combination of papers / stickers, buttons, jewels. 

Ornaments as a Banner

These I actually used in a banner for Valentine's Day but the idea could easily be adapted for Christmas. PEACE, JOY, NOEL are all words that could be used. 

Each year when we get out the Christmas stuff I get to re-live memories of the years I made these. I hope you find some inspiration !

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DIY Vintage(d) Tree Topper: Scrapbook Paper, Glitter, and Paint

I decided when I took down last year’s tree that I wanted a new tree topper. I’d been using big ribbon bows but they were looking a little tired. We get a real tree, and nature does not always provide that perfect branch at the top for most of the vintage or vintage inspired glass  toppers I like. So natch, I made my own !

For this project you will need:

• Paper mache cone
• Craft paints ( I used a Sterling Silver and Sterling Silver Glitter)
• One 12x12 sheet of scrapbook paper
• Oversized bottle cap ( you could also use a jar lid)
• Paper cut to fit inside your cap
• Focal point ( I used a vintage looking brass sticker)
• Glue Gun
• Glitter

I painted my paper mache with a couple coats of silver metallic, then went over that with a couple of coats of the silver glitter paint.

In between coats of paint, make the medallion that is the centerpiece of this tree topper. Cut one 12x12 page of scrapbook paper into 4 6x6 sections. I used a sheet music page from Recollections and made one inch score marks using my Martha Stewart scoring board.

Once you’ve scored and folded each of your sections, hot glue them together. Since the paper I used was pretty heavy I used hot glue vs tape.

Then I took a small paintbrush , thick glue, and silver glitter and made my way around my medallion until it was edged.

I had some giant bottle caps in my stash but a small jar lid would work for this too. Cut a circle of silver glitter paper to fit inside, Mod Podged it in there, and then added an embossed brass colored sticker to the middle. The one I used is by K&Co.

I hot glued a silver tinsel pipe cleaner around the inside edge. I had some silver glittered snowflake pics from my after Christmas deal scrounging last year so pulled on out, stuck it through the top of my cone and added a dab of hot glue to keep it in place. Glued  my completed medallion on to my cone and done.

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