Creating Me

I love this idea! Instead of the traditional picture frame, use a bulldog clip to hold your photo. It makes it so easy to change out your photo and you can make them to perfectly match your decor.

I started with an 8×10 inch blank canvas from the craft store and an extra large bulldog clip that I picked up at Target.

I brushed the canvas with one coat of Folk Art Home Decor Chalk Paint in Cascade. I didn’t worry about full coverage because I wanted it to have a distressed look. Just add another coat of paint if you’d rather not have any white peeking through. I cut a piece of heavier-weight patterned scrapbook paper to 6×8 inches and used an edge distresser to roughen up the edges a bit. I lightly brushed the edges with the same paint and also dry brushed a little over the rest of the piece. Then the piece is attached to the painted canvas with scrapbook adhesive.

When I put the clip on the canvas, the silver looked a bit stark next to the rest of the project so I brushed a bit of the chalk paint on the clip to soften it up. I used Crafter’s Pick the Ultimate Glue to adhere the clip to the canvas. I really like the way it turned out!

Here it is with a 4×6 print…

I found the canvas on sale for around $3.00 and the bulldog clip was $3.00. I already had the paint from this Painted Vase project and the scrapbook paper in my stash. A picture frame to perfectly match my decor for about $6.00 – a pretty good deal! And the possibility of color and pattern combinations are endless! If you need a different size, there are so many canvas sizes to choose from.

You can make these in your favorite colors to match your decor. Or make some for unique gifts – add a favorite picture or even a handwritten recipe card to make it extra special. 🙂

Thanks for stopping by,

Anita

You have some of these stashed away in your garage, basement, or attic. I know you do! Those clear bud vases from the florist that you just can’t quite throw away, but you don’t know what to do with them. Well, I have an idea for you!

I picked up some of this Folk Art Home Decor Chalk Paint in a beautiful shade of blue called Cascade at my local Hobby Lobby. I love that it comes in 2 oz bottles in several different colors – perfect for small projects! After washing the vase with warm soapy water, let it dry thoroughly. Then simply paint the outside of the vase with 2 coats of paint, making sure to let it dry completely after each coat. After the 2nd coat is dry, lightly sand the vase in different areas to give it a distressed look. Spray the vase with 2 light coats of a matte sealer spray to help keep the paint from chipping off. 

The finished vase…

Since the vase is painted on the outside, you can actually use it to hold fresh flowers – just be careful with getting the outside too wet – water could ruin your paint!

These pretty vases add a touch of color to small spaces – make several in different shapes, sizes, and colors. (Check your local thrift store – they usually have a ton of vases at very low prices!) Perfect little housewarming gifts, too!

Thanks for stopping by,

Anita

You may have seen these Patriotic Clothespin Wreaths floating around the different DIY websites. With the 4th of July just around the corner, I thought it might be fun to make one. Here’s my take on it…

I started out with a 12-inch flat wooden wreath form from my local craft store. Add in some wooden clothespins from the dollar store, wooden stars from the craft store, and acrylic paint (a happy coincidence that the brand name of some of the paint is “Anita’s” 🙂 ) and you have all you need to create this fun project.

I started out by clipping the clothespins around the wreath to figure out how many I would need – I needed 68 to fit my wreath. Then to mimic the 13 stripes on the American flag, I set aside 28 clothespins to paint red and 24 to paint white (4 for each stripe). That left me with 16 to paint blue. Depending on the size of the wreath form you choose, just adjust the number of clothespins for each section.

I painted the wreath form white, along with 24 clothespins and 10 stars. Then I painted 28 clothespins red and painted 16 blue. (I used two coats of paint.) You could also use spray paint which would cut down the time to create this wreath quite a bit. I had the acrylic paint in my craft stash so I just used what I had on hand.

After everything is dry, simply clip the clothespins on the wreath creating the stripes by using 4 red alternating with 4 white. Add the blue clothespins and glue the stars to the blue section. I finished the wreath with a couple coats of a matte sealing spray.

And here it is…

A fun addition to your Summer decor! 🇺🇸

Thanks for stopping by,

Anita