With the holiday season behind us, one thing that we have in our house (in addition to the lovely gifts we received) is lots of packaging; boxes, tins and jars that we cannot bear to throw away because they are too pretty, too sturdy and too useful to send to landfill.
In time's when we are always looking for ways to save a bit of cash, one of the best ways to save is to create your own storage. This does not mean, however, that your DIY storage has to be plain, undecorated or boring.
This week, we have been making use of our old sweet tubs and taking inspiration from vintage hat boxes to up-cycle our first project, just for you. We loved the look of some vintage hat boxes we found that were covered in beautiful roses. Although we have just used our rose design, you could add some stencilling to add to the hat-box feel, though the stencil you use will depend on the size of your project.
For this project, you will need:
A tub of your choice
Flat base coating brush
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The first decision you need to make is to decide what you will be upcycling. This is a great project for experimenting with painting on different surfaces, for example painting on curved surfaces is very different to painting on to flat surfaces. If your project doesn't go to plan, it can still be recycled and it hasn't cost you any money. We chose a leftover sweet tub from our Christmas gifts that was just going to be re-cycled.
The beauty of DecoArt Chalky finish paint is that you can paint straight on to the surface without fear of the paint flaking off at a later date. However, one thing you will need to do before you begin painting is to wipe down the tub completely with a mixture of vinegar and water to remove any greasy fingerprints. Any greasy fingerprints left on the surface will prevent the paint from adhering to the surface. |
Once
you've decided which shade of Chalky Finish paint you would like to use,
begin painting the tub using a flat brush. Be sure to cover every inch of
the tub with the paint.
1.
Once the Chalky Finish base coat has dried, using your finger or, cloth or old
brush apply Rose Gold Metallic Lustre around the lid. Tip:
if your lustre has hardened, put a little water in the jar, screw the lid
back on and leave for a couple of hours or overnight to soften.
2.
Using the patterns, randomly place roses around the edge, alternating between 1
rose, 2 roses and 3 rose clusters. Tip: to make it
look more professional, trace a few of the roses off the edge as Carol has done
here. Next trace the larger cluster in the centre of your project, or in this
case, the lid. Note: the patterns should print at the correct size.
Next
fill in the roses using your round brush from the Series 1 Starter kit as
instructed on the Vintage Rose tutorial DVD. For this project, Carol used
DecoArt Americana Naphthol Red. However, you can create a similar shade by
mixing our Series 1 Tomato red with a bit of Lamp black, also from the Series 1
kit. (To learn more about mixing colours, click here).
3.
Using Avocado green from the Series 2 kit, add the leaves following the
tutorial from the Vintage Rose DVD. Tip: If you do not have the Series 2
Starter kit, you could use the Hauser Light Green from our Series 1 Kit.
Now
you have the pattern to work with, add your comma strokes to paint your vintage
roses, tipping your brush with Warm White - you can watch the full tutorial
on the DVD supplied in our Vintage Rose add on kit.
Using
your liner brush, add stalks to your leaves using Avocado around the tub.
Once
you design is dried, using the warm white, add comma strokes using your liner
brush. Finish by adding some 'filler foliage' this has been created by loading
the end of the round brush with avocado and tipping the brush with white.
Leave to dry and apply a coat of Clear Creme wax using a round brush to protect your beautiful new storage. You can either use it once it has dried or buff the wax with a soft, lint free cloth to create a soft sheen to your container.
Happy Folking,
Carol xx
