painting

Painting Abstract Bees

January 11, 2021 by Jessica Leave a Comment

Right now we are beginning to have those lower temps that come in the winter time. It is during this time of the year I just want to be in front of a warm fire, under a blanket, working on a handwork project. This usually comes in the form of crocheting, needlework, or sewing. I challenged myself this year and decided to try to learn some painting techniques. I came across this amazing abstract bees tutorial from Beth Can Paint and it felt like me! I can do some things, but getting into super detailed painting has never attracted me so I love this style.

I wanted to share my progress as I followed her directions. There are times it looks pretty bad, but that’s part of the process. You have to trust the process. All the layers come together so beautifully. So above is my very first step. I wanted to make mine more textured, so I kind of globbed the paint on.

After the first layer dried I added a contrasting color.

Of course, I wanted to add one more color after that.

At this point, I experimented with some splatters. She doesn’t do this at this point, but I decided to try it out for fun.

Now is where it looks a bit not so good to me hahaha. Hers looks way better at this point. But, again, this is a process!

Now the bees are starting to really pop.

This is after a few steps. I had painted the yellow on the body and done some splattering. I also tried a technique on the blue where you use the end of a paint brush to “scratch” into the paint.

I decided to fill in the head area a bit more so it would stand out better.

Now it’s time for the wings to pop!

Making the outline more prominent here. I also decided that I didn’t like how many stripes on the body I did initially, so I thickened them up to make it look like less.

I was in awe of what detail the white paint pen did for the bees at this step.

Then of course, a gold paint pen gives it a little sparkle. I have really come to love gold paint pens.

I finished them up with a layer of this product called “glitterific“. It’s a clear medium with glitter in it. So much fun! I felt like this year was going to be a fun creative journey and so far it is proving itself to be just that. And I always love when I find ways to be creative that just feel “so me” in my heart. Now that I did these, I challenged myself to create my own personal style of bee. I did just that and am currently working on some mini pieces. I’m excited to make it my own. Remember, it’s always worth trying something you want to learn. You never know if you will really enjoy or not, but at least you will find out.

Painting Wicker Furniture

May 8, 2015 by Jessica 3 Comments

Summer weather is officially here for us and we are spending a lot of time outdoors. I have noticed that some of our outdoor furniture is starting to look a little rough and was in need of some love. I received some of that wonderful chalky finish paint c/o DecoArt and decided I would try using it to paint the wicker chairs we have. They have weathered many years out in the Florida and Louisiana weather. Originally they were green then I spray painted them yellow. Now it was time for them to have yet another makeover.

As you can see, there were many places where the paint had been worn off. We try to keep these under the awning but my kids like to drag them around and then they get rained on or stay in the sun for longer than they should.

I used the Americana Chalky Finish Paint in Everlasting as the base for my color then added some of color Treasure to get this blue color. I tried to make one chair darker than the other but in the end they look pretty similar.

I wiped down the wicker furniture and trimmed off pieces that were broken. You can sand down spots if previous paint is chipping off, but I didn’t feel the need to and it turned out wonderful. Once it was dry, I painted on one coat of the paint with a regular paint brush. I was really happy with the coverage after the first coat and only did a second coat on the edges that had seemed to get the most worn.

Lastly, I finished by painting a coat of Ultra-Matte Varnish to protect the paint from the weather.

I know that spray painting would be an easier thing to do to paint something like this, but I just love the finished look of the chalky finish paint. And quite honestly, I am starting to really love that hand painted look more on my outdoor furniture than a perfectly sprayed paint job. I feel like it adds more character. You can see other types of things I have painted using this type of paint here and visit the DecoArt Chalky Finish website for more chalk paint ideas and inspiration.

This post was created in partnership with DecoArt. Thank you for supporting the sponsors that support Happy Together.

DIY Chicken Wire Display Door

January 20, 2015 by Jessica 2 Comments

One of my favorite types of DIY are the kind where you take something that might not look of value to many and turn it into something new and useable. So I was super excited when DecoArt challenged me to use their Multi-Surface Acrylics on something that could easily be found at places like flea markets, etc.

I had a friend offer me some old doors a few weeks ago and there was one that I knew would be perfect for this project. Look at how beat up this door was!

It looks like it should go to the dump, but I saw that there was still some life left in it. In fact, I plan on using this as a garden door one day. I wiped down the door real good and took off the tape to prepare it for painting.

Here are all the supplies I used for this project:

Door with large opening
Chicken Wire
Americana Multi-Surface Satin acrylic paint(s) of choice. I needed almost 6 ounces to coat each side of the door twice. Amount needed will depend on how large your surface is.
Paint Brush and other supplies needed to paint (drop cloth, cup for paint, paint cleaner, etc)
Staple Gun and Staples
Wire Cutters
Pliers
Optional: Wood for inside of door, Glue, Clamps

I chose to paint each side of the door a different color. I used the soft jade on one side and coastal waters on the other.

The directions suggest at least two coats of paint, so I did two coats on each side. It has very good coverage. If this was a door that I would actually be using as my front door, I would have done one more coat just to really cover it well. I let it dry overnight. The good thing is this paint is self sealing so there’s no need for primer or separate sealer. And the paint is for indoor and outdoor use. Awesome right?

My hubby cut out four pieces of wood that I glued on the inside opening. This door’s middle was foam and I didn’t want that showing. I used a strong glue to glue the wood on and used some clamps to keep them in place while it dried. I let that glue dry overnight as well. Then I stained the wood with a natural stain according to instructions on the can. After that dried, I stapled on the chicken wire using a staple gun. Then I used wire cutters to cut off the extra wire. If you want, you can use pliers to twist the ends so they don’t poke out. I’m even thinking of going back and putting thin wood strips all around the back side to completely enclose the wire ends.

I love how it turned out! I’m still waiting to find the perfect vintage hardware to go on it (that is also in my price range!). I know that will add to this project even more.

And of course, once I have a garden area that I can make all my own, we will fix the side door crack and add this to the garden fencing. For now we plan on keeping it in the kitchen and putting photos and our children’s artwork on it. Always look for the possibility in things. They just might surprise you! See more Multi-Surface Acrylic crafting ideas and inspirations here. -Jess

I parterned with DecoArt for this post and received compensation for doing so. All opinions are my own. Thank you for supporting businesses that support Happy Together.

Painting A Vintage Scale

January 9, 2015 by Jessica 2 Comments

As renters, we live in a world of brown and beige. Every time the Coast Guard has moved us I really look hard to try and find a rental that matches my desires in terms of design, but I have yet for that to work out. In the meantime, I am always on the search to add some brightness and color on a budget to said brown/beige covered houses. I was cleaning up Christmas stuff the other day when I looked at this vintage scale I had sitting on my kitchen counter. I had always liked the scale but it added to the blahness of the counters/back splash. It was time for some paint to liven it up and add some color.

I simply wiped down the scale really good with a wet paper towel and let it dry. Then I used the Americana Chalky Finish Paint to paint it with a regular paintbrush. I started with a small amount (probably like 3 tablespoons) of the paint in Everlasting. Then I added a few drops of Treasure and mixed it up. It was too blue for me, so I added some Refreshing until I got this light blueish with a hint of aqua in it. I painted on a really thin coat at first and let it dry. I liked how some of the rust still popped through but wanted a little more coverage so I added another thin coat. I liked the coverage and yet could still see just a tad bit of rust through so it still had an old appearance (hard to see in this photo). I left the face of the scale alone and didn’t worry about painting the places that were too hard to get to and weren’t seen. I also didn’t add a sealer because this will be inside and the chances of it getting wet are very little. I have to say that I have really come to adore the Chalky Finish Paint because there’s no sanding, no priming needed, it can paint just about anything, and dries really fast.

I’m so happy with how it turned out and I’m happy to have been able to add some more color to my kitchen.

-Jess

Mini Clipboard DIY

December 1, 2014 by Jessica 4 Comments

I love putting together little gifts to have on hand. One thing I like to add in those type of gifts are mini clipboards with a cute printable on it. I sometimes can find them ready made, but they either sell quickly or are more on the expensive side (in my opinion). So I found some supplies at Michaels to make my own. Now I can customize them however I want and not be limited to what I find in a store.

To make your own clipboards, you will need (I found these all at Michaels):

Metal Clips (make sure they have a flat back)
Wood rectangle (I found these two sizes: 4.75″ x 6.75″ and 5″ x 6″)
E6000 Glue
Printables/Pictures (I find that the Project Life cards work well too)
Any other supplies to decorate your clipboard such as paint, glitter, stickers, yarn, fabric, fun papers, etc.

Start by painting and decorating your wood and clips as desired. I painted one clipboard white and left the other two plain. Then I painted two of the clips and added glitter to one of those.
Once everything is dry, add glue to the flat side of the clip and place on wood. I liked the top of the clip to hang off the top a bit myself, but you can put it where you like.

Let the glue dry and then add any other embellishment you want. I tied on fabric, yarn, and found some other little things to add like a glitter paper pendant and doily to put behind the main paper.

Now that you have some gifts made you can wrap them. I used some clear bags I found in the baking section at Michaels to package the clipboards in. I also grabbed a bunch of random stuff to use as wrapping decorations. I like to create fun packaging and the more supplies I have for that the better!

I stamped some tags as well (tags found here).

For this one, I tied a piece of fuzzy yarn on the outside. Then I cut a straw and used a mini clothespin to attach the tag to the straw.

I taped on a piece of streamer that I had ruffled on my sewing machine to this one first. Then I added some pom poms on top of that. I stuck a candy cane in the middle and then used a mini clothespin again to attach the tag.

This was the real simple one. I added some fake snow inside the bag, taped the tag on the outside, and tied the top of the bag with pop pom trim. And now you have made completed a clipboard diy.

Do you have any go to diy gifts that you make? Look below to see all the other gift ideas brought to you by the Michaels Makers. Happy Crafting!

-Jess

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This post was created in partnership with Michaels. All opinions stated are my own. Affiliate links have been used. Thank you for supporting the sponsors that support Happy Together.