Printing on Con-Tact paper + Utensil holder makeover

I'd been on the hunt for a colorful utensil holder. You know, the canister by the stove where you put all your spatulas and slotted spoons.

There was nothing wrong with the one I had, but it was stainless steel. And next to a stainless steel toaster, in between a stainless stove and a stainless fridge under a stainless hood... well, things were looking a bit too samey. I wasn't finding anything I loved, which signaled it was time to change up the one I had with some paint.

I decided to make a sticker/stencil of sorts with Con-Tact paper. This is one of my favorite techniques for creating custom designs. The poor man's version of a crafter's die cut machine, if you will.

First, I found a shield shape via Google images and re-sized it in Photoshop. 

Then I printed it out on the paper backing side of a piece of clear Con-Tact paper with my normal home ink jet printer. Warning: Don't print on the shiny sticker side! And you probably don't want to send Con-Tact paper through a laser printer because they can get very hot and who knows what kind of mess that might make.

I cut the shape out with a scissors...

And stuck it like a sticker onto my surface, making sure to burnish down all the edges really well. I also masked off the top/inside and bottom of the can with some painters tape and paper so they would be protected.

Next, I spray painted the utensil holder for a smooth, glossy finish with aqua Valspar spray paint (Tropical Oasis). Valspar must have changed the formula recently because this dried a lot "harder" than when I worked with the same paint in the past. Much better! Plus it has a built-in primer and you can spray upside down and it dries super fast and it's cheap (only $3.98!). Winning x5.

After the paint had dried, I carefully peeled up the Con-Tact paper sticker. There was a little bit of gummy residue leftover, but I was able to remove it with some vegetable oil.

Sharp lines! The paint seriously looks like a factory finish. And the shield, my own personal superhero insignia. But if I ever get tired of the shield, I can just spin the can around to reveal the plain backside. Two in one!

Landscaping intervention, Part 1: Painted drain pipe

About a month ago, I mentioned that tackling the neglected area on the side of our house was on my short list. It's a long, narrow strip of dirt (about 4 x 36 feet!) right next to our neighbor's driveway. 

And it's kind of weird because that line along the concrete is the property line. Where I come from, property lines are vague distinctions far off in the grass, not five feet from the side of the house. But it is what it is. Luckily, they are nice neighbors.

My dad kicked off improving the space by burying a drainage pipe last month, and I'm using that as a spring board to motivate myself to finish off the space.

First things first (well, easy things first): painting the short length of PVC drain pipe sticking up above ground. The pipe is great and doing its job, but the obvious white PVC-ness of it all was looking cheap. And that printed label on the pipe wasn't super attractive.

After wiping the pipe clean, I masked off the area with a couple pieces of cardboard. I wrapped a newspaper around the aluminum downspout and kind of shoved it inside the PVC, but I didn't use tape anywhere!

Then I used everyone's favorite spray paint, Rust-oleum's oil rubbed bronze. It's a paint and primer in one and it adheres to plastic (important!). It's not exactly a match to the brown downspout, but I'm OK with that. I just wanted the PVC to look like metal or clay or something other than white plastic, and the oil rubbed bronze color blends nicely.

See what I mean? Much better! This is one of those details that takes five minutes, and that no one but me is ever going to notice on its own, but it affects the way the area looks as a whole.

Disregard all of those weeds and the spray paint on the dirt. We'll save those for next time.

Repainting vintage cast iron register

I stripped and repainted the register in our bedroom. And I loved the process so much, I did it twice. Well, that's not true. The part about loving it, I mean. The part about stripping and repainting it twice is totally true, unfortunately.

This original cast iron register had been painted sloppily a thousand times. It had drips and spatters in some areas and in others the paint was flaking off. You can sort of see it in the photos above, but believe me it looked even cruddier in person.

It needed to be completely stripped and repainted. I did the same thing for our bathroom register when we renovated the entire room and I liked the way it turned out.

I stripped with a chemical stripper it and primed it with a rust-blocking primer and then I performed a multi-step process to spray paint the inside one color and the outer frame another... And when all that was done, I was unhappy. And I stopped taking pictures.

There were a few areas where small globs of stripped paint didn't get removed. (They weren't obvious on the dark metal color.) And when I scraped the paint with my fingernail, it all came scratching off! I'm guessing the paint didn't bond with the primer. Bleh.

So in an annoying turn of events, I decided I would have to do it all over again. I tried to do a more thorough job of stripping it the second time, scrubbing with a wire brush and cleaning it up with mineral spirits several times.

Then I primed again with the rusty metal spray primer, and let that cure for a full 48 hours. I wanted to make sure the primer and the paint bonded this time.

After all that, I'd had enough of the spray painting and thought I might get better results using some latex enamel. I brushed it on in thin coats, painting the outer "frame" white and the inner grate black.

You're right. It's not a dramatic change from what it was before, which feels kind of underwhelming after that whole convoluted process. But at least it doesn't look grungy anymore!

Bedroom progress update

I've been hard at work on our mini bedroom makeover. I'm nearing the finish line and should have something to show you by next week, I hope!

I wanted to swap out the plain knobs that came with our IKEA nightstands. I waited what seemed like forever for my local Hobby Lobby to restock their glass knobs. Finally, they did, and I snatched up these faceted glass spheres for about $3 each ($5.99 minus 50% off). 

Want to hear a funny story? See those white splotches on the drawer front in the photo? As I was taking photos, I kept seeing those white splotches and thinking they were smudges or fingerprints on the front of the drawer. So I cleaned it, but the smudges kept showing up on the camera's preview screen. So I cleaned the drawer front again, and took another photo. Then I realized it wasn't fingerprints at all. It was light reflecting through the knob. Oops.

Moving on. I also repainted some of the trim in the room whiter and brighter. This baseboard along accent wall I painted was especially banged up and needed freshening. I would have painted more, but most of the trim is behind furniture and can't really be seen. Shhh... don't tell.

I also repainted the return air vent. It was kind of a faux wood grain and looking shabby. Sorry I didn't take a before photo, but it looked the same as this one in our dining room. Nothing a coat of Oil Rubbed Bronze spray paint couldn't handle.

And one last thing for now... I've been putting in overtime on completing the gallery wall. Over the past couple of weeks, I've framed something like 25+ photos. I still have a couple of pieces that need finishing, so I'm not ready to show you the whole thing yet, but I think it's turning out pretty great. More to come soon!

LOVE is all you need: Back-painted heart frame

Happy Valentine's Day! I'm going to sneak in one last heart project. 

This is a subtle variation on the back-painted mirrored year project I showed you last month, so I won't belabor the steps again. (Go check out that post or my other back-painted glass projects if you want to see more.)

I ran across this heart shaped float frame at Michael's. At first glance, it was not at all something I would normally consider buying.

In fact, I kind of cringe at the suggestion that I should put our wedding photo in it. But it was so... weird? Something made me buy it. And then I brought it home and did what I do with all float frames -- I painted it.

OK, so maybe the verse is cliché. But it's classic, and it's true. And who doesn't love The Beatles? (I mean, really, just go watch this and let it give you goosebumps.)

Back-painted mirrored year painting

Over the past couple of years, I've made many pieces of back-painted glass. The truth is, I never get tired of them. They almost always yield great results and leave people asking, "wait, you made this?" (especially when there's mirror paint involved).

My husband and I and his two siblings and their spouses all live in old houses. (Whew, that was a mouthful.) That's three old houses, each built in the 1930s. Kinda weird how it all turned out that way. (And no, we don't live down the street from one another.) Anyway, I love my old house. And I think they feel the same way about theirs, so I made these year paintings for my two brothers-in-law commemorating the years their houses were built.

First, I found a font I liked (this is Extra Ornamental No. 2) and printed out the year to my desired size IN REVERSE. As in mirror image. Any letters or numbers must be in reverse. Remember, you are painting the backs of the numbers. It also might help to print in a different color than the paint you intend to use, just to see things a little better. I knew I was going to use black paint, so I printed in red.

My print out was larger than one sheet of paper, so I tiled it and pieced it together with some masking tape.

I used a 8"x14" "float" frame from Michael's: the kind with two pieces of glass instead of the normal glass and backing. This is kind of a non-standard skinny size, but it works well to display four digits.

I cleaned one piece of the glass from the float frame really well with Windex until it was completely clean and streak free. Then I placed it on top of the print out and taped them together.

Then it was time to paint. I use acrylic craft paint for this. No special type. The new Martha Stewart line at Michael's is really good stuff and is made to paint on glass (totally unpaid endorsement), but I've used many different types and everything has worked fine. The paint will be protected in the frame and won't see a lot of wear.

Layer the paint very thinly. You will need multiple coats. After the initial coat, you may want to remove the paper from the glass and hold the glass up to the light to see if you missed any spots.

After the paint was dry, it's important to very carefully and very gently CLEAN THE GLASS again around your painting. There will almost certainly be loads of handprints to get rid of. 

When that is done, it is time for the Looking Glass spray paint. This is awesome stuff that turns clear glass into mirror glass when you spray it on the backside. Follow the directions on the can and let it dry thoroughly. When it's fully dry, clean the back piece of glass, put the frame back together and admire your work!

Like I've noted before, the looking glass paint isn't super clear like a new piece of mirror might be. The finish is murky and the reflections are somewhat dull, but I think it lends itself to an antique look.

So what if you don't have an old house or don't really care about the year a house was built? Try painting a birth year or an anniversary. (Or anything really.) Back-painted glass is definitely one of those gifts that looks more difficult than it actually is.

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This is part of my 2011 Handmade Gift Challenge.

Ornament exchange: Shimmery frame ornament

My favorite type of Christmas ornaments don't scream Christmas. While they look right at home on the tree, they also look great on their own and can be displayed year round.

So when Ann Marie at White House, Black Shutters decided to host an ornament exchange, I decided to make an all-year type of ornament. I think my recipients should have gotten them in the mail by now, so I'm moving ahead with this post!

While brainstorming, I came across these photo frames I had stashed away. They already had hangers on the backs, so turning them into an ornament was an easy leap. I used them to make bridal shower favors earlier this year. They worked really well, so when I saw the frames go on clearance, I picked up a couple of extra packs.

I like these frames first because they were cheap ($1.25 for three! on clearance), but secondly because they are sturdy with real glass and a nice circular opening. They were kind of ugly straight from the package, but I don't let that disguise a simple silhouette.

I wanted to cover the frames with something sparkly, but not necessarily glitter. These "microbeads" (found near the glitter at the craft store) were just what I was looking for. Shimmery, not glittery.

I primed the frames...and that's when my experimenting began. I tried several different ways to stick the beads to the frames (different glues, etc.) but in the end, I didn't use glue at all!

I painted the frames with a champagne-colored spray paint and after the first thin coat, I defied all spray painting rules and doused the fronts with a thick coat. Sorry I don't have any photos of that as I was working quickly, but I used the thick coat of wet spray paint as my "glue."

I sprinkled the microbeads all over the surface and let the paint dry for several hours. (I did this in the lid of a shoebox to contain the mess.) Then I shook off the excess and carefully brushed off stray beads. After mostly removing all of the loose beads, I sprayed the frame with a a clear sealer to make sure they stayed stuck. (This technique works for messy shedding glitter too!)

After tying on some ribbons and adding a scrap of wrapping paper as a placeholder for a photo, they were ready to ship to my ornament exchange partners.

I think they look like a million bucks! Or at least way more than the $2-3/each they probably were. (Hard to quantify things like spray paint). I'm definitely going to have to make a few more. Love the gold/silver shimmer.