MORE Great Ideas with DIY

I have to admit I stole this idea but it is so worth sharing!

Living in Arizona (and many other locations) we are very susceptible to sunburns. We grow Aloe Vera plants and use them often for burnt fingers and such.   We also have aloe vera gels and juices.  AV is so cooling and really does help with blistering and pain relief.  

WELL people, get to your dollar store and buy an ice cube tray.   Fill each hole with Aloe juice and water or Aloe Gel.   Make your own with snips of your Aloe plants placed in water (slice the piece open to expose the inner juice)  FREEZE and Voila!   If you like essential oils, add one  or two drops to each cube. Peppermint or Spearmint or Lavender would be wonderful. 

Instant relief and cooling as can be!   Use one at a time directly on the burn (careful not to freeze your skin). 

Now for some inspirational Painted items, ORDER that Paint and get going!

Wendy Wilson shows us how to paint, transfer and embellish!

Claire Matthew stained and then used Swamp mud and a stencil for this masterpiece bench.   You can colorize the swamp mud or paint over it.  Always good to seal projects too!

ORDER THIS WEEK AND GET A FREE CHIPBRUSH!  

Dixie Belle Self-Portrait Transfers

Hello, Trish here. I'm so excited to share my first DIY Design post with you.
As an artist I've always intended to do a true self-portrait, but frankly I'm terrible at selfies and kept putting it off. Then I read a book about the importance of family portraits and wondered, "why not?"

I read that chalk paints make the best transfer surface and well we here know what the BEST chalk paint is, right?!

The supplies are so easy peasy:
Dixie Belle Chalk Paint   
Dixie Belle Clear Coat Sealer    
Dixie Belle Grunge Glaze 
Stencil 
Substrate (such as a canvas or piece of wood )  
Toner copy of YOU!

I chose a couple of selfie pics that I did not hate, printed them in mirror format on my printer, THEN took them to a store to copy in black and white on a toner cartridge printer. (Very important to use a toner copy!) Trim out the excess...

I just happened to have these little canvases to try it out with. I also tried it on foam board and it worked fine.

Decide which awesome Dixie Belle Chalk Paint to use. I chose Buttercream. Placing the image face down in the WET paint. Brayer and rub it into the paint to smooth out.

Wait to dry completely. Does not take long. Wet your fingers and rub slowly and gently in a circular motion to rub off the top layer of paper.

I happen to love the imperfections, but if it would make you crazy...then start from inside edges first and go very slow. Keep it damp and eventually you will emerge.

Now, I did not wait for it to completely dry before I added the Dixie Belle Grunge Glaze and then the Dixie Belle Grunge Glaze and I payed for it later. I still had some small bits of paper left, but now it was trapped beneath product. 
Cie la vie!

Here it is with the glaze:

After the clear coat:

Of course I had to jazz it up a bit, using a stencil.

Just a touch though and added the year the photo was taken with a paint pen, because I'm sure I will forget.

Well, that sure was fun! Thank you for following along.
See ya next time with more DIYDesign Studio fun.
-Trish Alger