Dreaming of BEACHES!

It has been cold here far too long.. I am ready for nice warm beaches!

 

I decided to create my own beach with a sunset!  To start I have a shell almost the size of my hand that I found a the thrift store.First I paint the water in the shell using Dixie Belle Sea Glass Chalk Paint.  I let it dry a bit.  Then with Dixie Belle Swamp Mud Texture Medium I added a small sand beach...

 

The beach needed a beautiful coral sky lit by the setting sun, Dixie Belle Flamingo Chalk Paint was the perfect color.  To give the sky to effect I was looking for while the  Flamingo Chalk Paint was still wet I went over it with Dixie Belle Buttercream Chalk Paint.  I love the how this is turning out.  Next I add a little of  Dixie Belle Buttercream Chalk Paint to the Dixie Belle Sea Glass water for a small wave effect.    

 

Finally, I used the Dixie Belle Van Dyke Brown Glaze to paint the  Dixie Belle Swamp Mud Texture Medium for sandy color.

 

 

Right now I am sitting on the beach trying to decide what I will do here.  Comment and let me know what should happen with this peaceful beach!

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!  

Reviving an Old Tray with Dixie Belle.

Hi, Stephanie here and welcome to my first

DIY Design Studio Project. 

I know this will be one of many as I just can't get enough DIY home and craft projects and

Dixie Belle mineral chalk paints make it so easy! 

Follow along to see the special going on this week..

For this project I chose a beat up metal tray that previously housed a very pretty floral arrangement, but it no longer matched my decor.  The flowers were repurposed into a pretty fall wreath and the tray, well I will show you the steps I took to revive it into something a bit more "me".

You can see below the old scratched up tray.  It is about a foot and a half long by about 6 inches tall.  It always worked great as a dinning table centerpiece because it is low profile so you don't have to strain your neck to chat with the other guests.  As I said above, I removed the floral arrangement and all of its remnants including hot glue and florist foam.  

  

  

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 
And, here you see the tray painted with the first coat of  Dixie Belle Paint in Gulf.  I did give it a light wipe off and sanding prior to painting just to get good adhesion.  This was probably not necessary.  

You can find a great sanding sponge  Here.  

I gave it two coats of paint.  Here you can find a great chip brush to use.

I then sanded again, but this time I was pretty vigorous.  I really wanted to knock a good bit of paint off to reveal the finish below.   

Then, I added a coat of Dixie Belle Grunge Glaze.  This really made all of the raised detail and distressing that I did pop!  As soon as I started painting this step I literally was ooohhing and awwwwing.  You know you've done it before when your project just hits that next level of great.  The Grunge Glaze did that for me.

Finally, I added a coat of Dixie Belle Clear Satin Sealer.  This will ensure years of pretty service as a center piece, candle holder, utensil caddy on my buffet...whatever I want, really.   

This time around it is a bit coastal with sea shells, beach glass and three turquoise mercury glass tea light candle holders. 

In a month or so, it will be full of gourds, mini pumpkins, fall leaves and fall scented candles.  

Then, I see skulls, bats, owls and spiders...black, orange, green, purple.....I bet you know where I am going with this.   And, so on and so on for fun decorating for every season and holiday. 

I can even repaint it over and over if I so choose and Dixie Belle will be the paint of choice for me!  There are so many fun colors to choose from and each layer will only make it better.

 

Make sure to pick up all the supplies you need to get DIY-ing at

DIYDesignStudio.com!

We still have our special going = purchase 50.00 and get a FREE Paintbrush, spatula and sanding sponge.    NO coupon necessary, regular shipping applies to orders.

Thanks so much for joining me and DIY Design Studio!

~Stephanie Siatta