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

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

From Gold to Grunge

Don't we all have an old frame or two in the garage?   I know I have way too many, (as my husband reminds me).

I decided to see what I had, as I had bought a new piece of art and the size was unusual. Normally I would go to the framer, but I thought, wait a minute I think I have one that might just fit with some adjustments.  The frame came from a garage sale and that person had bought it at Goodwill, just like my intentions for all those "bargain finds" that never get completed.

Lovely, but not my style....

READY?

I started by wiping it off with a damp rag just to get any garage ca-ca off of it.   Then the fun begins.   I chose Driftwood for my base color.   I often add clear coat to my paint, in this case, I did not as I wanted heavy coverage to get rid of the gold.

I allowed this coat to dry.   

I noticed that the flaws of uneven miters showed up, so I added swamp mud in the miters to make it look more professionally done...Hey, what do I want from a $1.00 frame???

I made sure to even it out and wipe off excess using my fingers.  I rubbed it away from the decorative beading so I would still have definition of the beads.   I again, allowed it to dry thoroughly.

Another coat of Driftwood covers the miter fix-up.

NOW FOR THE REAL FUN!!!

Grunge Glaze applied with cheesecloth.

You can use a brush if you want, or an old towel or jersey.   For this amount of decorative detail, I thought the cheesecloth would allow me to get into nooks and crannies.  At the same time, I did not want pools of glaze "clogging up" the details and this allowed me freedom.

I worked the glaze until I felt it was just right.  It is so incredibly easy to use and it's water based, so cleanup was simple with soap and water.

Dried again and a review of the appearance, then a layer of clear coat to seal in all the yumminess.

Now to frame the art.  The frame had a dated mat with a gold layer.   Not the ticket for this new one.  I dismantled the mats and then cut the art to fit the mat.  I think it now looks like a well loved frame perhaps from an old salon, what do you think?

Here we are, what a transformation!  The art is funky and the frame tempers the funkiness, I think. 

The art was created by LuLu My Pink Turtle from Canada.

A "Jeaneous" PARIS Gift Bag!

I am honored to be on DIY Design Studio™  first Design Team with the other talented artist/designers: Trish Alger, Trisha Neal, Stephanie Siatta and Jean Moore.  Today I hope to live up to the expectations of this company and team. 

My first DIY project is upcycling my husband's jeans! About 3 weeks ago he was about to throw them in the trash... I told him they were too good to throw away!  He said, they are frayed and getting holes.  I replied, what better pair of jeans to make things from.  Here is my first project from his jeans!

A "JEANEOUS" PARIS GIFT BAG!

 

 

Supplies

Dixie Belle Paints Flamingo and Butter Cream

Paris Stencil

Old pair of Jeans

Thread

Lace - 1 1/2 to 2 inches wide

Ribbon & Twine

Charm

 

Tools:

Sewing Machine

Straight Pins

Scissors

Ruler

Paint brush

Paper Towel

Spray adhesive

Painters tape

 

 

Measure the jeans before cutting, use a bottle about the size you would like to use your bag for.  Here I have a bottle of wine.

 

Draw lines to guide when cutting directly on the jeans, this lines will not show when you are finished. 

 

Spray the back side of the Paris Stencil with spray adhesive, let set a minute before laying on the jeans, this will allow the adhesive to become tacky, not permanent.  This helps keep the paint from seeping under the stencil. Once you have the Paris Stencil in place use painters tape around the edges to keep the stencil in place.

 

Use Dixie Belle Paint - Flamingo with a dry brush and dab the paint over the stencil.  DO NOT use a brush saturated in paint, if it looks like there is too much paint on the brush dab the brush on a paper towel before applying to the stencil.  Let the paint set for a few minutes, dry to the touch. 

 

Next, highlight the stenciled image with  Dixie Belle Paint - Butter Cream. Use a very dry brush, wipe extra paint off brush on a paper towel before applying to the jeans.

 

Let the paint set for a few minutes, then remove tape and Paris Stencil, wash the stencil immediately after removing from jeans.   Let set over night!

 

I didn't have any lace that matched my painted jeans.  I made my own matching lace by painting it with Dixie Belle Paint - Flamingo!  Be sure to use a very dry brush when painting, after dipping my brush in the paint I dabbed it on a paper towel to get off any excess paint.  Let dry.

 

When the jeans & lace are dry sew the lace onto the jeans.  Pin the to the inside of the bottom of the jeans.  Use a heavy duty needle on the sewing machine as you will have to sew over some hefty jean seams.   

 

Carefully & slowly sew the lace on all the way around the bottom of the jeans.The frayed bottom of the jeans give the bag some character!

 

Now of the bottom of the bag, sew along the raw edge.  I did a straight stitch then a zigzag to keep the bottom from fraying and to be it was sturdy for the heavy bottle I might put in it!

 

Next create a flat bottom in the bag, with the bag inside out fold the bottom flat so that you have a point at one corner.  For my bag I used my large see-thru ruler to get a the seam in the middle to the two edges.  Draw a line and pin to keep the front and back side aligned. Repeat on the other side. 

 

Sew a straight stich where you drew the line on both sides. Now your bag should have two feet!

 

When you turn the bag inside out it should have a squared off bottom, as pictured below. 

Now the bag is ready to add twine, ribbon and an Eiffel Tower charm!!

 

 

 

Hope I have inspired you to create your own Dixie Belle painted gift bags!