DIY Dollar Store Pumpkin Makeover

I’m sure you’ve all seen them. Those bright orange pumpkins at the dollar tree. Great for crafting, but not exactly my favorite color to decorate with. I bought a few though, because I had an idea.

I removed the stems and then painted them white. I decided to decoupage the pumpkins with some pretty napkins and didn’t want the orange to show through. You only need one quick coat and it doesn’t have to be neat since it will be covered by the napkin.

I cut the napkins into strips, then used Mod Podge to glue them to the pumpkins. Once the glue was dry, I added a real pumpkin stem with hot glue to finish it off.

There you have it! Cute fall decor for less than four dollars {since I only needed to buy the pumpkins!} I hope you’ll give this project a try. It was quick, easy, and a lot of fun to do!

Be sure to follow me on Instagram too:

@thefrenchmarketplace

DIY Faux Chalkboard

 

I recently tried the new Prima Decor Transfers in white by Iron Orchid Designs. I combined the transfer with some Decor Moulds and Fusion Mineral Paint.

One word: AMAZING!!

I made a faux chalkboard and it’s pretty fancy. Come on, I’ll show you how.

Let’s gather up our supplies. You’ll need the following:

a wooden board

Iron Orchid Designs White Decor Transfer  – Memoir Item #816384

Iron Orchid Designs Decor Mould – Antoinette – Item #815806

Iron Orchid Designs Decor Mould – Large Fleurish – Item #81531

Iron Orchid Designs Paper Clay – Item #814991

wood glue (or any good, strong glue)

Fusion Mineral Paint in “Ash”

Fusion Mineral Paint in “Casement”

small disposable cup

paint brushes

paper towels

 

First off, paint the board. I used Ash by Fusion Mineral Paints. Its a beautiful, rich, dark charcoal gray. This paint is a dream to work with! Once the paint it dry, apply the transfer. Remove the protective acetate backing and then line up the transfer where you want it on your board. Use the enclosed tool to burnish the transfer firmly in place.

Now you can create your clay castings. Use a little corn starch in the moulds for ease of  clay removal. Press the clay into the moulds, remove, and glue right onto your board.

Once the clay has dried, you can paint right over the moulds using the same Fusion Paint in Ash.

Let dry. Once the paint has dried, mix some of the Fusion Mineral Paint in “Casement” with water, in your disposable cup. You want a watery consistency because were going to take a paintbrush and “wash” the white color over the moulds to highlight the details. Immediately wipe away the white paint, leaving some in the crevices and details of the moulds. Now, dip a paper towel into the wash and wipe it over the rest of the board in a circular motion, working in small sections, wiping away the white paint with a clean towel as you go.

When complete, it will look like a beautiful, dusty chalkboard! Now hang your gorgeous piece of art, step back, and admire your hard work!

I hope you enjoyed this project and will give it a try!

 

French Tin Makeover

 

 

So we have this tiny cabin in the mountains, think tiny house living, and we recently removed all of the upper cabinets in the kitchen area. Storage is at an absolute premium.  There is no pantry and now, no upper cabinets either. We have installed open shelving because that visually opens up the space and I needed something pretty to store food and other essentials that will go on the shelves.

This is where ingenuity and crafty comes into play. Thrift store tins and Prima to the  rescue! With Prima’s new stamps sets, I have created some beautiful French inspired tins to store all of the essentials and I’m going to show you how you can make some too. These are also great for craft supplies or anything else you need to organize.

Lets get started!

 

First, go to your local thrift store and locate a variety of tins. Or, you may already have some of these lying around your home from Christmas.

Gather up your supplies. I used chalky finish paint in white and a variety of stamps from the new release of Prima Decor Stamps from Iron Orchid Designs. The beauty of these stamps is that they all coordinate and can be mixed and matched to create something wonderful. I even used some of the stamps from previous collections.

Here is a complete list of what I used:

IOD Decor Stamps “Fantastico” Item #815998

IOD Decor Stamps “Ode to Pere Boulard” Item #816025

IOD Decor Stamps “Tromp L’oeil II Item #816063

IOD Decor Stamps “Signage II Item #815387

IOD Decor Stamps “Alpha III” Item #815738

IOD Decor Stamps “Alpha I” Item #815400

IOD Decor Ink “Soft Black” Item #815011

IOD Dry Foam Stamp Pad Item #815134

 Acrylic Block Item #815004

Chalky Finish Paint in White

Paint Brush

Thrifted Cookie or Popcorn Tins

 

Wash your tins with warm, soapy water and dry them thoroughly. Once completely dry, paint them with the chalky finish paint. Allow the paint to dry. While it’s drying, ink your stamp pad. I squirt the ink onto the dry foam pad in a zig-zag pattern. Then take and old credit card, gift card, or any hard, rigid plastic that can be used as a squeegee and spread the ink into your dry foam pad. Now its ready for inking stamps.

 

Simply peel the stamp from it’s acetate backing and mount to the acrylic stamp block, or, for this project, I needed something that would bend around the tins. It allowed me more control. I simply use the protective acetate sheet that comes with the stamps. The stamps mount right to it.

Now ink the stamps and postition the sheet over the tin right where you want your image to go. See above, how it bends around my tin?

Press gently and then remove.

Aren’t they wonderful?

The perfect storage solution. Beautiful and functional!

I hope I’ve inspired you to create some pretty and functional storage tins for your home too. Happy crafting!

 

DIY French Street Signs

I love the street  signs in France. You know the ones, the simple arrow pointing in the direction of a town.

Well, I decided to make some of them using my Iron Orchid Designs Decor Stamps. Want to make some too? Come on, I’ll show you how!

First, lets gather our supplies. This is what you’ll need:

Scrap Wood

Chalky Finish Paint in white and black

Paint brushes

Jigsaw

Ruler

Pencil

Sand Paper

Painters Tape

Iron Orchid Designs Decor Stamps – Alpha I – item #815400

Iron Orchid Designs Decor Ink in Soft Black – Item #815011

Dry Foam Pad – Item #815134

Iron Orchid Designs Acrylic Block – Item #815004

First, cut your wood into 2 – 24″ X 3 1/2″ pieces.

Use your ruler and a pencil to draw lines to create the arrow point on one end of the wood as shown above.

Cut on the lines and sand smooth.

Now, tape off your arrow so that you can paint just the outer edge of it as shown above. Paint it black. Do this for each arrow you are making.

Remove the tape and allow to dry.

Remove the letter stamps from the acetate sheet and place them on your acrylic block. Add the ink to your dry foam pad and then ink your stamps. Place the block with inked stamps over the location that you’d like to stamp and then press firmly straight down onto your arrow.

Do this for each of your signs and let the ink dry.

You’re finished!

Enjoy your new signs made with Iron Orchid Designs Decor Stamps!

Have fun creating!

Thrifted Tray Makeover

This was a quick and easy project, completed in about and hour. I can’t believe that I forgot to take a before photo of this, but it was originally a vintage brown basket intended to hold a hot Pyrex dish on the table. It was missing it’s dish but I envisioned it holding mail, keys, etc…on a table by the door.

 

First thing I did was paint it white with chalky finish paint. I love the leather handles so I was careful not to paint them. Then I wet distressed it on the parts that were woven so that some of the brown showed through.

It was a bit plain though and needed something else. The perfect piece for some Iron Orchid Designs Decor Stamps.

I used pieces from three different sets and some soft black ink.

I used:

Signage II

Alpha I

Grainery

I stamped my image in the center…

…added grain sack  stripes on the edges, and some decorative elements on the top and bottom of my image. Lastly an “S” in the center of the image for our initial.

That’s it! Super quick and easy!

I hope you’ll give it a try too.

Have a great day friends and happy crafting!!

 

DIY French Panel

Hello DIY Decor friends!!

Have you ever seen those beautiful, French panels used in decor? You usually see them propped against something or hanging on the wall. They’re amazing and they are also expensive. Well, today is your lucky day because I’m going to show you how to make one of your own. All you need is a board from your local home improvement center and a few Iron Orchid Designs products. Ready? Let’s get started!

Here is a list of what you will need:

12″ X 5′ board (you can use a smaller board if you prefer)

IOD Vintage Art Decor Mould ” Fleur” item #81529

IOD Vintage Art Decor Mould “Moulding 1” item #815325

IOD Vintage Art Decor Mould “Nautica 2” Item #815332

IOD Paper Clay item #814991

Wood Glue – I used Gorilla brand wood glue

white chalky finish paint – I used Amy Howard One Step in Baunhaus Buff

blue chalky finish paint – I used Americana Decor in Serene

antiquing glaze

gold acrylic paint – I used Folk Art Metallic Antique Gold (658)

paint brushes

paper towels

Gather all of your supplies together. You’ll notice I’ve used a paper clay that I picked up from Hobby Lobby. I didn’t have any IOD paper clay on hand. I ran out during my last project and this is what I had available.

The first step is to dry brush your board with the white chalky finish paint. I took mine outside for this step so it would dry really fast. I’m kind of impatient that way.

Once it dries, apply antiquing glaze to the entire surface and then wipe it away. This will give your board a weathered look. Now it’s time to make mould castings.

 

I used the small angels, the garland and tassels, and the beaded moulding you see here, for this project. I pressed the clay into the moulds to create the castings and then set them aside as the glaze dried on my board. A little tip: lightly brush the insides of your moulds with a bit of cornstarch to help the clay release super quick and easy.

 

Apply the moulds to your completely dry board with wood glue. Make sure the glue is applied all the way to the edges of your casting so that it adheres really well all the way around. You can glue the castings to your board while the clay is still wet.

This is what your board will look like once everything is glued into place. At this point, I set it aside and let the mould castings dry overnight.

The next step is to dry brush the entire piece with the blue chalky finish paint. Then I used a smaller, detail brush to completely cover all of the mouldings with the paint.

Once dry, use another small brush to paint just the mouldings with the gold acrylic paint.

Once that step is complete, your project will look like this. The next step is where the magic happens. Antiquing glaze!!

Dip your paper towel into the glaze

and start applying it all over your project. This is where you can customize the look that you want. Go as heavy or as lightly as you want. This is where you create depth and age in the paint and in the exposed wood areas. I used another small brush to get in the detailed areas within and around the moulds.

Wipe away with a clean paper towel as you go to create a beautiful, aged patina.

That’s it! Easy Peasy! Now sit back and admire all of your hard work. You now have an amazing piece of old world French art.

Thanks so much for joining me today! Happy creating!!

 

 

Rocking Chair Makeover

I found a rocking chair at the thrift store about six months ago and it has been sitting in our living room patiently waiting for a makeover. I finally got to it on Sunday.

Here is the chair before. It’s a nice chair and the fabric is cute, but it just isn’t my style and didn’t match a thing in the house. I added an Iron Orchid Designs Decor Mould on the top and painted the whole thing gray. Once the paint was dry, I distressed it in certain spots to add the look of age and use.

I wiped away the dust and applied antiquing glaze over the entire thing to add beautiful depth to the color.

Finally, I recovered the seat with some striped ticking fabric that I had on hand. I like it much better now! What do you think?

Have a great day friends!

DIY Cedar Chest Makeover

Hello to all of my DIY friends!

I’m here today to show you how you can take an old cedar chest and give it some French Farmhouse flair!

Here is a list of supplies that you will need to complete the project.

-an old cedar chest or any other piece of furniture you may have

-any white color chalky finish paint

-paint brush

-IOD Decor Stamps – Grain Wreath – item #815431

-IOD Decor Stamps – Grainery – item #815424

-IOD Decor Stamps – Laurel – item #815455

IOD Decor Ink – Soft Black – item #815011

IOD Decor Ink – Provincial – item #815103

IOD 10X12 Acrylic Block – item #815004

(2) IOD Dry Foam Pads – item #815134

Ready? Let’s get started!

Here is the cedar chest that I found at a thrift store. The first thing I did was paint the chest white using a chalky finish paint.

Now that the cedar chest is painted, it’s time to add the best part! We’re going to stamp it using the IOD Decor Stamps listed above.

Take your dry foam pad and squirt the ink onto it in a zig-zag pattern. Use an old gift card or other hard plastic item that can be used as a squeegee to spread the ink and press it into the pad. Use a different pad for each color of ink.

Now remove your stamps from the acetate sheet that they are mounted on. Place them on your acrylic block and then ink the stamps.

We’ll do the grain sack stripe using the Grainery set first, using the Provincial ink.

Followed by the laurel wreath from the Grain Wreath set, using the soft black ink.

It needed a little something else, so I also added the words “DE FRANCE” using the stamp from the Laurel stamp set.

Since this was a much smaller stamp, I just mounted it on the lid from the foam pad.

Go ahead an use the soft black ink for this too. Stamp and you’re done!

I love how it turned an old, boring piece of furniture into something pretty special. Very simple and easy to do. I hope you’ll give it a try!

Have a great day!!

 

Lamp Shade Makeover

Hello Everyone!!

Do you have a lamp shade that’s tired and worn out or maybe it’s just kind of bland and needs a little something?

Well, I’m here to help you out. I’ve used Iron Orchid Designs Decor Stamps by Prima to take this boring white lampshade from bland to grand!

You just need a lampshade and a few Prima supplies. Let’s get creative!

Supply List:

IOD Decor Stamps – Laurel  – Item: 815455

IOD Decor Stamps – Alpha II – Item:815417

IOD 10X12 Acrylic Block – Item: 815004

IOD Decor Ink, Soft Black – Item: 815011

Dry Foam Stamp Pad – Item: 815134

Fabric for the ruffle along the bottom of the shade {optional}

Let’s get started.

The first thing you want to do is add ink to your dry foam pad. I just squeeze the ink onto the pad in a zig-zag pattern and then use an old gift card or any hard plastic item that you can use as a squeegee to help spread the ink and push it into the foam. You could also just use a foam brush to apply the ink to the stamp, but I prefer the ink pad.

Now peel the stamps from their acetate backing and mount them to your acrylic block. I chose the small wreath and the crown from the “Laurel” set as well as letters and numbers from the Alpha II set. I used the “S” for our last name and the “No” and “24” All from the same set.

Lay your lampshade on a table or other firm work surface. I placed a book on either side of my lampshade to keep it from rolling around.

Use your ink pad to apply ink to the stamps.

Now, center your block and stamps over the lampshade and carefully press the inked stamps down onto the lampshade. I used my free hand to support the shade from the underside, to keep the shade from buckling or bending while pressing the stamp. Use a straight up and down motion when pressing the stamp onto the lampshade and removing it, taking care not to slide your stamp around.

That’s it! Super easy and now you can admire the beautiful grain sack inspired lampshade you’ve just created!

*For my lampshade, I also added a little ruffle to the bottom of the shade with a glue gun and a small strip of fabric up top. This is totally optional and the only reason I did it was because my shade was just a bit too short. Without the ruffle, I could still see the lamp socket, even with the shade on. You can see what I mean in the “before” photo above. You don’t have to do this. The lampshade looks great without it too!

Have a great day friends and happy creating!

The Bombe Chest

Several years ago, I found this Bombe Chest and it was in desperate need of some DIY love. Throughout the years, it has seen a few changes, most recently is what you see here. How did I do it? Let’s dive in and I’ll show you!

First of all, here is a list of supplies that you’ll need:

Iron Orchid Designs Vintage Art Decor Moulds Baroque 1 – Item: 655350814779

Iron Orchid Designs Vintage Art Decor Moulds Baroque 2 – Item: 655350814786

Iron Orchid Designs Vintage Art Decor Moulds Baroque 4 – Item: 655350814809

Iron Orchid Designs Vintage Art Decor Moulds Baroque 5 -Item: 655350814816

Iron Orchid Designs Paper Clay – Item: 655350814991

Wood Glue

Chalk Type Paint (I used Annie Sloan Chalk Paint – French Linen for the chest itself and Graphite for the handles)

Gold acrylic craft paint ( I used Folk Art Metallic Finish in Pure Gold)

Clear wax (I used Annie Sloan Clear Wax)

Dark wax or antiquing medium of your choice. (I used Annie Sloan Dark Wax)

Paint brushes

Wax brush

Old rags to wipe away excess wax

This was where we started. This piece needed help. It needed something elegant and it needed dimension. I turned to Iron Orchid Designs and their beautiful line of DIY Vintage Decor Moulds. These moulds are amazing and you can customize pretty much anything with them.

The neat thing about these moulds, is that you can use them with so many different mediums. Even chocolate or fondant – yes!! They’re food safe too.

For my project, I used Iron Orchid Designs Paper Clay.

Let’s get started!

I created several castings with the paper clay.

While the clay is still wet, just glue it directly to your piece. By doing this step while the clay is still wet, you’re able to bend the casting to fit the curves of your furniture (or whatever you’re working on).

Here is the chest with all of the castings glued into place. Once everything is dry, paint the entire piece, including the moulds. I used Annie Sloan Chalk Paint in French Linen and then Graphite for the handles. I went over the mould detail again with gold craft paint using a smaller brush. I also painted the edge around the top with the gold paint. Let everything dry overnight. Finally, I  went over the whole thing with Annie Sloan clear wax, followed by dark wax to bring out the beautiful detail of the moulds.

I’m really happy with how this chest turned out.

I love how the moulds make this piece pop. They give it a little drama, a little elegance. They’re just what this bombe chest needed!

Thanks so much for visiting and I hope you’ll give Iron Orchid Designs Decor Moulds a try!!

xo and God Bless,

Kathleen