Primitive SNOWMAN Ornaments

Hey ya'll! 

Here's a post about how to turn just about any plain hanging ornaments into some cute, wintery, snowman ornaments.

I had ordered a ton of these wooden, hanging hearts at an after Valentine's Sale online. And I got them super cheap. I mean like under a dollar a dozen.  They were burgundy with various sayings and already had the wire hanger too! So I couldn't go wrong.

BEFORE PHOTO

First off, I spray painted them a random color I had on hand.  It was a sage'ish green in the Rust-oleum brand in a satin finish.

  I so wish I had the Almond color on hand, but I didn't.  So I just went with it.

Next, after those drying, I took some cheap white and cheap black and did the speckle effect. 

Just barely hold down the spray button and let it fling out on them.

I had so many, I had to lay them all over the place to dry.

Finally after drying for a few hours, they were ready to begin painting!

Most of them I painted in the Snowman themes and wrote various sayings like "Frosty" and such on them.

And some said "Burr," 

"Winter Wishes," 

and "Best Flakes."

Then I decided to make a few Candy Cane ones.

And added some wording of "Home Sweet Home."

There's a ton of these not in the photos, but I finally got tired of the winter theme and started doing some primitive designs.

This one below I mixed it up and glued a bit of pinstripe fabric on it, and then glued a rusty star on the center. Then just worded on "Love."

The "Faith is Believing in God" is one of my favorite sayings.

Then I used a small checkerboard stencil and stenciled on a background for the one below.

And I put on the saying, "Old Crow Co."

Oh, and as you see, I went through my fabric stash and grabbed bits and pieces of various colors and tied them onto the wire hanger.


I made so many of these and I did save a box of them to do in a different base color. Almond I'm hoping soon!  But for now, I just used colors I had on hand so that I didn't have to put more money into making money.

I'm going to price these for $3.19 each and considering I paid just under a $1.00 / dozen (about 7 cents each,) that will be a good profit.

And these type of cheap, hand painted ornaments tend to fly off the display trees during Christmas time.  They are a great, unique gift that not everyone will have one of!

Hope this gave ya'll an idea to paint up some holiday hanging ornaments.You can do these on just about any flat, hanging ornaments you may have already or can find at the Dollar Marts.

See ya'll next time,
~Lisa

Faux STRAWBERRY PIE for Pantry Shelf

Hey Ya'll! Here's a recent craft I've been making that's been a hit at my local co-op. It's a faux strawberry pie. It's great to sit out on the pantry shelves or center of a table for summer décor. They are both cute and easy to make.

Here's how I do them.

You need:

-a can of Spray Foam (found in the winterizing section on home goods stores)

-any type of pie pan (I used a vintage one for this pic, but the new aluminum ones would be great also)

-fake strawberries

-wax paper

This is the Spray Foam, it's for gaps and cracks around your home.

And here's the old pie pan again from the bottom:

All you need to really do to prep for this craft is to put down a lot of wax paper underneath your pie pan.  Start off by spraying your pie pan full of the Spray Foam.  Remember it will almost double in size when dry, so keep that in mind and don't overdue it.

I tend to spin my pie pan to get an even balance to look like the filling is full and even.

Just let it sit for about 5 minutes and then you will see it start to set a bit.  This is when you can sit the fake strawberries on it. 

If you do it too soon, they will sink to the bottom! Lesson learned!

You can see in my pics, there is spray foam on the sides of the fake strawberries. 

That's because I touched the foam a bit when putting them in place. It's okay and gives it a frothy look like the topping is on them. I also took some white craft paint and touched up the spray foam to give it a more "TOPPING" look also.

 Remember, when spraying the spray foam that the spray foam will expand in size, so don't overdue it! Here's another pie I made with a fake slice of lemon.
Just spray foam color, not painted white yet.

I love using plastic strawberries, lemons and limes.

  They are my favorite pies to have sitting around.

And that's all there is to it.

Hope ya give it a try.

See ya'll next time,

~Lisa

PRIMITIVE NIGHT LIGHT from Metal Food Can

I have been using/recycling these metal/tin food cans for a while now into my crafts.

Usually just by making them into a display can for magnets and such.  Here's a previous pic of how I used one:

                    DIY PRIMITIVE SNOWMAN LID MAGNETS:

The tin can also is great to hold extra stock inside!

But for today's craft, I used the metal/tin food can as the craft. I first had spray painted it black. Then I just punched the can with a nail, to make a shape of a star.

And I took a flat, large screwdriver and hammer and punched out the bottom of the can. Just big enough a hole for the night light bulb to fit through.
 Then I used some E6000 glue and glued in around the base of the can to secure it.

And after it sat and dried for 24 hours it was ready to go. That's it!

Happy Crafting & See ya'll next time,
~Lisa

DIY Metallic Finish with Spray Paint on Wood

This  is a project I completed back in summer.  I never got around to posting it earlier,
but now that it's freezing outside, it's a good time to get it posted now.

I started off with these cute, wooden, white pillar columns, on the right.

Yep, they were fine like they are but I needed something darker so they'd stand out better in my lighter themed booth. And to make a more bold statement.

So I decided to give them a bronzed, metallic finish by just using Rustoleum's spray paint in Metallic, below.

One coat was all it took.  And i actually has a good, thick coating to it.  Even the grooves in the wood all took the paint good the first time.

All and all they turned out pretty good and just what I was going for.
I will be able to sit things on these that need some good attention drawn to them.
And I'm sure they will get it.

I definitely think the almost $4.00 I spent on the can of Rustoleum Metallic Spray paint was worth it.
And oh yea, one can did both of them in a good, thick coating.
Just think of the things you could use this paint on for your crafting!

See ya'll next time,
~Lisa

DIY PRIMITIVE GINGER BREAD MEN

Hey ya'll!
Here's some cute hand-made gingerbread men that I've been recently making.

I sell most of these online on ebay rather than in my craft booth at the local co-op.
Not sure why more tend to sell online, but they do.
Guessing more crafters out here, like me, online looking for things to make :-)

And in case ya'll wanna give a batch a try, here's how I make'em.

Okay, you'll wanna gather your supplies.
You can either make this out of a self hardening clay (which is ready to go) or salt dough that you'll have to make and bake.

Here's my cinnamon salt dough recipe if ya'll need it.
NOTE: Not needed if you are using a clay that self hardens.

Cinnamon Salt Dough Ingredients:

• 2 cups flour
• 1 cup salt
• ½ cup water (sometimes you add a bit more)
• 1 teaspoon of vegetable oil (this makes it a little more flexible, and is optional)
• half cup cinnamon

I mix it all up in a bowl, adding a bit more of water, if needed. It should be firm but still good and flexible.

Knead it for a bit and get it all mixed good. If you want colored dough, you could easily add food coloring or something natural like coffee or tea. 

When it's ready and easy to manage, I take out a candy mold with the gingerbread men shapes. Keep in mind this craft is endless with shape opportunities! Thankfully, I am a collector of candy and cookie molds.

Just press in the amount of  salt dough or clay needed into your shapes, no coating spray needed inside, by the way. It just makes them sticky.

Press firmly, trying to get out all air pockets and wrinkles in your mix. And then easily pop them back out. 

As seen, I've found that the clear plastic candy molds work best. This way you can see it as you are molding them.

If you used self hardening clay, just sit them aside and let them dry for 24 hours then decorate.

Look close, not all of them come out perfect. But that's okay with primitive crafts.

I like some a bit different and older looking.

If you used the salt dough recipe,

Then it's time to stick them in the preheated oven at 300* for about 45 minutes. Sometimes more, sometimes less. It mostly depends on the thickness of the salt dough. The just take them out and let them cool.

Here's how I finished my batch above off after they dried.

I took some apple barrel paint in burnt umber, a very wet paper towel, and dabbed it on the gingerbread man.

The added water gives it an old appearance when it dries.  Take a closer look at what I mean.
Oh, and I had also taken some burgundy red and dabbed on some cute heart buttons down the front.
And two little dots for eyes.

And to seal them, I used some basic, off brand, elmer's glue. I had to cut a slot in my bottle cause my top was glued shut and would not even twist off for nothing. That's why I have duct tape on it below. To seal up my cut. lol.

Put a good amount on it but don't make it too thick, it will gaum up.

Here they are staring to dry. They will appear a lot darker.

But they lighted up as they dry.

And wa'la~ 

Here's a batch of some cute little gingerbread men ready to go for crafting needs or decorations.

They also look cute sitting around in a bowl as bowl fillers with cinnamon sticks and such.

EACH MEASURE approximately: 1.5  inches in height each x 1.5 inches in width each.

And just think how cute these would be as bigger ones! You can even put a hole in them before they dry to use as hanging Christmas ornaments or tag add-ons to spruce up gifts!

Endless ideas for the little Ginger Bread Men!

And when I can keep them in stock, you can find them here online if ya need some.

Hope ya'll liked this little Ginger Bread man craft!

See ya'll next time,

~Lisa