Polka Dotted Pony

Ok, I will admit it, I let this blog die.

It has been nearly a year since my last update, and I have come to the conclusion that I can't manage to keep a blog updated on my own. Luckily, I found help.

I have teamed up to create a bigger and better blog... one that will be updated regularly!

Join me over at polkadottedpony.blogspot.com to embark on this new adventure with my wonderful co-blogger, Shelby J!


Most of the things housed here at PaintAndPawprints will stay, but I will be moving posts around so that the focus is more on painting than it is on crafting. The craft tutorials will probably be moved to the PolkaDottedPony site, so they will be found in two places.

So, go visit!!

www.polkadottedpony.blogspot.com

www.polkadottedpony.blogspot.com

www.polkadottedpony.blogspot.com

www.polkadottedpony.blogspot.com

www.polkadottedpony.blogspot.com

Perler Bead Pipe Dreams Tutorial

Alright everyone, I finally had some time to sit down and write the tutorial for making these awesome Piranha Plants and Nippers!

Supplies Needed:

Perler beads
Small ceramic pots
Floral foam
Green spray paint
Elmer's glue

Step 1: Paint the Pots 

This step is pretty easy, just make sure that you paint the inside rim of the pots as well! I picked these little 4" ones up at Goodwill for 60c each, and they were the perfect size for this project.

Step 2: Make your Plants

Let me just start by saying that Perler beads are awesome! I haven't played with these since I was a kid, and a bucket of 1,100 beads was exactly what I was missing in my craft closet. Not only did I make these potted Mario plants, but we made a whole bunch of fun critters.

Now, for anyone who has never used Perler beads before, here is a quick step by step:

First, lay out the design on the Perler peg board (some bead kits include these, but I purchased mine separately because I wanted to have more than one).

I did not use patterns when designing my plants, but in case you want them I found a few basic outlines which would work: Piranha Plant and Nipper Plant. Another thing that would work as a pattern would be to take a close look at the finished pictures of my plants and just copy those patterns!


Once the patterns are completed on the peg boards, the next step is to iron them together.

Using wax paper to keep the beads from sticking to the iron, I ironed each one for 10-15 seconds until the top layer of beads was melted together. Once the beads were cool I popped them off of the peg boards and very lightly ironed the other side to make sure that the finished pieces were sturdy enough to stand on their own.

Step 3: Put the Pieces Together!

I picked up a little package of floral foam at the dollar store, and that is what I used for this project.

I cut each piece in half and then stuffed it into the bottom of the pot until it was flush with the sides.

I cut a little slit into the foam, which I then inserted the flower stems into. As a final way to secure the plants together, I poured a thick layer of Elmer's glue in the pot to hold the plants straight.

Once the glue was dry (days and days later) it was mostly clear and looks great!

Now, even though those were the main projects that we did with Perler beads, we did experiment with a few other ideas. We used the basic Perler bead techniques to make some other designs...

And then we tried a fun new technique that involved filling cookie cutters with Perler beads and sticking them in the oven until they melted! That turned out these incredible 3 dimensional stand alone animals, which I LOVE.

So there we have it, the results of my recent experiments with Perler beads. We had so much fun playing with these that I'm sure I'll end up finding new ways to melt them, so stay tuned!

And now, it's time to go paint a pantry and completely finish the laundry room that I posted a picture of last week.

Major Crafting Update

I have a lot to share today... I have had quite the busy week, completely full of  painting, building, and crafting! So even though the ultimate goal of posting is to share a tutorial for my Super Mario plants made from perler beads, I have a few other things that I just can't resist sharing pictures of. Stay tuned, though, because that tutorial will be coming soon!

Almost all of these projects are bits and pieces of the MAJOR REMODEL that is going on at the house right now. When I say MAJOR REMODEL, I mean that walls are coming down, rooms are being added, ceilings are moving, and everything is being repainted and redecorated. It is so major, that every time I talk about it I think it deserves to be in all caps. Most of the house is still torn apart and not ready to be photographed, but that won't stop me from sharing a few bits and pieces of the finished project! First off...

Isn't it amazing what a fresh coat of paint and some decals can do for a room? Laundry day doesn't seem as daunting with a bright and happy laundry room like this one! Painting the cabinets is what made the biggest difference in here, and we painted all of the doors to match. I think my favorite part is the blue handles on the cabinet doors, though.


Since this MAJOR REMODEL involves redecorating the entire house, that means that we also need some new art. So I went to work with a stack of canvases and a very large map, and came out with:

I love it! It looks great on the newly painted yellow wall and it really brightens up the room! This painting is big, all of the canvases combined add up to about 6' x 3', but it was totally worth the time and effort. Check it out over on my paintings page, along with photos of some of my other pieces!


So then, after days of painting, I decided I needed to get to work on a project that was a little bit more 'involved'. I invited a friend over to help me out, and we pulled out all of the power tools and a pile of wood and molding and we built an awesome mantel for the fireplace.

The mantel turned out so much better than I had imagined! It wasn't too difficult to construct, and a great chance to get some more experience with all of the exciting power tools. The mandolin hanging on the fireplace just adds to how great it is! Oh, and did I mention that we recently whitewashed the bricks in the fireplace? Because we did, and it made things so much better. That will all be a part of the post that I'll make when the MAJOR REMODEL is finished.


Finally, when I had finished all of the big projects, I needed some sort of a craft that was fun and easy and could be done while sitting around and watching TV. It was a good thing that I had just picked up a huge bucket of perler beads at Micheal's! Two friends and I created a whole menagerie of beaded critters, including the Potted Plant Creatures that I will write a tutorial for ASAP. But until then...

We used a few different techniques and all of our animals came out looking awesome! I'll talk about all of that in the tutorial, though.

And with that, I believe that this crafting update has come to a close. Stay tuned for the tutorial on how to make some of these perler bead critters!

Paint Chip Calendar

After a recent trip to Lowe's with my sister, we ended up with a stack of paint chips in every color imaginable. What could we do with these paint samples? Well, she inspired me to create a paint chip calendar!

This project was quick and easy, but also very cheap! My frame was under $10 and paint chips are free at the hardware store!


Supplies Needed:
Paint chips (at least 35)
Picture frame with glass (mine was 12"x16")
Dry erase markers
Scissors, glue, and tape

The first step of this project is the most difficult... That's when you have to decide what color pattern you want to put your paint chips in. I was torn between doing similar shades of the same color, alternating between two different color hues, and going for the whole color spectrum. After a bit of deliberation, I went with the color spectrum. There need to be 7 chips per row, and 5 per column (35 total).

 Once you have decided on your color pattern, it's time to start gluing them down! The frame that I had came with a piece of cardboard backing and I attached my paint chips directly to that. I used glue to secure each one to the backing, and then taped along the bottom of each row for some extra support.

It's important to make sure that as you're attaching the chips, you know how much of each chip you want to be visible. The chips that I used were 3 1/2" tall, but to make 5 rows of chips I could only use about 2 1/2" of each chip. Instead of cutting each chip down to size, I overlapped the first few rows and trimmed off the excess along the bottom.

Here it is once everything was glued and taped into place and before I trimmed the bottom row:

Next I trimmed the bottom and put everything back into the frame:

The only thing left from there was to add the dates with my dry erase markers and hang it on the wall!

 

And there you have it, a re-useable dry erase calendar made for nearly nothing! This is a fun and easy project which anyone can find a use for. I have seen a few different styles of this around the web, so if you have any other examples, share them! Now I just have to figure out what to do with the rest of the paint chips that I have left from this project...

Jewelry Organizer Tutorial

Alright, Blog World, here is my first attempt at a tutorial!

Just the other day, my friend Jen over at Making&Baking and I got together for some crafting and created these wonderful Jewelry Organizers! We ended up with two completely different styles, but they work for the types of jewelry that each of us wanted to display. She'll post a tutorial for the blue one over at Making&Baking soon, but until then I'll show you how to build the white one on the right!

Step 1: Gather Your Materials

We started out at Goodwill and picked up some frames; mine is 11"x13" and was under $4! 
We then headed out to Home Depot, which is where we collected everything else. The aluminum sheets that we found are usually used as radiator covers and there were many different designs to choose from!

Materials:
Frame (mine was 11"x13")
One decorative aluminum sheet
Thin strips of wood
Round wooden dowel
Two wooden drawer pulls
Lots and lots of tiny hooks (I used about 30 1/2" cap hooks)
2 larger hooks (mine were 1" cap hooks)
Spray paint


We used some tools for this project which not everyone may have, but the whole thing can be done by hand with just a little bit of extra effort! I had the wonderful employees at Home Depot help me cut my wooden strips and dowels, so we didn't need to have our own saw. We just brought in our frames and the guys helped us measure and cut everything!

Tools:
Electric drill and various sizes of drill bits
Staple gun and staples
Tin snips
Glue (super glue ended up working the best for me, but I also tried wood glue and hot glue)


Step 2: Cut Your Pieces

I had my thin wooden bar cut into two pieces which fit snugly in the back of the frame. These will become the bars that I will later attach the small hooks to.

The wooden dowel was cut to be the same width as the frame. This will hang underneath as a bracelet holder.

The next thing to cut was the aluminum backing. I used the tin snips to cut this, and it made this step so easy! I'm sure that it can be done with regular scissors as well, but I would highly recommend investing in some of these.

When finished cutting, your aluminum sheet should fit snugly into the back of your picture frame.

Step 3: Spray Paint

Next, spray paint EVERYTHING! I left the aluminum on mine silver because I liked the contrast, but Jen at Making&Baking painted her sheet and it looks great either way! I painted my frame, wooden bars and dowels, hooks, and knobs.

Note: I spray painted my dowel and drawer pulls before trying to glue it together... if I were to do this project again, I would do "Step 8: Build the Bracelet Bar" BEFORE "Step 3: Spray Paint".

Step 4: Wait. 

 And wait, and wait, and wait. It took what felt like FOREVER for this spray paint to dry! But no matter how impatient you are, don't try to rush things! We ended up finishing our projects while the paint was still tacky, and it got very messy. Luckily, we were going for a vintage look and any smudges in the paint were going to add to that effect later (or so we told ourselves).

Step 5: Electric Tools!

The next step was to line up my painted wooden bars and determine where I wanted to put my hooks. I used masking tape to hold the wood in place during this step.

When I decided on a pattern that I liked for my hooks, I took the drill and the smallest bit and drilled almost 30 holes into my strips of wood.
(Note- the wood that I chose was soft enough so that each hook could have been attached by hand, but I took the easy route and drilled the holes first.)

After all of the holes were in place, it was time to attach the screen to the frame! My first experience with the electric staple gun was a bit traumatizing (that thing is LOUD), but I quickly got the hang of it. I put a staple across each corner, one in the center of each edge, and two on either side of each bar to make sure things were secure.

Step 8: Distress the Wood

For this step, I just took some sandpaper and lightly sanded the frame in order to give it more of a vintage feel. 

Step 7: Hooks 

This was the most tedious part of the entire project! One by one I screwed each little 1/2" hook into the pre-drilled holes from earlier.

I also added the two larger hooks onto the bottom of the frame to hold the bracelet bar.

Step 8: Build the Bracelet Bar

Like I said earlier, I should have done this BEFORE I spray painted the pieces! But that didn't happen, so...

All I did here was glue a drawer pull on to either side of my wooden dowel.

And that's it!

We're done constructing the jewelry organizer, and there is only one step left...

Step 9: Add Jewelry!

So here it is, my first tutorial. I'm really happy with the way that my jewelry organizer turned out and I'm glad that I chose this project to start my venture into the blogging world. I hope I included everything here, let me know what you think! Thanks for reading, and stay tuned- I plan on writing a lot more of these!

Paint & Pawprints

Welcome to my new blog featuring my adventures in painting, sewing, crafting, and living with two monster sized dogs who leave their paw prints on everything in my life.