DIY Upcycled, Decoupage Switch Plate and Outlet Covers

Leave a comment

It’s the little things in life that sometimes make a big difference, and that is also the case with home decorating.  If you are just starting out one of the best places to start is with your outlet, and switch plate covers.  A little sprucing up can add a lot of detail to your home.  If it is your first time venturing into decoupage it is also a great starter project.  This was my first project using Mod Podge.  It wasn’t too long after this that I started doing furniture and other items.  Just a warning it can become an addiction!

Materials:

Mod Podge Matte Finish

I used an old gift bag, but you can also use cloth or scrapbook paper

X acto knife

Pencil

Remove the outlet/switch plate cover from the wall and carefully trace all areas with a Pencil.

Use the X acto knife to carefully cut out the tracing.

Once cut, use the Mod  Podge to adhere the paper to the cover carefully smoothing out any air bubbles.  Let Dry.  Then cover the papered area with three coats of Mod Podge allowing to dry thoroughly between coats.  Once dry they are ready to install!  Just say no to boring white covers!

Made with recycled gift bag and Modge Podge

Made with recycled gift bag and Modge Podge

Adding a little Spice in the Kitchen~Skinny kitchen cabinet decoupage Re-do

Leave a comment

This is a little skinny kitchen cabinet I picked up through ABC Distributing.  It added much needed cabinet space in our kitchen.  I was never thrilled with the finish, but it functioned great as it does not take up much space in our kitchen.  I am not sure how she managed to do it, but my active little 2 year-old decided one day to do a little modification herself and ripped a huge piece off the side leaving it scarred.  It was very noticeable and I didn’t have the funds to go out and buy another cabinet.   So, I decided to re-style it.

Materials used:

Mod Podge Matte Finish

Electric Blue and Black Acrylic Paint

Scrapbook Paper

Sandpaper

ruler

My kitchen is a bright yellow and even though I originally wanted to paint it black, I was compelled to pick a color a bit out of the ordinary, so I decided to go with blue.  I thought it would really “pop” against the yellow walls.  I did a light sanding on it, and skipped the priming this time.  I painted the entire piece blue and let it dry.  I then outlined the door in black.  I  measured out the scrap paper, paying close attention to  line the flower pattern up as best I could.  I had to glue it in pieces, so by matching it up, it made the pattern seem more seamless.  I used the Mod Podge to glue down the scrapbook paper on the door surface and the top surface of the cabinet.  I let dry and then covered with three coats of  Mod Podge to seal the piece.  I like this piece because it is unique and it actually looks better in person than in the picture.  It is holding up well and so far appears to be toddler proof!

Skinny kitchen cabinet decoupage

Putting pearls on a pig~whimsical garden pig makeover

3 Comments

I received this little fellow from a friend of mine that was relocating to the West coast and could not take this poor little piggy with him. From the beginning I wasn’t sure how I felt about the little guy. He was grey, and even though he had cute little pig features, they were hard to see. From a distance he looked like a grey blob in the garden. I decided rather then send him to piggy heaven aka “the landfill”, I would try out some outdoor Mod Podge I had purchased a few weeks ago. I would give the pig a final shot at garden glory.
I was pleased with the end result, but It wasn’t easy!

Materials used:
Latex Primer
Mod Podge Outdoor formula
yellow latex paint
70’s drapery material
Black permanent marker

The first step was giving little piggy a good scrubbing and clean behind his ears. I placed him in the sink and started the hot water. I didn’t notice the small hole in the bottom of the pig. I started cleaning him and suddenly ants started pouring out of it! So lesson learned if something has been sitting out in the elements for a while, it’s not always the greatest idea to bring it into your home. So far I am thinking to myself this is not going well! At this point I am totally creeped out by all the bugs!

Once the ants were eliminated, I cut out the flowers from the fabric and used the Mod Podge to glue the fabric to the pig. This made painting with the primer more difficult, but I really wanted the fabric to stick to the pig and it may not as well if glued directly to the primer paint. I then primed and let dry, cutting in around the flowers carefully.
Then I made my 2nd mistake. I thought he would look good as a red pig. I painted him and I hated it! He looked darker than I expected and I was trying to bring out his features. So, I found an old can of yellow latex paint in the basement and I painted him yellow, but alas red is hard to cover. I should have primed it again before re-painting. I had to use 3 coats just to cover the red and even then some of the red was bleeding through, but it looked acceptable and I liked the dept the red gave it.
Once the paint dried I slathered on the Outdoor Mod Podge to seal the piggy. It is the first time I am using this formula, so I am interested to see how well he will hold up in the elements. I used a black marker to fill in his eyes, and added a slight outline to his mouth. After 72 hours in the house I was ready to release a bit of whimsy into our garden. It was a tough and challenging project, but I am pleased with how much color he adds to a not so colorful spot in our garden. He even fills in the space from a broken brick! I think I know how I feel about him now. I think I’m in love!

Whimsical Garden Pig Re-Style

DSC_0017

Steppin’ It up~ Restyled Wooden Step Stool

4 Comments

I was on a mission: to find the perfect wooden step stool, I could restyle and put my own stamp on. It won’t be long before our little Erin will need one so that she can stand at our bathroom sink and wash her hands and brush her teeth. I thought finding the right one wouldn’t be easy. Going to thrift stores is hit or miss when it comes to finding something specific. As luck would have it hiding under a table of various thrift store tchotchke was the perfect little wooden steps tool. It was love at first site! I snatched it up immediately. As luck would also have it, I found the perfect material to use to decoupage onto the stool. A“groovy” drape designed by Helen Trast for Ikea. It was perfect for many reasons, the material was almost burlap- like, so it would hold up well after sealing, and it was colorful and fun.
Materials Used:
Cloth Drapery
Mod Podge Matte Finish
Red Acrylic Apple Barrel Paint
White Latex Primer
Mod Podge Roller tool
First I used white primer to paint over the wood. Then I turned the step stool upside down onto the drape material and traced the top surface with a black marker. I used scissors to carefully cut the outline. I used the Mod Podge to glue the material down and smoothed out any air bubbles with the Mod Podge Roller tool. I painted the remaining uncovered parts of the stool with red Apple Barrel Acrylic paint. Once everything was dry I used the Mod Podge to seal the item. I repeated this step 3 times letting it dry thoroughly between coats and Voila! Erin will now be able to step up in style with a 70’s groove!
Wooden Step Stool Redo

Nursery Rhymes-Welcoming our bundle of joy with a hand painted wall mural

1 Comment

Back in 2010, my husband and I received the news he and I had been waiting for most of our lives. We were expecting our first child in May of 2011. We were both over the moon as we had struggled for more than 5 years to get pregnant,and at our age our window of opportunity was closing fast. I had dreamed about this moment for most of my life. I wanted to do something special for him or her to welcome our little bundle of joy into the world. I decided to try something new, sure I like to draw and paint, but I had never attempted a wall mural like I had planned.
The truth is working on her nursery gave me an outlet to channel all my nervous energy. Having waited for so long, I was full of worry. This like most of my projects, distracted my over active mind nicely and channeled that nervous energy into something positive. I wanted to stay neutral as far as theme. My sister-in-law gave us a swing from the Fisher Price Rain forest Friends collection and I loved it! The brightly colored animals and whimsical feel was exactly what I had in mind. I started to plan. I went online and decided which animals I would draw and got started right away. Her room needed a total make over. We planned on tearing up the old carpet and putting in new, but wanted to get the painting done first to avoid any mess. I work full-time, so every day I would put in my 8 hours, come home and my goal was to paint an animal every night. I would bring my laptop into the room, put on the radio, and pull up a picture of one of the rain forest characters and get to work. I wish I could say that I followed a special technique, but I simply took a pencil and freehand drew the outline and then used acrylics to paint and fill in the color. I used the pictures of the animal characters on my laptop as a guide. I could have used a projection tool to make it perfect, but that was not my goal. I wanted it to be based on those characters, but by drawing free hand, they would have a bit of their own individuality.
When it was done I was pleased at how it turned out. It was not perfect, but unlike most things that I do that are flawed it didn’t bother me this time. I was happy that my first attempt at a wall mural had turned out so well! Now, Our daughter is 2 and I will inevitably face the day when she feels that she needs a “big girl room” and I will have to paint over monkey’s and tigers and replace them with princess’s and castles, but for now I am still enjoying the colorful jungle!

Finished Mural.

Finished Mural.

Erin smiling (as usual) enjoying her Rainforest Friends Room age 9 months.

smiling (as usual) enjoying her Rainforest Friends Room age 9 months.

Trash to Treasure~ Upcycled Decoupage Bedroom Nightstands

2 Comments

In early 2002 My husband and I were just starting out, and like most people just starting out you tend to be a little light when it comes to home decor and home furnishings. I will admit that not only do I like frequenting Good Will and various other thrift stores, I also like trash night. I always keep my eyes open for curbside furniture finds. I feel a little like a hero- I am keeping one more piece of garbage out of the landfill. So, it was on this fateful night that I spotted two bedroom nightstands beside the apartment dumpster no diving required LOL! The hubby and I were desperate to simply have a place to put a drink, or a book beside our bed. They were functional yes, but I secretly hated them and dreamed of getting new nightstands someday. Flash forward to 2013 and we still have the nightstands! We never got around to replacing them, and they were inching ever closer to fulfilling their original destiny when I discovered… Decoupage! There was no question these tables needed a serious makeover, but thanks to my other addiction Pinterest, the ideas were flowing and I decided to give it a try, besides they were going to end up in the trash anyway!

Materials I used:

One very old and beat up nightstand
Mod Podge Matte Finish
Black Acrylic Paint
Scrapbook Paper

These tables were so beat up not much sanding was required. I painted the entire piece and cut the scrapbook paper to fit the various areas of the table I wanted to cover. I used the Mod Podge to glue down the paper to the wood. I then sealed the entire table with Mod Podge covering the painted areas to give it a sheen and seal the paint so it wouldn’t chip. You see the final result below came out better than I imagined it would and once again these tables avoided the trash heap! They are holding up very well too although I would suggest using a coaster for that drink! : 0 )

DSC_1126h    Black and white decoupage tables  DSC_0032

Wooden Rocking Horse Re-Do

3 Comments

I wanted to make something special this year for my daughter who is turning 2 next month. My husband and I share a common love of shopping at thrift stores and we found this horse at Good Will for $4.99. I sanded it lightly and used a primer. I then used acrylic paint to paint the horse two shades of pink and white. I decoupaged scrapbook paper onto the horse and used Mod Podge Matte
finish to glue and seal this project. I was going for a more classic rocking horse and the debate with family and friends over whether I should give the horse a mouth and eyes was quite amusing. What do you think? Do you prefer whimsical or classic rocking horses?

Wooden Rocking Horse Re-Do