Spicy Valentine

Am I the only one who lets their spice cabinet get out of control? There are probably only 10 or so spices that I use on a regular basis, yet my spice cabinet was so packed that I couldn't even see what all I had. So, time to clean it out.

Shoved to the back were a lot of expired spices in the metal containers. 

I was going to throw them away, but that's not in my nature. I usually try to figure out a way to upcycle items. Do any of you remember the time that a friend gave me rocks to see what crafty thing I could do with them? You can see the 2 posts I did about my rock projects HERE & HERE.

Well, a couple of years ago, I tried my hand at fake bakes. It was so fun & they turned out so cute. I don't know why I didn't do more (or post about it).

When I was trying to think of something to do with the spice boxes, those fake bakes came to mind. But, Christmas had passed so I thought I'd make them for Valentine's Day.

After emptying the spice boxes & running them through the dishwasher, I cut pieces of styrofoam to fit the boxes so I wouldn't have to fill them completely with the "glue".

I used tacky glue to add heart ribbon to the top edge of the box. I found this cute ribbon at Pop Shelf for only $1. I had never shopped at that store before, but was impressed with their selection of craft supplies.

I also found this XOXO ribbon at POP Shelf for $1. I added it to the bottom edge of the box.

I found a pack of felt hearts at the Dollar Tree. Since it's made of felt, to make the heart more sturdy, I glued a toothpick to the back. This also allows me to stick it into the styrofoam & give it a little height in the box.

I filled the spice box with Snow Tex. This not only hides the styrofoam, but as it dries, it also works as a glue to hold things in place as I fill the box.

I first added a pink bottle brush tree from Amazon.

I added the felt heart & a cute little gnome. The gnome came in a pack of 3 from Hobby Lobby.

I filled in the empty spaces with faux candy.

I'm so glad that I didn't throw the spice boxes away. This was a fun project & turned out so cute!

Linking To:

The Cottage Market,  Funky Junk Interiors, The Answer Is Chocolate, Flutter Buster, Our Hopeful Home, My Thrift Store Addiction,  Confessions Of A Plate Addict, My Uncommon Slice Of Suburbia, Creatively Beth, County Road 407, Pieced Pastimes, Southern Sunflowers, The House On Silverado

Valentine Or Anytime Art

 

I have been waiting for the perfect piece of furniture to try out the Waterslide Transfers from Dixie Belle Paint Company. However, since my husband retired a year ago, & I closed my booth where I sold painted furniture, I've been a little lazy when it comes to painting furniture. So, I haven't actually been on an active hunt for that perfect piece. 

I've still been wanting to try the waterslide transfer so I thought it would be perfect for a Valentine project.

I first painted a 5" x 5" canvas with the chalk mineral paint color, Fluff. 

The colorful side of the design, that you will see when transferred, has a clear plastic sheet over it. The back is more like paper & is in shades of gray. Having the design on the back helps you line it up properly for your project. I turned the transfer over & used a pencil to trace the canvas on the paper side, then cut it out.

I then removed the plastic sheet from the colorful side of the transfer & placed it on the canvas with the colorful side down. Once I had it placed correctly on the canvas (this is where the gray side comes in handy), I laid a wet paper towel over it. I rubbed over the paper towel with my fingers to make sure the transfer was laying flat against the canvas. 

After letting it sit for 3 minutes, I removed the paper towel & pulled up the transfer backing, leaving the beautiful baroque design on the canvas.

Now for the Valentine part...

I used Sculpey oven bake clay. I conditioned the clay to make it soft & workable, then flattened it to approximately 1/4 inch thickness.

Once the clay was flattened out, I added texture with a stamp from Redesign With Prima.

I used a cookie cutter to cut out a heart. 

I preheated my oven to 275 degrees, then baked the heart for 15 minutes.

I wanted to stick with the neutral colors of the transfer, so once the heart was cooled I painted it with a brown acrylic paint that matched one of the colors in the design.

I didn't worry about perfect coverage because of the next step.

To highlight the texture in the heart, I rubbed on Silver Gilding Wax. I typically go for gold or copper gilding wax, but in this case I wanted to pull out the silver from the transfer. Copper would have been pretty too & given it a completely different look.

I glued the heart to the center of the canvas using E6000.

This is a pretty, neutral piece of art perfect for Valentine's decor if you don't decorate with the traditional red & pink. And, the neutral colors make it perfect for enjoying all year long.

Linking To:

The Cottage Market,  Funky Junk Interiors, The Answer Is Chocolate, Flutter Buster, Our Hopeful Home, My Thrift Store Addiction,  Confessions Of A Plate Addict, My Uncommon Slice Of Suburbia, Creatively Beth, County Road 407, Pieced Pastimes, Southern Sunflowers, The House On Silverado