Old Bay Easter Tin

I recently shared this cute project that I created for Valentine's Day after cleaning out my spice cabinet. You can find that post HERE.

I had so many expired spice tins that I invited some friends over for a craft night to make their own "spicy" Valentine.

In my plethora of expired spices, was an Old Bay tin. I held on to it thinking its colors would be perfect for Easter.

I filled the tin with styrofoam to give me a base to work on...

I found some pretty, colorful stems at Hobby Lobby...

I cut them different lengths...

Then I inserted them into the styrofoam at the back of the tin.

As in the Valentine project, I used Snow Tex as a base for the other items I was adding to the tin. It will works as glue to hold the items in place once it's dry.

I used a plastic pallet knife to add the Snow Tex to the tin to cover up the styrofoam.

If you saw my last post, you saw the cute little clay chips that I used to give a pair of candles a Spring makeover. I also found some cute little pastel bunnies & some miniature carrots.

I inserted a little bunny into the Snow Tex.

Then I added some carrots.

I didn't want my bunny & carrots to look like they were in snow, so I sprinkled the clay chips onto the Snow Tex.

I used a plastic pallet knife to gently press the chips into the Snow Tex.

What a cute addition to my Easter decor!

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

Oyster Shell Cross DIY

 On a recent beach trip, I saw a lot of art created using oyster shells. So, with Easter coming, I used the inspiration to create some crosses.

I could have asked some restaurants at the beach for their discarded oyster shells, but didn't want to drive home with the stinky shells. So, I ordered some from Amazon that were already scrubbed & sanitized.

The first thing I did was to give the inside of the shells a coat of white paint. This will keep the dark spot where the oyster was attached to the shell from showing through the design.

If you know me, you know I'm a hoarder of patterned napkins. I love using them in decoupage projects. So, I picked a pretty patterned napkin & separated the layers until I was left with a single layer. If you don't separate the layers, the napkin won't adhere properly.

I cut the napkin a little larger than the size of the shells. If you cut it the exact size, it will end up too small once pressed down into the curved shell. I cut the napkin about a half inch larger than the shells all the way around.

I added a coat of Dixie Belle Paint Company's Clear Coat to use as my decoupage medium. You could also use ModPodge. I covered the inside of the shells with the clear coat, & while wet, I added the napkin. I started pressing the napkin down from the center of the shells working my way out to the edges. I did not rub back & forth! This could tear the napkin. So, I gently pressed the napkin down with my finger.

Once the clear coat was dry, I wet my finger & rubbed along the edges of the shells to remove the excess paper.

I added more Clear Coat over the napkin to seal it. Once the clear coat was dry, I used my finger to add Dixie Belle's Gold Gilding Wax to the edges of the shells.

I also added the gilding wax to the edges of a wooden canvas that I had painted with Dixie Belle's paint color, Farmhouse Green.

Once everything was dry, I glued the shells onto the canvas using E6000. E6000 will hold things in place forever, but it takes awhile to set up. So, I let the canvas lay flat overnight.

I intended this project to be for Easter, but with the napkin I chose, it can stay out all year.

I never seem to be able to stop with just one project. And, since I had more shells, I made a couple more.

For one, I used a napkin that reminds me more of Easter since it features bunnies.

I added the bunny shells to a canvas that I painted with the color, Daisy.

I also created one where I reversed the paint & paper. I covered the wooden canvas with a black & white check napkin. I painted the shells with the color Peony, added gold to the edges, then added the shells to the decoupaged canvas.

I have plenty more shells. Just waiting for more inspiration to hit to see what I do with them!

Linking To:

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

Bunny Carrot Basket

 I love Easter. I love an easy craft project. So, I absolutely love an easy Easter craft! And, it doesn't get much easier than this decoupage craft.

I started with this little basket. It has a rope loop on the back so it can sit or be hung on the wall.

I painted the basket with the color, Fluff, from the Dixie Belle Paint Company. I didn't want full coverage. I wanted a little of the basket color to show, so I only did one coat.

It's no secret that I love to decoupage with napkins. As a matter of fact, I've become quite the patterned napkin hoarder.

After perusing my stash of Easter napkins, I settled on this simple, little bunny to add to my basket.

When using napkins for decoupage, you have to separate the layers or it won't adhere properly. Most napkins have 3 layers.

Once I separated the layers, I tore the napkin around the bunny. I could have left more of the white background because, since I painted the basket white, it will disappear.

I could have used ModPodge as my decoupage medium, but I grabbed my Dixie Belle Clear Coat & used that to adhere the napkin to the basket. Once the napkin was on the basket, I gently used my paintbrush to push it down into all the crevices of the basket.

Now, you can see why I painted the basket white. If I hadn't, the bunny would have blended in with the original color of the basket.

I used some paper to fill the basket about 3/4 to the top. Then I used Spanish Moss from the dollar store to fill the basket to the top & added some little carrots that I got at Michael's

Super easy. Super cute!

Linking To:

Ginger Snap Crafts, Chic On a Shoestring,  Simply Sweet Home, The Cottage Market,  Funky Junk Interiors,  Sugar Bee Crafts, Flour Me With Love, The Answer Is Chocolate, Skip To My Lou, The Thrifty Home, Flutter Buster,,  Finding Silver Pennies, Our Hopeful Home, My Thrift Store Addiction, The Painted Hinge, Yesterday On Tuesday, Confessions Of A Plate Addict, My Uncommon Slice Of Suburbia, Creatively Beth, My Hubbard Home, County Road 407, Pieced Pastimes, Southern Sunflowers, The House On Silverado

Preppy Peony Paint Pour

If you lived through the preppy era, then you'll remember that pink & green were very popular colors. And, when I was deciding on what to do with this wooden egg cutout from Signopoly, I decided to NOT go with the traditional Easter pastels & go preppy.

I wanted to combine a paint pour along with a decoupage paper. I used painters tape to divide the egg is half so that the paint from the pour wouldn't flow where I was going to put the paper.

I wanted to use the Peony Pattern Rice Paper from the Dixie Belle Paint Company's Belles & Whistles line & picked the colors I felt went best with it...

Peony, Soft Pink, Limeade, & Caviar.

I mixed the paint with Floetrol Paint Additive to thin them out & help them flow.

I began layering the colors in different areas of the egg.

I tilted the egg in different directions until the paint covered the top section of the egg.

I gave the paint overnight to dry, then pulled off the tape. 

The tape did its job perfectly & no paint seeped underneath.

I applied the rice paper using ModPodge, then went over it with a brayer to smooth it out.

I sanded the edges of the egg to remove the excess paper.

I added Tacky Glue between the paint & the paper...

Then I added a ribbon. 

The preppy peony Easter egg...

Linking To:

Ginger Snap Crafts, Chic On a Shoestring,  Simply Sweet Home, The Cottage Market,  Funky Junk Interiors,  Sugar Bee Crafts, Flour Me With Love, The Answer Is Chocolate, Skip To My Lou, The Thrifty Home, Flutter Buster,,  Finding Silver Pennies, Our Hopeful Home, My Thrift Store Addiction, The Painted Hinge, Yesterday On Tuesday, Confessions Of A Plate Addict, My Uncommon Slice Of Suburbia, Creatively Beth, My Hubbard Home, County Road 407