Rusty Leaf Garland

Fall is usually slow to arrive here in the South. And, the Georgia pines greatly outnumber the colorful trees. However, yellow, red, and orange still make an appearance. Even as the leaves fade from the colors of Autumn into a rusty color, they're still beautiful. And for a girl who loves rust AND Fall, this project perfectly combines both.

I started with wooden leaves from Signopoly.

I gave the leaves a coat of Dixie Belle Paint using the color Sand Bar. The color of paint doesn't matter, because it isn't going to show in the end.

To create the rust, I used Dixie Belle's Patina Collection. 

The patina paint has tiny metal particles in it. The paint needs to be shaken well to distribute these particles.

After shaking the patina paint really well, I gave the leaves one coat of Iron Patina Paint. 

Once the first coat was dry, I gave the leaves a second coat of the Iron Patina Paint. While the paint was wet, I sprayed the leaves with the Green Patina Spray.

The paint will react to the spray and create rust. The process begins quickly, but may take up to six hours to finish reacting.

The hardest part is waiting for the process to end. But, I managed to walk away and finish the project the next day.

I used twine to string the leaves together for the garland.

I'll hate to see the leaves go, from both the trees and my mantel. 

Linking To:

Ginger Snap Crafts, Chic On a Shoestring,  Simply Sweet Home, The Cottage Market,  Funky Junk Interiors, The Dedicated House,  Sugar Bee Crafts, Flour Me With Love,  Domestically Speaking,  The Answer Is Chocolate, Skip To My Lou, The Thrifty Home, Flutter Buster, The Foley Fam,  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, Dabbling And Decorating, Creatively Beth, My Hubbard Home

Copper Patina Chalkboard DIY

 I love the shape of this wooden board from Signopoly, so I ordered some to make signs...

But, when I first unboxed them, I thought they'd also make great chalkboards. They're the perfect size for a kitchen. And, the outer portion was perfect for making the chalkboard unique with Dixie Belle Paint Company's Patina Collection.

Caviar was the perfect color for my chalkboard, & the patina paint needs a base coat of paint, so I gave the entire board a coat of Dixie Belle's chalk mineral paint color, Caviar. 

Before adding more coats of Caviar to complete the chalkboard, I painted the outer section of the chalkboard with Copper Patina Paint. 

I painted one coat of the patina paint & let it dry. Then I painted a second coat, & while it was wet, I sprayed it with the Green Patina Spray. There are metal particles in the paint that react with the spray to create the patina.

The reaction between the patina paint & spray begins to happen right away, but can take up to 6 hours to finish reacting.

Once I had sprayed the patina paint, I completed the chalkboard section. I wiped off any spray that was on the Caviar paint. To create a chalkboard with chalk mineral paint, I painted 3 coats of Caviar allowing time to dry between each coat. The first coat was vertical, the second was horizontal, & the third was vertical.

Once the paint was dry, I conditioned the chalkboard by rubbing the side of a piece of chalk over the Caviar. This will prevent a halo being left behind each time you erase the chalkboard.

Once I had conditioned the chalkboard, I wiped it back with a rag.

As an afterthought, I added a Scrabble tile tray to hold the chalk. I have since made another chalkboard with the patina that creates rust & I glued the tray on before I painted.

I love the look of the copper patina!

In the end, I didn't hang the chalkboard in my kitchen. I hung it by my front door. I have a doormat that says, "I hope you brought wine" & I thought this was appropriate...

Linking To:

Ginger Snap Crafts, Chic On a Shoestring,  Simply Sweet Home, The Cottage Market,  Funky Junk Interiors, The Dedicated House,  Sugar Bee Crafts, Flour Me With Love,  Domestically Speaking,  The Answer Is Chocolate, Skip To My Lou, The Thrifty Home, Flutter Buster, The Foley Fam,  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, Dabbling And Decorating, Creatively Beth, 

Rust And The German Schmear

 I had never heard of the German schmear technique until I saw it on an episode of Fixer Upper. It creates a beautiful texture.

And, it's not just for a brick wall. It's great in other paint projects as well. And in this project I combined it not only with paint, but also with Dixie Belle Paint Company's Patina Collection.

I started with a wooden pumpkin from Signopoly...

I first stained the pumpkin with Dixie Belle's Voodoo Gel Stain using the color, Tobacco Road.

To create the first layer of the schmear, I add the paint color, Buttercream, to a block of wood, then drug it along the pumpkin.

I wanted to add some rust to my pumpkin, but I also wanted the rust to have some texture. So I mixed Sea Spray, a texture additive, in with the iron patina paint.

I used the same schmear technique with a block of wood to add the patina paint to the pumpkin.

While the patina paint was wet I sprayed it with the green patina spray. The spray creates a chemical reaction that when combined with the iron paint creates rust.

And, who doesn't love a little rust on their pumpkin?

Linking To:

Ginger Snap Crafts, Chic On a Shoestring,  Simply Sweet Home, The Cottage Market,  Funky Junk Interiors, The Dedicated House,  Sugar Bee Crafts, Flour Me With Love,  Domestically Speaking,  The Answer Is Chocolate, Skip To My Lou, The Thrifty Home, Flutter Buster, The Foley Fam,  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, Dabbling And Decorating

Copper Patina Pill Bottles

I hate throwing away medication bottles. Every time that I do, I think about how I should find a use for them.

I finally removed the labels from a few and decided I could use Dixie Belle's Patina Collection to make them pretty enough to use as bud vases.

I first gave the bottles a coat of Dixie Belle Paint, which works like a primer for the patina paint. The paint color didn't matter because it was going to be covered by the patina paint. 

Then I gave the bottles a coat of Copper Patina Paint and let it dry. 

Once dry, I gave the bottles a second coat of the copper paint. While the paint was still wet, I sprayed the bottles with the Green Patina Spray.

 The metal particles in the patina paint will begin to react with the patina spray immediately. 

I used E6000 glue to adhere jute around the rim of the bottles.

 They're the perfect size for small flowers.

 And, they look much better here than in the landfill!

Linking To:

Ginger Snap Crafts,  Rae Gun Ramblings, Chic On a Shoestring,  Simply Sweet Home, Have A Daily Cup Of Mrs Olson, The Cottage Market,  Funky Junk Interiors, DIY Showoff, Craft-O-Maniac, Keeping It Simple, I Should Be Mopping The Floor, The Dedicated House,  Sugar Bee Crafts, Flour Me With Love,  Today's Creative Blog, Tip Junkie,    Domestically Speaking,  The Answer Is Chocolate, Skip To My Lou, The Thrifty Home, Flutter Buster, Nap Time Creations, The Foley Fam,  Finding Silver Pennies, A Stroll Thru Life, French Country Cottage,  Knick Of Time, Lou Lou Girls, Our Hopeful Home, My Thrift Store Addiction, The Painted Hinge, Savvy Southern Style,  Yesterday On Tuesday, Confessions Of A Plate Addict, My Uncommon Slice Of Suburbia, Dabbling And Decorating

Patina Ornaments

Last year I shared this ornament that I created using Dixie Belle's Patina Collection...

You can see that post HERE.

The patina comes in iron, bronze, & copper. The iron patina paint with green patina spray creates rust, which is my favorite. But, this year I decided to use all three to create a variety of patina ornaments.

I started with these wooden ornaments from Hobby Lobby...

 The patina paint needs a base of the chalk mineral paint so I painted each ornament with Barn Red. The color doesn't matter because it will be covered with the patina paint. However, if you want some of the color to show, just don't cover completely with the patina paint.

When the paint is dry, give each ornament a coat of the patina paint and let dry.

Once dry, add a second coat of the patina paint. While the paint is wet, spray the ornaments with the patina spray. Use the green spray with the iron and copper paint, and the blue spray with the bronze paint.

I added a vintage style Santa to the copper patina ornament...

I added a wooden snowflake to the bronze and the iron patina ornaments...

I replaced the red ribbons with twine...

Rust is still my favorite! Which is your favorite patina?

Linking To:

Ginger Snap Crafts,  Creations By Kara,  Rae Gun Ramblings, Made In A Day, Chic On a Shoestring,  Simply Sweet Home, The Shabby Nest,  Somewhat Simple,   Live Laugh Rowe, Have A Daily Cup Of Mrs Olson, The Cottage Market,  Funky Junk Interiors, DIY Showoff, Craft-O-Maniac, Keeping It Simple, I Should Be Mopping The Floor, The Dedicated House,   Coastal Charm, Reasons To Skip The Housework, Sugar Bee Crafts,  Nifty Thrifty Things, Cherished Bliss, Mad In Crafts, Flour Me With Love, Not Just A Housewife,  Today's Creative Blog, Tip Junkie,  Homework,  I Gotta Create,   Domestically Speaking,  The Answer Is Chocolate, Skip To My Lou, The Thrifty Home,Cedar Hill Ranch, Flutter Buster, Nap Time Creations, Hope In Every Season, The Foley Fam, Our Home Away From Home,  Remodelaholic, Flamingo Toes,  Finding Silver Pennies, A Stroll Thru Life, French Country Cottage, The Scoop, Stone Gable, Knick Of Time, Lou Lou Girls, Our Hopeful Home, The Painted Hinge, Savvy Southern Style, Tattertots & Jello, Yesterday On Tuesday, Rachel Teodoro, Worthing Court, Confessions Of A Plate Addict, My Uncommon Slice Of Suburbia, Dabbling And Decorating