I know it’s probably kinda dorky, but I looooove seeing pretty, color coordinating supplies together like this! 
Today, I went to Joann’s and came home with all of this stuff that I didn’t intend to buy. And funny enough, the one thing that I did intend to buy (long white fur fabric), isn’t in the photo because it didn’t match! :P Whenever I see pretty supplies, my head just fills with ideas! It’s so hard to leave the store without them!
The two fabrics on the right and the pom poms will be used together to make a bag. I haven’t decided exactly what kind but I do plan on making a tutorial with it.
The fabric on the left will probably become a skirt. I’m going to a roller disco on Friday and need something to wear. As soon as I saw that fabric, I immediately thought of making something to wear to the roller disco with it.
The yarn will become a sweater for my bike. My bike is very 80′s (paint splatters, hot pink accents…) and kinda embarrassing. So I’m knitting a striped sweater to cover parts of the frame. Because it having a sweater is somehow less embarrassing? I’m a weirdo like that.
I was totally lusting after these ArtBin organizers at Joann’s! They come in so many pretty colors! I wish I had a place for them.
Another thing I’ve been lusting after, Lion Brand’s Hometown USA yarn! It’s so soft and so many pretty colors! Every time I see it, I try desperately to think of something that I could make with it. Something that I would actually use! I’ve put it in my basket and then back on the shelf so many times! *sigh*
Anyway. Now I’m off to make use of the one thing that I did intend to buy today! Pictures soon! :)
I’m not sure if it’s come up here yet, but I freaking LOVE Gnomes! I wish I could remember where, but (somewhere!) recently, I saw a Gnome that was completely covered in glitter. I thought that it was the coolest and of course, had to have one!
I had this little dude, who had done some time outdoors, and had gotten a bit faded from the sun. So I decided that I would make him my glitter Gnome!
This tutorial will of course, work with just about anything. But in my case, I was after a glitter Gnome, so that’s what I’m painting! :)
Supplies you’ll need:
- Extreme Glitter paint by Plaid/FolkArt
- Acrylic paint in a matching color
- Paint brush
- Something to paint. Obviously :P
This is really pretty simple and hardly even qualifies as a tutorial! :P
Step 1: Apply a base coat of acrylic paint and allow it to dry. Do multiple coats if you need to. Make sure no color is showing through.
Step 2: Apply a coat of the Extreme Glitter paint and allow it to dry. If you’re not satisfied with the amount of glitter, keep applying more coats until you’re happy with it. I did two coats on my Gnome.
I wish that I would have picked a different color (I’m totally lusting after the peridot color!) but I already had the glitter paint in red, left over from something I made for Halloween. And I swear that the original glitter Gnome I saw was red! So I went with red! I’m on the lookout for something else to glitter paint now. I love this stuff!
I hope you like it! I would love to see pictures if you give it a try!
I was waiting until after Mother’s Day to post what I made for my mom and grandma! Also, this is what I did with the pots that I painted for the crackle painting tutorial. Has anyone tried that yet?
I thought that by making myself a cactus, it would purge the idea from my head and I’d be able to move onto other things. But I had fun making them so I had to make more! Plus, my mom wanted to steal the one that I made for myself. She kept hinting that it would look great on her desk at work.
What do you think? Do the crackled pots go well with them?
After celebrating Mother’s Day, I went down to San Diego where I became a member (annual pass holder) at the Zoo and the Wild Animal Park. yay!! This means that you can expect lots of animal pictures in the future! :)
I should have another tutorial up soon.
Supplies you’ll need:
- 2 colors of acrylic paint.
- A paint brush.
- Crackle Medium. I use FolkArt brand. I’m not sure if there are others.
- A varnish to seal the paint. I used Americana brand “DuraClear Satin Varnish”.
- And something to paint. Obviously :P
A little advice about paint – I find that this works MUCH better with a thicker paint (at least for the top coat – read step three to see why). I’ve tried a few different brands and have decided that I like FolkArt the best. I know it’s tempting to buy whatever is on sale for 99 cents, but in this case, it’s best not to. You’ll get better results with a more expensive paint because they tend to be thicker.
On to the tutorial!
I’ll be painting a little terra cotta pot:
Step one: Apply your base coat and allow it to dry. I like to use a darker color for the base coat and a lighter one for the top coat. Just my preference! :)
Step two: Apply a coat of crackle medium and allow it to dry. This takes longer to dry than paint.
Step three: Apply your top coat and allow it to dry.
This is the step that requires a little bit of technique! The reason that it’s best to use thick paint is because with the top coat, you can’t do a second coat if the first one looks too thin. The top coat will start crackling almost immediately when applied. So make sure to get plenty of paint on your brush and make sure not to go over any spot twice. If you go over anything twice, it won’t crackle properly.
Step four: Apply a coat of varnish and allow it to try. You may need to do a couple coats depending on your varnish. I did two.
Be somewhat gentle (don’t press too hard) when applying the varnish. I’ve had little chunks of the top coat flake off before when I’ve pressed too hard.
And that’s it! yay! I hope that you find this helpful! I wish I would have had someone to share these tips with me when I first tried. My first attempt at crackle painting was a learning experience.
If you give this a try, I’d love to see pics! Feel free to leave any pictures or questions in the comments! :)
I was going to post my first DIY tutorial (crackle painting) shortly after mentioning it two posts ago, but as I was getting the pics together, I realized that they SUCKED! So I redid the whole thing. Unfortunately, I don’t have it quite ready yet. But here is why:
I had a big custom bracelet order to finish. Aren’t they super colorful?! They’re made with beads from the American Girl crafts section at Michaels, as requested by the buyer.
I’ve also been making Mother’s day gifts for my mom and grandma. I’ll probably wait to post pics of them until after Mother’s day.
The weather has been super nice recently! So I’ve had to spend some time at the beach. Hula hooping, of course. And biking!
And this is what I did while I was remaking the crackle paint tutorial (while waiting for coats of paint to dry):
Yea, I hula hoop a lot. :)
I take pictures pretty frequently. I’m trying to get better about posting them here.
I’ll have that tutorial up soon!
I’ve been busy working on another bulk order of macrame bracelets. These American Girl brand beads are so colorful!
I’ve recently discovered brush on Krazy Glue. It’s pretty much the best thing ever. Gel Krazy Glue on the other hand, not so much…
I’ve decided to take this blog in a new direction. Right now it just seems like a place to post about whatever sales I’m having, new stuff for sale, and an occasional giveaway. That’s really not very exciting. I’d like to make it a bit more personal. Not strictly business related. One thing that I’m really looking forward to doing is tutorials! I’m a huge DIYer! I love figuring out how things are made and then making them myself. I’m excited to share more of that with you!
The first tutorial that I’m going to post is crackle painting. I love painting but rarely ever have a reason to. I also love the Hipstamatic camera app on my iPhone. I also enjoy photos taken of things in people’s hands. Weird? No? I’m not sure.
I’m having a big sale in both of my Etsy shops!
In the Gleeful Things shop, you can get all of my hat crochet patterns for only $9 (originally $15).
And you can get all of my amigurumi patterns for only $15 (originally $25).
At The Elclectic Squirrel shop, EVERYTHING is on sale. Some bracelets as low as $4!
Originally $10, on sale for $6!
Originally $12, now $9!
The sale will go for about a week and then prices will be back to normal.
Jenny! Congrats! You won the bracelet from my giveaway! Sorry it took me so long to announce the winner. I’ve been super busy lately which leads to me being a terrible blogger :(
I do have a couple new things to show off. First, I was asked to do a custom order of 20 macrame bracelets. A bit different from my usual ones. I was asked to use these colorful beads from the American Girl crafts section at Michaels.
And I made myself a cactus. That’s something that I’ve been wanting to do for a while so I’m happy to have gotten it out of my system now! hehe :P
That’s all for now!
