Ornamental Plaster Appliques Made in Gum Paste Molds

I found some gum paste molds that work great for making plaster appliques 

I showed you HERE in a previous post how to make molds for plaster appliques using polymer clay, still a great option since it gives you the ability to make unique appliques

But, this is pretty easy too.  These Wilton gum paste molds are priced at $9.99 at JoAnnes (Of course we never shop without our coupon)  And there is a huge selection of designs

These work great because they are flexible and the plaster pops out when hardened.

Dust the mold with any powder or corn starch

Then make up some plaster to about the consistency of pudding  (Plaster is available at any craft store) and pour it in your mold

Oh ya, this is a really precise step as you can see

Now lift the mold up and drop it a couple times to get the air bubbles out.

Here is the important part, to get the appliques to lay flat on your project, go over the mold with your shiny new (Or crummy old) putty knife

Let it dry, pop them out and glue on your project, I used E-6000 glue for this shelf.  

This is an optional step, but you can go over the applique with gel stain or brown paint, it just made it easier to cover with paint when it was the same color as the shelf

A little oops paint, brown glaze, and sanding and you'd never know this little vintage hand crafted shelf did not originally come with a decorative element

That's it kids, couldn't be any easier if you wanted to add a little something to something!

I'm going to put this in my booth Orange Tree and price it at $28

Happy Crafting!

Carol


Joining the party at:
French Country Cottage
Chic On a Shoestring
Miss Mustard Seed
The Shabby Creek Cottage
Savvy Southern Style
Coastal Charm

A Sweet Stenciled Table and Blogging...How Do I Do It!

I admit stenciling a table is not a real WOW, it's just that sometimes you get just the right table, stencil, and paint.....

 ....And the finished project turns out nice enough to share

I haven't stenciled in a long time, but then my subscription to "Do it Yourself" arrived and it came with a bonus magazine "Fun with paint" loaded with stencil projects

  (This is not a sponsored post)

So, when I was trying to figure out what to do with this little table

I decided to "Get my stencil on"

I painted the table with ballerina pink and used my Martha Stewart Stencils

I filled in the stencil with the grey paint that I had special mixed at Ace for my desk transformation

Then I finished the top with a clear coat of wax

And put it in my booth at Orange Tree, priced at $32

Now to switch gears...If you think you could tolerate any more of my yapping for one day, here's a preview of my guest post at...

.....Kathy at Delightsome life.  She asked if I would 

contribute to a series she is doing called

"Blogging...How do you do it"

Thank you for asking Miss Kathy, this was so fun because I've never given the process 

of "How I blog" much thought.  Here at The Polka Dot Closet I have a pretty relaxed 

approach.  I love blogging, I often say "I'm having more fun than a girl deserves"! 

You can see the complete post HERE

And


Remember when I did the post on my "Doggy Bags",

 That post is a guest on "Cozy Home Scenes", Shannon is doing a series  called "Paws and Claws"  How cute is that!  If you missed it you can see it HERE

Happy Creating!

Carol

Water Slide Decal Pictures

I love finding new ways to use water slide decals......This time it was pictures

I already use decals on soap, candles, glass, and furniture.  The full water slide decal tutorial is HERE

I found some great frames and sprayed them with Rust-Oleum Heirloom white, then gave them a little sanding.

I used a vintage table cloth and spray adhesive to cover the backing boards

Then slide the decals onto the BACK of the glass.  The graphics are from Graphics Fairy

 For decals with words, you will have to reverse the image

I love how they turned out and they sold immediately in my booth at Orange Tree

 This was a really easy project.......Now I'm on the look out for more cute little frames.

Happy Creating!

Carol

Kerosene Heater Turned Table

I love when I find these old kerosene heaters, usually I just paint them, but his time I transformed it into a cute little side table

Here's one I had in my booth that I painted and sold for $70, it was a little more ornate, but also a little dented up

So here's what I started with.....Not much of a looker is it?

I was playing around trying to decided what to do with this heater, Here is some ideas I came up with

Unscrewing the top 

Then flipping it over to make a flower planter, or maybe a bird feeder

Or, I could take the whole top off and make a cute little stool by adding wood and upholstering it

Or, I could make a side table!

.....I used a round antique table  top I had laying around and attached it to the top of the heater with picture hangers that were easy to bend.  I turned the heater upside down and using the holes that were already in the top, I screwed through the metal and into the wood and then screwed through the picture hanger right into the wood...It's attached nice and solid 

Now to make it pretty........I sanded the heater, then sprayed primer followed by two coats of Rust-Oleum Heirloom White paint and waxed the top....Ah, much better!

Now, it was needing something.....I decided to use a graphic from Graphics Fairy and transfer it with the "Blender Pen" method. 

 Graphics Fairy has included this method HERE along with other transfer methods

I just couldn't sell this cute little table...Yep, this ones for me!

Happy Creating!

Carol


Partying with
My Romantic Home
Chic on a Shoestring
French Country Cottage

Shopping The New York Garment District

Oh what fun this was!!  

Shopping the Garment District in New York was so fabulous, it was almost overwhelming!

The first stop was "Mood".  This three floor fabric store is featured in the show "Project Runway"

This is "Swatch" the greeter at "Mood".  He just wanders the fabric aisles looking for love!

And he had a lot of aisles to wander....Look at all of this fabric.  Three floors with thousands of fabrics, floor to ceiling.

Here's my "Mood" Purchases.  I know, I should have gotten more, but I was paralyzed by so many choices

My next stop was B & J Fabrics they had tons of fun graphic fabrics

I got this fabric at B & J for my friend, he has a booth filled with midcentury, retro, and art deco...I can see a retro chair or stool covered in this....Jack, this ones for you!

This next store totally flipped me out I just stood with my mouth

 open....M & J Trimming

A wall of ribbons

Buttons

And lace trims

This is where I bought yards of lace, trims, and embellishments

I have a few projects in mind for these lovelies!

 If you ever get anywhere near NY, you've got to shop the garment district...I Love New York!

Happy Creating!

Carol