How to Make Spooky Books for Halloween

September 20, 2021September 16, 2021Leave a comment

Good morning friends! Can you believe we are in September? Are you ready for fall? We will have some time to go here before it gets cool. It doesn’t get cool here until about Halloween. But, I have a wedding to plan and it will a traditional wedding, but then a gothic pirate themed reception. So this is the time of year to find the perfect items to decorate with. It’s also fun to find different things I can make ahead of time. Today I am showing you how to make spooky books!

Item List:

Hardcover books
Plastic bin that the books will fit into
Tea
Paper towels
Mod Podge and brush
Bleach and water
Stickers, wood decorations, any other decorations you want to use
Black, gold, and silver paint and foam bruss

I found some outdated hardcover books at a thrift store. It doesn’t matter how new or old they look. Just find the size you like. Next, make yourself some tea! Not to drink though! I made some sun tea and then poured it into a plastic bin. Now, dip your book in! I just did the pages, not the covers. You could also use a brush if that is easier. I dipped in all the sides, letting them soak for about 5 minutes. Then I set them out on a towel to dry.

If you don’t think they are dark enough, go ahead dip them again. The pages get a little wrinkly, but that’s ok. It gives it an older look!

Now that the books are dry, you can move on to the next step. Take your pieces of paper towels and trim them to fit the book. I cut the top and bottom of the paper towels the same size as the books, but I folded in the ends. The books won’t be opened after I am done.

Fill a spray bottle with water and spray down the paper towels on the books. Crinkle them up a bit once they are wet. This is going to give you the old weathered look you want in the end.

Once you have the paper towels the way you want, brush on the Mod Podge. I poured some onto the book and then used a foam brush to spread it all over the book on all sides and edges. Let the books dry. I let them dry overnight.

Now you get to decorate the book! I am making these for the wedding, not just Halloween. I found the scrolly piece and wood piece at a thrift store. So I laid them out the way I thought they would go. I also added stickers. My stickers go along with the wedding theme and last name initial. It won’t matter the colors you use because you are going to paint over it all. Once you have your pieces how you want them, glue them on. I even glued on the stickers so they wouldn’t fall off later.

Once your glue is dry, paint the book. I used black spray paint, but you could also paint the books with acrylic paint. Make sure to get in all the nooks and crevices. Now you can see how the paper towels give it that old look.

Just the black looks kind of boring, but now you get to add the finishing touches! I used a silver paint and lightly went over the raised areas of the book. I used a little gold paint as well. You don’t want too much gold or silver, just some slight touches.

I also bought a strap to keep the book closed. I found it in the fabric department at Hobby Lobby. I glued it on the front and back of the book.

Here are the stickers once they are painted. Looks good, right? Since I didn’t want the books to open, I used some rope, also tea dyed, to tie two of the books together.

I placed the books on my mantle along with some other black and spooky items. Some of them I have also made over.

I love how they turned out! I’m just waiting for a date to be set so I can put it on the third book.

So what do you think? Would you do this to a book? I’m so glad I gave it a try!

How To Use Spray Paint for Home Decor

July 20, 2020July 14, 2020Leave a comment

Good morning! I posted this last year, but figured it wouldn’t hurt to put it out there again for you all!

Summer time is my time to get some larger projects done at home. We are finishing up a lot of the work in the living room and I am so pleased with how it is turning out! What a huge difference flooring and opening up spaces does to a room. I can’t wait to show you all! I have a few more things to finish up and then it will be ready to go!

Last week, my favorite blogger, KariAnne, from Thistlewood Farms, blogged about spray painting different items for your home. Please hop over and take a look! I started thinking about all the items I have spray painted. In fact, my mom laughs at me when I say, ‘Just spray paint it!” 🙂 So I thought I would make my own list too. Some of the items are the same as Karianne’s, but most are different. There are just so many options!

1. Frames

I have painted SO many frames!! I find the outdated ones with fancy woodwork on them at the thrift store, take them home and spray paint them. You can paint them any color to match your decor. I have made mine into chalkboards, Christmas decor, or gasp! an actual frame!

2. Outdoor Furniture

Spray paint is a great way to refresh our outdoor furniture. The furniture can get faded and worn over time and this revives it. Be sure to clean the pieces well before painting. These Adirondack chairs are plastic and were a hunter green color, so I pulled out my favorite turquoise color and they look great! In fact, I just repainted them a couple of weeks ago! I also used spray paint on the metal furniture. Black is a great basic color and makes them look fresh and clean.

3. Dishes

I wouldn’t recommend actually using these painted dishes to eat off of, but its great for decor pieces. The pitcher had an 80’s design on it, but a few coats of white spray paint and it is up to date.

4. Home Decor

Do you have a vase you really like, but the color doesn’t go with your decor? Or find a piece in the thrift store, but it doesn’t match? That’s right! Paint it! This cow was too cute to pass up. A fresh coat of white paint, and she is perfect!

5. Indoor Furniture

I have painted beds, dressers, chairs and so many other furniture pieces. I usually paint larger pieces by hand. But if the piece is rattan or wicker, spray paint is so much easier. It can get into all the little spaces better than a brush. I used white spray paint on this rattan table for my living room.

6. Lamps

Again, wicker is so much easier to paint with spray paint. You can also use paint for the base of an outdated table lamp. Put a pretty new shade on it and you are all set.

7. Wooden Signs

I spray painted the background on this sign and then hand painted the letters. This will work for any piece of wood. On the second sign I added chip letters to form the word ‘Laundry.”

8. Planters

I made these planters years ago from a concrete block, but I have also painted regular ceramic or plastic flower pots. Spray paint is great for covering any type of surface!

There you go! 8 different ways to use spray paint, and there are so many more! What have you transformed with spray paint? I would love to hear from you! Thank you so much for following along!

Springtime Concrete Painted Planter

April 13, 2020April 2, 202036 Comments

How is everybody holding up? Going stir crazy or getting things done around the house? I hope everybody is well. We are still doing good over here on this end! Is it springtime in your neck of the woods? We have had some absolutely beautiful weather here! We had some much needed rain this weekend and now back to sunshine again. This type of weather makes me want to get outside and enjoy it. It also makes me want to start planting again. I love the look of freshly dug up dirt and the wonderful flowers and plants put in the ground.

I posted this several years ago and it always seems to be popular. So, I figured this would be a good project to keep you busy!

I decided to make a new small planter for my front porch. Well, actually two of them-one with my address and one with a fun graphic flower. I found these over at Lowes.com/LCI-concreteplanter. I am not affiliated with Lowes, just thought this was a fun project for spring.

I started out with 2 of the concrete blocks and a can of Rustoleum Mulitcolor Textured Spray Paint. I used a color that was very close to the color of the block. This will help seal the concrete so the other color won’t leak through when you spray your design. I first cleaned off the block with a wire bristled brush and then wiped away the dust.

I sprayed the whole block with the spray paint. Here is the right side painted and the left is not. You can see how closely they match. Perfect!

Have you ever heard of a Xyron Sticker Maker? I use the refills for my scrapbooking. It is perfect for all the little letters I cut out on my Cricut. Just run the letters through it and then place them on your page. I thought I would give it a try for this too.I printed out the design-you could use your Cricut or find a design you like online-cut it out and then ran each piece through the Xyron.

Once each piece had the sticky stuff on the back , I placed it on the concrete block.

Then I spray painted over the whole thing. I painted all the sides too. I did have to keep pushing down my pieces to make sure the paint didn’t get underneath, but they did okay. I used 2 coats of paint.

On my second block, I decided to put my address numbers. I painted the whole block with the textured paint and then laid out some stenciled numbers. I covered the rest of the block with paper so the paint wouldn’t cover the rest of the block.

Then paint!

I sprayed some sealer over the whole thing since it will be sitting out on my porch.

This one looked a little plain, so I did add a blue stripe along the top and the bottom.

I added some succulents and placed them on my front porch. I left the plants in the pots for now, until I can figure out a way to keep the water from all draining out.

3 years later and I still have these blocks and they look great! I would love to see what designs you come up with!

DIY Spray Painted Striped Metal Box

September 2, 2019August 26, 20191 Comment

Good morning! Are you ready for another week? Do you have lots of plans? I hope it’s something fun!

I have my last camping post today and then it’s time to move on to fall! Can you believe it? I try to get ideas out to you a little bit early so you have time to try out some ideas or decorate before the season is over.

I showed you this metal box during my trailer makeover here, so I’m going to show you how I painted it. This box was a black metal box. I didn’t get the before picture, but I primered it a couple of times and then spray-painted it white. This is just one coat, but I painted two coats.

Painter Tape Rustoleum Primer Metal Box

I spray painted the inside of the box with Rustoleum 2X Ultra Cover Satin Aqua. Then I used painters tape and newspaper to protect the bottom part of the box and painted the top edge the same Aqua.

Here’s how one side turned out. It looked good…

This side not so much. I was in too much of a hurry and sprayed the paint too thick and then it dripped. I sanded it a little and was able to paint over it.

I placed the painters tape over more sections to paint another stripe. I should have used newspaper to cover the painted parts, because I tended to get overspray. So don’t do what I show you, do as I tell you! 🙂 Cover other areas with paper! It ended up taking more time than it should have.

I used all Rustoleum 2X Ultra Cover spraypaint. In addition to the Aqua, I used Real Orange, Navy Blue, Green Apple, and Sun Yellow.

Rustoleum 2X Real Orange Rustoleum 2X Navy Blue Rustoleum 2X Aqua

Rustoleum 2X Green Apple Rustoleum 2X Sun Yellow

I used these colors to match the shower curtain in the trailer, but it matches the whole makeover. I used it this past camping trip to store flip-flops in. This way it’s easy to grab a pair on your way out the door or place the shoes in when you come into the trailer.

It could also be used to store beach towels in. This way you don’t get the constant question, “Where’s my towel?”

Lastly, I used it to put dishes in to carry out to the picnic table. It helps to cut down on the trips back and forth.

I know this metal box will come in handy many times when we travel in our trailer. It can be used in many different ways. Okay! Next week, FALL! I can’t wait! See you next time!

Corner News-June 11-2016

June 11, 2016June 10, 20166 Comments

Happy Saturday to you! How has your week been? This was my first week off and it was busy! I thought I was supposed to be resting! The shelter we volunteer at is holding a yard sale, so Haley and I have been helping to set up. We have gone to the gym a couple of times and have been busy cleaning out the house of clutter. You should see the pile of boxes!! My mom and I will be having a yard sale too, so I have to get it done before then. While cleaning out, what do I do? Go shopping for more, of course!

This gold platter/plate was at the shelter yard sale so I snatched it up. I love the scalloped edge on it. I have already painted it and plan to add a base so it can be a stand for goodies. I think I will cut some scrapbook paper for the bottom and then I can change it out for whatever occasion I use it for.

I also picked up this cute sweatshirt from the shelter yard sale. Do you recognize the seagull from Finding Nemo? Mine, mine, mine! I made it onto a dog bed using the directions from Handimania.com. I figured since the dogs fight over who goes where, this was perfect for them!

I found this plant at Goodwill this week. Sorry for the bad color, but it reminded me of the beach and now I really want to go!! Hopefully I will get a day or two to go enjoy the sand and surf.