Instagram seems to be the hot spot for all the new catch-phrase "holidays" made by its many followers; the latest I came across was "make it Monday." I thought, ooohh ya that's a great way to make Mondays a little more fun! I had already made over a few flower pots that I received for free via my aunt that I will share photos with here as well. When I get stressed or need to keep myself busy, painting objects has such a soothing effect on me, so I look around the house for things I can make over with paint..anything. I think I have gone a little crazy though, its like crack to me and I start craving it. I may have opened Pandora's box. One day my kids may even wake up painted...
So here is the flower pot BEFORE...as you can see its pretty outdated, I mean the thing screams 90's right?
I had a sample size of enamel paint laying around and all I did was paint two coats (letting dry in between) until it was completely covered.
I had three of them and after they were all painted over I had some gold paint and just experimented with it a bit on each pot. So that's that for these babies onto my next venture...
A while back I needed a way to keep my 2 year old (at the time) son occupied with a simple toy that he can put objects in and out of. All I did was grab an empty baby wipes case, and small objects like bottle caps, fake coins, etc that would fit into the slot on the top. It was quite a hit with him, he uses it to this day and loves sticking things into it and dumping it all out when its full. So I got bored and wanted to give it a little makeover so that it will be "new" to him all over again. This is a very forgiving paint process and "mistakes" can very easily be fixed/covered.
To do this you will need:
**If you want the "toy" for a toddler, an empty baby wipes case (mine was from huggies) and have it spray painted black all over. Otherwise, you can do this with just about any other object that will take to paint.
-paint brushes
-craft paints in black, gold, turquoise, lavender
-makeup sponges
-an old toothbrush (not pictured)
OPTIONAL: mod podge (to seal when done)
To start, you will be placing random little splotches of the turquoise and lavender around on one side to begin.
With one of the sponges, begin blotting and spreading around the color. WARNING: at this point it will start looking chaotic and weird and you will mildly panic and wonder what you got yourself into (if you are at all like me anyway). Just keep at it I PROMISE it will get better looking by the end!
I looked up images of galaxies from the Hubble Telescope as reference. Try to blot up as much as the paint as you can to give it that "cloudy" effect.
Next step is the gold paint. Squeeze a small amount onto the same sponge you used for the first step.
Start to dab along the edges of the places you already did with the same technique, trying to make it as "cloudy" as possible.
Next, get the black paint and squeeze a small amount onto a paper plate or something you can wash. Dip the sponge into the black and blot it out a bit before using it. Now is the time to go over any areas you may not be happy with and control the shapes a little better and soften any hard edges.
Here's the fun part; squeeze out a little bit of white paint onto an old toothbrush and using your fingers, rub it over the bristles causing it to flick specks of white "stars" all over it. (Make sure to do this step in a covered area so as not to get splatters everywhere)
You can get the paintbrush and with the tip dabbed in the white paint, dab more "stars" or "comets" as you please.
When its dry, you can coat the whole thing in mod podge to seal and protect the masterpiece you just made. ;)
And then find little things to fit in and watch your toddler keep busy while you get a chance to breathe and maybe possibly to to the bathroom without an audience.
He is 3 years old and STILL loves this thing. I tell ya, they had it right back in the day where the simplest things were the best toys. No need to spend money on expensive toys that pretty much do the same thing and leave little to the imagination.
I hope I was a help and that your galaxy painting is a success! If you use this tutorial, be sure to send me a pic so I can see how yours turned out! Make Monday fun and get creating!! :)
