Friday Favourite Five – Upcycling Products

While it may have lost a little bit of momentum after a huge upsurge a few years back, upcycling is still a really great way to transform something unloved into something fabulous, especially on a tight budget!

It doesn’t have to be a huge furniture project, it can be as small as just being a little crafty with everyday objects, and there are a tonne of great (and affordable!) products that can give you the Etsy-worthy edge!

1. Valspar Chrome Enamel spray paint

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I have a lot of love for spray enamel paint because it has such a good finish and is so easy to use, but the chrome effect from Valspar (exclusive to B&Q in the UK) is incredible! With just 1-2 coats you can give anything an almost mirror-effect shine.

2. Rustoleum Chalky Matt furniture paint

This Rustoleum paint is what I would describe as a classic shabby-chic furniture paint; its a budget equivalent of the well know Annie Sloan range, but still works really well. You can paint it on normally for a flat matt finish, or take some sandpaper to give it a worn-down effect

3. Glitter paint

Glitter paint comes in so many variations now – spray paint, regular brush-on, silver, gold, rainbow, I could go on.. You can use it to give a subtle shimmer to craft projects, or make it look like a unicorn threw up – totally up to you!

4. Ceramic paint pens

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Less upcycling and more crafty, but ceramic/porcelain pens are great for making personalised mugs, plates etc.. Because they’re in pen form, it makes them really easy for kids (and adults!) so hello perfect school holiday projects!

5. Dremel 3000 multi-tool

Ok, so this is more of an investment item, but if you love upcycling, I would 100% recommend you look into getting a Dremel. I’ve had my 3000 for two years now and I use it all the time for sanding, drilling, cutting and engraving, and there are so many attachments available, you could probably use it for anything! The cheapest Dremel model is about £25 and the 3000 is around £40-45 – well worth it if you’re a keen upcycler!

Have you been swept up in upcycling?

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March 18, 2016Lottie Leave a comment

Marie Inspired DIY Tank Top

This week for my DIY I took inspiration from one pretty kitty..

Transform a plain old white t-shirt into a cute little tank top perfect for the beach in just a few simple steps..

1. Take a pair of scissors to your t-shirt, cutting off the sleeves, then cutting across the stitching at the top, separating the neckline.

2. Flip the top over, and make bigger cuts across the back to make a racer-back.

3. Fold over the hem of this back section and stitch it down. Depending on your strap material, you may want to feed it through before you sew it down.

4. The strap is a single strip of material; I used Boodle textile yarn for my straps, but you could use whatever you fancied really. Controversially, I believe there is a thing as too much pink, so I chose blue to reflect Marie’s eyes. Once you’ve fed it through the back, pin it into place at each side of the front, and sew into place.

5. Using fabric paint, I decorated the back of my top with a large pink bow, and put a few little paw prints on the front.

Ta-da!

°o°

February 18, 2015Lottie Leave a comment

Giving Ikea furniture a DisneySide

So its DIY Friday, instead of Wednesday this week due to a mix up in my work shifts. I’m also sharing a bit of my DisneySide, which I’ll follow up tomorrow 🙂

Nevertheless, the posting must go on! And as Fantasia is a bit of a jumble of a film, I struggled to find anything specifically from the classic to settle on for a DIY, but as I’ve spent my whole week honouring the main mouse himself, I thought I’d concentrate on him, and share my latest addition to my Disney bedroom. As part of my new craft/Disney area, I bought some basic shelving units from Ikea (I really love that place), but I wanted to add some hooks on the side, and also Disney it up a bit, and managed to kill two birds with one stone..

I have a huge Vinylmation collection, so I bought some cheap, damaged models on eBay (I’d never use a good one, I’m too much of a collector), and spray painted them white to match the unit. I used project enamel because its designed for use on all kinds of materials, it dries quickly and has a good finish.

Depending on the original colour, it can take 2-3 coats, and be sure to let it dry properly on each side before flipping it to do the other. Once dried, work out how you’d like to arrange your figures, marking if point if you find it easier, then carefully apply superglue to the back of the head and feet.

Then place the figures into position, holding them in place for a little while to allow the adhesive to bond properly. Superglues are instant adhesives, so begin to hold straight away, but you’ve got a minute or so during which you can re-position them.