DIY Dollar Tree Frame Makeover

While shopping at the Dollar Tree, I stumbled upon this cute 5x7 picture frame. I love the raised details along the edges of the frame and the beveled edges that give this frame a higher end look. For $1.00, I couldn't pass it up. Even though I loved the details, I did not love the pewter color. So, this was the perfect opportunity to try an inexpensive makeover. 

 

I chose to spray paint my frame white and add an antiqued look using antiquing glaze. To add the glazing I simply rubbed a small amount onto the frame with a cloth, then wiped the excess off with a clean cloth. If you really wanted to get into the ridges, you could use a small paint brush to apply the glaze.

 

Here is the final result! I love it so much more painted white, and the antiquing glaze makes the small details in the frame really pop!

That's it for my Dollar Tree frame makeover. It was easy peasy and affordable too. 

For this project I used:

White Spray Paint

Picture Frame

Valspar Asphaltum Antiquing Glaze

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The Lil Gypsy's Doll Craft

I love to make furniture and other stuff for my dolls. Today with a creative mind and a gypsy soul I decided to make a doll-sized storage trunk, desk, and television all in one big gypsy project! It is a pop-tart box covered with silver duct tape and a little bit of recycled printer paper. I also used a Nature Valley granola bar box for the "Nature" above the television and intended it to look like a brand name. The television is a bit smaller than what I wanted but it turned out okay. Here are some photos.

 

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Recipe: Easy Tater Tot Casserole

My husband has fond memories of his mother's tater tot casserole and requested that I make it for dinner tonight. After contacting her for the recipe, I put forth the effort to make a scrumptious meal. Overall, it was a success, but not quite as creamy as Mom's (per the hubby).  For my taste, I melted a slice of American cheese on the top of my serving, so mine was full of creamy deliciousness. Next time, I may add 1/2 can milk to achieve a creamier consistency.

 

Tater Tot Casserole

1 lb ground beef (browned)

1/4 c diced onion

1 can cream of celery soup

1 can french style green beans

1 pkg Tater Tots ( I used Ore Ida brand)

Brown 1 lb of hamburger with the diced onion then drain. Place the browned beef mixture into the bottom of a small casserole dish. Top with 1 can of cream of celery soup, green beans, and add enough tater tots to cover the top. Bake in oven at 375 degrees for 45 minutes. 

** I melted cheese on the top of my serving for added flavor.

 

What do you think? Do you have any tips for a creamier tater tot casserole?

 

 

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What Would Grandpa Think of His Hand Built 1920's Chest Of Drawers Being Painted?

Yesterday I came across this beautiful dresser by Modern Vintage .  Soon as I seen it I knew I had the perfect piece to do a similar treatment to.

If you would like to see more pictures of this beautiful dresser follow this link.  While you are there check out their other beautiful pieces.  Modern Vintage used General Finishes Java Gel Stain for the dark parts and General Finishes Milk Paint for the rest.

Now on to the piece that I plan to do using this as my inspiration.  My mother passed away August the second of this year and we want her house to be a place all her children and grandchildren can still call home.  We don't want to make it a shrine but instead a place we all know we will always be welcome  just like when she was alive.  I am making her bedroom into a home office and have removed all of her furniture except for one special piece.  It is a five drawer chest that her father and her grandfather built in probably 1919 or 1920.  It has some similar details to this inspiration piece.

You can see from the picture that this is a very old chest of drawers and it is need of some tender loving care.  The original pulls are gone and have been as long as I can remember, it looks like they just replaced them with what ever they had on hand.  A couple of the drawers need a simple fix but all in all it is a solid piece of furniture and should last for many more years.

The top has seen a lot of wear and tear which the dark Java Gel Stain should hide. General Finishes Gel Stain does not require it be sanded to the bare wood, it only needs a very light sanding.  I found some very good YouTube videos explaining in great detail how to use this product.  In my area there are limited places to purchase General Finishes product so I will be ordering it online.  If you go to their website you will be able to do a search for places in your area. The following are two of the videos that helped me decide that this is a product I can't wait to try.

   

In the inspirational piece they used Milk Paint and even though I love their finish I plan to use Annie Sloan Chalk Paint.  I am going to mix two colors together to create a special blue/green color.  I have not tried my formula out except on an online mixing tool.  I am going to try two parts Duck Egg Blue and one part Aubusson Blue. I only have the Duck Egg Blue on hand so I will have to wait until I can order the Aubusson Blue. Of course the formula may change after I start playing with the real paint.  I used the online mixer tool on The Purple Painted Lady website.  

I will finish the chest using Annie Sloan Clear and Dark Wax. I will probably do 3 coats of wax.  You can also use the wax as a top coat on the Gel Stain.  

The mirror needs re-silvered but I have never done that and I don't think I want to mess with that at this time.  The mirror would never be used anyway so I will just add a large vase with flowers to cover that flaw.  I will also have to find pulls and or knobs for the drawers.

Here is what I have in mind for the vase of flowers.  Something vintage with blue hydrangeas (Blue was Mom's favorite color.) like the one in the tarnished teapot below from The Inspired Room.   Melissa Michaels  from The Inspired Room has a wonderful blog full of beautiful inspiration.

I can't wait to start this transformation!  My one question is, "wonder what Grandpa would think about the changes to his chest of drawers?"  When I get around to getting this done I will share the process and pictures of the finished piece.

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5 Great Craft Vendor Display Ideas

Fall has always been my favorite season, and with fall comes all of the fabulous craft and vendor fairs! Today, we have compiled a list of creative ideas for displaying your handmade products at your next craft fair.

I love this chicken wire screen. This is a great way to display multiple crafty items from hair bows to handmade greeting cards, a truly versatile display idea.

Chicken Wire Screen @ Homeroad

 Brightly painted old drawers make great craft displays. This would look great for displaying handmade soaps, cards, and much more.

Old Drawer Display @ Lovely Little Life

A display shelf system created from lat doors or shutters is perfect for displaying home decor items such as shelf sitters or candles.

Shutter Display Shelf @ House of 34

This old dresser makes an amazing craft booth display. The shabby chic paint job is sure to draw your visitors attention. 

Found on Pinterest

And finally, another great shelf idea using an old ladder. Isn't this adorable?

Ladder Shelf @ Refresh Restyle

The possibilities for creative craft fair displays are endless, and anyone can create an awesome display with a little imagination. 

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I hope you enjoyed these inspiring ideas, I know I did. Now, I am off to brainstorm how to display our Three Gypsy Souls Word Art  at our next fair! 

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DIY Halloween Graveyard

In our family Halloween just isn't Halloween without a spooky graveyard. This year we had a zombie attack in the graveyard, so it got a bit gory!  All of the credit for this awesome DIY Halloween graveyard goes to our Lil Gypsy (age 9) and her daddy. The headstones in this graveyard were cut from scrap wood we had laying around, and then we spray painted them for effect.

Scary names such as Bea A. Fraid and Ima Gonner were carved into the wooden headstones with a router tool.

The Lil Gypsy decided a bloody graveyard would be a great scary addition, so she created the story of a zombie attack and added red paint splatters to EVERYTHING!

The headstones and fence are attached to rebar making them easy to poke into the ground and easy to reuse for next year.

Most of the embellishments such as the rats, crows, spiders, skeletons, flowers, and body parts all were purchased at the Dollar Tree and attached with a hot glue gun!

On some headstones we used Krylon Stone paint for a weathered old stone effect. We purchased ours from Lowe's but you can find it at Walmart too.

Lil Gypsy may have went overboard on the blood splatter! 

On Halloween we will have our fog machine running and some purple lighting to add a spooky vibe for our guests MUHAHA!

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We hope you enjoyed our SPOOKY graveyard. 

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5 Halloween Mantels and Free Halloween Printable

 Halloween is one of my favorite times of year, because I love all of the interesting Halloween decor. Check out these amazing and inspiring Halloween mantels:

Mantel by Positively Splended 

Mantel by Craftaholics Anonymous

Mantel by Sister's Suitcase

Mantel by Craftberry Bush

Mantel by Home Sweet Thrifty Home

...and don't forget your FREE Halloween printable!

  Download Here

If you download our printable, we would love to see how you  are using it! Please leave us a comment and we may feature your photo on our Facebook page!

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How To Use Clipping Masks in Adobe Photoshop and FREEBIE!

Welcome, to the Three Gypsy Souls blog! Today, I am going to teach you how to use our photography storyboard templates. A storyboard template is an easy way to incorporate multiple photographs into one print. These look fantastic on gallery walls or anywhere else your heart desires in your home decor. So let's get to it, shall we.

First, open your storyboard template and photos you want to add in Photoshop. *Note: These templates are psd files and will require Photoshop or Photoshop Essentials. For the purpose of this tutorial I am using Adobe Photoshop CS4. If you are using a different version, then the instructions may vary slightly.

You will notice that each of the colored blocks are on a separate layer. These colored blocks are your clipping masks. Next, drag one of your photos onto the storyboard template.

 

Now, drag your photo over the top of the clipping mask where you want the photo placed. From the layers palette click on your photo layer, it will now be highlighted, and drag your photo above your desired clipping mask. *Hint: If you cannot tell which clipping mask is which, then you can toggle the layers on and off by clicking on each eye symbol to the left of each layer.

You will notice that my photo is now above my second clipping masks in the top right corner of my template.

Next, with your photo layer selected in the layers palette, right click and select create clipping mask. *Hint: You may also do this with keyboard shortcuts Ctrl+Alt+G (on a PC) or Command+Opt+G (on a Mac).

Your photo is now clipped to the mask layer. At this point you may fine tune the position of your photo by moving it around within the clipping mask or re-sizing it as usual. Repeat this process for each photo and clipping mask. Your end result will be an amazing photo collage!

NOW FOR YOUR FREEBIE!

Below is an 8x10 storyboard template for you to download. We have multiple storyboard templates for sale in our Etsy shops Tattered Rooms and Divas3Design. Enjoy!

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