wallpaper borders

 i sprayed the back of my stencil with spray adhesive, and centered it on the grasscloth, making sure it was even on both sides. i thought that stenciling the grasscloth on the floor was MUCH easier than doing it on the wall, but if your grasscloth is already up, or you would rather hang it first, and then stencil, that would work too. (it is just hard to get in the corners and top/bottom without seriously cutting the stencil. you can read about my other experience with all over stencils here.)

 
using moderate pressure, i rolled over the top of the stencil. since grasscloth is an uneven and rather porous surface, it absorbs quite a bit of paint and took several passes to get an even distribution of paint.

 keep moving the stencil, being careful to keep it lined up with the previously stenciled area.
i found that by the time i was done with each section, the stencil was dry enough to move on to the next section, but i kept some paper under it (the paper lining that came with the stencil) under it until i was certain i had it in the correct place.

 the only time i that i thought the stencil started to look sloppy was when i was pushing too hard.
(see the area on the middle bottom?) two light coats is better than one heavy one!



 

 
some matching paint (dabbed on with a small brush) helps to camouflage the screws.


i used some spray primer and the same matching paint to disguise the door bell chime.


WELL worth the time and effort! it blends in pretty well and lets the mirror and the wallpaper be the stars of this teeny space.

a simple recipe for two easy to make, modern ornaments!


i bought my paper mache ornaments at michaels craft store for less than 50 cents each. the paint, glitter paint, rub n buff and paper totaled around around $9. i made 10 ornaments for right around $1 each!






i really like the pop of pattern these add to my tree!

i always think that a nice dose of black can do wonders for a room, but i was honestly surprised at how much i LOVED seeing what a dose of black did for my tree!


 together, these ornaments add a little "edge: to my christmas decor....and they were SO easy to make!

color blocked ornament:
i just rubbed the top part of the color blocked ornament with gold rub n buff, and painted the bottom half with black paint.
once the black paint was dry, i went over it with black glitter paint.

striped ornament:
i rubbed rub n buff on all of the edges of the ornament.
then i traced the triangular surfaces (this ornament has 2 different sizes) onto some scrap paper to get my templates, which i used to trace my finished triangles out of the grey striped scrapbook paper.



 this is a fun, inexpensive and easy project, and can be done in so many different ways!

materials for this project:
*1 2 x 6 board, cut to fit your nativity. mine is 16" long
*nativity set. i bought mine at walmart
*long holiday picks. i used 11 for my board
*ivory/white spray paint
*stain for board
*pencil
*drill/drill bit
*measuring tape
*sandpaper
*wire cutters
(optional star--mine was bought last year on clearance from pier 1)


the first thing i did was figure out where to place the holes for my picks.

 

i penciled in an X or O where i needed to drill.
after i drilled the holes, i lightly sanded them to remove any sharp edges.


the figures were all sprayed with white paint. i used fusion paint (good for plastic) since my figures are made of resin.





i bought some spray "stain/polyurethane in one", but it was a bust. the color was much lighter than promised, and it went on streaky. i had some stain leftover from when we tested colors for our hardwood floors, and so i used "dark walnut" from minwax.


the picks were cut down in order to fit into the drilled holes. sorry i didn't get a picture of me ACTUALLY cutting them. i kinda like my fingers and want them to stay attached to my body!
here's the aftermath:


and, the finished product!






you can see a little peek of my holiday decor in these pictures! i will be posting a holiday tour of my house later this week!