Martha Stewart Archives

Union Jack End Table

September 9, 2014 By Taylor 1 Comment

This project has been in my head for about two years now. I’m so happy to see it come to life! This piece of furniture because it was a little blah but my main problem (and why I didn’t try it for two years) is that I hate sanding and worried about being able to cover the black. Then, the one and only Martha came out with a new line of paint products… Vintage Decor Paint :) A Matte Chalk Finish, requires no prep, is self priming, and comes in 22 colors! OK!!

I used 3 colors for my end table: Red Wagon, Wedding Cake and Sailor Blue. I also used the Antique Wax and the Vintage Decor Paintbrush.

I started out by painting the sides, back and top of the table blue. The paint is super thick, almost like a thick gluey consistency.

I was super impressed at how well it covered the table! This is a very thin coat on one side. I could have gotten away with one coat but I waited about 30 minutes and did a second coat just for extra coverage.

Next, I taped off the Union Jack. All of the tape lines are where the white parts will be.

I also did two coats for the front of the table too. On the left is one coat and on the right is two coats.

When I pulled off the tape I had some major bleeding but it was because of my tape job (oops). This shows how I taped off the rest of the table to paint the white parts. I waited about 1-2 hours between each step to make sure I didn’t tape over any wet paint. I used three small paint brushes at the very end for all of the touch ups from the bleeding and that worked great!

I waited for it to dry overnight and the next day I sanded it to look more “antique”. I sanded the corners and edges as well as some flat surfaces.

The last step was to apply the wax. The instructions said to apply a thin layer and then wipe off the excess with a wet lint free rag. I was nervous about it because it was super thick and very brown but after you wipe, it all makes sense. You can see how it gives it a richer, darker more aged look.

On the left I had used the antique wax and I hadn’t on the right yet… it’s more obvious on the white parts.

After drying for a few hours you can buff it with another clean rag.

I am pretty much in love with the way it turned out! It looks so at home in our living room! Speaking of at home… I couldn’t get a certain five year old to move from the couch before these pictures were taken :)

Here is a video introducing the line and a coupon code for you to get 25% OFF all Vintage Decor Paint that is valid at Micheals Stores through 9-12-14. Be sure to visit Plaid Online and check out their blog for more project ideas. For even more inspiration you can find them on Pinterest, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and Google+.

I wrote this post as part of a paid campaign with Plaid Crafts and Blueprint Social. The opinions in this post are my own.

Sweet Dreams Puppy Pillow

April 20, 2012 By Taylor 14 Comments

Remember my sneak peak yesterday? In case you missed it, Martha Stewart for Plaid sent me the best package ever and I was asked to make a Mother’s Day Craft using the supplies. It was Christmas in March the day all of the supplies came :)

Can you believe it? Ahh craft overload. Anyway, my Mom loves the outdoors and animals and specifically her dogs :) They are like her second set of kids, so when I thought about a Mother’s Day craft I thought about dogs. Enter the Puppy Pillow. The coolest thing in my Martha Stewart Package was the Heating Tool. I was kind of scared at first but no need to be scared! This thing is soooo cool!

You use this stencil film & tape:

And you tape the film down to a piece of glass. Then you place whatever you want under the glass as a template and you can make your own stencil! I just sketched that puppy but you can use anything to guide you.

The next part is really exciting haha… the heating tool cuts through the plastic like butter. My tip is to go at a consistent somewhat quick pace because if you go to slow or have to stop and start then it melts the plastic in a blob.

Then I used the adhesive stencil spray which sticks the stencil down once you are ready to paint. Because my stencil was so large, it wanted to roll up, so I taped it right side down so the adhesive covered evenly.

Then I stuck it to the fabric for my pillow. My happy rocks also double as pattern weights.

I used these brushes to paint in the stencil.

And this is my new favorite thing, the brush cleaner… the paint comes off really easily.

When I was telling my Mom about the project I told her I wanted to either do a gold glittered dog or a solid bright color and she said why not a gold glittered nose, so cute!

I let the painted pup dry and then I added a little reverse appliqued bone dream :)

Proceed with the pillow making.

Sweet Bone Dreams Puppy…

Thanks to Martha Stewart and Plaid for my amazing bag of craft supplies and inspiration for my pillow! I think pup fits in nicely. Check out Plaid on Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest for more inspiration.

I wrote this post as part of a paid campaign with Plaid and Blueprint Social. The opinions in this post are 100% my own.

Banana Nut French Toast

March 6, 2011 By Taylor Leave a Comment

Happy Sunday! We aren’t big on breakfast during the week in our house. I kind of throw some cheerios down and hand Finn some yogurt. But, all bets are off on Sundays! We love a big breakfast on Sunday Morning. Bryan’s favorite is french toast (and who can blame him?) Finn’s favorite is “bana” or Bananas so why not both? I used Martha’s Perfect French Toast Recipe which is really good because she adds vanilla and fresh orange juice, yum!

Here is the recipe for the Perfect French Toast:

•6 large eggs
•1 1/2 cups milk
•Juice of 1 medium orange, (about 1/4 cup)
•2 tablespoons pure vanilla extract
•2 tablespoons cognac, (optional)
•1 tablespoon sugar
•Zest of 1 lemon, (about 1 tablespoon)
•1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
•Pinch of freshly grated nutmeg
•Pinch of salt
•6 slices bread, such as brioche, sliced 1-inch thick, preferably day-old
•4 tablespoons unsalted butter
•4 tablespoons vegetable oil

I added walnuts and bananas and Finn approved!

Foodie Napkin Rings

January 6, 2011 By Taylor 4 Comments

First tutorial of 2011! These napkin rings have been on my to-do list for over 6 months but I was a little busy with Christmas so I am finally getting around to them. Poor Finn is loosing a craft room toy. They have been cut and on my shelf forever and he loves to play with them. Maybe I will make him some more?

Supplies:
– one 2′ x 1 1/2″ section of PVC pipe (cut into 2″ sections)
– an old magazine
– Mod Podge and brush

Directions:

1. Cut your PVC pipe into 2″ sections. My PVC pipe was 1 1/2″ in diameter. My husband controls the power tools over here so mine magically showed up in my craft room, cut perfectly! I asked him to cut 10 for me.

2. I wanted my napkin rings to look “foodish” so I used a Martha Stewart Whole Living magazine, they have really clean, pretty pictures. You can use whatever magazine or paper you like; newspaper, a book, fashion mag, an old map, scrapbook paper… get creative.

3. Go through and rip about 10-12 pages that are interesting to you. I looked for bright colors, cool bold words, and recipes.

4. Cut them into 2″ x 7″ strips. Cut them from the middle of the paper so you get interesting parts of the pictures. Pick out your favorite strips and set them aside.

5. Apply a thin layer of Mod Podge (I’m using matte finish) to a napkin ring. Carefully place the strip of magazine into the ring. Gently smooth out the paper as you go. There will be a little excess paper just add a little Mod Podge underneath so it sticks. Do this to all the rings.

6. Once all 10 strips and rings have become one, we are going to apply the 1st topcoat of Mod Podge. There will be some air bubbles so just smooth them out with your fingers first. This layer should also be thin. Wait about 15-30 minutes for this coat to dry.

7. Apply your second coat of Mod Podge, a little thicker this time but not too thick. Let this coat dry for several hours. If you live in Houston like me, you should probably just wait overnight because it is January and a muggy 80 degrees :(

8. This step is optional: I am going to add a little pop to my napkin rings with a sequin ribbon. You can embellish with any ribbon or buttons or whatever you have. I cut my ribbon into 7″ sections. Glue them on with Elmer’s Glue and wait a few more hours to dry.

These babies will really add some pop to your table! If you are like me this makes you want to host a dinner party now. Happy Hosting!

Also, Don’t forget to enter the Taylor Made giveaway this week, you can read all about it HERE