Tutorial – Chocolate Fudge Lotion Bars With A Hint Of Shimmer

For sometime now I’ve been wanting to make some hard lotion bars and yesterday I finally found the opportunity to do so.

Are you all familiar with the term lotion bars?

For those of you who are not, lotion bars are basically the same as body butters and lotions, only these come in a solid form. Lotion bars are basically solid at room temperature but melt at near skin temperature. When you finish in the bath/shower you simply rub the bar over your body allowing your skin to absorb its moisture.

By making my own lotion bars I know exactly what it is I’m applying to my skin, therefore avoiding anything that may irritate me! My skin is very sensitive, making me prone to outbreaks of eczema and other flare ups. However, this isn’t the only benefit to making your own lotion bars. Its also a much cheaper alternative to expensive shop brought brands. Though the ingredients used are rather expensive, the quantity of what you have purchased will last some time, allowing you to make a good number of homemade skin products, therefore making the ingredients great value for money.

So, not only did I want a lotion bar that combats dry skin, I also wanted something a little sweet smelling and girly. With this I decided to make a batch of ‘Chocolate Fudge Shimmer Lotion Bars’

For this simple lotion bar recipe you will need to first buy these ingredients

Yellow Bees Wax Pellets
Almond Oil (Carrier Oil)
Unrefined Coca Butter
Raw Shea Butter
Witch Hazel
Pure Vitamin E Oil
Chocolate Fudge (Fragrance)
Cosmetic Glitter (Silvery White)

Tools…

Double boiler
Silicone Moulds (hearts)
Metal Spoon
Grater
Bowls
Scales or measuring cups
Spoons for mixing

Warning: This recipe does contain nut extract so those allergic to nuts should avoid!

So, before I get started on the tutorial, let me explain a little, my reasons for choosing the above ingredients.

For the lotion bar to work a carrier oil must be used. I chose almond oil as its known to be a great natural oil for people who suffer with dry skin. Almond oil moisturises and keeps the skin at a normal PH level during the colder months avoiding cracked dry patches like I sometimes get on my hands as a result of my eczema.

Secondly almond oil provides its user with a natural way to fight them frightening signs of ageing with its use of antioxidants and anti-aging properties.

Unrefined Cocoa butter is the best option for this recipe as it still retains all of its natural goodness and is completely pure and untouched. Its brought in large hard blocks that can be melted down into a liquid. It has a long shelf life of anything from 2-5 years dependent on its stored environment. It has a great buttery texture as it begins to melt and a pleasant natural fragrance. Cocoa butter is a great stable fat that is naturally packed full of antioxidants. Its great used as a lotion as like that of almond oil it helps to prevent dry and itchy skin. What’s more its perfect for a lotion bar as its solid form melts easily when it comes into contact with the skin which is then easily absorbed leaving your skin smelling delicious and feeling silky smooth.

Shea butter is extracted from the nut of African Shea trees. Its packed full of natural fatty acids that are again great to use on the skin. Shea butter is again a great option as like cocoa butter it has a reasonably low melting point. saying that, Shea butter isn’t the easiest butter to work with as it can often become grainy if not heated and cooled in the right way.

The benefits of Shea butter for your skin is that it is both moisturising and rejuvenating. It acts as a great skin toner too, helping beat cellulite and uneven skin texture. Like the above ingredients it fab as an anti ageing treatment and helps to combat dry skin such as eczema. This butter is packed with vitamins and therapeutic properties to protect skin from elements such as the sun and the wind making it a great addition to lip balms.

Yellow BeesWax has a higher melting point range of 62 to 64 °C compared to that of cocoa and Shea butters that normally have a melting range of below 40 °C. The beeswax therefore keeps the product solid for longer. For those living in hotter climates than the UK, a higher ratio of beeswax can be used if desired. Lastly, pure yellow beeswax has a nicer texture and naturally sweeter aroma then that of refined white wax pellets.

Added extras are both the witch hazel and the vitamin E oil. Only a small amount of both is needed but both have great benefits to the skin making these lotion bars even more beneficial.

So Lets Get Started….

Measures

to get the measurements needed for my batch of 6 large heart shaped lotion bars I used the following…

Equal measures of your main ingredients, which for this bar are cocoa butter, almond oil and wax pellets…

Unrefined Cocoa Butter 4 oz
Almond Oil (Carrier Oil) 4 oz
Natural Yellow Beeswax Pellets 4 oz

Other ingredients…

Shear Butter (1.5 oz)

Witch Hazel 1 1/2 Table Spoons

Vitamin E Oil 2 drops

Chocolate Fudge Fragrance Oil 30 drops

Cosmetic Glitter (Shimmer) 2 Tiny Pinches

First, take the cocoa butter and weigh out 4 oz. Then grate it into a large bowl. Note… This is time consuming and hard work so if you have an electric grater then go for it! As to avoid waste cut the last small pieces that are too small to grate into tiny pieces with a knife. Once done leave it to one side.

Next weigh out your wax pellets (4 oz) and then your Shea butter 1.5 oz.

Boil a pan of water and once its bubbling turn down the heat and place a smaller pan or glass jug (if you don’t have a double boiler like me) into the boiling pan of water.

Keep the heat low and add your wax pellets. Remember these have a higher melting point so should go on first.

Once the wax is almost liquidated, add the grated cocoa butter, stir a little and within a few seconds it should have began melting. At this point you should now add the Shea butter to your mixture. Give this a stir and then leave on the low heat while you prepare your carrier oil.

For this measure out 4 oz of almond oil adding 1 1/2 table spoons of witch hazel to the oil followed by two drops of vitamin E. Give this a good mix before pouring into the mixture.

At this point something very strange will happen. The addition of the cold oils to the hot wax makes the oil suddenly turn white with almost a solid appearance. Don’t panic just stir to blend all the ingredients together till the whole mixture has become a liquid.

Now remove from the heat and allow to let for 30-60 seconds before adding 30 drops of Chocolate Fudge Fragrance mix well and don’t take to long to avoid solidification.

Lastly sprinkle in a few pinches of cosmetic glitter, mix and pour into your silicone moulds.

Let sit in till the liquid has solidified enough for you to more them into the fridge where you will leave them be for a good few hours (2 should be enough but 3 is even better).

Once these have set, they should pop out the silicone moulds with ease. Let them stand for 20 minutes and then decided how you want to store them. If keeping for yourself, store in an old tin or some air tight containers, placing them in a cool dark place away from sunlight and other heat sources in-till your ready to use them.

above image I’ve tried to capture the sparkle

If you want to dress these up for a gift you can simply wrap them in some greaseproof paper, pop them into gift bags, tie with twine and write the name of the gift on a cute matching gift tag. Another idea, which I like best, is to line a glass jar with a pretty cellophane bag, piling your lotion bars inside before securing the lid and again adding a gift tag or naming label.

These lotion bars really do smell gorgeously chocolatey. The shimmer is so pretty and subtle too.

My skin feels smooth and soft and the smell last for hours as would a perfume.

Am I proud of my homemade lotion bars? Hell yes!

Reference Section

I’m a UK girl living in London. All the ingredients were attainable, but health food stores are charging the earth for this stuff. With this I opted for eBay when buying the majority of my ingredients. Below is a list of stockiest accompanied by links to the places I brought my ingredients…

250g Raw Shea Butter, 500g Unrefined Cocoa Butter, 10ml Vitamin E Oil

All the above brought from … ‘Aina’s Bargains (eBay Shop)’

Witch Hazel & Almond Oil purchased from Sainsburys

Heart Mould Tray purchased from Lidl

Chocolate Fudge Fragrance purchased from J’s Natural Soaps (eBay Store)

How To Make Jewellery From Shrink Plastic

Shrink plastic is a very versatile medium. Its fun to work with for both children and adults alike and its available from most good craft stores and online.

Today I’m going to show you how to use shrink plastic to make these two lovely pendants…

The materials you will require are…

2 x frosted sheets of shrink plastic
Black permanent marker pen
Gold metallic gel pen
Gold metallic pencil
Silver metallic pencil
Length of black cord or leather
Thick silver memory wire (for choker)
10 4mm flat backed crystals (white)
2 x Charlotte crimp bead tips (silver)
1x jump ring
Flat silver charm (like a tag)
2 silver pendant attachments
1 necklace clasp
Small amount of silver tiger wire

Tools

Scissors
Mini hole punch
Access to a pre heated oven or heat tool
Flat nosed pilers
Wire cutters
Super glue

To make your round pendant use your permanent black marker pen and draw a circle that goes into a swirl on the rough (frosted side) of your shrink plastic.

Next decorate the edging of your swirl with a petal like pattern like I have.

Use the gold gel pen to colour in groups of the petal like decoration like so.

Decorate any other way you wish.

Now cut out the shape and use the mini hole punch to make a hole in your pendant (not to close to the edge).

If using an oven preheat this to the temperature stated on the manufacturers instructions on your shrink plastic. Follow the guidelines to shrink the plastic.

If using a heat tool, place your plastic, frosted side up, on a ceramic surface and hold it with a pencil tip as you apply the heat.

Within seconds the plastic should start to shrink. It will all fold up into a ball before finally opening back out to reveal its smaller self. This process takes seconds.

The plastic will now be 7x smaller and much more thicker than it was previously.

Once the plastic has cooled use super glue (a tooth pic or similar) to glue one crystal to the centre of your swirl and three more crystals like I have in the image below.

Now fit a pendant grip through the pendants hole and thread the black cord through the hoop.

Its now time to finish of your necklace using the jewellery findings!

Thread a charlotte crimp end to each end of your thread. Tie in a knot to secure and use flat nosed pilers to crimp the thread securely inside the body of the Charlotte.

Now, to one end of your thread add a jump ring to the Charlotte crimp end and to the other end attach a clasp.

Your first pendant is now complete.

Gold and silver pendant

Cut your shrink plastic into a thickish strip.

Use your gold and silver pencils to add swirls of both colours to the rough side of your plastic. Ensure your swirls overlap one another like so…

Once your design is complete again cut down your plastic remembering that it will be 7x smaller once shrunk. Your finished pendant will need to measure at least 2-2 1/2 centimetres in length.

At this stage you will also need to round off your edges to ensure there are no sharp corners.

Turn your plastic long ways up and use your mini hole punch to make a hole both at the top and bottom of your shape.

Now place in the oven shrinking your plastic as you did before (instructions above).

Once your plastic has shrunk and it is cool to touch use you super glue to glue on five of your crystals randomly in the centre of your swirls.

Attach a pendant grip to the top hole like so.

Now take your flat silver tag and glue on one more crystal to its centre.

Thread a small piece of silver tiger wire through the loop of your flat pendant and then through the hole at the bottom of your shrink plastic.

Twist using flat nosed pilers and cut of any excess with wire cutters.

Your flat silver tag should now dangle from the bottom of your plastic pendant.

Lastly mould the memory wire into a hoop and thread the pendant onto the wire. Secure the end by forming two loops using flat nosed pilers.

And your finished.

Alice loves wearing these home made creations and the shrink plastic has done well to impress us both.

Why not give those above a try or simply use your imagination to create your own style of shrink plastic jewellery.

Tutorial – IKEA Mirror Upcycle

You too can take one of these Ikea mirrors…

And jazz it up for someone special…

Mine has been personalised for my daughter who absolutely loves it.

To upcycle the Ikea mirror just like mine you’ll need…

Metallic Purple Acrylic Paint (Baker Ross)
Various size brushes
Black permanent marker pen
White/glitter decals
Black/glitter butterfly decals
Mod podge gloss

Tools
Glue & Paint Brushes

The mirror was actually rather glossy in its texture which meant I really should have striped it down to ensure the purple acrylic paint would stick to the frames surface.

However, I decided to try something different! One… I was being lazy, and two… Because I wanted to experiment a little with painting techniques.

So, I applied my paint directly on top of the mirrors frame. For the first coat a very thin layer was applied with a sponge applicator. For the second layer I applied another thin layer in the opposite direction I painted the last.

For the final layer I swirled the paint with the tip of my sponge to gain the effect shown below.

I then let my frame dry for an hour

For the next part of this upcycle I took a black permanent marker and with it I wrote my daughters name (Alice Sara) at the top and bottom of my frame like so. Alice has a double barrel name but you could maybe use the first name followed by their middle name or surname.

I then left it for a further hour just to ensure the pen was fully dry to ensure I didn’t smudge it during the next step.

I then decorated my frame with the decals. I applied some decals to my wording as to give a 3D impression.

My last few steps was to cover the entire frame in mod podge gloss and
fit the mirror back into the frame to finish.

If you don’t fancy trying this yourself I’m happy to create one for you. All you need to do is email me the name you want to use to personalise the frame and any other requirements… boy, girl, colour, design etc. This maybe created on a different frame dependent on howmany of this type I have left. All will be of similar sizes and of good quality.
Prices start from £10
Email clairelouise.tss@gmail.com
Payment taken via PayPal

Tutorial – Decopatch Friendship Heart Pendants

Over Easter I shared with you all some crafts inspired by Polystyrene eggs. While shopping in the town centre when enjoying a recent holiday to Butlins in Bognor Regis, I popped into the ‘Works’ Where I uncovered these cute little polystyrene hearts.

Having recently used polystyrene miniature eggs to create Egg pendants with the children, it gave me an idea for a crafty project for these hearts.

The idea… Heart Friendship Pendants!

If you fancy a go at these yourself, they are relatively easy to make just a little fiddly if anything. Its the perfect craft to do with bigger kids. Alice who is 10 had lots of fun making hers.

Here’s what you’ll need to make two pendants like ours…

2 designs of decopatch paper (your choice of design and colours)

Decopatch Glue

Mod Podge Shimmer (gold)

Glue/Decopatch Brush

Tiger Wire/Craft Wire

fishing Wire

Tiny Gold Beads

Glass beads

Glass crystals (colours to complement Decopatch paper)

5 x 4mm flat backed crystals (colours to complement decopatch paper) I used white and blue.

Jewellery Findings (couple of crimping beads and crimp covers, 2x pendent attachment, jump hoops, 2x clasps & catches)

Tools…

Crimping tool
Brushes
Scissors
Nail (to pierce a hole through hearts)

Here’s how to put it all together to make your heart pendents

1) Use a sharp nail to pierce 2 small holes opposite one another, right at the top of your hearts in the centre, like so…

2) Cut papers into small manageable pieces. Decopatch your hearts using your paper pieces and decopatch glue. This is done by simply adding glue directly to the heart and over the top of the paper. Cover one side of pendants, allow to dry for 30-40 minutes before doing the other sides.

When it comes to covering the sections of the hearts where the two holes are located, do this using the nail to locate the holes and piercing the paper.

3) Once these are dry use a clean brush to apply a thin layer of Mod Podge gold shimmer. Apply to one side of the hearts, leave it to dry for 30 minutes before adding the shimmer to the opposite sides and again leaving to dry.

4) while the pendants are still wet, secure your 3 4mm flat back crystals in a row down the centre of one side of one of your pendants and the remaining crystals onto your remaining heart pendant in the same way. Now leave to dry.

5) Now take your two tiny gold beads and insert into the two holes with the holes facing up.

6) next take your pendant attachments and fit them to the hearts via the holes on the gold beads.

7) Next, take some fishing wire (enough to make desired necklace length) and thread it through each of your pendants hoops

8) Now thread on your glass beads and crystals like so. Five on each side looks nice. Do the same for your second necklace in a different style.

9) Make a knot on both ends of the wire while you prepare your findings.

10) Finally connect your crimps and covers, jump loops and catches. Sit back and admire your work.

We made 2 heart necklaces as Alice-Sara wanted to make these for herself and best friend as friendship necklaces.

The thing I love most about this project is the endless possibilities it brings. You can make a different heart for each day of the week just by changing the paper style or beads and crystals on your necklace.

What’s more, with the magic of Decopatch glue and Mod Podge your polystyrene heart is now stronger and much more solid, but still super light to wear.

Why not try it yourself, experimenting with different papers and beads as you go.

Hope I’ve inspired you to get creative with Decopatch papers… Enjoy.

Kids Crafts – Painting Pebbles

We, meaning myself and the kids, collected lots of pebbles while on our recent trip to the seaside. Once we got them home we decided we would paint them for the garden.

Our pebbles would be used to brighten up flowerpots and flower beds. Here’s what we used…

Various Pebbles (collected from the beach)
Acrylic paints (various colours)
Mod Podge
Googly Eyes
Glitter glue

You can paint your pebbles anyhow you like the possibilities are endless. This is a great little craft project that you can do with the kids. My very own toddler loved it.

The activity held my creative little three year olds attention for over an hour. He painted in various colours before adding different coloured googly eyes and painting on red smiles.

His little stones were painted and glittered… Messy but fun.

Once the toddlers pebbles were dry I added a layer of Mod Podge to give them a shine as well as a protective layer.

Yourself, along with the kids, can let the imagination run wild painting & creating allsorts of designs and patterns from funny faces to dinosaurs, dots to hearts.

We also made some pebble bugs using paint and googly eyes. For our bees and lady birds we used some foam pieces to form the wings. For our spider we used some garden wire for the legs. These are currently busy drying on the window pane, but I’ll be sure to post another little update once they are dry and ready to display.

As for Harley’s wacky face pebbles, we plan to place them around the flower beds in our garden today (given it remains bright and sunny that is).

Hope we have inspired you to have fun with paints.

Remember… Painting on paper is fun but painting on pebbles is awesome!

Tutorial – Shabby Chic Crackled “Love” Hearts

So cute but so so easy.

To make a small crackle heart in this pretty shabby chic style you will need the following materials…

Small Paper Mâché Heart
Folk Art Acrylic Paint (940 Coffee Bean)
Mod Podge Shimmer (Gold)
PVA Glue (Mixed with water)
1 4mm White Flat Backed Crystal
Acrilex – Tinta Craquelex Branco (basically white crackle paint)
Black Marker Pen

Tools
Glue & Paint Brushes
Heat Tool or Hair Drier
Sponge Paint Applicator

First paint both sides of your heart in the coffee bean paint.

When dry apply one thin coat of mod podge shimmer to both sides of the heart.

Once dry mix 4 parts PVA to 2 parts water. The mixture needs to be thin but still tacky (apply more glue or water if you need to).

Apply the mixture to your heart with a sponge applicator. Don’t apply to thickly.

Now blast your heat tool or like me, your hairdryer, over the heart. Don’t dry the glue fully! It needs to be tacky but not wet.

As soon as this is done use a brush to dab the Craquelex over the tacky glue (do not reapply over the same area more than once as this stops the effect from appearing. Be sure to work fast as to avoid the glue over drying.

Once your heart is covered blast the hairdryer on to the heart and watch as the cracks begin to form.

Let the heart now sit for an hour before taking your permanent maker and writings the word ‘Love’ in which ever style you desire across the front of your heart.

Leave to dry for a further 30 minutes as to not smudge the ink on the next step.

Now applying another coat of mod podge shimmer gold. At this point also apply the 4mm flat backed white crystal to the bottom point of your heart.

Leave to dry and then hang and display.

If you love these hearts but don’t want to make them yourselves please email me and I’d be happy to create these for you. Prices start from £2.50 and can be made in various colours.
Email clairelouise.tss@gmail.com
All payments are taken via PayPal

Kids Spring Crafts – Tissue Paper Flower Bouquets

Here’s a very easy craft project to do with the kids this weekend.

Given its been kinda wet outside these past few days spring doesn’t really feel like its in the air. So, why not bring spring indoors with this cute spring bouquet made with tissue paper flowers.

These are easy to do yet an enjoyable activity for children both big and small.

Bouquets can be decorated anyway your child desires whether it be simply dotty flower wrapping or crystals and bows.

To make these with your children, here’s what you are going to need to make it happen.

3x Sheets Of Tissue Paper (3 different colours)
Mod Podge (or PVA/water mix)
Ribbon
3x Strong Glue Dots
3x Tiny Faux Pearls (for smaller flowers)
3x Big Faux Pearls (for larger flowers)
Decorations (examples… Embellishments, beads, glitter..)
1x Elastic Band
1x Sheet Of Green Tissue Paper (optional – if leaf shoots are desired)

Here’s what to do…

First take two sheets of tissue paper in 2 of your 3 colours and rip them into strips (you want around 6 strips, 3 in each of the 2 colours).

Now one at a time roll your paper strips ( ensure that 3 of the strips are rolled more tightly than the other 3). Now pinch 1/4 of the way down and twist to form a bud and stem.

Fiddle with the paper buds to form the flowers shape. At this point you can slightly open the buds and fluff them out a little on the not so tightly rolled flowers. For the 3 tighter flowers be sure to twist and pinch a little firmer to keep them closed like rose buds. Remember, for this tutorial we are making 3 rose buds and 3 open roses.

Now, cut of some of the stems away to make the flower smaller. At this point no glue is required as the twisted paper will hold itself.

Once you have done this step for all your tissue paper strips bunch them together and secure with an elastic band.

Now bring forward your remaining sheet of tissue paper, fold in half and half again and lay down at an angle like that of the image below.

Place the bunched flowers at a tilted angle so that the buds are directly beneath the top right corner like so.

Wrap your flowers in the paper forming a cone like shape, squeezing the bottom tightly and securing around the middle with pretty ribbon.

Push the 3 small faux pearls into the 3 rose buds.

For the larger open roses, add an extra strong glue dot to the bottoms of the 3 large pearls and again push into the centre of the flower.

Now add a very thin layer of Mod Podge or PVA/Water mix (though this will require many more hours to dry).

If using mod podge leave to dry for around 40 minutes (more or less dependent on the conditions your working in.) If using PVA/Water mix this could take anything from 6-24 hours to dry.

Use your decorations to glam up your bouquet. We just added a sequinned pink heart to our flowers wrapping for a pretty finishing touch. If using gems and glitter apply another coat of glue mix or mod podge to ensure all decorations are set. We just added our heart so nothing more was required.

You can let the kids go crazy making these. They could really mix up the colour combinations or even roll one colour tissue paper inside of another to give that pretty two tone effect.

Experiment with the wrapping of your flowers, maybe wrapping them in pretty cellophane or felt. Another pretty idea which can be done for winter as opposed to spring, is to add white ultra fine glitter dust around the edging of each flower for an iced, snow effect.

If like us you want some green in with your roses, then why not add some shoots of grass to your bouquet which are easy enough to achieve and requires nothing more than a sheet of green tissue paper.

Here’s how its done.

1… Simply roll the green tissue paper tightly
2… Pinch and twist a 1/4 of the way down
3… Twist tightly the remaining paper making a stem and cut in half (discard of bottom half)
4… Tie off at the end and then snip the flat end (top) to resemble grass.
5… Fit into your bouquet where desired.

Don’t they look lovely?

Hope you’re now feeling inspired and the kids are too.

Tutorial – Vintage Inspired Gift Tags & Keepsakes

I love giving vintage gifts and when doing so I always make sure that my packaging fits in with the whole vintage theme.

Recently I gave a friend a very pretty vintage boxed perfume bottle that I wrapped with layers of thin pink and blue tissue paper and finished with one of these awesome vintage inspired wooden heart tags that could be kept by the gift receiver as a keepsake.

This was quite simple to create and is done so using the decoupage technique. To try it yourself you will need…

Flat Wooden Heart (with two small hearts either corner)
Various Decopatch Papers
Lace Trimmings (blue and off white)
Old Victorian Portrait Image (I had one but you could easily find something similar on the web)
Decopatch Glue
3x Flat backed blue crystals
Pretty ribbon in baby blue
Baby blue mini bow
Mod Podge Shimmer Gold

Tools
Brushes for glues
Scissors

I brought my heart in a blue colour, if you want you can paint yours for the same effect.

Firstly cut a few small squares from your Decopatch papers, then cut down your lace trimmings into different size pieces. Lastly cut around your Portrait image So that it fits nicely in the middle not taking up to much room.

Now start sticking down paper like so using Decopatch glue..

Layer with ribbon as you go. As mentioned I’m using pale blue and ivory that I’ve trimmed pieces from.

When adding these different pieces don’t worry if they lap over your heart as once dry the edges are easily trimmed.

I’ve added my image at a slight angle for added effect.

I’ve then randomly applied 3 flat backed crystal in a green/blue colour using the Decopatch glue to secure

Everything now on the heart has been added using Decopatch glue. This dries clear giving it a smooth glossy effect.

I left my heart for around 30 minted to dry before applying some mod podge shimmer gold. I applied this to random areas of the heart (the whole thing) therefore giving more subtle hints of golden shimmer.

I then gave this a further 30 minutes to dry before adding my small blue bow to the bonnet worn by the little Victorian girl now featured on my heart.

The last step is to thread some thin baby blue ribbon through the holes in my heart and then tying in a bow to secure.

Doesn’t it look pretty?

Tutorial – Inspiring Word Pebbles

When on holiday recently we visited the local beach which was made up off shingles and pebbles as opposed to sand. With so many on offer, I decided I’d take some home for crafting purposes. We collected all different types of pebble and had great fun doing so. We ended up with a huge bucket full consisting of all kinds of shapes sizes and textures.

So just what am I planning to do with all these pebbles. Well, some of the pebbles will be painted in various designs by myself and the toddler. These will then be lovingly placed around the garden, in pots and plant beds. The rest I’m planning to decorate using inspiring word art. These decorative pebbles can be placed around the home or given as gifts. Its the latter I’m going to share with you all today.

What you’ll need…

Pebbles (various sizes, smooth and flat)

Decopatch Glossy Glue

Black permanent marker

What you need to do…

Firstly wash your pebbles well removing any dirt or other bits of the beach you brought back with them. Once washed dry thoroughly.

Now use a brush to cover all pebbles in 2 thin layers of Decopatch glue.

Leave for 20-30 minutes

Next take your black permanent maker and dependent on the particular size of your pebble write an inspiring word. Go over the ink once dried making sure the wording is really bold.

If you’re feeling adventurous, while not add a little symbol by your inspiring word to your pebble a bigger lift.

Important… Use the Decopatch glue before you write on the stone as no matter how long you’ve dried the stone with your wording, Decopatch glue will lift the ink and smudge your design.

Leave lnk to dry and then display.

Here’s some words I added to our pebbles…

Hope you’re feeling inspired.

Remember: When you’re next visiting a beach, always bring some of the beach home with you for crafting!

How Too Create Vintage Inspired Crackled Crystal Drawer Knobs

I love to make things that bit different by adding my own unique touch to them. As I needed some new drawer knobs for some refurbished vintage furniture. I decided I’ll hand paint my own, while trying some new techniques at the same time.

For this project I brought some plain white ceramic drawer knobs to paint. Here’s what I used…

Plain White Ceramic Knobs (Homebase but brought mine from a bootfair)

Ceramic Paint (I used Pink)

Tiny White Flat Backed Crystals (real not acrylic)

Decopatch Glossy Glue

PVA (glue)

Water (to dilute glue)

Acrilex Tinta Craquelex – Number 810 (basically a crackle paint in baby blue)

There are also some tools required…

4 Brushes (for glue/paint)

1 Sponge Applicator (small)

Jar/Bowl (to mix PVA with water)

Stick (to mix PVA and water)

Heat Tool/Hair Dryer

I wanted my drawer knobs to have a vintage, shabby chic feel about them, so they would nicely match our current furnishings that I have been refurbishing with Annie Sloan chalk paint.

To start I gave the knobs two coats of pink ceramic paint (20 minutes drying time between coats).

I then took my PVA glue and added 4 big dollops to a preserving jar and mixed in some water. I added around one part more glue then water. This made a fair amount, nowhere near what I needed for this project, but given I’ve used a preserving jar, it will keep for later crafts. Remember you really don’t need to buy an expensive crackle medium as this really does do the very same thing for much less.

I then took a small tip paint brush and painted the glue over the tops of my drawer knobs, being careful to avoid drips. I was creating a total of 4 knobs so worked in groups of twos. This is so your knobs don’t have time to completely air dry.

Once your glue is applied, take either a hair dryer or heat tool and give each knob some help to dry with a blast of heat (only, don’t dry fully)! You need your glue to be almost dry (the tacky stage).

Now take your Acrilex Tinta Craquelex (aka crackle paint) and with a clean brush apply directly over the top of the glue.

IMPORTANT… Do not go over the same painted surface more than once or this will stop the crackling effect from appearing altogether.

TIP… Dab on at speed adding texture as you go for a sharper effect.

As soon as the tops of your knobs are covered again use a heat tool/hair dryer and you should start to see the cracks begin to appear before your very eyes.

Use the heat source till your knob tops are almost completely dry to touch. Then leave for 30-40 minutes to air dry.

At this stage you can work on the remaining 2 knobs in the same way.

Once the tops have dried, apply the PVA solution to the remaining areas of your knobs. Do this in the same way as before (using heat source till glue is tacky). Then again apply the crackle to the remaining areas only this time sponge it on. Don’t forget.. Never go over the same area more than once.

Once more apply the heat source to each knob to help cracks develop and speed up the drying process.

Leave to air dry as before.

Once these are dry, take your white flat back crystals, a clean small brush and some Decopatch glue.

Mod podge is to thick for this project and PVA won’t give it the protection it will require, Decopatch glossy glue seals these perfectly!

Gently apply the Decopatch glue to each knob. Only apply 1 thin layer and always go in the same direction as you started, avoiding unsightly brush marks.

One by one as you’re applying the glue, put in place your flat back crystals (a column of three down the middle).

Be sure to cover each drawer knob entirely in a thin layer of Decopatch glue, including over the top of each crystal to completely seal them in place. Be carefully you don’t leave any drips or overly wet areas before leaving to dry for at least an hour maybe even more (depends on the conditions your working in).

The effect is wonderful, the crackling gives them a very pretty vintage feel and I think the effect actually resembles that of lace a little.

The images I’ve included fail to really show the true gorgeousness of these drawer knobs. The crystals sparkle beautifully which sadly was very had to capture in a photograph.

So… What do you think?

This isn’t particularly difficult to do, yet its a technique that still manages to produce such beautiful effects.

I’ll be sure to snap a few pictures of the drawer knobs once I’ve fitted them.

Thanks again for reading.