Dollar Tree Deer Makeover

 

My newest Dollar Tree Makeover!

I saw this deer, and just knew he needed that Mackenzie Childs touch!  I could see on his face that he wanted it !!! hahaha

I gotta tell you guys....the artisans at Mackenzie Childs just inspire me so, so much !!! Their details and caliber of workmanship just astound me!  And, while I may never reach that level, I hope that I at least let them know how grateful I am for their inspiration!  If you guys have never visited their website, do yourself a favor and click here:  Mackenzie Childs !  You won't be sorry !!

So, back to our deer!

I found this guy at my local Dollar Tree, and....I just loved him!

I loved him completely gold, but me being me, I can't leave anything alone ! hahaha....so I broke out my trusty Waverly white chalk paint.

I did no prep work on him.  I liked the texture that the glitter gave him, so I just left it and painted over it!

I knew I wanted him edged in the gold, so I began painting about a 1/4" in from the edge. And, I filled him all in!

Next, I grabbed a sharpie and began drawing lines.  I knew that because he was pretty big, he could handle a bigger "grid", so I used my ruler which is a smidge over an inch wide, and starting in the center, I drew a line down each side of the ruler.  Then, I used each line as a marker for the next one, moving my ruler to draw my vertical lines first and then started back in the center to draw my horizontal lines next. 

I did use a fine line pen to draw the inner line of his ear and tail, and I just drew some stripes in to fill those areas.  I wanted them different from the checks.

Next, was to begin painting my checks.  I used FolkArt black and a 3/4" flat brush from Plaid Online to fill them in.  

Then, using Yellow Ochre, Medium Hauser Green and Black Plum (all from DecoArt Americana), I used one color at a time to make my "streaks" in the blocks.  I also did both white streaks in the black checks and black streaks in the white checks.  That probably sounded confusing and you may need to read it again ! haha

Once everything was dry, it was time to embellish!

Always my favorite part!  I took a piece of tartan plaid ribbon from the Dollar Tree, cut off a section and rounded the bottom edges a bit for his saddle blanket.  Then, using wide gold ribbon (also from Dollar Tree), I cut a piece about 5" long, and twisted it where it would rest on each corner and in the center of the blanket to edge it out.  Then, with a thin gold ribbon also from the Dollar Tree, I put 2 bows.

I hot glued all of them in place and then used bits and bobs from around the studio to give him some greenery at the top and a bell around his neck.

To hang him, I did hot glue a pipe cleaner with a craft stick over it to the back!

And, that's it!  He only took a couple of hours, and I just couldn't love him more!  I hope and pray that I make the artists at MC proud! I wanna be them when I grow up !!! lol

Here's my little guy in the Parlor, and I love him so much, I think he might even need some "friends"!! (*wink wink*)

As always, you have blessed me with your presence today! Thank you for spending a piece of your day with me!

If you have questions/comments about this project or any project you see here, please don't hesitate to message below, or come find me on my Facebook page -----> My Artfelt Moments and message me there !

Don't forget to subscribe here and "like" my Facebook page so that we can make some more fun stuff together in the future!

Until next time, keep sharing your gift with the world!

With my heart,

Mackenzie Childs inspired Christmas Bell

Hello, lovebugs & Angel faces !!!!

Well, cleaning and reorganizing the studio took me so much longer than I planned, but I'm happy to report that it is finished, and I can get back to crafting !!!
First to share is this Dollar Tree plastic bell, which, could NOT be easier, and literally took about 20 minutes !! You're going to love how easy this is !!!

Here is the bell after cutting off the "wirey" bow and stars that it comes with.
I did ZERO prep on this !  None! lol

I used DecoArt American color - Yellow Ochre 

and a #4 short round paintbrush, and I painted the shinier lines.  

It did take 2 coats, but they dried really fast!
Big project, done !!!! hahaha

Lastly, I hot glued on a bow and some Dollar Tree ornaments and hung it up!

Although, I will say that before I pack it up at the end of the season, I will be adding a coat of Modge Podge to seal it. 

Why didn't I do it before I hung it up, you ask ?
No clue.  I was just excited !! 

Don't be afraid to change up the colors for your decor !! 

 It truly was super quick and super easy, and 
I'd LOVE to see what you do with it !!!

Until next time, keep creating and sharing your gift with the world!

love,
Gina

 

Mackenzie Child inspired 
Snowman candlesticks! 

I can't even stand the cuteness here !! hahaha

My hardcore Mackenzie Child crush continues! 

So, I found these wooden spindles at a thrift store for .50 each!

I loved them, but I've had them a while because I couldn't figure out what to do with them until now! I also had these terracotta dishes in my stash, and decided they would become the base for the candlesticks!

I gave the spindles and the dishes a coat of basic black acrylic paint. I tend to use Folkart brand acrylic paints, simply because I love their color selection, the richness of the colors the coverage, and the affordability! 

They're just great, and no, they don't pay me to say that! hahaha 

Next, they got their stripes, checks and polka dots.

Once they were dried, I hot glued them together!

I also used the styrofoam balls as the heads, but I shaved a little off the top so that the hat (an ornament from Dollar Tree) would sit flat on top, and then I shave just a tiny bit off the bottom so they would sit nicely on the spindle.

Then, I just started gluing things on !!

The hats are ornaments from the Dollar Tree.

The bows on the hats are ribbon from my stash.

Their noses and the little bobbles hanging down are mini ornaments

 also from the Dollar Tree.

Lastly, I painted on the eyes, and I did them square so they look a little more like coal.

I hope you enjoy them and that you'll be inspired to make some too!

Keep creating!

With my heart,

Gina