How To Add Glitter To Practically Anything: Tutorial

I have an eight-year-old daughter and we both love for things to be glittery!  I've always done the old school Elmer's glue and sprinkle glitter.  Shake off the extra.  Repeat.  It's a mess and it never quite completely covers.  I had a coupon for 40% any regular priced item at Michael's and decided to try something new.  It is glitter transfer paper!

I got the Martha Stewart brand of the medium and one pack of the glitter paper.  The medium is basically a really thick version of Elmer's glue.  You do have to squirt it out and paint it on with a paintbrush.  It is great because you can cover a very large area or get in those tiny spaces.

It paints on white - like this - and I do recommend that you follow the directions on the bottle and let it dry the full 10 minutes.  It's hard to wait!  We tried it a little early and it does not work until it is good and tacky.

Here's  my little girl putting the transfer paper glitter side down on the medium.  The she rubbed and rubbed and rubbed with the rounded end of the paintbrush to transfer the glitter from the paper to her painting.  They do sell sticks for this purpose.  Popsicle sticks, plastic paintbrushes, or really anything that's not sharp will work.  You do have to rub a while to get it really glittery!

Here's the finished detail of the glitter fireworks on her Cinderella's Castle painting.  This is just basic acrylic craft paint on a stretched canvas.  The transfer medium will work on lots of different surfaces.

Yay!  It turned out so cute!  Everything is better with a little sparkle!

Random...But Cute!

I've got a few canvases that I've done this summer that I've been waiting to post thinking that I'll do some others sort of like them for a theme post.  It hasn't worked out so far!  The result is one of those random posts that gets them all in at once!

This 11x14 aunt canvas is the quote that I do quite often for aunts.  This one is different because of the background.  Instead of a neutral animal print or just plain yellow, this one has yellow on yellow chevron - love it!

My fellow teacher, Caleb Shehane, and his wife, Heather, have built a beautiful new house.  Like my house, the back door enters through the laundry room.  Heather wanted a sign to hang back there to politely let guests know to use the front door.  I really like the colors she chose and the twine for hanging.

The 11x14 pineapple canvas is another popular design with just a little change.  This one has the "please remove your shoes" under the welcome.

I'm spending a lot of time this week getting ready to go back to school.  I was thinking about how fast my summer has gone by.  I was looking back through our pictures and realized that these were taken on the first day of summer vacation back at the end of May.  It seems like forever ago that we took that little day trip to Chattanooga!

Funny how time works.  However long it was or seemed to be, I've enjoyed it and I needed it.  Even though I am a little sad that it is almost over, I am ready to get back to work, plan my science lessons, and love a whole new group of kiddos!

Family Reunion

These two canvases were ordered by a friend, Ashley Wright, to give to some family members that came into town for a family reunion.  I thought that was such a sweet idea!  They have something to take back home with them as a reminder of the time with their relatives.

These are both 8x16's - a little shorter than my usual 8x24.  Ashley requested that one be done in an olive green with earth tones and the other in UT orange with an accent color of my choice.  I went with the light blue.

I did one in print and other in cursive.  I don't usually highlight my background letters but gave it a try this time.  I am so happy with how they both turned out!

Thank you, Ashley!!

Davis

These birth announcement canvases make such great gifts!  This one was ordered as a gift to match some really pretty navy and lime striped and polka dotted bedding.   This bedding was amazing and now I can't find the picture of it to share with you!

The bedding had a very clean and modern feel to it so I kept it clean on the canvas, too.  I love this name!  It is a family name for this baby which makes it even more special.  Obviously, with me having a son named Carter, I am into the last name as a first name trend!

You can click here and here to see more posts of these birth announcement canvases.  They look fabulous in just about any color combination!  There's always a question about filling in the baby stats.  The canvases are sealed, but you can write on them with a sharpie!

Cincinnati Love

It seems like we always travel to the southeast for vacations even when we are not going to the beach.  We go to Florida tons, but we've also been to Alabama, Louisiana, Georgia, North and South Carolina, and even a road trip up the coast to Maryland.

We are going to the beach for fall break so we decided to try something new.  We went in the opposite direction and ended up in Ohio.  It was something different and we really had a good time!  After a stop at the bat factory in Louisville, Kentucky, we headed to the Great Wolf Lodge just outside of Cincinnati in Mason, Ohio.

It was a really neat place that had one of those HUGE indoor water parks, outdoor pools, bowling alley, arcade, several restaurants, and mini golf.  Lauren even made a special treat visit to the Scoops Spa!  Here she is participating in the one of the pool side children's activities.

Carter loved the pools and they had a wide variety of things to do.  I liked that I could set up camp in a nice lawn chair and just let them check in every once in a while.  The room was super cute and kids had their own little area with bunk beds!

The Great Wolf Lodge is right next to King's Island amusement park.  I didn't take my camera with me because we like to ride all of the roller coasters!  It was a big park with lots of different types of rides so everyone was happy.

On our final day, we went to the Cincinnati Zoo.  It is one of the biggest zoos that I've ever visited.  They had the little birds that drink nectar out of your hand.  I love those!  They had a great cheetah show where you actually got to see them run rather than just lying around.

There were tons of unusual animals.  I loved the night hunters exhibit and the river otters.  they also had the huge fruit bats that were just out in the open - awesome!  The kids liked all of the crazy monkeys.

There was also several cool play areas.  They hung out on the giant spider webs for a while!

Mike also took Carter to a Cincinnati Reds game while Lauren and I rested in the hotel so I don't have any pictures from that either.  They do have a brand new stadium that is so nice.

It was fun to do something new and see a different part of the United States.  I'm still looking forward to heading to the beach in October!

Getting Ready...

...to go back to school!  As much as I am enjoying my summer, I am starting to make plans to start a new school year.  Lots of other teachers are too!  Tiffany Judkins is a new teacher who is doing all colors of polka dots with black in her classroom.  I think this will be the perfect addition!

 

This pretty canvas in blue was done and delivered a while back.  There are actually three shades of blue with black accents and outlining.  She also chose this pretty font.  I've also done this one in pink and green.  It looks so cute in any color combination!

Finally, Mrs. Feagley is an English teacher in Indiana.  She purchased the gumball machine I painted and wanted the customization to be something she could use at school.

I love it!  If I were a Reading teacher, I would so have one of these!  I can just see this in a cute classroom or library.  Thank you, Mary!

Happy Anniversary!

It's not my anniversary, but it certainly seems like there's been a lot lately!  I guess it's that time of the year.  Tyson Brock contacted me about painting an anniversary gift for his wife, Angela.  Take note husbands of the world!

He planned the whole thing as a surprise for her.  He even wanted me to use the light blue and dark blue because it was their wedding colors.  How sweet is that?  I love the design he came up with...sort of a timeline of life's important events.

This pretty quote was an etsy order and it has already shipped out.  The quote is perfect for an anniversary and looks great over the initial.  All of the neutral colors work so well together.

Etsy Coupon Code!

I just love my etsy shop!  It's been closed for the last week or so for some vacation time.  I opened back up tonight with a new coupon code - yay!

Just enter the code SCHOOL when you checkout to get a 15% discount on your entire purchase.  Who doesn't love a good discount?

I've got lots of fall items already up and ready.  There's some super cute teacher canvases to choose from.  There's also some ready-to-ship items that are already on sale.  Go get a head start on your holiday shopping - it's never too early for that!

Faithe

This promise from the parents to the child is one of the sweetest and most important things that I paint.  I am blessed enough to be able to paint it over and over again.  Children need all of these things, and they need to hear it.  What better way to remind them, and yourself, of the promises you make to them.

It's Hot!

It's hot!  It's full on summertime - haha!  Being a teacher, of course I love summer.  I do love going on vacation, going to the pool, and the kids' baseball season.  I do not love the heat.  I'm dealing.  The cool colors were so much fun to paint especially during this time of the year.

This 11x14 is one of my most popular quotes for a new baby.  It's just perfect for the nursery or any child's room.  This nursery was the golden yellow, lime green, and a darker aqua.  What a pretty combination!

Happy 4th!  Enjoy your summer!

Pink and Zebra

The pink and zebra trend lives on!  It seems like this has been such a popular color and print combination...and it just keeps going.  This 8x10 combines a pale pink with the zebra print, a super cute font, and some polka dot ribbon.  The perfect touch for any little girl's room!

The two 8x10's are a little different in that they feature the hot pink and the initial behind the last name.  You know this is going to get attention on the front door!