I've had this painting in the house as long as I can remember (in the same horribly outdated frame):


It's got some great details:




 It just needed a little shove nudge into the 21st century.

I grabbed my trusty painter's tape and taped away.  Then I gave the frame a light sanding and a couple of coats of black satin paint.


Unbelievable how a little paint on the frame gives it a whole new, fresh look.


I could have left it alone then... but that's not any fun.  I grabbed my Mod Podge and my small paint brush, and dabbed a little on the Eiffel Tower...


and then proceeded to sprinkle on some irridescent glitter, carefully brushing off the excess so that it was a very subtle glitter.

I didn't completely cover the tower in glitter, just a few spots.  This angle shows the glitter...





and this picture shows how subtle it is.  You can see a few sparkles here and there.  :)


Now, after years of being tucked away, my painting hangs proudly in my dining room.


Not the biggest transformation, but much better!  Now go find some art and punch it up a bit!


*Just a note, I would make sure to do research on a painting before altering it, just to make sure it's not extremely valuable.  Just sayin'. :)

I did an earlier post about making a lace ring (here), but it didn't come out as well as I had hoped it would.  Actually, looking back at it now, I'm not sure I even like the end result.  But I love the idea.  I  just needed a different approach.

My inspiration comes from this awesome ring from Net-A-Porter.com:

I love this ring.  It's made from lace dipped in blackened silver.  Now believe it or not, I don't have any blackened silver laying around the house, so I needed to use something else.  Here's what I used to make my lace ring:

• Crocheted lace- enough to fit around your finger of choice
• Black paint (mine had a satin finish)
• Paint brush
• Straws
• Painter's tape
• Elastic string (black would be best, just to make it blend in)
• Scissors

 Alright, let's begin.  Start with your lace.  Mine actually came from an old crocheted doily that I found under my dryer. 





Grab your scissors and cut off a piece that will wrap around your finger, but not overlap.


The section didn't quite fit all of the way around my finger, but that's fine.  I didn't want it to overlap.

Now you need something to shape the lace around that is roughly the size of your finger.  I used something I always seem to have on hand:  straws and painter's tape.  Grab some straws and bundle them together.  I used five and that seemed to be close enough to finger-size.  Tape the straws together.  I suppose any kind of tape would work, I just prefer painter's tape.





This next part I didn't take a picture of, I was too busy experimenting.  Take your piece of lace and dip it into your paint.  I used regular old paint from that I had leftover from painting a shelf a while ago.  Make sure you don't lose it in there!  I used a straw to swirl it around in the paint.  Once it's completely covered, take it out and place it on a piece of paper or a plastic bag (or anything you don't mind getting paint all over), and use your paint brush to pounce the excess paint off.  This gets the paint out of the holes and crevices.  Now you can take your wet lace and place it onto your straw-finger.




I also tried one in some neon yellow enamel paint... not the best idea.  It's super stinky (even after it dries), and gives it a weird texture, almost like it's still wet.  Now just let it dry.  I waited overnight.  Once it's completely dry, carefully peel it off of the straws.  It'll still hold its shape... somewhat.  Take your elastic string (I should have painted mine black... I snagged mine from my daughter's new pair of shoes... that little elastic loop that holds the shoes together)  and tie the ends together, making sure that it's not going to be too loose or too tight... just a small piece will do.  Tie a knot, cut the ends off...

 Shimmy it down your finger, and ta da! 







Linking up to these Linky Parties!!!

If I had the energy right now, I'd do a little happy dance. :)





Yay!  I'm so excited... and honored!  I'm still a newbie at this whole blogging-thing and craft-thing and tutorial-thing, so this is big for me!  Anywho, click the button above to head on over to Fireflies & Jellybeans and vote for your favorite of 10 different recycled can crafts.  There are some awesome projects over there!  Go on and vote! ♥