Tattoo inspired painting

So this project definitely leans more towards the fine art spectrum, but don't let that scare you off! I have had this idea for a painting in my head and in my sketchbook for a few months now and just a couple weeks ago finally got the motivation to paint it out. I was inspired by tattoo designs, the exaggerated qualities of illustrations and wanted to play off of that almost obvious symbolism that is inherent in both. 

Supplies:

Canvas

Paint - whatever your favorite kind to work with is

Here we go - I wanted this to be a big painting to enhance the concept of exaggeration so this canvas is close to 4 feet wide by 3 feet tall. I totally would've gone even bigger if budget allowed.

I started by drawing out the composition that I had decided on in my sketchbook. I originally had the whole thing flipped the other way but wanted the moon to be representative of a new moon so I switched it around. I probably went through about 6 different ideas of layout, so make sure to play around with sketching to make sure you are coming up with your most effective way to get your point across.

Here I am just laying down a rough first layer of color to start to map out where things are lighter and darker and get a general feel for it. 

Next you can see I started in on the sky first. I wanted to paint it in order of furthest to closest so that things that are far away feel like that.

And though some of the ocean is behind the boat I decided that since the boat is sitting in the ocean that it would make more sense for me to do that first. 

So here it is! I considered doing some black outlining to play off the tattoo idea but decided against it because I felt it might take away from the overall aesthetic. Let me know if you have any critiques or suggestions because I am still a bit unsure if I am done with this, so I would LOVE to hear your input!

--Heather

Painted Canisters

Here's an easy, 1 hour project for you on a rainy Sunday afternoon....

Supplies:

Old canister

Spray Paint

Acrylic Paint

Paint Brush

I was all done with my make-up removing pads, and I decided I didn't want to part with this little canister. I also need a place to keep my little button collection I have going, so that's when the lightbulb went off.

Spray paint is the easiest way to go about this. If you have some extra time for a few coats and want to be ambitious, go with acrylic and really put some fun detail into it.

I decided to paint the inside as well with some acrylic paint.

As a little topper, I used an old lip gloss cap. It was the perfect size for a fake knob on top.

I hot glued it right on top of the cap.  I'm sure you can think of millions of other fun fake knobs to use. Just start looking around your house, you'll find something.

And in go my buttons.

Super cute to put in a bathroom too, to hold all those cotton balls. 

And here is where this one will stay. I can't wait to run out of my nail polish remover next!

--Emily Jo

Memento Magnets

Sorry for the lull in projects, the Two Girls have been busy securing new jobs and working on going back to grad school! Don't worry though, we've been working behind the scenes and will getting back into the swing of posting again. Here's a little teaser in the meantime...

Supplies:

Magnets

Glue

Coins - or anything you pick up in your travels

So I picked up this little package of magnets probably 4 months ago with no clue what I was going to use them for, I just knew that I needed to make some custom magnets!

Today, as I was reading through some blogs, it dawned on me that I should glue the coins I've collected on my travels to the magnets - a little reminder everyday of the places I've been and still want to go!

I always have little odds and ends hanging around after I come back from any adventure - I can't help but collect little detailed things - and I never know what to do with it all. For the longest time I have had a little baggie filled with foreign currency leftovers, so it was exciting to have a use for them now. Not to mention, the designs are beautiful and totally worth showcasing on their own. 

Oh Espana, I will visit you again someday...

--Heather

St. Patrick's day Hair Coloring

Just wanted to get a quick post in during this beautiful St. Patrick's day weekend! Here is a fast, temporary way to streak your hair a bit-o-green while you celebrate this weekend, and have it wash right out before you head back to work on Monday!

Supplies:

Green Pastel

Start by dampening your hair.

Rub your pastel on your damp hair. The damper the better I found.

Do one streak, do two, do your whole head! I experimented with this with chalk, and it did not work as well, I recommend sticking with the pastels.

And just to make sure...I tested it, and it washes right out!

Happy St. Patrick's Day from the Two Girls!

--Emily Jo

Vegan-Friendly Cuffs

I am really excited to share this project with you. It was really fun, easy, and there are a million ways to customize these cuffs.

Supplies:

Vegan Leather (vinyl or pleather)

Snap fasteners

Masking Tape

Scissors

Hammer

Paint brush

Acrylic Paint

Spool of thread (not for sewing, don't worry)

I found an old bracelet that I liked the width of, so I did this the easy way and traced it on the back of my vinyl. The dimensions I came up with were 2" x 6.5"...but this is all based on my wrist. A tape measure would be handy (just wrap it around your wrist and give it about .5" extra at one end) if you don't have a flexible bracelet like I did.

Once I cut out my cuff, I started playing around with different designs. 

Using masking tape, I sectioned off my cuff with triangles.

I used 2 coats of everyday acrylic paint for this cuff and it turned out to be my favorite.  For my others, I tried combinations of spray paint, black ink and spray fixative. The paint was the easiest to work with and had the best results.

I purchased these Snap Fasteners from JoAnn Fabrics. They were about $5.00 for 7 snaps.

Here comes the fun part that I'm going to do my best to try to explain. Try on your cuff, marking where you want your snap to be with a pencil on each side. Take your fastener circle (the one with the little sharp teeth on it) and place it on the wrong side of your cuff, teeth side down. Gently hammer the teeth into the fabric so they begin to poke through. Do this on a lightly padded surface. I did it on top of my extra vinyl.

Flip over and place your female end to your snap on top of the teeth you just poked through the right side. Give it a good hammer and it should grasp onto the teeth and now be secure in place.

Now for the other end, repeat the process but place your fastener on the right side of your fabric. Hammer down so the teeth pop through the other side.

Flip over and place your male snap on top of the teeth. This time, grab a sewing spool and place directly over the snap. Hammer on top of the spool.

This way you don't smush the head of your snap with the hammer.

Here's a cuff, ready to go!

I sprayed some spray glue on the back of some of my cuffs and attached some scrap fabric I had to give it more of a finished look. This is optional and not really necessary, just thought I'd share incase you wanted to customize these even more, or make them reversible. Just make sure to do this step before adding your snaps.

This was a really addicting project, I can't wait to make more!

--Emily Jo

Wedding Centerpieces

Warning: this post will be long. My brother, Phil, and his fiance, Mary, are tying the knot this June and asked me to try out a few centerpiece ideas to see what they like and what's feasible. I was thrilled to be able to help and had a ton of ideas I wanted to test out, which means this post is a bit all-over the place, but bear with me!

Supplies:

Glass containters

Tape

Exacto or utility knife

Food coloring

Sobo glue or Mod Podge - Elmer's will NOT work in this case

Spray paint

Spray adhesive

Lace

Glass etching paint

So Mary had mentioned that she really liked the look of glass jars with candles in them, possibly with a spray paint or frosted design and maybe some of them could be dyed a light blue. I gathered all the glass jars in my house - cleaned them up and got to work.

I wanted to try out a criss-cross type random pattern on the jars so I cut my 1 inch thick tape down the center to make thinner strips. 

Then I just started wrapping.

Here they are!

Ready for etching - I won't go into the details of this process again, but if you are interested we posted a tutorial for new years on glass etching. 

Now that the glasses have the frosted look, time to dye the inside.

To create the dye - mix 3 parts water to 2 parts glue and however much food coloring you want for the your desired color. A little goes a long way with this mixture, so don't waste your glue on making a large amount. 

Then you pour in the mixture and swirl it around to cover the entire interior.

If you are thinking ahead - keep the lids so you can screw them back on and just shake the mixture up. If you're like me, you threw them out and used a baggie with a rubber band around the top so you can shake it. 

Then pour the excess dye back into you mixing container and allow the rest to drip. You can leave them to dry like this, or turn them upright but make sure to spread out the extra dye that will collect at the bottom. 

Now I also wanted to see what some spray painted lace would look like so I went back to our tile coaster tutorial and followed those same steps for these candle holders. 

Ready for paint!

I wanted to spray these with white paint but the closest we had was silver, so this will do for now.

And here is the bunch of them all aglow! The dyed glass with the brown glass gives it a bit of a beachy feel - though I would add in some plain frosted glass for good measure. There is also spray paint that gives glass a frosted effect if you didn't want to go the etching route. 

These little candle holders look attainably elegant with their lace pattern.

The brown glass warms up the color scheme.

And the dyed glasses allow for customization to any style of wedding. 

There are a few more ideas I didn't get to try out yet, so get excited for a second round of centerpiece ideas!

--Heather