accessories, arts and craft, autumn fall decor, Crafts, decor, DIY, glass paint, Holiday decorating, Home Decor, painting, spray paint, tablescape, Tutorial

DIY Frosted Votive Candle Holders

Hi, Pretty Handy Girl Readers! I’m back today with a super simple and inexpensive project that you can use for the upcoming holiday season. Or anytime, really! These DIY frosted votive candle holders are made from old yogurt jars (Yoplait by Oui jars).

This brand of yogurt comes in the cutest little glass jars and I’ve found so many uses for them, like my fairy jar macrame hangers and cinnamon stick candle holders.

Here’s how to make these DIY frosted votive candle holders:

Materials:

(I’ve included affiliate links for your convenience. I earn a small percentage from a purchase using these links. There is no additional cost to you. You can read more about affiliate links here.)

Yogurt Jars
Goo Gone (to remove sticker labels)
Rust-Oleum Frosted Spray Paint
Tea candles or fairy lights

Instructions:

Follow these simple instructions to make these pretty votive candle holders!

Step 1: Clean your Jars

Here’s the easiest way to clean the jars. Place the jars in a bowl filled with hot, soapy water. Let them soak for a bit.

After soaking, use a tea towel to dry them and help remove most (if not all of the) sticker residue. Use Goo Gone to remove any remaining sticker residue.

You will find at this point that most of it will just rub right off. If not, put the jars in the dishwasher to get them nice and clean.

Step 2: Spray Paint your Jars

As with all spray painting and painting projects, it’s best to spray outside in a well-ventilated area (and use protective eyewear and a mask).

Spray your jars using light and even coats to avoid drips and runs in your paint. It’s best to go easy and commit to building up the paint over time. This spray paint dries in just 5-10 minutes! You will be able to tell where you might need more spray paint after giving it time to dry. Spray your jars with 2 coats for the best coverage.

I spray painted both the inside and outside of my jars, but that might not be necessary depending on the look you want.

As this paint dries, it becomes more opaque and frosted looking. It’s really cool to watch the paint magic happening before your eyes!

Step 3: Enjoy your Jars!

Once your jars are fully dry, you can decorate with them! I love these frosted jars with tea light candles. But you could also use fairy lights for a unique look.

Buy tea candles in bulk from stores like Amazon or IKEA. You can also pick up seasonal candles from places like Target if you wanted a nice Fall or Holiday scent.

Another idea?

I’m a huge fan of the flameless candles, as long as they are realistic and cast a warm glow (not a fake orangey one!) You can buy flameless tea light candles just about anywhere these days. If you want my personal opinion, Pottery Barn and Luminara make pretty realistic ones and the light is very warm and pretty. Amazon is chock full of options for flameless tea lights.

If you are planning a holiday get together or a party (even a wedding), these candles will be the perfect finishing touch for your tables and decor. Bonus: they are so inexpensive and easy to make.

I hope you guys have fun with this one! And I hope Yoplait never stops making this yogurt because I love these little jars!

For even more ideas, check out these festive votive candle holders right here on Pretty Handy Girl!

See you all next month! Thanks for reading!

~ See More of Karen’s Tutorials ~

Hello! I’m Karen, the creator of the Home Decor and DIY Blog: Decor Hint. I’m a Native of the East Coast, but I currently live in beautiful Seattle with my hubby, our two wonderful children, and our spunky wheaten terrier.

You can usually find me with some sort of craft in one hand and a coffee in the other. And I’m always rearranging furniture or moving lamps from room to room. I have a passion (read: obsession) for decorating, DIY, and gardening. In short, I love making my house into a home.

Like many, I’m inspired by what I see in home decor magazines, but I’m not so inspired by the price tags. Consequently, I love finding and creating beautiful budget-friendly home decor items. In a head to head competition, I bet you’d never know the difference between the designer items and my DIY creations! Many of my DIY projects focus on sewing, crafting, upcycling and organizing. Some of my favorite projects have been making pretty wreaths, sewing my own tassel hand towels, and crafting these trendy wood bead garlands. I can’t wait to inspire you and spark your creativity through my DIY projects.

You can always connect with me on Pinterest, Twitter or Instagram.

September 25, 2019/0 Comments/by Karen Decor Hint

accessories, art, arts and craft, autumn fall decor, Ballard Design Pears, Crafts, decor, Decorating, faux painting brick, Home Decor, Paintbrushes, painting, Painting & Antiquing Techniques, pumpkin, ReNew, Tutorial, Upcycling, vignettes

How to Fake a Fake Pumpkin (Faux Painting Tutorial)

How to Fake a Fake Pumpkin

Have you seen those neon orange fake pumpkins and nearly vomited because you wouldn’t dream of decorating with them. I mean—get real—everyone would know they were fake. Ah ha, but have you seen the price tags? $1 – $6? For that price you might just be willing to take a leap of faith with me, wouldn’t you? Awesome, because I’m going to show you how to faux paint a fake pumpkin so you can decorate with them year after year and fool your friends.

Materials:

(I’ve included affiliate links for your convenience. I earn a small percentage from a purchase using these links. There is no additional cost to you. You can read more about affiliate links here.)

Fake pumpkins
Chalky Paint (Folk Art colors: Cottage White, Parisian Grey, Cascade, Spanish Moss)
Acrylic craft paint – Brown and Green
Sea sponge
Stencil brush
Medium round brush
Fan brush
Palette knife for mixing
Container or palette for mixing

Instructions:

Start by painting all the pumpkins with Chalk Paint (use gray, white, green and blue paint.) Allow the pumpkins to dry.

Painting Realistic White Pumpkins:

It helps to look up some pictures of real pumpkins to refer to.

Using the stencil brush, paint a mixture of grey and white on one of the pumpkins.

Before the paint dries, dab some of it off with the sea sponge. (Keep your sea sponge dry, not wet during the process.)

Dip the stencil brush into the white paint and add paint on the outer most bumps on the pumpkins. This is adding highlights.

Dab the highlights gently with the sea sponge to blend.

Use the fan brush dipped in a small amount of green paint inside the pumpkin ridges. Dab the ridges with the sea sponge to blend.

Have you ever seen a truly unblemished pumpkin? I think not. It’s time to add some spots or marks on the pumpkin to truly fool your friends. Dip the end of the paint brush into brown paint and dot it onto the pumpkin. Blot the spot with a sea sponge and maybe even transfer a few new spots with the sponge.

Paint grey around the base of the stem and into the grooves with the round paint brush.

Paint brown and green paint onto the pumpkin stem. Blend slightly with the sea sponge.

Can you spot my fake white pumpkin? Well, of course you can because I just showed you how to paint it. But, it will definitely fool your friends!

Painting Realistic Blue Pumpkins:

Painting blue pumpkins uses the same technique as painting the white pumpkins, only using a few different colors.

Use the stencil brush to paint blue onto another pumpkin. Dab the blue paint while it’s still wet with the sea sponge.

Use the fan brush dipped in gray and brown craft paint to fill in the ridges.

Dab the paint with the dry sea sponge to blend.

Add some highlights with a mixture of grey and white. This serves two purposes. 1) It adds dimension. 2) It tones down the excess blue on the pumpkin.

Paint the stem the same way you learned above.

To truly fool people, set up your fake pumpkins with some real pumpkins and real gourds. Sooo, can you spot the fakes?

How many did you get right? The metallic gourd is simply spray-painted with copper spray paint. But, I did try my hand at faking a green and yellow gourd using the same technique as the pumpkins, but adding green to the top and yellow to the bottom.

Okay, I’ll give you a second shot. Guess the fakes:

How did you do this time? Ha, you can now apply for a job as an art forgery detective ;-).

Now seriously, how many people will be viewing your pumpkins that close? Umm, next to no one. Normally they’ll view them from afar.

Get your paints and palette out and go fake some fakes! It will be our little secret.

Did you like this painting post? Ahhh, then I know you’ll like this Ballard Pear painting tutorial:

Or if you’re feeling like taking on a larger scale project…how about Faux painted bricks!

Or perhaps you’d like to perform some faux zinc painting magic:

You can do it! I know you can.

September 20, 2019/17 Comments/by Brittany Bailey

painting, Saving Etta

Saving Etta: Paint Colors + Home Tour Guide

Now that all the rooms have been revealed in the Saving Etta house, I thought you’d like one post to refer to all the paint colors used inside and outside the home. This will also be a great starting place to navigate all the Saving Etta room reveals.

Before we begin, a little note to let you know that Magnolia Home Paint was a sponsor of the Saving Etta project. I was thrilled to be able to showcase some of their many beautiful paint colors. Unless specifically noted, all colors are from the Magnolia Home Paint collection.

We actually had the honor of trying out the Magnolia Home Exterior Paint line before it hit the market. I can honestly say my painters loved the paint quality and the painter at the property next door came over to ask about it (he explained he was admiring the great coverage and how beautiful the finish was.) The interior paint had already won me over with its low VOCs and creamy thick texture. The paint goes on great and levels out as it dries. I’m looking forward to using their paint on many future projects!

If you want to get your hands on the paint, Magnolia Home Paint is available online and at a variety of paint retailers you can search for here.

Saving Etta Home Tour + Paint Colors:

I hope you enjoy the Saving Etta room tours. If you have any questions, please leave them below in the comments.

When you pull up to the front of the Saving Etta house, you’re greeted by a cheery front porch and a beautiful green door. I had agonized over the door color in this blog post. But, ultimately decided on this color palette for the home’s exterior.

Tour Links:

Front Yard Transformation Tour

The Amazing Backyard Transformation

Tour Link:

Upstairs Rooms + an Alternative to Railings

Tour Link:

Upstairs Vintage Inspired Bathroom Tour

Tour Link:

Downstairs Bedrooms + How I Saved the Original Doors

Tour Link:

Downstairs Shared Bathroom

Tour Link:

Master Bedroom + My Bold Paint Choice

Tour Link:

Master Bathroom Reveal

Tour Link:

Mudroom Reveal + Saving the 1900 Chimney

Tour Links:

Kitchen Reveal

Living Room Reveal

Tour Link:

Laundry Room + No Hands Light Switch

I hope you found this paint colors reference helpful when picking out paint colors for your home. Did you enjoy the Saving Etta Home Tour? Please tell me which is your favorite room.

Disclosure: Magnolia Home Paint by KILZ is a Saving Etta material sponsor. I’m honored to work with them on this project. All words and opinions are my own. I have not been told what to say. As always I am very particular about the sponsors I work with and you will be told if you are reading a post that has been sponsored or in which materials were provided.

June 28, 2019/0 Comments/by Brittany Bailey

accessories, Color Theory, decor, Decorating, Holiday decorating, Home Decor, painting

How to Pick Color Palettes: Color Harmony in Decorating

Color Harmony in Decorating

One of the most frequent complaints from homeowners is struggling to choose colors for their home. When you walk into the paint store, the color selection can seem overwhelming. Choosing a rug or furniture can be equally daunting. Today I’ll give you some tips and tricks for creating color harmony in home decorating. You’ll learn a little knowledge about color theory, complements and harmonies that make choosing colors much easier. Plus, you can use the same theories in almost any visual field. From graphic design and web design to choosing your outfit for a big event. Pretty soon, you’ll be able to put together pleasing color palettes with ease.

I’m sure you’ve stumbled across art, paintings or photos that use visually stunning color palettes. Chances are that the artist or designer put thought into each color and how they work together. Let me introduce you to color relationships and harmonies!

You’ve heard the term complementary colors, but do you know what defines a complement? Here are the definitions of the various color relationships or harmonies and some great sample palettes you can use in your home!

Complementary Colors:

One of my favorite color combinations are the gorgeous pinks in a bouquet of peonies paired with an aquamarine ball jar. Something about this palette stops me in my tracks every time! The reason this pair grabs my attention is that those two colors are complementary.

Photo courtesy of Two Twenty One

Red/orange and blue/green are directly across from each other on the color wheel which makes them complementary or a perfect pair. (Kind of like wine and chocolate…right?!)

Here is another example of a complementary color palette. Blue and orange are stunning together. All the blues are balanced by a few pieces of fiery orange that demand attention in Sarah Richardson’s nursery below.

Photo courtesy of Sarah Richardson via HGTV.ca

Split Complementary Colors:

Elise from Grow Creative is my newest favorite eye candy blog. She is a watercolor artist and photographer. You should definitely subscribe to her blog for a visual pick me up every time she posts! Her watercolor painting of a cactus contains a great example of the split complementary relationship.

Photo courtesy of Grow Creative

Although, she only used a little of the bright red-orange color at the tips of the cactus, the bright color holds its own opposite the blue and green split. Without the orange, this painting would still be beautiful with an analogous palette (see the explanation of an analogous palette here.)

In the photo below of the Thistle from Grow Creative, the opposing colors have a wonderful split complementary relationship.

Photo courtesy of Grow Creative

The purples and green steal the show for sure, but the small hint of yellow gives this photo more complexity.

Analogous Colors:

While attending the La-Z-Boy event, I fell in love with Beth from Home Stories A to Z’s room design. The dark and light contrast of the navy with the crisp white doors stole my heart for sure. But, the decor colors really complete this stunning palette.

Photo courtesy of Home Stories A to Z

The key colors in her room are navy, light green and yellow. The white and grays are neutral therefore, they work with any color. Together you have a great example of an analogous palette.

Another example of an analogous palette is seen in this photo of a paper floral table runner by Fiskars:

Photo courtesy of Fiskars

Choose colors that are adjacent to each other on the color wheel for a gorgeous analogous palette. These colors together are sunny, warm, energetic, but most of all harmonious.

Tetrad and Triad Palettes:

Now we’re getting into a few of the more complex palettes. They aren’t hard to use, but do require a little more thought in terms of amounts and value. The bold palette in this dining room works well because they are presented against a neutral black and white backdrop.

Photo courtesy of John David Edison Interior Design in Toronto, ON

The blue, yellow and pink colors form a perfect triangle on the color wheel making them a great example of a triad relationship.

This bouquet my husband gave me for my birthday is a wonderful example of a Tetrad palette at work.

The four colors (red/yellow/blue-violet/green) are equally spaced on the color wheel. Using all these colors in a room design can be gorgeous, but you should choose one main color and a secondary color that will dominate and let the other two colors take up less visual space. As an alternative, you could balance the bold colors with a large amount of a neutral color(s) as shown in the dining room above.

Monochromatic:

After explaining some complex color relationships, I wanted to leave you with a very simple palette. The monochromatic palette is comprised of one color used throughout a room with differing values (shades of that one color achieved by adding white or black.)

My screen porch has a monochromatic palette. Using a variety of shades of blue with white creates a calming palette that’s easy on the eyes (and invites one to sit for a while and relax.)

For a little more punch, you can pair one color with black and white.

Photo Courtesy of MintSix Boutique Homewares and Styling in New Zealand

Mint Six Boutique creates a beautiful example of a monochromatic palette with several shades of red and coral in this bedroom.

The coral color steals the show, but is highlighted by the contrasting black and white in the room. Using strong contrasts in your home are sure to create visual impact.

Where to Get a Color Wheel:

Creating new color palettes is easy if you use a color wheel. You can purchase a color wheel on Amazon for less than $10! Once you have one, you can use it to choose colors for a room palette, coordinate your outfit for a big event, tablescapes, logo design and much more.

Before you have one of these great color tools on hand, you can visit ColourLovers. It is a website that allows you to browse color palettes:

(Feel free to follow me on COLOURlovers, as I upload my new favorite color palettes.)

Or you can create your own palettes. One of the best tools on their site is Copaso (found under tools). You can use it to upload pictures and/or create color palettes from scratch. To see suggested complements and harmonies, select one of the buttons below the color wheel.

Find photos that have color palettes you love (Houzz and Pinterest are two great places to start). Then upload the photo in the Copaso program. The program lets you pixelate the photo so you can select exact colors (you can also fine tune the hue and value until you reach your desired color.)

I uploaded this beautiful seaside home from Houzz to create a new palette of seaside colors that appeal to me:

Photo Courtesy of Donna Elle Seaside Living in Nantucket, MA

Next time you are thinking about shopping for home decor, paint colors or furniture, have a plan before you go. Use color harmonies and complements to help you solidify your color palette. Planning ahead will help avoid that overwhelmed feeling.

Pin this post to refer to next time you are trying to figure out good color harmonies!

Enjoy picking fabulous color palettes from now on!

March 31, 2019/25 Comments/by Brittany Bailey

painting, Painting & Antiquing Techniques, Saving Etta

Saving Etta: Exterior Paint Choices

Off white farmhouse exterior house color, green door

I’m so excited to show off the colors I chose for Etta’s exterior! However, I’m equally excited to share with you a new paint line from Magnolia Paint by KILZ. (This post is a sponsored post for Magnolia Home Paint by KILZ.)

When KILZ agreed to be a Saving Etta sponsor, I was incredibly excited because I have fallen in love with their paint. In fact, I had been testing the paints on interior and exterior surfaces for a while now. When the Magnolia Paint lines were first introduced, I had the honor of flying to Waco, TX to learn more about them. (I also happened to get the chance to rub elbows with these two famous house rehabbers. I can honestly say, Chip and Joanna Gaines are as down to earth as they are on TV.)

During the trip I spent a fair amount of time talking to one of the scientists who worked on developing the paints. She assured me I’d love the coverage, durability, and low odor of the Magnolia Home interior paint. I was skeptical, but after trying the paint I was a convert. And I wasn’t the only convert: my painters loved the paint. They raved about it on multiple occasions, saying “This is really good paint. It has great coverage and doesn’t show overlap marks.” After the painting was finished, a neighbor came over to ask me about the paint I was using. He told me he used to be a painter and apparently my painters had struck up a conversation with him telling him this “new” paint was really good quality. The neighbor asked me what my painters were using and where he could get some.

Magnolia Home Paint Products:

Chalk Style Paint – This paint was a dream to work with. It’s much smoother than some of the competitors. After it dries, you can get rid of the chalky feel by lightly sanding with fine sandpaper and finish off with furniture wax. The pre-mixed color palette is beautiful and offers 44 beautiful hues. This is my new go to paint for furniture, home decor, and anything I would use a chalk style paint on.
Magnolia Home Interior Paint – I’ve been using another brand for years and swore I’d never use anything else, but the Magnolia Home Interior Paint is smooth, not too thick, and has great coverage on pre-primed walls. What I love most about this paint line are the multitude of colors to choose from. And, they all work well together. This made choosing colors for the interior of the house super easy (thank you Joanna for curating a cohesive color palette anyone will love.)
Peel & Stick Color Samples – If you follow me on Instagram, you probably saw all the re-useable peel & stick paint color samples I put up on the walls. This was the easiest (no mess, no fuss) way to choose colors. I will definitely order more to keep on hand for client consultations and my own person use.

Now, the secret I’ve been holding onto for months:

Magnolia Paint has an Exterior Paint Line!

Exterior Paint – KILZ let me try out their new exterior paint before it was released to the public. Hopefully it will be available on store shelves soon. I know you’ll be as excited as I was to choose Magnolia Home paint for a home exterior. The latest update is it will be a few months before you can purchase Magnolia Home Exterior Paint from select local hardware stores or other suppliers. Be on the lookout! I can’t wait for you to try it. Maybe start by painting your front door a new color.

Speaking of front doors…

The front door color choice at Saving Etta was a carefully thought out decision. The colors had to appeal to a wide variety of buyers. In an area with multiple rival colleges (NC State, Duke, UNC, East Carolina University and a few more), I needed a color that didn’t pledge loyalty to any school. As a reminder, these are the color choices I was contemplating:

I love this color combination and would have chosen it for Etta except, she is a mere few miles from NC State. And NC State alumni would never paint their door Carolina Blue (or any color similar to it.) Unfortunately, I had to nix this idea immediately to risk turning off potential buyers.

After a brief time contemplating navy as a siding color, a navy blue front door felt like a good compromise. But, I worried it was too close to Duke University blue. Do you see why I was struggling with front door colors?

Next, I contemplated a pretty burnt orange color for the front door. The color looked beautiful in the fall. But, when I looked across the street and saw a neighboring house had an orange front door, I changed my mind.

This was the last color combo I contemplated. No local schools could lay claim to the green. And, I loved the freshness and timelessness of Magnolia Green. I think we have a winner!

For weeks after the house was painted, many local neighbors would stop and tell me how great the house looked. It honestly felt like Etta had finally gotten her beauty back.

Siding Colors:

As I mentioned previously, the siding colors I toyed with were either a dark navy or light off white. Ultimately the white siding won. I wanted to choose a neutral off white color. But, I didn’t want it to be a yellowy cream color. I tested three Magnolia Paint colors: One Horn White, Locally Sown, and Blanched by painting samples on big pieces of foam board. For a few days I moved them around the house. Ultimately, I liked Locally Sown the best. One Horn White had a slight green undertone and Blanched had a yellowy undertone. Locally Sown from Magnolia Paint was the perfect light greige white color.

The trim color I chose was True White in semi-gloss. The photo below shows how it has some contrast with the siding color.

I must admit, I really love how it makes Etta’s attic vent louvers stand out as opposed to a traditional all white farmhouse color palette.

What do you think about the exterior paint choice? Do you like it? Will you try any of the Magnolia Home Paint lines soon? If you do, I’d love to hear your thoughts on it.

Disclosure: Magnolia Home Paint by KILZ is a Saving Etta material sponsor. I’m honored to work with them on this project. All words and opinions are my own. I have not been told what to say. As always I am very particular about the sponsors I work with and you will be told if you are reading a post that has been sponsored or in which materials were provided.

October 19, 2018/14 Comments/by Brittany Bailey