Paint Vintage Oil, Gas or Kerosene Can for Makeover

 

Turn old grey galvanized oil, gas, or kerosene cans into rustic country decor or vases with paint and your imagination.

These three cans were given to me by Donnie, Glasgow Trading Post, with instructions to "... paint roosters. Roosters are popular.". Well, he got a couple of chickens (one pretty primitive) and primitive rooster.

The trick to creating the chicken and rooster shapes - strictly speaking for myself - is to focus on the negative space surrounding the bird since I most generally don't trace.

Because the birds are mostly white, I chose dark backgrounds which allow the lighter colors to "pop" a bit more than if I were to use lighter backgrounds.

If you're unsure whether the colors you chose will contrast enough, simply paint swatches on scrap paper to compare. Scared of making a mistake? Here's the great thing about paint: You can paint over it as many times as necessary until you achieve the look you want.

And... be sure to take a brush and water to at least the exterior to remove anything that's loose.

The above can was based with nutmeg brown. The bottom border was made with a 1/4 inch brush. Antique white and barn red make up the colors of the primitive chicken. Burnt umber was floated along the interior edges of her body.

I chose a black background for variation since the piece was scheduled to be in a gift shop. I wanted to offer customers a choice. The colorful chicken was based in antique white, head in barn red and multiple colors and layers were added for her feathers. I added a bit of shading around a few feathers of the wing just to add interest and depth.

Again, nutmeg brown for the base color. I painted a simple leaf motif border around the bottom in antique gold. Barn red and antique white make up the body while antique gold was used for the feet. The primitive rooster's body was finished off with a light coat of burnt umber along the inside edges.

Rule of thumb: Keep the shapes basic and painting to a minimum. Think quick and easy to achieve a rustic country or primitive look.

All cans were sprayed with a clear coat - the cheapest I could find.

Why?

Because acrylic paint doesn't stick to metal very well so the slightest brush against it will chip or scratch the paint.

If the can is remaining inside the home, you can always use water based varnish found at a craft store.

Have fun! Don't be scared. Attack the can bearing in mind that you can paint over any mistake.

 

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Repurposed Wine Bottle: A Special Homemade Gift

Lighted Wine Bottle or Wine Bottle With Lights

She loved it. This is how I will start today's blog about decorating a used wine bottle for repurposing as a gift.

When I handed the hand-painted, bow-adorned, filled-with-Christmas-lights wine bottle over to my best friend, I explained, "You see, it's filled with Christmas lights," then I plugged it into the socket over her kitchen counter.

"Ohhhh, I love it," she cried.

"And I used enamel glass paint to paint the leaves and dragonflies," I continued.

"Hon, look," she beckoned to her husband. "See what Deb made for me? It lights! This is sooooo cool. You should sell them," she told me.

"Not in Lawrence, I can't. No market but I'd like to try here in Bonner (Springs, KS)," I said.

The conclusion is the hand painted wine bottle I turned into a lit decoration was a marvelous hit which surprised me, somewhat. I felt a bit humble giving her something I had made but on the other hand I was proud of the nice looking piece. And now that I know there's a chance such a project could be desirable, I will make more and add them to my inventory of homemade gifts to give and sell.

Decorative Things to do With Old Windows

To earn a little extra income, I placed an ad on Craigslist for holiday window painting. It's an art that is slowly going by the wayside.

I was happily surprised by a response from a lady who had two windows for me to paint for her. I thought it odd she would ask that I come pick them up and take them home with me. When I arrived at her home and saw them propped against the garage, I then understood: She was repurposing old windows she had either removed from her own house or had purchased.

It's a clever idea, really and what a great way to decorate either the inside or outside of a home. I used acrylic craft paint to paint both windows, splitting the entire scene between six panes. Several layers were required to successfully cover the glass and the paint doesn't do well is the paint brush isn't loaded to the max with lots of paint the lightly applied over the first coat.

Each pane measure eight inches by twelve inches so would accommodate a nice sized photograph so the windows could be used to frame six pictures by simply holding them with a small glue dot. Stapling one large piece or six individual pieces of fabric to the backside of the frame would be a nice decorative element as would six coordinating scrapbook papers.

This brings me to another idea of creating scrapbook pages and mounting them to the window frame. In fact, you wouldn't even have to cover all six frames. A couple or three could be left "blank".

To hang these, I would buy a picture hanging kit that included both wire and anchors that screw into wood. And, I would buy a picture hanging hook that could bare quite a bit of weight; at least five to ten pounds.

As you can see by the frame with the cardinal painting, my customer removed the old paint down to bare wood, painted or sprayed a fine layer of lacquer on it then stapled artificial garland to the frame and hot glued pine cones on to the garland.

Next time you run across old windows, don't be in too much of a hurry to walk away from them. Have fun decorating one then give it as a gift.

Hand Painted Repurposed Wine Bottles

I love to decorative paint. I love to decorate items with decorative painting. One of my favorite things to paint is a wine bottle. As long as you still have the cork, decorated wine bottles are excellent for storing cooking oils or vinegars. They are prettier than the plastic container the oils and vinegars come in.

Wash, rinse and let the bottle dry. Wipe down with alcohol. Paint with acrylic enamel paint. No other kinds of paint will stick to the non-porous surface. You can let air dry for 21 days or bake it in the oven. Instructions are on the back of the bottle.

But if you're not an artist, you can either use stencils or let the kids have some fun