Sep 15, 2011

Glitter Gone Wrong

I had a vision, this fabulous idea. And...it didn't go quite as planned. Most of blogland is {conveyed as} unicorns, rainbows, and the perfect white picket place. Not so. After several hours of mental planning and problem solving I attempted to make a lovely, glitzy holiday sign for our mantel.

I started with a leftover Ikea tabletop piece. It's been in the garage for three years and I finally found a spark to upcycle.

BEFORE
I started by cleaning, lightly sanding, and spraying with Valspar Satin Spray Paint in Churchill Hotel Vanilla. I applied three coats and let it dry completely overnight. The finish was fairly bubbly and rough after drying. I sanded out all imperfections in the texture and applied one last coat. It was beautiful!!

I was excited to use a stencil to apply a fancy phrase in silver glitter. Subtle contrast, but with some glitz to add a classic holiday sparkle. I don't own a Silhouette or other equipment {although after this project, I am convinced I need one}. My bright idea was to design, print, and cut out the graphic to create my stencil. It took a lot of time, but the stencil turned out great!


Time to paint with glitter! I have heard rave reviews of the new Krylon Glitter Blast spray paint and was excited to try it. Unfortunately, Hobby Lobby did not have the 'Blast' version so I bought the other glitter spray paint from Krylon. I applied my stencil using a light adhesive spray and masked the remainder of my sign.


I applied three light coats of the glitter paint. Contrary to what I had read, the glitter spray did not do so well. It is more liquid than normal spray paint and soaked through my cardstock stencil. The residue ate away at my gorgeous sign finish leaving an ugly looking residue. Grrr!

AFTER ONE COAT

So, I am on to plan B...sadly. I am hoping to use a vinyl transfer in order to achieve my original vision. So off to go sand and refinish.


As you can see, projects don't always go as planned...just like life. But in the end there is always a solution or a way out. Hopefully I will be able to share a lovely, sparkly new sign soon!!

Don't forget to grab some great discounted Etsy goodies at Cake Ink and Annie42 !!

16 comments:

  1. ooh something similar happened to me! I tried doing the numbered buckets for my boys' party this way, no fancy machine either! well at least you got it out of the way now onto more good right?! that's what i tell myself ;)

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  2. and that you cut that whole stencil out by hand, well that deserves something!! {hugs}!

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  3. Thanks Michelle! Glad I'm not alone!

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  4. Ugh... well issues happen... I'm sure the finished product will be beautiful~ Would love for you to come share this at Feathered Nest Friday! :)

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  5. Hi! Found you through French Country Cottage. I love how honest you are and it's nice to know everyone's projects don't come out effortlessly and to a T. I know mine don't always. Thanks for sharing. Hope you get it all perfect and sparkly soon =)

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  6. Oh, I'm sorry! It's a lovely idea; I hope the next try goes well!

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  7. So sorry it didn't turn out like you were hoping. About 50% of my projects seem to turn out like that. :(
    I'm sure it will be beautiful in the end.

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  8. I bet the end product will turn out great! I can't believe its almost Christmas time again!

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  9. Oh, Girl, you're SO not alone! I can't tell you how many projects of mine are craftfails! Sometimes I share, sometimes I just can't. It's always a pain in the butt though, isn't it? From what I understand tho, GlitterBlast is awesome stuff. (fingers crossed)

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  10. I totally clicked on your link just because it was all too familiar. Most of my projects never work out! Ha. Anywho, I totally saw some Martha Stewart glitter acrylic paint at Michael's yesterday. Maybe with a foam brush that might do the trick. And excuse me? You cut out that stencil yourself!? Bravo!

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  11. It kills me when projects go awry...and we’ve all had our fair share of failed projects! I love the direction you’re going in though, so keep trying and I’m sure you’ll get it right!

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  12. You had me at 'gone wrong'....I love it when other bloggers are honest too...what with my failing quite often at things that seem simple! :) At least we all have a laugh when I make a mistake :)

    p.s. good idea though, you were working with substandard tools obviously :(

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  13. Hehe, I agree, the "gone wrong" hooked me too. Pretty sure MOST my projects are in that category. Is it something that you can go back and hand touch up?
    I'm a new follower from Organize and Decorate.:)

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  14. I'm sure once you get your sign done it will be beautiful! Good luck!

    I had an epic fail when I made my very first sign, too! You can read about it here - http://afishwholikesflowers.blogspot.com/2011/08/heres-your-sign.html

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  15. Good luck with the next try, bet it would look fantastic! Thanks for dropping by and linking to Beach Cottage Good Life Wednesdays.

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  16. Hi Alyssa, it will work out hon. Sometimes it takes a couple of tries to get it right. Thanks for sharing. I have recently found your blog and am now following you, and will visit often. Please stop by my blog and perhaps you would like to follow me also. Have a wonderful day. Hugs, Chris

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