Painted and Stamped Spring Pots

I am ready to start planting and sprucing up the house with greens and blooms.

And of course adding a pretty pot to dress up the plant is always a PLUS!

As part of the Michaels and Hometalk Pinterest Party I saw these little pots...

and was totally intrigued...so naturally I had to give them a whirl!

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French-Inspired Enamel Tags, Take Deux

Hey all...this is a repost from about one year ago.
I have had a lot of emails and inquiries lately about this post...so I am sharing it again!
Enjoy!
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Last year I made a Family Chalkboard Command Center and Calendar with chalkboard paint (yeah!) and some simple ideas and supplies.

Truly,the eye-catcher of this project was the French-Inspired enameled tags
I made to use for the dates and to make the calendar customizable.

I so wish I could tell you I was the creator of this project...but I was not.
I first saw the enameled tags on In My Own Style,
where she was using a tutorial from Can't Stop Making Things
(the original tutorial is here)

Tags Supplies

• Brass Key Tags, 1.5"
• NOTE: I purchased mine at Ace Hardware in the key section (it is a key tag). Then I purchased some in bulk
• Krylon Indoor/Outdoor Spray Paint, Dover White, Gloss
• Rockler, Norton Sanding Bug
• Newspaper or covering to protect surface
• Clear number stamps and mounting block
• StazOn Solvent Ink Pad, black
• P.K. Glitz Ultra Thick Emboss Powder, clear ( you can use the embossing powder found at craft stores too...I happen to like PK Glitz products)
• Electric Griddle( I suppose you could try this on a flat pan on the stove over low hear..BUT I have not tried it)
• Old spatula or knife
• Sheet of plain paper

DIY IT!

• Scuff one side of the brass key tag with the Norton Sanding Bug (or sand paper) - Prepare more tags than you will need just in case of messes.

I had a very good helper!

Scuff 'em up!

• Wipe clean
• Protect your surface and prepare to spray paint
• Layout the tags so that they are not touching
• Using long smooth strokes, use the Krylon Dover White to paint the tags. I did multiple coats of paint.

• Let dry completely.
• Using the clear stamps, clear mounting block and StazOn Solvent Ink in black, begin stamping the number on your tags.

• I centered the single numbers and eyeballed  where the numbers should go for the 2-digit numbers. For the 2-digit numbers, I would stamp the first number, and let it dry before stamping the second.

• Let the ink dry.
• Prepare your electric griddle by placing parchment paper on the surface to protect it. 
• Preheat to 350 F.
• I did 3 tags at a time - that seemed to be what I could manage without getting behind.
• Place 3 tags on griddle and let them heat up for about 20 seconds.

• Remove from griddle and sprinkle embossing powder all over the tag  - do this liberally. Let the powder just start to melt. 

• Use the knife of spatula to CAREFULLY lift tag up. Shake off excess powder and replace on the griddle (on top of the parchment).

• The powder begins to melt almost immediately. Once melted removed from the griddle and place on parchment paper to let dry. Continue until finished.

You may notice a nick here and there or smudge on some of the tags -
this happened when tried to go too fast.
This craft is not hard, you just need to be patient.
The imperfections don't actually bother me so much -
makes the tags look older and possibly more authentic.

NOTE: I actually have one of these tags on my key chain that I carry with me every day and it is still perfect!

So, yeah...I LOVE my chalkboard command center.
Check out that tutorial!

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