I challenged myself to stock my very small 8 x 5 booth with Daily and holiday decor that is more than 50% recycled. In other words no money to little money will go in to materials.
This is Idea 7:
Aging and stenciling metal buckets...
This project has a little more investment in it....but the learning curve and the results are well worth it!
I have been intrigued with the process of Aging metal. I am most intrigued with the concept of Aging metal with household items. With this project I took new buckets I purchased from Tractor Supply and Lysol toilet bowl cleaner and aged them to look like they had been sitting on the farm for years. The process is very simple. You will need a few simple supplies I found buckets at Tractor Supply and they were a three-pack of Steel buckets for $12.99. I also purchased a container of Lysol power toilet bowl cleaner I think it roughly cost me about 3 bucks. With this project I also had gloves, a mask, an old paintbrush and goggles or safety glasses to protect your eyes. ( Lysol is acid). Do this out side in a well ventilated area.!
I brushed on the lysol with a large brush. It is thick and really adhered to the side of the bucket. I also brushed the interior. I let the lysol sit for about and hour and a half then reapplied a light coat over the old coat, and let it set another hour and a half. when I felt (or saw ) that the process had been long enough I rinsed the buckets really well rubbing them with a rag to remove the lysol and stop the process, then air dried. There was a white residue on the buckets and some you wanted but you did not want so much that it came off on your hands when you handled it. A nylon scrubber removed the loose bits then I wiped the bucket down with a damp cloth and let air dry again..
Where the lysol ran down the sides of the bucket in the inside, it pooled. Where the lysol pooled it really ate off the top coat till rust started to form......
Not quiet the effect I wanted...however was able to fix it with a little spray metallic paint...just hit or miss you do not want full coverage just want to hide, not make look new.....
Now that the bucket is aged and the inside has been addressed time to stencil.
I chose three Christmas themes and the Feed bucket is my favorite!
The first challenge was to stencil on a curved surface using projector sheets.
Using A cameo Silhouette I found the clip art and created the text designs for the buckets and cut them out of overhead projector sheets, Making stencils that can be reused.
I had to cut down the 8x11 inch sheet to fit the side of the bucket....
A few mental notes....Center your design on the bucket before you cut it and crease the sheet at the top and bottom edges so that you have a idea of where to cut...
When you cut make sure you cut your edges in a slight arch ...that way you can move the stencil a little more freely to get it positioned where you want it. If you have difficulty eyeballing then you will need a ruler to measure your distances from top and bottom....
Once you get the stencil positioned you are ready to add paint...
The paint I chose is Waverly chalk paint in crimson. You can find it at Walmart or order it on line. I order on line because it is cheaper and I will be ordering enough to get free shipping. And life is really good when chalk paint arrives at your door step!
I like to use make up sponges to stencil on metal and painted surfaces with. They do not hold a lot of paint and do not leave stipple marks....I also had some brown paper to protect my table with, q tips to clean mistakes with , container to hold paint and paper towel to dab on.
Waverly paint is thick luscious paint designed for coverage, I did not water it down. It being a little thick made it hard to seep under the stencil.
Same rules apply to technique pounce gently up and down making sure not to rub against your stencil edges. ...and hit somewhere you do not want paint...Hence the Q tip on stand by....
A damp Q tip rubbed this mistake off....
You will need to seal your chalk paint. If you use paint that does not need to be sealed like craft paint then you are good to go from here. I used some paste wax with wavery white wax mixed in....sealed the whole bucket with a oxidized look.
I did not sand the design because I did not want to mess up the aging on the bucket....
These would make some great gift buckets....or would hold a little rosemary tree or fake fir...well you get the idea....
These will be available at Vintage Collections Down town Camden next week....
Hoping your are excited about the Holidays.
Sheryl
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