Fall Mantel Projects Post #1: Ombre Paint Stirrer Frame

Every year around this time, I find myself once again whining about my lack of fall, Halloween, and Thanksgiving decorations. This year, I decided to quit whining and do something about it! I don't usually do a lot of home decor crafting - frankly I find it intimidating. So this was a challenge, but it turned out to be a really fun and satisfying challenge. I used a core set of supplies on all the projects (see list at the bottom of this post) to make putting them together really fool proof. Plus, it makes all the items coordinate beautifully! I'm going to share them with you one by one, and then I'll share the whole mantel with you, since it's still a work in progress. :)

So here's my first project to share with you! How cute is this little frame? :) I cut paint stirrer sticks, painted them in ombre shades of Crushed Curry, and hot glued them onto a cheap 4x6 picture frame. Did you know you can color white acrylic paint with Stampin' Up! ink refills? It's so easy! I did learn a few things while making this project though... First of all, you probably want to prime your paint sticks. They seem to soak up a lot of the paint. (The colors have actually lightened up even since I took this picture - but the frame is still super cute!) Second of all, it takes more reinker than you would probably think to get a really saturated color. So start with a small amount of paint. And remember that the reinkers are only $2.95, so you can totally afford to get a couple extra for special projects. I just painted one row of pieces, added some more reinker to the paint, painted the next row, and so on. 

I also added a cute little burlap flower that I made using Burlap Ribbon ruffled onto one of the Jumbo Sticky Rounds. (Stay tuned, I think I might make a video tutorial for this.) Then I added the two leaves and a button tied with twine to make this frame coordinate with the other projects. Super cute!

Below you'll find a list of the common Stampin Up! products I used on all of my fall mantel projects. Be sure to come back soon to check out my next project. :)

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