Marbled Blacklight Pumpkin DIY

October 9, 2018 by Alexa Leave a Comment

If you’re a pumpkin crafter, I’m pretty sure you’ve heard of nail polish pumpkins. The thing with nail polish pumpkins; however, is that you have very little polish to work with and you generally can only dip smaller-sized pumpkins with them. Also I personally think using nail polish is a lot more stinkier than spray paint (this may be a personal preference). Anyway, after seeing this post a few years back Alisa Burke marbleizing paper and ornaments, I knew I wanted to try it with a pumpkin and I’m actually happy with how mine turned out. Let me show you how easy and fun these are to make!

What you need:

— faux pumpkin
— various colors of spray paint (I used neon so they’d look good under blacklight)
— large bin filled with water
— Gloves (get the gloves, see below)

Before you begin:
Fill a large plastic bin with water. You want enough water so you can submerge your entire pumpkin.

Spray the first color on top. It will spread out as you spray into a halo shape in the water.
Keep spraying and adding more colors till the surface of the water is totally filled with colors.

Once you’ve sprayed the surface, immediately dip your pumpkin.

It takes a little force to push the pumpkin below the water. It was hard for me to capture on camera, but once your pumpkin is totally dunked, you need to pull it up lifting off the paint from the surface of the water.

If there’s an area of the pumpkin that you’ve missed, you can dunk it back in and focus on that area. You may layer over top of a. section you’ve already covered, but because this is abstract and random, it’s hard to mess it up!

Remember when I said you needed gloves. This is why. I got the spray paint on my hand and it took a couple days for it totally to be off my hand. There was a lot of hand washing those two days. LOL.

Here’s what it looked like when I set up my blacklight. I was wanting the neon to really pop and pop it did! I am looking forward to putting this in my glowing decorations this Halloween!

Rainbow Rhinestone Pumpkin DIY

September 13, 2018 by Alexa 3 Comments

Forget the orange and black pumpkin decor this year and really do it up BIG! Cause nothin’ says BIG like unloading a freakin’ rainbow of color onto a mini pumpkin. I’m kinda obsessed with this little DIY cause it combines both sparkle and color together for an absolute feast for the eyes. And this is something you can make in just under and hour. Let me show you how it is done!

What you need (links below include affiliate links)
— Mini pumpkin
— Paint in a rainbow of colors
— Mini rhinestones (with adhesive backing)
— Paintbrush and paint palette

I have to admit something before I begin telling you how to make this pumpkin……it is so insanely easy to make. The majority of the work involves painting on the paint and letting it dry. I went around the pumpkin, separating the colored sections by the ribs. Go around the pumpkin once, then go around it again to get two solid coats. Let dry thoroughly. Make sure to turn over and finish off the bottom (or don’t worry about it if the bottom isn’t going to show).

Next, use the coordinating color rhinestone sticker and position in the coordinating color section. This is literally a pull off and stick process, but you will want to make sure you space them in random polka dot style all around around your pumpkin.

And here’s the finished result. SWOON!!!!!!

This is a super fun craft to make for your rainbow-obsessed friends to give as a fall gift for their office or home.

If you aren’t a fan of rainbow, consider painting your pumpkin a solid color, then adding tone on tone rhinestone dots. You could also use a complementary color for fun contrast!

I’d love it if you checked out my other rainbow pumpkin creations…

How to Make a Rainbow Glitter Pumpkin
Rainbow Crayon Drip Pumpkin
Crayon Scribble Pumpkin
Glitter Drip Pumpkin

Reverse Glass Painting for Summer

June 20, 2018 by Alexa Leave a Comment

There’s nothing more fun than a good summer craft session. I have heard for a while about “reverse glass painting” but hadn’t tried it for myself, and I loved the results I was seeing. One of my fave things to draw are cute girly girls, it has always been that way since I was myself a little girly girl. LOL. I decided to create some true summer vibes in this painting…BEACH PLEASE!

Supplies you need:
– Acrylic paints in various colors (including sea colors & skin tone color)
– Various-sized paint brushes
– 8×10 frame with glass
– 8×10 drawing of your choice; I drew a girl on a seascape, but you could do anything you wanted
– Hairdryer
– Paint palette

Follow along on the video below or my step by step directions as described below the vid!

View Do reverse glass painting on Darby Smart.

Reverse Glass Painting DIY
1. Draw a design on an 8×10 piece of paper that you would like to transfer onto glass. If you aren’t super confident about your drawing skills, copy a coloring book page!
2. Using a black acrylic-based paint marker, place your pattern under the glass from your frame and trace the design. Let dry thoroughly.
3. Use your desired paint colors to fill in between your marker lines. Paint two to three coats, letting dry in between coats. If you want a looser, more transparent look, only do one coat of paint.
4. Let your paint dry thoroughly. If you need to, use a hair dryer to speed up the process.
5. Wipe down any paint from the edges of your frame and place back inside frame. Now wait for the compliments.

I made this project for my friends at Darby Smart. I create cute and snappy DIY videos for them in the app and there’s videos by all kinds of different creators that will get your ideas flowing. You can download the Darby app here.

How to Make a Mermaid Makeup Bag

May 27, 2018 by Alexa Leave a Comment

Are you loving the mermaid trend right now? From the scales to the dreamy aquatic colors, this look isn’t going away anytime soon. Let me share with you how to DIY this cute makeup bag with supplies you already have in your craft stash.

What you need:
– Cotton canvas clutch (I got mine at JoAnn)
– Fabric paints in light blue, teal, and turquoise
– Dark blue and light blue fabric marker
– Medium-sized stickers
– Painters sponge

View How to make a mermaid bag on Darby Smart.

This video was created in partnership with Darby Smart. I have a DIY channel on the Darby Smart app, where I share a lot of fun videos like this one. If you love making DIY videos, it has a lot of cool features in the app that make it easy to produce your own (including adding titles, speeding up your video, and adding cute stickers).

Anyway, back to the project! For this project follow these simple steps:

1. Use sponge to blend fabric paint colors together. I blended them together so it was a subtle shift between colors. Let dry completely.

2. Use your light blue fabric marker to draw on scallop/scale designs over the fabric paint.

3. Lay down the letter stickers to spell out the word MERMAID, then trace with the dark blue fabric marker. Peel up stickers and add any definition to the letters that you’d like.

4. Draw on the word “gang” or if you’d rather – “vibes”. You can also do this part with stickers if you don’t feel confident with your handwriting.

You could easily add some sparkle with some glitter fabric spray or regular glue and glitter brushed on to add some sparkly details.

That’s it, now you have a super cute mermaid bag to stash all your lippies and makeup supplies.

How To Paint Your Own Pennywise Pumpkin

October 16, 2017 by Alexa Leave a Comment

This Halloween season, Pennywise, from the movie IT is the go-to movie to see. I’m seeing all kinds of articles on how you can rock this clown custom for Halloween 2017, but I thought I’d turn Pennywise into my kinda craft- a pumpkin, of course. Let me just tell you, taking the above pic was pretty amusing. Instead of scouting for models, I went scouting for gutters in my neighborhood. LOL. I think the end result turned out pretty sweet. And fun fact, I’ve never seen this movie or the original that all my friends were scared of when I was a child of the 90’s. I do recognize a viral character when I see it, and knew I had to get on the clown action.

What you’ll need:

– White medium-sized pumpkin
– Red, black, and white acrylic paints
– Tacky Glue
– Paintbrushes
– Red feather marabou boa
– Scissors

Before you begin: I painted the off-white pumpkin with white acrylic paint to give the clown a more pale complexion.

Next pull up a pic of Pennywise for reference…I did my project freehand, but you can plot yours out with pencil if you’d like.

I then painted my pumpkin as shown below…I started with a liner brush drawing the red on the lips, I then went back in around the lips adding outlines and shading. Around the grin, I added lines to accentuate.

Next I drew the red lines that go from the grin to above the eyes. After I did that, I added in more additional shading detail and started to draw the eyes and frown lines.

I finished up the face with additional shading and red eyes. For finishing touches, I added some chin and face shape definition. Also clean up any messy details with white paint after everything has dried. My last step was to mix a little glue and paint to make faux cracks and gritty details to the forehead and face. The final step is to cut, then glue on the feather boa to the top of the pumpkin in a horseshoe fashion.

This turned out pretty fun (and creepy). When I get into the zone painting, I realize how much I enjoy it.

Taking photos of this pumpkin may have been more fun than actually painting it. For this one, I hid the pumpkin in some bushes and peeked through to get this shot. Nothin’ quite like a creepy clown lurking in the shadows.

And I thought the dead grass and wooden fence at sunset made for a nice backdrop as well.

Let me know what you think of my pumpkin and if it creeps you out. And fun fact, I actually like clowns…I grew up with paintings of them in my room as a toddler. They were mainly the hobo and circus clowns type. I don’t know if I should watch this movie or not and change my perception.

If you love this project, share it with your friends, and check out this cute stop motion video I did using the steps above to create this DIY project. I made this little vid for the Darby Smart app! If you want ot make your own DIY vids easily using only your phone, give this app a try. Available now in the app store.

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Making your own Glowing Blacklight Slime

October 8, 2017 by Alexa Leave a Comment

Halloween is right around the corner and the blacklights are glowing bright! Scare up some fun for the kids (or the kids at heart) with a batch of glowing slime that shines brightest under blacklight. This slime only takes a few ingredients and will be the hit of the Halloween party!

What you need:
– Clear glue
– Neon glow paint
– Baking soda
– Saline solution
– Spoon and bowl for mixing

I created this project for Darby Smart, a DIY app you can download in the Apple iTunes app store. What makes this app so great is that you can shoot, edit, and post your own tutorial using the handy features in it! You can also follow my channel where I share more videos like this one and there’s a lot more artists in the app to discover as well.

DIY your own Pumpkin Slime and Jar

October 8, 2017 by Alexa Leave a Comment

If you’re planning a party this Halloween season for kids, this might be the perfect party gift they can make at the festivities and take home with them! In this tutorial (an exclusive I made for the Darby Smart app), I show you how to make the slime and the container in some super easy steps!

Here’s what you’ll need:
– Aleene’s Clear Gel Tacky Glue
– Baking Soda
– Orange Food Coloring
– Saline Solution
– Orange Glitter
– Green Multi-surface paint
– Small Mason Jar
– Black Puffy Paint
– Paintbrush

Watch the video below to see all the steps!

I did this tutorial for Darby Smart, where they partner with cool companies like Retail me Not to bring cool DIY videos to the masses. You can see more videos on the Darby Smart app from more awesome creators. Download it here and watch some cool videos and make your own.

How to make your own Pizza Bank

October 8, 2017 by Alexa Leave a Comment

True story: When I was in college, I remember scrambling up change to pay for a Papa John’s Pizza. I know it had to be REALLY annoying to the pizza guy when he showed up and was paid in quarters, dimes and nickels. So in the spirit of this, I created this funny pizza bank so you can store your change (and maybe some dollars) inside to save up for that next delivery. Watch the video below to see how you make it…

What you need:
– Old cleaning wipes container
– Puffy paint in pizza colors (yellow, red, gold, green, black)

If you like this simple tutorial, I share more on the Darby Smart app, which you can download now in the app store. Check out my channel and more creative designers on the app -and- make your own videos too!

How to Make Slime Tumbler Cup

October 7, 2017 by Alexa Leave a Comment

Since slime has trended up big this past year, you’ve probably seen all kinds of versions, from crunchy slime to galaxy slime to unicorn slime. I decided to take slime to the next level by putting it inside a double-walled tumbler. So you can tote around your slime with your fave drink and take it out to play whenever you want.

What you’ll need:
– Double-walled plastic tumbler
– Clear Gel Glue
– Lots of glitter and sequins in color of your choice
– Food coloring
– Saline Solution
– Baking Soda
– Spoon

I created this tutorial for Darby Smart, the makers of Darby app, an app you can get in the Apple iTunes store. This app has thousands of DIY tutorials to inspire you and I have a channel on it where I share more fun videos like this. See my tutorial below and go download the app so you can watch more!

Pin the tutorial below to save to make later and be sure to share this with your friends.

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Dexter’s Backyard Jungle Adventure

June 10, 2016 by Alexa 13 Comments

Compensation was provided for this post by Purina

Did you know Purina Pro Plan has proclaimed June 15 is National “Take Your Cat on an Adventure” Day? If there’s one thing my tabby cat, Dexter, loves more than food, it’s having his own adventure in our backyard. As soon as I open the door, Dexter is always there to make amad dash outside. Our backyard is filled with everything he loves: a variety of trees, lots of grass, and tons of gardening supplies and fun DIY projects. Dexter definitely is the king of this backyard jungle.

Dexter’s favorite thing to do in the backyard is roll around in the grass. It’s like he’s swimming in a bathtub filled with very potent catnip. Talk about an ultimate sensory overload!

Dexter doesn’t limit his passion for grass just to rolling in it…he sometimes goes in for the taste test. Weeding is definitely an outdoor chore I need help with and I’m happy to put this guy to work and pay him in food. Haha!
Speaking of food, I decided to treat Dexter to a little picnic outside with his favorite meal – Purina Pro Plan. The yummy morsels definitely give him the fuel he needed for several more hours of play. Lately, he’s needed more energy to keep up with a feisty new backyard visitor.

A couple months back we got a new puppy named Lazer and he’s definitely kept Dexter on his toes (or should I say paws?). While the two aren’t BFF’s, Dexter is intrigued by his playful personality and is always up for a little pouncing action.
It’s actually quite hilarious to watch Dexter get into pounce mode. He lays flat like a snake on the ground and literally becomes “Lazer-focused”. His eyes and ears are at high alert and his backside starts to twitch. Meanwhile, Lazer usually is hopping around and taunting Dexter to come and get him. It’s insanely cute to watch.
It was very hard to capture these two in action. They moved SO fast! The general vibe can be conveyed in the two photos above. It’s pretty obvious they are the definition of a love/hate relationship.

After all that heart-pumping action, Dexter hopped up into Dad’s chair for some relaxation. Luckily, Lazer still can’t jump high enough to reach the seat. I know Dexter is in his element outdoors and William and I like to give him supervised playtime whenever we can. Seeing him happy makes us happy and we love that he has safe space to roam and make his own.

Remember to mark June 15 on your calendars and celebrate your cat with a special adventure.Visit www.mygreatcatadventure.com to see other great cat adventures and learn more. Whether it’s taking him on a walk, hosting a kitty play date, or buying a new toy, it’s a reminder to keep our cats healthy and active!

Until next time Swellions!
Alexa (and Dexter)

This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Purina Pro Plan. The opinions and text are all mine.

The Swell Designer

Random musings of a crazy, crafty, pop culture-obsessed girl!

Marbled Blacklight Pumpkin DIY

Rainbow Rhinestone Pumpkin DIY

Reverse Glass Painting for Summer

How to Make a Mermaid Makeup Bag

How To Paint Your Own Pennywise Pumpkin

Making your own Glowing Blacklight Slime

DIY your own Pumpkin Slime and Jar

How to make your own Pizza Bank

How to Make Slime Tumbler Cup

Dexter’s Backyard Jungle Adventure