spray to a new life

When I started doing more green crafts, I started saving more raw materials in my apartment. A few months later, I had few crafts and tons of materials. If there's such thing as a jar/bottle lady, I would be that lady.

 A few weeks ago, I got on a crafting spree and may have started spray painting everything in sight. One wine bottle painted like a pumpkin, one failed mesh-effect bottle, a random textured bottle, a vase for my boyfriend's guest bathroom, a found-at-the-house planter, and a few other bottles here and there. I just can't get enough!

But you don't have to stop at bottles and vases. While helping mulch, and picking up sticks along the way, I realized I could take a few handfuls to spray paint. And then I plan to make an arrangement with the sticks in one of the painted vases, for a very colorful, very inexpensive decoration. Painted twigs make for a beautiful twist on natural materials. I am currently obsessed with using the silver foil spray paint on a bunch of large twigs to create some kind of wall art arrangement for my boyfriend's master bedroom. The modern colors of his bedroom meeting the natural art of yard twigs really is perfect for him.

While spray paint is not exactly an eco-friendly product, it does help you give a new life to older items. Food jars work well for so many things after they are done with their first use. Vases can look more expensive. Bottles can be turned into vases. You can get artistic and use multiple colors and effects (one of my future plans is to use rubber bands around a vase or bottle to create stripes).

 
Spray paint has a lot of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in it, which are the cause of those nasty paint fumes. There are more environmentally friendly paints out there, such as plutonium spray paint  and Krylon's low-fume paint, but they can be harder to come by and are more expensive. The best move is to look for these, but if not, use regular spray paint in a good way. Giving something one good coat beats giving it three mediocre coats. 

To create a work surface, reuse cardboard you already have. We had a bunch of cardboard boxes waiting to be recycled, so I took them and flattened them out to make my drop cloth. They have come in very handy, have lasted through a few sessions, and can be laid together to make a larger surface. 

A good coat of spray paint can transform the mood of anything! And it can do so very inexpensively.