Marilyn Gossett Designs: Easy Home Decor with Connie Crystal!

Do you love EASY? I do! Of course it has to be appealing as well; and thanks to Connie Crystal we have a fun product that is great for jazzing up simple pieces as shown here today.

The rhinestone trim shown in these projects comes in wider pieces than are shown here. The trim is available in white and black and can be cut into different shapes. I have cut double and single rows of the trim in the lengths I needed to embellish my projects. It helps make the product go farther!

Refer to the photo given below:

To begin, I put the lid on the paper mache' box and traced around the base of the sides of the lid onto the box with a pencil. I then removed the lid and applied Gesso to the box as shown in the photo below. I built the layers up leaving about a 1/8" bare spot in between each square. That is where I will glue the trim pieces later. The Gesso should dry overnight before painting.

I painted the inside and outside of the box & lid with DecoArt Chalky Finish in Vintage. Once completely dry; apply Silver Metallic Lustre with a small piece of rag cloth. Lightly apply over the Gesso treated squares and on the edges of the box.

For the final step, embellish with the crystals as shown in the photo below. I attached a glass knob to the top of the lid but this could be a flower, doily, etc.

Simply measure and glue the trim to the acrylic frame as shown in the photo below. I used a liquid dimensional medium to adhere the trim. The medium I used was Dimensional Magic by Plaid.

There are other adhesives that will work but I prefer this one as it dries quickly and doesn't leave glue smears if you are careful.

The final project in this trio is the ivy bowl. This was such a simple project to do and looks so good when it is done! You will paint the inside of the ivy bowl with the same chalk paint that was used on the box. Again, you will be painting the INSIDE. One good coat should do it, then allow it to dry thoroughly. I added a little of the silver Metallic Lustre to the scalloped rim of the ivy bowl to finish it. I cut two rows of the rhinestone trim in the desired length and adhered it to the neck of the ivy bowl as shown. A piece of scotch tape will work to hold the ends in place until they dry and adhere on their own.

Below is a photo of the completed vanity or desk trio. I like them because they are small and will dress-up and personalize a small area.

But WAIT!

There is a bonus project!

Easter is coming and I decorated some Smoothfoam eggs with the remnants of trim that I had left over. The rhinestones cut apart easily and I used them to embellish these eggs that I covered with jute twine. The ribbon is an off-white satin that I colored using my ink pads and a cosmetic sponge.

Flowers: I sewed a running stitch along one edge of a 10" piece of ribbon and pulled the thread to gather and form the flower; then triple stitched in one place to secure. I used a tacky glue to adhere all of the pieces together.

I make character clips to decorate gift bag closures for the different holidays. The individual rhinestones cut from the trim work great for the eyes as you can see on the chick clip below! Also for the rhinestone polka dots on the eggs.

I hope you have enjoyed this blog today and the different uses for the Connie Crystal trims. Visit their site to see their other trims, beads and sun catchers. There will be different products featured on the blog hop today. Go to the blue Designer Craft Connection button at the top of my page to go forward or backward on the hop.

Take time to enjoy the small blessings along the way and

Live Life with a Flourish!

Marilyn