Dollhouse Miniature Trash to Treasure Metal Flower

 

Watch the video here.

First I want to talk a little bit about this project and the whole trash to treasure concept. In this project I am using a hair clip I found in a street. Although I am pretty sure that this one probably came from somewhere like the dollar store you might not be able to get the same item. And that’s okay because you can do the same process with whatever hair clip) or similar item you do have and get a fun finished project. The idea of these projects is to inspire you and get you thinking outside of the box a little bit.

So this hair clip, I remember when my daughter was little and my mother in law would buy similar ones for her. She loved them because they were so cute, I hated them because they wouldn’t stay in her hair. We almost always lost them somewhere. I’m pretty sure that was the case for whoever had this one in there hair also. I found it in the middle of a street as I was out walking. There were no other people in site and I figure it was better to grab it to make a project for you guys today than to have a car drive over it and smash it.

The first step I took (off camera)was to was it thoroughly with soap and water and allow it plenty of time to dry.

Next I trimmed off the extra stuff I didn’t need for the project I wanted to make. In this case the back of the clip and the little thingy on the back that is supposed to hold it closed.

Once trimmed I used some poster tack to attach it to a craft stick which I could use a handle while painting. This is important if you want to get the paint to adhere.

Once it was safely on the handle I used some 91% Isopropyl alcohol to clean off any oils that may have been transferred to it from my handling it. I sometimes use distilled vinegar for this step depending on what is handy at the moment. Both work really well. Once you have wiped it down really well don’t touch the plastic again until you have all the finishes on it and they are dry.

On a flatter item I would have sanded the surface but this flower was just too detailed to sand so I skipped that step. If you want to sand do it after the item is washed before you stick it to a handle.

 

 

Now my next step was to coat the flower with some Mat Mod Podge, on the areas I am going to paint. In my experience this seems to help the regular craft paint to stick to the plastic better that if I skip ti. Allow to dry completely. If the Mod Podge is not allowed to dry completely the paint over it could crack.

 

 

 

 

Now a good coat of a black craft paint. This is the base color and will give the finished piece most of its color in this project. This needs to dry completely.

 

 

 

Now I added a thin coat of Brushed Silver craft paint over the black. I was trying to replicate the finish on a necklace I used to have that I loved. I believe the label on it had said it was a gunmetal finish. Allow to dry.

Once dry your metal flower is ready to hang in you mini scent. I am seeing a lot of metal art like this in my neighborhood while out walking and I love how this came out.

As always I do want to sincerely thank all of you for watching my videos and reading my blog posts. It means so much to me that you are supporting me in this way. If I could ask you all to do just a bit more by subscribing to the channel and liking the videos and leaving comments. Those help more than you can imagine. Also if you could pass the links on to your friends I would appreciate it so much.