Can I get an "A" for effort?

For the longest time, I thought that was the dumbest saying. "Um, Effort starts with an E, dummy pants," I'd think while silently judging the person who used the phrase. Man, I'm so embarrassing sometimes.

And speaking of embarrassing, I decided to tackle a project I've had in my "To Try" files forever.

Erica at P.S. I Made This made these amazing (Seriously, I need new adjectives!) faux pottery vases from puffy paint, spray paint, and cans/bottles.

Confession: I've never used puffy paint OR spray paint before today. (That might be a lie, I have a vague memory of making a shirt in first grade with puffy paint, but I don't know if I actually did or if I'm just creating awesome fake craft memories. I've always been a horrible crafter. I can't draw a straight line to save my life, and I half-joke that I was absent the day in preschool we learned to use scissors because I can't cut right. Back in school, every single project I did for classes or science fairs was a hot mess. So, I'm inclined to believe that I'm just making up the puffy paint memory.)

So, I took a trip to Michael's and the dollar store to pick up some supplies.



Puffy Paint
Painters Tape (dollar store)
Spray Paint
Glass vases (already on hand from a previous project)

I had this totally fantastic Lazy Novice Crafter Idea* that they would look REALLY, REALLY, REALLY cool if some of the glass was showing, so I just wrapped two pieces of the painters tape around the bottom to create four separate sections.


One I did not tape at all, and the other I taped off into a chevron pattern:

Next up, start applying your puffy paint into the patterns you'd like to use. Remember, I can't draw a straight line, so I decided to go with just simple dots. Even I can do that!


The one with the painters tape was super easy to do, because I could just hold the tape and not worry about smudging my masterpiece puffy paint dots. The one without tape? Luckily, my hand fit inside. Taking it out, not so easy. I basically turned my hand into a giant suction cup, so you can imagine me trying to remove it without touching any of the paint, yes? Go ahead, take a minute to picture it. Call me dummy pants if you must.


Next, let the puffy paint dry. Watch The Nate Berkus Show. Talk to your dog about how her day is going and if she has any big plans for the weekend. Touch the puffy paint to see if it's dry. Reprimand yourself for touching the still wet puffy paint. Wait some more.

Finally, a quadrillion and two minutes later, you're ready to break out the spray paint and paint these suckers.



I used Krylon Indoor/Outdoor in gloss white. I chose it because that's what Michael's carried, and I know nothing about spray paint.

Carefully remove the tape and viola! Pretty, perfect porcelain vases:



Stop reading and following along if you're here for the tutorial.


You know I'm a lazy novice crafter, so of course they didn't turn out perfect. In fact, I'd say at this point it's a total project fail. I've got high hopes that I can fix it, but that's another project for another day.

So what went wrong?

1. I used cheap painters tape that I picked up from the dollar store. It didn't totally adhere in some spots, but I didn't realize it. You know, being a lazy novice crafter and all.

2. I got spray paint INSIDE the openings. Not a huge deal on the one that didn't have tape, but on the others you can see it through the glass.

3. I didn't listen. Every single blogger who has a tutorial that uses spray paint says the same things. Listen when they say thin, even coats are best. Listen when they say to let the paint totally dry before removing the painters tape. Listen to anyone but me, ok?

In the spirit of sharing successes along with failures, I present to you, the following photo:




I think I might be able to salvage this just fine with a razor, q-tip, paint thinner and a steady hand. But even if I can't, I'm going to consider this project fail a crafting win.

I used puffy paint and spray paint for the first time. I learned about painters tape and following the advice of other more experienced crafters and bloggers. I found out that my hand makes a fierce suction cup.

I'm putting on my big girl panties and linking up to the following awesome parties:













And, because this is still one of my favorite projects ever, I'm going to link on up here:



Jennifer from Life, Crafts, and Whatever is co-hosting this blog hop/linky party so even though this project is a week old, I'm hoping they'll forgive me for linking this up and not my most current post!