Amy Latta Creations

Handmade Holidays: DIY Star Bowl

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When we got together a few weeks back to play with all of my goodies from Martha Stewart and Plaid, one of the surfaces Erin brought along was this cute star shaped dish she picked up at Walmart.  In fact, well, this is what happened:
First, we had this conversation via text messaging the night before our crafty date…
Erin: I got 3 glass votives that might be cute as a collection, and the cutest glass star dish!
Me: Ohhh!  Where’d you get a star dish?
Erin: Walmart 🙂
Me: Gah!  How did I not see that?
Erin: It was with all the candles – the vases and votives and stuff.
Then, we had this text-versation the next day right before she came over…
Erin: Now I’m behind schedule…but as soon as I’m done I’m coming!!!  And you’ll be jealous of my star dish.
Me: I’m already jealous.  Went to my Walmart this afternoon and they didn’t have stars…
When she showed up, she unwrapped it in all its star-shaped cuteness and taunted me with it before she pulled out a second one she’d bought for me.  I love this girl.  Anyway, we painted several things that day, but just couldn’t decide what to do with our stars.  Here’s Erin pondering…

What to make, what to make?  Then, all of a sudden, she got the idea to cover it with the text of the Christmas story.  Now, I’m all about book page crafts, but I couldn’t reconcile myself to the idea of ripping up Scripture, even if it was scanned pages instead of an actual Bible, so we settled on the idea of Christmas carol sheet music instead.  We didn’t have the time or the sheet music that day, so we scheduled another craft date {oh, darn, we had to get together and play again…} to make them.

Here’s how we did it, and you can too!

Materials:
– glass dish {we love our stars, but any shape will do}
– printed sheet music
– Mod Podge {I used Gloss and Sparkle; Erin used Gloss and Antique Matte}
– Martha Stewart liquid gilding {I used silver; Erin used gold}
– paintbrushes
– filler…you can use ornaments, a candle, potpourri, candy, or anything else you like

STEP 1: Rip your sheet music into pieces.  Apply Mod Podge directly to the dish and smooth your sheet music down on top of it.

As you work, layer the pieces so that they go in different directions and have a good combination of notes and lyrics.  You can also feature particular things, such as the song title.  Erin used pieces from several different carols on her dish; I used the same piece of music, Away in a Manger, for all of mine.

Make sure you cover all the little spaces where the glass is still visible. The entire surface should be covered with sheet music.
STEP 2: Apply Mod Podge over the entire surface to seal the sheet music.  You can use any formula of Mod Podge for this step, depending on the look you want.  You can go with a simple Gloss or Super Gloss if you just want it to be shiny.  I decided to use Sparkle Mod Podge for mine…after all, glitter makes everything better!  Erin wanted to get an aged look for hers, so she used the Antique Mod Podge.

Here she is applying it, using one of the really nice brushes I got from Martha Stewart.  Not all paintbrushes are created equal.  Just sayin’.

STEP 3: Apply liquid gilding around the top edges of your dish.  Not only does it look gorgeous and metallic, it also helps to cover over the slightly rough edges of your sheet music.  A little of this stuff goes a long way.  I really love the effect!

I also chose to apply gilding to the bottom of my dish.  I did it on the outside rather than the inside just in case I ever want to put candy or food inside.

STEP 4: Fill!  I decided I wanted some bright colors in mine to go with my other Christmas decor.  Erin suggested adding the greens, which are cuttings from the Christmas tree we got that day.  I’m loving it!  Nice idea, E!
Erin filled hers totally differently.  She put a candle in a small votive holder, which she also gilded to match the dish.  Then, she put potpourri in holiday colors {which I thought was super stinky, but she seemed to like} around the candle.  *Edited to add this from Erin: “and hey, i didn’t like the scent either. IN fact, i believe my exact words were ‘you know you’re a crafter when you get the potpourri because of its colors. Not because of its scent’ “

I think it looks so classy!  The Antique Mod Podge goes really well with the gold gilding, doesn’t it?!

I have a few favorite things about this project…one is that Erin and I came up with something totally original {we actually made something without having seen it on Pinterest first!!}  Another is that we both had the same supplies available and did the same basic steps, but our dishes turned out looking so very different!  And the third is that I got to have a fun afternoon with one of my favorite friends!

 What do you think?  How would you fill your dish?

 Happy Crafting!

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Comments

  9. As a former music major, I am especially in love with this!! I love Mod Podge. I might actually attempt to recreate this!!! I must confess though, I’m terrible at crafting and DIY’s. Thank you for sharing!

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  14. i love these stars 🙂 I like the silvery one with the bright ornaments in it- just because I love silver and bright colors, awesome job on both, ladies!

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  18. Great idea! I picked my new boss for my secret Santa and the only thing I know is she likes to sing and read. Have not decided if I’m going to use sheet music or maybe book pages, but I’m doing this!!!

    Reply

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