Quick and Easy Dollar Store Tea Set Makeover

This post may contain affiliate links, please check out my disclosures page for more info.  Thanks!

Finally, the last project on my list.  A pretty tea set.

I wanted another cute little porcelain tea set for my dolls and stuff.  You used to be able to find them at most dollar stores.  Sadly that’s not the case anymore. 

So, I did the next best thing.

I got a plastic set instead (see the doll blog for their reaction).  You can find this tea set at Dollar Tree as well as most dollar stores.

It’s the right size and is sort of cute, but the colors are kind of tacky.  The easiest way to fix the color issue was to paint it.

So let’s paint some plastic!

I gathered up some supplies I had on hand and got to work.  I used acrylic paints, paint brushes, a paper plate for the paint, and glossy Mod Podge. 

The Mod Podge protects the work and makes the pieces shiny and pretty.

I also used these, nail emery boards.  You could also use fine sand paper, but I used these because it’s what I had around.

So first, I lightly sanded the surface of all my pieces.  This helps the paint stick on better, or so I’ve been told.

Then I applied 2 coats of white paint to all the pieces, allowing them to dry between coats.  I painted one side of each piece at a time.

I was going to paint the pieces a different color after the white paint dried, but I decided they looked pretty that way and went with it.

I then added some pale pink paint to bring out some of the details.

And finally, I applied two coats of the glossy Mod Podge (allowing to dry between coats) to seal and finish them.

The tea set looks so much nicer now.  The gloss makes the pieces look very porcelain-like, but since they are plastic I don’t have to worry about dropping them.

I could have painted little designs on the cups like flowers and such if I wanted to, but maybe I will save that for another set.

I really like how cute the tea pot came out.  There were little roses around the heart that I didn’t even notice until I started painting it.

The plates look really pretty too, the hearts are so sweet.

I added a touch of pink to the spoons to tie them into the set, also because painting them white made them look too much like “disposable” plastic spoons.  Maybe next time I’ll try using a silver or gold paint.

Over all, I think the tea set looks great and it would be fun to paint more of them in the future.

Here’s the updated list:

• 3 piece outfit
• Holder
• First aid cases
• Umbrella
• Tea set
• Tote

Six down and out.

Give it a try:

• Plastic Toy Tea Sets, 14 pc.
• Craft Smart® Acrylic Paint, 2 oz.
• Mod Podge® Gloss
• Craft Smart® All Purpose Brush Set
• Sassy+Chic Assorted Emery Boards, 24-ct. Packs

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New and Improved

This post may contain affiliate links, please check out my disclosures page for more info.  Thanks!

Another project finished, Yay!  For this one, I went through my closet and found pieces I thought could use a little sparkle.  Then added a touch here and there with sparkly squeeze tube fabric paint.

The upper left is my Cubs t-shirt.  I’m not a baseball fan, I just think the shirt is cute.  Now it’s even cuter with ruby-red paint outlining the logo and all the letters. 

The upper right is a Garfield tank top I got from a dollar store years ago.  I outlined the heart and glasses with silver and added some diamond paint in a few spots.

The lower left is just some old shirt I got from who-knows-where.  That is my hand traced in silver.  I just love handprints.

The lower right is a pair of short I hardly ever wear, that will change now.  I made purple clovers with silver centers and ruby dots between them.  Who says 4 leaf clovers can’t be purple.

 
A wardrobe makeover wouldn’t be complete without accessories.  I made these pins using the round metal thing from old floppy disks. 

I remember seeing the idea before, but I can’t quite remember where.  I think it was on Craftster. 

A little paint, some fake flowers and a pin back and they are ready to wear.  After drying of course.

Here’s the updated list:

Altered jacket

doll house

sleeping bags

hat

Glittery makeover

Three more to go.  I am almost finished with the house.  Look forward to it.

Give it a try:

• Tulip® Glitter® Dimensional Fabric Paint
• Tulip Dimensional Fabric Paint 1.25oz - Glitter

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Mission Complete

Yay, I finished the list!  I got to work over the weekend and now it’s all done. 

For the butterflies, I used perler beads and made them into magnets.  I goofed up on the first one I made and it got a little too melted.  I also accidently got some beads stuck to my iron, but I got them off alright.

 

I messed up on the first oven mitt as well, but try, try again.   I think this one came out well, or at least okay.  As long as it will protect you from scorching yourself, it’s fine right?  I love the shape of it and I want to make tons more in other colors.

 

The cell phone sleeping bag isn’t perfect, but I love it.  I decided to keep it for myself, doesn’t my phone look all warm and snuggly.  It’s roomy enough to stash other necessities inside too.

 

 

The headbands weren’t as easy as I thought they’d be because I had trouble with the closure. 

And the pink and black one took extra time to assemble, but they were worth the effort.

 

 

Now these bottle cap pins were a lot of fun to make.  Lots of gluing, painting, beads and glitter went into them.  It did take forever for them to dry, but again it was still so much fun.

 

 

Now the finished list:

• Ribbon headbands
• Jean waistband cuffs
• Jewelry with crescent moons and stars
• Tote bag with umbrella appliqués
• Something square
• Watermelon shaped oven mitts, maybe with matching accessories
• Cell phone sleeping bag
• Change purse key chains
• Monster plush key chains
• Strawberry pins and magnets
• Painted binder clips
• bottle cap pins
• zipper charms
• butterflies

Ah, isn’t it great to see a completed list.  But, now what am I going to do next.  Hmmm.

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A Nifty Idea and an Update

While painting pencils and other stuff I came up with a decent way let the pencils dry without sticking to the table or getting smudged up.
I used an old plastic flower pot turned upside down.  What’s great is that this is one of those pots that usual get tossed out when the plant is put in the ground.  And I didn’t have to do anything to it, it’s like it was designed for this.

I also managed to tackle something on my list with all the painting I did, although it meant I didn’t get much sleep last night.  Check out my new binder clips, and yes I am still hooked on polka dots.  And so here’s the updated list:

• Ribbon headbands
• Jean waistband cuffs
• Jewelry with crescent moons and stars
• Tote bag with umbrella appliqués
• Something square
• Watermelon shaped oven mitts, maybe with matching accessories
• Cell phone sleeping bag
• Change purse key chains
• Monster plush key chains
• Strawberry pins and magnets
• Painted binder clips
• bottle cap pins
• zipper charms
• butterflies

One down, thirteen to go.

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Something Old, Something New

Here are some projects I recently finished.  A couple of them are classic, things a few of you may remember doing yourself, or at least something similar.  The others may be something you’ve thought about doing at one time or another, or maybe after seeing this you will want to try them.

These are classic fabric yo-yos, at least I think they’re classic.  My mom has been making them for years.  I used some fabric scraps I had and some old buttons, and I glued magnets to the back.  I also made two more with pin backs on them for pins.

 

These are painted bottle caps that I also made into magnets.  I’ve been on a magnet kick lately since I bought a package of discs at Wal-Mart.  I’ve made tons of these already.  I think people have been using bottle caps as craft supplies for a while now.  From scrapbooking to jewelry, they have a lot of uses.  I once actually made a necklace out of them as a Christmas  present for my older sister.  For that I didn’t paint them because I thought the logos on them were kind of cute, although ironic.  Neither she nor myself actually drink.

I got the idea for these painted thumbtacks in Wal-Mart while standing among all the office supplies.  They did have pretty and colorful thumbtacks, but I didn’t like any of them.  I thought I could do much better, so I did.  I made other ones in complementary colors. I’ve been into painting things since I found paint on sale.  What better inspiration than a good sale. :)

This is a chain belt I made with jump rings and key rings.  I happened to come across an assortment of key rings in a variety of sizes, but didn’t need all of them.  So rather than waste them I chained them.  The clasp is something I saved from an old hand-me-down dress from one of my sisters.  The dress was awful, but clasps were cool.  It wouldn’t the first time ugly clothing became useful for me.  I used to have this really odd bright orange bathrobe, can’t really say who gave it to me.  It was perfect to make stuffed animals out of, including a certain little orange cat that was quite popular awhile back.

Yep, it’s more painting.  Again, I thought I could make office supplies more fun so I thought, painted pencils would be good.  You may have noticed I have a thing for polka dots right now. What can I say, they’re super easy and super cute.  I’ve also made some with stripes and some that are sparkly.  A few of those are already up in my shop.  I don’t  think I’ll ever get tired of these, although I still would like to look for pencils that are more environmentally friendly.  At least these don’t use rainforest wood.

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