Painting a cardboard magazine holder.
Since I had few more cardboard magazine holders to customize, I decided to paint one inspired by dessert sprinkles. This was another fun and easy way to spruce up an otherwise plain magazine holder.
The Design Idea
When I made my last two Customized Magazine Holders, I used a donut pattern sheet to customize one of them. After watching popular YouTuber artists and crafters like Moriah Elizabeth and NerdECrafter create sprinkle-themed designs for their fun projects, I figured a donut sprinkle design could be simple enough for me to do.
Spoiler: A donut sprinkle design was simple and easy for me to do.
Applying the Base Color
I mixed Sargent Art brand white acrylic and neon pink tempera paints to create a light pink color. I specifically mixed these in an old food container with a lid. I wanted to be able to store whatever paint I didn't use right away.
I used a wide paint brush to apply the paint onto the cardboard magazine holder's sides, although any size paintbrush or foam brush would've served this purpose. I wanted to cover as much surface with each brush stroke as possible since I knew applying the base coat would be the most time-consuming part of this project.
Apparently, I made a mess by splattering paint all over everything nearby. Fortunately, acrylic and tempera paint is easy to cleanup with a wet cloth unlike pink 3D fabric paint that stains light surfaces. I ended up shielding my tabletop and nearby Cricut Maker with scrap parchment paper and old packaging Styrofoam, respectively.
I ended up applying three coats for a decent coverage of the light pink color over the four sides. Using the food container with a lid to store excess paint proved to be beneficial since I waited an hour in between coats. The container allowed me to store and reuse the paint without fear of it hardening or becoming unusable.
Adding Sprinkles
To make this next part quick and easy for myself, I used my Posca paint markers to add the sprinkles. I also didn't want to repeat the messy situation I created for myself while applying the base color.
I initially selected four random colors for creating sprinkles, but I later used a fifth darker color to add some contrast to the overall design.
To create the sprinkles, I drew slightly thick strokes in different directions on random areas of each side. That's it. There was no special planning or thoughtful placement of the strokes. The only challenge I faced, if you'd consider it a challenge, was deciding when enough was enough.
I could've added more. I could've added less. I briefly thought about adding shadows or highlights to each individual sprinkle stroke. Instead, I kept it simple and protected the design with a coat of Mod Podge.
My Thoughts
I often end a blog post about an arts or crafts project saying it was easy, and this customized donut sprinkle design was no exception. Waiting for the paint of the base color was the most time-consuming part, but it wasn’t hard. It would’ve only been hard if I chose to sit there and watched the paint dry.
If I had light pink spray paint, I think I would've opted to use it for applying the base color to save myself a little time. Otherwise, what I ended up doing was easy to do. Using the Posca paint markers to add the sprinkles made the second half of this project that much quicker.
What's Next?
With the frequent rolling blackouts in my part of Texas this week, I'm not yet sure what's next for the blog. No power and cold temperatures have made me lazy. But don't fret! I'll have something to share with you on Tuesday.
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Thanks, and have a great day!
Simply Jelly Jam