Easy “Faux” Stone Dollar Store Platter

I promised myself I wasn’t going to buy anything new for Halloween this year. I wasn’t going to decorate here at the house either. I have a few plans for my grandson’s house, but not here. Nope, not gonna do it.

Then I went to the Dollar Store, just to kill time while Mom was undergoing chemo. Big mistake.

Shopping, not the chemo.

Good grief, they have some great stuff this year. Some a little too creepy, some a little too . . . too dollar-store-ish. But I still managed to fill my basket, thinking, “that only needs a little paint here and a little paint there.”

Famous last words.

Let’s start with this plastic skeleton platter. Santino is nuts for skeletons this year and I’m certainly not going to be hosting a Halloween party. Since no food will touch it, I thought I’d make it a little more spooky-ish with paint.

I took it out to my spray paint station – a cardboard box – in the 90+ degree heat that feels like mid July rather than mid September. I will say the temp made this first part go extra fast.

Oh, before I forget (again), I’ll give you a supply list because this is an oh-so easy project that anyone can do if you happen to find yourself in need of therapy and head to your local dollar store.

Supplies

• black matte spray paint (I used chalkboard paint. Sshhh, don’t tell.)
• grey matte spray paint or primer
• sea sponge
• light tan craft paint
• medium grey craft paint
• old paintbrush
• matte sealer (I love Krylon)

First, spray a basecoat of black. This photo was taken when it was still wet. It actually is a matte finish.

Then, lightly, lightly spray some grey matte over the black.

In a pinch, you could stop there and seal it with some matte. But c’mon, it only cost a buck. So certainly I could put at least 30 minutes labor into it, right?

It makes it more valuable, in my own mind, that is.

Next, go into the house with the air conditioning. Phew. Dampen a sea sponge, dip it in light tan paint, pounce the paint off a bit and then start pouncing the platter.

For this project, there is no right or wrong, ok? Just try to be random and twist and turn the sponge so you don’t wind up with an obvious sponged pattern.

After the light tan, take a medium grey and do the same thing only sponge right over the tan. Why? Because there’s a fairly good chance that the tan will wind up looking like a puppy (or kitty) walked thru your paint and ran across the platter. A few times.

I’m just sayin’.

So cover it right up with the medium grey. Trust me on this. The light tan will still poke thru when the grey dries. Well, unless, you soak the sponge in paint and smoosh instead of pounce.

Please heed my technical faux finish terms here, mmkay?

See my sponge? It’s not soaked in grey paint.

See my palette? Note the pounce-y marks to the side of the paint. This works it into all the layers of the sponge so you don’t get the obvious pattern. As much.

This is as random as I could do. Ok, it wasn’t. But I wasn’t gonna spend more than 15 minutes. Okay, okay, TEN minutes on it.

I’m working on my obsessive tendencies. It’s a process.

Some people with possible obsessive tendencies would notice that the tan & grey didn’t get into the crevices.

It’s doubtful that anyone else without said tendencies would notice it. But if you are one with, well, you know, then you might wanna grab an old brush and dry brush the crevices.

By dry brush I mean you dip it in a smidgen of paint and basically wipe most of it off on the palette and/or paper towel. Then you scrub, and when I say scrub, I mean scrub the brush into the crevices. Hence, the “old” brush.

Then comes the.most.important part – sealing with spray matte. Trust me on this, matte sealer brings all the colors and dimensions out. Try it and see for yourself. It’s hard to see in photos, but in person, it makes all the difference in your dollar store object d’art.

Easy-peasy, huh?

Have you used a sea sponge lately? Or maybe it’s been say, oh, twenty years? C’mon, spill!