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2.05.2021

diy decorative honey pot

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my last post shared the darling buzzing bees shown above, along with the honeycomb heart.
those were created as part of an entire 'story' for my mantel...

in this post i'm sharing the second element, a honey pot -
and the easy, clever way i made that honey look SO realistic!


continue reading and join me in creating a BUZZ this Valentine's Day!

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this buzzing bee hovers over the honey pot, thanks to a piece of wire
that curves and bends to replicate a 'flight path'.

the honey is a combination of processes: painting and applying a 3D element.
first, i took a large glass olive jar and spray painted it white.

and that went wrong.

i had purchased a few cans of white semigloss spray paint at my local ReStore...
but apparently they were there due to being stored either in extreme heat or cold,
because the paint that sprayed out of them was lumpy not smooth.

at first, i was perturbed because this isn't the effect i wanted. 
then i decided that it actually DID work for this project
because the jar looked a lot more like pottery this way.
kinda' like Winnie the Pooh's honey pot. 
so i just accepted the finish and kept going....
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on the left, you can see the way that i painted honey on the jar in shades of yellow and white.
one side is lighter with a white highlight as if light is hitting it.
the other side is darker in tone, plus i added a thin gray shadow line to emphasize dimension.

to be honest, i wasn't quite certain what the next step would do...
i covered the painted 'honey' with hot glue.

i held the jar upside down, and traced the curvy edges of the painted area with glue -
so that if it ran and dripped, it wouldn't go outside of that painted area.
i filled in the area with hot glue working from the curvy edges to the rim of the jar.

i worked on each painted honey 'blob' area at a time, and it dried pretty fast.
i also added some glue on top of and inside the lip of the jar, just for extra realism.

when i sat the jar up on the mantel, light from my studio window hit it right where i thought it would -
and it looks SO real!
(i love it when a plan works out!)

i decided i liked the honey effect SO much that i would make more,
and created the piece that 'drips' over the mantel edge.

here's a step-by-step tutorial for that process. 
follow this on a jar, a box, a spoon, or on posterboard as i did to create your own...
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first image:
paint an area in a wavy, curvy shape to imitate honey dripping on a surface.
i used a medium yellow shade here. 
then add a shade of paint that is a bit darker on one side of the drips - 
you can do this before the first layer dries.
this darker shade begins to create dimension, by looking like it is a bit shadowed.

second image:
add a lighter shade of yellow (mix the original shade with white) on the side opposite the last step.
this adds to the dimensional effect.

third image:
add a strong white highlight to the very edge of the 'honey' over the light yellow shade.
this looks like a light source hitting the 'honey'.

let the paint dry completely before moving on.

fourth image:
turn your object upside down, so the 'drips' are going UP, not down.
begin applying the hot glue on one edge of the top of the painted area -
you do this so the glue drips DOWN into the painted area.


continue adding hot glue to the entire painted surface,
working from top edge down 
until it is mostly covered.
(there will be some spots that aren't totally covered - it's ok. that adds to the realism!)


be careful to hold your object safely - do NOT let the glue drip onto your fingers!

fifth image:
because i painted this on posterboard, i had to cut the excess away...
i held the posterboard and cut as close to the curvy glued edge as i could.
i left some of the posterboard on the top so it could be used to hold the 'drips' in place.

if you're painting a jar or other object, you won't need to do this part.

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i bent the top of the posterboard so it would sit on the mantel and the honey would 'drip' forward,
then added it to my arrangement.
 this addition made the yellow tone appear on a different level than the other items,
and makes the entire composition more appealing.

the wire that holds the bee aloft has a large loop on the end of it,
and i tucked that inside the jar... it holds the wire so it doesn't lean over.

the 'oh, HONEY' lettering is simply black stickers and my own handwriting in Sharpie marker.

visit my last post (link below) for my easy bee-making tutorial.

next post, i'll share the last element in my composition: the BEE mine sign!




shared online:

thank you for featuring my project, Funky Junk Interiors!


art,crafting,painting,DIY,diy decorating,re-purposing,up-cycling,trash to treasure,Valentine's Day,winter,decorating,color palettes,colorful home,Pantone color of the year,tutorial,Valentine decor,Valentines Day decorating,mantel decor,yellow and gray palette,Illuminating Yellow,Ultimate Gray,Pantone 2021,BEE my Valentine theme

4 comments:

  1. Deb... didn't you stop blogging way back? I'm glad you changed your mind because what you're pulling out lately is beyond anything I could ever imagine. This whole Valentine Bee theme is beyond genius!

    I've featured this in this weekend's DIY Salvaged Junk Projects. Thanks for linking up!

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    Replies
    1. LOL yeah, i did! life kinda' sucked the creativity outta' me so i stepped back. then in fall 2019, it roared back to life, so i decided to come back to the blog!!! i'm glad i made that choice, as my creativity and imagination have kept me from losing my marbles through the weirdness of 2020. it's been much more fun this time 'round - and i sincerely thank you from the bottom of my heart for your continuous encouragement, support, and recognition. you are such an amazing inspiration, my friend! <3

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  2. Replies
    1. thank you so much for your sweet comment, Marie! happy Valentine's Day to you!

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