In case you’re wondering, the title of this post is a quote from Jess of the show “New Girl.” You can read the whole adorable thing here. Back to the actual blog post…
There seems to be a huge influx of patterns in fashion and home decor lately, and I have to say it can be refreshing to see geometric patterns on everyday items because it makes them so much more special. My first attempt at patterning on decor was with the cigar box, and I am still completely happy with the look! For this little project, I wanted to also incorporate the metallic trend that is making a comeback and we needed a little catchall bowl for the living room. It seems watches, rings, and my bobby pins tend to end up on any surface around the main floor, and I figured a bowl meant for these little things would at least keep them all in one place.
My intention was to find a plain white bowl at a thrift store or the dollar store, but I was having no luck finding a shape I liked, and a size that didn’t make it look so much like a soup or ice cream bowl. On a trip to IKEA (yes, I do know that it seems that I am there every other day… however, I promise you that’s not the case), I saw some sweet little white bowls, then a little turquoise beauty caught my eye. I got them both. At $3 a piece, I figured the bowl not used for this project will be put to use somewhere else… the bathroom could use a catchall too!
I stopped at a craft store one Friday night (I know, I have a very exciting life), and came home to plot how I’d make good use of my new gold Sharpie paint marker! I should mention that I got the oil based marker as opposed to the water based one. I’ve read the oil based can last longer and handle more wear and tear.
My initial plan for the bowl was to free-hand some sort of design on it, but I was afraid I’d mess it all up and the oil-based paint is just so permanent! Then I figured I’d use tape to make a stencil, like on the cigar box, but a linear pattern seemed too ambitious on a convex/concave area, so I brought the hole puncher out and decided on polka dots. Because seriously, who doesn’t love polka dots?
As usual, I didn’t follow a particular pattern and just stuck the hole-y tape down on the bowl randomly. I failed to take pictures of me actually filling in the dots with the marker, but it was pretty straight forward – it was just like using a marker to fill in circles! Duh!
As you can see, some MOST of the dots are not perfect. It seems that I either needed better tape or I should have pressed down much, much harder (probably the second one…). Either way, I’m happy with the results. The imperfections don’t really matter, I still think it’s a great and fun little piece!
And one last shot, just because I adore this little bowl so much!
Has anyone tried any stenciling projects with tape or a Sharpie marker? I’d love to see what you’ve made – I’m itching to use the marker again!!
Here and here are where I’m linking up!
WOOOT! This post got featured! :)
Deli says
February 28, 2013 at 10:35 amSo adorable and trend. Loved it.
Katie B. of HousewifeHowTos.com says
February 28, 2013 at 8:01 pmThat is absolutely adorable! I’m Pinning it. And, if you haven’t already, I’d love if you’d come join my How To Tuesday link party, too.
http://housewifehowtos.com/link-party-2/how-to-tuesday-link-party-10/
Thalita says
February 28, 2013 at 10:07 pmThanks so much Katie, and I definitely will!!! :)
Courtney says
February 28, 2013 at 8:36 pmSo cute! I’m going to have to try this one!
Thalita says
February 28, 2013 at 10:09 pmThanks Courtney! It’s super easy – heck, if I can do it, anyone can!
Lora @ craftivitydesigns says
February 28, 2013 at 11:19 pmVery cute! I like that you used the colored bowl – I’ve seen a lot with white, but the gold looks great with that blue :)
Thalita says
March 1, 2013 at 7:25 amThanks so much Lora! Glad you like it :)
Leanne says
March 2, 2013 at 7:47 pmThat is so cute! Found your blog through Live Laugh Rowe :) New follower!
Thalita says
March 3, 2013 at 7:02 amThank you Leanne!! :)
Anonymous says
March 4, 2013 at 10:48 amVery cute and great idea with the hole punch and painters tape!
Kristina
Thalita says
March 4, 2013 at 10:51 amThank you Kristina! Amazing what you can do with everyday stuff at home :)
Leah says
March 4, 2013 at 5:32 pmSo pretty – darn, I was just at IKEA and didn’t see pretty blue bowls like this one. Love the gold dots, it’s a great combo.
Thalita says
March 4, 2013 at 5:43 pmAw well there’s ways next time, Leah! Thanks for reading and checking out the blog!!
ntcreations says
March 5, 2013 at 1:25 amsuper cute!!! Do you think you could wash that kind of sharpie paint marker? I popped over from Project Inspire… I host a Tasteful Tuesday Party that I would love for you to join! http://www.nap-timecreations.com/2013/03/tasteful-tuesday-link-party-and-features.html
Thalita says
March 5, 2013 at 5:43 amHi Emily. Thanks so much! I’ve heard that the oil markers are ok to be washed, especially once you bake the item in the oven (which I have not done yet). I’ll definitely link up today and add your button to my links page. Thanks again!!
ashley rachelle says
March 5, 2013 at 12:22 pmso in love! very kate spade. sometimes a good-looking random pattern is hard to achieve – but you totally rocked it! xo
Thalita says
March 5, 2013 at 12:38 pmOh my goodness… that might just be THE greatest compliment ever. I’ll have to frame that and put it up on my wall…”very kate spade”?!?! Ashley, you’ve just made my week! Thank you SO much!
twopurplecouches says
March 5, 2013 at 12:33 pmYeah!! You’re back!!! And your new site is totally amazeballs ;) love it!
and love this polka-dotted bowl, and New Girl.
i love a lot today, apparently!
Thalita says
March 5, 2013 at 1:06 pmhaha laughed out loud at that one! Thanks so much!!! Can’t have polka dots and not channel a little New Girl goodness… plus I just cut some bangs, so I had Zooey on the brain!
Brenda @ChattingOverChocolate.blogspot.com says
March 5, 2013 at 1:22 pmLOVE!! :*)
Thalita says
March 5, 2013 at 1:41 pmThank you!!! So glad you liked it :)
Lauren @ The Thinking Closet says
March 6, 2013 at 1:37 amThalita, this turned out fabulously. In fact, I have an idea to refashion a purse with gold dots…and I thought about using paint, but a sharpie might do the trick, as well! Thanks for the inspiration, girl.
Thalita says
March 6, 2013 at 6:53 amThat sounds like an amazing idea!!! These oil based markers seem great so far – really holding up to stuff just being thrown… I mean carefully placed… In the bowl :)
Bethany says
March 6, 2013 at 2:00 amThat’s so cute! Great idea to use a hole punch!
Thalita says
March 6, 2013 at 7:10 amThank you Bethany! Spur of the moment idea :)
Beth @ Free Stylin' says
March 6, 2013 at 10:55 pmSO pretty! Thanks for the great idea!
Thalita says
March 7, 2013 at 9:00 amThanks Beth! I really appreciate you stopping by :)
Crystelle Boutique says
March 7, 2013 at 12:47 pmThis is really pretty! It deserves a feature!
hugs x
Crystelle
Thalita says
March 7, 2013 at 1:11 pmThanks Crystelle!! I really enjoyed making it, and it’s one of my favourite little things in the house, so it’s such a bonus when other people like it too!
Selene Galindo says
March 7, 2013 at 1:14 pmWhat a cute idea! I love the colors you chose..will be trying this very very soon! Thanks for sharing!
Selene @ restorationbeauty.com
Thalita says
March 7, 2013 at 7:51 pmThanks Selene! Looking forward to going to check out your blog now!!
cindyeikenberg says
March 7, 2013 at 6:55 pmThis is beautiful! Popping over from the party at livelaughrowe to say hello and tell you how much I like your bowl. Thanks so much for sharing and have a great evening!
Thalita says
March 7, 2013 at 8:04 pmOh that’s so nice! Thanks so much!!
Michele says
March 7, 2013 at 9:05 pmLove polkadots too! Now I’m inspired to do an easter bowl:)
http://www.sewsweetvintage.com/2013/02/flourless-knockout-ninja-brownies.html
Thalita says
March 7, 2013 at 10:23 pmPolka dots are just so fun you can’t help but love them right? I’d love to see it when you make one!!
Leia says
March 7, 2013 at 9:32 pmLove it- so cute! And I love how easy it is! I’m definitely pinning this! Stopping by from Talkin’ About Thursday blog hop.
-Leia @ latitudeadjustment1.blogspot.com
Thalita says
March 7, 2013 at 10:28 pmThanks so much Leia!! I’m so glad you stopped by, and thanks for the Pin!
ngnrdgrl says
March 7, 2013 at 10:45 pmThis bowl is too cute! I love the turquoise color and the gold sharpie really does seal the deal. I have seen people using these sharpie markers for so many wonderful projects. I saw someone stencil on their wall with a sharpie marker! Oh, my! I haven’t tried any sharpie projects out (yet). Thanks for sharing with us!
Thalita says
March 8, 2013 at 6:12 amIt’s definitely encouraging to see others working in much bigger ways with such a small item!! Starting small is always comforting I suppose :) Thanks so much for stopping by and checking it out!!
Laura @ Elegant Nest says
March 8, 2013 at 10:23 amLove this little bowl! It reminds me of my gold leaf~polka dot~paper mache bowls I made last fall…but much easier. Gonna have to try this out!
http://elegantnest.blogspot.com/2012/10/paper-mache-bowls_29.html
Thalita says
March 8, 2013 at 3:40 pmThanks Laura! Off to check out your bowls right now! They sound amazing!!
cuckoo4design says
March 8, 2013 at 1:35 pmStopping over from Happy Hour at Design, Dinging and Diapers. Love your gold Sharpie pola dots. My project was with a gold sharpie too. I’m #202
Thalita says
March 8, 2013 at 1:40 pmThanks for checking out my sharpie project!! I’m headed over to see yours now! :)
Bethany Lee (@PitterAndGlink) says
March 8, 2013 at 6:24 pmThis is so cute! Great job!
Thalita says
March 8, 2013 at 8:11 pmThank you Bethany!!! So glad you stopped by!
Anja says
March 9, 2013 at 7:18 amClever idea! Love the gold details, and the way you did them, the polka dots turned out so neat.
I am your newest follower, by the way!
Anja @ cocalores.blogspot.com
Thalita says
March 9, 2013 at 8:12 amHi Anja,
Thank you so much!! I’m just about to go check out your blog now. Took a quick peek – you have some great projects!!
Diana Rambles says
March 9, 2013 at 11:02 amSuper pretty! I’d like to invite you to participate in my Pin Me Linky Party. It goes Fri-Tue. I allow up to 3 links each week! I’m a new FB follower!
Thalita says
March 9, 2013 at 3:03 pmHi Diana,
thanks so much for the comment and invite. I’ll be sure to pin and link you button my my Link Parties page!
Debi and Charly @ Adorned From Above says
March 9, 2013 at 2:21 pmThis is so pretty. We have a link party called Wednesdays Adorned From Above Blog Hop and would love to have you share this and any other posts with everyone. It runs from Tuesday night through midnight Sunday. Here is the link to the party.
http://www.adornedfromabove.com/2013/03/wednesdays-adorned-from-above-blog-hop.html
We are also having a giveaway this week for a $50.00 Target Gift Card, so head over to enter.
We hope to see you there.
Debi and Charly @ Adorned From Above
Thalita says
March 9, 2013 at 3:10 pmThanks so much! I’m linking up now and will add your button to my Link Parties page!
Lauren Monique says
March 9, 2013 at 2:26 pmThat’s adorable! Love a cute bowl for a catch-all for jewelry and keys.
Thalita says
March 9, 2013 at 3:11 pmIt almost makes you want to have them all over the house, doesn’t it? Thanks for stopping by Lauren!
eskibs says
March 9, 2013 at 6:51 pmThis look awesome! I have to be honest, I didn’t used to be a gold person, but I’m loving touches of it here and there now. This bowl is the perfect balance. I cannot wait to try this technique :) Thanks for the inspiration!
Thalita says
March 10, 2013 at 5:44 pmI’m with you! I was never big on gold… now I love seeing little bits of it everywhere. Thanks for the kind words!
Julie says
March 9, 2013 at 10:02 pmThis is awesome! I want to run out and buy a gold sharpie right now!!
Thalita says
March 10, 2013 at 5:39 pmhaha Thanks Julie! They are pretty awesome :)
carriehurst says
March 11, 2013 at 11:19 amIf you’re going to have a “catchall”, it might as well be cute! Thanks for sharing at Pinworthy Projects.
Thalita says
March 12, 2013 at 9:45 amI totally agree :)
Jessi @ Practically Functional says
March 13, 2013 at 9:20 amLove this! I featured this on my blog today! http://practicallyfunctional.net/2013/03/the-fun-in-functional-link-party-41/
Thalita says
March 13, 2013 at 10:21 amThat’s amazing! Thanks so much!!! :)
carriehurst says
March 13, 2013 at 3:42 pmSHaring this on my FB page tomorrow!
Thalita says
March 13, 2013 at 6:29 pmThat’s so sweet. Thank you!!!!
Gail (@repurposedlife) says
March 13, 2013 at 10:12 pmI love sharpies and painter’s tape!
you did a wonderful job with this bowl. It’s so pretty!
thanks for linking up and linking back to catch as catch can.
gail
ps catching you!
thelearnerobserver says
March 14, 2013 at 2:14 pmThank you!! Those are always good tools to have when crafting :)
Holly Lefevre says
March 14, 2013 at 2:33 pmThis is awesome. I love how you did it. I am featuring you later n Tickled Pink!
Thalita says
March 14, 2013 at 2:45 pmThat’s amazing! Thank you so much!!
Meg says
March 15, 2013 at 9:35 amThis is so cute, have you noticed any problems with the sharpie coming off? I tried this with a regular sharpie and baked it for 1 hour and the sharpie came off in the dishwasher…any tips, ideas?
-Meg, http://www.willwork4cupcakes.blogspot.com
Thalita says
March 15, 2013 at 1:36 pmHi Meg,
Great question – though I have not yet washed this little bowl (since we don’t eat from it), I don’t know if the dishwasher would completely ruin it. What I CAN tell you is that we literally throw our watches, rings and other nick knacks in it very day and there has yet to be a scratch on the polka dots! I hope that helps a little. I do want to try using this on dishes that will be washed frequently, so I will follow up once I see the damage (and hopefully it’s none!).
Gabbi @ Retro Ranch Reno says
March 15, 2013 at 10:28 amThis is too darn cute!! I literally just made over some desk accessories for my office with a sharpie paint marker! I’ll have to share with you! And I use regular sharpie metallic markers to make pretty polka dots on my manicures. :) Great job!!
Thalita says
March 15, 2013 at 1:33 pmGabbi that is genius!!! I never would have thought of that for manicures! I definitely want to see your desk accessories – you might just inspire me to do more with this magic little marker!
Mandy |Small Fine Print| says
March 16, 2013 at 2:21 pmThis is very cool :) You did a great job!
I’d love for you to join my weekly linky party going on right now at smallfineprint.com
Thalita says
March 17, 2013 at 7:37 pmThanks so much Mandy. I definitely will! :)
Shavonda @ AHomeFullOfColor says
April 10, 2013 at 3:21 amHi there! Just found you via HoH! I love your version of this profect! I really like the way you used tape and a hole punch to create your dots. I did a gold polka dot project a while ago, too and I would have never thought to use the tape and hole punch combo. I just freehanded mine. Thanks so much for sharing. You can check out my project, too if you’d like
http://www.ahomefullofcolor.com/2013/01/polka-dot-plate-art.html
Thalita says
April 11, 2013 at 1:43 pmThat is so awesome! Thanks for checking it out :) I LOVE the designs you used for yours!!!
Justynn says
May 10, 2013 at 10:23 pmI love this! going to try it myself. Thanks for the inspiration!
Thalita says
May 11, 2013 at 7:01 amThat’s fantastic! Thank you for stopping by :)
Sharon B. says
June 6, 2013 at 12:56 amI love polka dots and I love this project! So glad I saw this at the ditto diy gold challenge. I’m pinning it to my polka dots board on Pinterest!
Thalita says
June 6, 2013 at 6:54 pmThat’s so sweet of you, Sharon! Thank you!!
Sherry Hart says
July 5, 2013 at 9:11 amBrilliant!
Thalita says
July 5, 2013 at 9:29 amThanks Sherry!! :)
Kassie says
January 14, 2014 at 9:24 pmThis is so cute! Gonna have to try it….
Thalita says
January 15, 2014 at 12:06 pmThank you, Kassie!!! It’s almost too easy not to try ;)
Brandi says
August 9, 2014 at 9:21 pmThis is such a cute craft idea. I love the gold polka dots!
Thalita says
August 10, 2014 at 6:41 amThanks, Brandi! I seem to have a bit of an obsession with both of those things: gold and polka dots! :)