Mel Designs

DIY Mounted Fish

I adore all of the wonderful DIY I am seeing created with plastic animals. I even knocked the idea off for my office! 

Looking to put a slightly different spin on the trend, I decided to create some DIY mounted fish plaques. 

I found the perfect sized plastic fish over at Oriental Trading. I purchased some wood plaques, very inexpensively at a craft store. To mount them on the wood plaques, I cut off a fin or two so that they would be flush with the plaque. 

I used an Adtech Adhesives Glue Hi Temp Glue Gun and glue sticks to assemble the plaques. 

The plaques were then given several coats of spray paint with Krylon indoor/outdoor spray paint in a pink and orange shade. 

You will need to use several coats to cover the fish colors. Of course, every mounted "trophy" fish needs a commemorative plaque, so I painted a couple of wood shapes in acrylic brush on paint and stamped labels on them. Using the glue gun, I embellished them with rhinestones. 

Finally, I glued the labels on the plaque using the glue gun. Cute decor to coordinate with the jars in my office! 

Live Life Creatively, 

Melony 

“This review is based strictly on my opinion. Others may have a different opinion or experience with the product listed above. I was provided the sample free of charge by the company or PR agency and I provided my honest opinion. No other type of compensation was received for this review.”

Decoden Napkin Rings

I love Japenese inspired DIY techniques. Decoden is yet another cool tacky trend that fascinates me. What is decoden? The term “deco” is short for decorated and “den” is short for “denwa” meaning “phone” in Japanese. Lately, the decoden trend is venturing far outside of just phone cases. That's what inspired me to create these Decoden Napkin Rings. 

Altough decoden paste can be bought or homemade, I found as easier way to attach my tiny objects to the napkin rings. I used Adtech Adhesive's Lo Temp Cool Tool and glitter glue sticks to make my Decoden Napkin Rings. Depending on the objects used, it might be important to use a lo temp glue gun since it will not melt plastic objects. 

I had a blast going through my stash, mixing and matching odds and ends and deciding what to use. This is a great stash buster. 

I used wood castor cups normally used to keep furniture legs in place. The center has a groove that makes a perfect embellishing surface. They can be purchased inexpensively in packs of four from a home improvement store such as Lowes. 

I painted my wood pieces black first. Then I created a pool of glitter glue inside the caster cup and started placing my pieces inside the caster cup. 

When each of my caster cups were completed, I glued them to a wood napkin ring, painted black as well.  Hot glue is perfect for this technique since it dries fast! Finally a sprayed a sealer on the completed napkin rings. 

So, with glitter glue sticks, a glue gun, some trinkets and trash and caster cups I made these sophisticated yet delightfully tacky Decoden Napkin Rings. I cant wait to try this technique on other surfaces. I am thinking a frame for my office or even a wood jewelry box. I may even stretch this trend a little and try to decoden something with recycled objects such as soda tabs, bottle caps, bits of broken china, etc. 

I hope you are inspired to try your own decoden! 

Live Life Creatively, 

Melony 

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