This post on expert craft tips and tricks features things our thrift team has learned over years of working on DIY projects and crafts.
I'm sharing a few of my favorite tips and then the 80-plus craft tips and tricks links with photos are at the bottom of the post. Bookmark the page so you can come back and check out all the projects when you have the time.
My favorite budget tip is using tab pop tops from soda cans as picture hangers.
How to make pop-top hangers for wall decor. Expert Craft Tip
We always have pop-top tabs and I've used them on several wall decor projects. A single tab works perfectly on a small lightweight project and two on larger projects. Sometimes The tabs can be attached to the wood with either staples or screws. See the wall decor project here... How To Make Pop Top Tab DIY Project Hangers
My favorite furniture painting trick is using a baby bottle brush to add age spots to painted furniture....
Expert Craft Tip: How to add age spots to painted furniture.
Several years ago I was challenged by Plaid Crafts to use unconventional tools in one of my DIY projects. I came up with this baby bottle brush technique. See the project here....How To Make White Painted Furniture Look Old And Aged
Now to share a few tricks from my friends. The first one is from Sarah and it's really neat. I would never have thought to do this...
She shares how to use a balloon to keep paint from getting inside a light fixture or anything similar you need to spray paint! See how she used the balloon here.....Firefly Lantern.
The expert craft tip from Kristin is how to stencil a wall the easy way. Use a foam roller.
Find her project here..... Easy way to Stencil a Wall.
Gail shares a trick on the best way to store paint after the paint can gets all rusty which they tend to do after a time. Find the project here.....How To Deal with Rusted Paint Cans.
I need this tip from Maryann on the easy way to paint words. I think I actually used to do this when I was a kid!
Expert Craft Tip
I have never stripped stain from furniture. Why? Because it's a lot of trouble and I'm lazy. But, I will try this tip from Christy....How to Strip Stain Using Oven Cleaner.
And Suzanne has a great technique for adding stripes to furniture using stain and you can find that expert craft tip here.
Small Plastic Pyramids for Paint Projects
Bar Keepers Friend for cleaning drawer pulls, stainless steel sinks, and all kinds of stuff
Popsicle Sticks
Wood Clothes Pins
Battery Powered Cordless Glue Gun
Stapler
Expert craft tips and tricks
The 80-plus links on expert craft tips and tricks are below. Take a look and tell me which of these tips you need or better yet share a tip or trick you've learned when crafting. I read all of your comments. As always thanks for being here, Kathy
Author: Kathy Owen (Petticoat Junktion)
Kathy is the founder of PetticoatJunktion.com, a home décor blog focused on repurposing and upcycling furniture, old hardware, rusty stuff, and thrifty finds into unique home décor. Kathy’s projects have been featured on the Home Depot Blog, Plaid Crafts, Behr Designer Series, and in numerous magazines. Read more about Kathy here.
Suzanne
That balloon trick! And I'm loving the bottle brush for aged paint! As always, so many ideas.