disney home decor – Whole Heartily

Disneyland is one of my happy places! Is it yours? I’ve always wanted to bring a little bit of the magic into my home by theming one of my rooms after the park and I’m finally getting started! My first piece of the room is a lamp inspired by “Jingles” from King Arthur’s Carousel!

My mom has had this carousel horse lamp for as long as I can remember and when they moved, she offered it to me. I took it, immediately re-imagining it as Jingles. It was a little difficult to get started, since this horse is in a different style and pose, but I took inspiration from the bells, flowers and colors!

Now I know not many people have spare carousel horse lamps lying around, but you’re welcome to follow my instructions if you do, or if you have something else similar that you would like to repaint and/or retheme. Have fun with your imagination!

SUPPLIES

Carousel horse lamp
Washcloth
Rubbing alcohol (optional)
Small disposable bags and painters tape
Krylon paint and primer spray (white)
Sand paper
Paint brushes
Acrylic paints
Hot glue gun with glue inserted
6mm gold jingle bells
8mm acrylic rosettes
Varnish

INSTRUCTIONS

Clean the lamp; wipe it down with a damp washcloth, then rubbing alcohol (if needed) and allow the lamp to dry.
Wrap the cord, and the socket and light fixture up in plastic bags and secure them with painter’s tape.
In a well ventilated area, spray the lamp with the white primer/paint. I am still getting the hang of spray painting, so if you’re like me and drips or bubbles form, wait for the lamp to completely dry then lightly sand out the rough parts. Wipe the lamp down with a damp washcloth and allow it to dry, then try again. I finished with brushing on white acrylic paint.
Once you’re satisfied with the white coat and it’s dry, paint the saddle, bridle, eyes, hooves, pole and base. This may take more than one coat so be patient and allow them to dry in between each application.
Once the paint is dry, paint or spray the lamp with a varnish. The finish is based on preference, I used matte, but you can up the gloss if you want!
Once the varnish is dry, use the hot glue gun to glue roses along the bridle and anywhere else you prefer.
Trace light pencil guidelines where you want the jingle bells to be, then attach them with hot glue.
Insert a light bulb of your choice and enjoy!

Do you still have a VCR? Not many people have VCRs anymore. We do, although we don’t use it often.

If you don’t have a VCR anymore, what should you do with all your old VHS, including all those Disney films you grew up with? You could collect them, donate them, or recycle them. But wait! If you decide to recycle them, let’s remove the beautiful cover art and use it to make some drink coasters!

SUPPLIES

Disney VHS cover art
A “pair of compasses” tool
Scissors
An eraser
Ceramic coasters with cork bases
Mod Podge
A foam paintbrush

INSTRUCTIONS

Clean the coasters; wipe them down with a damp washcloth and allow them to dry.
Remove the cover art from the VHS cases and, using a pair of compasses tool, trace circles that are slightly smaller in diameter than the diameter of the coasters.
Carefully cut out the circles and erase any leftover pencil markings.
Using a foam paintbrush, paint a layer of Mod Podge onto a coaster, then carefully place one of the cutouts onto the center, smoothing away any wrinkles or bubbles.
Brush another layer of Mod Podge over the top of the artwork on the coaster in one direction (it will dry clear, but you will be able to see the texture once dry).
Repeat steps 4 and 5 on each coaster and allow them all to fully dry.
Once dry, turn each coaster perpendicular to the original brushstroke and paint another layer of Mod Podge over the top so a crosshatch texture is formed when dry.
Allow this final layer to completely dry and you’re ready to use your own personal Disney coasters!