Unique Spray Paint Ideas | Family Economics

By Cathe

With beautiful and fun colors and shiny metallics stocking the spray paint shelves of home improvement and craft stores, the list of the things you can modify with a fresh, new look is infinite. There are also a lot of cool ways to use that last bit of colorful spray paint left in the can from a previous project as well.

Before beginning your new project, always create a safe spraying area with good ventilation, making sure to cover or mask any surfaces that may be affected by overspray. For some projects you may need a spray sealer/primer as an initial coat. I recommend this when painting petroleum based plastic items that may not allow spray paint to dry. Most small items need only one coat of paint though larger items may need two to three coats with sufficient drying time in between.

Here are just a few unique spray paint ideas you can do:

•    Paint tired and outdated necklace and earring charms to give them new life or coordinate with a favorite outfit. Disassemble vintage enamel flower brooch pieces and spray paint the pieces in new, fun colors. Reassemble with hot glue or other strong bond adhesive. Use metallic paint to simulate precious metal for tarnished jewelry pieces.

•    Create a faux wax seals for envelopes, collage and other crafts- with a small rubber stamp prepped with a small amount of oil or talc, press it into a round of not-quite-cooled hot-glue squeezed onto a non-stick surface. Allow glue to cool, remove stamp and gently wash seals with soap and water. Lay all seals onto a scrap cardboard surface and paint your desired color. These are great for wedding invitations and favors. Use a very small amount of hot glue to adhere faux seals to another surface, careful not to re-melt the seal.  

•    Spray sealer/primer is very dull and chalk-like when dry and I use it alone to coat three-dimensional objects such as thrift store figurines, to look like chalkware or unpainted ceramic. Metallic spray paint can make a cheap, plastic item appear to be a fabulous metal sculpture or casting. 

•    To make whimsical shelf and table edging, spray lengths of rickrack trim found at the fabric store with a coat or two of spray paint. Once dry, place along the edge of a shelf or table, using colorful thumbtacks spaced evenly along the edge to hold the trim in place.

•    The placement of a table lamp’s electrical cord along a contrasting wall can be unsightly. Mask the base of the lamp and spray the cord to coordinate with the wall’s color to camouflage it.

•    A nice housewarming or new apartment gift can be a small tote or toolbox of tools. Customize the tools by masking off the handles and spraying them all the same color to make them more gift-like.

•    When wrapping oversized boxed gifts, I use an inexpensive roll of craft packaging paper as giftwrap. Once the box is covered with paper, I take it outside and write the recipient’s name in large cursive letters across the front. When dry, I finish it by writing over the name with a black sharpie pen through the center of the lettering to emphasize the design, then add a bow as a finishing touch.

•    If you enjoy scrapbooking, spray swirls and streaks of spray paint on 12” x 12” cardstock, allowing some of the paint to run down the page in graffiti style. When dry, file the painted card stock into your paper stash for use as background sheets in fun scrapbook layouts.

Can you add to the list? What unique spray paint projects have you done or would you like to try?