Inspire • Create • Repeat

You are here: Home / Autumn / Two Fall DIYs – MacKenzie-Childs Inspired

Hello Sweet Friends,

I’m so excited today to bring you not one, but two easy crafts inspired by MacKenzie-Childs. I love MacKenzie-Childs products, especially the Courtly Check line, but most of the time, my budget can’t really afford it. That doesn’t mean I can’t create something with the same vibe for my home. So follow along, as I transform a few fall Dollar Tree items with some MC flair!

Here’s a picture of the MacKenzie-Childs Sunflower I used for my inspiration.

$16.00 each. Hmmm…I bet I can dupe that for a lot less.

Items you will need for MC-inspired Sunflower Makeover

  • artificial sunflowers, any color
  • black and white checked ribbon
  • gold paint pen
  • scissors and glue gun

I began by cutting petals from the roll of ribbon. I think this style of ribbon is called a harlequin check, and was perfect for this project.

And I just started hot gluing each individual petal to the center of the sunflower, using just a small dab of glue for each one.

I kept gluing the petals around the entire center of the flower.

Using a gold paint pen, I dotted some gold around the perimeter of the sunflower for a finishing touch.

Wow! I’m loving the transformation from drab to fab! The black and white just pops with the orange. Perfect for this fall season.

Next up, I have a DIY for a MC inspired Owl makeover.

Here’s a picture of the MacKenzie-Childs owl I used for inspiration.

$82.00

Items needed for a MC-inspired Owl Makeover

  • owl from Dollar Tree
  • white chalk paint
  • black acrylic paint
  • black Sharpie
  • gold paint pen
  • gold acrylic paint
  • paint brush
You can see a little peak of the almost finished owl off to the side.

I began by painting selected areas of the owl with white chalk paint. I used chalk paint for the base because it will stick to any surface easily, even a shiny surface, without the need for sandpaper to rough it up.

I covered the entire body with two coats of the paint, leaving only the face, ears and feet exposed.

And the back side.

Next, using a Sharpie, I drew lines where I wanted the stripes and checks to be on the owl. I tried to follow along with the picture of my inspiration owl as much as possible.

Front:

And back:

The lines are a little wobbledy in places because of the texture of the owl, but I didn’t worry about that too much because much of it will be covered with black paint. Which leads us to the next step.

Using a small paintbrush for the checks and a larger paintbrush for the stripes, I filled in with black acrylic paint.

Here are views from the front, side, and back.

I then lightly brushed gold acrylic paint on the entire surface of the owl. This paint is very translucent so it worked perfectly to let the patterns show through.

The final step was to outline the eyes, beak, and other areas with a gold paint pin. I also enlarged the center of the eyes a little with a Sharpie. This project was more time-consuming and tedious, but so worth it in the end.

And I am truly loving the transformation, for a fraction of the cost I might add. It was so much fun to create these two MacKenzie-inspired projects. Such whimsical additions to my fall decor. I hope I have inspired you to create your very own.

Happy Crafting!

Pamela