Transform a Plastic Toy To a Cute Decor Item

Sometimes I like projects, sometimes I dis-like projects and then sometimes I LOVE them. This project falls in the LOVE category. Yay! Today, I'm going to show you how to transform a plastic toy as decor.

Let me give you a little bit of a backstory. I am not an accessories type person (not jewelry, not scarves, not knick-knacks, not tabletop accessories, etc.). I want to love them, especially the home decor ones, but I never fall in love with the little table-top pieces while I'm shopping. Seriously, it.. never.. happens! I buy a few here and there when they are on the clearance aisle for under $3, but that's it. But, when I look at our house and end tables I feel like something is always missing. The missing pieces are those little knick-knack items. So, that's why I'm super excited today. I finally have a little knick-knack item for an end table and it cost me under $4! But, more importantly, I finally have a knick-knack item that I LOVE; which never happens.





I've fallen in love with the brass animal decor pieces that you see at stores. However, I haven't fallen in love with any with a price tag less than $35. So, I decided that I could make my own.
I raided my son's discarded toy bin and came up with this little alligator. It was never played with it. If you don't have a toddler's toy box to raid, these are easy to pick up at Michaels, Walmart and Target for under $4.





I picked up some liquid leaf and started brushing it on with a small paint brush.





applied two coats, waiting an hour between them, and then I sprayed it with a clear topcoat.





You could get creative with this idea and transform quite a few different things. I really love how mine turned out and think he looks pretty great in my bookshelf.






Original article and pictures take http://www.hometalk.com/13773038/transform-a-plastic-toy-to-a-cute-decor-item site