I’d been on the hunt for a colorful utensil holder. You know, the canister by the stove where you put all your spatulas and slotted spoons.
There was nothing wrong with the one I had, but it was stainless steel. And next to a stainless steel toaster, in between a stainless stove and a stainless fridge under a stainless hood… well, things were looking a bit too samey. I wasn’t finding anything I loved, which signaled it was time to change up the one I had with some paint.
I decided to make a sticker/stencil of sorts with Con-Tact paper. This is one of my favorite techniques for creating custom designs. The poor man’s version of a crafter’s die cut machine, if you will.
First, I found a shield shape via Google images and re-sized it in Photoshop.
Then I printed it out on the paper backing side of a piece of clear Con-Tact paper with my normal home ink jet printer. Warning: Don’t print on the shiny sticker side! And you probably don’t want to send Con-Tact paper through a laser printer because they can get very hot and who knows what kind of mess that might make.
I cut the shape out with a scissors…
And stuck it like a sticker onto my surface, making sure to burnish down all the edges really well. I also masked off the top/inside and bottom of the can with some painters tape and paper so they would be protected.
Next, I spray painted the utensil holder for a smooth, glossy finish with aqua Valspar spray paint (Tropical Oasis). Valspar must have changed the formula recently because this dried a lot “harder” than when I worked with the same paint in the past. Much better! Plus it has a built-in primer and you can spray upside down and it dries super fast and it’s cheap (only $3.98!). Winning x5.
After the paint had dried, I carefully peeled up the Con-Tact paper sticker. There was a little bit of gummy residue leftover, but I was able to remove it with some vegetable oil.
Sharp lines! The paint seriously looks like a factory finish. And the shield, my own personal superhero insignia. But if I ever get tired of the shield, I can just spin the can around to reveal the plain backside. Two in one!
