A Nautical Themed Fathers Day Project Idea: An Anchor Shaped Coat Hook Tutorial

If you are looking for a fun and creative gift for Fathers Day easy craft project idea for personalizing an unfinished wood monogrammed anchor and turning it into a decorative robe hook, then this is the perfect gift idea for the nautical person in your life.

This project is pretty easy to make and just requires a little planning if you want to order a wooden Anchor like the one I am using here.  The anchor is from the Unfinished Wood Co. in Georgia.  Their products can be found online and in some craft stores.  If you are unable to find the monogrammed hook, you can find any similar shaped hook and monogram it yourself, using paints and your favorite font.

For this project, I am partnering with Plaid Crafts who have supplied the paints, brushes and anchor for this easy to do project.

Supplies:

·      Anchor Monogram

·      Folk Art Home Decor Chalk Paint in 34880 Cascade (Ultra Matte)

·      Folk Art Home Decor Wax Paint in White

·      Folk Art Home Decor Wax Paint in Clear

·      Folk Art Outdoor Gloss Acrylic Paint in Pure Gold (1654)

·      Folk Art Home Décor small Wax Brush

·      Natural Jute Cord

·      Robe Hooks

·      2 Screws

·      Drill

·      3/32 Drill Bit sized to the screws

·      Medium grit sandpaper or sanding sponge

·      Fine grit sandpaper or sanding sponge

·      Pencil

·      Screw driver

Step 1:

 Using a sanding sponge or sand paper in fine grit, sand the entire surface of the wood piece (this hook was pretty smooth and only needed a little sanding).

Step 2:

 Before painting the surface of the anchor, remove any dust or sanding residue left on the surface of the wood.  Paint two coats of the Cascade Chalk Paint and allow the paint to dry between coats.

Step 3:

 Take the medium grit sand paper and sand the areas of the hook that you want to look worn.  I did all the edges of the anchor that I wanted the wood beneath to show through and some of the surface.

Optional: If you want a more worn effect, use the screw driver to leave some dents onto the surface of the anchor.

Step 4:

Paint the monogramed center of the Anchor with the Gold Paint.  Apply enough layers to make it opaque. 

Step 5:

Using the small wax brush, apply a thin layer of the Folk Art white Wax on the outer area of the anchor (make sure not to get any on the Initial) and immediately remove any excess wax with a clean soft cloth.  Make sure you are careful during this process and allow the white to remain in the surface recesses.  Set aside and allow it to dry.

Step 6:

To seal and protect the anchor project, apply a very thin coat of the clear wax paint to the entire surface of the anchor, let dry for about an hour. Then use a very soft clean cloth and work a small area at a time to buff it out to a nice shine.  Allow the wax to cure for seven days before taking it outside or exposing it to moisture.

Step 7: 

Place the hook in the desired location on the anchor. Using a pencil, mark the hole locations.  Using the 3/32 Drill Bit, make pilot holes.  Then remove any dust left on project from sanding and drilling the pilot holes.   Then attach the hook to the anchor.

Step 8:

To finish the project, I wrapped some of the anchor with natural jute cord and added a bow that was embellished with shells that my kids had collected on one of our trips.

TIP:  You can change out the bow for each season, to change the look of the anchor.

Book Review: Art Lab For Little Kids by Susan Schwake

 Art Lab for Little Kids by Susan Schwake is a great resource for home schooling parents who are looking for art book they can use to explore age appropriate art techniques for their preschool aged children.

·      The 52 Labs from Art Lab for Little Kids (Lab Series) are created to stand-alone and are accessible by readers of all ages who work with young children.  This is a technique-based book that offers 52 opportunities to learn different techniques using a variety of materials. Because of this, parents don’t have to worry about their children being exposed to age inappropriate material or nudity. If you go to Amazon, you can see the table of contents for this book.
    

    Also, even if you don’t have an art background this book is great for parents who want to encourage their young children to explores different areas in art like: collage, drawing, mixed media, painting, paper art, pastels, and even print making.   The book has great photos of what the finished projects might look like (see above), the emphasis being on each child creating their own masterpiece rather than reproducing the author’s work.  Since the author wants to inspire creativity, there are enough step-by-step photo to get an idea of the process without going to the extreme like you might find other craft books.  Each lab gives some background information on the artist who inspired the lab. 
    

    This is a wonderful way to inspire creativity in young children and encourage them to express themselves through art. Once the lab is mastered, you can work beyond it. 
        It is also a wonderful way to incorporate recycling with kid friendly crafting projects.  My daughter wanted to find a way to use up some of the brown paper bags we get when we go the farmers market.  The bags vary in size but they are all blank. She also wanted to create a project she could do with a four year old she babysits.  
        We took ideas and inspirations from Lab 44 (Torn paper collage) and combined it with Lab 43 (Sewing Cards) and Lab 32 (Fabric Collage) to create a "Father's Day" gift bag from a recycled brown bag.  These labs gave her inspiration to combine color, lines, patterns and squares for her project. Then she reviewed some of the basic techniques for coloring so she could come up with her project using the materials she had on hand which were markers. 
        The book helped her figure out how to create the project and how to teach it to a young child.  The author makes it easy to importance of keeping projects simple and manageable when working with young children.

   Recycled Brown Bag Father's Day Gift Bag project:
    
   Supplies needed:
   Brown Bag (we used bags from the Farmers Market)
   Paint or markers
   Hole Punch
   Ribbon
I  Iron
   
    Step 1: Iron out the brown bag to remove creases.
    Step 2: Plan out your design and color it in with paints or markers. She choose to add some patterning on top of the colors to make it look more interesting for the 4 year old.

    Step 4: Help the child write "Dad" or personalize it with a name. I find teaching round letters is easier for little ones to learn.  Don't be tempted to personalize it for them.  Let them practice their writing skills.
    Step 5: Punch holes into the top of the bag so there are holes to weave in the ribbon. Once the gift is in the bag, just help the child weave the ribbon into the bag.  Depending on the age of the child, you may want tie it off with a decoration or take this opportunity to practice tying a simple bow.
    

    This book has a large selection of ideas and projects that are easy to follow. It also offers an accessible list of materials that are easy to find and affordable.  The author provides hints on how to make it easier for parents to be more organized when doing art projects and minimize potential accidents.  I like the fact that the author does not talk down to the reader, like other books do. She also offers some great additional ideas for the parent to try beyond the projects in the book. 

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