I'm not sure WHY I haven't done this before....but I painted a cowboy hat!
Leave it to the grandkids to push me out of my comfort zone!
I was asked to paint a white cowgirl hat with lots of pink and a disco ball!
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Before
I found the very affordable white hat on Amazon and it was a great fit for an 8 year olds head....and was quality!
I ordered two other style hats and they arrived partially plastic which was extremely disappointing. So I was pleasantly surprised when this one arrived!
Supplies Used
All you need for this project is a quality chalk mineral paint like Dixie Belle Paints, a pencil and a Sharpie, a paint brush, a few bowls to thin down your paint with water....and a spray bottle. Here are the specific paints I used for this project...
Silver Bullet
Sharpie Paint Pen Black
Glitter Paint
Ribbons
Feathers
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Custom Painted Cowboy Hat
With this being my first time, I didn't think it through very well and I drew and painted the base of my disco ball design on the front first.
When I do this again....I will color my whole hat first and then add my painted design. But it still worked out!
Adding the Base Color: Cotton Candy Pink!
I chose my two colors of pink and thinned them with water 50/50.
I then sprayed the area of the hat where I would be painting with water as well.
Using a damp crafters paint brush, I dipped it into the thinned paint and then lightly brushed it onto the wet surface of the hat.
Chalk mineral paint LOVES to move in water! It's as if it jumps into the water and just dances around in all directions. It's such a fun thing to watch.
PRO TIP: If you try this and it doesn't move enough...just spray it with your spray bottle and the paint will begin to flow.
I even tilted the hat to get the paint to move in different directions.
I just continued this until I had multiple shades of pink in all the areas that I wanted painted.
I allowed this to dry for several hours.
Creating Splatter Patterns
Once dry I used two large paint brushes to flick deep pink paint in a splatter pattern across the entire hat.
Just load one of the brushes with plenty of watered down paint....and then hit the two brushes together over the area that you want to splatter.
Make sure you are wearing an apron!! It's messy!
Painted Mirror Glass Disco Ball
After the splatter paint, I went back to my disco ball and finished out the colorful mirrored glass reflection design.
I LOVE painting disco balls!
This is my fourth one....and it will not be my last!
I actually teach this design in my group Curiously Creative....it's there if you'd like to learn it!
Magical "Airbrushed" Custom Name
Something magical happened on the side of the hat when I added Harlow's name!
I used a paint marker on an area that I believed to be dry...it was to touch! I wrote out the name and left it to dry.
When I returned....it had traveled! The name had literally traveled up the hat and created a shadow which I am going to call magic because I think it looks really cool!!!!
Matt asked me if I airbrushed it! Now lets see if I can make that happen when I try it again!
I did come back with a brush and paint and emphasized her name with a deeper black paint called Caviar.
I REALLY love the final look!
Bonus Fancy Bling!
To finish off the painting portion of the hat I used brush on glitter paints to add a party vibe and fancy sparkle that I knew Harlow would appreciate!
From here you could call it done....or you could add a fancy hat band!
I happened to have some disco ball ribbon and I used it to create a double layered hat band along with a pink ribbon.
I also created a feather embellishment by bundling a couple of cute feathers and securing them with glue and a tiny ribbon.
I used hot glue to secure this to the side of the hat and tucked in a few fluffy pink fabric balls to hide the blob of glue under the feathers!
The Finished Look
I am SO very happy with this adorable cowgirl hat!
It was not difficult at all!
It is also far from perfect and because of that I feel that ANYONE could make one for themselves!
You will see more hats from me...no doubt!!!
Did you know I also do custom trucker hats?? Check them out HERE
More Inspiration:
I pulled a few blogs from past projects that came to mind when working on this piece! I hope you can use them to draw inspiration for your upcoming project. Here are the additional designs for your inspiration:
How to Make Custom Trucker Hats - unique personalized look for any style
Painted Leather Cowboy Boots - stunning custom painted cowboy boots
Men's Custom Denim Jacket - faux tooled leather paint technique for my favorite cowboy
And of course, don't forget to see all my custom trucker hats HERE (for kids) and HERE (for adults).
Click on any photo below for more up-close photos and all the design details
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