How to Create DIY Sheep Decor Using Toys from the Toy Store!
If you’ve followed me for awhile, you know that I love sheep and using them in our french home decor.
Recently I was shopping in a toy store for a birthday gift for our grandson, and happened to walk past a large bin filled with plastic farmhouse animals.
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Of course, the sheep figures immediately caught my eye.
They were so stinking cute!
I stood there in the toy aisle, holding one cute little sheep in my hand, thinking there had to be something that I could do with them.
So I decided to purchase several and brought them home to see what I could create.
As I was deciding what to create with this DIY sheep decor, I realized that the “plastic toy” look had to go, and I knew that I had to paint them.
Originally, I thought I wanted a gold metal look, something that resembled old brass, so I started by painting all of them solid black and then layered gilding wax (Rub n Buff in Gold Leaf) over it.
The end result wasn’t what I had envisioned, so on to Plan B.
I decided to use chalk paint in color Antique White and dry brushed over the top of each one, leaving the bottom legs and parts of the face black, to give them some definition.
Dry brushing them also left bits of the gold showing through, and I liked this result.
My idea was to form them into a base or pedestal of some sort so that I could change out the display for different looks, so I took some E6000 glue and glued their cute little bottoms together.
And here’s what I ended up with.
Placing a round glass vase on top made the perfect French farmhouse vase for fresh cut flowers!
I also tried it with an ironstone bowl, using it to hold the scrubber by the sink.
You could also easily use this for holding soaps in the bathroom.
Using a small ironstone saucer, it makes a perfect base for a candle.
And this may be my favorite, sitting on top of the fireplace mantel, simply holding a moss ball.
There are so many different ways to use this DIY sheep pedestal.
If you love cows, pigs, or horses, you could use those toys instead!
This sweet pedestal would also make a precious one of a kind gift for someone special!
I bought several more of these little toy sheep and I think I’m going to make one to sit on my desk for a business card holder.
I just need to find a small silver tray to sit on top.
So tell me, what would you use this for?
Cheers, Cindy
If you love this DIY project, you might want to check out these amazing DIY French pumpkins!
Absolutely love the different ideas with the toy lamps. It would be a great idea to use several at a baby shower or a wedding with your discovery of this brilliant idea to decorate.
So darned cute, Cindy! My mind is now spinning with possibilities. Thanks for sharing!
Now that is the cleverest upcycle I have ever seen. So smart.
What a great idea. Love the look. Your creative mind is obviously always working. Cherry
Thank you, Cherry!
I came across you on Pinterest and your name, Edith and Evelyn caught my eye. My mother and her twin are named Edith and Evelyn. They are 89 years old. When I told my mom about your name she asked if you were sisters, especially twins. Could you please let us know? She was excited to hear your names. Thank you! Tommie Rogers, Edith Davis and Evelyn Jones.
Hi Tommie! Edith was my mother, and Evelyn was my mother in law. They were both very precious to me. You can read more about their story here: https://wp.me/P5Xug9-2
Love the sheep. I’d set a silver bowl on top filled with individual soaps for my guest bathroom.
Well that’s about the cutest thing i’ve seen in a while. I love it!! I’m gonna try it with little piggies! Great idea. Thanks for the inspiration!
I’m a little late to the party, but I love this idea to paint toy sheep. I never would have guessed, or even thought about doing this. You are so creative!! I have to try this!!
I tried to make this and used hot glue, didn’t work! Just unstuck when moved. Will have to try a better glue, I guess.
Use E6000 glue! It works perfectly, just let it dry 24 hrs!
What a cute idea. Love it!
I spotted these cute sheep in your previous post and loved them! And now . . . since we live in the same town, I think I may know the exact toy store you mentioned, so I’m off to get some sheep. Or piggies. Let’s get together and talk toy livestock soon!
Ohhhh, piggies would be so cute!!
I live in the same town and also know that toy store and may have to make a trip there myself!
Good morning, Sweet Friend! First, it is my sincerest hope that Hurricane Zeta has not damaged your home and your town! Second, your blog absolutely delights me! your sheep! It gives me joy to know that there is someone else in the world that uses toys, too, to decorate! Have a wonderful day!
Thank you for this idea. It came out adorable and everyone loves it. They can not believe utbis plastic toy sheep from Michael’s. So much fun!
You are so clever!! Love this idea. We had sheep growing up.
Way too cute!!!!!
When I went to the site in the link I was shocked by the price of just one sheep. But then I watched the video on the site. These are true works of art. Hand painted with such detail from beginning of concept to finished product. Then the price made perfect sense to me.
how utterly charming and so inventive.
Well, that is adorable! I have one little plastic sheep that I added to a Nativity creche made by a well known New Mexico Santero. Now I know how to make him blend in with the hand carved shepherd!
Where did you find the sheep?
There are links within the post.
Links to the sheep are within the post.
Just love the idea. Can’t wait to make myself one . Thank you so much for posting the picture and directions. L B
I freaking love this idea!!! I love sheep & rabbits. Going to look at them when I’m at Target or Michael’s. Thank you for the inspiration!!
That’s wonderful, Susan! Thank you so much for commenting!
Hmmm.. not baaaad. Couldn’t resist that.
Lol! Thank you, Carol!
Absolutely flipping brilliant! Great idea.
Thank you so much!
I love this!!!! I have often admired your sheep!!! I will be trying this if I can find the sheep!!!!! Thank you much and have a great weekend!!!!
Edith is the lady reading a book with a sheep next to her for sale? Love your little sheeps. Denise
Hi Denise! Unfortunately, this piece has already sold.
I absolutely love the sheep! What a fantastic idea! I’m going to Tractor Supply tomorrow!
Awesome Lurlie!
Oh my goodness! I am so excited to see this! How simple but yet turned out so sweet. I am going to go and hunt down some sheep.
Thanks for commenting, Melinda!
I love them with your ball of greens on top.
Thanks so much!
I LOVE your DIY sheep. Is there a way to order them online. Our biggest toy store closed and everywhere I looked I can’t find them?
Thank you. Please keep up the great work and information. Love your emails and blog. 🙂
Thank you, Bridget! If you will go to my Amazon shop, I have a sheep toy listed there that would work for this project! Here’s the link: https://www.amazon.com/shop/edithandevelyn
I love them with the moss ball!! It looks like they ar on the look out while shenanigans are going on in a bush!!!
Lol, so true, Margie!
This is so talent, creative, and gorgeous that its beauty leaves me speechless. WOW!
Adorable
what a clever idea. I’m always looking for things that I can take and repurpose. Thank you for sharing. These little guys look like they are from another time Old World. Good Job.
Thank you so much Mary!
No need to answer…. I just found the answer to where in one of your comments. They look great!
So cute! Where did you but the sheep? Even before you did your layered paint to them, they look like really nice sturdy sheep.
Love all of your ideas, and what a creative way to use these sweet animals…always inspired by your ideas..can’t wait to get out today and see if I can find some for myself! Hope your day is blessed….
Thank you so much Judy!
Cindy
I found 3 of the sheep today at toy store !! so excited to have found the little cuties!!
Wish I could find an old picture with sheep in it too.
Thank you ,for this super project !!
Paula
That’s awesome Paula! So glad you found some!
I love this idea. I would love to have them for the dish we put our keys on.
What a fabulous idea! It looks like something you would purchase at an antique market. Very clever.
Thank you Lauren!
I just love your whimsical sheep displays–perfection! Blessings, Cecilia
Thank you Cecilia!
Cindy, this is one of the most clever ideas I’ve seen. Great job! I’m always looking for something to elevate a piece. I’ll keep this idea in mind should I find something that would work for me. Yes, very, very clever! And oh, so charming!
Thank you Sarah! This was such an easy project and so versatile to use in different ways!
I loved this idea!! So cute!! Could you please tell me the author of the book ViNTAGE that was under the sheep in the first picture! It looks like one I would like to own. You have a very creative mind!!
Thank you Sheryl! The author of the coffee table book that you are seeing is Nina Hartmann. Her books are amazing and filled to the brim with vintage eye candy. Here is the link to her website http://vintagebynina.com/vintagebynina-books-2. I believe they may all be sold out though. She is a Swedish designer and we are one of the distributors for her new books as they are released. She has her newest book being released in September and we will be carrying them. We only have a limited quantity when they are available and they usually sell out quickly.
I saw this over at The Scoop Link Party! I am amazed at what a great job you did making these little sheep so rich looking! Beautiful and creative! Hugs! Chloe
Thank you Chloe!
I LOVE this idea!! It has struck my fancy beyond imagination! You are an inspiration on so many levels. Thanks for everything!
That is an absolutely adorable idea!!!
Thank you so much for sharing….I see a Michaels visit in my near future!!
Be blessed,
J
I might use them for drawer pulls. I wonder if you could dip. In plaster and let dry to get plaster figures? Trip to dollar store in my near future!!
They would be so cute as drawer pulls, especially on an old chippy cabinet! Hmm…the plaster, now that is an intriguing idea. I may have to try that.
So adorable! I love this idea, as well as all your blog projects!
Thank you Julia!
I never would have thought to make a base out of four sheep. What a clever idea and so versatile to use in so many settings. Love what you do.
Carol P-K
Bensenville, IL
Wow! I am speechless! I notice them in an earlier post and loved them! never imagined they were toy sheeps. It looked like a french antique stand, part of the vase!
You are so cleaver and creative!
I love your kitchen counter tops, are they Carrara marble? I have Carrara in my bathroom counters and I would love them for my kitchen as well, but the company who installed them didn’t recommended them for the kitchen. They said they were very delicate to survive in the kitchen. What is your experience with it and would you recommended it for kitchen?
Thank you so much!
Thank you Cristina! Yes, the kitchen counters are Carrara marble. Some stone companies just refuse to sell it for a kitchen. Carrara isn’t as hard as some other stones and will etch and stain. I knew this going in, but I have always loved the way old marble counters look in the European homes and French patisseries. The “patina” they acquire after years and years of use appeal to me. That being said, marble in the kitchen is not for everyone! If the occasional scratch or etching from the acid in a food will bother you, then stay away from it! We went with honed marble and sealed it with a marble sealer, which will need to be resealed every so often. Just make an informed decision. There are some granites and other stones that mimic Carrara, so there are other options if you’d rather not deal with the “patina” that Carrara will undoubtedly acquire. I love ours but it’s definitely not for everyone!
Thank you so much Cindy! This is very helpful information. I appreciate your advice!
XO
You had me at “Hello” with the chalk paint finish..but, when you glued them together and made a “stand” out of them….Oh la la! I love it! These turned out to be Superlicious! Thank you so much for sharing~ Leticia
You know you’re going to cause all the toy stores to sell out of sheep now, right? It’s such a sweet idea and now we all need to try it! I love the way the finish turned out with all the layers…very pretty.
judypimperl.blogspot.comj
Lol Judy, maybe there will be some cow and pig lovers out there and all the sheep won’t sell out!
I so agree with Holly. This reminds me to expect ideas and inspiration to strike at any moment in our lives if we let it. My bet is there is going to be a run in these little critters. Thanks for continuing to open my mind to possibilities. Because of your blog, I have a China cabinet and a antique french chair with ottoman in my garage ready as my next projects♡
Awww, thank you Dale! Be careful…..you can never have just one french chair!!
Ditto everything everyone else has said! Just amazing how your mind works. Thank you for the inspiration. I collect birds for the Biblical meaning they represent and now want some sheep too.
Ah, yes, love the spiritual symbolism of birds as well!
Cindy, you are the whole package, creative, spiritual, beautiful… And I love what you did with these sheep! Moreover, just reading these comments from your customers and followers, I am thinking for sure that birds of a feather flock together! I can only imagine how fun an Edith and Evelyn Vintage convention, seminar, workshop, and/or Happy Hour would be!❤️
Sweet Holly, thank you so much, I’m feeling very blessed today by all the kind words. Hmmm…..an E&E Happy Hour would be awesome!!
You are very inventive. Love this idea. Please keep sharing!!!! 😉
Really, really, cute and useful idea!
Brilliant idea Cindy!! I love all the ways you used them!
When I wrote to you last week asking about them after spotting them on your May post I had no idea that they were toys! You told me you were going to devote a post to them and now I understand why! I love sheep too and they are especially adorable! Very inspirational, thank you!
I also love sheep, alive or toy. Have been collecting unusual or striking, to me, in some way. Some of them are out all year but all come out at Christmas. They reside under the den Christmas tree which is decorated with ornaments of pine cones, acorns, birds nest, two baby owls, and two pheasants. I love each and every piece as have collected them for years. And almost every time I look at them it reminds me that “we are the sheep of HIS pasture”, loved and cared for by God Almighty..
Yes, love that Alice! One of the main reasons I love the sheep is what they represent to me spiritually. Well said.
So creative and absolutely adorable! I love how you are using them as a base.
Wow. Flabbergasted I am. You creative genius, you. Wow. I bow to your awesomeness, Oh Great One (she added sheepishly).
Lol, Lindy! Thank you…
Oh my word….this is so clever, refreshingly different and still beautiful! I was admiring them in a photo in an earlier post thinking it must have been an antique of some sort! Fun!
You are so creative! What would I use this for? I would probably steal one of your ideas!
seriously adorable! love it!
Ewe are so clever. I love this idea and would never have thought of it.
MOST PEOPLE SEE SHEEP, BUT YOU SAW ALL THE POSSIBILITIES !!! YOU LET THE ARTIST IN YOURSELF SHINE…
Oh my gosh….this is waaay too cute and over the top creative!….Love, love it…I am now on the hunt for cute sheep like these…Did you get them at a big box toy store or a specialty toy store?….Crazy cute!!
Thank you Shirley! Found these at Toys R Us.
I am in awe! I like to think I am creative (and I love sheep), but I would n.e.v.e.r have thought of painting these toy sheep! Never. And then, to use them as you have as a charming base for all manner of decor…………I am loving it.
Adorable!! And all from a toy bin! The possibilities are endless.
No sheep are safe around you!!! Love what you did with them.