Catching Up

It has been a long time since I posted anything new here, so I am playing catch up.  I have only done a couple of cards this summer, since we moved in May and I have been "nesting" ever since! The house is coming together nicely, though, and I am almost ready to get back to crafting "full time" -- or as full-time as a homemaker can get! Here are a few of the things I have been working on besides painting walls and rearranging furniture...

I have continued to create these fun little stocking ornaments. I decided not to use them in the ornament exchange except as prizes. The rest are going to be gifts and a few may end up in my etsy shop.

One evening I decided I wanted to do a little crafting, so I whipped out this monotone paper (it is double sided, so the stripes and snowflakes are from the same sheet) and decided to do something a little different. I stained the back of the wooden stocking with brown alcohol inks instead of painting it, and I used lace to embellish it. Simple but I think pretty.  The little heart is something my husband cut out just after he got his scroll saw.  It had been wandering around in various containers in my stash so I decided to do something with it. First I stained it with pinks and purples (alcohol ink) then spritzed some glimmer mist on it. I backed it with paper then added the little ruffle and a beaded hanger.  I hung it in my little gallery outside my studio...

The heart is hanging above the framed cards on the left side. The other things are projects I have made--I am especially proud of my first "painting" using mixed media. The shadow box was from a few years ago, and here is the "Z", in its previous state:

It just seemed so plain--especially after I made this "A" for my niece:

Another project my husband and I did together was this frame for some clock dipping bowls I bought at Pottery Barn a couple years ago. It was his first attempt at a frame, and I thought he did pretty well all things considered.

I painted it and lined it with black velvet, then glued everything in. It was the perfect accent for the wall I hung it on.

I am working on some other ornaments for the exchange using old hymnal pages to decoupage on glass balls. I will come up with some sort of fancy tag to put at the top. I also bought another box of clear glass ornaments and will experiment with some alcohol inks on those. I have about twenty projects on my list; as soon as I get things made, I'll be posting.

Recycling Old Frames

A couple of years ago I got a harebrained idea to frame a whole bunch of photos in different styles of frames and put them on my office wall.  I liked the look for about a month, then it seemed cluttered and just "off" somehow.  When we moved, I was all set to sell all the frames that weren't black, and in fact put them in my little booth at the antique mall.  Since none of them sold, I brought them all home and decided I would recycle them into something for my new decor.

Today my friend came over to craft with me and helped me create these beautiful frames.  Most of the ideas were my own, but she interjected several excellent suggestions that all enhanced the project considerably. I took pictures along the way, in case any reader wanted to recreate them at home, so those photos and a tutorial follow. Enjoy!

Click on the image to see better.  The large frame still needs something in it, but I put together the contents of the two smaller ones today.

 This was the large frame that I started with.  First take the glass and mat out and set aside.

 I used Making Memories acrylic paint, but I think latex might have worked a little better. Also, priming or scuffing the surface some would have helped the paint to adhere better.  I started with white paint, putting two coats on and letting it dry thoroughly.

 I wasn't too worried about getting it perfect since I knew I would be smudging other stuff on it.

 Next, I sponged on some very watered down brown paint so it would get into all the crevices.  This I wiped off with a paper towel, leaving it sort of smudged and dirty looking. While it was drying, I removed the inner wooden piece around the mat opening and used some pages from an old hymnal to decoupage onto the mat.

This is a picture of the mat after I had it decoupaged and reapplied the little wooden inner frame. I used the ink and that little tool to sponge on some walnut ink to the frame, then I put it all together.

Here is a closer look at the other two frames.  I did pretty much the same thing for them, only instead of sponging on the walnut ink, I spritzed on glimmer mist (green) and Smooch (gingerbread).  Each layer of different medium gave it a different look.  I think I could have kept on adding things all day!

I used a piece of printed paper cut to size then stamped and embossed the three images onto a page from the hymnal.  Then I tore around the edges to make it fit the frame better, as well as deal with a few tears that were already there.

This other one has a little bit of three dimensional look to it with the raised bird and rubberized leaves.  I will print out a little text box to put in the upper right hand corner when I decide what to put in the third frame.

Here they are amid all the tools and trash of the day!

Shadow Boxes & Frame

Here is the latest set of photos from my recent project. (Next will be new cards...) As you know I have been on a "use it up" mission this year. This chipboard frame had been in the stash for at least three years, maybe longer. I recently found the My Mind's Eye Lil' Robots papers and just this week found (on the clearance table!) a set of Maya Road Robots. The robots were clear plastic cut outs, and I knew they would not show up unless I colored them. Since they were sheer, I first had to paint the backs of them all white. I used a sharpie poster marker for the backs, and sharpies and slick writers for the fronts.

The chipboard swirl that encircles the opening was unfinished, so I used a glitter glaze on it. In my mind it represents a wire running through and "connecting" all the robots together. There are little "gears" (by Little Yellow Bicycle) and wire with tiny jingle bells attached at various places--just things a kid might need if he decided to build a robot... The frame took me HOURS to make, so even though it is "just" chipboard, it is still $25. I think it would look really cute in some little boy's room, or on the desk of a techno geek. :)

Next, I unearthed a set of three (only two are done) small shadow boxes. I found them at a garage sale, so they are recycled in a sense. The top one has a rub-on embellishment affixed to the top of the "glass" (it is actually plastic) and three random print flowers with square embellished brads as centers. The paper background has a very subtle ledger print on it so as not to distract the eye from the text. It is called Random Acts of Kindness, measures 4X7, and sells for $6.

Jonathan Swift penned, "May you live all the days of your life." This little shadow box measures 4X4 and has the clear text attached to the inside of the "glass". A lovely butterfly perches on the corner of airy leaf paper. It is called, Live all the days and sells for $5.

Next up, I am posting photos of two different 12X12 shadow boxes that I have made for Ornery and myself. I am posting them here so you can have an idea of what I can do for you! Cost will vary depending on how many trinkets and embellishments are involved, but I love doing these for people! If you are interested, email me and we will talk...

The top one has a lot of personal notes in it. I did one for one woman that contained (among other things) a photocopy of the advertisement that she put in the personal ads of the local paper. It generated a LOT of interest, and landed her a stellar husband! Everyone has a story to tell, and there are often little bits of paper you don't want to lose track of--we can incorporate them into a beautiful shadow box like these.

This is one I just made yesterday. I covered the chipboard swirl on the right side with some very old hymnal sheet music, and used more of it beneath one of the prints. This one would be much less costly to make because it has a lot less stuff in it.