Building blocks for grown ups

Happy Thursday!  Thank you for all of your comments about my new door.  I am glad you like it as much as I do.  I can't wait to get started working outside.  Hopefully the weather will cooperate.  Today I am going to show you something totally different with some tips for getting cheap supplies - like brayers at hardware stores.  Here is the project:

The other day I went to my local hardware store which happens to be Lowe's and came home with this:

Yes, that was the day it was snowing - see all that snow in my car...ick.  Anyway I bought a 2x4 one that is used for studs in building and had the Lowe's people cut it every 5 or 6 inches.  (6 seems big but 5 is perfect)

A 2x4 costs you less than $2.50.  You can get 15 or so blocks depending on the size you use. 

Then I came home and painted three of the blocks in coral (making memories) or hot pink (the craft store brand)...yum

I covered them with mod podge and scrapbook paper.  I cut the paper 4.5 inches wide and trimed it a little.  Then I creased the end around the block and cut it to the exact length.  I adhered with mod pogde.  Make sure you smooth it out as soon as possible. 

which leads me to brayers.  These are so expensive at craft stores it is ridicious.  I swore I had seen the same thing at Lowe's so I went looking.  You will find what you need in the wallpaper section for 1.98.  Seriously, compared to 8 or 9 dollars it is a steal. 

This is what you'll find at a craft store for 9 bucks.  It is rubber and nice but you don't need it.  This is what you'll find at Lowes for less than a quater of the price. 

You can use either tool - you just need something to smooth.  I discovered the secret to working to mod pogde is to make sure only one side is wet at a time and to dry between otherwise the paper can stick to your brayer or your fingers- discovered the hard way.

So put the mod podge - or other sealer (note:you can also get something similar at a hardware store which is probably cheaper but I haven't looked into it yet because I also use a 50% off coupon but when I run out I am checking the hardware store.) on the block, smooth your paper down really good.

Let dry.

Do second side.  Dry.  Adhere lettering.  Dry.  Seal over the top part.  

Done.

 

Decorate.  Smile.

Note:  Joann's has paper including cardstock 5 for a dollar this week! 

Bascially this whole craft -with a ton of blocks left over costs you $3 dollars. 

Here is a link to what you can find at Lowe's similar to Mod podge but I couldn't find the price online.

http://www.liquitex.com/Products/fluidmedglossmedvar.cfm

Paper Beads!! Easy and make cute, funky jewelery

I was trying to think of a craft project that I used to do that I'd like to take some time to do. I love jewelery and remembered making paper beads with friends. I thought that I could really make some funky jewelery to wear that wouldn't look childish.

Here's what you need:


Materials:

• shiny magazine pages, preferably with colorful pictures
• modge podge
• toothpicks or small twigs
• scissors
• small paint brush

Directions:

1. Cut the magazine pictures into long, thin triangles. The width of the shortest side of the triangle will become the width of the finished bead.
2. Wind the triangles around a toothpick, small straw or twig. You may need a touch of white glue or modge podge to hold the point of the triangle on the newly formed bead.
3. Brush the entire exposed surface with mod podge. Let dry.

You now have a nice, colorful, glossy bead which can be strung just about anywhere!


There are tons of how-to's on this throughout the internet with step-by-step pictures, such as blog.craftzine.com - but its really so easy and you can make a ton of them in little time. If you don't have old magazines you use anyother thin paper to make the beads. Some examples are newspapers, gift wrap, Valpak coupons (that come in the mail), gift bags, or scrapbook paper. The key is to have the paper be lightweight and not thick like cardstock.

Christmas Decorating

Well, my roommates and I put up Christmas decorations this weekend. It was very exciting. I love the lights and garland and, as of this weekend for me, the snow. It's finally really beginning to look like Christmas. :)


We had one huge white wall that doesn't even have anything on it usually. But with all the holiday decorations up, the wall looked especially bare. We weren't sure what to put there, but then I remembered some wrapping paper I had. The whole room kinda has a red and white theme, so I thought this paper was a good solution...unless of course something better comes up down the road. :) I'm sure its not for everyone, but I kinda like it. You can obviously use any kind of paper to match your style. I like the short rolls that seemed just the right width for this type of stripe.


On another Christmas decoration note, I started mod podging my Christmas tree boxes. For the first and smallest one I cut a bunch of tiny strips from different paper. I like how this looks, but it takes forever. The hard part is covering the edges.



So for the biggest one, I used just one large cutout for the front and covered the sides with a solid red. I'll probably add some ribbon on the front.




I've yet to decide what to do with the third, middle box. Once I'm done, I'll set them on some fake snow on the top of a mantle or something.

more mod podge

So I decided to mod podge some of the wooden pieces I picked up from Roberts that are technically Halloween decorations. But, really they are anything you want them to be. I decided to do a mix of Thanksgiving/Christmas style things so I can use them a little longer.


I wanted to piece together several elements for this project, so I first covered the entire box so I wouldn't have to worry about the wood showing through or covering it all up.


Then I selected and cut up the pieces of paper that I wanted to use. I decided on a pattern and set to work. I'd simply dip each piece in the mod podge and rub the glue around before placing it.


Here's my final product. I'll use it as a centerpiece on a table or entertainment center, but I'll probably accompany it with something more traditional. I'd like to put tissue paper in the center, but currently only had holiday colors in felt. I'd love to have this be a candy cane holder or something.

Fridge container

Last weekend my roommates and I reorganized our fridge. Before we had the bottom shelf for all milk and assorted things, but we each only had a small shelf for the rest of our things. It wasn't working out that well, so we decided to move the shelves around so we could all have our own shelf that we could fit our own milk on and everything else. (Oh the joys of sharing a fridge with roommates. :)) It works so much better now and I feel like I actually have room to buy and make food. Well that organization streak spread to the outside of the fridge when one roommate started cleaning off the outside of the fridge. There were a lot of random announcements and coupons, so I thought it would work nicely to make a little container that could hold all of that.

First step: I picked out a good sized box that I could cover and use. I chose a long fruit leather box that was about an inch wide. I cut it down so it could hold even an 8 1/2 wide paper.

I picked out some fun papers and elements to use.

And I finally bought some more Mod Podge...using a Robert's Crafts 50 percent off coupon.

I measured the paper to be just a little larger than the box so it could fold over the edges. It works best to spread the Mod Podge on the side that will touch the box first. Then as you place the paper, spread Mod Podge on the outside and try to smooth out the surface.


I used plain colored cardstock for the outside and to line the insides of the box. I placed four magnets in the corners and let those firmly dry.


For the front, I added a ribbon and bow. I covered the ribbon with Mod Podge too and in this picture, it is still drying, so that gunk you see will be clear. I will probably find a button, element or brad to go in the center of the bow.

And Wa-laa! Place it on your fridge, or for any other use!

I mention in my post last week how I have so many containers and boxes that I want to recycle for use around my house. I'll probably use this idea to make various other organization things around my house. Ooo, maybe I'll try a pencil/pen holder.

Journey to become a decoupage queen

Dear Readers - so I have been amazed at my sisters amazing projects, and am being inspired to do more projects. I've been subletting for the past 6 months and living out of boxes, my art supplies are no where to be found and I've been really neglecting my creative side. However, I'm moving in two weeks and am already setting up an area that I can really do more projects to share with you. For now, I'm gaining inspiration through other blogs, talking to people, looking at magazines. I can't wait to have a new room to decorate!

I've always loved decoupage and I'm pretty good at it. I wanted some unique ideas to use it for, so here are my thoughts on how to get started, and some tutorials I found for some cool projects.

Join me on my journey to become a decoupage queen!!

- First, find something to decoupage.   Always take a look at those collectibles or decorations that you've had around forever - or a really good piece of wood furniture that you see at a yardsale - it's all about seeing it for what it can be.

 Anything can have pictures and paper glued to it: furniture, photo albums, shelving, frames, boxes, vases, mirrors, hard cover books, trays, suitcases, dishes, candles, cans, bottles, egg cartons, rocks, plastic bangles, old headbands, shoes, hats, etc etc.

- Second, Find the pictures and paper to decorate your item with:
You can always keep pictures on-hand, but for example you find an old 1920s lamp to spruce up, it might call for some similar time-period pictures. If you’re on a tight budget, like I am, use magazines, newspapers and spare paper that you have around your own use. You can use pictures to create cut-outs from old magazines, photographs or wrapping paper. I keep unique or artsy pictures in a file - and I LOVE those vintage calendars, you can get them super cheap at goodwill or even at retail stores once the year is over.

The general medium is paper, but you may also use fabric, buttons, dried or pressed flowers, feathers, beads, wood, indeed anything that will give an interesting finish when your project is complete. Simply let your imagination go wild!

- Third, get your tools together
The only other tools you require are a decent pair of scissors and some glue. You'll also need something to brush the glue onto the paper - like a popsicle stick, a knife or a paintbrush (if you use a brush just make sure you don't leave it sitting around or it will be a pain to get the glue out of.) For the glue, I like mod-podge or colladge-podge, but a good pot of varnish would do. Once you buy the materials you have them forever (unless you run out of glue). But it's still a really cheap hobby.

Other, more specialised, projects will need further thought and research. If you wish to decoupage furniture or clothing, for example, go online and use the top search engines to find out exactly what tools and materials you would need for any given project, and where you can purchase them from. 

Share your ideas for decoupage or something that you've done! Jules
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I'm planning to decoupage a pair of pumps that I have but are all nicked up - I'll follow this tutorial and let you see the results.

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I just bought an old desk from an antique store and I'm going to follow this tutorial to make a plain wood table from simple to.....

SaSSSY! (They used old maps here, I thinks that's awesome!)

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Here's a great idea for a Halloween decoupage project

Mod Podging a memory book

Hey - It's Jules again! Traveling is one of my main passions, so I wanted to post about making artwork out of memories from travels or experiences. Scrapbooks are great, but sometimes you want to put up something on the wall or on the coffee table that you can look at everyday.

About two years ago I went to France with my boyfriend Than. He kept a beautiful journal of his perspectives that was inspiring to read, and in addition to the photos we took, I wanted to give him a Christmas present that would showcase both of these.

 - I bought a small black cardstock photo book with a spiral bind - I liked the small pages. 

 - I love buying old calendars to put in frames or use in colladges, so I had one with old pictures of France that i cut up.  

- Then I typed up portions of Than's journal with a cool font.

- I made a background colladge of the old paris photos along with our own pictures. Mod Podge is my favorite thing ever. You can just paint it over and it drys clear. 

-Over the pictures I put strips of the phrases that explained the photos beneath them. 

- I separated the pages that they should dry - and wha la!(Is a good idea to put some tissue between the pages or they'll stick)

For some awesome modpodge ideas - and until I put up my photos - check out this blog

Mod Podge Rocks!