Fun Jewelry Project

Hi everyone, hope your week is off to a good start!

For those of you who battled the latest winter snow storm over the weekend, I sure hope you are staying safe and snug indoors!

As for me, I've been keeping busy playing in my craft room.

So I thought I'd share with you my project that I completed for DecoArt.

The challenge this time was to create something using unconventional materials.

So, I put my thinking cap on, and came up with this:

 Can you guess what I made this necklace out of????

Paper!  Yep, I made the beads from pages torn from magazines, as well as scrapbooking paper!

 This project brought back some sweet memories from when I was a little girl.

I could hardly wait for summer vacation, as it meant I could catch up with Carol Duvall and her craft show on tv!  I'm not sure if her show was broadcast all over the country or not, but one of our local Detroit stations aired it each weekday for many years. Carol is from Michigan, by the way.

Back then (geez, I feel so old saying that!!), we didn't have Michael's or Hobby Lobby to run to for our crafting supplies.  

Oh no!

And we certainly didn't have the variety of crafting materials available like we do now.

So, Carol was a real pro at turning things like egg cartons, pringles cans, plastic jugs and more into works of art!

I remember first seeing the paper beads on her show when I was a girl, and could hardly wait to make my own!  Of course, back them, mine didn't turn out quite like these!

 Anyway, if any of your would like a mini tutorial, just let me know!

Basically, you go from this.............

to this............... 

 to this.......

 And, voila!

A handful of paper beads just waiting  to be turned  into something pretty!

I thought it would be fun to paint them (since of course a prerequisite of the project involved using DecoArt paint) to look like turquoise beads.

And for added interest, I mixed in some beads that I made from printed floral paper.

After painting, I coated all of the beads with a product (from DecoArt) called

"Triple Thick", which gives them a super shiny, hard glass like finish.

 I also mixed in little silver beads.

This is actually two long necklaces that I made, so they can be doubled over for multiple looks.

I can even wear them as bracelets by winding them around and around my wrist!!

 It was a fun, though very labor intensive project.

 The stringing part was super easy, but the making of the beads did take alot of time!

I can't wait to wear them!!

Fun Heart and Arrow Project

Bonjour Mes Amis!

Hope you all had a great week.

I know what you must be wondering, 

"Why oh why is this girl rushing ahead to Valentine's Day already?!"

Well, if you are one who creates, then you probably like to plan ahead a bit.

I know some of you even plan and create Christmas projects in July!

Well, I am not nearly that organized!

But, since DecoArt was requesting Valentine's themed projects, I just couldn't resist creating this stacked heart and arrow!

 I had so much fun with this project, and couldn't resist adding a bit of my signature glitter!

My color palette was white along with pretty shades of pink.

 Just for fun, I decided to add a white polka dot border to the middle heart.

 I found this adorable white grosgrain ribbon with little gold arrows, which I thought was the perfect embellishment for my hearts!

 I should back up a bit by saying that the hearts started out as unfinished wood pieces.

 Same with the arrows.  I also found a really neat dimensional metal arrow that I added.

 Here's a little tip if you want to paint polka dots.  Just take the eraser end of a pencil and dip it in a bit of your paint to create dots.  Dip each time you make a new dot, and viola!

Fun and cheerful, easy-peasy polka dots!!

 I had the best time creating this project for DecoArt!

I hope it inspires you to make something too!

Thanks so much for stopping by, your visits and comments mean alot to me:)

Projects

Bonjour Mes Amis!

How is your week going so far?

Wow, it sure is hard to believe we are already into the second week of January, isn't it?!

Today I thought I'd share with you a few projects that I recently completed.

All are in my Etsy shop, if you care to take a look!

My sister has been busy cleaning out her attic, and found this cabinet door that she thought I could do something with.  Of course, I forgot to take before shots of everything I'm showing you today, darn!

Anyway, it wasn't vintage or anything, otherwise I would probably have kept its original paint and patina.

It was boring golden oak, and so ready for a fresh look and new lease on life!

Immediately I thought of creating a coat hook out of it.

So, I painted it in my favorite shade of light blue chalk paint.

 I then stenciled this gorgeous large skeleton key to the front.  (I wish it would show up better in the photos!)

I used several different colors for my stencil, to give it a dimensional look.

 One of the best things about this project was I had everything for it, except the hooks!

I found those at the hardware store and had my handy hubby mount them for me.

It was a fun project, and I am happy with the end result!

(so, my sister can pass along more "junk" from her attic to me any day!!)

 Next up is this large vintage wooden cigar box that I found while out thrifting.

I see plenty of cigar boxes on my hunts, but I've never come across one this large before!

It was very well made, and had a neat brass latch and hinges, so I just knew that I could do something with it!

 So, I painted it inside and out with a pretty creamy taupe chalk paint.  I left the inside lid unpainted, to show off the original cigar ad (wow, only 5 cents each, this box must be old!!).

I also knew that I wanted to decoupage something to the lid. After some thought I decided on these beautiful roses, compliments of The Graphics Fairy.

If you ever decoupage, you know how tedious it can be to cut out details by hand, but the results are worth it, I think!

 Just for fun, I added the address of a Parisian flower market to the sides.

 I just love finding boxes that I can transform with paint and a little tlc.

The one below was also a thrifted find.  It was a dark reddish brown when I found it, and I could hardly wait to paint it the same pretty light blue as my coat hook project.

The neat thing about this box is that it also holds a photo.  I placed a scrap of pretty floral paper beneath the glass insert for the time being. The lid has a metal insert, and features a beautiful floral cut out design.  

 Of course, I distress nearly all of my projects, to give them what I like to call

"that aged over time look".

I almost forgot to show you my knife, fork and spoon trays.
A few weeks ago, hubby came home with a set of three vintage wood trays.
I just love it when he comes home with goodies for me from the thrift store!
(he knows just what to look for!)
Anyway, they were a dark wood finish, and on their backsides was imprinted
"Toastmaster Hospitality Tray".
They were made right here in Michigan (Grand Haven), back in the 1950's.

 While I don't always know right away just how I will make something over,
if I look at the object long enough, inspiration will eventually strike!
So, since there were three trays, I thought it would be fun to decoupage them with these gorgeous copies of a giant knife, fork and spoon.  All were found on The Graphics Fairy.
First I painted the trays in the same creamy taupe that I used for the cigar box.

I had so much fun with this project!

 It's amazing how realistic and dimensional the silverware looks!

And I couldn't resist sharing a pic of Katie, perched on the wicker bench at the foot off our bed.

I had to laugh, as it looks like she's yawning from boredom over all my craft projects:)

Have a great week, can'w wait to see what you all have been up to!