Recently I realized that I ran out of card! I know, I know, how did that happen? So I need to make some new ones and I thought I would show you what I made.
I am still trying to use items in my stash, so I started with old dictionary pages and went from there.
handmade cards
I used paper from my stash and embellished with stamps, ink, washi tape, and stickles.
The result is 3 fun, and easy cards to make and to send.
Christmas is fast approaching and now is the perfect time to make some new Christmas decor!
I found this chipboard tree at my local creative reuse center and I knew it would be perfect for a fabric mixed media project. It is a Paper Studio brand, I think you can find similar items at your local craft stores.
The first layer is paint. I wanted to make sure the tree was green just in case the fabric didn’t cover it all. Then I added the fabric layer. This added a lot of texture and interest.
Once the fabric was dry it was time to start painting. I have found that these fabric mixed media projects work best if you let the fabric dry overnight rather than using a heat tool.
Once the fabric is dry it is time to add paint. I dry brushed on a few of the Finnabair Metallique and Sparks paint. Then I added the decorations. I used items I found at the Dollar Store and adhered them with hot glue.
Once that was all dry I flicked paint on with a toothbrush. I love how it turned out! This was a lot of fun to create and it will look great in my home. What decor projects are you working on?
Affiliate links:
Liquitex super heavy gel- https://amzn.to/2Px3flj
Liquitex Heavy Gel-https://amzn.to/2RXTQ2O
Gloss Mod Modge-https://amzn.to/2PZxr7R
Corks-https://amzn.to/2zfepkg
Finnabair sparks-https://amzn.to/2DHSq9F
Finnabair Metallique-https://amzn.to/2DHqjXX
Finnabair Paint brushes-https://amzn.to/2TjbgrZ
Have you ever found something at a thrift store that you knew you could make into something new? That is how I felt when I saw a sun shaped mirror, in my mind I saw it as a fabric sun mixed media project. I had the perfect fabric and element to put on it!
I had the perfect fabric in reds and yellows to use as the base. I love how the fabric gives the piece texture and movement.
Once the fabric was dry I was able to layer on more goodies. I wanted to keep my composition centered and build from there, but I did add some elements to the edges just to keep it interesting.
To top it all off I used my favorite Finnabair paints and waxes. I just love how her products add shine and interest to my projects. They are always the perfect touch for any mixed media project I do.
So what item have you reimagined as a mixed media project?
Affiliate Links
Liquitex Gloss heavy gel https://amzn.to/2xW9qVb
Liquitex Gloss Gel https://amzn.to/2xSlwi3
Red and orange Fat quarters (not the same as I used, but similar) https://amzn.to/2QxsgsH
Finnabair Sparks https://amzn.to/2DTS6pd
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Finnabair Wax https://amzn.to/2zOVE84
Finnabair Star Mechanicals https://amzn.to/2xZDE9F
Today I have a fun, easy fabric frame project for you. I am still on a fabric kick, I have so many ideas using fabric and I can’t wait to share them with you.
For this project I used fabric I got from Annie’s Fabric Club. This is not sponsored, but I really like the fabric I got, and I am looking forward to next month’s fabric. Here is the link to the club if you are interested in joining: https://www.creativequiltersfabricclub.com/
This is such a fun, easy project that only takes a few materials
Gather all your material including the fabric and your frame. The frame should have a wide enough border that gives you plenty of room to add fabric. The color of the frame doesn’t matter a lot because you will be covering it in fabric.
To get started cut your fabric in strips that are a little wider than your frame. Spread heavy gloss gel on the frame. Coat your fabric strip in Gloss gel and add to frame, crinkling it up as you go. While everything is wet take the time to get all the wrinkles and texture you are wanting.
Take your time and make sure it looks like what you are going for. Before you let your frame dry clean up the edges and back with a baby wipe. Let the frame dry. Once dry you can leave it at this step if you want, or you can go on to the next step which is adding paint.
After the fabric dried (leaving it over night is best) I dry brushed on a Finnabair Metallique and a Finnabair Sparks paint to add some detail and sparkle. I really love her paints and they add that bit of interest that I am looking for. .
And that is it, the frame is done! These are so much fun and easy to make, I think I will be making a lot more as gifts this year.
I you all had a wonderful holiday. I relaxed and had a great time off, but now it is time to get back to work, lol.
As many of you know I have a You Tube Channel where I feature a lot of the projects that I do right here on the blog, but I do have a series that I haven’t mentioned here. This new series I started is called Investigative Art Journal this is where I take art and craft supplies and I weight them, test them, and destroy them to learn things and to see how much product is there.
Craft supplies can be really expensive and was curious as to how much product is actually in a tube. I am hoping that these video will help you with your purchasing decisions.
In my first video I checked out Faber-Castell Gelatos:
This was so much fun and eye opening! There was a surprising amount of product in that little Gelato. It makes me feel a little better about buying all the colors, lol. But now I need to use them all, but that might take a million years, lol.
I have created a few videos, but the one that surprised me the most is the Stickles:
When I thought I was done, when I couldn’t squeeze out another drop I cut it open and I was surprised to see how much was left! You won’t believe it when you see the video. So make sure you cut open the bottle when you think you are done.
Here is a link to my playlist so you can check out all my videos:
I would love for you to check out my channel and subscribe.
This has been a super fun project and I have a ton of other products I am going to test this year.
Is there anything you would like me to test and check out? Leave me your suggestions below and I will see what I can do.
With the holidays approaching it is important to take time to relax and a bath is perfect for relaxing! I made these altered bottles for bath soaks which look great in your bathroom!
They are easy to make and they can also make a perfect handmade gift, or you can sell them at a craft fair.
For this project find a really great bottle. I found mine at Who Give a Scrap. It is on on the larger size, that worked perfectly for me. Make sure it has a lid and that you clean it thoroughly.
Once the bottle is clean and dry add your embellishments. I added burlap and lace around the bottle to start.
Then I added a lot of flowers and beads to create the look I was going for. You can add flowers, buttons, keys, and found objects. Anything would look great on the bottle.
Once it was all decorated I added the bath salts and the cork. Now I have a great gift, or even something for me.
It is that time of year when all the junk mail comes to your house. I recycle what I can, but sometimes it is just too pretty to throw away. So I save it.
And that is were the problem comes in, I have a stack of junk mail that needs to be dealt with, so I turned a few pieces into art journals.
This is just the tutorial on how I created the art journal, if you want to see what I did to the inside let me know in the comments and I will show you the art (when I am finished with it, lol)
Here is the video tutorial:
So what you do is start with really great junk mail. I had one from Capital One and Tiffany’s. Side note: I have only been to Tiffany’s once and I bought the cheapest pair of earrings there about 10 years ago and I still get their mailers, lol. And their mailers are beautiful!
Once you decided on what you want to alter grab some gesso. I used white, black and clear. The black is fun so I can use some light colors, it breaks up the book. I also added clear gesso over some of the images, that way I keep the image but the page is prepped to take all sorts of mediums.
The cover of the Tiffany book is so pretty and festive! This will be my holiday 2017 art journal. When looking for junk mail to make into an art journal look for mailers that have slightly thicker paper. If it is too thin then the pages will buckle and it won’t hold up.
The white gesso didn’t cover all the images completely, but that is ok, I will fill the page with other art and it won’t get in the way. But if you want the image to be completely gone, the add a few layers.
I left some words uncovered, I thought they we fun and it will help me start the page.
The Capital One mailer was a great size and it will be fun to do more landscape journal pages. I kept the images and some words, and it makes for a great starting point.
It was a lot of fun to prep my new art journals. What piece of junk mail do you have that is too beautiful to recycle? And did you just keep it or did you re purpose it?
Christmas craft fair season is upon us! Yikes, I am not ready! Anyone else doing craft fairs and are you ready?
One item I like to see are earrings. On a side note I only make and sell things I will use/wear/display in my home. Too often people try to make only what they think will sell and not what they actually like or that they would wear or use. This is my opinion, and I sure it is different from other opinions. Now I want to sell it all, but I know some things won’t sell and that is ok. And since I like it I will be more likely to use in my daily life.
They are fantastic, I love how portable they are with the handle and each bin comes out so I take out what I need. There is a lot of room and they fit my needs perfectly.
The organizational bins behind the plastic storage is the metal strip my husband hung along with the magnetic containers from the dollar store. You can read the blog post here: Organizers
The earrings are really cute and fairly simple to make. All you do is add a French hook to a cute charm. I used a zipper pull and some other charms I had in my stash.
I like to use a variety of charms, not just Christmas ones. You never know what people will need or want.
Once I have a pile made I will package them and get them ready for the craft fair. If you are interested in seeing how I make my packaging and how I display my earrings let me know and I will write a post about it.
Have you seen the latest You Tube trend of creators doing an Ebay Mystery Unboxing? This was too tempting to resist, so of course I had to try it, lol.
But before I get into the unboxing, I want to tell you about a Giveaway I am doing on Instagram.
I will be giving one lucky person a Tropicals Prima Watercolors set. Head over to my Instagram to enter ––instragram.com/taketimetocreate. Give away ends on Nov 12.
Anyway… on to the unboxing. You can check out my reaction video here:
I have to say, this was so much fun to do. If you have seen other Ebay mystery boxes you might know that some You Tubers have gotten junk. Absolute junk! I mean trash and other horrible things. I was very apprehensive in opening my boxes.
But I lucked out! I purchased 2 boxes from Ebay one was $25 the other was $40 and they both promised to have craft and art supplies in the box. You can pick a random box or a themed box, I went with crafting/art themed ones. But buyer beware, these are mystery boxes and you never know what you will get.
When I opened my box I was pleasantly surprised! They were both filled with awesome goodies and I can’t wait to try them out. Whew! I am so glad they were worth it.
Check out a sneak peak of some the awesome goodies I got! So many wonderful things to tryout and experiment with.
What do you think of the Ebay Mystery boxes? Are you going to try it out?
