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Mixed Media Canvas Celebrating Family

Mixed Media Canvas Celebrating Family

Hello Everyone!

Today I have another mixed media tutorial. I love making mixed media art, it relaxes me and soothes my soul. This is another Finnibair inspired canvas. I love her work, she inspires me so much and I learn a ton from her techniques.

This canvas celebrates family. Family is so important and I wanted that to be the focus of this canvas.

I have made other mixed media canvas and you can visit them here:

Frozen Mixed Media

Dragon Mixed Media

Angel Mixed Media

Materials:

Canvas, black gesso, brushes
Mica powder, spray bottles, stencils, modeling paste, acrylic paint, spray clear coat
Flowers, letters, beads, cheese cloth and anything else you want to put on your canvas.

Instructions:

First you add all your flowers and letters and doo-dad on a canvas. I put black gesso on my canvas before I started. Then I went to town. Add stencils, cheese cloth, flowers, letters, beads, buttons, and broken jewelry. Anything to add interest and texture. I didn’t really care about the colors, just texture because I knew it would all be covered up.

Once you have everything secured with modeling paste then cover it all with black gesso. Cover all the ins and outs and little spots, you want it all black with nothing showing. This will take a while, but it is worth it to take your time and do it right.

Once it is all dried it is time for the fun part. I added piles of mica powder all over the canvas. Then I took a spray bottle and sprayed water to spread the mica powder and create a shimmery, metallic look. I did this a few times and once I was done with how it looked I dry brushed acrylic paint on the canvas. I just highlighted the tips of the flowers and the Family letters, The dry brushing was just to add some more detail to the canvas.

After the paints dried I added some metal flowers to add detail. It was the missing piece to bring it all together.

I really like how it turned out, what do you think? These are so much fun, I can’t wait to show you the next mixed media project I am working on.

DIY Leaf Bowl From Dollar Store Leaves

November 1, 2016 / TakeTimetoCreate / 1 Comment

Hello Everyone!

Today I have an easy DIY using leaves from the Dollar Store to make a really cute bowl.

diy-leaf-bowl

I have seen this DIY about 847 times on Pinterest, but I thought that I would add my version to the mix. lol. You can follow me on Pinterest and see all the craziness that I pin. It is so quick and easy, the longest part is waiting for it to dry…

add-candy-to-leaf-bowl

Materials:

Leaves
Mod Podge, foam brush, cling wrap
Bowl

diy-leaf-bowl-materials

Instructions:

Find a bowl that you can use for the mold. We have had this bowl for over 20 years, in fact Dear Hubby had it when we got married. When I first saw it I mentioned to him that it was a great bowl (it is one in a set of 3) and he said “Thanks, I got it at Ace Hardware when I was getting some tools.” lol. Such a man thing to do. Anyway, the bowls are awesome and have held up great! So I thought it would be a perfect mold. I think I should use the other 2 bowls and make a set of 3 leaf bowls, that would be so cute!

Next wrap cling wrap to the bowl to protect it

Then start adding mod podge and leaves. I used glossy mod podge because that is what I had, but mat would work great as well. Make sure everything is well covered.

add-layers-of-mod-podge-and-leaves

Once everything is covered add some cling wrap to the top to help keep everything in place as is dries. It does take a while to dry, but eventually it will dry

add-cling-wrap-to-top

Once it is completely dry slowly, and carefully peal off the cling wrap. And there you go a brand new leaf bowl that is perfect for Halloween, Thanksgiving, or Fall. It is a little fragile and not the sturdiest bowl, but it is perfect for candy or pine cones or pumpkins, any light weight decor is perfect.

diy-bowl-from-dollar-store-leaves

diy-leaf-bowl-on-display

The post DIY Leaf Bowl From Dollar Store Leaves appeared first on Take Time To Create.

Give Thanks-A DIY to show your thanks

October 27, 2016 / TakeTimetoCreate / 0 Comments

Hello Everyone!

Ever have a rough day? I am sure that everyone has had a rough day, at least once. Well that was my day yesterday. There was nothing in particular that was bad, it was just rough overall, and that is the way it stayed until the end of the day. At the very end of the day I went shopping and my friend was able to join me and it just made my day a whole lot better. It was wonderful to see her and it made a great way to end my day.

And that got me thinking, that even though my day may have been rough I can always give thanks. I am thankful for my family, friends, and my work, and this blog. Even if everything is not going according to plan, I am still thankful. So after I got home I went straight to my craft room and made this piece that says Give Thanks. It was cathartic to make it and it is a great reminder to always be thankful, even when it is hard.

give-thanks-from-take-time-to-create

Materials

I used stuff that I had in my craft room, which was nice to use up what I already had

I had these plastic dog tags that I found at Who Gives a Scrap. If you don’t have anything like this you can make your own with card stock.

dog-tags-ready-to-alter

Metallic Paint

metallic-paints

Gesso, brushes, mod podge, glue, letters, sandpaper
Paper, ribbon, burlap, and anything else you need for the background

Instructions

I saw these dog tags awhile ago and I thought they would be perfect for a project, but I wasn’t sure what. I think they worked perfectly for this project.

I roughed up the surface with sandpaper then I applied a layer of black gesso

apply-a-layer-of-gesso

Once they gesso dried I sponged on different metallic paints. I kept on going until I found a look I was happy with. Then I added glitter letters to the tags to spell out Give Thanks.

start-adding-paint

For the background I Mod Podged on different papers I had in a random fashion. Then I added some ribbon and burlap and a faux pearl necklace to add more interest and texture.

layer-paper-and-ribbons-for-background

Then I added string to the dog tags and then I glued it all together and put it in a frame. Now it is ready to hang and be a daily reminder.

I am pleased with how it turned out. How do you give thanks and what are you thankful for?

give-thanks-finished

DIY Faux Stone Pumpkins

October 13, 2016 / TakeTimetoCreate / 0 Comments

Hello Everyone!

I hope your October is going well! I can’t believe how fast it is flying by! In fact the whole year is going too fast.

To celebrate everything pumpkin I made this easy, diy faux stone pumpkins.

finished-faux-stone-pumpkins

Materials:

Pumpkins ( I used ceramic ones from the dollar store, but almost any pumpkin will work)
Spray Paint Primer
Rust-oleum stone spray paint

Instructions:

After cleaning your pumpkin and protecting your work surface spray a coat of primer on all the pumpkins on all sides

add-a-layer-of-primer

Now it is time to paint. Have you seen this faux stone spray paint? It is awesome! I have a feeling that everything will become faux stone. The texture and look changes the closed you get to your project. It is a versatile tool that I have a feeling I will be using a lot in the future.

spray-paint

For 1 pumpkin I wanted to to use the darker color so I sprayed a base of oil rubbed bronze before the stone.

add-a-layer-of-oil-rubber-bronze

Then go to town painting the pumpkins. I did add a layer of the lighter color to the darker pumpkin because it was not matching well. But just keep going and paint layers according to the directions until you are happy with the results. I am thrilled with how they turned out! So very cute

start-adding-the-faux-stone-spray-paint

If you want you can spray a sealer over the top to protect them. I think these would look really cute outside as part of your outdoor decorations. Just be sure to protect them first.

completed-pumpkins

And here they are as part of my DIY Painted Halloween Village display. I think they added a nice touch to the display.

finished-houses-in-my-home

Another Mixed Media Angel

September 30, 2016 / TakeTimetoCreate / Comments Off

*I am so sorry if you got this email twice. This is just one more speed bump I am trying to get over with my blog. Hopefully next week will be better. Thank you for your understanding and patience!*

Hello Everyone!

I am back! Thank you all so much for your patience with my long absence. It was never my intention to go silent for a month! I was trying to upgrade my blog to better serve you and in the process I broke it. In fact, it was so bad that tech support was baffled. They had no idea what I did and how they could fix it! (even my mom agreed that it is something that would only happen to me, haha) Anyway I am back online, and over the course of the next few weeks I will be working on cleaning up the blog and making it more used friendly. But for now I am back and I will be posting new projects weekly. I have a ton of ideas for Fall and Halloween so be on the look out of those projects in October.

If my blog ever goes down again you can keep up with me on Instagram

Let’s get into the latest project. I did another mixed media angel. I showed you how to make a mixed media angel that was black and gold. You can see it again here.

mixed-media-angel-1

For this angel I went with lighter colors and I like the way it turned out.

Materials:

Angel
White Gesso, soft gloss gel, Mica Powder, brushes
Ribbon, roses, wire and other embellishments

Instructions:

~ Make sure the angel is clean and dry, then add a layer or 2 of gesso to get a good base for painting.

mixed-media-angel mixed-media-angel-gesso

~ Start to add embellishments. Just like the previous angel I mixed micro bead with soft gloss gel for texture on the wings. Then I added ribbon for the dress, I just adhered it with 3D paste. Then I added some roses for interest and a wire halo and then I was done with the texture for the angel.

mixed-media-angel-with-embellishments

~ Once she was dry I added more gesso. I added a few layers to make sure she was all covered and ready for the paint.

mixed-media-angel-gesso-embellishements

~ Now time for the fun part, adding paint! I mixed Soft Gloss Gel with Mica Powders to make my own paint and then I applied it to the angel. I did some dry brushing and some heavier paining. I just kept at it until I was done.

starting-to-paint-mixed-media-angel paint

When I was happy with the final result I added a clear protective coat of spray paint. Then I let her dry and now she is ready to be displayed. I am having a blast with these mixed media projects! What should I do next?

mixed-media-angel-2 mixed-media-angel-3 mixed-media-angel-4

Mixed Media Angel

Frozen Mixed Media

How to Reupholster an Office Chair

August 23, 2016 / TakeTimetoCreate / 2 Comments

Hello everyone!

An office chair has got to be one of the most pieces of furniture that a person can own. You spend a ton of time in your chair so it should be comfortable and good looking. I had a chair that was wonderful, it worked great and I had it a long time. But it broke. So I had to search for a new one. After searching high and low I found one at a surplus store. It was in great condition and for only $15, I thought it was a steal. The only problem was the green fabric covering it. The color was ok, a dark green, but it was itchy and that was not ok. So I decided to recover so it didn’t drive me crazy sitting on it for 8 hours a day.

I think it turned out very cute. I found the fabric at Who Gives a Scrap. I talked about this awesome donation center last week. You can revisit that post here. They had this great upholstery fabric for only $2. Can’t beat that price. Here is how I went about recovering the chair.

Materials:

~Chair (this one wouldn’t be too bad if it wasn’t for the itchy fabric. Now I know why they had it for sale at the surplus store.)

~ Fabric (The stripped patter is cute and for only $2 I could pass that up.)

~ Staple gun, screw driver, glue gun, ribbon for edging

Instructions:

~ The first thing I did was take off the arm rests with the screw driver. I could have taken the whole chair apart and this might have made the process easier, but I decided to work around everything except the arm rests.

~ Then I measure the fabric and started stapling it on. The way this chair is constructed is a little weird. It has a plastic back and the original cover was Velcroed on, but I didn’t want to go that trouble so I decided to staple over everything.

~ I got the top part done then I went to town on the seat of the chair. The stripes made it easy to match the top to the bottom. I stapled everywhere then I went back and added more. I wanted to make sure everything held.

~ Once everything was secure and stapled on I hot glued on a tan ribbon that coordinated with the fabric. Then I put the arms back on that that was it. It took me a couple of hours to complete but it was worth it to not have an itchy chair.

Once I finished my son loved it so much he has asked me to do a chair for him. But if my chair is ever missing I know who to took it. Smile

DIY Cell Phone Case From Old Tie

August 18, 2016 / TakeTimetoCreate / 2 Comments

Hello Everyone!

I found this fantastic store in town, it is call Who Gives A Scrap. (BTW I love the name!) Anyway, this store is so awesome it has all kinds of craft supply donations that are up for sale. The stock is always changing so you never know what you will find. If you follow me on Instagram you already saw my haul, but this what I scored yesterday for about $25! The item I am most excited about is the bead loom. I have tons of pins on Pinterest for the bead loom and now that I have one I am excited to learn how to use it. Does anyone have any experience or tips on how to use a bead loom? Please share if you do.

So many new things to play with and to use for my crafts and DIY projects. Even our cat, Starlight, approves. haha.

The other day my sister and I were having a Craftersation on Pinterest. (A Craftersation is a craft conversation between pinners on Pinterest.) She has the best Pinterest boards and I think she has pinned just about everything on the internet, haha. You can follow her here.

Anyway she pinned this really cute cell phone case made from an old tie so I pinned a different version of the same thing. And on it went for while. We have a lot of Craftersations, it is a fun way to stay connected and see what each other is interested in even though we live almost a thousand miles apart.

When I was at Who Gives a Scrap I saw that they had some old ties that would be perfect to make a cell phone case out of. After I got home yesterday I made my version of what I saw on Pinterest.

Here it is all done. I am in love with it!

Materials:

~Old Tie

~ Needle and thread, or sewing machine

~ Button or snap

Instructions:

This is one of the ties that I picked up yesterday. Isn’t it wonderful? I fell in love with it on the spot. For this project the wider the tie the better. Skinny ties from the 80s won’t work, but those ties can be use for different projects.

Next just measure how much space you need for your phone. The pointed part will be the flap, so factor that in. You will have to pick out the stitched that keep the flaps together so you can slide your phone in.

For this step I glued the ends together and the center flap closed using Fabric Fusion. I used clothes pins to hold it together while the glue dried. The glue worked just fine, but when I do this project again I think I will sew it all instead of using glue, I think it will be stronger and it will look better. You can hand stitch or use a machine.

Next I hand stitched on these buttons I had in my stash. They are so cute, I got them from Patterns of Time. They have so many great items on their website, when I ordered last it was hard to narrow down the items in my shopping cart to a reasonable amount, haha.

The case was all complete I thought it was very cute just the way it was but I decided that it should become a purse instead of just a case. This Tie Purse is perfect for me when I go out for an evening and my skirt doesn’t have pockets and I need to carry a phone and my ID and a credit card and some cash, it will all fit into this cute purse.

To add the straps all you do is hand sew the remaining part of the tie onto the sides of the case. And that is it.

Have you made one of these before? I would love to see it if you have. Stay tuned for more projects made from items I got from Who Gives A Scrap, that place rocks!!

There are no affiliate links in this post. All opinions are my own.

Repurpose an old window into a Chalkboard

June 14, 2016 / TakeTimetoCreate / 0 Comments

Hello Everyone!

As many of you already know I was working a project for a Mental Health Awareness charity auction. We were all repurposing and painting old windows. Here you can see my post about creating a shabby chic message board. Today I am going to walk you through how I made this chalkboard with an old window.

Materials:

~Old window. This window had pealing paint and a crack in the Plexiglas, so it was perfect for this project.

~ Cleaning supplies and sandpaper

~ Paint, brushes, and tape for the frame

~ Primer, chalkboard paint, and brushes for the chalkboard part.

Instructions;

~ The first step is to prep the window. Not the most fun, but it is necessary for a successful project. I sanded all the edges until they were smooth and ready to paint. This took a while because the window was so rough.

~ Then you paint the frame. I did tape off the Plexiglas because I am not the neatest painter. I used Artist’s Loft in Metallic Cobalt Blue, I love the iridescent quality of the blue paint.

~ Paint away. Kitty help is essential to the success of any craft project Smile Starlight is my favorite kind of help, lol.

I did 2 coats of the blue

~ After the frame had dried for a day I taped off the frame part and prepped the Plexiglas. First I lightly sanded the glass so that the paint would adhere. Then I put a coat of primer on according to the directions. I used Kilz primer.

~ Once the primer was dry I painted 4 coats of chalkboard paint on according to the directions. I used Rustoleum Chalkboard paint. Once it was dry and cured for 3 days I conditioned the chalkboard according to the directions.

~ Once it was completely dry and conditioned I took a stencil and painted a design in the corners and added some flowers and that is it. A new chalkboard for an old window

Have you painted and or repurposed an old window? How did it turn out? I would love to see pictures!

Re-purpose an old window into a shabby chic message board

June 2, 2016 / TakeTimetoCreate / 0 Comments

If you follow my Instagram (taketimetocreate) then I am sure you have already seen the reveal of this repurposed window. For those of you who don’t follow me there here the shabby chic message board!

I have to say I do love the way it turned out! This all started when my friend asked me to paint a window for a silent auction for mental health awareness. At first I wasn’t too interested, not because I didn’t believe in the cause (because this is one cause I totally support) it was because I wasn’t sure I had a design that would work. Most everyone else did a more traditional painted window with flowers on the glass and things like that. Well of course I didn’t follow the crowd. So I did my own thing and hopefully it will bring in a lot of money for the charity!

Here is how I did the repurposing.

Materials:
~ old window (for this to work you for magnets you will need one with a metal screen)
~ sandpaper, tape, cleaning supplies
~ paint and brush
~ cork
~ flowers, magnets, tacks, and clothes pins
~ ribbon and burlap

Instructions:
~ The first thing you will need to do is sand down all the rough edges and smooth it out. Once you like the feel of the window then give it a good cleaning.

~ Now you are ready to paint. I taped around the edges to help cut down on how much paint went on the screen, and this seemed to help.
Paint a couple coats until you get it to how you like it. I used this white acrylic paint that I had on hand.

~ Cut your cork down to size and glue it on to the screen. I just glued the edges with a metal glue and that seems to hold it pretty well.

~Then I went to work decorating the edge. Shabby chic is all about layers so that is what I did. I put down a layer of burlap, the layered on a layer of crochet ribbon that I had in my stash.

That looked good, but I felt like it was missing something, so I added a ribbon on top and flowers in the corners.

Then I added ribbon to the bottom of the screen and to the bottom of the window. Once that was done it was time to add the flower decorations.

~ For the flowers add a magnet the back of some and tack to the others. For the clothes pins I just added ribbon to a plain clothes pin I got from the dollar store.

And that is it. This is a very fun project that is easy to do and I loved using what I had on hand. I can’t wait for the auction and hopefully they will make a lot of money for their cause!

Make Yarn Out of an Old T-shirt

January 12, 2016 / TakeTimetoCreate / 3 Comments

Hello Everyone!

I hope your years is getting off to a great start. I am pretty excited because I have started on a project that I have been wanting to get started on for a long time. I got this huge stack of old t-shirts that had the wrong logo on them (this pic is only part of what I got). And since the shirts can’t be sold my friend gave them to me to make into yarn. This is not a new technique, but it is new to me and I am pretty excited in how it turned out. It is a perfect activity to do while I am watching TV. I am only part way through the stack, but eventually I will be done and then I am going to make rugs out of the yarn. Great way to upcycle old t-shirts and make something new.

I didn’t connect the balls of yarn to make one big ball because I am not sure if I am going to braid the rug or crochet it. (if I crochet the rug I will need to combine the yarn, if I braid it then I will need to sew together the strips.) Either way when I do the rug I will be sure to do a tutorial for you guys.

Here is how you turn in old t-shirt into yarn.

Materials

~Old T-shirt (make sure it is washed, if it is new this will take the sizing out and if it is from a thrift store it will make sure it is clean)

~ Scissors

~ ruler if you want, I didn’t use one but a ruler might make it easier to cut the strips.

Instructions

~ Lay the clean shirt on a flat surface. As you can see from the pics I am working on the floor, but that is just my preference. Make sure the shirt is flat and as smooth as possible.

~Cut the top off right under the sleeves. (I am keeping this top part, not sure what I am going to do with them but I just can’t throw it away) Then Cut off the bottom hem. (I threw that part away)

~ Then you want to cut the remaining shirt into strips. I cut mine about 1-1.5” wide.

***This is Important! Make sure you don’t cut all the way to the top! You will need this uncut area to make the yarn into one continuous length.

(This is what the top looks like with the uncut areas. You will cut it at an angle to make the strips, starting at the right end)

~ For this part refer to the pics, and please let me know if you have any questions.

To make the yarn cut off starting at the last strip and make an angle cut to the edge. Then cut the rest of the strips in an angle until you get to the end. I place the shirt on my arm and make the cuts on there, that just helps me keep track of were I need to go next.

~ Once you have cut the entire shirt you should have on long length of T-shirt Yarn. Then gently stretch the yarn and then wrap it into a ball. I made individual balls because I am not sure if I want to combine them into one length or not, but this way I am keeping it all nice and neat until I am ready to use it.

I know this may seem a little confusing, but I am here if you have any questions. Have any of you made t-shirt yarn before? I would love to some tips and tricks to make it better and or easier.

Tag: upcycle (page 5 of 5)

Mixed Media Canvas Celebrating Family

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DIY Leaf Bowl From Dollar Store Leaves

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Give Thanks-A DIY to show your thanks

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DIY Faux Stone Pumpkins

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Another Mixed Media Angel

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How to Reupholster an Office Chair

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DIY Cell Phone Case From Old Tie

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Repurpose an old window into a Chalkboard

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Re-purpose an old window into a shabby chic message board

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Make Yarn Out of an Old T-shirt

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