Another DIY Mixed Media Angel

September 29, 2016 / TakeTimetoCreate / 4 Comments

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.

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.

~ 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..

~ 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.

~ 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.

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

Frozen Mixed Media

DIY Cell Phone Case From Old Tie

August 18, 2016August 19, 2016 / TakeTimetoCreate / 1 Comment

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.

Disney Frozen Mixed Media Canvas

August 11, 2016 / TakeTimetoCreate / Leave a comment

Hello Everyone!

I just love Disney movies. They are so wonderful watch and when it is a musical it is even better. I own just about all of the Disney soundtracks and I will always sing along at the top of mu lungs, especially when I am driving. haha. My son just loves it when I do that…

Anyway, I found this great Disney Frozen puzzle at the Dollar Store and I knew that it would be perfect for a mixed media canvas.

Materials:

~Puzzle

~Canvas

~Stencil

~Prima Marketing’s Art Basic Modeling Paste, mica powders, Soft Gloss Gel, and 3D Gloss Gel

~Clear gesso

~Mod Podge

~Swirl and snowflake stencils

Instructions:

First put the puzzle together. This is a fun part, I love putting puzzle together. Once it is together I painted the back with Mod Podge to help keep it together while I applied Gesso to the front.

Apply a layer of clear gesso to the front of the puzzle. This will help the paint adhere to the puzzle.

While the puzzle is drying you will need to work on the canvas. For the first layer I added some swirl stencils that I thought looked like snow swirling around. Prefect for the Frozen motif. I used a stencil and modeling paste and add the stencils everywhere. This is a great base layer that adds texture and interest.

Then I glued the puzzle to the canvas with 3d gloss gel.

Then I mixed mica powders in pink and blue and purple and silver with soft gloss gel and dry brushed painted it all over the canvas. I highlighted the stencils and created interest with the mica powders.

Once the painting was dry I added the rhinestones and snowflake gems. Stick them everywhere to add sparkle and dimension to the canvas.

Once it is all dry use a clear spray sealer to protect your work. This fun canvas is perfect for any Disney fanatic.

Mixed Media Angel

July 28, 2016 / TakeTimetoCreate / 1 Comment

Hello Everyone!

I am excited to show you this new project that I just finished. A little while ago I went on a girls retreat to Mojito Creek. This is a wonderful cabin in Colorado that was the perfect place to craft and recharge and relax! While I was there Tanya from Free Heart taught a mixed media class. Tanya teaches Finnabair inspired mixed media techniques. Tanya is a awesome teacher! I was so much and I was so inspired from the class that I went home and started painting everything! I can’t wait to take another class and learn more techniques!

This is the angel that I just finished. She looks great on my mantle and I already have more ideas on what to do next.

Here is how I created this mixed media angel

Materials:

~ Angel (I found mine at the dollar store. Look for something that you like the overall look of, not necessary the colors because you will cover everything up)

~ Black gesso

~ 3D Gloss Gel, Soft Gloss Gel, Mica Powder (I am using Art Basics from Prima Marketing, which is amazing!)

~ Paint brushes, cheese cloth, micro beads, wire, rhinestones, and anything else you want to use as texture

Instructions:

~ The first thing you do is paint the angel with gesso. This will cover her and get her ready for paint. Then I added cheese cloth to her body as a dress. I adhered it to her with 3D Gloss Gel.

~ Then I decided that her wings were too smooth and plain so I mixed micro beads with 3D Gloss Gel and sponged it on to the wings. This added a wonderful texture that looks great on the wings.

~ Then I added rhinestones to the skirt for more texture and dimension, and I made a halo with some left over wire that I had lying around.

~ Once I had her all glued and textured she was ready for more gesso. I added about 1000 layers of black gesso. Just kidding, but I did add a lot of layers until everything was covered with black and ready for paint.

~ Once she was dry I started to paint her. This is the fun part, this is where all your hard work pays off. I mixed mica power with the soft gloss gel and went to town. I layered the paint and mixed colors until I liked the the look. For the star that she is holding I sponged on some glitter eye shadow.

~ Once I was happy with the look and she was dry I took her outside and sprayed a layer of a clear gloss coat.

When I took her outside to put the clear coat on and I noticed how she looked different in the sunlight. I love how the mica powder is amazing and so versatile.

This was tons of fun! I have already started on a different angel, I can’t wait to see how she will turn out!

Please note there are no affiliate links in this post. All the links are for your reference.

Turn Gift Bags into Wall Art

June 16, 2016 / TakeTimetoCreate / 2 Comments

Hello Everyone!

I have a serious question for you, have you seen the awesome gift bags at the dollar store? They are amazing! So cute and every design imaginable. When I see them I think that these should be hung on the wall and not given away. And that is just what I did.

This one I put in my teenage son’s bathroom. He got a kick out of it. We will see how long it stays there, haha.

This is not the most complicated DIY that I have ever done, but it is easy and fun and you can have new art work for a couple of bucks.

All you need are gift bags from the dollar store (from this picture you can see that I might have a problem collecting too many….. nah, I think I don’t have enough, lol)

And a frame ( I got mine from the dollar store as well)

Just use the glass from the frame to see where to cut and cut out the design and put in the frame and that is it! All done.

Think about all the options, you can switch out for the holidays (the dollar store always had gift bags around Christmas)

You can give a gift in the bag and give them a frame to use after they open the gift. It is like a 2 for 1 deal.

I thought that this one was very sweet, wouldn’t this look perfect in a nursery?

This one would look so cute in a nursery as well.

This one would great for newly weds, or even as a decoration at a wedding reception.

This one would be great for a boy’s room or a man cave. The possibilities are endless.

And the best part is that there is usually an identical design on the front and back so you can get twice as many pictures out of 1 bag. This is great if you have 2 kids that want the same art and you only want to buy 1 bag.

I did save the back of the bag for different projects in the future, so look forward to seeing these designs again.

I hope you can find some really great bags to hang on your walls.

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

June 2, 2016 / TakeTimetoCreate / 2 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!

What to with left over yarn?

April 19, 2016 / TakeTimetoCreate / 6 Comments

Hello Everyone!

Now that I have learned how to crochet I always seem to have a project or two going on. But I have noticed that I leftovers, a skein, or a partial skein that I am not sure what to do with. I have seen tons of ideas on Pinterest from blankets to hats. I settled on making 12×12 squares of this really soft Bernat blanket yarn that I used to make blankets for Christmas presents. Once I am done with all the squares I will see how many I have and decide on blanket sizes and how many I can make. I have 3 colors of yarn that I am creating squares from. I am not sure I will mix and match or I will keep the blankets all one color, I guess it will depend on how any squares I make.

(Please ignore my messy desk in the background. I have never been good at keeping a neat work space. But I guess that messiness breads creativity, right? Smile )

So far I have one block completed! Whoo Hoo! I love how portable this project is. The temperature blanket I am working on is getting to big to take with me everywhere I go. I like to have a project with me at all times (you never know when you have a spare moment to work on your crochet) Once I have all the squares done and I make it into a blanket I think will donate it to a Women’s shelter, they are always in need of blankets.

Here is the pattern:

Chain 25

Single crochet 25 rows (or as many rows it takes to make a square)

That is it, I am keeping it pretty simple.

And the best part of making these squares is that I will be freeing up space in my craft room for more yarn! Yay! More Yarn!

DIY projects with glass animals

February 24, 2016 / TakeTimetoCreate / 3 Comments

My Grandpa was a rock hound, he searched and collected rock for as long as I knew him. He loved rocks and he created some wonderful, beautiful jewelry with his rocks.

Here is a 70s fantastic picture with my Grandpa. I love this pic, it was taken not long after my brother was born (he is the baby in my Grandpa’s arms). I am the little cutie in my mom’s arms, my sister Valerie the cute little blondie, and my other sister Kim is the cutie sitting down.

And what I love best about the above picture is about 5 seconds after it was taken this next picture was taken (or maybe it was 5 seconds before the actual photo when my folks were trying to set everything up). But either way the before and after is funny. It is almost impossible to keep 4 kids in one place. It just makes me giggle every time I see it.

Anyway, I digress. As I said my Grandpa was a rock hound. It was fun to spend time in his rock shop and see his tools and rock and various treasures. When he passed my oldest sister, Kim, got almost all his rocks and tools. Well, I was visiting Kim a few weeks ago I spent some time digging around in the rocks she had. And I come home with a treasure trove! My Grandpa had these really cute glass animals, I knew I could do something with them. Be prepared for more future posts with rocks, I may have collected a ton from my sister….

Aren’t they cute! But you know real life happens and before I even started my craft projects Cole had to take a few (or 10) so this is all the remains. LOL. He also had first dibs on all the rocks I brought home, so I have significantly less than what I started with. I love how interested he is in rocks and nature.

I made some necklaces and some little decorations with the glass animals. I will divide this post into 2 parts, starting with the jewelry.

Materials:

~ Glass animals (you can get these almost anywhere. I would look on Amazon, eBay, or do a quick Google search, or sometimes rock and or bead shops might have them)

~ Wire, pliers, jump rings

Instructions:

~ The little dogs had a little glass bump that was perfect for a jump ring. Add a jump ring and a chain and you are good to go. I think this is the easiest project ever!

~ The giraffe was a little harder, but not much. Just take some wire and wrap it around the body of the giraffe.

Once you have wrapped it as much as you want then twist it at the top and add a jump ring, just watch for the center of gravity. You want to make sure your jump ring is in a place to make sure the giraffe will hang right. Then take the wire and twist to the bottom and secure and cut off extra. I am thinking that I will need to add a dab of glue to make sure it is secure.

~ Please note that these are glass and to be very careful when you wear them. These might not be suitable for children, they might break.

Making Glass Animal decorations

Materials:

~ Rocks

~ Glue (I used Loctite, but E6000 would probably work, or any other glue like that)

~ Glass animals

Instructions:

~ Gather your rocks and animals. As you can see I have a lot, but this isn’t even a tiny fraction of what I brought home. I am so excited for all the rock projects I have in store!

~ Then glue your animals to the rock base and that is it! Display them on your favorite shelf. Reminder that these are glass and fragile, so you should be careful handling them and these are probably not for kids to play with.

Nice and easy for this Wonderful Wednesday! Check out my Etsy shop to purchase some of these creations. TakeTimeToCreate.etsy.com

There are no affiliate links in this post

DIY Coloring Page Holder

February 16, 2016February 16, 2016 / TakeTimetoCreate / 2 Comments

I have a confession, I love to color. In fact I have been coloring long before it became the popular thing to do. I have always found it a great way to relieve stress and relax me. So when adult coloring books starting becoming popular I was literally giddy with so much happiness! So many possibilities and options! But, they are more expensive than the kids coloring books I usually found in the dollar store. So I started to look online and print them out at home. You can find tons of free coloring pages online, it is almost overwhelming. But with all these pages I needed a way to contain them, a cute holder of some sort.

Here is what I came up with.

DIY Coloring Page Holder

I found this folder at the dollar store and while it works just fine all plain and boring, I just couldn’t leave it like that. (surprised?) Next to the folder was the really cute sparkly tape. Perfect for the folder.

Materials:

~Tape and file folder

Sparkly tape

Folder from Dollar Store

~Coloring pages or coloring book and crayons

I just placed the awesome tape around the edges and that was it. Nice and easy and it made the folder so much cuter.

Front of Folder

Just fill with coloring pages that you printed or that wonderful coloring book that you have been working on. Keep your crayons in the folder as well and you are good to go.