Shabby Chic Altered Monogram G

Howdy.  I hope you are having a great holiday weekend.  Please don't forget, to take a moment and thank those who have given the ultimate sacrifice, so you can enjoy your freedoms.   God Bless America!

I love to create, and make all sorts of items: cards, cakes, altered monograms, pies, altered art, gourmet dinners, and so much more!  I sell a fair amount of my crafts in my Etsy shop HERE.  And I will even create something special and custom for a client.   All you have to do is ask.  Easy Peasy.  Just let me know what  you like, what you hate, color(s), and any inspirational photos you may have. And that is exactly what I did for a special lady Lari.  She wanted a custom altered monogram, and sent me a photo of the space where it will go, and viola!  Here is what I did:

I covered the naked letter with this beautiful green and pink pattern paper.  I painted the letter a white-cream color.  And then added pretty little details!  There is a piece of pink cotton ruffle material.  And then a double white cotton ruffle material.   I tied a piece of pale pink seam binding around the letter, and made a triple bow.  I tied a white button to the bow with thin silver tinsel.  I tucked a flat back faux pearl and button at the bottom.  I tucked in a white resin frame, just above the bow.  I added white paint and glitter to the pink paper blossom, and then adhered it inside the frame.  I tucked in a little white tulle and pearls.  I painted a metal bird with white paint and dipped it into some glitter.  I took a piece of sand paper and distressed the bird a bit.  I adhered the bird to a stick pin, and tucked him in behind the frame as well.  I added a vintage button and another flat back faux pearl.   I added a trio of flat back faux pearls to the leg of the G.  

This is a custom order from my Etsy shop.  Distressed, vintage, shabby chic, feminine, and just plain pretty!  I have several different letters with slightly different looks.  If you don't see what you are looking for, just convo me, and give me the opportunity to create something one-of-a-kind, and unique just for you!   I don't charge more for custom orders.  Just ask that you give me a week, to create something beautiful just for you!

Glacier Painted Tin

Howdy!  I want to share a craft I am making for my upcoming Arts & Craft Fair in a few weeks.  For those who follow me, I love vintage country chic.  And I love sharing what I create.  So, this craft fair is the perfect venue just for that {smile}.

Let me warn you now.  This craft takes a few days.  But, I believe it is well worth it {smile}.  I think if it can be crafted in 10 mins or less, it doesn't really have any heart.  [Let me apologize for those of you, who love 10m in challenges.]

To begin, I took a plain, hinged lid tin.  Its the size of an Altoid tin, but without the metal embossing. I used my chalk paints to give this plain tin some dimension.  I first painted Burlap chalk paint.  Let it dry for 8 hours*.  Then I painted Cotton chalk paint over that.  Let it dry 8 hours.  Then I painted Glacier chalk paint.  Let it dry 8hrs.  Then, I let the whole tin cure for 24hours**.  

[*I live in the desert, so my drying time is shorter than those living in another part of the country.  Typically chalk paint needs to dry for up to 24hrs.]  

[**curing time allows to the paint to bond to the surface.]

Now comes the fun part - distressing!  I took a sanding block and sanded the whole tin.  I allowed the sanding block to dictate where I would distress more.  It felt more random and natural for me to do it this way.  For the dry distressing, I used two different grits of sand paper to distress smaller areas.  I also did a wet distressing for finer paint removal.

You will have to look close.  But look close.  The larger patches on the top are NOT sanded down to the metal.  Thats Burlap chalk paint peeking through.  Also, there are some small patches were the (white) Cotton chalk paint is peeking through.  There are a few places were I distressed down to the metal.

Ok, now I need to seal what I did in the distressing.  So, I sponged on the sealant.  Let it sit for  20 mins, and then took a cloth and buffed it.  Now it needs to sit for 24hours to cure.  This project will test your patience.  But all good things take time.  Also, if you start on Friday after work, you should be able to complete one by Sunday evening. {smile}

Because I couldn't wait for my curing time, or to take a photo, the top is not actually complete.  The paper and embellishments are just placed on top of the tin for photographing.  I will actually adhere them later today, after the sealant has cured.

I took a scrap piece of stacked pattern paper, and tore all the way around the piece I wanted.  I sponged the edges with Corduroy distress ink by Ranger.  I added a scrap piece of aqua crochet trim.  Tied a vintage vanilla button with kraft twine.  I love how vintage, aged, and sweet this tin turned out.  It looks like something you would find on your grandma's farm.  Tucked away in the attic, or lost in the barn. {smile}

The inside is a little prettier.  I used Corner Shop pattern paper collection by Tilda.  I love the aqua pattern paper in that collection.  Some of these pattern papers look like vintage wall paper, while others are just sweet and gorgeous!  Let's take a look:

I used my 1/2" corner rounder to make the corners fit a little better.  I left the bottom empty.  So, no matter what you place inside, it will fit {smile}.  I used pattern papers that have this glacier/aqua color in them, to coordinate with the outside color.  

For the inside of the lid, I took a scrap piece of pool party seam binding and some white crochet trim and machine stitched them to the pattern paper stack.  Then I tied a trio of buttons with cream twine.  The buttons are adhered to the lid with hot glue, so they will lay as flat as possible, and hopefully don't get pulled off {fingers crossed}.

Thank you for looking.  So far, I have three Glacier painted tins and two Shell (a pale, soft pink) painted tins.  I haven't quite decided if I am going to paint more, or simply decorate them with pattern paper.  If I paint them, I need to start painting very soon.  Hmmmm.  But I will post a few photos of them once I have them completed. Look for these little cuties for sale at my next craft show @ La Cueva High School, in Albuquerque, NM, on Saturday May 2, 2015.

Wooden Pins

Thank you for stopping by today.  I hope you are well.  I have been busy crafting, and photographing.  The holiday craft fair season is quickly approaching, and so I have been trying to get as much crafts made as I can.  I also want to make my crafts available in my virtual shop HERE.  Remember, if you live/work in the Albuquerque, New Mexico area, and don't require shipping, please use the coupon code: ALB87, and no shipping costs are acquired.  Just leave me a note as to how to contact you so I can get your order to you {smile}.  Also, don't forget if you are a previous customer to my virtual shop, you have been emailed a special coupon code to reduce your merchandise total.

I made another recipe of my home-made chalk paint.  And painted some wooden clothes pins.  Then I used sand paper to distress them.  I also did some hand-stamping.  (I sealed the stamped area.)  The paper blossoms have been painted and glittered before added.  I tied some seam binding into multi-loop bows and adhered them just below the paper blossoms.  And finally, I added a single half faux pearl.  

Some of my altered/decorated pins have push pins, magnets, or plain to simply hold messages together.  The magnetic clothes pins aren't quite dry yet, so they aren't available, at this time.  But come back soon.

If you have any questions, please contact me.  My virtual shop will be closed the day before, day of, and day after my craft fair schedules.  Early shopping ensures the largest selection.  However, if you are looking for something you don't see, please convo me, and maybe I can make a custom order for you!

Pretty Little Notes

Happy Saturday!  I hope you have something wonderful planned for this U.S.A. holiday: Labor Day! This holiday was originally created to celebrate the working man, who through his hard work and dedication helped our economy grow!  So, my hat is off to all those whose strong work ethic and loyalty to their employer, made this nation a great place to work, and venture out on our own business opportunities.

I have added a few new items to my Etsy shop, HERE.  And through out this long weekend, I will be adding more and more stuff.  I'd like to take a moment and share with you a few items that will be for sale in my little shop this weekend.

mini composition notebook

This altered/decorated mini composition notebook, is the perfect size to travel with you in a tote, handbag, or backpack.  The ribbon holds a pen.  And yeah, I even added some pattern paper in the pen barrel to coordinate with this sweet little notebook.  I left the ends of the double stitch ribbon long, so you have enough length to re-tie a bow.  You may also cut the ends of the ribbon to a length you prefer.  This little notebook has 75 pages of white lined paper.  See more photos HERE.

narrow notepad

This long, narrow notepad is the perfect size for making a list, or dotting down chores.  The clip at the bottom holds this pad closed, so it can travel along with you in a tote, or handbag.  But don't keep this little beauty a secret!  Move the clip to the top of the notepad, and it will hang from a message board, too!  The pad has 25 pages of vanilla lined paper.   See more photos HERE

I purchased these beautiful pattern papers earlier this year, in April (2014).  I was making some crafts for Mother's Day, and stumbled upon these sweet pattern papers.  For some reason they reminded me of my Mother and Grandmother.  The company is Bazzill.  Yeah, they started making pattern paper too.  And like their solid card stock, this pattern paper is a heavy weight.  Perfect for these covered note pad/book.  I added my personal touches to these little gems: machine stitching, hand-stamped sentiments,  buttons, twine, and of course ribbon!

Thank you for stopping 

More Bird House

~ photo heavy post ~

As promised earlier this week, I have several photos of my altered, decorated bird house.  I used various products I already had on hand.  That included pattern papers, paper blossoms, texture card stock, various baubles, rhinestones, vellum, resin pieces, and more!

I used a cream open-crochet trim to outline the roof line.  I also used a green pleated ribbon to border the bottom.

the top of this decorated roof

I added some crepe paper tinsel to the base of the 'hanger'.  I then tied a multi-loop bow out of a light grey seam binding.  I tied some cream and silver bakers twine to the multi-loop bow.  The twine also holds a crown bauble!  (I purposefully left a thin gap between the edges and pattern papers.)  I added a grey resin blossom at the top of the pitch of the roof on the front.

This focal piece, is actually a piece of jewelry.  It is a pendant that I cut the link off.  I heat embossed the sentiment onto vellum in white embossing powder.  I adhered the sentiment to the pendant with a single glue dot.

I added white paint and glitter to the edges of pre-made paper blossoms.  I used textured green card stock for the leaves.  I created a bud from a flat paper blossom.  I wrapped the perch with twine and added a half pearl at the end.  I included a wooden bingo piece (bird) and a half light bulb with 'US' printed on the half bulb.

side views

I added white paint and glitter to these pre-made paper blossoms, as well.  I used a textured green card stock to cut the leaves.  I also added a white enameled zipper pull with heart and rhinestone dangle.  I used the two different shades of pink, to help keep some visual interest.  The zipper pull is adhered to the top of the wall with hot glue, so that the dangle can keep dangling {smile}!

For this side, I did a little different arrangement.  I added a trio of paper blossoms.  These were pre-made.  So, I added white paint and glitter to the petal tips.  The leaves were cut from texture green card stock, and the tips were sponged with a little brown ink.  I used a sweet tiny stamp set, to stamp 'XOXO' onto a scrap piece of cream card stock.  I sponged the edges with the same brown ink, that was sponged on every piece of pattern/solid card stock.  I used a pencil to add some curl to the banner piece.

back side

I heat embossed the 'house' onto vellum card stock and fussy cut it out.  I hand stamped, directly onto the house in Jet Black Staz-On ink.  This was a bit nerve wracking.  But, I didn't have the foresight to do this stamping before I adhered the pattern paper.  [thank goodness, it turned out correct - whew!]

I added a semi-clear button to the heart of the house.  I added a glitter butterfly with half pearl center to the lower left corner.  I didn't want to decorate the back too much, as this side typically isn't seen.  But, I wanted it to be complete.

Thank you so much to stopping by to see what I have been creating!  I hope you have been inspired to visit your local big box store, and look at their dollar bin, with a creative eye!

Bunco One

Whew.  I'm at the end of my big reveal!  I hope you have been inspired and found something creative.  This last prize, number one, is certainly more 'farmland' than you can imagine!
So, let me start with the gift tag.   I used retired pattern papers from Cosmo Cricket and Stampin' Up!.  Both pattern papers embrace farm cooking!  I used the same layout as the previous cards.

the prize:

Ok.  barn red.  chicken wire.  altered clothes pins.  and a retro pattern.  I purchased the simple frame from a big box store.  Painted it literally bard red.  I used sand paper to distress the frame.  I sealed the distress with a clear coat.  I used my husbands staple gun to adhere the chicken wire to the inside of the frame.  I cut the pattern paper to fit inside the frame.  To decorate the clothes pins, I painted them white.  Then adhered a small strip of the pattern paper to the top of the clothes pin.  I stamped a few inspiring words at the front of the clothes pin.  I hot glued a paper blossom and vintage crochet trim bow over the middle section of the pin.  I also added a small wooden button below the bow.  I felt it gave a more 'finished' look.  

This beauty can be hung on the wall, or stand on a counter.  I wanted the recipient of this prize to have choices {smile}.  Choices are good!

Thank you for stopping by and having a look around!  Hope you get a chance to create something today!

Bird House Ornament

~ photo heavy post ~

I have a quick tutorial for you today.  It's a quick, simple project.  However, you can always add more or less embellishments, whatever tickles your fancy {smile}.

I purchased one of those $1 bird houses from a big box crafting store.  I know, it looks rather 'sad' and 'blah'.  The design is clean and simple, but your finished project will be anything but blah!

I did a quick painting job of a white acrylic paint.  I wasn't too worried about being precise or 'clean'. I painted the bird house, to give it a finished look.  You can also just paint the edges, but this was a lot easier.

I used a ruler to measure the sides, and roof, to cut my pattern paper as best as possible.   Also, the angles aren't mirrored exactly.
I sponged all the edges of the paper with a kraft colored ink.
So, I used a piece of copy paper to make a template for the front and back.  That way, I wouldn't waste any pattern paper.
I used a die to create the scallops, and then layered them.  All edges of the scallops are sponged, too.  I used a hole punch, to cut away the notch were the rope hanger exits the house.

For the trim, I used a cream colored crochet trim.  I adhered it to the edge of the roof with scor tape.  Also, I did a miter cut at each point. so there wouldn't be any bulk as the two edges met.

I did not want a 'hole' for the entrance.  So, I did not make that concession.  I also decorated all four sides, as this little 'gem' is an ornament.  I also wrapped some twine around the perch, and added a half pearl to the end.

Once I start crafting, it is rather difficult to stop and photograph.  Sorry, for the lack of photos.  But, all I really did at this point was add products {smile}.

I will post some more close-ups to help explain what I did.  Those will be posted soon.  Give me a few days to get caught up with my Bunco prizes.  {smile}