DIY Succulent Shadowbox

I had a few of the succulent plants leftover from my last project.  I was thinking what could I do with them?

I have seen the shadow box kits that are for sale and thought I would like to make one.

I had a cute little 6" square, 25 cent frame, from the thrift store that was missing it's glass.  I combined that with a little cardboard box, a piece of cardboard and a sheet of scrapbook paper plus my left over succulents plants along with a few pieces of lichen.

I started by covering the cardboard box with the polka dot scrapbook paper.

Next I cut a piece of glittered ribbon to fit the sides of the box and glued it to the outside of my box.

I also covered the cardboard from the inside of the frame and glued the cardboard box to the piece of covered cardboard.

Next I began to fill my box with the succulents plus a few pieces of lichen using hot glue.

Here's my little box all filled.

I added a cute little bee to the frame, also.

Happy Crafting!

French Inspired Picture Frame

At the end of last year I found this black picture frame for $1.00 at a thrift sale because it was missing the cardboard that goes behind the glass.  The glass was taped to the frame and I still need to remove the sticky tape residue from that glass.

I instantly thought it would be so pretty painted in a French gold and white style.

I wanted the details of the scroll work to make a better showing on the frame.  All black it doesn't show it's beautiful details.

Plus there were a lot of chips and dings in the black paint.

I gave the entire piece a coat of off-white chalk paint leaving the recessed areas black to give the piece more dimension.

Again I brush over the raised areas on the frame but this time with a gray color.

Next I hit a few areas with aqua colored paint.

Then I brushed a few areas with pink.  And distressed the edges lightly around the frame.

My final coat of paint was a brilliant white.  Again just hitting a few raised areas on the front of the frame just to tone down the aqua and the pink a bit.

The last thing I applied was a liquid gold leaf to some of the scrolls on the frame.

I just wasn't getting the effect of the gold on the frame in these shots.  I was lucky because today the sun was shining brilliantly and outside I went.

Here you can see a better overall view of the finish.  It appears to be white with only a hint of the aqua and  pink.

A very shabby chic finish.  I think I will add this to the downstairs half bath as soon as I have time and energy to repaint that room.  It will coordinate perfectly with the small oval bisque plaque I bought last time I went to the Vintage Market.

Right now that bath is painted a dark color and since it has no windows the room seems even smaller.  

Can't wait to change it up with a new coat of light paint and add some light accessories to that room including this frame.  Now I just need to decide which picture to add to the frame.

Happy Crafting!

Eyesore in the kitchen Fixed

The telephone cords for the house come in through the kitchen wall about 5 feet from the floor.  I had forgotten they where there until I move a shelf.

It is really an eyesore now that the shelf is moved.  I was trying to figure out what I could do to conceal it.

Then I remembered I had an empty picture frame that was long and skinny, 

about 6 inches by 18 inches.

I pulled some larger pieces of balsa wood out of my stash and cut them to fit the frame.  

Next I hot glued them to the frame and stenciled a few places to add texture using a bubble wrap image stencil.

In order to raise the frame off the wall so the cords can run behind it I glued the cut off pieces of balsa wood to the sides and added clips to each side piece.

When the stencil was dry I painted the entire piece white with chalk paint.  Then I distressed all the edges of the boards and frame.

I next printed out a picture of a rooster.  

Then I cut the picture into 5 pieces.

The rooster is cut to fit the size of the boards.

After all the pieces where torn I used distress ink on all the edges and used Mod Podge to glue all the pieces in place.  I added a few pieces of gold polka dot washi tape, gold liquid pearls and a few gold ink accents.  I also added a few ephemera pieces.

On the 5th piece of paper I stamped "NOTES" in aqua before gluing it to the board and also more ephemera pieces.

I can't get rid of the wires and connections but I was able to make them a little less noticeable.

Happy Crafting!

Vintage Shabby Chic Swivel Frame

I love it when I find one of those old vintage swivel picture frames.  I never pass one up in a thrift store if it has a reasonable price.

Sometimes you find a cool vintage picture and other times they are empty.

This project is super simple, I started out with an empty brown frame.

I took the glass out and carefully cleaned it, the edges are really sharp.

Next I painted the entire piece with white chalk paint.  Then I went to my scrapbook papers and decided to use this French themed paper.  I used a couple of pieces of paper to make a collage to fit the frame.  Replaced the glass and secured the backing to hold the picture in place.

On the left side I made a white tulle net ruffle and hot glued the ruffle to the side.

That is it, simple, pretty and easy. Perfect for a bedroom or vanity table.

Happy Crafting!

Dollar Store Clock

How time flies.  Can you believe it is the 4th of January already?

And speaking of time, today's project is a clock.

Here is what you will need:

Frame with back stand

old CD

clock works, battery operated

embellishments of your choice

I went to the Dollar Store and purchased a white frame, removed the glass and drilled a hole through the backboard where I wanted the clock works to be located.

Next I covered the backboard with a vintage graphic and added a couple of vintage stamp stickers.  Assembled the clock and secured it to the back with hot glue.

Then I went on Pinterest and found a clock graphic that I sized to fit the CD, glued it to the CD and added several embellishments. I glued my decorated CD on the bottom left corner .   There is enough clearance that the clock hands pass under the CD.  For the numbers I glued various sizes and colors of rhinestones in place where the numbers would be located.

I also added a flower and coffee dyed seam binding in the upper right corner.

Here is a close up of the embellished CD glued to the frame.

As you can see I distressed the frame and mat.  I used a dry brush to add copper and brown acrylic paints and blended them out with a soft cloth to give my clock an aged well travelled look.

I have this clock in my computer room that is decorated with vintage travel photos, old movie posters and black and white photos of movie stars of the past.  So the vintage travel theme fits perfectly. Looks great by my Casablanca movie poster.

Happy Crafting!

Press for Champagne

It's time to celebrate the New Year! 

 With all the fireworks, celebrations and champagne corks that will be popping tonight.  

Who doesn't need their very own butler's champagne button?

I have mine in my dining room.  Somehow it seems to be out of order.  No matter how many times I press the button no champagne arrives.  LOL

Maybe you will have better luck with yours.

Here's what you will need.

Small frame

graphic

vintage button

gold felt tip pen

glue

I found this little golden frame at the thrift store.  It is about 6" long.

I found the graphic on Pinterest.  Sized it to fit the frame added a few gold highlights with a gold marker.

In the bottom of the frame I tucked a couple of tags that I aged and distressed as though someone left them their long ago.

For the actual button I removed the shank from a black vintage button and glued it in place.

This little frame hanging on the wall of my dining room makes a great little conversation piece.

Wishing everyone a Happy New Year!

Happy 2016!

Framed Scrapbook Paper

Today's project is a pretty quick one.

I fell in love with this Stampin Up paper.  I just had to save one piece and put it in a frame.

I found the frame in a second hand store.  I painted it with white chalk paint then highlighted the raised areas with a gold marker.  On the mat I added a row of pink lace tape and a row of green check washi tape.  Added the floral paper to the frame.

I then added these 2 butterflies and a banner I ran through my Mink Machine for a little foil bling. They are attached to the glass with foam dimensional glue dots.

Happy Crafting!