Review: Figure Work in Embroidery: Techniques and projects

Figure Work in Embroidery: Techniques and projects by Angela Bishop
My rating: 5 of 5 stars



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Review: Cross Stitch for the Soul: 20 designs to inspire

Cross Stitch for the Soul: 20 designs to inspire by Emma Congdon
My rating: 5 of 5 stars



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Review: Hand-Stitched House: a guide to designing & embroidering a portrait of your home

Hand-Stitched House: a guide to designing & embroidering a portrait of your home by Theresa M. Lawson
My rating: 5 of 5 stars



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DIY stamp pad holder

I am going to admit right off the bat that this was NOT my idea.  I was trying to think of a cool way to store my stamp pads and I was leaning more towards doing something with pizza boxes since I can get my hands on plenty of those.   I did a little Google search and saw many folks were making pad holders from foam core. Foam core!  Brilliant!!!  I watched a few of the videos, I recommend that you do that too before you tackle this as they are very detailed and informative, then I decided to just dive in.  I cut my foam core back from black foam core, as it was much better quality (wish I gotten 3 of these instead of just 1) at 20"x12.5.  Then I cut my sides 2 pieces at 20"x3" and the top and bottoms are a little over 12.5 x 3" (I put the sides together on the back and measured what I would need to cover the top part o the sides too.

The insides (shelves) were 4"x20" for the long ones and 12.5"x 4".  I would change this to 3" instead of 4" now because most of what I use is Tim Holtz and sometimes I have to dig in the slots for those 3"x3" pads.  The small shelves have slots cut into them at 4.25" and 8.5" (this is seriously where you need to watch those videos) and the long ones are notched at every 1".  I am not going to give you assembly directions because these other folks do it so much better than I did, so why mess with perfection?  

Inspiration videos:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JSBnDd3Oi-8 foam core holder with storage (very cool)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cNo3jWxosIc (this lady has so much DIY stuff)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_YZRp4c15NI (this one is so detailed)

DIY modeling paste

I love to buy art supplies, but I also like to save money on some supplies in order to spend more money on things I love, like stamps!!!  I started making my own modeling paste about 12 years ago, and while the recipe has changed a bit, the homemade modeling paste thing is still working out just great for me.  I keep it in a marshmallow creme glass jar and it will stay good for a long time. I have tinted the paste with paints and I have thickened and thinned it as needed.  Here is not only my recipe but also some samples.  This stuff dries hard and looks a little gritty.  It takes paints or sprays well too!  

I use a 1/8 measuring cup because it is what I have in my craft stash.  I have tried variations so I will list those in the ingredients too.

2 of the 1/8th cups full of school glue (can also use clear glue which is normally what I use)

3 of the 1/8th cups of white paint (I usually use Apple Barrel because it is cheap)

6 of the 1/8th cups of baking soda (I buy this in bulk at Sam's and use if for cleaning, cooking and crafting)

I wrote the recipe a bit odd in case you want to use a different type of cup, you would still use the 2/3/6 measuring of whatever type of cup you use.  I don't remember where I first learned this breakdown, but it has served me well for a long time.  

 Prior to this one, I used this recipe that I did a write-up on years ago, check it out because it worked fabulously too. 

There are literally tons of modeling paste recipes on the internet, don't be afraid to try one and give some dimension to your art journal, cards or cards.  

The "stained" glass window

I have always wanted a stained glass window, but they are pricey and where was I even going to put one?  Not, one was never on my radar for those reasons.  Fast forward to when we moved into this house.  We now live in the city limits, so houses are closer together.  We have this lovely jacuzzi tub, and it has this window over it.  We are very close to our neighbors, I mean they are great and all but do they really want to see us naked coming out of our tub? No! I didn't want to do curtains, why?  Because I wanted a beach theme, the curtains are expensive and don't really fit a beach.  So I looked at this as my chance to finally have that stained glass window that I had always wanted.  I got some supplies together and made some sketches.  First of all, I took painter's tape and taped off a 1-inch area around the edge of the window all around, this part would remain real glass so you could look out just a sliver.

I then took Aleene's acrylic spray and sprayed the window fora good adhesive surface.  It also made it look like the clear stained glass, kind of opaque cloudy.  This stuff is a great thing to have in your craft room so you may already have this or a similar product.  

 I decided to use puffy paint for my "lead" lines.  Why?  I thought if I ever did want to get rid of this I wanted to be able to scrape it off.  So I want it to stay up until I want it to come down.  I drew my sketch onto the window then I went over the lines again to make sure I had a good "lead" line.  I let that dry.  TIP*** you could tape a drawing to the outside of the window and trace those lines, but I wanted to freehand mine. I found lots of free and paid patterns on the internet if you choose to go that route, or you could even use a coloring page.  

Then it was time to make the color parts of the glass. I used regular acrylic paint (because I have tons of this) and mixed it with a little clear Elmer's glue and dabbed it on the window within the lines designated for that color.  TIP*** use a brush you don't love as you dab on the window you will ruin your brush.  

It looks like the rippled part of stained glass as you are filling in the lines.  I love the look!  It looks just as cute from the outside of the house too.  I did spray it again with the Aleene's after it was all dry. I just felt that would help make it more durable.  This is a very forgiving artwork to make.  I don't think you could really screw it up.  

TIP*** if you screw up on the design or painting, a razor blade will scratch off the incorrect part.  Just scrape it off and then let the areas around it dry.  Take the Aleene's and spray over the "messed" up area, it will be just like it was when you started after the Aleene's dries.  

We now have some privacy and a very unique piece of art.  

The backsplash of my new kitchen

So my kitchen is a little outdated, I do love the cabinets, but not so much the flooring or backsplash.  We don't have it in the budget to fix up the kitchen (there is a priority list), so I had to do what I could for t

he "right now".  I saw this white wall as a blank canvas to try something cool/new. I decided that the glass blocks were out of the budget, but I could paint anything so why not paint "glass" blocks?  First of all,I cleaned the wall and let me dry overnight.  Then I woke up and measured off 1-inch tall blocks on the whole wall.  This took forever, but it was worth it.  I used a level constantly to make sure my lines were straight and even. Once I got all the lines up there I taped it off with 1/4 inch wide painters tape. Again, I took my time and used the level to make sure my lines did not move.  All of this took about 4 hours, but once this is done it is time for the fun part.  I looked at the flooring and decided to mix and get colors from my wall of paint that would match the floor because it isn't going anywhere for a long time.  I then started randomly painting the blocks with the colors.  I did 3 coats on each block.  Then pulled the tape off after I added that last coat and WOW!!! what a difference.  My advice, take your time taping off. You may not need to draw the lines before you tape, you may tape as you measure, but I wanted that extra step to make sure I got it right.  

Look at the difference. I love it! It is like a Brady Bunch kitchen wall and fits the current scheme perfectly.  I actually don't mind the outdated look right now. I feel like I am living in a sitcom.  

The entryway table

Since we moved into this house I have been on the lookout for "new to me" furniture that I could turn into a work of art.  My friend, Marcia, and her husband, Bobby had a truckload of furniture.  Some of this furniture needed help.  When Marcia saw this she knew this was something I was looking for and was she ever right!!  I knew instantly what I would do.  Another friend of mine has an Americana entryway table and I wanted to do my own little version because my living room is all about America and travels. The table was a drop leaf table, one side worked perfectly, but the other not at all, I think that is ok because I am using it as an entryway table and not a regular table.  I dreamed of painting the flag on one of the drop-downs and on the other side I planned to do another painting just in case I wanted to change the decor from Americana to something else.  The first thing I did was de-gloss the table and sand it a bit. 

Next was adding a layer of white paint.  My jar of white paint was rather old and while I was opening the jar it just shattered!  I spilled paint all over my carpet and spent about 2 hours cleaning up all that mess.  After that, I painted about 2 layers of white paint on the legs and then brown paint on the leaves and tabletop.  Once all that was dry I free handed a flag. I wanted it rough looking like it was 70 or 80 years old.  Once the flag was dry I dry brushed the whole thing in the same brown paint that I used for the top and I brushed the white legs in the brown too.  On the other side, I freehanded a tree branch and a bird.  Kind of like a cardinal in color, but a completely made-up bird.  Once the bird and the tree were dry I did the same dry brush with brown on top too.  

As I was setting up the table the cat brought me an orange fish which is featured in the photos :)  

Cigar Box Tutorial

At the Trace Creek Crop yard sale, I found a $1 cigar box.  I HAD to have it!  I opened it and it did indeed smell of cigar (have to figure out how to fix that).  Now it was time to decorate the box.

I measured everything first.  I didn't like the way it was measuring so I went back to the technique I use all the time.....eyeballing. My eyeballing skills are WAY better than my measuring skills.  I must say they were much more accurate as well.

After I eyeballed the paper size and cut the papers to that size. I inked the pieces of paper with Walnut Stain, Worn Lipstick and Black Soot.  All by Tim Holtz (Distress Inks).  Then I misted with water.

 I didn't think the paper had enough depth so I wadded up the papers, opened them and inked again. Once again I misted with water.

The box was an ugly yellow and the paper I was using by Lost and Found by MME which was colored in pinks and browns with a smidgen of green.  For sure yellow would not work. I had brought my gouache paints with me to Trace Creek so I mixed some crimson red, dark brown, and a bit of white together. I got the perfect dirty pink color.  I painted all the edges of the box in this dirty pink.

Gouache dries quickly, so I was ready for the next step in just a minute or so.  I used Aleene's tacky glue, because frankly I think it is the best.  I put the glue onto the box and paper. I wanted a good hold.  then I started putting it on.  I am one of those folks that could are less if I get glue/paint/ink on my hands so I really rubbed the paper into the cracks and the edges and even molded the paper to fit the corners. My hands were a wreck, but the effect is well worth it.  Give it a try. You can always clean up with soap and water.

Once the paper was adhered I added ribbon onto the edges for one more dimension.   The box is starting to take shape. I knew that I could not finish it here at Trace Creek, because I would need some bling....but I did try to get as much decoration on the box as possible.  Here is what the box looked like when I left Trace Creek.

Now, once I got home I had to add to the box......I misted the box with Michelle's Musings Sterling Silver shimmer paint and allowed that to dry.  I did not want to use a heat gun because I did not want to risk damaging the box.  The next step was to paint the box with modge podge.  I used a matte finish, this will provide a more durable surface...if there is one thing I hate it is when someone makes something and doesn't protect it so it lasts.  All that hard work gets bent up/dirtied up and falls apart.  It's a shame in the fact that the work goes down the drain and that you lost the great object you made or made for someone.  Protect your work!!!!


Here is the finished product....enjoy GET CREATIVE!!!  What do you have lying around the house that you can repurpose?

Heavy Weight

A few weeks ago, I stumbled upon this website for a book weight.
 http://lifehacker.com/5833754/make-your-own-super-cheap-book-weight-out-of-duct-tape-and-pennieshttp://lifehacker.com/5833754/make-your-own-super-cheap-book-weight-out-of-duct-tape-and-pennies
What a brilliant idea!  Wish I had thought of it myself.  I liked the idea, but not the construction.  It is perfectly fine, just not my style. So I decided to lift the idea and change it to form my own style. 

I am a paper person, as you know so I wanted to construct this using paper.  You know me, I also wanted to add my own "Michelle" to it.  I started with 2 strips of  8x2.5 sheet of cardstock (what a perfect use for scraps!!).  I set them aside.  I took a strip of duct tape and laid out my pennies.  I used 20 pennies.  On each end I added 4 pennies on top to add a little weight. I used the duct tape to hold all this in place.
























I then took one of the 2 strips (right side down) and glued the duct tape piece to the strip. I used Scrappy Glue by Heidi Swapp.  So far I have found this to be a very good glue for holding heavy things to my projects. After adhering that strip I placed the second strip on top and glued it to the top of the duct tape stuff.  I used binder clips all around to hold in place(you can never have too many binder clips on hand when you construct things from paper). Let this set up a bit and after about 10 minutes remove the clips. It may tear some of the paper, but you can distress over this...no big deal.

If there are any gaps I use Aleene's tacky glue and put some into the gaps.  Clip again and let set a few minutes.

Now take all the clips off (if you have not already) and let dry for about an hour.  Distress the base if you desire after that hour is over.  Then decorate the top as you desire. 

Once, everything is dry, get yourself a good book and test it out.  Now you can cook and not worry about the book closing or you can read your favorite book and not worry about losing your place.