DIY Coasters

I found this idea on pinterest.com. Here is the exact pin that Lindsay Schmitz posted with how- to instructions; http://pinterest.com/pin/41095415319262957/. This was so easy and fun that it can be addictive. I wanted to keep creating and creating. You could create so many different styles simply by using tiles that are different colors and sizes and scrapbook paper that has different patterns. For this I used the original tiles suggested from HD and yes, they were only .16 cents each! I had just purchased a brand new package of awesome color/pattern scrap booking paper at Craft Bits and Pieces (http://www.craftbitsandpieces.com/) for 2.50 and now I got to try some of it out. Then when I was at ReHouse Architectural Salvage (http://www.rehouseny.com/) store getting some old glass jars for another project (posted prior to this one) I found these great smaller tiles in the FREE section. Hooray for me! I wanted to take a ton of them but only took a couple of stacks. Below you will see the difference in tile size and the smaller tiles had a different overall shape and background color.

You could also carry this concept further and get even smaller tiles, use the same method and then put quotes or other images on top of the scrapbook paper and create magnets. Hmmm...I see another experiment coming on...

You can use a spray finish or since I had liquid varnish laying around I just used that.

I had some small felt stickers that I hot glued on or you can easily use regular felt and make circles for edges or place felt on the entire bottom.

Original size tiles suggested.

Smaller tiles.

So you can see the size difference.

Candle Light Party Decor

I went to a Christmas Party last weekend and our friends house was decorated with tons of old glass jars on along their porch, inside on the mantel, and going up their wooden stairs. It looked so picturesque that I decided I wanted to try something like this. I had a few glass jars around, found one that was most likely 40 years old or more in my basement with turpentine or something toxic in it that I washed out and then I headed to one of old house part stores in our city called; ReHouse Architectural Salvage- http://www.rehouseny.com/. I found about 3 more unique old glass jars different shapes and sizes and a huge bonus was when I went to pay at the end it should have cost $5 but once the assistant found out what I was going to do with them he asked if I was looking for any more. Upon saying yes, he showed me a secret stash of glass jars but they were labeled as $10 each. I told him thank you but I wasn't looking to spend that much on this project and he gave them to me for 90% off or rather $1 each!

I got them home, cleaned them up and put them on my mantel and bookcase. Here's some pictures. One was enhanced to show the picture more. My plan is to leave them up after the holidays and once in a while when having a party or just when I feel like it lighting them up. My one error was that I didn't light my fire place for the picture. Darn! It would have looked even better!

Flannel Rag Quilt

I found an image of a flannel baby rag quilt on http://pinterest.com/ and found the original author with tutorial from the blog- Do It Yourself Divas, http://doityourselfdivas.blogspot.com/2011/05/diy-baby-rag-quilt.html. I've been wanting to try it but flannel or material of any kind can be expensive to purchase especially if you want to use multiple colors/patterns. However; a wonderful co-worker hooked me up with a local unique shop call Craft Bits and Pieces, http://www.craftbitsandpieces.com/, which is a unique craft supply store. It takes donations from anyone of art and craft materials and resells the supplies for a very low cost. The proceeds go to a local community center for the elderly and the store is run by volunteers. I found some flannel there and purchased 4 different kinds almost 2 yards each for $1.50 each remnant. I figured with this kind of deal I could afford to try out this quilt project.

The instructions from the Do It Yourself Divas was fairly good, but here's some issues I found that I ran into. First of all I should tell you I'm a mediocre self taught quilter. One of the worst parts of this project was sitting on the floor and trying to accurately cut 3" and 6" strips of the flannel. It was physically painful and I'm in shape! This is why the next time I find some table pads on craigslist or at a yard sale I'm going to be all over purchasing them! The putting together of the quilt was easy, relaxing and fun. The binding was easy just time consuming. So, the second worst part of this project was all of the excess loose threads that come off from the time you cut the material, put it together and bind it. I had to sweep a lot! This was compounded when I took the suggestion from the tutorial to put it through the washer and dryer to help get rid of the excess thread and make it shaggier. However; this was problematic because my washer and dryer needed to be cleaned out afterwards AND the quilt still had a ton of lint/excess thread all over it and it took 20 min. with a lint roller to get most of it off. I'm sure this was because I didn't do something the correct way.

Other than those couple of problem areas this was a fun project and turned out really well. You could do a lot with this idea as far as making larger quilts or using cotton instead of flannel. Also lots of different pattern options. I have enough material to make an entire second quilt if I want to and all for the price of $6.00 total! Not bad!

Easy Peasy Flower Cuff Bracelet Tutorial

I was meandering around Michaels Craft Store yesterday looking for a new exciting project to cheer me up when I found this metal cuff made by Bead Landing. I then had this idea to search for something to attach to it and found this pendent flower also made by Bead Landing. Using a 50% off coupon I was able to get both pieces of jewelry for $5.50. I found some multi-purpose epoxy and off I went on an experimental fun easy project. Check out the steps below!

**Two things I learned while making this project. Bend the cuff to fit first. My wrist is small and I didn't think to do this until after it was put together (which worked but was more difficult) and think about weight of pendant (the flower is awesome looking but a bit heavy so the bracelet tends to want to slide around).

Materials: Scissors, epoxy, scrap cardboard, popsicle stick or something similar, piece of fine sandpaper and your jewelry pieces.

First: Lightly sand your jewelry where you plan on adhering it together.

Put your two part epoxy on a corner of your cardboard.

Mix the epoxy.

Put plenty of epoxy on all parts of both pieces of jewelry that you will be adhering together.

Hold for 5 minutes or until dry. Hint: If you have an extra sent of hands have someone put a blow dryer over it to help it adhere faster so it will be less likely to move around while drying.

Wear and enjoy!

Watercolor Reflections

I recently completed facilitating an Open Studio Art Therapy group. In the final group I asked members to reflect on their group experience and what it was like for them. I created along with the group and this was my piece I shared with them.

As my group members pointed out...there was a lot of "perfect accidents" that occurred through the haphazard mixing of watercolor, markers and stamping with watercolor. What a metaphor for life! Another perfect accident was the creation of a flower smiley face that I didn't see but a group member pointed out. Do you see it?

Right up here ^

Dr. Seuss Inspired End Table

Original Table

I found this end table a few houses up from mine out for the trash. My wonderful boyfriend amused me by helping me to carry it back to my house as I had visions of "trash to treasure" when I laid eyes on it. It was pretty beat up and I didn't notice the hideous leather circle on top until we got it in the house under the light. The first thing I did was was take a pry bar and hammer and get the leather circle off. Then the table sat in my basement for a few weeks not only until I found time to work on it but mostly because I was clueless about how to salvage and refinish the table with the indented circle on top.

Eventually I just had to tell myself it was free so I should experiment all I wanted and the worse thing that would happen is that I put it out on the curb for garbage. So I went to town using materials I already had (the paint, sand paper, crackle finish, vaseline, etc...). I tried some techniques I found online and had wanted to try such as using vaseline to create a distressed look. This didn't look good but I found where the vaseline didn't get wiped away completely it helped to turn things yellowish and helped it to look aged. I ended up using many techniques, sanding worn areas, the vaseline distressed look and a crackle effect. It ended up looking pretty aged in the end.

The circle I of course let blank until it was the last thing to work on so I started by painting it a beige color. Then I took old sheets of music (which I'm sure someone out there would throw a fit about) and ripped them up and decoupaged them to the top. Then I took some images that I had printed out and traced the body of a bird on them, cut them out and placed them on the top. I used a permanent black marker to draw a telephone type of line on the top and to create the birds legs. I used permanent marker to write the Dr. Seuss quote around the birds. The quote reads "Today you are you, that is truer than true. There is no one alive who is youer than you."

I took watered down acrylic brown paint and washed over the circle and then put a clear satin polyurethane over the entire piece. I did many coats on the top and finished it off by pouring a lot of polyurethane onto the edges of the circle were it was indented. The goal was to fill the indention up to create a flat surface and to help make sure the paper would be securely locked into place. A bonus was the edges of the circle became a darker brown than the rest of the circle where there was more polyurethane which helped to aid in the aged/weathered look.

Overall it turned out pretty good and was a positive challenge. By using almost all materials I had around the house I was able to complete the entire project for $5. Purchased materials were drawer knob on clearance and having to buy more crackle finish.

Finished Table

Turning Art Into Gifts!

I'm running an Open Studio Art Therapy group at work this semester and it's going really well. Here's one of my own pieces I worked on during the semester. It's on a canvas board and started with old music sheets, watered down acrylic paints and some left over transfer images, stamps and the inside of a bag of tea.

I think it turned out pretty well and quite a few of the students in my group said that I should frame it and give it away for a holiday gift so I took their advice and found this frame at Hobby Lobby; http://www.hobbylobby.com/ for 50% off which met I created this entire project/gift for $15. Not bad!