Decoupage - Wooden Business Card Holder

My mum in law saved this cute little wooden business card holder (she got as a compliment from some private bank) for me, knowing how much I love decoupage. And for someone always on the hunt for 'decoupagable' items, this sure was a treat. I just could not wait to get started! I decided not to paint it any other colour. I just loved the original raw colour and besides it was sanded all the way to feel like satin!!

Roses are always my first choice.. And I had some gorgeous prints of roses again from my mum in law, who I always say is never ever short on pretty things. 

So I jumped right in.

I cut out the roses that I felt would fit right in the centre and also cover the bank's engraved logo. I did read somewhere that one should tilt the scissors to the right while cutting so that edges dont seem too sharp. I did try this and was happy with how it was turning out.

I used normal school glue with a foam brush and stuck the images carefully.  After it dried completely, I must have applied atleast 10 coats of glue, drying each coat completely. 

During this process, I did feel the lid was warping a little and almost died of a heart attack! And learnt from forums that raw wood should be primed with varnish first. But to my luck, it seemed to go back to its original shape once it was done drying.

But yes next time, I will make sure I am going to treat the wood before I apply any glue. To protect it further I have applied a clear spray varnish as a top coat. 

I think it turned out quite adorable. 
What say you?

  

DIY Fabric Decoupage on a Terracotta Pot

How can you not love a vintage looking vase? Faded pink roses floating in cream. Dreamy, romantic and filled with an old world charm. And what better way than Decoupage to make that vintage dream come true.

I found these lovely terracotta vases at the local road side seller's. Usually he has cooking vessels and planters, so when I saw this I just could not resist picking it up.  

Supplies:

1. A Terracotta vase or pot

2. Sand paper

3. Acrylic paints

4. School glue

5. Pretty fabric pieces

6. Scissors

7. Wide foam Brush (or any artists brush will do)

8. Some patience. :) 

First step-Wash your vase or pot and get it completely dust free. Leave it in the sun to dry inside out (even if it takes a whole day). 

Next step would be to sand the vase. This will get rid of any minor bumps and give it a smooth finish. After sanding, wipe it down with a nice damp cloth to get remove any residue. If required wash and let dry one more day. (this is where patience comes in handy!). In my case, I did NOT sand it. I could not get my hands on sandpaper at that time, nor did I have enough patience. But I would recommend not skipping this step.

 

Now your vase is ready for painting. I did not use any primers or sealers. I was looking for a pale cream shade with a sheen. So I mixed Pearl White and a few drops of Gold to get my final shade. Your painting will be smoother and without brush stroke marks if you use a wide foam brush. I let it dry over night after one coat and gave it another before I got to decoupaging. 

After one coat of paint

I had some pretty fabric lying around and snipped out some roses from that. The roses were too bright so I ended up using the wrong side of the fabric as I was going for a more faded vintage look.After deciding on the placement, I applied glue with a foam brush. And pasted the fabric on. The Serrano Wrap method from patioelf helped me get it on without wrinkles. All you have to do is take a large enough piece of Serrano Wrap and stretch it over the decoupaged piece to help push out air bubbles and any wrinkles.

After letting it dry completely, I applied another coat of glue. 

The roses still seemed a bit bright and pasted on, so while applying my top coat, I sneaked in 2 drops of pearl white paint into my glue and then applied it all over. This allowed the roses to merge on to the vase a little more.  And the sheen from the paint showed up a little on the decoupage too.

I think it looks quite dreamy and romantic. 
What say you?

DIY Christmas ornaments with kids

My son had to take a few Christmas decorations to school and this year we decided we were going to make them. We love crafting together and its a pleasure to see the twinkle in eyes as he holds up his finished piece. 
 
Crafting is good for your kids. What better way to get them off the idiot box and other attention devouring gadgets. Yes, it involves mess and clean up but its worth it.

We found some great ideas online.


1. Popsicle Stick Star from Ankle Biter Art
Kids can help paint the Popsicle sticks and put glue drops.

 


2. Popsicle Stick Snowman from momontimeout
This we made months ago so all we are going to do now, is fix a ribbon hoop and its good to go. Again, painting, sticking. 

3. The adorable Ribbon Christmas Tree ornament. This is so cute! Here he helped me thread the beads. 

Yes! Its beginning to look a lot like Christmas. Cannot wait to get the tree up and make some more stuff!

I won! I won! I won!

Yes I did!

Last month the Good Housekeeping (India) Magazine was celebrating their 10 anniversary edition and they had loads of contest and plenty goodies to be won. 

I noticed a 'Craft To Win' contest and I had to send something right?? Since I did not have enough time to whip up something new, I did send in 3 of my DIY projects.

1. Tissue flowers and Yarn lanterns
2. Ivory rose wreath
3. Backlit Canvas.

Anyways, my tissue flowers and yarn lanterns won me the prize. I should receive a big fat hamper by the end of December!

Yay!

DIY Decoupage Canvas Art

Here is a very simple decoupage project that anyone can try at home. 

All you need is:
1. A canvas
2. Pretty paper napkin or any decoupage paper.
3. White school Glue
4. A Foam brush

First cut out the picture you want to decoupage. Do not separate the sheets of your napkin before cutting. It becomes too flimsy and will tear. 

After deciding where the image should go, make very light markings on the canvas so you know where to apply glue.

You can use either a  foam brush or an artists brush to apply glue.

Separate the sheets of your paper napkin and then carefully place the picture and stick into position. Patioelf suggests using Serrano wrap to always smooth out wrinkles which I have tried earlier on other projects but not for this one.

I did end up getting a few wrinkles, but I felt it kind of added depth to this particular piece. 

After it dries, if you feel it has not adhered properly, add one more coat of glue.

Let it dry and then add a top coat. Where I live I don't have access to modge podge of any type. So my top coat was also school glue.

The sides of my canvas was 1 inch thick. And let the image spill over to the sides - again for some depth.

I loved how it turned out.. So even if you cannot paint like Van Gogh, don't worry you can always use decoupaged canvas art to pretty up your walls! 

Backlit Canvas

The primary inspiration was for this project was from curbly where Michele was inspired by  Valérie Boy's Féérie Florale. I fell in love with this concept of back lighting.

Mine does not reach anywhere near the master piece that is Féérie Florale. Nor can it be considered a knock off... But I wanted to try making something similar.


I first ran out to get a canvas, I was not bold enough to buy a large one, cos I was not very confident about how it was going to come out. Boy's work is on powder coated metal. She has to be true artist to cut flowers on that! Michele (curbly) stuck a piece of card stock on hers and cut the flowers on that. I loved how subtle hers look. I ended up cutting on the canvas it self. 

At first tried the same design of cascading flowers, but they did not seem to work very well for me, So I took some help by using big flowers from a piece of left over gorgeous wrapping paper.

1. A canvas
2. Left over wrapping paper
3. Glue
4. Penknife
5. Tracing paper
6. String lights
7. Some acrylic paint- I used a turquoise blue.

How I made mine:

First I cut out the flowers from the wrapping paper using a sharp penknife. And moved them over the canvas to see where I wanted the flowers to go. 

Using a cutting mat, I made partial cuts in the flowers around the petals and stamens and almost raised them up to give a kind of 3D effect. I wanted the light to shine through this. 

I stuck the flowers on to the canvas in a decoupage kind of way, taking care not to damage or glue the portions I had already slit. 

Now when I placed the string lights behind,I felt the amount of light coming through the canvas was too less, so I made a few cuts in the canvas. Since this was a last minute plan, it was a little tricky. I carefully made holes in the canvas under the petal and stamens that I slit and bigger holes in the leaves so that I could push the tiny bulbs through. 

The openings in the leaves turned out too big and the canvas started curling in at the edges, so I had to reinforce by gluing tracing paper on the back side. 

This is when I decided white was too Blah and it needed a pop. It was the first time in my life I was painting with acrylic and on a canvas. (ya unbelievable!) But I took the leap! And it came out fine. I had to be extra careful not to paint over the edges of the flowers. 

The Christmas lights that I had were longer that I wanted, but I decided to make to with that for the time being. 

If you examine it very closely, you will find many many flaws in the paint job and the over all finish. But I am super glad, I tried it out and I learnt a whole lot!

Christmas lights look great in any form and this is such a creative and beautiful way to liven up your space. 

If you think this is too complicated, here is something easier from apartmenttherapy

Light it up!

DIY Decoupage - Little Pink Box

If there ever was a purpose for printed and especially ‘floral’ printed paper napkins it would be decoupage and nothing else. OK maybe to pretty up your tablescape for a photoshoot but for NOTHING ELSE. How on earth can anyone with even an ounce of sense ever wipe their face or mouth (that has gravy on it) with those gorgeous things and then crumple it and then throw it away? It would be a crime! 

Decoupage even sounds romantic. Just like anything French. Sigh…And its not even as difficult as Fine French cuisine. Easy and simple and your decoupaged product will still end up looking fine, French and lovely.

Here is my first attempt on a decoupage project. 

The paper napkin:

Here is the a little cardboard box I decoupaged. This is for my daughter to store her teeny- tiny hair clips. 

Most of the tips I picked up have been through YouTube videos from patioelf. She makes some mean stuff. Love her tips and techniques.

Can't wait to make some more stuff!!