'Tis the season...

for making Christmas decorations!!

I got out the saw to make these Old Vintage Style Skeleton key door plates.  Cut approx 2 inch wide chunks just wide enough for the skeleton hey holes.  I found the skeleton key hole kits at Michaels, (they weren't cheap for a pack of 4 sets) and the glass nobs at a local decor store.  Painted them with Acrylic paint, and used a hot glue gun to affix keyholes.  Then I had to drill holes in 5 places.  All 4 corners for the decorative screws and 1 for the door knob to go through.  A little sheer ribbon to hold the keys and gold decoration wire and these are ready for the tree.

My other project was these wooden signs, that are painted to look old & worn.  I had to buy "Crack It" Medium & some Gel Stain for glazing.  The first time I had used either one of these products.  I'm a Pro now, and want to make a few more of these for everyday & for my girl's play store.  You would think that you just paint the Crack It overtop of it all?  Not the case, its the middle step out of 3.  First you paint the wood in a color you want to show through in the cracks & then the Crack It medium.  Of course letting each layer dry completely.  Last you Paint your top color & that's when its Crackles.  I then used the Gel Stain to glaze it all over, and then used my mouse sander to distress the Noel Sign, and left the Joy sign alone.  I've already made another sign for my girls & it is Black as the base, Crack It & White on top.  The crackles really show up dramatic.  I'll save that for another Post, so you'll have to stay tuned for the finished product photos.

 Some Twine, small clothes pins, paper, wooden letters, acrylic paint, rubber stamps, hot glue & imagination made this Garland.

Popsicle Stick Frame Christmas Decorations.

I decided to make these cute Popsicle stick framed Christmas Decorations for myself.  Then I bought a box of 1000 sticks and decided to make a whole bunch and sell them as well.  I cut off the typical rounded ends, then glued them together & reinforced with the twine, so that they won't get all munched when you put them away for next Christmas, and it adds a rustic look to them.  The music sheets are photocopied from 100 year old sheets, and stamped with an ink stamp of a Christmas theme, birds or butterflies.  Attached is gold string to hang it from the tree, doorknob or where ever you desire.  A little Grosgrain or sheer ribbon finishes it off.

Mirror Image

I found this old mirror that my Grandmother used to use.  It honestly was ugly, but I had a little vision for it, and I love the results.  Amelie is pretty happy with it as well, and is using it sitting on her Vintage Vanity.  It gives me joy that once upon a time my Grandmother, her Great-grandmother used it to look at herself in the mirror as well.  Its amazing what a little paint, paper, and Ribbon can do.

Solid Wood Doll Cradle

Just finished transforming this Solid wood Doll cradle.  Painted it a creamy white & custom made the mattress, and reversible bedding.  Such a perfect little gift for a little girl.  I just posted it for sale & my girls thought it was so cute and didn't want to part with it.  But they already have 2 beautiful dolly beds that their Auntie & Grandpa made them last year.  I found the old Raggy bunnies at a garage sale, and threw them in the wash which only improved their look.  This is posted for sale for $40 & $10 for the bunnies, local sales only.  (Merritt, BC)  The Bunnies are now SOLD.

Laundry Wall.

I made some quick signs for the Wall in the Hallway where we do our Laundry.  I found this old washboard in my Grandparents attic, and washed it up and gave it a bit of a Sanding in some spots.  I had some Canvas panels around the house & had painted some animals on them for a baby room at one time.  So I got out the Acrylics again and painted it over in Black & then used White Pigment Ink from Stampin' Up with my Rubber Stamps, and a heat gun to get it all to dry.  The word Laundry I hand painted.  It took about 30-40 min. for this project from Set-up to Clean-up.  Not only can we design on a dime, but time is also of the essence too!!

LOVE makes a house a home.

For quite some time I've been wanting to make one of these signs for my home.  To go over my other project from a couple months back, my foyer wall hooks.  I was shopping today at a local business & saw these for sale, between $22 and $30 each.  So it inspired me to go home and do it!!  I had some remnants of  wide MDF molding around the garage, a black can of spray paint, decorative paper, Mod Podge, Raffia & Black Ribbon with cream polka dots, Eyelet screw hooks, and a piece of wire.  Vinyl Wall Sticker from the Dollar store, is the only purchase I made for this project, at $1.50.  I am so happy with the results & LOVE my project so much more than the store bought ones I saw.  To see a closer view just click on the photos.

I would have made a Tutorial for this project but it happened so fast an easy that I forgot to document it.  I was at the Dollar store and found a Clear Vinyl wall sticker that reads "LOVE makes a house a home".   All I simply did was find a remnant of wide molding at home in my pile of scraps, large enough for the sticker I found.  But if you go to the Hardware store you would need to buy a rather large piece, which would be alright if you are going to make a lot of signs.  It may even be possible to get a sample from the Hardware store, or find a sign from the dollar store and paint over it.

Once the paint has dried you can measure a piece of contrasting decorative paper and cut it slighty larger than the vinyl sticker.  Remove the Vinyl Sticker from its packaging and smooth onto the right side of the paper.  Apply the back of the paper with Mod Podge and then adhere it to the wood.  Smooth really well.  Continue to use the Mod Podge over top of entire project.  But not too much otherwise it starts to wrinkle.  Smooth any wrinkles with a bit more Mod Podge and your finger tip.  Let it dry thoroughly.  If you can't wait to get the project finished like myself you can use a blow-dryer on Medium heat.  Using a clean finger to get any wrinkles to adhere before it completely dries.   Once its all dry to the touch hand screw the eyelet screws into the top of the sign.  I used a ruler to measure 3 inches in from either edge to have it hang evenly.  You can now thread the wire through the hooks, leaving enough slack for how long you want the wire to hang.  Wrap about a inch excess wire onto itself to make it strong.  If you don't have Black wire or hooks you can spray paint them before putting them on.  Or tape off the sign and cover with Newspaper and give the wire and hooks a quick spray, and let it dry.  Tie the Raffia on the center part of the wire & Ribbon over top.  I had another idea to distress the edges of the sign with my Mouse Sander.  You could also use just a piece of Sandpaper if you don't have a Sander.

I saved myself $30, by designing on a dime!!  Or should I say designing on $1.50.

This is in the Link Party to AKA Designs, check it out!!

http://akadesign.ca/?p=6828