Snow day art projects

I had off yesterday afternoon because of the snowstorm...and since I was stuck at home, worked on some pear collages that I'd been thinking about for a while.

I like how this one came out...it is pretty much how I pictured it...only I'm not sure it is "weird" enough...despite the odd bandage illustrations I glued on there in places.

materials: Strathmore Bristol (smooth), Plaid Royal Coat Decoupage Finish in 1401 Clear, Faber-Castell Pitt artist pens (#169 and #177), various books, magazines, paper tape, paper towels, transparencies (leftover from my Kaplan days) and other paper ephemera.

 

Finishing old projects: decoupage boxes

Recently I've been doing a lot of cleaning projects...and in the process, I found a bunch of old craft projects in need of finishing. Last night I knocked out two decoupage pieces: a set of drawers that would make a great jewelry box, and a shadowbox frame (courtesy of IKEA, of course).

I've been using a crap abridged illustrated copy of The Mutiny on Board HMS Bounty that I cut up and glue in pieces...for these two projects I was using just the text, no illustrated pages.

I love the look of black & white lately and have been wearing a lot of black/white/gray...no surprise that this theme continues here. It's sort of a wintry look :P

Sometimes I like to collage the book pages in small pieces for a patchwork effect, but for the drawers on this I wanted to use one solid piece of text...which was a pain in the butt (particularly with the little drawer knobs), but I like how it turned out.

More book ruining later, perhaps...

materials: IKEA wooden shadowbox frame, wooden mini dresser, black acrylic craft paint, books, Plaid Royal Coat Decoupage Finish in 1401 Clear.

Craft books I want!

I was browsing Amazon and came across a ton of new books I want to add to my extensive craft book library!

      

   

   

  

    

Ok, so the last one is more of a cookbook but look the little food is sooooo cute! That's almost a craft :)

Shopping inspiration: Frederick, MD

A few weekends ago Brie and I spent the afternoon shopping in Frederick, browsing all the cute little boutiques...and getting caught in a downpour.  Even though we got soaked, we managed to pick up a few cool things.

Bird necklace and all earrings: Simply Beautiful Boutique.
Metal birds ringholder and Little Miss Austen Pride & Prejudice picture book: Retro Metro.
Vintage embroidered handkerchiefs: Tiara Day.
Leaf necklace: Alicia L. Boutique.
Bird greeting card (outside reads: I don't know where I'd be if I hadn't found you, my love. Inside reads: But I'm betting there'd be a lot less farting.): Simply Beautiful Boutique.

Also worth checking out in Frederick:

• Treat yourself to some delicious authentic gelato at Juliet's Italian Market and Cafe!
• Shop at The Muse for handcrafted gifts from local artisans.
• Stop for lunch and get a tasty pretzel pizza at Pretzel and Pizza Creations.
• Head over to the family-owned MDL Holiday Cinemas to finish your day with a cheap movie! 

What a great way to spend a day! :)

New decoupage frames: whales, ships, fishies, castles, and a mutiny

Kate's birthday was this weekend and I wanted to make her something original and cool, so I decoupaged a picture frame with pages from an abridged illustrated version of The Mutiny On Board HMS Bounty. Then I painted a cute little ship in the corner with acrylic paints. Turned out just as I imagined it!

I loved the ship frame so much that I made some other versions.

Here's one on a wall hanging piece instead of a frame--love how it looks with the rope!

And here's one with a whole bunch of stuff painted on it. Yes, I know the text is sideways. It was an accident but I like it!

Decoupage project (aka book ruining)

Yesterday I was procrastinating from some not-fun tasks and so I decoupaged a few mini composition books with these images from A Tale of Two Cities and The Mutiny On Board HMS Bounty. I used those cheap abridged versions of the books that you can buy in craft stores for like three bucks :) I'm calling these
"Law steps & sails minibooks."



Here's a picture of the backs of the books:



I don't have any more minibooks but I will probably work on decoupaging some boxes/sets of drawers with the same books this afternoon.

PS Only 23 hours left to vote (on the right-hand side of this page) on my next craft project! And your vote actually does count because right now it's a tie between 2 and 3. Please vote! :)