Upcycling with Graphic 45

Good Morning Everyone

Just popping in to tell you about my latest tutorial.  This is an oldie but a goodie so it is about recycling which is Graphic 45s challenge this month and I am also recycling an idea I posted about way back in 2012 when I had no clue about YouTube or that I was heading that way!

Way back then I shared a post that was all about turing old video cases into mini albums or stamp storage!  It was a photo tutorial so I am also upcycling that to a YouTube tutorial.  Three up cycles for the price of one!!!!

In the tutorial I will show you how to turn your old video cases into mini albums (or stamp storage) and storage boxes.  As you can see from the sides of my boxes I stuck to a theme in the way I decorated them and they now look fabulous as well as being really useful sitting on my shelves.

As you know I am through to the second round of the Graphic 45 Design Team Audition 2016 and I am up to my eyes in my projects!  I say projects because I can make up my mind which one to pick to submit as my final tutorial.  I love my first one but I think I am in love with my second one too.  I am hoping to finish it off tomorrow and then try to make a decision.  They are very different in style which is what I love about Graphic 45.  There are so many combinations of papers you can choose and each one will lead you to a different creative result!

As you can see here you can really ring the changes and reflect the contents of each of your little storage boxes and because I have stuck to the same layout for my decoration they still look like a set.

In this photo you can see two of the sets of papers I am using in the two projects I have on the go at the moment!

The top box with the mermaid on (from the Voyage Beneath the Sea Collection is the one that contains the mini album which you will see me create in the video tutorial.  All the rest are storage boxes and you will see how easily this is done too.

Hope you enjoy the tutorial and get busy with some recycling of your own!  Now where did you put all those old videos?!……..

If you want to see the original post and go back and see some of the old Graphic 45 paper collections here is the link.  Hold on for a bit of time travel!!!!

Thank you for popping by X

Chalkboard It!!!

Hi everyone just a quick post…..very unusually without a video tutorial!  I just wanted to share with you a way to up cycle something precious that has seen better days!!

This little money box belonged to Damian when he was a baby - He is 32 now!  It was looking tarnished and a bit battered as you can see….

Two Faber-Castell Design Memory Craft ® products will soon change all that.  This works best on objects that have some texture that you can highlight with this fun and easy to achieve chalkboard finish.

I painted the money box with Chalkboard paint.  Thin coats work best and make sure you get in to all those nooks and crannies!

It is better to do several thin coats rather than one thick one.  I applied three coats in total.  Letting each coat dry thoroughly before adding the next.

Next was the fun part of applying gesso to highlight all the raised details of the money box.  I added a little gesso to my finger tip and lightly brushed my finger over the raised details which brings the whole piece to life.  The trick is to only apply the tiniest amount of gesso to your finger and if necessary reapply to achieve the desired effect.

I also covered the bottom of the box which I confess I messed up with paint!  But this flock scrapbooking paper looks fab and will protect any surface I display Damian's money box on.

Callum (my youngest at 16) has a little wooden train with his name on and I think I will tackle that next!

I love this chalkboard finish as you know and it was a really nice way to maintain the integrity of this sentimental piece whilst smartening it up so it is more chic than shabby!

Hope you like this sentimental up cycle.  There is a video of this technique which I also used to make a pretty piece of wall art.

Thank you for popping by X

Finished!

Hi Everyone

A little later than planned but as promised here is the finished upcycled set of drawers which are now being used in Callum's Room!  I am really happy with how they turned out and now I have got the bug!

This project was a really large use of my mixed media and scrapbooking skills!  I smudged white paint into the corners and edges of the piece to highlight them and to add to the old dusty chalkboard look - a similar technique to inking the edges of our layouts or cards.

I cut the stencils for my words with my Cricket from vinyl and it worked a treat.  Mixed and matched the fonts and sizes of fonts to achieve this look that we have seen on many a background stamp.  They are all words associated with our New York Holiday so this has turned into a real memory piece.

I thought at first I would get new drawer knobs but a little scrub of the original handles and the silver circles came off and the colour matched the off white chalk paint beautifully.

I have been on to ebay already and have a cute Lloyd loom style chair, a bedside table and another dressing table waiting for me to get creative!

One more thing before I go off to cook tea…..

I think Comet is pretending to be a cat!  He looks so cute all cuddled up!

Until next time have fun crafting and thank you for popping by X

I'm Back and Painting LARGE!

Hi Everyone

Hope you all had a wonderful summer.  You may already know that I went with my family to Florida and had a fab time.  The weather was scorching but I must confess to wearing a cardigan in any restaurant we went too!!!  Boy the air-conditioning is turned up to the max!

Once I get my photos off my iPad I will share some with you but 'till then back to the crafting with a vengeance.  I have just finished prepping for my Monthly card class tomorrow.  If anyone lives in the Derby Nottingham area and wants to join us just email me and let me know.  We meet once a month at Elvaston Village hall and have a fab time getting inky!

This week I finally got round to a bit of up cycling!  You may remember that I revamped Callum's room now he is grown!  He wanted a New York vibe and although we got the major jobs done as often happens things stalled a little (money and time!!!)  Here is where we got too:

I bought an old Lebus Dressing table intending to up cycle it into a TV and game consul stand but it has been naked for a while!

I took the mirror off and the handles and I am ready to paint.  I am going for a chalkboard look and of course I am using Annie Sloan Graphite chalk paint.  I was thrilled not to have to sand.  I just gave the piece a quick wipe down and then on with the paint.

I put on two coats of the graphite.  It was very quick drying so it is easy to get two coats on in a day.  I loved how quickly it covered the wood.  The paint is very thick so if you want a smoother finish I would opt to water it down a little and perhaps use a roller to apply.  I am going for a distressed finish so I don't mind the brush strokes at all.

Now you can see the chalkboard look coming together.  I used a tester pot of Old White to add the chalky edges.  I used a combination of my finger and a piece of sponge to brush the white on to the edges of the piece. I smudged things out with a wet wipe if I was a bit heavy handed.  Be careful though as this is a water based paint and if you are not careful you can wipe all the paint off!  I think it looks like it has been made of old chalk board pieces - what do you think?

I haven't decided what colour to paint the legs yet.  The next job is the drawers.  I am going to use words that remind us of the lovely holiday we had in New York 2009/2010.  So I am getting out the Cricut to cut stencils from vinyl.  I want to use lots of different fonts so my Cricut cartridges are going to get a work out.

I will post more pictures as the project progresses.  It is my card class and crop weekend so I will probably get back to this on Sunday.

This has definitely given me the urge to do more up cycling so I am keeping an eye on ebay for more potential pieces to cover in paint.

Wishing you all a fab weekend.  Welcome to all my new subscribers.  Hope you have fun exploring all the many projects on my blog.  Don't forget to pop along and subscribe to my You Tube Channel too X

Thank you for popping by X