Chalk it Up

Normally I wouldn't give instructions for something I found in a rummage sale, but this is applicable for a picture frame, a window, a drawer front or kitchen cabinet so I feel that I can go ahead.

Materials

open shutter

caulk

masonite board

stain blocker spray paint (Bin or Kilz)

chalkboard paint

pale green spray paint

gel matte medium or Mod Podge

black or brown shoe polish (optional)

Tools

putty knife

paint brush

old credit card

hair dryer (optional)

fine sandpaper (optional)

When I saw this it screamed "little kitchen chalkboard" to me so I removed the amber plastic (anyone have an idea for this?) and all of the hardware. With a putty knife, use paintable caulk to fill in all of the holes. Scrap off all of the extra caulk and allow to dry. Use the plastic as a template and cut out a piece of masonite the same size.

Paint the masonite and the shutter with stain blocker spray paint and allow to dry. Sand lightly. Spray the shutter with light green paint (or your choice of color). Allow to dry.

Download "Le Menu" here. Print it out on your computer then print it on a copy machine. The copy machine print works best for this process. Paint a thin layer of gel matte medium on the shutter top and place the copy paper over the gel. Burnish it with a credit card to insure that the paper is in tight contact with the wood. Wait for it to dry or use a hair dryer to speed up the process.

*note: You can make your own wording, but it must be backwards. I use Photoshop Elements and the commands IMAGE>TRANSFORM>FLIP HORIZONTAL. You can reverse words in WORD, but you first have to save it as a picture. (google the exact directions). One of my printers will flip the image with the command of "mirror image". Look for commands of "flip" "reverse" or "mirror" to reverse your words in whatever program you would like to use.

*note: If I were to do this again I would either tear (rather than cut) the paper around my image so that I don't have a rigid edge around it or use paper large enough to completely cover the whole area I am transferring my image to.

Wet your fingers and rub off the paper. The image will be left. An ultra fine Sharpie can be used to fill in anything that doesn't transfer. A thin coat of gel medium on top of the transfer to dissolve any little paper fuzzies that are left;

You can stop now or use brown shoe polish to age your shutter. (This is where the cut edge of my transfer showed up so I took fine sandpaper and removed the edge.)
Spray the masonite with at least two coasts of chalkboard paint, allow to dry then insert it into the opening in the shutter using small brads or hot glue. Place the knob at the bottom of the shutter and hang a small bucket filled with chalk.

I can see a long "honeydo" list right now.

Just My Type

 I found a picture of an old typewriter -remember those? It gave birth in my wee little mind to a perfect Valentine's Day card. Please play along.

 Download this image here and print on a piece of white card stock

Download this here and print on the inside of the previous image.

Print these on a separate piece of card stock.

 Score the card on the gray line and fold in half. Open it up and with an exacto knife, cut a slot at the top of the paper guide. Cut out the Happy Valentine's Day message and slip it into the slot. Tape it on the inside of the card. (for those of you too young to remember, some typewriter ribbons came in black and red. A bad typewriter or perhaps a poor typist would find this strange lettering of half black, half red when they tried to type. Unfortunately this seemed to occur frequently whenever I typed.)

For variety I've included a Happy Anniversary message as well, for that occasion.

The perfect opposite of the ecard in more ways than one. (two actually)

Punch Love

Have I told you how much I like punches? I was thinking that it would be neat to be able to punch shapes out of metal. Then I realized that I had a recycling bin full of punchable metal. (yes, I drink way too much Diet Coke)

Materials

tuna or cat food can

8 soda cans

paper punches (round, scalloped round, 3 sizes flower shapes, various butterflies and a dragon fly)

thin wire hanger

styrofoam

JB Kwik Weld

primer spray paint

gold spray paint

Tools

wire cutters

scissors

large can

paint tube wringer (optional)

stylus (old ball point pen)

I cut a round of styrofoam to fill the tuna can. Cut off the long, unbent portion of the hanger. Wrap it around the large tin can to form a circle. Bend back the ends so that they come in contact with the inside of the tuna can to form then arch. Glue in place with JB Kwik Weld.

a note about Kwik Weld: It hardens in 4 minutes so make small batches. Also, it works better on the aluminum if you use larger blobs of glue rather than dabs.

Punch out lots of shapes. I layered 3 sizes of flower shapes to form one blossom. Leaves were formed by first punching out scalloped rounds then placing half of the round back into the punch and repunching. I was able to get 2 leaves out of each round.

Sometimes it was hard to remove the punch as the edges curled and got caught in the punch. Patience.

Cut strips from the soda cans and run them through a paint wringer (also sold in scrapbook stores to texture paper) to form corrugated metal. Glue the strips onto the tuna can to help disguise it's former life. Place a rubberband around the strip to hold them in place while the glue sets.

Texture the punched shapes to give them dimension. Place them on a magazine and with a stylus (or an inkless ballpoint pen) draw petal grooves or leaf veins on the back of the shapes.

Turn them over and draw around the previous grooves of the front sides. This is called repousse.
Punch out a large circle and gently fold it in half. Pinch one end to form a head. Punch a small hole for the eyes. Cut a scalloped circle in half. Cut one half in half to form wings and cut a wedge from the other half to form the tail. Repousse feather details into the wings and tail. Cut a small triangle from a scrap to form the beak. Fold in half.

Cut a 6 inch piece of wire from the hanger and fold in half. Fold up the ends for feet. Glue beak, wings and tail to the body. When dry, glue legs to the inside of the body tilting the body slightly.

Cut a coke cans in half to make 2 cups about 2 inches high. Using scissors, cut 1/4" strips around the cups. Draw the strips across the inside blade of the scissors to curl the strips much like you curl ribbon. Curl the strips to the outside on one can and to the inside on the other.

Glue the two cans together; inside curls on the inside. Then glue the cans to the styrofoam on the inside of the tune can.

Glue the flowers and butterflies to the wire hanger ring and glue the birds to the inside of the nest.

Spray paint the topper with primer.

Spray the whole thing with gold spray paint.

I thought it might be fun to glue this on top of a tower of graduated cookie tins for a metal wedding cake. The tins could be filled with special wedding cookies. What a fun twist on the wedding cake theme.

Is this a case of having your cake and preserving it too?

Three Years

Today marks the end of my third year of blogging and the beginning of the fourth.  I've published 185 posts, most of them crafts and an assortment of recipes. (more than any craft book I've ever bought) At this time, I have 90 posts ready to be published so it looks as though I will be blogging for quite some time in the future. I keep expecting to run out of ideas but each time I visit a store, read a blog, a catalog, a book or a magazine, I get new inspiration.

I started this blog in an effort to find others who were craft addicts like me, which I have. The unexpected discovery is that I found that I enjoy archiving all of the things I like to make.  No more digging through files to find instructions; just look them up on the old blog.

Thank you for visiting, subscribing and following.

A Fortunate End to a Meal

It's Chinese New Year and although fortune cookies originated in San Francisco, I can't think of a better time to make these. They can be made up to a week before a party and are a great conversation starter as well. Although, since it is at the end of a meal, I guess it could be called a conversation ender.

First, you need to think up a bunch of fortunes, print them and cut them out. It helps if the party has a theme.

 I've searched the internet for recipes and after several different attempts, I think I found just the right one.

2 large egg whites

1 tsp vanilla extract

3 Tbsp vegetable oil

1Tbsp water

8 Tbsp flour

8 Tbsp granulated sugar

1 1/2 tsp cornstarch

1/4 tsp salt

place in food processor and process until blended

Heat oven to 375˚ 

 Put parchment paper on a cookie sheet then place 3 tsp of batter on the paper. (I make 2 at a time) Spread the batter into a 5" round using a circular motion with the back of the teaspoon. Place the cookies in the oven.

Remove the cookies after 5 minutes or when the edges are slightly brown. Take them off the cookie sheet with a thin spatula or icing knife.

Place the fortune in the center of cookie.

Fold it in half and then fold it over the edge of a glass. (it really helps to wear cotton gloves to protect your fingers from the heat)

Put the folded cookies in a muffin tin to set up. Each recipe makes 8 large cookies. When you are finished, lower the oven temperature to 250˚ and put your tin into the oven for 15 minutes to crisp them. When cool, place them in a plastic bag.

Serve them with this sorbet for a refreshing light end to your meal.

Etch a Sketch

I must confess that I got interested in Photoshop as way to make my paintings easier and better. I figured that if I could turn photos into sketches, half of my work would be done. I've tried almost every recipe for turning photos into sketches and this one is my favorite.

Remove color and duplicate layer.

FILTER>ADJUSTMENT>INVERT to invert top layer.
Change blending mode on top layer to color dodge. The picture should be plain white.
FILTER>BLUR>GAUSSIAN BLUR. Adjust blur radius till you have the amount of sketchiness you desire.
LAYER>FLATTEN IMAGE.

LEVELS to darken the lines.
It isn't as easy to make a sketch out of non-geometric objects such as people. Photoshop finds edges all over the place. After using the same techniques, paint white to cover the "freckles".

Look-key, Look-key

Have you ever noticed that certain objects multiply if left in dark places? Wire hangers, bills and keys come readily to mind. I'd been playing with a way to make a sunburst mirror when I stumbled upon this box of keys. A new project was born!
Materials:

wooden circle (this one is 6")

old keys (about 40 for this size)

round mirror (this one is 4")

brass screws (20 flat head and 20 domed)

Tools:

drill

small drill bit

screw driver

Lay keys around the perimeter of the wooden circle, allowing the notched areas to overhang the edge. Drill holes into the wood at the key openings that are a bit smaller than the diameters of the screws. Use the flat headed screws to attach the keys.

Glue the mirror in the center.

Surround the mirror with the rest of the keys with the tops overlapping the mirror's edge, offsetting this row. Drill holes as before but use the domed screws for this layer.

Tips:

I used slotted screws instead of phillip's head for an older look.

The domed screws give a more finished look, but use the flat heads on the first layer so that the top layer lays properly.

Predrill all holes as brass screws are soft and the slots tend to bend if you force them with the screwdriver.

Check your junk drawer and ask friends. I'm sure you can come up with 40 keys in no time.