Desk Calender

Good morning,

This is another project that I had created a few months back as part of my Design Team member with Nagashri arts. 

At the beginning of every year, we all make resolutions and goals.  Also we have planners and calendars to ensure we are able to write down our goals and targets. 

I had always wanted a desk calendar for my crafting table.  But at the same time something which would last me for beyond a year.  As I knew I would not be able to discard it at the end of the year. Thus this year I decided to make one. 

The inspiration for making this has been a lot of calendar blocks made of wood that can decoupaged.  There are a lot of patterns in wood bases available on Pinterest as well as Google Images. 

But to find wood and have a stand created would have been a time taking process. Suddenly it occurred to me that maybe it can be done with some paper and some chipboard pieces (basically scraps from earlier project)

I decided to give it a try and see how it's turns out...  

So here is how I went about creating the blocks

1. I wanted the blocks to be a bit big so that I could have the dates in bold.  Each of the blocks requires 6 square pieces.  This keeping it at 2.5" by 2.5" I cut out 12 such pieces. 

2. Taking a piece of cardstock I stuck the pieces in a formation to get a cube (pic below) 

3. Keeping half an inch margin for sticking the paper I cut off the excess.  I also cut the corners for a neat fold  ( As in the pic below) 

4. Now the four pieces in a straight line will be stuck together to create the four sides and the other 2 pieces at the top and the bottom.  This my cube is ready.  

5. I constructed the stand in a similar fashion with the height being 6 inches and the breath being 5.5". The width is about  3 inches.I have kept the breath at 5.5" as the total space taken by the cube would be around 5" together.  

6. After the box was constructed all I needed to do was use a beautiful pattern paper and cover it. I have used the Time collection and have selected a variety of colors as I did not want to stick to a particular color combination.  Thus each side of the blocks has a different color and pattern. 

7. Each of the blocks was stencilled  using a number stencil.  The number placement on the blocks is as follows 
Block 1 - 0,1,2,3,4,5
Block 2 - 0,1,2,6,7,8
(Number 6 doubles as number 9, so  I was careful with paper being selected for that particular side) 

8. After my blocks were ready and the stand also covered with pattern paper, I creates some tags for the months and put them on the in the metal label bracket. The other months tags are stored in a pocket at the back of the stand.  This ensures that I can easily take out and change the month as and when required.  

9. Lastly on the sides I added some handmade sunflowers to add a bit more beauty and colour to the project.  I have used archival inks for colouring the flowers. I did not want to add any space for notes etc as I wanted this to be just a calender stand.  (though a area for post it notes or pockets can also be done on the sides) 

I did initially plan to add another tag on the top for the year but then decided to do away with it... That is an option if you wish to make this.  

There are a few pics of the completed project. (front and back) 

Hope you enjoyed this project 

Wishing you a wonderful day ahead 

Altered Box using mix media and Decoupage

Good morning, 

It's so much fun to give a new look and life to an old object.  This is the basis for today's project and inspiration which I created as a Design team member for Nagashri Arts. 

My husband has had this old box which he uses for keeping his watches, wallets and knickknacks. It something that has seen a lot of years and thus a bit worn and bent in areas.  Even though it's worn he just refuses to give it up. 

So I decided to alter this box using leather paper,  some decoupage and mix media.  

The lower part of the box has been reinforced with chipboard to give it more strength and has been covered with leather paper and pattern paper. Also I have added a magnet with a washer as a closure for this box.  

On the inside of the lid I have decoupaged a script pattern paper and then have decoupaged a variety of tissues to create a collage.  This collage represents his professional life as well as his interests. Thus it's a mix of a lot of tissues. 

The lid of the box has been altered using mix media techniques.  As the box had fabric covering it - it already had some texture to it.  I added some more texture using stencils and modelling paste. 

I have used some cardboard and half pearls to create the look of the hull plates of a ship.  Added to that are many pieces of junk like nails, old keys and some buttons from his uniform. I have also added some metal and mdf and other embellishments from my DT kit and some sea shells from my stash.  And my composition was complete. 

After applying black gesso to the entire surface,  I let it dry completely before starting to colour it.  I have used paints in grey,  blue and gold in dry brushing technique. Also have used sprays in blue and green to add to the effect.  

Finally I have added Prima waxes in blue and purple in certain places to complete the look. 

The trim on the box lid is also black leather paper thus giving a nice finished look to the entire project. The project does have dimension, but not too much as this box will be used everyday, and I did not want the embellishments to add too much weight or come off over a period of time.  

Here are some pics of the completed project 

Hope you have enjoyed this transformation. Do let me know what you think. 

Wishing you a wonderful day

Decoupage on bottles

Good morning 

I do hope you have enjoyed the last post. Apologies for the delay in posting this here. I am back here with another project that I did as a part of being on the design team for Nagashri Arts. 

Recycling is becoming a big thing. The rate at which we use and throw things is growing year by year and not a lot of waste is recycled. Thus it becomes our responsibility to contribute to keeping our environment clean... 

One of the most common things we dispose are bottles - be it glass or plastic. Thus I have decided that I am going to try recycling as much as possible. And I started with glass wine bottles that I had. 

Here is how i went about altering them....

The most important thing to do before starting any project is to clean them...

So, in went the bottles in hot water to clean them and remove the labels.  Once the bottles were cleaned, they were ready for my art work.  Here I have worked on two bottles using two completely different techniques.  

Before I started on the bottles I applied gesso on both the bottles.  

On the first bottle,  I applied folkart paint in grey color.  Then I went ahead and applied single step crackle in some places.  I applied very thin coat so that I achieved very fine cracks.  I then covered the entire surface with an off white chalk paint for the Matt look.  This gave me very fine cracks in some places around the tissue.

Using Modpodge I adhered the tissue. Then the bottle was distressed with brown archival ink and some gold paint and some stamping.  Splatters in grey and gold were added for extra effect and completed my bottle. In the end I have also added some jute cord painted in gold around the neck with a metal embellishment.

On the second bottle I adhered the tissue with Modpodge.  Then I went about adding texture to the rest of the areas and even on corners of the tissue.  To give extra dimension I added texturing on top of texture to create added interest.  In areas texture was created using a simple 3D outliner.  Once everything dried up,  I have painted all areas in shades of green and brown using a sponge. I completed the bottle with hints of gold and some stamping. 

Hope you like these inspirations and give this a try.  And I can assure you that it's addictive.  

Here are some pics of both the bottles together... 

Wishing you a wonderful day