Fun, Fast Manners Placemats

I am a leader of Activity Days in my church for the 8-10 year old girls in my area. They meet at my house twice a month and we learn together and do fun crafts with the major goals of increasing faith, confidence and experiences.

This past week, we made simple place mats by using freezer paper stencils and fabric paint. Idea from this book.

The place mats are from thrift stores from 25-50 cents each. I drew out the design of the stencil, basing it off the idea in the book. Then I cut along my pencil lines through 4-6 layers of freezer paper at once using a box-cutter/exact-o knife. I made 12 stencils, then ironed them to each of the place mats before the girls came.

Since the place mats I purchased all have ridges, we painted lightly and didn't get paint into all the cracks. It gives it a nice look and doesn't use up so much fabric paint.   

The girls loved the project and it was fast enough to have them completed and nearly dry within the hour activity time. We also talked about table manners and phone manners. I would call the activity a success! I hope that these place mats will serve as reminders that consideration and manners are the most important part of the place setting.

~ Chelsea ~

Saved by YouTube - Getting Wax out of Carpet

I made a mistake that resulted in wax from my warmer being splattered all over the top of my entertainment center and over several square feet of my shaggy carpet. Oh my. I didn't take pictures, no time for that.

This YouTube video saved my carpet, my pants and I even used the same technique (very carefully) on the painted wood finish of the entertainment center.
All that was needed was an iron and paper towels. Simple and brilliant, and best of all, it worked! 

That's why I'm sharing. Just in case you ever encounter a situation with wax where it shouldn't be. :)

~ Chelsea ~

Glass Etching PART 2: Personal/Practical Wedding Gift

I enjoyed my first try at glass etching and decided to get brave and do a whole set of Pyrex dishes to give as a wedding gift. I etched their last name and I love how it looks. I assume that everyone loves Pyrex dishes like I do, which may not be accurate, but no one can deny that they are very useful, practical and long-lasting. Having their name permanently etched into the glass will make sure their dishes never get mixed up with anyone else's at social gatherings and it just looks sleek in my opinion. 

I followed the same simple steps as in THIS project. 

~ Chelsea ~

Glass Etching PART 1: Easy & Low-Waste Craft

I dabble into all crafts and that's both a weakness and a strength. I sure like trying new things, especially when the results are fast and look professional. 

I don't like crafts that are wasteful. I like using every bit of my craft paper, my scraps of fabric, each drop of decoupage and other crafting supplies. Maybe that comes from being cheap, but it's not necessarily a bad trait. 

This is one of the reasons I've had some buyers remorse since purchasing my Silhouette machine. The initial and continual costs are high for the products (specialty cutting materials, blades, mats, etc.) and the waste tends to be high too. I won't deny that I have produced a lot of fun crafts with this machine, but there is always that little tinge of regret when I think about that blade wearing dull or my materials being used up in a not-so-efficient manner. I write this in case any of you, like I had for months, are wishing for one of these nifty machines. If you are a cheap crafter, it may not be for you. But that's only my opinion. :)

Anyway, the true topic of this post is GLASS ETCHING. Have you ever tried it? I bought some etching cream yesterday and would like to show you my first completed project today.

Simple picture frame etched glass art
The green color is a scrap of green fabric left after making my couch pillows.

What is Needed:

Glass to etch on

Glass Etching Cream (I got mine from Michael's Craft Store, $8 for 3 oz. with a coupon, which is slightly expensive, but reusable and a very small amount is used each time)

craft stick to apply cream

Contact paper stencil (made by you or a craft cutter) OR adhesive stencils available at craft stores)

a sink
paper towels to dry off

About 5-10 min for one small project.

Apply stencil to glass and press firmly with fingers.

Apply etching cream all over the design with craft stick. Allow to sit for 1-3 minutes.

Remove all excess cream and scrape back into the container.

Rinse with water to remove all cream and remove your stencil. 

Once it's dry, you can see your etched design. 

I love the subtle design that etching produces. And the fact that it's so easy is a bonus too. 

~ Chelsea ~

My Dining Room!

The much anticipated change in my dining room furniture is COMPLETED! I am very grateful for the hours of help and the skill and knowledge added by my parents to make this project a possibility. 

I spent $80 (Craigslist) on this oak dining room table with 6 chairs:

These 3 barstool chairs came from a neighbor's yard sale, I think it was $10 for all of them. They have been waiting for their makeover for about 2 years.

This little random chair was free... the best price, from our neighbors who we were sad moved far away.

So it is a good memory and a perfect place for our Space Saver baby high chair.

The goal - To make all these pieces of dining furniture match this lovely hutch I purchased (Craigslist) about a year and a half ago. I did not paint this, it was already done.

The process began with many hours of deep cleaning, sanding, replacing spindles (using an extra chair purchased at Goodwill for $1 that matched but was in terrible condition), gluing and overall preparations.

Then, my father used his paint sprayer to spray on a primer coat of white free paint, then a final coat of Clark+Kensington Paint, Southern Plantation color. (Total cost for 2 gallons, $55)

After a few days of drying, my mom and I bravely glazed the table and chairs with a tintable glaze mixed with black acrylic paint. It was messy and slightly stressful because of the speed required to get the right look.

How'd we do?

I'm so glad I took on this project and I'm so grateful for all the support in accomplishing it!

~ Chelsea ~

Before & Afters by Lynda

It's inspiring to see ugly transform into beautiful with some time, skill and creativity!

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AFTER:

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Paint Quality & Price

I remember not so long ago when I didn't know there were different qualities of paint. I remember purchasing paint at Walmart and not knowing the difference between flat, satin, semi-gloss or glossy and I didn't know what enamel or latex meant. I still don't profess to be any sort of expert on the subject of paint, but I have learned a bit from smart people around me and from my experience. 

This past week, I tried out a new brand of paint since I got it with a rebate from Rod's Ace Hardware in Mesa, AZ. I love that place by the way (small tangent...) They are very helpful, informative and friendly. I went there first for a free quart of paint and was impressed that they treated me so well when I was there for a freebie. They gave me my free quart in a color I chose, with a paint can opener and a stirring stick. Wow, I'm a fan. So, anyway, the brand of paint I got (quart for free and then purchased a gallon of) is Clark+Kensington, Paint + Primer In One.

This is black Satin Enamel. It was about $28/gal after the $7 rebate. 

And I will have fun with many future projects and this little black gallon. 

And my first project completed with it last week was my simple entertainment center that we were given right before our family started in 2007. 

I love how it turned out. I loved painting it with this paint. The paint went on great (I used a foam brush), dried great and looks really professional. I love that it is not gloppy or thick and it lets the wood grain show through. Because it is enamel paint, it dries hard and durable. 

I am impressed and happy. 

I will be using this paint (but in a cream color) again for my dining set... big job... but coming soon!

~ Chelsea ~

GO ON AUGUST 4TH TO GET YOUR FREE QUART OF FLAT ENAMEL PAINT FROM ACE HARDWARE.

Painting Method - Using Potatoes & Yams

Another fun idea from THIS book... in which I very much enjoyed.

I stamped a picnic blanket (a large piece of brown home decor fabric I had leftover from this recovering project) using potatoes and yams sliced in half. Using potatoes and yams for stamps isn't a new idea, but it was for me. It was the first time I have ever carved my own stamp and it was good practice. 

Here are my stamps that I made using the cutter tool.

And the fabric after being stamped (very wrinkly, I know. I avoid ironing at all costs.)

I feel like the blanket turned out fun and I learned a lot from this project and have ideas to improve future projects using this same technique. 

I think kids would enjoy this too.

~ Chelsea ~ 

Painting method - Make a Stamp & Ink Pad

I received a really neat book for Christmas from my brother. It's called Print Workshop, Hand Printing Techniques, Truly Original Projects.

I've tried out a few ideas in this book and I have enjoyed them thoroughly. 

The first one I attempted was making my own stamp and stamp pad using a small block of wood, string, piece of glass (from a 4x6 picture frame), a small piece of felt, paint and table salt.

The paint is on the piece of glass. The table salt is added to the acrylic paint to thicken it. It gave the painting a shine too. Then, the felt is placed on top, creating a stamp pad.

To make my stamp, I wrapped some random leather string from a jewelry making kit around a small block of wood. In the book, twine is used and produces a much more subtle design.

Here are my patterns on card stock paper and a canvas (the white one).

I then made the canvas one into the piece of art below. I painted the record with a foam brush and used aluminum foil for the metallic details.

I've used the papers for a few different projects and cards. 

This was fun and I will be doing it again with variations in my string, patterns and mediums.

~ Chelsea ~