Mitzi's Miscellany

Many Things Can Be A Chalkboard

I'm sure you've all noticed the surge in popularity of chalkboard paint around the web and in magazines.  Unorthodox items such as refrigerators, gift wrap, and even walls are being painted black and written upon with chalk.  I've also seen pink and green chalkboard paint, and it probably comes in other colors too.  I'm still partial to classic black, however.

Today I'd like to show you some of the projects I've completed with chalkboard paint.  All of them used vintage items I've up-cycled except one of the two clipboards.

 This globe was easy to do using spray chalkboard paint, available at craft or hardware stores:

I made these terra cotta pots sprayed with chalkboard paint too.  The writing is permanent, made with a stiff dry brush dipped in white paint, dabbed on carefully.  To me, it looks just like real chalk.  What do you think?

This is just an old gray granite ware pie pan, with painted on chalkboard paint.  The chalk is real chalk this time:

Re-purposing is a good thing!  There are many old pie pans around at flea markets and antique malls:

I bought this fancy frame with a broken mirror inside it, so I got it at a bargain price.  I removed the mirror and replaced it with a piece of plywood painted with a couple coats of chalkboard paint:

These two silver trays were marked at $5 each at an estate sale.  You can see the one in the foreground has a lot of scratches:

 

I used a couple coats of bottled chalkboard paint to make these fancy looking signs.  I just used a steady hand and a good brush so I didn't need to put tape around the edges or anything:

The scratches were completely covered up by the paint:

I made these buckets a couple years ago.  The idea was to paint them in a loose manner, and not to worry about precise corners and edges.  I thought they would make a cute planter for a large poinsettia or small indoor spruce tree:

So here is how to make the clipboard chalkboards:  I used the liquid chalkboard paint and two brushes, a sponge brush for larger areas and a small paintbrush for around the clip.  The paint I used was made by Plaid:

The primary "trick" to know is keeping a skewer or chopstick under the clip on one side while the other side dries.  Keep going back and forth with your coats of paint until both sides have coverage.  If you can't get the entire area under the clip coated with paint (sometimes the paint will lift off when the clip pulls up on it), use a black Sharpie pen to touch it up.  That's the other important trick!

You can say anything you want on your clipboards!

 

Have fun creating with your chalkboard paint! 

Mitzi

I'll be linking to the following link parties: Say Not Sweet Anne, Between Naps on the Porch, Under the Table and Dreaming, and Craft-O-Maniac.

A Heartwarming Craft Story

Last fall I sold a custom YoYo Flower Kit from my Etsy shop to a lovely young mother from the East coast named Sophia.  She wanted to create centerpieces for a party she was planning for after her son's christening, and had a vision.  Her vision included Mason jars with a bouquet of handmade YoYo flowers in each jar.  I put together a package that included "boy colors", heavy on the blues, browns, and pops of brights, and painted bar-b-que skewers for her instead of using knitting needles (which the original version from Flea Market Style Magazine used) so she could clip them to her desired size.  I thought you might like to read our correspondence and see her project as it unfolded!  Sophia's words are in italics:

Hi Mitzi,

I'm sorry I didn't get a chance to write you sooner but the hurricane (Sandy) was the day after the christening and I'm sure you've heard what a mess everything has been. I just wanted to let you know what a hit the centerpieces were. They looked absolutely stunning and everyone complimented them. I don't have a picture yet because the photographer lost power but I will definitely send you a picture of how they turned out. Thank you so much for all your help, you are so talented and I hope I get to work with you again in the future.

Thanks,

Sophia

+++++++++++++++

Hi Sophia,

I was just thinking of you yesterday!  I wondered how things turned out. You must have felt so great when you told everyone you made the centerpieces yourself!  I'd love to see a picture when you have time.

Sorry to hear that your area has been affected by the storm. What a terrible tragedy!  I hope everyone is safe in your family.

Take Care,

Mitzi

 +++++++++++++++

Hi Mitzi,

I'm sorry this took so long but hurricane Sandy was literally the day after the christening and with everything that happened the photographer took longer than expected. Of course it didn't matter anyway bc the photographer took 20 pictures of only 1 centerpiece and in my opinion it was the worst one created so I am sending you some pics of when I was making them. I mixed them up to make more flowers as I realized I needed more and I didn't have time to make the leaves. Either way the pictures do not do them any justice, they looked amazing and everyone was so impressed.

Sophia

+++++++++++++++

Sophia was so nice to send her step-by-step photos to me.  I mean, who does that?

Making these flowers is really easy, and a lot of fun!

Here are Sophia's flowers, almost ready to go on the tables at her son's christening party!  I believe she filled the jars with something, maybe candy, before she put them on the tables:

The best part of having handmade decorations is telling your guests "I made these myself."  What a great feeling that is!

I will be happy to put together a custom YoYo kit for YOUR upcoming event too!  This would be a fun activity for girls old enough to use a hot glue gun.  I have lots of YoYos in pinks and brights, but must mix them with other colors.  You can contact me through my Etsy shop or shoot me an e-mail at mitziscollectibles@comcast.net so we can hatch a plan!

Mitzi

Lace Christmas Tree Forest Craft Tutorial

I've created several lovely projects with vintage lace, including crochet covered pumpkins that have gotten a lot of attention on Pinterest and were featured on Better Homes and Gardens online magazine for fall, and a no-sew tote bag that has been featured on FaveCrafts.  Since I have a never ending supply of lace and crochet trim, I decided to create a little forest of Christmas trees with it this season.

You will need several styrofoam cone forms in a variety of sizes:

 

You will also need some lace, preferably vintage lace.  This is the assortment that I've been hoarding for such an occasion:

 

Because my tree forms were green, I covered them with white felt first, so the green wouldn't show through once the lace is applied.  Cream colored felt would work too.

Using a glue gun, attach one end of your lace piece and begin gathering it and tacking it down as you go around the bottom of your tree form.  When you complete the first row, cut the piece of lace and proceed to the next row above it, overlapping the lace sufficiently so you can't see any of the tree base.

I decided to try a couple forms covered with vintage wallpaper as a base instead of felt (if you don't have vintage wallpaper, Christmas wrapping paper or scrapbook paper makes a fine substitute.)  I laid the foam tree down on the wallpaper and measured and cut in a manner that would make my high school geometry teacher cringe, but I somehow got it done:

I decided to use double stick tape to secure the paper, and it worked quite well, sticking paper to paper.  It's hard to show you invisible tape, but I'm sure you can figure it out!

Once I had my tree forms covered with either paper or lace, I needed to select a topper for them, a trunk, and other embellishments:

I tried to use things I found around my house, like thread spools and spools of floss for the trunks.  A glob of hot glue can be used to attach the bases:

For the toppers, I used old ornaments, beads, and a gold plastic rose.  You can see where I embellished the wallpaper tree with some lace wrapped around it in a spiral fashion.  Hot glue again:

So that's pretty much it for my lace Christmas tree forest.  I hope you can try a variation of your own before next Christmas rolls around!

I don't think they are too "Christmassy", because of their neutral palette.  Maybe they can be kept in a vignette through the winter, just like other winter-ish decor: 

I'll be linking to the following link parties:  Simply Designing, LizMarie Blog, Brambleberry Cottage, and It's a Handmade World.

Mitzi

Pearly Christmas Wreath with Vintage Jewelry Tutorial

I've had it in my mind for quite  a while to wrap a wreath form with a pearl necklace, then pin some vintage brooches on it as accents.  Well, that was easier said than done, because pearl necklaces aren't really long enough to wrap around a wreath form in most cases, and using a dozen of them is kind of ridiculous, so I had to make some adjustments.

Here's one version I came up with, using store bought pearl garland:

These wreath forms are made in the USA, how about that?

I bought this pearly garland from JoAnn Fabric.  I had to use three of them to cover my medium size wreath form: 

To make this project, you will need a hot glue gun too.  Put a dab of glue on the end of the garland to secure it, and begin winding it around the wreath form.  I put the occasional dab of hot glue here and there to keep the garland in place as I wrapped it around, and a big glob to secure the end.

Once you have your base finished, you can experiment with different embellishments!

First, I tried three vintage enamel brooches from the 1960's.  I clustered them at one side of the wreath, using their own pinbacks to secure them.

Thinking they looked a little sparse on their own, I added a velvet bow with a vintage earring center at the top:

Well, that's one version.  I decided to try another, with two brass brooches I purchased recently.

And I added a loop of leftover Prima ribbon at the top:

Well, that version didn't seal the deal for me either.  I decided to hot glue a snowflake ornament on the wreath as a base to give the jewelry I select some additional pizzaz.  In addition, I looped a soft blue vintage satin ribbon at the top for hanging.  Then I went back to my stash of jewelry.....

I think I picked some winners this time.  Instead of gluing them permanently, I pinned them in place using their own pinbacks and additional straight pins:

I like this version the best.  How about you?  And the brooches can be removed after the holidays.

 

I'll be joining the following link parties this week:  Sunday Showcase Party, Under the Table and Dreaming, and Sweet Sharing Monday

Mitzi

Vintage Bulb Reflector and Tinsel Wreath Tutorial

When our antique mall had the Christmas Open House last weekend, I bought some items from other dealers like I do every year.  I couldn't resist buying pretty aluminum bulb reflectors, which I wasn't sure at the time what I was going to use them for.  I just knew I would think of something, because 1) they were colorful; and 2) they resembled flowers.  This is what I came up with:

Here's the handful of little bulb reflectors that inspired me to make the wreath.  They shouldn't cost more than a couple dollars for several, whether you buy them on Ebay, Etsy, or at a local antique mall:

Materials Needed:

Wreath Form

Hot Glue Gun

Tinsel Garland

Aluminum Bulb Reflectors

Small Christmas Tree Ornaments

Although I think a foam wreath form would be best for this project because of its uniformity, I've had this twig wreath form that stared me in the face every time I went to my basement.  I bought it at a garage sale several years ago, thinking I would use it eventually.  Well, today was the day!

To get started on your version, grab some vintage or new tinsel garland in any color you like.  Depending on the size of your wreath form, you might need several strands of it.  Put a dab of hot glue on one end to tack it down, then start winding it around your wreath form.  You can either ball it up or cut it in half to make it easier to wind around the wreath:

Obviously, you will keep going until your wreath form is covered.  Occasionally, I put a dab of hot glue here and there to keep the tinsel secure.

To make the reflector embellishments, I looked for a couple little tree ornaments that coordinated with the reflectors and hot glued them into the reflectors.  Using more hot glue on the back is important to keep them secure, and so the glue isn't visible from the front.  Actually, I decided the little ornaments below were too small, and ended up using them in a different way on the wreath:

Below you can see where I tucked in the little clusters of small ornaments on pipe cleaners to add to the embellishment.  The bulb reflector flowers can be hot glued into place carefully after you decide where you want them.

I made a loop of picture hanging wire which I threaded through the top of the wreath so I could hang it on a nail.  You might want to add a ribbon or something decorative instead.

I clustered my bulb reflector flowers in one area on my wreath.  You might want to spread them out evenly around the wreath, or cover your entire wreath with them!  There are many possibilities, don't you agree?

That's all there is to it!  Have fun with this easy project!

Mitzi

I'll be linking up to the following link parties:  Sweet Sharing Monday; House of Hepworths; Beyond the Picket Fence, My Crazy Beautiful Life, Artsy Corner Link Party, Under the Table and Dreaming, and Seven Alive.

Up-Cycled Flea Market Glass Vases

Last summer I posted about painted canning jars, and this fall I've taken things a bit further with some painted and embellished flea market glass vases and covered jars.  These are the very inexpensive vases that came from florist shops and other glassware that shouldn't cost more that $1 to $10 a piece.

 

 

What to look for here are pieces that have a cool raised/relief design.  A smooth vase just won't do!  But photographing clear glass is not the easiest thing, I discovered, so I hope you get the idea.....

 

 

Other Materials You Will Need:

Spray paint (matte or satin) or multi-surface craft paint and paint brush (optional)

Sanding sponge (medium grit)

Assorted embellishments

Hot glue gun

I have numerous partially used cans of spray paint in my garage that I wanted to use up before winter.  I think this project calls for satin or matte versions rather than glossy paint, but that's just my opinion:

 

 

Two thin coats of spray paint worked well on these pieces:

 

I thought I'd try some of the pearly Martha Stewart craft paints too:

 

 

 

Here's the first bottle I painted with Martha's pearly paint in a green color.  It required two coats, and to be honest, it was much more difficult to apply than the spray paint:

 

 

After the pieces are dry, take your sanding sponge and sand the piece to bring out the design:

 

Now they are ready to embellish....

 

 

Now comes my favorite part:  selecting the embellishments!  I have a humongous stash to choose from, but didn't want to overdo it.  I chose some vintage millinery flowers, cameos, and newer trim for my vases.

This is what I came up with for the pink and ivory pieces, although I'm not finished with the ivory candy dish.  Everything is tacked down with hot glue:

 

 

The jury is still out for the lavender candy dish, too:

 

 

I'm really pleased with the large white vase and the small brown vase.  It reminds me of a little pinecone:

 

 

And here is everything I created today:

 

I hope you can give this easy project a try!  I'll be linking up to the following link parties:  Sweet Sharing Monday , Motivate Me Monday, The Cure for the Common Monday, Take a Look Tuesday and Open Call Tuesday.

Mitzi

Easy Stencil and Label Projects

I've used stencils before to create some wall art using ironstone platters, which I thought turned out pretty nice if I do say so myself, and paper labels are such an easy way to jazz up a boring crock, hat box, or flour sifter and make something special out of it, I thought I'd re-visit these projects today.

 

I found several items around my garage and basement that were in need of some help.  Both the jug and the crock had damage, so they would be hard for me to sell "as is" at the antique malls. Otherwise, I probably wouldn't have turned them into craft projects.  The wooden tote is some kind of homemade job, and I didn't have a problem messing with it either:

 

 

I found my stencils while out shopping the antique malls.  When you keep your eyes open to all possibilities, you just never know what you are going to find!  You can also buy plastic stencils at the craft stores or have custom stencils made when you do a "search" on eBay or Etsy for "custom stencils".

 

 

Using basic acrylic craft paint and a stencil foam brush, I added the stencil design on both sides of the tote:

 

 

I think the stencil gives the tote some life.  Otherwise, it was kind of a boring item:

 

 

The image below shows Mod Podge for outdoor use.  I thought I'd try that on the crock, because I might put some fall mums in it and keep it on our porch.  You can also use regular Mod Podge.  I recommend using the Matte version, rather than Gloss.  You can visit my Flour Sifter post  or Coffee Label post for images to print out for this project:

 

 

Coat the back of your image with Mod Podge and place it on the object, smoothing it out with your fingers or a brayer if you have one.  Clean up the excess Mod Podge with a damp paper towel.  I usually wait about 10 minutes and add a topcoat, again cleaning up the excess Mod Podge with a paper towel.

 

 

Here's the finished crock, with some die-hards from my garden:

 

 

For the jug, I used some brown ink to add some staining age to the label to give it some "age":

 

 

These two green tins were pretty rough, but I think the labels give them some interest and style.  Could you picture them above someones kitchen cupboards?  If I had to do it over, I think the labels might look better printed on a darker paper.  What do you think?

 

These five projects took about 30 minutes, total.  And the clean-up was a breeze.

 

 

And now for the reasons I love up-cycled vintage goods:  I didn't buy something with a barcode that says Made in China beneath it.  I used things that have been on this planet for many years.  These items were in somewhat poor condition, so collectors might have avoided them or even trashed them, and  now they have a second life as home decor.  You don't have to be an artist to create these projects, but you can feel good about it when you tell someone "I made this."

Mitzi

I'm linking up to the following link parties:  Thrify 101, The Shabby Creek Cottage, and Brambleberry Cottage.

Crafty Yoyo Flowers Tutorial

A couple years ago I was inspired by a picture of vintage yoyo flowers made with knitting needle stems I saw in the first issue of Flea Market Style Magazine.  I've made quite a few and sold some at the antique malls where I rent space.  I also created kits to sell in my Etsy shop so people can make their own.  There are loose yoyos for crafting available on eBay and Etsy by various sellers besides me if you want to give these a try!

 

 

Recently an Etsy customer wanted a large custom order for about 70 stems.  I had that many knitting needles, but I realized that many of them would be too long for her needs.  You can't really shorten knitting needles, so I came up with a "Plan B", and I want to share it here.

Materials Needed

Fabric yoyos in various sizes

Bamboo shish-kebob skewers

Hot glue gun

Spray paint or craft paint

Assorted buttons

Color copier and paper for leaves (optional)

 

Step 1:  Paint your shish-kebob skewers the colors of your choice.  I like several different colors.

 

 

I would recommend sticking the skewers upright in a piece of styrofoam if you are spray painting them.  It would be easier than what I did (sometimes I do things the hard way!):

 

 

Step 2:  Select three or four yoyos, lined up by size so the smallest one is first. 

 

 

 Step 3:  Spear the smallest yoyo through its center with the pointy end of the stick.

 

 

Step 4:  Slide the yoyo all the way to the end of the skewer, almost till it falls off.

 

 

Step 5:  Spear the next yoyo, but before you push it next to the first yoyo, apply some hot glue between them around the stick.  Just a dab is fine, then slide the second yoyo into place.

 

 

Step 6:  Repeat step 5 with the third and fourth yoyos, if you have a fourth.

 

 

 You should have a pretty flat surface on the top to glue a button.

 

 

Step 7:  Find a nice button and apply some hot glue to the top of the yoyos to secure the button.

 

 

Optional Paper Leaves:

When I made the yoyo flowers before, I used fabric stiffener on feedsack fabric to make leaves and was happy with the results, although it was time-consuming to make them.  I came up with a different leaf-making option this time around.  I'd also like to suggest that felt would make nice leaves.

Using a color copier, put a piece of fabric right in the copier and make a copy of it.  When the copy is out of the machine, put it back into the machine so you can copy the flip-side of the paper.  Now your leaves will have the design on both sides.

I used scalloped scissors by Fiskars to cut out the leaves, leaving a little tab at the end of each leaf:

If you have a paper punch that makes smaller size holes than a standard office size punch, make a hole in the tab on the leaf.  If you don't have one, pierce the tab carefully with the pointy end of the stick and slide the leaf into place:

 

 

Put a little glue on the underside to keep it in place:

 

 

Now your flower is finished:

 

 

And what about shortening the stems?  You can cut the sticks with wire cutters or garden pruners (pictured below) so you can have a variety of sizes in your display.  A grouping of these flowers  look great in a Mason jar filled with dried beans, colorful fish tank gravel from a pet store, or even candy like red hots or candy corn.  Another option is painting the jars with your left over spray paint.

You can see in the image below I was experimenting with some options besides leaves, like ribbons and lace.  You might think of something even better!

 

 

I'm linking to a couple link parties this week, including The Shabby Nest, Simple Home Life, Say Not Sweet Anne, The Brassy Apple, and Simply Designing with Ashley.

Mitzi

Easy Milk Glass Silhouette Plate

Vintage milk glass is easy to find and affordable, especially the variety produced in the 1960's and 70's.  I love the "lacy edge" plates, because they're just begging for a pretty ribbon to be threaded through the pierced edges and a bow tied at the top.  Besides that, they are a perfect blank canvas for a decoupage project.  Today I'd like to show you how I created a decorative silhouette plate that might inspire you to try something similar.

 

 

To make this project, all you need is a nice looking silhouette, some ribbon, Mod Podge, and a milk glass plate.  I got my silhouette from The Graphics Fairy website.  Milk glass plates can be found fairly easily at any antique mall or flea market.  I might just happen to have a couple small versions in my Etsy shop right now, as a matter of fact....

 

 

Once I printed out the silhouette, I touched up the lighter parts with a Sharpie black pen.  My printer was running out of ink, as you can see (below right).  Because I have an ink-jet printer, I had to pay a visit to Staples to copy my silhouette on their laser copier.  Otherwise, the ink would smear when I used decoupage medium on it.  I also adjusted the size a bit to fit my plate.

 

 

Next I carefully cut out the silhouette image.  I knew the cat whiskers were going to be too difficult for me to cut out, so I didn't even try (I added them after the fact with a Sharpie pen).  I applied Mod Podge to the back of the cut out silhouette, which I had actually divided into three pieces (the two girls and the cat), then placed them on the plate and rolled over them with a brayer to get the image firmly in place.  I added a topcoat of Mod Podge on the silhouette image, keeping close to the edges of the image and cleaning up the excess with a wet paper towel.

The last step is threading a ribbon through the edges of the plate and tying a bow.  Easy!

 

 

I believe I paid all of $5 for this milk glass platter at an auction.  Now it's a striking piece of wall art.  I hope you can give this easy project a try! 

I'll be linking to the following link parties:  Petite Hermine, Etcetorize, The Graphics Fairy, Say Not Sweet Anne, Brambleberry Cottage, My Romantic Home, and Nifty Thrifty Things.

Mitzi

My "Great Pumpkin" Designs for 2012

Last year there seemed to be an explosion of creative pumpkin and gourd decorating ideas on blogs, in magazines, and on Pinterest.  I chipped in with my crochet-covered faux pumpkins, which got a lot of "pins" on Pinterest, much to my delight:

 

This year, I thought I'd try something a little more colorful using my beloved feedsack fabric yoyos.  If you want to duplicate this project, I'm posting the easy directions here for you.

 

When you decide on the color scheme for your pumpkins, get some spray paint for the background.  I prefer the type that's not high gloss, so try to find a satin or a matte finish if possible.  Cover the pumpkin stems with tin foil and tape.

 

 

Spray your pumpkins with your chosen colors and let them dry thoroughly.

 

 

Pick out your yoyos in the color family to match your background color.  Using a hot glue gun, glue the yoyos onto your pumpkin until it's covered to your satisfaction.  You're done!

 

 

If anyone in this world has a lot of yoyos, it's me.  My mom came to visit this summer and helped me clean out my craft room.  In the process, we discovered all my secret hiding places where I'd been stashing yoyos.  Even I have to admit I have enough to last a lifetime!

 

 

I'm going to package some yoyos for crafters and list them in my Etsy shop.  There are so many cool things you can make with vintage yoyos!  Right now I have kits listed to make your own yoyo flowers like the examples pictured below:

 

 

I'm going to join a couple link parties this week, including Nifty Thrifty Things, Sweet Sharing Monday, Today's Creative Blog, Etcetorize, Ginger Snap Crafts, Petite Hermine, Brambleberry Cottage, My Romantic Home, and A Bowl Full of Lemons.

Mitzi