Mitzi's Miscellany

Crochet Covered Faux Pumpkins

My first October craft project is a crocheted doily covered pumpkin.  If you have to ask "Why?", then this project probably isn't for you.  The rest of us understand.....

Vintage crocheted doilies are becoming increasingly popular in home decor and craft projects.  Bloggers such as Tif Fussell of Dottie Angel are partially responsible for a renewed appreciation in these little symbols of handmade goodness.  Although I am capable of making these from scratch, there are so many vintage doilies to be found at estate sales that it makes sense that we can take those and re-purpose them, saving ourselves a lot of time and saving the doilies from mouldering away in a box for years and years.

Besides an assortment of vintage doilies in shades of white, cream, and ecru, you will need the following materials:

Dried real gourds or craft store faux pumpkins and gourds.

Mod Podge for Fabric

Paintbrush or foam brush.

Spray paint in an off-white or ivory.  I used Krylon Ivory with a satin finish for my project.

Tin foil and wax paper.

The only prep work I did prior to painting was covering the gourd stems with tin foil:

A couple light coats of paint with drying time in between was adequate to give the pumpkins an even color:

 

I selected just the right doilies to fit each pumpkin. I cut some of them apart into smaller shapes that were easier to fit onto the pumpkin.  For the two small pumpkins, I just used one whole doily which I slipped over the stem to create a slightly different look.

I usually cover my work table with wax paper when I work with Mod Podge.  I followed the directions on the bottle when applying the Fabric Mod Podge to the doilies:

After coating one side of the doilies, place them on the pumpkin and tap all the edges down with your fingers.  Once the pieces are adhered to the pumpkins, wait for two hours while the initial coat dries.  Then a topcoat of Mod Podge can be applied to the entire piece.

I like the way the large pumpkin turned out:

These can be used year after year, from September through November:

If you create something similar, I'd love to see a picture of it!  You can send pics to my e-mail at mitziscollectibles@comcast.net

I'm linking to:  My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia, Savvy Southern Style, Centsational Girl, Someday Crafts, Tea Rose Home , Thrifty Decorating, Somewhat Simple, Primp, Delicate Construction, Very Merry Vintage Style, and FaveCrafts.

Ruffled Lace Tote Bag

Before I left for my weekend adventure at The Creative Connection Event last weekend in St. Paul, Minnesota, I decided to jazz up my five year old Liz Claiborne tote bag to give it a second life.  It's been through a lot of abuse, and it's still holding up, so I thought it was worth saving.

All I did was wash the bag in the washing machine and gather lengths of vintage lace and crocheted trim that I had lying around the house.  I purposely chose different sizes and shades of cream, white, and ecru to give it some contrast.

Because I wasn't in the mood to sew, and some of the bag had leather reinforcement that I definitely couldn't sew through, I decided to hot glue the lace on the bag.  It worked wonderfully, even though I burned myself a couple times.

Here is my finished bag:

Then, I "test drove" my tote bag over the weekend.  This included a lot of stress and strain (airport screening, being stuffed under an airline seat, and hauling all over town full of SWAG).  The lace held up exceptionally well, and the glue did too.  I can confidently vouch for this method of tote bag decorating!

 

You can see below that I left a bit around the bottom without lace.  I glued right over the leather, gathering the lace slightly as I moved along, and only gluing the top of the lace, overlapping the rows a little each time.

 

Here is a little trinket box I made in Wendy Addison's class at TCC.  I'm excited to make more of these, now that I know how:

I bought lots of jewelry components and other small treasures that I could fit into my suitcase, and was especially excited to shop at the booth of Tinsel Trading Company.  I purchased vintage ribbon, glitter, and millinery supplies from them:

I had such a great time in St. Paul that I'm already planning to attend TCC again next year!

(this project will be linked to the following link parties:  Inspiration Friday at the Picket Fence, 2805, Common Ground, and Stuff and Nonsense.

My Annie Sloan Chalk Paint Testimonial

I joined the Annie Sloan Chalk Paint (ASCP) bandwagon this summer, and recently finished a slew of projects using the paint.  Everything everyone says about ASCP is true.  It's great!

I actually got this coffee table for free.  Someone put it out to the curb and I drove by, wondering if it was for sale.  I approached the homeowner and he said he was throwing it away.  I stuffed it into my already-full van and sped away before he changed his mind:

I used ASCP in Old White and Louis Blue on the coffee table.  No pre-sanding was necessary, and the paint went on very easily.  Once dry, I sanded the table with a random orbit sander to create some wear marks.  I then applied a coat of Ralph Lauren tinted glaze in "Smoke" and wiped off most of it with a damp towel.  When dry, I coated the piece with Minwax Paste Finishing Wax and buffed it for a nice finish.

 

I could have saved a step by using tinted wax, but I didn't have any and thought I should use up the products I had on hand.

 

The next pieces to get the ASCP treatment were a scuffed up Victorian-Era whatnot shelf (below) and hanging shelf (foreground):

Before painting, I re-glued a few loose joints and dusted the pieces with a tack cloth:

The same painting/sanding/staining/waxing process was used for the shelf, which was painted in Old White and Louis Blue:

I hand-sanded the shelf after the paint dried, and think it looks better than the coffee table because of the hand sanding:

This piece took quite a lot of time because of all the little parts, but I think it was worth the time and effort:

 I painted two sewing cabinet drawers, one with Old White and the other with Versailles:

The jars below were spray painted, but the shelf was "Annie Sloaned" with Versailles:

You can learn all about ASCP from Miss Mustard Seed's blog.  She has lots of examples of finished projects using this wonderful paint, along with tutorials about how to use it. 

Perhaps there's a few cans of ASCP in your future?

Mitzi

Painted Vintage Butter Bowls

For quite some time I've been accumulating vintage wood butter bowls.  These are fairly common, and unless they are hand carved from burl wood, have birdseye markings, or have something else special about them, they make a good candidate for a craft project.

As you can see, the bowls below all look a little dried out and in need of some enhancement:

 

I started by adding some "Restor-A-Finish" to the interiors.  Just look at the difference (below)!  Restor-A-Finish is sold at the Antiques Market of Williamston and other small retail shops.  You can use tung oil or something similar from the hardware store if you can't locate a Restor-A-Finish seller.

 

For the next step, I painted the exteriors with simple acrylic craft paint using a sponge brush.  I also tried some of my Annie Sloan Chalk Paint in Louis Blue on one of them.  Either way, I kept the coat of paint fairly light.  I decided to paint the rims on most of them, so some of the color could be seen when looking at the interior.

Once I coated the bowls with the paint, I waited until they were dry and sanded them to reveal some of the wood grain and to give the appearance of wear.

I used my random orbit sander because I had a lot of sanding to do!

Once this was completed, I applied a coat of Ralph Lauren's Faux Technique Glaze in "Tobacco" and wiped most of it off with a damp paper towel.  This step might also be accomplished by using a tinted wax, but I didn't have any on hand.

After the glaze dried, I used Min Wax paste wax over the painted areas to give it a nice finishing touch.

I put several of these bowls in my antique mall booth and the largest three sold the same day!

Perhaps you will be able to try this easy project with an unloved butter bowl sometime this fall.  If color is not your thing, you might want to visit eHow to read their suggested method of cleaning and restoring an antique butter bowl.

I'm linking this project to the Picket Fence and DIY Show-Off!

Mitzi

Easy Craft Project: Painted Jars

I've been seeing painted jars around the web, and thought I'd try a few myself, since I have a lot of bottles and jars around here, as well as numerous half-empty cans of spray paint.  The shelf below is a project I just completed using Annie Sloan Chalk Paint (more on that in a future post):

All I did was clean the jars and coat the outside lightly with a few coats of spray paint.  Patience is key, otherwise you will get drips from too much paint.

Now I have several vases for my home grown flowers:

I'm wondering if they need some embellishment.  I'm thinking a ribbon around the neck, perhaps.  What would you suggest?

I'm linking this project to Savvy Southern Style Wow Me Wednesday!

If you try this easy project, I'd love to see the results!  Send me a picture at mitziscollectibles@comcast.net

Happy Crafting,

Mitzi

Recent Vintage Wallpaper Projects

It's official:  vintage wallpaper is my muse.  I just can't get enough of it!  I keep finding ways to use my ever-growing collection of vintage papers, and thought I'd share a couple ideas with you today.

Although I've been wallpapering chairs for quite some time now, each chair turns out differently, and I'd like you to see my latest creation:  a vintage kitchen  chair I bought at a yard sale for a whopping one dollar.  I added some wallpaper to the seat and cut out a cluster of blossoms to decorate the back:

A while ago I found a chippy painted coffee table at a flea market. 

I waited until I had just the right wallpaper to complement it, used Mod Podge and basic decoupage technique, and this is the result:

I couldn't resist a recent Jo-Ann Fabric sale on wooden letters.  I painted the backs and edges of the letters green, then added some of my special flocked wallpapers:

 I love flocked wallpaper!

I have to show off the hydrangeas I cut from my own hydrangea bush.  This is the first year I've tried growing them:

Remember, if you don't have vintage wallpaper at the ready, scrapbook paper can be a good substitute.  I hope you are inspired to go forth and wallpaper!

Mitzi

Bad Art, Made Good

Recently I found two framed paintings at an estate sale that needed some love.  It was obvious someone had spent put a lot of effort into the paintings, and was proud enough of them to frame them.

The problem was, I just didn't care for them.   They looked a little too amateur-ish, and the colors were a bit garish.  The frames were very nice, though, and that's why I bought them.

Once home, I tried to decide what to do with my new acquisitions.  The frames had no glass, so I wanted to use them as they were, without adding the additional expense of having glass cut. So I flipped the canvas boards over and created a collage of torn paper with beautiful handwriting and yellowed book pages for a nice background.  Mod Podge in the matte version was essential for this step, using basic decoupage technique.

After I created a background, I cut two pieces of upholstery webbing at an angle to resemble flower pots.  This is very easy, because the webbing has stripes on it that you can use as a guide.

I glued the little flowerpots on the collaged background, then gathered bits of lace, buttons, some paper bits and millinery leaves and flowers.  Using my hot glue gun, I made a floral arrangement by gluing the bits in a pleasing arrangement.

 

I decided to add a little pink paint to one of the frames to give it a little more color.

If you want to try something similar, I don't think a tutorial is necessary.  Just take a close look at the layers of paper, felt, and embellishments:

That's pretty much it.  Now whoever owns this in the future has two options:  they can enjoy my mixed-media collage or flip it over and have themselves a brightly colored acrylic painting!  After all, beauty is in the eye of the beholder, and it's nice to have options, don't you think?

Mitzi

An Easy Up-Cycling Idea with Brass Oil Lamps

Here we have a grouping of brass oil lamps that I bought at a garage sale.  They didn't have glass chimneys, and I got tired of waiting around to get some, so I decided to do something different with them. 

I had a handyman saw off the burners so they were much shorter:

Then I took some pillar candles, sofftened them a bit in the sun, and then carefully twisted them down onto the brass bases.

 I used a couple books to provide a nice display on my coffee table for my new candle holders:

I think this is an example of up-cycling at its best.  Taking something old and adapting it for today's modern lifestyle.  Perhaps this will get your mind ticking.  Can you think of anything else that would make a good candle holder?

An Easy Project with Reproduced Vintage Coffee Labels

I'd like to start off the week with an easy craft project using reproduced vintage coffee sack labels.  I'm giving you three examples, which you can click on, save, and print out for your own use.  I have an extensive stash of great vintage advertising and other ephemera, and it's nice to share once in a while!

Here is the first coffee sack label for you to use:

 
I highly recommend using a laser printer.  If you have an ink jet printer like I do, just take the printed image to Staples or FedEx/Kinkos and copy it on their high quality color copier.

Now find some containers that look worthy of up-cycling.  I look around at flea markets and garage sales for tin boxes, my favorite base for this type of project.  Glass jars can also be used, or wood boxes or canisters.  Of course, if you can't find something vintage, a trip to the craft store might be in order.

Prepare the surface by washing the metal or glass and painting the wood if you wish.  With new wood, you will want to sand it first, remove the dust with a tack cloth, coat it with craft paint and let dry.  You'll notice the grain will have raised up in some areas after the first coat of paint.  Now you need to sand it a second time, then apply a second coat of paint. Let dry.  If you need a third coat (red pigment often needs a third coat), go ahead and do that.

Cut out the label and coat the back with Mod Podge (I use the matte version) using a sponge brush. Position the label where you would like it, and smooth it out with a brayer to get out any lumps or air bubbles. Coat the top of the label with Mod Podge.  If your project is on a glass container, clean the edges with a slightly damp paper towel.

After an hour or so, when dry, give it a second coat of Mod Podge.

If your container is glass, you can clean it further when dry with a razor blade.  Carefully scrape around the edges of the label so it looks neat.

 

Besides using your container for coffee storage, consider using it as a planter, craft materials storage, or gift "basket".  You could fill it with coffee related accoutrement and present it to a most grateful recipient! 

My tin example is filled with greenery from my garden.  I just put a plastic drinking glass full of water inside to function as a vase and prevent the metal from getting wet.

Here's the last label you can use for your own wonderful project!

 

If you complete your own version, I'd love to see a picture of it, so consider sending the image to me at mitziscollectibles@comcast.net

Have fun!

Mitzi

Rainy Day Craft Project: Saucer Frames

I'm going to mention right away that I didn't "invent" this idea, but I can't remember exactly where it came from originally.  It was definitely from a magazine, not a blog, and it was at least a couple years ago, nothing recent.  How's that for an attribution? Anyway, I had so much fun making these, and you will too if you give it a try!

 

 

First you need some orphaned saucers.  These are so easy to find if you don't already have some.  Ask any flea market seller, or look at a garage sale.  Cups always seem to get broken first, leaving their saucers behind.  It seems I have quite a few of them......

 

 

Next, you need some laser copies of cute photos.  I like vintage photos, of course, but you could use your own family members or pets.  Laser prints of your pictures are best.  If you copy on an ink-jet printer, you will have to seal the copy with a spray sealant/fixative that can be purchased at a craft or art supply store.  But I recommend going to Staples or FedEx/Kinkos and using their laser printer if you don't have one at home.

Here's everything you need:

 

Cut out your little pictures to fit the wells of the saucers.  Your compass from tenth grade geometry class might come in handy here, or maybe a paper punch.  I usually find something around the house of approximately the same size, like the cap from a jelly jar, and trace around it to get a nice circle, then cut it out.  I thought I might layer a few pictures on top of vintage wallpaper for a different effect (below):

 

 

Next, apply some Mod Podge (I use the matte version) to the back of the picture, and place the picture on the saucer.  Smooth out the paper with your fingers.  Coat the top with Mod Podge.

I had fun matching the picture with the "frame".  For some reason I liked this gal paired with this saucer:

 

 

It might be a good idea to give your picture a second topcoat after a couple hours.  For a final step, I have taken a gold metallic pen and made little dots around some of the pictures and glued some tiny buttons around one of the pictures with E-6000 glue for some extra embellishment.

 

 

These little "frames" can be hung on a wall with a small wire picture hanger, or propped up with a plate stand. 

 

Wouldn't this make a cute little gift for a new mother, with her new-born's picture?  And for anyone that has to host a small baby shower, it might be fun to make one for each of the guests, with their own baby pictures inside.  You could request that their pictures be sent to you ahead of time, and make a game out of guessing which baby pic/frame belongs to which guest.

You might think of another way to add your own flair to this easy project.  I hope you can give it a try!

Mitzi