Author: ontheupcyclemom

ontheupcyclemom https://ontheupcycle.wordpress.com Mother, Wife, Crafter, Artist, Writer Genealogist, Music Lover.... Blogger@ On The Upcycle.

The Versatile Blogger Award.

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versatile-blogger-award

I wanted to say a big “Thank You!” to Diana, at Ray’s Sew Crafty  For Nominating “On The Upcycle” for a VERSATILE BLOGGER AWARD!!   It is nice to be recognized in such a way, and it is also great to know that others enjoy reading my little blog.  Such things encourage me to keep exploring new ideas and The Word Press Community is such a supportive environment in which to do it.  For those of you I nominate, If you are not already aware, Here are the rules for “officially” excepting the nomination, being a bit of a newbie myself, this was helpful for me:

1. Display the Award Certificate on your blog.

2. Announce your win with a post and thank the blogger who nominated you.

3. Present 15 deserving bloggers with the award.

4. Link your nominees in the post and let them know of their nomination with a comment.

5. Post 7 interesting things about yourself.

So, here it goes.  Seven things you may not know about me

1. During most of my 20’s I worked as a Veterinary Technician at an Animal Hospital. I am a huge animal lover and advocate.

2.  I have one tattoo on the top of my foot, two black paw prints. I got in Las Vegas in 2009, my only trip there.

3.  I love all music in particular,  Heavy Metal and 80’s hard rock, back in the day they would call me a ” head banger”

4. I started this blog in April of this year. (2013)  This will be my 108th blog post!

(The first Mod Podge project I tried was in March 2013.  I always loved the arts, and being creative, but had no idea I would enjoy crafting so much!  I also, initially had no plans to start a blog. )

5.  I am a HUGE Game of Thrones fan, and have a major crush on Peter Dinklage.

6. I studied Art in college, but decided to drop out and attend Veterinary Assistant school instead.

7.  I played softball in High school (My position was catcher), and was a member of the bowling team.

Here are my versatile blogger nominations.  There are so many great blogs out here, I wish I could nominate you all.  Here is a list of “Versatile” bloggers.  Be sure and check out their blog’s.  Each one of them is great and I read them almost every day.

1. Michelle At Play

2. A Curious Girl

3. Upshabby

4. Crafts and Coffee

5. Cheeky Geeks

6. The Clutter Removing Erythrocyte

7. Row’s Pottery Shed

8. Love Library

9. Little Fingers Big Art

10. Living With My Ancestors

11. Mod Flowers

12. Anna Cull Illustration and design

13. South Jersey Explorer

14. The Laughing Nanny

15. Roof Top Creations

Checkbook Cover Revival: Fabric Scraps and Mod Podge

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Looking for an easy, fun project on a Sunday afternoon to do while you watch football?  I know I am! It has been a rough few days and I am hoping to relax on this lovely sunday and enjoy week one of the NFL games and cheer on our fantasy football team.  I have been on a small blogging hiatus, battling a nasty fall cold and continuing to go on with life as usual, work full-time, and as always, be a wife, and a mommy to a 2 year-old with an un-ending supply of energy.

It was my toddler apprentice who gave me the idea for today’s project.  My daughter was with me in our craft room the other day exploring as usual. She found some great scrap fabric to play with.  It made me think about ways I might be able to utilize these smaller fabric pieces, and then it hit me!  I had a tan checkbook cover that was in need of a revival.

I gathered what I would need:

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Mod Podge

Scrap Fabric

Paint Brush

Black Marker

Scissors

First, I opened the check book cover, laid it out flat and traced it onto the fabric with the black marker.  I cut the tracing, with a pair of scissors and placed aside.  I applied Mod Podge to the outside of the check book cover, generously with a paint brush.

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I carefully applied the fabric to the checkbook smoothing it out with my hands.

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I applied Mod Podge over the fabric and placed the checkbook in front of a fan to dry.

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I repeated this process three more times, which left a nice,  smooth finish on the cover.  I decided to leave the inside as is.  I didn’t want the paper checks to “stick” to the inside cover.  Mod Podge is attracted to paper. (as it should be!)

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What a great way to use fabric scraps and add a little life to your checkbook!

Growing Pains: 7 Mistakes I Have Made “On The Upcycle”

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Tonight I thought I would, share with you all a few things I have learned the hard way through crafting, decoupaging, upcycling, and blogging.  It is certainly not as easy as it looks and I have acquired quite a few bumps and bruises along the way!

1. High Temperature hot glue guns are as advertised: 

For many years, I used a small low temperature glue gun.  As many of you already know these do not adhere as well as the high temp guns.  I thought I would treat myself, to a newer glue gun.  When I used it for the first time, I inadvertently stuck my hand into the hot  gooiness and boy did I regret it.  It didn’t just burn a little it burned A LOT, and  I adhered two of my fingers together!

High Temp Hot Glue Gun by Ad Tech

2. Mod Podge + Mod Podge =DISASTER:  Mod Podge is a magical substance, but at the end of the day it is simply a glue and adhesive.  When storing furniture made with Mod Podge it is important to not allow two pieces of furniture to be stored in such a way that they “lean” up against each other.  I once had a TV tray that was stuck to a chair, and rip!  Thanks goodness I was able to re-paint and repair the damaged tv tray! Lesson learned!

3. Decoupage over Decoupage = DISASTER:  When decoupaging, always make sure you are adhering to the “flat” original surface of a project and that the material you are using, fabric, paper, ect does not overlap with the same. This creates a uneven surface prone to wrinkles and air bubbles.  If you are decoupaging a material like paper onto a brightly colored surface be sure the material is think enough to prevent the color from “bleeding through.”

4. Treat your paint brushes as you would want to be treated:  There is nothing worse than projects ruined or further complicated by poorly cared for paint brushes with loose bristles that find their way forever embedded in a project, Or the poorly rinsed brush that streaks the wrong color across the face of a project.  Be sure and keep these clean and inspect occasionally for loose bristles. I use the method to clean my brushes illustrated here on Wiki How.

Paint Brush Cleaning

5. Have a “Crafting Happy Place”:  If possible, I have found it best to have a separate crafting space or at the very least a piece of furniture for crafting you wouldn’t mind getting a few globules of paint on.  No matter how many drop cloths, wipes and sponges you have handy accidents happen and you may not always see a paint splatter or glue glob right away.  I single-handedly over time ruined the surface of our kitchen table.  The bright side you ask? I am planning to cover it with fabric can you say a project? Stay tuned! Ok my craft room looks nothing like these, but a Upcycling Mom can have a dream right?

6.  Thinking about taking the easy way out?  Don’t do it!  Crafting may appear fun, but much of it is hard work:  sawing, cleaning, sanding, priming.  For me this is all preparation and no reward.  I want to see the finished item I envisioned; However these things are important steps often times when creating a quality project that lasts.  Not all items will require the same preparation, but one of the most important and simple steps before painting or decoupage is removing dust and dirt.

7. If at first you don’t succeed: Keep trying!  As much as the cyber blogging world is filled with wonderful people, there are also haters out there that are cruel instead of encouraging.  Always stay true to yourself and believe in what you are doing even if others don’t necessarily approve. Stay positive and don’t let a project fail stop you in your tracks! Don’t be too hard on yourself (So far this has been the toughest lesson of all, but like I said keep trying right?)

The Broken Chair Challenge Part 2: Chair Back Photo Frame

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It all started when I purchased a lovely (but very abused) chair from Goodwill for $3.99.  I loved the design qualities of this chair and thought it would make a lovely restyle. I especially loved the is.  Which means “ Lily flower” in French.  I removed the chair seat, only to discover it broken beyond repair. I was not willing to let this chair go, and  I was determined to find a replacement seat.  My husband and I kept our eyes open for any broken chairs on the side of the road that we could use to salvage a seat.

For months, this chair sat and I resisted the temptation of buying a chair to salvage.  Then one day, my patience paid off.  My sister and I went thrift shopping one weekend and in front of the store they had free furniture.  I was ecstatic!  Their it was the perfect candidate, a chair missing the arms, but with a perfectly usable seat.  I confirmed with the store manager that this chair was indeed “free” and loaded it into the car with the biggest smile planted on my face. I immediately removed the seat when I got the chair home and it was a perfect fit.

Upcycled Black and White Damask Chair

To read more about this project see The Broken Chair Challenge: Upcycled Black and White Damask Chair.

Now, I was left with the remnants of another chair, and did not want the all the parts of this chair to end up in the trash.  It had a lovely seat back, and I had seen some lovely upcycling of chair backs into picture frames on Pinterest. I decided to give it a try.  One great example of this can be found at All Things Thrifty.com

Old Chair Back

The finish on this was extremely worn. If it had not been in such poor shape, I don’t think I would have opted to paint it. By far,  the most difficult and challenging aspect of this project was sawing the legs off the chair back.  I used a hacksaw, but it was quite tough to do!  An electric or battery operated hand saw would have worked better, but on the bright side it was at least a 500 calorie burner! Rarely can you say you burn calories crafting!  Once this was completed, I sanded the area that was cut.  I took the chair back outside and spray painted it black, using about two coats.  I allowed the piece to dry overnight.

The next day, I chose a large photo from one of my daughter’s previous Picture People photo sessions.  I measured the area and trimmed the photograph to sit inside the middle of the chair back.  I used a hot glue gun to adhere the photo to the wood.  I had a few craft jewels and roses that I added to the chair back to make it “pop”  I originally glued a large rose to the bottom of the chair back, but decided to remove it later as you will see in the photos below.  One of the smaller roses, I carefully glued to her hand in the photo, It creates an illusion that she is actually holding a rose in the photo.  I think it gives the photo a bit of an extra dimension.  A nice little “touch” to the project.

Hand Holding Rose

I decided to hang this in our bedroom which is black, white with grey wall.  It was very difficult to snap an adequate photo as the flash kept reflecting off the shiny surface , but it is lovely and I am so glad I tried this!

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Think of all the possibilities before you toss that old chair!

Materials:

Hot Glue Gun

Spray Paint (If you choose to paint)

Old Chair Back

Scissors

Saw (If needed)

Screw driver (if needed)

Sandpaper

An old chair back re-purposed into a Picture frame

Flea Market Bar Cabinet Makeover

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My husband and I picked up this wooden cabinet many years back at a local outdoor flea market.  It  had two mirrored bar signs glued to the door and was a perfect “novelty” cabinet for our bar.  We acquired quite a few shot glasses over time, collecting them as an inexpensive souvenirs wherever we traveled.  This cabinet was a perfect way to store them.

Now that the bar has become a distant memory in our family friendly household, this cabinet sat on the floor in our spare bedroom with the shot glasses still in it increasing the chances of something getting broken. The  signs began to fall off, so I decided to remove them all together.  I planned to restyle this cabinet and hang it in a much safer place-Our kitchen.

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I used a scraper, to remove the access glue front the door and cleaned the cabinet with a wet wipe.  I removed the knob and door and set aside.  The cabinet was heavily lacquered so I used a white latex sealer to prime the cabinet before getting started.

Removed door and Primed

I used fabric to cover the outside of the door and glued it to the wood with Mod Podge, I then applied a thick coating of Mod Podge with a Large brush to the top of the fabric.  Once dry, I trimmed the excess fabric away from the door with a pair of scissors.  I painted the entire cabinet with black acrylic paint except for the inside and shelves. Once dry, I applied Mod Podge over the entire piece.  I spray painted the knob white, and once everything was completely dry, I re-attached the cabinet door and knob.

I hung the cabinet in our kitchen by our table, with its much more sophisticated look, It is a great place to store our souvenir glasses!

Restyled cabinet using paint and Mod Podge

Inside wooden shelves

Materials:

Wooden Cabinet

Fabric

Mod Podge

Black acrylic paint

White latex primer

White spray paint

Small and large paint brush

Scissors

Before and After:

Cabinet Re done

A Gift For Mom: Decoupage Sports Team Hand Painted Wooden Tray

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My Mom is a big New York Yankees fan and I wanted to make her something special for her birthday.  I was in Goodwill this past week and came across an unfinished wooden craft tray.  Someone had started to paint the tray, and I could see a pencil outline of a man and a woman in a boat.  Obviously, it was a craft that was started with good intention and never finished.  In my haste to begin this project, I didn’t take a before picture.  There are many wooden trays available at Thrift shops and craft stores.  For an example of this, click here.

The tray was unfinished for the most part and ready to paint. I painted over the previous pencil tracing and paint with a bit of white latex primer before getting started.   I printed the Yankee logo I wanted to use on my printer.  I traced this on to the middle of the tray’s surface.  I wanted to avoid painting this portion of the tray so that the color would not bleed through the print when I was ready to decoupage it on.

I painted the tray’s inside red, and the rest in Yankee’s Royal Blue. I placed it aside and I allowed it to dry in front of a stand up fan.  I then applied Mod Podge to the unpainted area with a foam craft brush in the middle of the tray.  I very carefully applied the print logo to the tray, smoothing out any air bubbles or wrinkles with my hands.  While I allowed this to dry, I touched up any painted areas that needed it. Once completely dry, I sealed the entire piece with Mod Podge.  My Mom loved it and we had lunch yesterday to celebrate her day!  Happy Birthday Mom!

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Materials:

Unfinished Wooden Tray

Acrylic Paint

Mod Podge

Print/Decal

Scissors/foam craft brush

White latex primer (optional)

The Fantabulous Free Weekend has begun!

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This weekend, Amazon.com is offereing a free Kindle download of Sheri Pavlovic’s book “Confessions of a Refashionista: Bewitched Bed Sheets” Sheri is an amazing green crafter and a fellow Green Craft’s Lifestyle contributer. What she is able to do with clothes is AMAZING! Be sure and check it out! Don’t have a Kindle? No problem! Download the free kindle software for your PC!

Decoupage your Cell Phone: Take Two

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Back on May 28th, I posted an entry regarding decoupaging your smart phone called Crafting Is Worth The Risk.  At the time it was unknown as to how such a project would turn out.   I actually  loved it, and decided to decoupage my computer tablet as well.   I received so many compliments on my phone case!  If they only knew!  Cell phone cases can be quite expensive, and this is certainly is a thrifty way to add an artistic flare to your phone without spending a lot of money, but what happens  when you decoupage your phone, but need a change?  No problem!

I wanted to change my smart phone’s look to something more colorful.  I loved the scrapbook paper I used on my tablet.  I had a small piece of this paper left and decided to use it to update my phone’s look.  It was fairly easy to remove the old decoupage, I simply peeled it off with my fingers and cleaned the back of the phone cover and removed any of the old dried, Mod Podge.  I was surprised, because the decoupage held up amazingly well, and I didn’t think it would be so easy to remove.   I then repeated the same process I used during my initial restyle.  I removed the back of the phone, and traced this  on to the back of the paper with a pen, and using an X-Acto knife I carefully trimmed the areas such as the speaker and camera lens.  I applied Mod Podge directly to the phone cover to adhere the paper and then applied multiple coats over top to seal.

A few additional phone decoupage tips:

Use Mod Podge Matte finish as the gloss finish I find dries tacky!

Be careful and keep your phone dry (Decoupage or not this is always a good tip!)

Always remove the cover from the phone before you start.  (Don’t want any glue finding its way in any of the phone’s electronic components.)

Do not place a decoupage phone on another decoupaged item such as a table.  The two mod podged surfaces will “stick” to each other!

Before Decoupaging, If your phone is under warranty, be sure and check if altering your phone in any way, could void the phone’s warranty (read the fine print)

For a more detailed tutorial, please see Restyle Your Smart Phone.

Restyle your cell phone/smart phone

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Life Lessons Learned: Freebies, Coupons, and One Journal Makeover

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While I was pregnant with my daughter, I started a habit of “gathering” and searching for free samples and coupons online. Becoming a mom for the first time,  I was in full on thrift mode. There are many of these sites online and many of them make you jump through hoops and often times do not deliver on there promises.  One of the best sites I came across and still follow today is Sample Stuff.Com.  It takes the best offers on the web and shares them with you first, so you have the best chance at getting free samples, coupons and sweepstakes.  They also post updates when items are no longer available.  I have gotten dozens of free items including yearly magazine subscriptions to Rolling Stone, Town and Country, Family Circle, and Better Homes and Gardens, just to name a few! So why am I sharing this?  It ties into this upcycle, a freebie I picked up from Oprah (yes, I said Oprah)

A while back, Oprah was  giving out free Journals to go with an upcoming “Lifeclass” a self-enrichment course that required keeping a journal.  I had heard of this promotion through the Sample Stuff Site.  I actually was interested in taking the class, but then life got in the way of Lifeclass, (Ironic I know) and there sat an empty journal.  The journal was nicely made with a strap and built-in book mark ribbon.  I have wanted to carry a journal and write for sometime, and this would be perfect; However a restyle was in order…

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Inside the cover and front page

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I picked out some nicely patterned scrapbook paper and gathered the materials needed:

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I traced the front and back covers.  I decided to leave the book spine free of paper. I cut out the tracings and placed them aside.  I applied Mod Podge with a foam craft brush to the front cover and gently applied the cut scrapbook paper smoothing it out with my hands.  I then repeated the same for the back cover.  I cut a small piece to cover the inside cover and carefully and neatly removed the 1st page.

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Once the outside of the book was dry, I applied Mod Podge to the covers to add some durability when taking this journal on the go.  Now I have a great recycled life journal to take with me and the best part was.. it was free!

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Tangled No More: Upcycled Wooden Shaker Peg Rack

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I have a confession.  I am horrible when it comes to keeping my jewelry together and organized. I am always losing earrings,  and I constantly tangle my necklaces together.  When I picked up this Shaker Peg Rack at a thrift shop, I planned on using it to hang “crafty”things in my crafting area. I decided against it when I realized it was more urgently needed in our bedroom for jewelry.    I reached my breaking point this weekend, when I went to change my necklace only to discover a tangled mess!

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I decided I would use the fabric featured on Upcycled Spaghetti Jar Lamp.  I tried removing the pegs, but needed some of the hubby’s strength to remove them. He was able to loosen them and I was able to finally pop them out. My plan was to glue the pegs back on later. After pulling them out, they still fit snuggly which was great.  Removing the pegs would make it easier when covering the rack with fabric, and it would appear seamless.   I traced the rack surface onto the fabric with a black marker.

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I cut the fabric outline with a pair of scissors.  I placed the fabric aside.  I applied Mod Podge to the wooden rack with a foam craft brush, I carefully applied the cut fabric to the wooden surface smoothing it out on the surface with my hands.  I marked off the spot on the fabric, where the peg holes were.  This way, when dry I could pierce the holes with a scissor tip without making the fabric shift and move. I placed this piece aside to dry and painted the pegs with black acrylic paint.  I painted any areas not covered with fabric black.  Once the paint was completely dry, I covered all the painted and fabric covered areas with another layer of Mod Podge, and glued the wooden pegs back into the holes.  I used two long black screws to mount the jewelry holder to the wall.

This fabric and style looks great in our grey/neutral bedroom. You can use any fabric or color scheme you like and unfinished Shaker Peg Racks can easily be picked up at yard sales and thrift shops for a couple bucks. The perfect upcycle!

Upcycled Shaker Peg Rack Made with fabric, Paint and Mod Podge