Crafts

DIY Decoupage Novelty Candles and Tea Light Holder

7 Comments

Looking for a great “personalized” gift that will keep you within your shopping budget? The holiday’s, and birthday’s can be tough, and it is more important than ever to get the most out of every penny. At the same time, It is also important to let those close to you know that they are appreciated throughout the year. I try to keep my ears and eyes open as to what matters to friends and family, by soaking in all of their interests and hobbies. I file these ideas away, and when I am trying to come up with gift ideas, I refer back to them.

As our extended families and circle of friends continue to grow, and the holiday’s become more and more about the children (As it should be, of course) It has become at times, a challenge to come up with gifts for friends and the adults in the family. This year, I decided to make personalized candles for some of those on my Christmas list. You can purchase candles anywhere, and they are reasonably priced. This year, I had many music lovers on my list, so I decided to decoupage some candles featuring the recipients favorite musical artists.   The possibilities are truly endless.  You can personalize and create any type of candle that you want.  For the non-music lovers on my list, I refashioned the candles with fabric, or with a family photo.  Making these is a simple process. I applied Mod Podge to the outside of the candle with a foam craft brush. I searched the internet for the images I planned to use and printed them out on my printer (the size of the images I used was 4×6) I trimmed the images to fit, and carefully applied them to the candles, smoothing any wrinkles. You can add Mod Podge over top of the image, but it is not needed. If you are looking for a shinier finish, you will need to complete this step. Once dry they are ready to be gifted!

Decoupage Candles

Rock N’ Roll Inspired Candles

\Grateful Dead tea light holder

Repurposed Candle made into a Tea Light Holder

Decoupage Sports Fan TV Trays Revisited

11 Comments

This holiday season,  I decided to craft some gifts not only to save money, but simply for the sake of doing something different.  When people stop by our house for a visit, they notice all the upcycled furniture and home decor items.  One of those items in particular, our Decoupaged  Philadelphia Phillies TV tray gets a good deal of attention. For this reason, I thought tables such as these would make great gifts.  Most folks have a set of these boring wooden TV trays at home.

TV Tray before

Despite the lack of design qualities these trays are very functional and often times serve an important purpose.  Who hasn’t sat in front of the TV, and used one of these little trays to devour a late night snack, or simply use as a laptop computer table?

I was in the thrift store and happened across four for sale.  I snatched them up and was glad that I did!  For three of these tables, I decided to use sports team themes, (the recipients are all sports fans, I will save what I did to the fourth table for a future post.)  I found sports images online and printed them out on my printer. If you do not have an available printer, you can use decals, fabric, baseball cards, you name it!

First, be sure and clean the table thoroughly.  Once the table is clean and dry apply a white latex primer.  To speed up this process, I purchased a spray on primer.  I took the tables outside and applied two coats to each table, allowing each table to dry thoroughly between coats.  Table number one was for a Washington Redskins fan.  I painted the table with acrylic paint in the Washington Redskins colors, gold and a deep dark red, almost burgundy color.  Once dry, I used Mod Podge to carefully apply the printed image to the table surface.   I then applied Mod Podge over top of the print and covered all the painted areas with Mod Podge to seal the table.  The Mod Podge on its own is enough to seal the table, but since I was giving these as gifts, I added a coat of a polyurethane clear coat sealer for added protection against moisture and heavy use.  Be sure to be mindful of the parts of the table that fold up. (“On the Upcycle” mistake alert!)  If any Mod Podge or Polyurethane drip into these areas and dry it can be problematic if you try to open the table and it “sticks”  This happened a little with the Washington Redskins table and caused the paint to “chip” a bit in the area that the legs were slightly “stuck” together.  Despite this minor flaw, the table turned out well!

Washington Redskins Decoupage TV Tray

sports tv tray

I repeated the same steps for table number two (New York Yankees Sports fan table)

Yankees Decoupage Sports TV Tray

and table number three (Philadelphia Eagles Sports fan table)

philadelphia eagles tv tray

Before giving the gifts, I inspected the tables carefully, touching up any areas that needed it.  They seemed to be a big hit with those who received one.  It also marked the first time I attempted to work on multiple projects at the same time.

TV Trays Before and After:

Decoupage Sports Themed TV Trays made with Mod Podge

 

A Little Bit Of Luck: Second Hand Roses Christmas Placemats Giveaway.

2 Comments

I was so pleased to learn that “On the Upcycle” was the lucky winner of two lovely vintage looking felt holiday placemats, courtesy of Deb and Kathy at “Second Hand Roses”

cropped-2nd-hand-roses3

Second Hand Roses is a blog that features the shopping adventures and sometimes misadventures of Kathy and Deb. Their wonderful sense of humor comes across in every post and the blog is an enjoyable read, so be sure and stop by and visit them! I was quite excited to receive a package with the placemats and this lovely vintage greeting card.

Vintage Christmas Card

The placemats are made of felt and are adorned with glittery decorations.  They feature Santa Clause and a reindeer. They are absolutely adorable and I am so grateful to have won their christmas giveaway!  I placed them on our vintage stereo cabinet and snapped this picture of our living room.

DSC_1331

Thanks again to Kathy and Deb for bringing some holiday cheer into our home this holiday season!

DSC_1317

If only we could live here….A Close Up Snapshot of our Christmas village on our mantle.

DSC_1330

Happy Holidays from “On The Upcycle” and Many Thanks to Kathy and Deb!

DSC_1346

It’s Christmas Time: The Crocheted Snow People Family

4 Comments

For those who know me, it will be of no surprise that I consider myself a very sentimental person.  My husband and I have collected a lot of snowmen through the years for sentimental reasons.  When we started living together, a shelf decorated with most of the decorations we owned toppled to the ground.  Nothing on the shelf survived and everything lay on the floor in a broken mess.  I was feeling emotional having been through a rough patch in my life and this just sent me over the edge.  My boyfriend at the time  (my wonderful husband now) told me not to worry he would work on rebuilding the collection. Most of the items were from a previous life before we began our lives together and he wanted to turn something bad that happened into something good.  He calmed me down and started a new Christmas tradition that day forward. Every year he would gift me a new Christmas decoration and has kept his word every holiday since then. That night we went to Hallmark near our apartment at that time, and he bought me a ceramic snowman, I still treasure to this day.

Hallmark Snowman

For that reason I have a particular fondness for snowmen.  My husband and I always loved the snow people couples and after our daughter was born the snow people families. You can imagine my surprise when a friend, and an amazing crochet artist handed me the red and white Santa bag and I pulled this out!

DSC_1306

It was us! It was our family!  I love it so much, I squealed and when I wasn’t squealing, I was smiling.  As someone who crafts and loves to create things, I simply adore handmade gifts.  I love the idea of someone giving the most precious thing in life to someone else: The gift of their time! Not to mention as I stated earlier, I am beyond sentimental, and this little snow people family proves those crocheted together are meant to stay together!

I have always loved crochet art, but don’t crochet or knit myself, and I am hoping one day my friend might be able to teach me.  It’s been years since I have tried, back then I just couldn’t seem to figure it out, but I am thinking I should give it another try.

Crocheted Snow People Family

What are some of your family holiday traditions?

Inexpensive Gift Ideas: Miniature Desk Radio Decoupage

1 Comment

I have seen many radios and stereos in my day.  Everything from The Giant Boom Boxes of the 1980’s, to little mp3 players that fit in the palm of your hand, music has been delivered via many forms. I am a bit of a collector when it comes to music and pretty much anywhere I set up shop, I need to have a radio nearby. That includes my desk at work although it is rare I turn it on, listening to music does help with work related stress at times.  I also enjoy listening to the afternoon baseball games in the summertime.

Many stores carry these small desk top radios.  The one below was purchased at one of my favorite stores  Christmas Tree Shops. These also make great gifts for the music, sports lover in your life. This particular radio takes three AA batteries making it easy to take with you while on the go.

Desk top am fm radio

 

To personalize the radio and add a little flair, I decoupaged some fabric on to the outer case.  Since the radio has a “retro” feel I chose a colorful Mod fabric. I simply applied Mod Podge to the outer case with a smaller paint brush, measured and cut the fabric, and applied it to the case.  Once dry I applied a few coats of Mod Podge over the top.

DSC_1233

 

These make great gifts, and choice of fabric can be tailored around ones own individual tastes such as with character fabrics, and various designs featured at such stores as Joann Fabrics.

Mod Mini Radio Decoupage

 

Decoupage Mini Desk Radio

 

This little radio now has a retro feel that I love!

Hope your holiday season so far is merry and bright!!

Simple Fabric Decoupage Snowman Hand Soap Dispenser

2 Comments

As much as I love the holiday season, It has been a hectic few weeks decorating, attempting to make Christmas gifts and getting caught up in the everyday hustle and bustle of life.  Today, I experienced disappointment, after a mistake by yours truly turned into an epic craft fail. I now have to rethink an idea for an intended Christmas gift.  Not to mention most of the items I make between now and December 25th, I cannot share yet as it would ruin the surprise for those intended recipients.

I did manage to complete a simple craft today, I have been wanting to do for the upcoming Christmas holiday.  We like to decorate every room in our home including our bathroom.  I had an ordinary plastic soap dispenser that cost $.99 that is easily refilled.  I decided to decoupage some scrap snowman fabric left over from a previous project .

Image

I used outdoor Mod Podge previously used for a few summer projects.  The finish is a bit more durable when used in watery conditions. I carefully removed the label and I applied the Mod Podge with a foam craft brush to the outside if the bottle.  I wrapped the fabric around it, and smoothed out any wrinkles.  I trimmed any excess fabric and applied more Mod Podge over the fabric. I allowed it to dry for a few hours.  Once dry, it was ready to take its place along side the other decorative items and function as an inexpensive alternative to a fancy store-bought holiday soap dispenser.

Image

Holiday Decoupage Soap Disp

This idea can also be applied to hand lotion, and other gift basket items to add a holiday flare and personalize.  Choose a fabric suited to your holiday decor at Joann Fabrics.  Everything is better with decoupage!

How to make adorable, needle-felted snowman ornaments

Leave a comment

I was in the midst of crafting some top secret holiday gifts when I decided to take a break and log on to check out Word Press. I came across these really cute needle- felted snowman ornaments compliments of Sharon over at Crafts and Coffee. Be sure and check out her great blog. She is on an amazing crafting journey and shares many wonderful ideas. Tis the season!

Stay Calm, Stay Thrifty and Craft On!

5 Comments

I recently took a trip to A.C. Moore to stock up on some much-needed crafting supplies.  It is very difficult, especially around the holidays, to purchase these supplies as they can be quite expensive.  I am planning on making some gifts for the holiday this year, and still want to continue with various projects so the purchase was a necessary evil.  I had to think outside the box as it is becoming more and more difficult to raise the additional funds needed. I thought I would share with you the items I purchased, with a total out-of-pocket cost of about $3.62!

DSC_1156

So, How did I do it? Let me explain:

COUPONS!

A.C. Moore is the only craft store in the area that sells Mod Podge by the gallon.  I know others make their own versions of Mod Podge, as seen here and that is a much more frugal way, but I am always afraid if I measure the ingredients incorrectly something could go terribly wrong, and to me it is not worth the risk of ruining a project. A gallon of Mod Podge is about $36.99 with tax. Ouch!  That is where the A.C. Moore coupon comes in.  They often feature a coupon for 50% off one regular priced item.  This holiday, I was able to score a printable 55% off one regular priced item coupon online. Before going shopping always check for printable coupons or for those more electronically savvy use your smart phone to check for deals! This coupon saved me over $18.00 on the Mod Podge. I went through the line and purchased the Mod Podge with the coupon, to obtain the maximum savings.  I then took it outside to the car came back in and continued to shop. If you send the hubby through the line or don’t mind going through the line again, you can use another coupon to save even more! On this day I forgot to do this, so in hindsight I could have saved more money!

Bank Incentive Programs-Shop Around

I currently use a local bank in the area The Beneficial Bank that sponsors a points rewards program called Bank Thanks. The program encourages you to use your debit card as a credit card to make purchases and pay bills. This saves the bank money and in return the bank issues rewards points to the card holder.  Once I reach $6,000 points I can exchange those points for various gifts on their rewards website. One of these gifts is a $50.00 gift card of my choosing, including a general Visa gift card you can use practically anywhere! Many banks have eliminated their various rewards programs, so be sure and research your bank very carefully.   This allowed me to purchase my supplies without guilt, and a few smaller craft items and a coloring book for my daughter!  Can you say “free money?” Everything pictured cost about $53.62, minus the $50.00 gift card a difference of $3.62!

Stay Calm, Stay Thrifty and Craft On!

The Green Craft Lifestyle Christmas Addition: Free Amazon Download begins This Saturday, November 30th!

4 Comments

Pickled Lamp: “On The Upcycle” Christmas Craft full tutorial featured in today’s newly released “The Green Craft Lifestyle: Christmas Edition”

Image

The Green Crafts Lifestyle – Christmas Edition – Make Christmas Decor, Cards and Gifts!

1451464_674360959264580_1206827235_n

I have had the pleasure once again to be a part of the second installment of “The Green Craft Lifestyle”.  The new Christmas Edition is jam packed with green Christmas crafts from around the world.  The very talented Mahe Zehra Husain (MZ) is giving away free copies for download from the 30th of November to the 4th of December you can find it here: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00GXE82S4 and http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00GXE82S4. On Facebook?  Join the free event here. Don’t have a Kindle?  Download Kindle Cloud Reader for your Laptop!

Image

The “On The Upcycle” family want to wish everyone a very safe and happy Thanksgiving day Holiday!

Mini Terracotta Christmas Tree Decorations

1 Comment

I am always on the lookout for great kid’s craft ideas. Tis the season with the holidays around to corner, to take a break from the hustle and bustle and sit down with the kids for quality time. A great blog I follow, Easy Crafts For Children, posted a wonderful and unique christmas craft I think you will all love! Be sure and stop by to say hello to Izabel from the UK!