JJ's Garage...

I finally finished the car sign for my grandsons car themed bedroom. The process is long and tedious... but the results are worth it.Here is how I made it if anyone is interested...

Firstly, I found an image online that I wanted to use... I cleaned up the image so I could add my own text....Once the text I needed was added, I enlarged the image and printed it out onto several sheets of paper which I then connected together to make my pattern. I cut a plywood circle and painted it white, then I transferred the design to the wood circle using graphite paper. Once the image was on the wood, it was just a matter of painting it until it was finished. It takes about 4 to 5 coats of acrylic paint to get really good coverage. Then, I sanded the entire surface and took a pair of scissors to the edge to scuff it up even more. Instead of using stain on this piece, I tried using some Old English scratch coverage polish and it worked beautifully! Once the piece was stained, I hammered in some metal stars that came with one of those Bedazzling machines that were popular back in the day....I really love how the stars make the entire piece look even more vintage. My grandson is very happy with his "Jonathan's Garage" sign. He is such a little love-bug~This is the second sign I've made using this image. The last one I was soooo proud of.... until I saw where it ended up. *sigh* "C'est la vie"

They say its your birthday....

Its my birthday toooooooooo~ Yes, you guessed it.... its my birthday! *woot-woot* I had a fun filled morning walking a mile long yard sale.... I guess it was two miles when you figure both sides of the street. *wink*

Here is what I consider to be the highlights of my two hour leisurely walk of yard sailing...
Jewelry....beaded bracelets....a few necklaces and rosaries....and some pirate loot ---a.k.a. junque....and this fabulous cross made to look like its made with nails.... Its my favorite find of the day~What a fun way to kick off my birthday month of celebrating!

Gray Challenge...

A few days ago I went to one of my favorite haunts... (an antique store that has a .20¢ section... I know! I know!) and came across an old photo of a lady in a frame. As soon as I saw her I thought she looked like a witch. Awful huh? I mean that in a nice way... *wink* I cut her from the photo and began transforming the entire frame into a shadow box of sorts. I cut the metal picture frame apart to fit over a box I made using illustration board...I added the words, "KEEP CALM AND WITCH ON" behind her using the tape transfer method which I then glued to 100 year old German text from a book... then I painted on some gray circles....
I also added some vintage sequined/lacy gray trim to the sides, along with vintage sequined orange trim and old brown millinery flowers... The brownish/copper ribbon and vintage gray seam binding makes a fun hanger for the piece. This is for the gray challenge at Collage Obsession...

Ooh La La

This past weekend was all about quality not quantity. I found one loving cup trophy....A few pieces of jewelry.....Oh... and 34 old-brass, metal and aluminum door knobs.... Ok-ok-ok, some would say those are not "quality" but, I got them in quantity!!!Ooh la la~

Pink Dangle Earrings

I've been rooting around in my stash of vintage beads. Its tough when you want to make something--- anything--- and your at a loss as to what to make.... Earrings are something fast to whip up to ease that angst of wanting to create.... I made a bunch of pink lovelies... These were all made from up-cycled jewelry pieces. I did use new ear wires and wire pins to build these earrings upon. This pair is super sweet... All of these earrings are for sale for $5 each.... coming soon to my etsy boutique.This set of earrings has the same shape as the pink beads above only smaller. They came off of the same vintage necklace I pulled apart.I wish I could come across some enameled beads that had more pink in them....Just a smidge of pink....These have a pink/peachy look to them. I used green vintage beads to pull out the green in the enameled beads...Seeing how September is right around the corner, that got me to thinking about blue stones... No where near being blue sapphire... but lovely just the same. I found two sets of old-old playing cards that I picked up at a tag sale for .50¢ They are from Germany, look at the beautiful graphics... I used a grommet punch to make small holes in the cards, then just slipped the ear wires through the cards. Makes for easy displaying... I think these would be fabulous with a blue-jean jacket with silver buttons....
I've linked up to How Sweet the Sounds " Pink Saturday" linky party.

Playing with Metal Tape

I made a sign for my grandsons bedroom door. Keeping with the car theme he wants for his bedroom, I made the sign look like it is made out of metal. I used yard and yards of metal tape to cover the letters of his name.... then yards more metal tape to cover a plank of wood to hold the letters... Here is a close up of all the detail that I pressed into the metal tape...I picked up five wooden picture frames at a second hand store for a few dollars....I covered those with metal tape as well.... perfect for holding photos of him at car shows and Monster Truck events....I hope he likes them~
Now, I have to make something for little Miss Chloe Rose!

Caute Bulletin Board

A few months ago I bought this fabulous large frame at a yard sale for $1. I've been keeping an eye out for a large bulletin board to use inside the frame... well, this past week I managed to find one! I only had to pay $1 for that as well~I used a razor blade to easily cut through the cork board that I had measured to fit inside the frame. I used spray adhesive to adhere the recently acquired free dark chocolate colored burlap. To attach the cork board to the frame, I used a generous amount of wood glue. I couldn't use hot glue as most of it would have set up before I got back around to the starting point. Isn't it fabulous?Sooooooooo caute! Not a bad $2 investment. The hardest part of this whole project is going to be finding a place to hang it. *wink*