Letter Tile Wall Art and Crackle Finish Frame Tutorial

A while back, when I was cleaning out my craft room to make room for my new/old Hoosier cabinet, I came across a little plastic container full of alpha-tiles that I had completely forgotten about. I decided to put them to good use on a fun wall hanging project for my pal Megan F. Here's what I came up with:

Here's how I made this project...including a step-by-step tutorial on how to create a crackle paint finish using Elmer's glue:

I started out with a black, wood frame that I picked up at Hobby Lobby. I only paid $1.99 for the frame because it was missing the glass and had a small chip in one of the corners. Using some Apple Barrel paint that I had in my stash, I painted the frame a beige color. (Yes, I know, I end up painting the frame black again, but I wanted the crackle under the top finish to be beige...see, there really is a method to my madness - ha! ha!)

The beige paint job didn't need to be perfect...just needed it to mostly cover the frame. Once the beige paint dried, I then painted over the frame with basic Elmer's glue:

When the glue has almost dried, but is still tacky to the touch, paint the top coat in the color of your choice. Don't paint over any area more than once, or it won't crackle properly:

Now the magic begins!! As you can see in the above photo and the next photo, the dark paint begins to separate and crack from the glue covered beige paint, giving your frame a really cool, antique look:

While the frame is drying, cut a piece of cardboard to fit inside of it. Cover the cardboard with a piece of scrapbook paper or fabric of your choice:

Lay out your letter tiles in the pattern that you like. Once you've decided on the layout, take a picture of it so you don't forget what you've done when you have to move all of the tiles to start the gluing process. Using a ruler and some E6000 glue, line up your longest word with the tiles and begin to glue them down:

Keep building on your main word to create a cross-word puzzle of sorts:

Once all of the letter tiles are glued down, you can decorate any open spaces as desired. I chose a little grapevine heart that I picked up for $.59 in the miniatures department at Hobby Lobby. I tied a simple bow out of a scrap piece of lace and tied a wooden button to it using hemp twine:

Once everything has dried you can place your work of art into the frame and hang it up for all to admire:

Wouldn't this be a cute gift for grandparents using the names of their grandchildren?

Thanks for dropping by today to see what's going on in my little world. Have a GREAT week!

Blessings,

Quote Sunday

Silly Saturday

Wishing you a relaxing weekend!!

Transitional Wreath...

Good afternoon and happy Friday! I had every intention of getting this post up on Wednesday, but ended up in the hospital on Tuesday night so it just didn't happen. I was admitted to the hospital with the doctors thinking that I was having an appendicitis attack. (Fever, nausea, severe pain on the right side of my abdomen.) After having lots of tests run, (CAT scan, Ultrasound and LOTS of blood work), appendicitis was ruled out, as was diverticulitis, colitis and gall bladder inflammation. It was determined that I had a severe intestinal virus which mimicked the symptoms of appendicitis. Both of the doctors that were caring for me recently had this virus, and they were both hospitalized for a few days as well.

Thankfully, I was released from the hospital late yesterday afternoon. I am still on a diet of soup, jello and Gatorade, but hoping to upgrade to something a little more substantial this weekend! (My pal, Robbi R., is making me some of her homemade chicken and noodles tomorrow...YUMMMM!! Robbi is one of the BEST cooks that I know, and she is such a sweetheart!!) The docs said that I can return to work on Monday, and I am looking forward to everything being back to normal in my little world!

Anyhoo...here is a photo of a wreath that I made for our front door last weekend. This is a weird, transitional time of year to know what kind of wreath to display on the front door, ya know? We're past anything evergreen, Valentine's day is over and it's too early for Easter or spring flowers. I decided that a simple grapevine wreath with an artificial vine and berries would be just fine for now! I tied a pretty ivory satin bow; added a glass "B" ornament to finish off the wreath, and TA-DAH! - here's how my wreath turned out:

Thanks for dropping by today! Wishing you a wonderful and restful weekend!

A Cross-Stitch Project Framed on a Mini Scroll...

Hi, friends! Old Man Winter re-visited us over the weekend, leaving behind snow and icy roads. It was a little bizarre to have thunder and lightening while listening to the sleet pelt the windows of our home...but that is exactly what took place here on Sunday afternoon. Area schools, (including mine!), closed today due to the icy side streets and parking lots, so my little dog Tony and I are enjoying some extra "snuggle time". Here's a photo of my little guy all curled up in a quilt...he LOVES quilts!! :)

The cold weather always makes me crave soup and homemade bread, so for supper tonight I'll be making beer bread and loaded baked potato soup. If this sounds like something you'd like to fix for supper tonight too, you can click HERE for my beer bread recipe, and HERE for my loaded baked potato soup recipe. :)

Since I'm spending most of my day in the kitchen today, I thought I'd share a cute cross-stitched project with you that I made some time ago:

The unique thing about this project is how it's framed/displayed, which is on a small, wooden scroll:

I found these scrolls in a cross-stitch shop, stained them, and then attached the cross-stitched piece to the scroll by folding and stitching the piece as shown in this photo:

The completed project makes a cute shelf-sitter accent in my craft room!

Thanks for dropping by...if you live in an area that has been covered in ice and snow as well, please stay warm and be safe if you have to get out and about today!

Blessings,

Quote Sunday

Silly Saturday

LOL! I have always disliked story math problems...how about you?? Have a great weekend!

Torche Lamp Makeover Tutorial

Happy Monday, friends! I hope that you had a restful weekend! I enjoyed just padding around the house and doing a little meal cooking for the upcoming week...I LOVE it when I can get all of the meals for the upcoming week all lined out in advance!

Today I am going to share a trash-to-treasure project with you. The lamp shown in the photo below was actually saved from going in the trash. A few years ago when I worked at Special Services, we were moving to a new building and my friend/co-worker Kristin no longer wanted this lamp and was going to throw it in the dumpster:

I asked her if I could have it for my son Justin, and she happily gave it to me. (Thanks, again, Kristin!!) Anyhoo...when Justin bought his house last fall, the modern look of this lamp didn't go with his rustic outdoor/western décor, so I decided to give the lamp a makeover for him.

I started out by purchasing a "hammered metal" black spray paint that I found at Hobby Lobby; then my sweetie painted the base and lamp pole with it. I then painted the glass shade to give it an aged/antique look. Here's how I did it:

Begin by carefully removing the glass shade and placing it on old newspapers or a paper sack that has been cut open. Gather all of your supplies...I used various acrylic paints, a stipple brush, a sponge brush and a sponge dauber:

Wipe the shade down to remove any dust. Apply your darkest color to the glass shade first. (You will build the color/texture from darkest to lightest colored paint.) Don't stress over being too perfect with the paint...that's the beauty of this! You want your project to look rustic/imperfect...like it's got some age to it!

Once you've completely covered the shade with the darkest color, allow it to thoroughly dry...

I then combined a pearl-based paint with a golden brown paint, and stirred it together to create the color that I wanted to use for the next layer:

Here's what that color looks like when the 2 paints were combined:

I applied the second layer of color using a dry stipple brush. Once that layer dried, I used the sponge dauber brush to add a light layer of just the pearl paint, and this is how my shade looked:

Once everything had dried, I re-assembled the lamp and took it over to Justin's house. It looks GREAT sitting at the end of his sofa in the corner of his living room! Here's what it looks like with the light on and shining through the shade:

I love the old/splattery/rustic look this lamp has now! Best of all, the total transformation only cost about $8.00 - SWEEEET!

Thanks for stopping by to read my blog today! Have a TERRIFIC week, and don't forget to do something nice this week for someone who would least expect it!! :)

Blessings,

Quote Sunday

Silly Saturday

Have a fun weekend...be sure to make time to laugh today!