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Using a wooden flotsam plaque…..these are great….a really good size………and a fab price!!. I gave it a coat of water-downed whitewash acrylic paint.

Then i took a stencil and splodged through some pale green ink and a touch of purple.

The wording was painted on freehand using Pebble acrylic paint.

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I used a selection of flowers and leaves including these lilies, white sun-daisies, ivory ruffle roses, white velvet leaves and two-tone rose leaves. The other ones were out of my stash. The ivory ruffle roses are ideal if you want to match them to your project colour-wise. They take ink, sprays etc really well.

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Even the little sundaisies are inked a greeny grey colour………you can just make out there yellow centres.. I had a scrap of lace left over from a previous project, so i sewed a running stitch loosely and pulled it together to make a flower shape and tucked it under another small flower. After i had finished changing the colours of the flowers and leaves……everything was given a touch of emerald Treasure Jewels wax……and i also brushed it around the edges of the plaque.

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In my excitement of making this i forgot to drill the holes to use wire to hang the plaque!! Something for me to go back and do!

See you all soon.xx

You are reading The Earth Laughs in Flowers. by Lesley originally posted on Calico Crafts. If you've enjoyed this post, be sure to follow Calico Crafts on Facebook or Twitter

Remember that decorated Tando Arch set I showed you last time? This project has been created using the ‘left over’ arched inserts…. This is Beach Huts..

I’ve gone for a very simple, rustic look for this. Somehow when I’m making whitewashed beach themed items less is more!

The huts themselves are three of the smaller chipboard arch inserts, cut down to size. I think I’ve taken about 3cm of the bottom of each. I covered them with book paper, then coloured with a wash of white paint. I drew around the top of the arches onto scrap chipboard, and created a gable shape to add to the huts. Once the base coat was dry, I added painty lines to give the suggestion of whitewashed boards….

The three huts were glued onto a whitewashed driftwood plank. I used my go to method of attaching beads to the surface, then gluing the houses to the beads. Like this…

The finishing touches were a few bits of moss peeking out, and some shells. Not to scale, clearly, but never mind!

Back to lots of bright colour from me next time, can’t keep this white palette up for very long!!!

Trish xxxxxx

You are reading Beach Huts by Trish originally posted on Calico Crafts. If you've enjoyed this post, be sure to follow Calico Crafts on Facebook or Twitter

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Below you can see the “before” photo – it was a nice solid box with a burgundy velvet interior, so apart from a quick clean and a scuff up with sandpaper, it was ready for altering.  There was a strange border thing around the bottom of the box which was very worn down, so that would need to be covered.  I took the hardware off to make life easier!

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I covered the box with 7 Gypsies Trousseau papers due to the high rose content, lol.   I normally cut the papers slightly larger than the bit I’m about to cover, then glue this down with Mod Podge.  Once dry (ok, I cheat… once heat gunned…) I sanded off any excess edges to tidy them up and make the box look time worn.

Once the whole box was covered, I inked all the edges with Versamagic Gingerbread chalk ink then Mod Podged the whole thing – if the ink is still a bit fresh, the Mod Podge picks it up and blends it into the paper even more, adding to the vintage look.

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The lumpy old worn border round the bottom had to be covered – no chance of removing it and painting  or gilding it would just make it look worse!  I used some of the Cotton Crochet lace with the red gingham woven into it after I’d given it a soak in some black tea.   Once dry, I glued it round the box using Glossy Accents.

The burgundy silk rose I used comes as a buttonhole, but it was easy to snip out the lapel pin and trim the wire stem.  I kept the pin as these are handy for unclogging nozzles… particularly Glossy Accents which I used again to stick the rose to the top of the box.

Once everything was dry and stuck down, I gave the edges a rub round with Treasure Gold Gilt Wax – that wee jar will see me out… you barely use anything so it lasts for ages and gives an amazing finish.  I also glued a decorative label on the front of the box so the new owner can add a personal touch.

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Hope you like it – thanks for reading.  Helen x

Products Used:

7 Gypsies Trousseau Scrapbook Papers – currently on special offer

Silk Garden Rose in Burgundy

Cotton Crochet Lace with Red Gingham Trim

Versamagic Chalk Ink in Gingerbread

Treasure Gold Gilt Wax in Classic Gold

Mod Podge

You are reading Upcycled Garden Rose Box by Helen @ Calico Crafts originally posted on Calico Crafts. If you've enjoyed this post, be sure to follow Calico Crafts on Facebook or Twitter

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Well, for this matchbox I gave it a makeover with some fab scrapbooking papers by Kaisercraft, the collection is called “75 Cents” – I used the following papers….

• Dime
• Penny
• Tuppence

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I’ve cut and layered the papers to cover the box but I’ve coloured all the edges of the papers and matchbox with brown ink, 1. it blends in with the look of the papers, 2. when you cut papers, you’re left with a harsh white edge and it makes the piece look unfinished. The butterflies have been cut from the “Dime” paper.

I’ve also covered the drawer part of the matchbox too. These matchboxes are fab gifts in their own right but they are fab boxes to give gifts in… the contents can be anything from mini books, jewellery, a little sewing kit, sweets… actually the list is endless.

You are reading Matchbox Makeover by Paula Whittaker originally posted on Calico Crafts. If you've enjoyed this post, be sure to follow Calico Crafts on Facebook or Twitter

Well I dont scrapbook… I think that’s important to say so you maybe can be a little kind to me. Technically this is my first attempt. I realise getting the composition on a canvas or ATC or card etc etc, is much the same skill as needed on a 12×12 scrapbook page, but the size seems daunting to me and I dont much like photos, unless they are vintage and sepia…

So with all that in mind, I found an old photo of my Granddad during the war (World war 2) and decided to make something with that photo. I used a little bulldog clip thing to hold the photo in place so i didnt have to get it near paint, ink or glue.

I used a sheet of 7 gypsies postale paper (called ‘document’) for the front main page. I tore it in places and rolled the edges back (I know, I do this a lot but I have liked it for the last 7 years, i dont predict a change any time soon lol). I also distressed all around the edges of the sheet and inked it with versamagic chalk ink (gingerbread)… now, because of the torn back bits i had to back it on to something else that was OK to show through. I raided my VERY old drawer of scrapbook papers and found a suitably boring brown vintage looking bit. not sure who it was made by. it looked a bit like very old Victorian wallpaper. I layered my postale sheet on top of that. it looked nice and sepia to go along with the tones in the photo.

The bunting flags are cut from another postale sheet (called ‘post’). I thought the stripes looked almost patriotic in colour but aged and faded. the map at the back of the main photo is from Tim Holtz’ “crowded attic”  salvage stickers (its a nice BIG sticker), as is the bit of hand written letter. The tags are 7 gypsies tags i had in my paper drawer.

And although its not relevant to the post, here is a wee close up of the photo and my Granddad…

You are reading WWII Scrapbook page using 7 gypsies postale papers: By zuzu by Zuzu originally posted on Calico Crafts. If you've enjoyed this post, be sure to follow Calico Crafts on Facebook or Twitter

I had a very cheap photo frame that needed a makeover…badly –  and this time I’ve used this fab wood effect paper called “Distressed” from the Base Coat Collection by Kaisercraft - I simple glued it to the frame and cut around it with a craft knife, I’ve also cut out the center too. The black strips with writing on, are from a paper called “Tuppence” from the 75 Cents Collection also by Kaisercraft. The black stripe paper is by 7 gypsies called “Numero” from the Antiquaries Postale Collection.

Within the center or the frame I’ve added Natural Hessian Fabric - the image of the couple is actually from a scrapbooking paper, again by 7 Gypsies and it’s called “Grace” from the Trousseau Collection. I finished the frame with a metal label plate and some rub on’s which were from my own stash.

If you’re liking the background used to photograph this photo frame, it’s tissue paper by 7 Gypsies and it’s called “Keys“.

You are reading You’ve Been Framed – Take Two by Paula Whittaker originally posted on Calico Crafts. If you've enjoyed this post, be sure to follow Calico Crafts on Facebook or Twitter

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This was originally one of these……a triple pine frame on rope hanger. To look at it…….it screams to be decorated with shells and seasidey stuff…..but that would be far too boring! So i pulled off the rope and peeled away the glue……and ended up three perfect looking little frames.

To give the frames a bit of a base…….i gave them a watered down coat of americana acrylic whitewash. Next i mixed some Burnt Sienna and Burnt Umber acrylic paint and added lots of water……so it was basically a wash rather than a coat of paint. I always have kitchen roll handy…..so i can scrub away the wash. You can always more if its not dark enough.

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Using a triangle stencil, an old credit card and some decorating paste……….around two of the frames. Heat dried to make the paste puff up a little. I then added some brown ink over the paste…….and then finally some Onyzite treasure Jewels Wax.

Ont the middle frame…..used embossing liquid through the stencil and then embossing powder.

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The letters are pre-cut grungeboard and have been mounted onto grungeboard squares. Painted with black acrylic………dried…….sanded back……..and then brown ink added to the sanded areas.

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Using the mountboard inserts that came with the frames……..i glued some pages from an old book…..and then added a watered down coat of bronze paint..allowing the script to show through.

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To finish the frames off i edged them all with Treasure Gold Wax in copper.

Thats me for this week. See you again soon.

xxxx

You are reading It’s All About ART….. by Lesley originally posted on Calico Crafts. If you've enjoyed this post, be sure to follow Calico Crafts on Facebook or Twitter

The Calico Crafts shop has now started stocking the fab Tando range of chipboard, so today I thought I’d share a little something I made from the Triple Arch set….

The set comes in bits, so you can put it together in your own way. I altered the base layer first, then added the cut out arch sections later. After I’d covered the solid base with book pages, I gave it a wash of white paint. I then smeared over turquoise paint to add the colour. A little stamping with black ink and purple paint too….

Once this was dry I glued on the first of the three layers of open arches. My little girl was then glued on, then the other two layers of arches added on top. This way, the figure has a little depth….

I then glued more book pages all around the edges, effectively sealing it all together. once dry, the edges all got the same painty treatment as the base.

The wooden heart was given a few layers of red paint, then a coat of crackle glaze. I added the word stickers, then a touch of Glossy Accents to give shine…

The letter stickers were also added to the other two arches, and I added tiny star embellishments as a final touch

I do like these arches, lots of possibilities!!!

Have a great week everyone!

Love Trish xxxx

You are reading Live Laugh Love by Trish originally posted on Calico Crafts. If you've enjoyed this post, be sure to follow Calico Crafts on Facebook or Twitter

Paula here again, I want to share with you a simple idea on giving a photo frame a quick makeover using some 7 Gypsies scrapbooking paper. The frame is one I had myself, I glued the paper down on to the front of the frame and then cut the excess off using a craft knife and then cut the centre out – I’ve inked the edges brown.

• 7 Gypsies ‘Global’ Collection – the paper name is ‘Greco’
• Within the centre of the frame I’ve added Natural Hessian Fabric
• The purple coloured tags at the top of the frame are cut from the 7 Gypsies ‘Camden’ Collection – the papers name is ‘Columbia’

Finally, I’ve added a flower image cut from a magazine, added some rub ons and stamping from my own stash.

You are reading You’ve Been Framed by Paula Whittaker originally posted on Calico Crafts. If you've enjoyed this post, be sure to follow Calico Crafts on Facebook or Twitter

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For todays post, I’ve re-used a paper bag which I got through buying some very yummy chocolates (the things I do for the sake of crafting!) Anyhow, I decided to decorate said bag with the new Kaisercraft papers from the 75 Cents Collection . The papers I used are;

• Dime (both sides)
• Penny
• Tuppence (both sides)

The main image of the lady, has been cut out of a piece of 7 gypsies paper called “Always” from the Trousseau Collection.

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The mini black ruler is by 7 Gypsies , the metal brad comes from an Oldies Vintage Style Brads set.

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You are reading Decorated Bag by Paula Whittaker originally posted on Calico Crafts. If you've enjoyed this post, be sure to follow Calico Crafts on Facebook or Twitter