Monday, March 19, 2012

Miniature Quilling

These are a garden dish and pot of gerbera daisies I made for fun. I used 3/8" denim paper for the pots and added a strip of printed paper around the rim. I cut a small foam ball in half and placed in each pot. After adding the flowers and punched leaves, I filled the pots with brown and green loose rolls using 1/8" strips. The loose curls are approximately 1/4" to 1/2" in length and not glued at the ends- a big time saver. I used chalk on some of the leaves in the garden dish. When finished, I added more glue to the insides to secure it all together.

I hope this inspires you to make something fun!



Have a great week!
-Molly


Tuesday, March 13, 2012

Quilled St. Patrick's Day elements

I found this in a box and laughed at the order of the rainbow colors. What was I thinking? This was in one of the NAQG newsletters back when I was doing theme elements, so I looked up the measurements to share here.
 Shamrock - Four Leaf Clover: 4" teardrops made into hearts

Pot of Gold: 36" loose circle shaped, 3" handles (wrapped around a dowel and shaped), 3" tight rolls for feet

Gold: 1.5" loose circles

Rainbow: 5" spirals

Clouds: various lengths from 3" (3), 6", 8" (3), 10" and 12"

Have a great week!
-Molly


Friday, March 2, 2012

Chalkboard Grocery List Center

I have been wanting to add a grocery list center to the inside of my cabinet forever! I finally got it done this week. It was much easier than I envisioned.

It went from THIS to THAT!

You will need a thick acrylic paint (any color) and 1 tbsp. of white non-sanded grout for every 4 oz. of paint.  Mix together and stir for about a minute. You will have bumps of grout but these will blend in when painting.

Seal your paint between coats. I covered with foil and set a heavy book on top. Discard remaining paint in the trash, not down the sink.

Take your time to mask the area with painter's tape. Cover all edges.

Paint the area with two coats, letting the first coat dry for about two hours.

Remove painter's tape, clean up any oops areas and allow to dry at least two days. "They" say three days but I was running my ceiling fan.

I forgot to take a photo of curing the surface. Rub the side of a piece of chalk over the entire surface and erase before using.


I covered a small paper mache box for paper lists, pencil and chalk.


I covered a 3" x 6" piece of cork with coordinating paper.
I finally get to use the kitchen theme tacks I've had forever!

This is the final result!


If you don't want to mix your own chalkboard paint, there are brands of chalk paint ready to use. I couldn't find a red shade I liked and already had all the supplies. This cost me $3 in paint. You can also buy a quart size of black for large wall projects. And it does come in a spray can to quickly cover objects that may be difficult to hand paint.

Have a great weekend :)
-Molly