Trinket Boxes

Things I Learned:

• You get what you pay for. The smaller, inexpensive boxes aren't really the best quality. The other boxes were too big for my nieces right now though. If I were to do this again, I might look elsewhere for some similar size, but higher quality boxes. That said, with a little sanding, they came out fine.

• Flockin' ain't easy. Well, maybe it is, but putting the unused texture back in the bag isn't. The person who originally told me about it suggested that I use a sponge brush to apply the adhesive (bottom left) so that there would be no chance of the brush shedding bristles. The guy at the store handed me some brushes and since he did that, I figured they would be fine for the project. Let's just say that I will be using a sponge brush next time. The actual flocking was fun though (bottom right).

 

• Choose your images wisely. Google images makes it pretty easy to find images. If you're making a box with some kind of insert, make sure that you notice whether or not portions of it will be covered and leave a border if necessary. 

• Choose your design strategically. I made the Minnie Mouse box first and discovered that it was pretty hard to paint different parts of the same section different colors. So both the box and lid had red and black. With the Frozen box, I made the box one color and the lid another color and it was a lot easier to get it painted. Also, I used holes from a regular hole puncher for the polka dots on the Minnie Mouse box. I should have tried stamping snowflakes on the Frozen one but it didn't occur to me until I had already used my star punch.

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This project had a lot of steps and wait time (mainly because of the painting and flocking). It was tons of fun though and my nieces loved them.  #missionaccomplished

Photo Canvas Transfer

So, you may have noticed that I tried to transfer a photo to wood with my boyfriend and the first attempt didn't go too well. The fact that I now have the gel medium and a ton of 5x7" canvases for other crafts, made me want to try the same thing on canvas which I have also seen on Pinterest. I also recently saw a pin where you use Mod Podge to just attach an actual photo to canvas. So . . . in the interest of blogging scientifically . . .  I did the same picture with two different techniques and blogged about the results!

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Here is the picture I started with and you can see how much I had to trim to get it to fit on the canvas without extending beyond it. After looking at the actual version from my phone, I noticed that a lot of it got cut off when I uploaded it and forced it to be a 5x7" on Shutterfly. I may start resizing my images using Lightroom in the hopes that they'll come out a little better.

I started by painting the sides of the canvas black. I bought those "cookies" at a place called Rockler Lumber. They're amazing! No more having to balance what I paint on a paper plate and hoping the item doesn't stick--or worse, balancing it on my finger/hand and hoping it doesn't fall.

Next, I put a layer of Mod Podge on the actual canvas followed by another layer on the photo itself. You can see that I got a little of the glue in some spots, but I didn't worry too much because I knew I would eventually add another layer to seal it.

The finished version is down below. (Please know that it came out better than it looks in the photograph.) 

I like transferring photos to canvas a whole lot better than I do wood. I really like the way it looks with the sides painted black. (I ended up doing the same thing  for two Christmas gifts.) This has made me think that maybe I could sell some of my photographs this way. I'm just worried that my photography hobby won't be fun if it seems like work. For now, I think I'll stick to just doing this for gifts here and there.

Wait!

Science called. It wanted to know what happened to the other experiment. Look at the picture below (yes, I forgot to reverse it) and then let's never speak of it again.

Photo Wood Transfer "Project"

The boyfriend wanted to craft! Excuse me--I mean, the boyfriend wanted to do "a project."

Yesterday, while we were driving to dinner and I was talking about some crafts I wanted to make as Christmas gifts, he mentioned that he had seen a  photo transferred to wood and that he would like to do something like that for his mother this Christmas. This morning at breakfast, he showed me How to Transfer Prints to Wood: An Awesome Photography DIY Project and we talked about a photo that he had sent me for another craft that failed. (Future blog post!) Two hours later, we were at Michael's getting wood [insert adolescent male joke here] and the gel medium we needed. That's really all we needed for what we planned to do. That and a boning tool [insert another adolescent male joke here].

The Picture: We sized the picture to be as close to 8" x 10" as we could. Before printing it, we also made it black and white and upped the contrast because the site said to do so. He had already started applying the gel medium before I could take my usual nice picture of all the supplies. (He's not impatient or anything.) The picture below was the best I could do.

The Project: He applied a medium layer to the wood with a sponge brush (not pictured) and then placed the picture over it. He smoothed out as much as he could and then went to go lie down, leaving me with a few minutes to sit down and start typing this blog. 

The Outcome: We had to wait overnight for it to dry. When we revisited the project, we wet a sponge the way I saw in another video and between that and his fingers, my boyfriend did his best to wipe the paper away. As you can see in the picture below, he was able to pull off big strips of the paper. 

What we eventually discovered, however, was that there major areas where the photo didn't really transfer. There's a good chance that we didn't use enough of the gel medium, because subsequent videos on Youtube have shown people using a good amount of it and encouraging us to do so. It might also be because the wood was too soft. I watched a video with two British guys who had a similar result and commented that the wood was too soft. (Am I the only who thinks it's hilarious that "soft wood" doesn't work?) Then I watched another video, where the lady said to use birchwood because it has a smooth finish and will transfer the image nicely.

The pictures below show the project in various stages of "being done." While I had initially convinced my boyfriend that the some of the imperfections were perfect and part of the project, he eventually convinced me this was not something we could give his mother for Christmas. He started another one and I will either update this blog or do an entirely new one because I used the same technique and gel medium to try this on an actual canvas.

As fun as it was to "project" with him, I think I enjoy crafting solo a little better. My boyfriend is just as stubborn as I am and leaves my office/crafting room a mess. I can't complain too much though: the wet sponge he left on my long desk (not pictured) soaked through the bottom of the protective paper and ended up helping me take off some glue I thought was stuck on there permanently. Maybe I will let him "project" with me more often. 

Growth Chart Ruler

I'm lucky enough to have an entire week off in November. I vowed to do at least one craft during that time and I wanted it to be this growth chart ruler that I had seen--and pinned--a while ago. Here's how mine came out and the steps I took are down below:

Here are the materials I used:

• 6' plank of wood
• sawhorses
• medium sanding block
• painters tape
• measuring tape
• pencil
• black sharpie
• ruler
• 3" stencils
• wood stain (with brushes and a rag)

Step #1: First, I sanded all six (6) edges of the wood. (I still ended up with at least one rough spot that I didn't discover until later.)

Step #2: I laid a strip of painters tape down the middle and marked off the feet and half-feet using a pencil. Then, using the ruler and sharpie, I made the lines for the feet 3" long and the half-feet 1 3/4" long.

Step #3: I laid down another strip of tape closer to the edge and marked off the inches. I made those lines 1" long. Here's how it looked with all the lines drawn:

Step #4: Next, I used my stencils to draw the numbers and then the sharpie to fill them in. Be strategic as you color them in! I ended up with sharpie on my pinkie that smeared the outside of the three. I was able to sand it off but I ended up having to fill in the rest like a lady with my pinkie extended.

Step #5: I applied one coat of wood stain and left it on for about 15 minutes per the directions on the can. Then I had to wait about 4-6 hours for it to dry before I applied the second coat. Here's how it came out with two coats of the pecan stain I used: 

I stained the top first and then the following day, I wrote a message to my 9 month old nephew who will be receiving it for Christmas along with a Ralph Waldo Emerson quote about growth. Then I stained the back with two coats as well.

Final Notes and Comments: The entire project took 2 days because of the hours for the stain to dry. Steps 1-4 took about an hour and a half to two hours, but that was probably because I kept stopping to take pictures and text.

The one in the original pin that I followed started with 2 because it will be mounted 1' above the floor. I just made mine to be propped against a wall because I felt like it could be a cute decoration in the room too. Also, I did not put a finish on it because I was worried that my cousin and her husband wouldn't be able to write on it if I did. It's supposed to be a growth chart, after all. It would be cute to attach a picture every year too and I'm pretty sure it would adhere better sans finish.

This one is simple but you could stain it pink or blue if  you really wanted to match a bedroom décor (or gender code it). You could also decoupage images of whatever the kids are into (e.g., Minnie Mouse, Frozen, Big Hero 6, Cars, etc.).

Wood Craft Anniversary Gift

Check out what I made for my cousin's 10th anniversary!

Here is a screenshot of the original pinspiration (sic):

I bought a wooden canvas and word at Michaels. Maybe it was cheating, or maybe it was an example of crafting smarter, not harder.

Next, I used wood glue to attach the word to the canvas. 

Finally, I spray painted the entire thing white. I don't know how taggers and urban artists do it because no matter how hard I try, I CANNOT use spray paint without it splattering and making a mess. 

And here's the finished project!

#missionaccomplished