Are You Tired of My "Upcycling" Yet?

I really hate that term. "Upcycling." I guess maybe it sounds too much like upchucking. ewww. I think we should rejuvenate or maybe reincarnate. Ooh--I like that!

This is the story of how a sad and dated (and a little mildew-y) Home Interiors picture was reincarnated into a lovely jewelry display.

Better, huh?

Our story begins with a musty dusty old landscape that was acquired at auction. Sort of. (Long story for another day.) It also involves some chalk paint, fabric (leftovers from a trunk I "reincarnated"), and nine decorative pulls. These came from Hobby Lobby and were purchased at 50% off (of course!), averaging $1.50 each.

It's a very pretty picture, but there was some mildew on the mat and the shiny brass frame seemed to scream "1980's!" Don't get me wrong--I LOVED the 80's, but come on....

I took everything apart, discarded the mildewed picture, and set the glass aside. (I WILL come up with a use for it!) Hang on to the backer--we'll use it in just a second. In these Home Interiors pieces it is usually very sturdy. Kind of like a very thick chipboard that is screwed into the frame.

First I painted the frame with white chalk paint and brushed on just a bit of antiquing gel to bring out the design. Once the paint dried I put on a couple coats of wax and buffed it to a nice soft sheen.

I thought it would be easier to get everything lined up without the fabric in the way, so I placed several decorative drawer pulls on the backing and marked their positions. (Make sure you put the top at the top and the bottom at the bottom, or you might not be able to use the hanger.) Then I used my Crop-a-dile to punch holes for the pulls to go through.

I used spray adhesive to hold the fabric in place on this one, but I have since made more and used regular old glue. I like using the spray better, but the liquid worked just as well as long as it was spread thin.

I trimmed away the excess fabric, right up to the edge of the backer board, and punched the holes again, this time going through just the fabric.

 Then it was time to add the pulls! Between two of the knobs I attached a short piece of chain for hanging earrings. The picture above^ shows the front,

and this picture shows the back. A pair of bolt cutters would probably work very nicely on these bolts that need to be cut, but, alas, there are no bolt cutters to be found in my home or garage. So I used the Dremel instead. It's a small electric rotary tool. You know, ladies--like the one your manicurist uses on your acrylic nails! There is a flat round blade that works like a tiny little circular saw and cuts those babies right off. But be warned--there are a lot of sparks involved! 

All that was left was to re-attach the backer to the newly painted frame, and hang it on the wall!

I just love it! It sold so fast at AvaBelle's that Mom and I each made another, so now we have two in our booth! Stop in and check them out sometime if you're in the neighborhood!

Thanks for stopping by! See you next time!

Chipboard Earrings. Really!

I skipped out on you again Friday. My apologies. Andy and I drove across the state to visit some friends we hadn't seen in about a year and a half. Ok--Andy drove and I read. I think it's the first time I've stayed awake for the entire drive there and back! We had a wonderful time. (We always do with Don & Janie!) The guys got to go to the driving range and Janie and I went to flea markets and garage sales and made cards and secret envelope boxes. What can I say--we're a wild and crazy bunch! 

A couple weeks ago I noticed a pair of earrings that Kathie Lee was wearing on the Today show. They were asymmetrical in shape--sort of an amoeba with no center--silver, and really big. I decided that I could probably make something similar with chipboard, aluminum foil tape, and some dies. This is what I came up with....

I made the big hearts first, because the Sizzix Tipsy Hearts die was my best candidate for chipboard. I wrapped some aluminum foil tape around chipboard, then ran it through the Cuttlebug to cut the middle sized heart. I had to use two strips of tape, but once it's embossed the seam barely shows. And the edges are compressed enough that you can't tell there is a layer of chipboard in the middle. After cutting the hearts, I embossed them with SU! Elegant Lines folder.  

The hearts turned out great, but I'm really not much of a heart jewelry person, so I decided I'd try some Nesties. Ugh. If you want to keep it simple, use a thick die or maybe try Nesties with heavy cardstock instead of chipboard. The Nesties wouldn't cut through the chipboard plus front and back layers of tape, so I cut the chipboard first, then wrapped the tape around, lined up the Nesties and ran it through again to cut the tape. Even then, I had to trim some where the tape didn't cut through. 

After embossing, all that's left is to add hooks. I tried to get creative with the scallop ovals, but I honestly like the look of the punch-hole-insert-jump-ring-add-hook method better! The smaller hearts at the bottom of the photo would already have hooks if I hadn't run out. 

Would you like a necklace to go with your new earrings? Just make one more piece and add a chain instead of a hook. I cut a small heart from the middle of a big heart to make this floating pendant. They could be colored with alcohol inks, but I don't think the tape would hold up to the sanding like the aluminum cans.

Hmmmm.... You know what I have to try now, don't you? Geez! I'm going to have to do a whole post of follow-up's for the ideas that come to me while I'm writing these! 

I hope some of my ideas are inspiring for you. Or at least that they encourage you to just get out some things and PLAY! See what you come up with. Then please leave a comment to inspire someone else!  

Thanks for stopping by! See you Friday!