4/17/15 4/17/15

DIY Decoupage Dress Form & Homemade Modpodge Recipe

Last Friday morning I awoke with a mission. To paint a shelf and spruce up my office. The sprucing up of my office involved rearranging some books and tackling a dress form I had leaning against a wall because it was somehow broken in our move.It wasn't bothering me as you really couldn't tell it was "leaning" because the skirt of the Book Fairy costume I had on it kept it up right. However it was taking up serious real estate and I knew I either had to fix it. Give it away, or find some new purpose for it. I chose the latter and I got to recycle my costume as well.One handmade Book Fairy costume and one beat up dress form... Combined to become this lovely decorative addition that I love so much more.It was super easy to do.Here's how you can create your own DIY Decoupage Dress Form.If you have a beat up dress form like I did, simply remove the soft fabric cover and foam. Scrape away as much if not all of the foam you can. I used a sharp knife for the areas that were glued on and wouldn't just pull away. Once you've cleared away as much as the foam as possible you're ready to begin decoupaging.I didn't have enough Modpodge left to complete this project, and waiting the 10-12 days for Amazon to deliver it to me just wasn't an option. So I turned to Pinterest and discovered a ton of recipes for Modpodge, the one I used was so simple. I can't believe I'd not made some sooner. I found the recipe on this delightful blog called Lulatastic.To make your own decoupage glue you'll need:PVA Glue AKA Elmers Glue and water. That's it. Nothing else.I used 1 cup of Elmer's Glue All and 1/3 cup of water. Mix them together in a jar via a vigorous shaking and voila! You've got your very own Modpodge glue to decoupage to your heart's content! This formula produces a matte decoupage which is just how I prefer it.Once you've got your glue you're ready to begin to decoupage your dress form.In addtion to the glue, you'll need paper or fabric of your choosing to decoupage with, a brush and something to "smush" out the bubbles.When decoupaging I prefer to use a sponge-brush but you can use whatever sort of brush you like and something to flatten out the air-bubbles. On this particular occasion I used my fingers but a silicone spatula works great too. If you don't mind glue all over your fingers do it my way. If you'd rather not be taken back to elementary school, use gloves.To decoupage:Grab your paper dab the back with glue. Brush some glue onto your dress form, place the paper glue side down and brush the air bubbles away, any that don't come out smooth with your fingers or what-ever device you choose. Continue in this manner until you've completed your project. Overlapping as you go.Don't have a dress form? You can make your own. Grab and friend and some duct tape and head over to this page for the instructions on how to make your own DIY Dress Form.

7/14/12 7/14/12

DIY Laptop Cover - Personalized Deoupage

One of my favorite crafty activities to is cover something in paper and glue-otherwise known as découpage. This DIY laptop cover was super easy to create and it's all about the découpage!

de·cou·page - the art or technique of decorating something with cut-outs of paper, linoleum, plastic,or other flat material over which varnish or lacquer is applied.I’ve been searching for a cover for my laptop for well over a year, but couldn’t find anything I liked at the price I wanted to pay. A few weeks ago while browsing in Best Buy I came across a clear cover I liked. It was $50 which was still more than I wanted to pay, so it stayed in the store and I went on my way.That cover stayed in the back of my mind, until one day a few weeks ago I was at a Starbucks and I saw a woman with the same case in pink. Seeing it in action I got an idea for a craft project.I came home and searched Amazon and came across this clear case and instantly I knew, if I couldn’t find a case I liked, I’d make one! The best part, it was only $20.When it arrived I was momentarily disappointed because though the description said “crystal clear” it wasn’t. It was sort of foggy, I thought I’d have to return it, but a quick check proved that it would be suitable for my idea and I went about gathering the items I would need to craft a personalized lap top cover for my Mac.Supplies:

Lap top cover. I used this one from iPearl.
Mod Podge I like the matte version.
craft scissors I use these by Martha Stewart
flat paint brush – a good size for this is about 1 inch.
Paper, photos, post cards, what-ever you fancy, so long as it’s paper.
A printer if you'll be printing the images you use.

What I did…

I scoured the internet for phrases or little vintage photos I liked and printed them out. Then I gathered a few of my favorite Instagram pics and printed those out too. Add in some pretty scrapbook paper and pages from an old book and I had more than enough paper to cover my lap top sleeve.

I cut out or tore some of my pictures then got a lighter and burned the edges to further give it a vintage feel. I sort of had this image of an old foot locker with stamps from someone’s travels in my mind for inspiration-though it doesn’t really look like that.

Next I arranged the papers to get an idea of placement since I’d be working upside down I had to lift it up to see if I liked how the images meshed together.

Once I was ready, I laid out the paper on the table in front of me as close to my mock collage as possible.

Next, I slowly glued the papers overlapping them to create the collage. A little glue goes a long way -so it’s best to start out sparingly and add as you need. Please be sure to straighten out your papers to ensure there are no air bubbles otherwise your papers will be lumpy and that’s never a good look. Continue until you’re satisfied

Take your time around the rounded edges. I used my fingers to flatten it out and make it look even.

Then be sure to seal the outer layers -the ones on the inside of the cover with more Mod Podge.I suppose one could use any lap top cover they chose, if they decoupaged on the out-side, but for this project I wanted all of the crafting done from the inside.If you’ve never decoupaged before check out this tutorial. Here is a tutorial specifically for reverse collage -which is essentially what this project is. It’s also a good idea to practice on something first, to make sure you’ve gotten a feel for the technique, before you begin work on your cover. The good thing about this -if you’re not 100% satisfied with the end result, or you eventually get bored, you can soak your cover in a bit of acetone.

SaveThese are the products I recommend for this project: In case you’re wondering what/why I chose the things I did. I’ll tell you.Comic book strip -For it’s melodrama and color. There are three references to my favorite book, Pride & Prejudice. Swans are probably my favorite bird, and it’s got some meaning to my first novel. Rhett Butler & Scarlet O’hara, because these two characters, are probably among the best ever written. That little mirror graphic with “Yes you’re the fairest of them all.” I love Snow White, and I think it’s a good thing to look in a mirror and like the person you see. A snowy owl, I also love owls-but the vintage kitschy home decorating type. This one is to pay Homage to J.K. Rowling. Unicorns to remind me of magic. Freckles…because I’ve got them. “Corner of awesome…” -because I am. “Tell you’re story” and “you’re a writer”-just because. Finally, my husband and I-because he is my very own, story book, Prince Charming, come to life, romantic novel, drives me crazy, love at first sight, leading man.