3D picture in frame

Materials needed:

3 Identical serviettes in a design of your choice

Wooden frame in a size to fit the serviette design.

Acrylic paint

Decoupage glue spray can

Double sided tape/squares

 

Take 3 identical serviettes of your choice. Remove all the back layers of the serviettes and keep o

Paint the frame with acrylic paint. Spray decoupage glue on the back of the first serviette and let it dry for approximately 2 minutes. Stick serviette onto the painted backboard (white background seems to be best in this design) of the frame. This completes your first layer.

Take the remaining 2 serviettes (printed layer only) and stick each one onto a piece of white paper using decoupage glue spray.

Cut out the objects on the paper backed serviettes that you would like to use for a 3nd or 3rd dimensional effect.

Stick the cuts onto your picture (first layer) with double sided tape so that objects in the middle ground have 2 layers and the objects in the  foreground have 3 layers so as to create depth and perspective.

Your completed picture should now have a realistic 3D effect.

nly the printed top layers for this project.

Instructions:

2 sheets of white paper

Foil greeting card techniques

Materials needed:
Foil (specialised foil - almost like gold leaf only thicker)
glue pen
card stock
carbon paper
pen
stencil
scissors

Foiling is to hilight certain areas of a card or scrap booking. Everyone loves a little bling!
This is a great technique to make your cards really special. It can be used to make recipe cards, photo albums or pictures. It is also great for school projects.
Using a glue pen (just like a typex pen), relax your hand and holding it in an upright positon start writing or drawing your message or design. The glue pen I got is blue (apparently so I can see what I'm doing and so that it can show you when its time to put on the foil as it starts to fade and become transparent when it's ready). It takes between 5 - 20 minutes to change its colour. The gtreat thing about this glue pen is that it remains tacky and you can leave your project half way through or overnight before plaing your foil.
Place your foil onto your glue, always colour side up, then press down firmly using your fingers, palm of your hand or fist to ensure that it is covered properly. Once you see the oultine of your desing showing through the foil ( the glue seems to emboss it) you can remove the foil to see you work of art.
Bear in mind that should you place your foil on the glue when it isn't ready (changed colour) it will destroy your design. I tested it on a small piece of paper to see whether I could get it to do anything and failed dismally. LOL. So follow these instructions and you should have no problems what so ever.
Another trick to foiling is that when you're scrap booking and need straight lines, you can use double sided tape (the cellotape kind)  and place it down on you paper or card stock. Lift the backing and then place your foil. It works the same way as the glue does but without the use of a ruler. The result is perfectly straight lines every time.
If using a stencil, you can trace your picture onto the paper (same as using a font from your computer). Once you have copied your design, you can go over the lines with your glue pen. Wait for the glue to dry (change colour) and then begin your foiling.

Good luck foiling. Remember it's a great way to keep your kiddies busy too. I have started getting my 4 year old interested in arts and crafts and she's really enjoying making things all shiny.

Decoupage Tissue box - and the possibilities of using blanks

What is a blank?It's a superwood design/base (i.e. tissue box, utensil/remote holder, tray etc) with no patterns, just raw wood. It can be bought from any craft store. Superwood tends to be dusty, so before you start working with it, you should clean it off. Most people use a brush to brush the dust off, but I use some acetone on cottonwool to wipe it down and leave it to dry for a couple of minutes. The possibilities with blanks are very diverse. They can be pewtered, mosaiced, decoupaged, painted etc. Whatever your medium ... the possibilities are endless.

Materials needed:
Tissue Box blank
craft glue
scissors
sanding blick
cork (can be bought in metre sheets from craft or hardware store)
tissue paper (same as found in shoe boxes) or paper of your choice
Acrylic paint (water based so dries quickly) I used Metalique Antique silver and Metalic Mink (Brown)
Modge Podge
Hard varnish (bought from any craft store)

Paint the inside of your tissue box before you start the outside of the box. I painted mine Metalic Mink (between a metalic brown and gold) as it's the best way to integrate it into my tv room without it being an eyesore.
Ensure that you shake up your craft glue before using it. Take a Tablespoon of the craft glue and place it in a glass bowl, to which you add an additional 2 tablespoons of water. Stir it until its a runny consistency.
Take your tissue paper (shoe box paper). I used the normal white/grey paper.  Measure the paper against the box to get a more accurate size. Once you have the correct amount of paper to cover a side of your box, cut it out a couple of cm's bigger. Once it is cut out or torn to size, you can crumple the paper up into a little ball. Apply the runny glue to the box and work quickly as it dries really fast. Unravel your paper so that its got all the creases (this gives it a lot of impact and the end result looks like you used a really difficult paint technique to achieve the result) Pat your tissue paper to the box ensuring that you dont tear the paper, keep as much of the crinkles in the paper, so that you dont tighten it up too much and lose the appeal. Using a little of the glue again you can brush it over the top of the paper again. This makes the paper flatten to the box, but it still keeps all the wrinkles (which I have to admit gives a fabulous texture). Continue doing this on all the sides and lid of the box. Once finished leave it to dry. I was impatient so I used a hairdryer and it sped up the process.
Once it has dried, the excess paper on the sides of the box can be sanded off with a sanding block (which is available at any hardware store). At a 45 degree angle and using the roughest side you sand down so that you do not remove the paint on the inside of the box and only the paper. The paper will start to tear off and take the exact shape of the box without having the sterile lines of a scisssor or craft knife.
Once you have got the excess paper off, its time to paint. I used the Metalic Mink again and used the hairdryer to dry it. Once the brown colour was on, I started dry brushing Acrylic Antique silver over the top with a hard stubby brush. Dry brushing is when you lightly dip your brush into paint and wipe all the excess paint off again onto a tissue or cloth before applying it (this means the brush is dry with only a little bit of pigment on the brush). Remember the more paint you dry brush onto your product the darker the finished product. I broke the rules and started apply the paint lightly without dry brushing and quickly used a soft cloth to rub the paint in. This effect was amazing. The brown started to show through the silver and was a more finished surface than the dry brushing would have been. This technique picks up the texture beautifully.
Once happy with your tissue box and paint technique, you begin to apply the modge podge. Let the modge podge dry between layers. Modge podge is extensively used in decoupage. It is quite forgiving so if you use too much it will still dry and have the same effect as if it was done the correct way. There is no incorrect way of applying modge podge - except too little. When you have finished layering the modge podge (I only found it necessary to layer it twice), you seal it off with hard varnish. A minimum of 2 coats of hard varnish are to be applied. Once you have sealed your product with the varnish you should leave it to stand for atleast 24 hours before you use it.
Finally you should cork the bottom of the tissue box so that it doesn't scratch the surface of your table or any furniture you decide to display it on.
You can embellish your box with whatever you like. You can buy small metal plates, use pewter, gems ... the possibilities are endless and entirely up to you. I only used a bit of pewter in each corner of my box and the result was so sophisticated.
I impressed myself with this project.

Decorative Pewter embelished Note book

I still had a little pewter paper left over from my gecko project so decided to put another "show me how" to the test. I recently started rewriting my recipe books into hard cover books. I covered these books with some black and grey wall paper and proceeded to put the pewter to the test.

Materials:
Pewter sheet
Tracer Tool
Ball/Teflon tool
Paper pen
Felt/soft cloth
Latex gloves
Patina
Cotton wool
Metal polish (brasso)
Glue
Brush
Glass board or hard surface to work on.

Decide on which book you would like to use. There are some nice ones available in stationary stores but if like me you want to use a normal note book, it can be covered in any medium. You can work with stencils. I used a stencil (flexible plastic) which is mainly used for borders on walls. I bought it at a hardware store. If you decide to stencil your name or initials into the pewter, you can print out the font you want (in big letters) from the computer and just trace it onto your pewter sheet. Remember when doing letters that the embossing should be back towards the front and in mirror image. Once you trace the letters you will emboss them with a teflon or ball tool a little bit bigger than it already is. Once done, flip it over onto a hard surface and start giving definition by flattening the areas all around the letters to make it stand out a bit more.
Going back to the stenciling that I used. I took my scrap pewter strip which is bigger than the length of the book and taped the stencil to my pewter so that it wouldn't shift while I was working on it. I flipped the pewter over so that the stencil was at the bottom of the paper. Ensure that your stencil and paper is on a hard smooth surface (on my marble kitchen counters did the trick). Then using my fingers I started gently rubbing the pattern through the paper and watched as the pattern started to take shape. You can feel with your finger where the actual design is as pewter is like a thick version of tin foil. Using your paper pen, you can roll it against your actual design so that it gives more definition. You can press quite a bit harder to pick up the design. If at any stage you feel that your paper pen is scratchy, you can rub a little oil over the pewter surface with cottonwool.
Using a teflon tool, follow the edges of your stencil to give it a nice crisp definition of the outline. Because the stencil against the hard surface of the counter is shallow, I didn't need to fill the indentations with bees wax, as it would keep its shape.
Once you have finished this stage, you can use a textured template or free hand if you're quite artistic. Placing your pewter strip onto the textured template, use your paper pen and start rubbing the design through your paper. Make sure that you tape the paper down so that it doesn't shift half way.
Place the pewter sheet (once you are happy with your design) onto newspaper. Using latex gloves (as patina is really messy and will stain your hands), dab some patina onto a piece of cotton wool and start applying to your design. The reaction to the metal is instantaneous and will start turning black. Should you apply too much, the excess can be dabbed up with kitchen towel. Leave it to dry. It takes approximately a minute to dry, depending on the weather. Once dry, take the metal polish and cotton wool and remove as much of the black from the design as you prefer. Some people like it really dark and others not. This procedure gives good definition as it starts to resemble shadows. Once you are happy with the amount of black still on your design, you can start buffing off the metal polish with another piece of dry cottonwool or batting. Using the cottonwool and elbow grease you must buff the pewter to a shine. Once you have finished, its time to cut out your design with a craft knife or "cutter".
Because I only used a strip of pewter to embellish my book, I left one side straight to go against the spine of my book and cut around the other side of my design to give it some interest. If you have really straight lines, a scisssors can be used to cut the pewter. You can use a pewter glue (which adheres to any surface) or a normal contact adhesive which I used. Glue the strip down, folding in the extra length into the inside of the book to give it a nice finished look.

Voila!!!!! Amazing new recipe book, which I can now leave out and not feel embarrassed by.
Also this is a great idea for "diaries" or "note books" for friends and family. I hope you try this out as it really is fun to create.

Using pewter on "blanks" - Judy's first experiment with arts and crafts

I love gecco's and what better way to put the pewter lesson to the test than this. I started off on this venture to see whether the average joe like me can actually become creative by following some simple instructions and it turned out to be easier than I originally thought it would be. The pewter turned out to be no more expensive than I would have paid for the entire item somewhere else - but then it would not have been a one of a kind either.


Materials Needed:
Koki Pen
Tracer tool
Ball/Teflon pen
Paper pen (rolled paper)
felt/soft cloth
latex gloves
patina
cotton wool
metal polish (brasso)
Glue
Brush
Decorative stones.

You can buy a superwood blank (in this case a gecko) at a decopage or craft store or choose a shape you really like and cut it out of wood. Paint your blank with ordinary PVA paint (I used black). Measure your blank according to width and length, add another 2 cms to ensure that you have enough pewter for your design. Place your "blank" (gecko) on the sheet of pewter and trace your outline onto the pewter with a koki pen. This is to ensure that your actual design fits perfectly onto your "blank". Using another piece of paper, trace another blank (gecko) and design or trace the pattern you intend on using before putting it down on the actual pewter sheet. Once you are satisfied with the end result of your pattern, you can begin.
Place the pewter sheet down on a soft surface (I used a piece of felt - cut the size of a placemat). This is so that the pattern you want to trace is done on a soft surface to ensure a clear outline of the design on the pewter. Taking a ball tool you begin to trace the pattern on your piece of paper onto your pewter sheet. Taking care not to press too hard (use as you would a normal ball point pen). Decide in advance which stones/gems you want to use on your blank (gecko) and making use of a round stencil draw a circle about two sizes bigger than the actual stone so that when the blank is completed, it can just be glued into place. If you have long straight lines in your design, it would be advisable to use a ruler instead of free hand so that it has a neater appearance. Once you have traced the design onto the pewter and the design is clear, it will be easier to follow the pattern.
With your pewter still on your felt sheet you begin to emboss the pattern with your teflon tool (no lubrication is needed as this tool just glides over the pewter sheet). Start defining the lines of your pattern. Press a little harder in the lines to stretch the pewter and emboss the lines. Its important to get an even smooth movement and try not apply too much pressure as you get uneven lines - just use natural even strokes. Once it's done, flip the pewter sheet over and on a smooth flat hard surface you use your paper pen (rolled paper) to flatten the surface around your traced lines. (you could say that you're colouring in between the lines). This process makes the lines stand out more. If the paper pen feels like its scratching the surface or more sluggish to push around, you can use a cotton pad/cotton wool with a little oil which can be rubbed over the surface of the pewter to ensure a smooth movement of the tool. This step is all about adding definition to your pattern. The more you work at flattening the surfaces around your  traced lines, the more the pattern starts developing.
Once you have finished flattening /colouring in your design you will have to fill the deeper lines. The smaller lines will not collapse on your final design, but the deeper ridges will have to be filled to keep your design. Bees wax, industrial wax or micro wax can be used. The wax is meleted down and filled into the open spaces using a glass dropper or syringe - ensuring that it does not overflow as this will hamper the final outcome of your design.
When using pewter, you can decide whether you want to leave it at this stage and have a shiny silver design or whether you want to antique it. I personally prefer the antiqued look. Use newspaper when doing the patina as it is quite messy. Place your design (wax side down) on top of newspaper. Use gloves (as the patina tends to stain your hands). Using a cottonwool ball or a piece of batting, apply the patina onto the design. The reaction is immediate and it turns black. If you put too much patina on your design, the excess can be blotted with paper towelling. Once the patina is dry (usually 1 - 2 minutes) you take a piece of cotton wool with metal polish (brasso) and start taking the patina off on the raised surfaces. Keep polishing until you have got your desired look. Using the clean side of the cotton wool, rub the excess brasso off your pattern. Then using a clean piece of cotton wool and elbow grease you mmust buff the pewter until it is clean and shiny.
Flipping the pewter sheet over once again to show the wax side and the outline you drew at the beginning of the lesson. Apply the glue to your blank (gecko) and place it inbetween the lines you drew earlier to ensure that the design is attached to the wood perfectly. Turn the cross over once again and leave the glue to dry. Once the glue is dry, use your fingers and gently press the pewter down on the edges so that you can see the outline/edge of the blank. Then using a sharp knife (starting in the corners) cut along the edge of the blank. This ensures that the pewter fits the blank perfectly.
Finally glue your finishes (semi precious stones/gems) into place.

Result: An absolute original and classy Gecko.