A Few Odds and Ends

We’re getting ready for our family vacation, so I’m sitting on my hands and not starting any new projects. It’s hard! I got a pad of really neat scrapbook paper last weekend and am DYING to do something with it! I need to focus my attention elsewhere though, so am just going to have to tough it out until we get back. We are renting a cute little cabin in central Washington with my cousin and her husband, and there will be NO internet access either, so I guess I’ll be going through all sorts of withdrawals! Seriously, it should be fun- we’ll do some fishing, hiking, canoeing (if my cousin is able to bring their canoe). I also have some books that I’ll bring in the hopes that I can find a nice shady spot on the lake to park and read. Is it the weekend yet??!

Anyway, before that, I have a couple of new things to share. First up is a card I created for a monochromatic card challenge in the Yahoo paper crafts group I belong to. I really wanted to go with purple for this challenge, but when I went through my paper supply, I didn’t have any purple papers that didn’t have some other color on them. I had several pink ones though, so that’s what I went with, even though pink is not one of my favorite colors:

I’m not sure I love the monochromatic look- but heck, I’ll try anything once! I think it turned out pretty nice. I’m going to send it to my step-mom, along with the purple photo bookmark with my kids’ pictures on it.

Next up is a couple of interesting experiments I did with pressed flowers. I’ve been thinking lately that I would like to expand what I’m offering in my Etsy shop, so have been thinking up other things I might be able to do with them. I have had this idea floating around in my head for awhile of making a card with pressed flowers on it, but the hard part about that is that the flowers are so delicate, so would have to be protected somehow. I’ve been mulling around the idea of a decoupaged card- I have never done any decoupage before, but have seen plenty of shows on HGTV to know what it is and generally how it works. So, off to Michael’s I went to look for Mod Podge. Who knew there were SO many different kinds?! I was glad to see that there is one for paper amongst all of the varieties. When I discussed my idea for a decoupaged card with my BFF Kendra, she mentioned that warping of the paper might be a problem, because liquid glue tends to do that. So I have hopes that the Mod Podge for paper will solve that problem. My original plan was to do one of these decoupaged cards for the monochromatic card challenge, but I was limited on time so decided to put it off until I have time to think about the design and not have to rush through making it. So, no, I don’t have one to share this time.

In the meantime, though, I started thinking about other things that could be decoupaged with pressed flowers, and the first thing that came to mind was picture frames. I picked up a couple of unfinished ones at Michael’s for pretty cheap, and here’s what I did with those:

This first one uses pansies with a metallic gold tissue paper that I found at Michael’s. I used the regular gloss-finish Mod Podge for this. I really like how this one turned out! The only thing I’d do differently next time is try to use a tissue paper that is not quite so metallic. I like the gold, but wish it wasn’t so shiny. I know I’ve seen gold and silver tissue with more of a matte finish, so will be on the lookout for that after vacation. The Mod Podge is easy to work with, but I did end up having to use a few coats of acrylic spray on top of it, because even when it dries, it remains a bit soft and tacky. The acrylic spray took care of that though, and gives it a nice, even, and solid shiny finish.

Here is the other frame that I did. Recognize this design from my Etsy shop??

This one is…OK. I’m not knocked over by it or anything. I think I used too many daisies, and that makes it look at bit too busy. My daughter loves it though, so I will probably give it to her. I used the gold tissue on the raised edges for this one, and it works really well here. The green background is card stock that I cut down to size and glued in with Aileen’s Tacky Glue, then decoupaged the daisies with the gloss-finish Mod Podge. That issue I mentioned about the paper warping? Yeah, Kendra was right about that. It did get a bit warped while the Mod Podge was still wet, but once it dried, it was not so bad. Still, in the future, I will make sure that I use the Mod Pod for paper on things like this. This frame is not quite done- I still need to finish it with the acrylic spray, then I’m sure Meredith will find a picture to put in it for her room.

This was a great learning experience, if nothing else. I learned that if I’m going to decoupage pressed flowers, darker colored flowers work best. The white daisies, while very pretty and one of my favorites, become opaque when they come in contact with the Mod Podge, as did the lighter yellow pansies. Next time, I will have to be more careful about putting light colored flowers on a dark background for that reason. Tissue paper works great for decoupage, because the Mod Podge can act as both the glue and the finish for it. However, card stock is heavy enough that it needs stronger glue for adhering it to something else. Hopefully with these lessons learned, my next experiments with this will turn out better. I might actually list the pansy frame in my Etsy shop, but not until I have a few other items to list as well. My next venture will be to Goodwill to see about getting some frames that I can embellish in a similar way, so after vacation, that’s what I will be working on.

Don’t forget to leave me some feedback on your top 10 favorite bookmark designs in my previous post! Thanks to everyone who has entered so far- I’d still love some more feedback!

That’s it for now- see you all after vacation!