Feeling artsy

For years I wanted to do something artsy, and I mean using my hands and not on the computer.
Glue and me don’t go together though, so I’ve started many projects only to abandon them in different stages of construction. Many different stages, but never finished!

When I stumbled upon the cutest signs at a store (the equivalent of the dollar store, I suppose) I knew this was it.. now or never.. so I bought them and started fumbling.
It certainly was trial and error, but I’ve learned from my mistakes and am really happy with the results. More signs are being worked on, hoping to show them off soon πŸ™‚

Crafting

These are some of the things I used for the signs. You can pick whatever (scrapbooking)paper you have. If you’re like me, your supplies are more than enough for loads of signs πŸ™‚

Supplies I used:

    Paintbrushes (small and large)
    Scrapbook paper
    Scissors and hobby knife
    Glue dots
    Adhesive tape
    Mod Podge (I used Matte)
    Distress Ink (Tim Holtz)
    Ink blending tool
    Sanding paper

Embellishments

    Flowers
    Lace
    Hearts
    Ribbon
    Little bows
    Buttons
    anything from your supplies that looks good πŸ™‚

First I painted the sign white. Used the small brush to get into the tiny spots that needed covering and the large brush on the front and back, so you get even strokes.
You don’t have to paint the front, but I wanted to make sure that – if by accident the paper wouldn’t cover the sign completely – you would still see a white sign and not the original brown.

Let it dry completely. Although the paint I used seemed to dry very quickly, I wanted to be sure it was really dry before I started adding things.

The second hardest part: deciding which paper(s) to use.
You could cover the complete sign with only one paper, but I wanted to do the letters seperately.
For the sign in the pics I used one paper, but cut the letters one by one, making sure that the pattern was not connecting to the next letter.
I’m now working on another sign for which I’ve used two sorts of paper, the colours match but the pattern is different. Or you can go wild and use a totally different paper for each letter.
It’s up to you, it’s YOUR masterpiece you’re creating πŸ™‚

The hardest part: tracing the letters and cutting them out. So many tiny curves and twists, this wasn’t crafty as I imagined, this was a chore!!! This was the point where I wished for an ‘undo’ button!
I used sanding paper to smoothen the edges of the paper (to get rid of any cutting marks) and at the same time roughen up the edges to give it the ‘old paper’ look. Then I inked the edges with the distress ink.
Once that is done, the fun part begins!

Cover the sign with Mod Podge and stick the paper to the letters. Not pressing too hard at first, so you can still reposition the paper until you’re satisfied.
Once that is completely dried, cover everything with Mod Podge again, thus protecting the paper.
Then look at your embellishment supplies and start putting items on your sign – don’t attach them yet, just put them on, change positions, turn them a bit to the left or the right, add another item and fiddle along until you like what you see.
Then you can use the glue dots, adhesive tape, glue or Mod Podge to attach them to the sign.

Et voila:

Crafty

A gift for a dear friend of mine πŸ™‚

Craft detail

Craft detail

Craft detail

The tiny roses in the last pic were white, I’ve used Distress Ink (Tattered Rose and Victorian Velvet) to colour them.

HOME

I’m now working on the ‘Love’ sign. Thought that was appropriate with Valentine’s Day on the way, but then I thought of something totally different. Brilliant, even if I say so myself πŸ˜€ Almost finished, just need to add the finishing touches.
Watch this space!

queenantoinette

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6 Comments so far

  1. Whaattt this is AMAZING Antoinette!
    Please make more things? πŸ™‚

  2. Sara on February 9th, 2014 at 09:12
  3. AWESOME – and I so understand what you mean about using your hands not the computer πŸ™‚ thatΒ΄s what IΒ΄m doing these dayΒ΄s too. But I do love what you have done with those amazing signs you have.
    Tora recently posted..WORLDWIDE CHRISTMAS SCRAPBOOKING FREEIESMy Profile

  4. Tora on February 9th, 2014 at 12:16
  5. Well what a lovely gift. You did a great job twonny xxx

  6. Flutter on February 10th, 2014 at 00:33
  7. […] Feeling artsy – 1 freebie(s)? […]

  8. CraftCrave | DigiFree | CraftCrave on February 10th, 2014 at 05:25
  9. thank you for putting a really good list together as this is something I have been wanting to try myself, many thanks again and love what you did with the home sign xx
    sal recently posted..Using up those freebies you get in the magazinesMy Profile

  10. sal on February 10th, 2014 at 11:44
  11. […] you missed my previous post, check the HOME SIGN post for instructions on how to decorate a sign (I’m no expert, so it’s only MY way of […]

  12. Sparky's Scratches » Blog Archive » I LOVE London on February 14th, 2014 at 00:25

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