(re)Purposeful: Sparrow Painting

Now that I am in my new digs, the familiar left behind, it's time to decorate MY way... put my own special brand of "Amy Attitude" all over these carpenter-grade, cream-colored walls!

I am not much of a painter, besides the occasional furniture re-do, but I had this vision of sparrows on a branch in my head and I wanted to see if I could make it happen. After digging through the jungle of boxes in my garage, I found an old ugly canvas of beige vases on a beige table in a beige room....beige, beige, beige, BLAH! The size was perfect for  behind my bed so I thought: Why not paint over it? Anything would be a major improvement!

So I spray-primed the entire surface of the canvas and let it dry overnight. The next morning I dug out some black semi-gloss interior paint and covered the beige twice for good measure. Already a HUGE improvement! :o) I still had a little cream semi-gloss interior paint left from a coffee table project so I used that to paint a giant branch across the expanse... I had to go over it a few times but I like how it left brush marks, almost like bark on a tree!

So I've already admitted to my lack of painting skills... I wanted to sparrows to be colorful and precise. I know better of myself than to think I'd be happy with what I would do with a brush. I drew sparrow silhouettes in different poses and cut them out, now I had templates. After tracing them onto beautiful scrap book paper, I cut them out, then made wings and beaks in complimentary colors of paper. I used Mod-Podge to fix them to the canvas and to apply the wings and beaks as well. It works best and you get less bubbles, if you first glue down the bird, wait, then apply a top coat of Mod-Podge, wait, then put the wings and beak on. I covered the birds with a few coats of the miracle Mod-Podge to make sure they were on good and tight, then the whole canvas got two coats.

I LOVE how it came out and I had ALL the supplies on hand! It cost me nothing to make and my new room has some much needed, sparkle!

"His eye is on the Sparrow...."

(re)Purposeful: Mother's Day Edition!

It has been KILLING me not to share this re-vamp with the world but now that my mom is the proud owner of this "once-ugly-little-side-table" I can finally post this without ruining her Mother's Day surprise! WHEW!
So this darling (but slightly hideous) little side table has been in her family for years... in high school she allowed me to spray paint it to match my decor. I think now she realizes that was a mistake because it didn't turn out very good at all. I felt like I should redeem myself (and the ugly table) and use some of the skills I've learned to give her a truly lovely piece she can be proud to display.

I started by sanding it all down to a smooth surface. The spindles were the hardest but I used a flexible sanding sponge which made the work much easier! Then I used spray primer and gave it a thorough coating. I decided to paint the whole thing a semi-gloss black which looked very classy however, the top looked ever so plain... What a great excuse to drag out the Mod Podge!!! Here's the end result:

<----This is the table top

Isn't it sweet? I used a glass knob for the pull and I LOVE how it ties the whole piece together! I just used scrap-booking paper and layered many thin coats of Mod Podge over it to create a seal. (Let each layer dry before adding more!) We had a Mother's Day picnic at a local park tonight and I FINALLY gave it to her!

I love you Mom! Thank you for always supporting my artistic endeavors even when they aren't so stellar.... you're my favourite cheerleader! <3

(re)Purposeful: Mod Podge Toilet Tank Lid...wha?

I was absolutely inspired when I stumbled across the blog: Mod Podge Rocks! (http://www.modpodgerocksblog.com/) I think it may have changed my life! The very next day I sprinted to the nearest Hobby Lobby and bought the biggest jar I could find, ideas swarming through my brain as loud as a hive of honey bees! Alas, when I got home, life happened...the kids needed me, the laundry was starting to overgrow the bins, my husband was sure he was starving to death...sigh!
Last night something magical happened...the kids STAYED in bed and my dear husband went out with his brother!!! Oh yes, I had the house to MYSELF! It was if I could hear the lonely Mod Podge jar calling to me from my workshop.
I knew the first project needed to be more like a lab experiment. That way if something didn't worked or (gasp) was ruined, it would be a learning experience and not a giant blow to my crafty ego! Well we have a toilet tank lid in our downstairs bathroom that was dropped and shattered into three big pieces. You can't buy replacement lids...or so I was told at the 3 hardware stores I tried.  Out of desperation, I glued it together and put a dish towel over it.
                                                            Perfect starter project!!!

SO first I watched the tutorials for Mod Podging  on the amazing blog mentioned earlier! Then I got busy! I'm no seamstress so there's not a lot of fabric laying around but I scrummaged up a twin sized sheet that had seen better days.  I cut out enough to cover the whole lid and wrap around the bottom and coated the fabric with Mod Podge (MP) leaving it in the workshop to dry. This keeps the fabric from fraying and also hardens it so it's easier to adhere things to. After an agonizing hour I couldn't wait anymore so I covered the lid with a medium coat of MP and smoothed the (almost dried) fabric over it. (Lay it down slowly and rub all the bubbles out!) I treated the corners like wrapping a present and MP'd the folds to hold them in place.

Next step:  I scoured the internet for images of birds until I found one I liked and printed it out. Using the image as a template, I then cut out birds facing different directions from some fun scrap-booking paper. I took it one step further and cut out a different color for their wings and beaks, made branches for them to rest on and cut out a bunch of leaves in coordinating colors and patterns. I used the MP to glue the wings and things on the birds and then used it again to adhere all the cut-outs to the fabric-covered tank lid. (Just a note: lay out your design first so you can tweek it before you glue anything down, soooo much easier than starting over because it doesn't look right) After waiting 20 minutes or so I added another coat of MP over the whole thing to seal it.

It still needed a little something... a little black ribbon around the edge with a coat of MP to hold it in place, finished it all off nicely! I LOVE how it turned out and will probably be looking for excuses to use the downstairs bathroom from now on!