Handmade Gifts: Stenciled and Gold Leafed Hanukkah Treat Plate

Hanukkah begins next week and each year I try to make a gift for a special friend to celebrate. This year I went with what I'm calling a Hanukkah Treat Plate that can be used each night to share the goodies of the season. 

Supplies: 

• Clear Dinner Plate ( I got mine at Cost Plus)
• Mod Podge Super Gloss Formula
• Acrylic Paint
• Gold Leaf
• Gold Leafing Glue
• Clear Contact Paper
• Stencil ( I made my own using my Cameo 3 but you could use a ready made stencil)
• Paint brushes and foam applicators

The plate is food safe since everything is done from the underside. You can bake it to "cure" it so the paint won't come off or if you think ahead like I did for once in my crafting life, you can make 21 or so days ahead and it will cure.

Let's get started! 

Clean the underside of your plate with alcohol to make sure you get all the oils store dust etc off and you get good adhesion of your materials. I cut my own menorah stencil using my Silhouette Cameo and contact paper from the dollar tree. This is my favorite stencil material. It cuts great on a digital cutter and you can't beat the price for a roll ( $1).  I also covered the areas I didn't want to paint w/ contact paper. 

Using foam applicators, paint your stencil. I used metallic silver for the menorah and gold for the flames and did 3 coats. 

For this kind of project, you have to reverse your brain because you're building the layers in reverse. So start with the focal image and then do the background. Once I was satisfied w/ the menorah, I added the gold leafing.  Apply the glue per directions ( you'll find this in the fine art section of the craft store) and then apply the leafing. I remind people every time I do a leafing project IT'S MESSY. The gold leaf will fly everywhere as you apply it so be prepared. 

Yes this looks like a hot mess but keep going. Once you're done w/ your leafing ( and clearly I didn't want a perfectly covered plate...I wanted a streaky look) then mix your acrylic paint ( I used Deco Art Navy) with the Mod Podge ( I did 1/2 and 1/2 because I didn't want this part to be opaque) and apply with a flat brush. 

I did this for the whole plate then filled in the center with just plain paint. Sealed the whole thing with a coat of just the Mod Podge. 

NOTE: Mod Podge formula matters! Use the Super Gloss for projects like this. 

Once your plate is dry, flip it over and imagine it filled with chocolate rugelach! 

A few years ago I included some gift tags with my friend's gift and the following year her relatives were asking if she was getting more so I've done them ever since. 

The black and gold foiled paper is my current addiction. Better yet, I got a stack of it ( ok I bought 2 stacks) when Michaels had one of their $5 Hot Buy stack sales. And of course, I made a coordinating card: 

Another Altered Cabinet Door: NEST Sign

I mentioned in an earlier post how I love using cabinet doors for projects. I usually find mine at a local architectural salvage place and got this one along with a previous one for a donation of $5 ( for both) to Habitat for Humanity. 

We have a lot of blank wall space which I don't actually mind, but it's also great for when an idea does hit because  I haven't had to take something else down. This will hang in our TV watching area where we end up spending a fair amount of our time .  This is where I find out all of the latest intrigue on "Game of Thrones", say goodbye to my Sestras on "Orphan Black", see who's up to what on "Scandal" and "How to Get Away With Murder" and Netflix and chill.

We also read here when the TV's not on. We're homebodies so the them of "Nest" seemed appropriate.

Supplies: 

• Salvaged Cabinet Door
• Acrylic Paints
• White School Glue
• Printed Tissue Paper (Recollections)
• Mod Podge
• Adhesive Foil (I used Cricut Gold Metallic)
• Scrabbook Paper (C'oredinations Cream and Black) 
• Misc Embellishments
• Die Cut and/or Electronic Cutting Machine (Silhouette and Cuttlebug)

The wooden wings will be part of another post but I took a pic of the unfinished cabinet door with them so more on that later in the week. 

I painted the "frame" of the door with black acrylic paint (I used Craftsmart). Taped off the edges and then painted the interior with cream acrylic paint. 

I didn't worry about complete coverage of the interior because I knew I'd be putting the tissue paper here.  Cut the tissue paper to size and then apply using Mod Podge. 

Measured out my tissue paper before I painted

Using my favorite white glue technique, I crackled the frame of the door. Basically paint a layer of glue ; let dry until tacky but not completely dry ; paint over w/ contrasting color. 

Tip: You want to use long even strokes and go in one direction, not up and down. Back to School is the perfect time to stock up on cheap, white, glue! 

While that was drying, I laid out my design on my Silhouette Cameo, then cut the images and lettering using Cricut Gold Foil. 

Enter frustration. When I applied the foil pieces, the transfer tape pulled up the Mod Podged tissue paper in some spots. The nice thing about working w/ the tissue paper was that it was easy to tear some "matching" pieces and just repair those spots with a little more Mod Podge. 

I don't think you can really tell where I had to patch. I used my Cuttlebug to cut the flowers ( Tim Holtz Tattered Florals) rolled the edges and added rolled roses in the center. I rummaged around in my mismatched embellishment stash and found some swirly things ( technical term) that I painted to match and put on the nest image and the corners of the door. 

Altered Cigar Box In Honor of Our Newest National Animal : The Bison

Mr. Chocolate was especially excited when the Bison was announced as the newest National Mascot. He loves Bison. Like really loves Bison. 

For Father's Day we took a trip Northwest Trek, the Pacific Northwest's premier wildlife park, home to you guessed it : bison. 

Since Mr. Chocolate likes to collect brochures and this and that's wherever we go, I thought I'd make him something to remember the day and to keep his stuff. 

Supplies: 

• Cigar Box (You can usually buy or even sometimes get for free wherever cigars are sold. Just ask)
• Scrapbook papers ( I used papers from the Textured Printed Pack from Oriental Trading Company)
• Mod Podge ( I used Matte)
• Washi Tape
• Vinyl

Fortunately I had everything on hand in my stash! 

After choosing my papers ( I went with two different textures from the same color palette) , measure and apply to the box using Mod Podge. I colored in some areas that weren't easy to cover with the paper using a paint pen and craft paint. 

Before covering the inside top of the box, I edged it with washi tape just to hide the box design. Once Mod Podged and dry, I aged the look using a Distress Ink pad ( Ranger). 

I cut the bison image using my Cameo using a scrap of gold vinyl. To tie the colors together, I added the word "Explore" using letters from the "Lost and Found" pack of Tim Holtz stickers. 

The papers coordinated with the wood inside the bottom and sides of  box so I left those bare. 

If you're ever in the PNW ( or live here and haven't been) I highly recommend Northwest Trek. You get to see majestic animals in a very humane and natural habitat and sometimes very VERY close up! 

Mod Podged Spring Basket Makeover

Sometimes you save something without a specific plan in mind for it but because you know based on the design that it’s a perfect candidate for a makeover. At least that’s the way my brain works and was the case with this project. Mr. Chocolate gave this to me a few years ago for Easter ( filled with chocolate of course) but ever getting it I’ve wanted to play with the basket itself because it was perfect for altering.



The shape and surface of this basket made it really easy to alter. I chose the Primrose Stack from DCWV which is a gorgeous combination of Spring designs and color.

The papers are gorgeously patterned so there was no need to really stamp or alter them. I used a couple of the fully patterned sheets and one sheet with borders for the basket. Using the basket as a tracing template, I cut pieces to cover each side and then coordinated with pieces from the border sheet.  I used Mod Podge to apply the papers to the basket and then painted the sides and handle with white craft paint.

Unlike the rest of the country , we’ve had a mild Winter and early Spring and I’ve been picking up fallen twigs and branches while out on walks. I grabbed a handful of these and combined them with rolled roses and leaves made from the paper scraps to decorate each side of the basket.

I haven’t quite decided what I’m putting in my basket yet but I like looking at it just on its own.

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Easy Blingy Valentine Letters

Happy Valentine’s month! Why stop at just the 14th? Love should get a whole month don’t you think? Not saying I’ll have a month’s worth of projects but I do think I will leave things up for the month ( attn Mr. Chocolate).

I was tired of my previous Valentine’s decor so set out with no particular idea in mind to change it up this year. While on a  stroll through Michaels I stumbled upon these letters in the clearance aisle and thought they’d be perfect for VDay.  They’re MDF or chipboard or something.

In my DCWN stash, I had some self adhesive bling sheets that can be cut into different shapes and which I thought would be perfect for these letters:

Trace the letters on the back and then cut out using plain old ( but sharp) scissors. Before I put the bling on, I painted the sides and edges of the letters and applied  scrapbook paper to the back with Mod Podge.

I like that I can mix up my letters by showing both blingy, or one blingy and one paper or both paper or….

Then easy peasy, peeled off the backing from the bling sheet letters, applied, and trimmed with a craft knife.

Supplies used in this project:

• Letters to decorate ( can use wood, paper mache, etc.)
• DCWV Adhesive Jewel Sheet
• Scrapbook paper ( I used DCWV Decor Noir Stack)
• Mod Podge ( I used Matte)
• Craft paint, scissors, craft knife

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Cornhusk Altered Candles

Sharing the details of the guest post I did for Mod Podge Rocks earlier this week. As you can see from a few projects, I'm a little obsessed with cornhusks this year! 

For this project you will need: 

• Plain glass prayer candles ( I got mine at Dollar Tree)
• Cornhusks ( wherever Mexican food ingredients are sold these are used for tamales) 
• Mod Podge ( my go to is the Matte formula)
• Dimensional Mod Podge ( I used gold) 
• Craft Paint
• Your choice of paper(s)
• Ribbon
• Coordinating paper scraps
• Glue gun and glue sticks

Apply your choice of paper to your candle with what else? Mod Podge. I used paper from a roll I found in the paint section at the hardware store. I think it's normally used to cover glass when painting things but I love it because it's thin, absorbs the Mod Podge beautifully and is a neutral color you can paint or stamp or leave as is. Measure enough to fit around your candle. I tore the top and bottom edges of the paper because I like torn paper. I also scrunched the paper up to give it a more rustic feel. 

Apply enough Mod Podge to cover one side of the paper ( you can see the torn edges and "scrunching" ) and then attach the paper to your candle. I find it's easiest to leave the paper where it is, lay the candle on its side and then roll until it's covered. Once secure, apply another coat of Mod Podge to seal. 

While this is drying, you can make your cornhusk leaves. You may have seen that Mod Podge can be used to preserve Fall leaves. I figured it might work on cornhusks too! Cut leaf shapes ( I just did this freehand) from  your cornhusks. If they are really really stiff you can mist with water to make them more pliable. Apply Mod Podge to both sides and once dry, you can use as is or as I did which was to paint the tips with some glitter craft paint.  If they curl a bit wait until fully dry and you can flatten them out by bending them in the opposite direction.

Once the paper was dry on the candle I went around it with a piece of washi tape paper but you can also use a coordinating piece of scrapbook paper, book page etc.  Hot glue the leaves together as shown then glue to your candle. I added some scrap velvet ribbon at the top of the leaves. 

To finish, I grabbed some paper scraps from my stash and made rolled paper roses.  Waste not want not. I had some scrap cornhusk pieces so I painted those silver and glued the rose on top of them as shown. I edged the top of the candles with the ends left over from the washi paper.  Finally, I filled in the center with gold dimensional Mod Podge. 

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