Saturday, March 6, 2021

St. Patrick's Day: Acrylic Paint Poured Shamrock Sign

 


This week's BFF Open House Link Party continues here

I've been having fun with some St. Patrick's Day decor. In addition to my Layered Shamrock I had fun with this $1 wood sign from Dollar Tree. 

Supplies:

  • Wood Shamrock Sign ( Dollar Tree)
  • Acrylic Paints 
  • Zinsser Paint Booster ( Lowes)
  • Silicone ( Hardware Store )


Ignore the red hearts. I thought I was going to layer them onto the sign and changed my mind. I found this line of Top Notch paints at JoAnn. I'm not sure if it's an in house brand or not but they are another line of reasonably priced acrylic paints. They make a whole host of other products as well. The Zinsser paint booster is an alternative to Floetrol which is used in a lot of paint pour projects. The silicone you can get at any hardware store. 


I chose to go with a more muted green palette along with some white and a couple drops of gold. So first step was to mix the paints. My formula for small projects is about a capful of the paint booster to 1/3 cup of paint. It's not scientific, I just found it gives the right flow. If you're starting out with paint pouring play around to find the consistency YOU like for your projects. There's no absolute. I squeezed 2-3 drops of the Silicone in and mix well until your paint just looks like paint again. 


Re-using cups is great in practice but I didn't think about pictures. Note to self. Use new cups. But I didn't, so don't be confused by the other colors you see. 


For this project I did what's called a "dirty pour". What this means is layering  the paints in one cup vs pouring each color individually. You can see them start to interact in the cup which they'll do more as they flow once they're on the surface you're painting. 


For a "clean pour" you pour your paints from their respective containers onto the surface one by one. For a "dirty pour" there's the flip step. Place your surface atop your cup, then holding the cup, flip until your surface is on the bottom and the cup with your paints sits atop it. Some paint may leak out but that's OK! 


When you lift your cup you'll see your paints begin to spread and how they've blended and their magic is revealed. I love this part the most! From here, just tilt your surface to spread your paint until your surface is covered. I ended up having to add a little more paint to my pour cup which was fine. I was trying not to have too much and ended up with too little. It's a Goldilocks process!



I love paint pouring so much because no two pieces are alike and each takes on its own personality. If you want exact replication, this art is not for you! 

Once dry, I finished with some black and white check ribbon and kept it simple, just hanging it on a mirror in our entryway. 


I'm happy with it and it was $1! 







Thursday, March 4, 2021

BFF Open House

 


So many Happys this week! Happy March! Happy National Craft Month! Happy Spring! Hopefully the worst of Winter is over and Spring is around the corner. Both exciting and hard to believe that we're already into the third month of the year. Even harder is that it's been a full year of COVID but let's not talk about that except to celebrate that hopefully we're starting to see light at the end of the tunnel. 

OK you creative peeps! So many wonderful ideas shared last week. Here are a few to get you in full Spring mode!




Maybe you have an old piece of silverplate like this stashed away in a cabinet. I know I'm going to look for one next time I get the chance because I love these non-traditional Easter Baskets from Junk Journal. Perfect for any decor from Farmhouse to Contemporary. 


These Paper Butterflies from Priyam at Simple Joys just scream Spring don't they? Perfect for everything from garlands to package toppers. 





Linda, from Paper Seedlings made this adorable Name Sign for her grandson Enzo, whose name I love. I think it's such an adorable keepsake to treasure! 


Is it a Donut? Is it a Cake? It's a Giant Chocolate Fudge Brownie  Donut Cake! Perfect for St. Patrick's Day, a Spring shower (as in baby or bridal) or anytime! From Cindy's Online Recipe Box



Finally, this one hits home. Trinidadian Pepper Sauce from Kiku Corner. I grew up with this. There was always a jar of this on the table in my family's and extended family's homes. It was often a bit of a trick test when new people said they liked spicy food. We would watch as people took too much (after being warned) and then they proceeded to melt. Literally. This is extra special to me because the recipes my family had were never written down. There were always promises to but the elders were not so good at following through and the last person who could have shared, we've lost to dementia. So this is extra special to me. 

Alright! Let's see what you've all been up to this week and as always, thank you to everyone who linked up! 







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Tuesday, March 2, 2021

St. Patrick's Day: Layered Shamrock from Maggie Rose Designs

 



Last December I attended a  workshop where I discovered someone who has become one of my favorite designers, Maggie, from Maggie Rose Design Co. She does a lot of amazing things including creating beautiful layered cut files that she generously shares with her readers. I made another of her designs last month using her Layered Floral Heart

Maggie's recently shared some changes in her life where she's paused her making, if not her designing time, and issued a call for anyone using her latest design to use their Cricut to cut it out and I happily answered that call! I really connect with her style. 

I haven't done a lot of St. Patrick's Day decorating in the past but this year since creating is my full time job, I've been having fun with it and have a couple more projects I'll be sharing. 

Supplies: 
  • Layered Shamrock Cut File ( You'll need to sign up at Maggie's site to get the password to download for FREE!) Trust me, you want to do this as she has some gorgeous files in addition to this one. 
  • Cutting Machine ( Her files work for Cricut or Silhouette) I used my Cricut Explore Air 2
  • Four Sheets Contrasting Scrapbook Paper 
  • Foam tape / Dots
  • Shadowbox Frame
  • Background Paper


I alternated my papers based on how I wanted  the layers to appear, using white glitter, black, gold glitter, and green. All of my papers are Recollections from Michaels. 

Once you've downloaded the design and imported into your design software, re-size as desired and then cut each layer. 



You can see the beauty of each layer as a standalone. I assembled the Shamrock using foam squares.

HINT: I start with the top layer and work backwards because the top layer is usually the most intricate and you want to ensure you don't place your foam squares or dots where they'll show. 



I love how all of the layers work together! 

I knew I was going to frame this like I'd done with the Layered Floral Heart. I used a 12x12 Shadowbox Frame from Michaels. But first, I needed to decide what I wanted for the background! 




Michaels got me again with their "Buy One Get Two Free" Hot Buy Paper Stacks. I have zero willpower when it comes to these. I loved this one called "Let's Wander" (in my house...it's COVID!) which I love with its watercolor and foiled papers. I chose this one. 



I thought the greens and golds went perfectly with the papers I used for the Shamrock. 



Taped it down to the background paper and then assembled it together in the frame. 



I'm so SO happy with how it turned out and it's all because it started with a FABULOUS design from a talented designer! Thank you Maggie! 




Thursday, February 25, 2021

BFF Open House

 


Wasn't it just January 1? Normally I'd complain at how fast time is going by but not this year with vaccine rollout ramping up and putting us closer to being able to get back to some of our "normal" lives. So very thankful that my mom has gotten her first dose! Glad to see that things are thawing out in parts of the country that have been frozen and hopefully we won't have any more bad Winter storms. 

Lots of creativity at last week's party so here are a few projects that caught my eye! 


With St. Patrick's Day approaching, here's an easy, fun and inexpensive way to add some festive decor to your home. This is a fun sign from Dollar Tree ( I just bought one myself, coincidentally) decorated with an Irish Jig from Condo Blues!


I also loved this fun Leprechaun Jar idea shared by Creatively Beth. What a fun treat for everyone! 


If your green leans towards the variety of having a green thumb, here's a beautiful vignette from The House on Silverado that's a perfect way to bring some festive St. Patrick's charm to your decor. 




Finally, what's more perfect for St. Patrick's Day dessert than a Chocolate Pistachio Cake? Perfect for Easter and all Spring celebrations as well! From Master Pieces of My Life

Alright creative friends, let's see what you've all  been up to this week! 












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Monday, February 22, 2021

Vinyl on Enamel Sign : Forever Incomplete


This will be less of a tutorial post and more of a confessional one I guess the best way to describe it. If you want to skip to the creative part, it's at the bottom!

We were going through CDs, DVDs etc. deciding what to keep and get rid of and one of my favorite ones I kept was Alanis Morisette's "Flavors of Entanglement" which I hadn't listened to recently. It's fun to re-discover why you bought something and as I listened to it, purchased at a different time in my life, I realized why it spoke to me then, but I also realize how much I've grown and why it speaks to me still. 

In particular, one song stands out and it was the inspiration for this project: "Forever Incomplete". I'm now a "woman of a certain age". Young at heart but approaching 60. Seems so weird to write that since I'm fortunate that I get second looks when I give my birth date at the doctor or pharmacy. But facts as they say "is facts". I'm not a person who looks back with regrets but that doesn't mean I don't look back. 

Thirteen years ago when this album came out, I was at a different stage in my life. My son was just starting high school and I was then about 20 years into my career. Because of how life goes, my focuses and priorities were different then than they are now. I was still balancing work and family life. I was also still grappling with the self doubt and insecurities that had plagued me my whole life. 

I grew up, like many of us, with high expectations that I internalized A LOT. I put immense pressure on myself. To achieve academically. To be the best daughter, then wife and mother. To do well in my career and keep rising. To do and have it all and not realize what I was doing to myself in the process. 

It was around that time that I removed myself from my then company's "Top Talent" list. Something I'd been on virtually since I'd joined. I stopped being concerned with awards and recognition. OK a little...I'll always be competitive. That didn't mean I checked out workwise. Oh no. I was still putting in the hours, still hardest on myself, still afraid, as I have been my entire life, of failure. Pressure. Constant pressure. Put there mostly, but not entirely, by me. 

At that time, some of the songs on this CD spoke to me as someone struggling to figure out my life. If I wasn't going to push to become an Executive (the path I was on) then what? My child was getting older, my marriage was stable. I told myself my creative outlets were my therapy. But still...some confusion. some resentment, some sense of loss but of what, I didn't know. And I pushed those things out of my mind because who had time for that kind of self indulgence? So years went by. I continued to try to be the best of all my roles. 

When I turned 50 I said I would focus on me. Fits and starts and feelings of guilt and selfishness but slowly I kept at it. I'd get there right? There was an end point. Until there wasn't.  About 7 years ago, work, which had always been intense, went off the charts. Nothing was consistent except the constant change of leaders, teams, etc.  But hey, our family had its health, we were comfortable, son excelled in college and got accepted to five top tier PhD programs. Three years ago a major move to be closer to my mom. I just kept going. 

Last year  COVID came and really forced most if not all of us to really take a hard look at our priorities. Then my company moved almost all of the remaining jobs in my organization offshore and I found myself in retirement a couple of years earlier than planned during a global pandemic. Where am I going with all of this? 

That regardless of the plans we make or the direction we think we're headed life is never an orderly, bulleted list with a finite end point (OK yes, death!). And that is where I come back to this verse of the song "Forever Incomplete" that hit me and made me shout "YES!" in the car. 


I have been running so sweaty my whole life

Urgent for a finish line

And I have been missing the rapture this whole time of being forever

incomplete


 


I realized that for as long as I can remember I've been chasing things. Running. HARD. Being a good student. Getting a good job. Getting married, having a family, doing well, etc. And life, at least mine, doesn't work like that. I've been on a journey  that may never be complete. I may or may not ever do all the things I want or am supposed to do. And it's OK. I realized that focusing on the next thing, I've at times along the way missed the joy aka the rapture of knowing that it may never be and just live. I say none of that to suggest that I haven't had a joyous life, but it lifted some inexplicable weight. Maybe pressure on myself that was always self inflicted. I've given myself the permission and freedom to just "be" and be incomplete. And it feels great!  

OK now to the project! 

Supplies:
  • Blank Enamel Sign ( Artist's Loft)
  • Silver Foil (JoAnn)
  • Oval Frame (Designbundles.net)
  • Electronic Cutting Machine (Cricut Explore Air 2)

 


I actually bought this blank sign a couple of years ago at Michaels so it's not a current item but there are similar ones online. It ended up becoming the lid of my trash can to keep my then very nosy puppy out because she was obsessed with anything inside! 


I purchased a collection of frames from Designbundles.net which included this one. I flipped the image in Cricut Design Space and then chose a font, wrote out the lyrics I wanted to use, and cut using silver foil from my stash. 


Weeded and then applied the transfer tape and eyeballed the positioning on the sign and then that moment of pause before you adhere it, deep breath, hoping you got it centered! 


Peeled off the transfer tape and done!




Thursday, February 18, 2021

BFF Open House

 


Happy Friday Eve and sending my heart out to Texas and other parts of the country who are being hit hard by winter storms. There are no words. We went seven days w/out power after a bad winter storm in Seattle and it is an unbelievable challenge. 

Lots of great ideas as always from last week's party so here are some that caught my eye! 



Wildfire Stitches has a wonderful post if you are new to embroidery. Really great hints and tips in this post and a wonderful Embroidery Blog! With all of our digital and machine tools, sometimes it's really nice to do something that is truly 100% handmade! 


If you're looking for a St. Patrick's idea, look no further than Artsy VaVa's GORGEOUS Clover Door Hanger! Just stunning! 



After checking out the Embroidery Basics post y Wildfire Stitches, check out this wonderful project from Satsuma Designs: Embroidered Lavender Sachet Bags


Finally, since many of us are cooking more as we stay home more, one of my favorite dishes: Rigatoni with Vodka Sauce from The House on Silverado. I wanted to lick the screen! 

Thanks as always to all who linked up and let's see what everyone's been up to this week. 



















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