Jo’s Crafting Blog

Judy made this neat tag for our tag swap.   Notice the detail she put into the Santa that she woodburnt onto the wood.

This is some of the woodburning that Judy does.  She has various patterns that she traces onto the wood blank and then she burns it with her woodburning tool. Then she just paints the areas that she feels should be painted.  

She uses Acrylic paint that she buys at WMart and Hobby Lobby. Woodburning kits can run from 20.00 on up.  

Her wood blanks are slices of tree branches that they take off of their property.  

She loved this pattern in the wood so much that she had to save it.  Great Job Judy.

This is a project I finished last night.   My daughter has wanted one of these for a long time, so she found this bottle that she loved and this is how I tranformed it.

For this particle one I made labels for the bottle myself and added it for a more personalized bottle.

Then all you do is add grapes or flowers to the top and insert a 10 count light string.    You can get the battery operated ones or the plug in kind.  I also added raffia to the top.    Insert your cork and there you have a very neat night light,  accent light or just a beautiful accent piece.

This is what it looks like in the dark.

The personalized label was made with Avery Ink Jet Sticker Project Paper.

This is an easy project and adds so much to a room.   Imagine this in the corner in a kitchen with a grape theme.

Now this is what it looks like with added dried leaves and a little potpourri in the bottom of the bottle.

So get those creative juices flowing.

I seen this crafting idea on Tina’s forum and had to try it.   Told Mom about it and she said she needed one.   So off to the thrift stores to find some jars.    I got two peanut butter jars with lids and two quart jars.   

First off I put two decals on either side, then I modpodged it.    I put some cinnamon in a small amount of modpodge and brushed it on the jar and lid.   I did a very thin coat over the decal.   After it was dry I added another coat of modpodge but not over the decal and let that dry.   After it dryed I spray with a peachy color, lightly if you can.  After the paint dried I sprayed it with a mat sealer.     While these steps were drying I took a toilet paper roll and made a bottom for it.    This is for the hide a spot.    When the sealer was dry I added potpourri to the bottom and placed my toilet paper roll inside the jar and filled all around the roll with potpourri.   (The roll was a little too long so I cut it down some.)  You can use lavender, beans, shells, macaroni, or whatever you chose to fill the jar.    Also you can use pvc pipe as the center, I didn’t have any so the toilet paper roll worked.   Decorate with ribbon, raffia, or material like I did.   When done I put a little tissue to cover the hole from the toilet paper roll.  Mom had found this crocheted angel so I added it for her.  Before she took it home I put some raffia on it too.    Now Mom has a cute place to hide her money.  LOL   This is a fun project and I will make some more.  The lady on Tina’s forum makes hers more on the primitive style but you can make them whatever way you would like.

This is Mom’s find, the angel.

Mom and me made this wind chime out of a garage sale find from the weekend.   I have to use stiff wire so mom can bead it but if you make one use fishing line.    Just add beads that go with the top and hang something in the middle that will add the sound when the beads hit it.   This is not exactly like you would make one, but for Mom to be able to help this is what we did.    But it makes a nice colorful garden art piece anyway.

Materials needed.
Mod Podge either satin or gloss

Square or round wood,  plastic canvas, paper machie, wood boxes, tiles or stone and glass are all suitable for decoupaging.

Polycrylic either satin or gloss, or Varnish

Paper of choice–cards, scrapbooking paper, wall paper,tissue (I found tissue paper hard to use)
magazine pages, etc.

If using plastic cut the design you wish. Wood square or round.

Put a thin layer of mod podge on paper and place on plastic or wood.
On the wood one I cut out images from the card after I had placed paper from envelope on it.

If you put other images on top add mod podge to the back of the piece to place
on the background.
Let dry. You can put another layer of mod podge on top of the paper.
Let dry.

Put several coats at least 3 to make a shiny glass like appearance on the paper.
I use gloss on mine.
You can layer several layers on one piece.  Here’s some wood hearts I did and some coasters.   Lisa done the stone tile one.

Lisa’s   Tile       

Here’s a totem that Donna L. made from old lamp bases.  

Clean all bases well with warm soapy water.
 Use a clear silicone glue or Lexel for best results.  Make sure the
adhesive you use is weather resistant.
 Glue up pieces in sections, letting each section cure before putting
them all together as one piece.  Try gluing the pieces during low
humidity to reduce condensation, if using glass.

After your masterpiece is finished place in pot or in your garden for a nice garden art piece.

Here’s Deb’s mosaic flower pot and the how-to.

1. Purchase or select a terra cotta flower pot. Larger flower pots are easier to cover with mosaic than smaller ones.

2. I put clear coat on the inside and outside of the pot.

3. I used nippers to cut my plates for tesserae and glued it on with GE 2.   You can also break tiles or plates inbetween newspaper.

   Put the GE 2 on the mosaic item and press it on to the terra cotta pot. Repeat this step until all of the items are glued to the pot. Set aside for 24 hours. Some popular mosaic items include: broken tile, broken plates, jewelry, beads, beans, marbles, smooth rocks, and sliced cork.

4. Grouted with mapei ultraflex grout .    Apply the grout to the spaces between each mosaic item. Let the grout set ten minutes. Remove excessive grout on the items by rubbing with a newspaper.

5. Use a damp sponge to remove the grout that remains on the mosaic items. Wipe gently.

6. Let grout dry for a couple of days.

7. Then seal with aquamix grout sealer.

8. Fill with a beautiful plant or use as a decorative container.

Mom wanted me to make a gourd for the administrator, her friend, at the nursing home.  So I decided to make myself one to see what color the cordoba leather dye was. 

First off you have to have some cleaned gourds.   Then make the hole for the birds and I make several small holes in the bottom of the gourd also.     Then decide where you want to put the holes for your hanger.   

Then I roll out my clay the kind that you bake in the oven and place my design with the clay on the gourd.   Then I bake at 275 degrees for about 20 to 30 minutes depending on the thickness of the clay.   After your gourd and clay have cool then I brush on my leather dye all over the gourd.      Let you dye dry a couple of days, then brush on varnish, polyacrylic or similar material to seal everything.    After that dyes then you can paint your clay design, I use regular acrylic paints.     Let dry again for a day or so, then add more varnish etc.    Then finish off your decorating.