My Big A__%#$ Window etchall Project!

Well!  Here it is in all it's glory!  

My vintage window....all etched and hanging proudly in it's perfect spot.

There is a story about how it finally got there and I will share it below!

It all started with me getting a new couch for the family room.  It is a recliner-sectional couch and is behemoth compared to my last recliner couch.  I needed something heavier on the wall behind it to anchor the couch and pull it all together.  I found two vintage windows and thought they would work nicely.

Did I say that I found the windows months back?  And that it has been months that I had empty space on my wall?  I knew I wanted to etch, but was a little apprehensive about working with large letters and getting them straight, etc.  I was holding onto my great idea and sharing with my friends.  It just so happened that another friend who loves vintage had a wedding coming up.  We decided to do her slightly smaller window first and give it to her kids as a wedding present.  We took photos of the process and I put it on my blog.  Here is the link if you would like to take a look at how we did that window!  http://marilyngossett.blogspot.com/2015/05/etchall-project-home-decor-piece-for.html

Now to get on with the story of my own etched window.  The photo below shows that my window was put to some use during the months that I procrastinated.  My studio cat, Buffy, used it as a foot/paw rest on many occasions.  I am always entertained when I watch her lounge about...and I am pretty good at keeping pressing projects at bay as I ponder....

We finished my friend Cindy's window in one day.  Mine was a work in progress over half of the Summer.  Below are some photos of the process.

The first step was cutting paper letters to make sure I had everything sized and spaced properly before I actually cut etchmask with Transfer Sheets to start my project.  Along with these two products; I used etchall Creme.

This is what the etchall Transfer Sheets look like.  The etchmask is yellow vinyl.

I was ready to cut my letters and below I was cutting the real deal.

 I am skipping ahead a little here; but below is a picture taken after I had MOST of the window finished.  I had my friend helping me with all of this because it can be tricky getting the letter stencils lined up perfectly.  We ran out of steam at this point because these last two letters were gonna be tricky!  Consequently; the window sat around again for about two more weeks!  Ugh.

Below is a photo taken after it was all finally finished!  I love it!  Because my wall is light cream color, I decided I needed to add a little something to my etching to get it to pop against the wall.  I used a permanent white ink-pad and paper towels and inked the etched letters.  A lot of rubbing around each letter is necessary to make sure there is no ink left on the smooth glass.

My hubby helped me to get the window prepared for hanging....some carefully placed wires and a heavy enough gauge to make sure the wire doesn't snap.  We also put a molly bolt into the wall.  I was so thrilled to get my project finished and on the wall!!  I now have the smaller window to finish.  It is on my wall to complete the grouping, but I am going to etch "FAMILY" on that window.  The letters will be placed vertically and I will be getting on that project very soon.  After all, I am an expert at this by now.  Right??  

Here is another shot of my finished wall grouping.  (Well, almost finished.)  I love it and I love all things vintage.  I mix in vintage with my decor whenever I can. 

I hope you got some inspiration today and stayed with me to the end.  Took me long enough, huh?  So, go out there and enjoy the small blessings along the way, and....

Live Life with a Flourish!

Marilyn

To get more information on etchall's great products and how all the products work together; Barbee the owner has a great tutorial on the website at this link:  http://etchall.com/

Decorate the Office with Deflecto!

Have you heard of Deflecto?  There is a good chance that you haven't heard the name, but there is also a good chance that you have used the products they manufacture! 

The frame, four drawer cube and nameplate are shown below.  The frame is acrylic with a black border, the storage cube is clear, and the nameplate comes in silver and black.  I have customized each one to fit with my design studio and I show how I did it below.

Nameplate is decorated with washi tape, rhinestone flourish, paper flower and pearl cabachon.

The faux rhinestone trim comes on a roll and has a self-adhesive back.

The frame is decorated with the same supplies as the nameplate.  Washi tape across the top and bottom; the rhinestone flourishes and self-adhesive trim.  To complete the graphics for my nameplate and for the frame, I went to the free online SignCreator at deflecto.com/signcreator.  This makes it easy and fun.

I put a removeable cover on the four drawer cube that is made out of cardstock and held together with washi tape.  I further embellished it with self-adhesive faux rhinestone trim. (I got it at Michaels one of the dollar bins).

Cut four 6" squares from one 12" piece of patterned cardstock.  Make sure the pattern on the paper is going in the right direction, matching up the pattern as well as possible.  Refer to photos below to see how they are put together.

Place the assembled cardstock cover over the cube.  Apply washi tape on the back side seams to secure. Decorate with the faux rhinestone self-adhesive trim.  Here is how it looks after you attach the papers to the cube.  You can change it up if you want to!

Hope you got a little inspiration here today.  To continue on the hop, go to the blue Designer Crafts Connection button at the top of the page and click on the arrows to go forward or backward.   Make sure to enter the drawing for a chance to win some fabulous Deflecto product!

ENTER OUR GIVE-AWAY!  Here's how!!

To enter the giveaway readers must comment on a blog(s) and "like" the deflecto FB page, then enter via the Rafflecopter widget which is ONLY on the DCC blog. (* DCC is Designer Crafts Connection)  Hop forward and backward via the blue button at the top of the page. Deflecto is giving away the four drawer storage cube and the frame we used for this challenge.(pictured above)  Don't miss out on your chance to win!  Click here:  http://designercraftsconnection.blogspot.com/

Make sure to take time to enjoy the small blessings along the way; and

Life Life with a Flourish!

Marilyn

ETI Resin Challenge Blog Hop - Mini Calendar and Jar Lid

Have you ever crafted with resin?  

This is my first go at it and I think I could really get hooked on this!  

I tried a couple of different ways to cast the resin.  I used a mould to create the element on the front of the mini calendar.  I decorated the lid of a ball jar...which was a little trickier.

You will need  EnviroTex Jewelry Resin for these projects. 

The first order of business was to pull out the papers and read through all of the manufacturer's instructions. I didn't go to the craft store for extra supplies.  I found charms, buttons, flowers, tiny beads, glitter and other little miscellaneous knick-knacks to cast in the moulds.  I layed down freezer paper with the wax side facing up for my work surface.  It works best if you tape down the edges.  I used painters tape.  A timer, latex gloves, paper towels and a drinking straw are great to have on hand with your other supplies.

After mixing the resin as instructed, I poured just enough to cover the bottom of the mould.  I then placed the trinkets (facing down) into the resin. Blowing through a straw onto the liquid resin helps to remove air bubbles.  My husband told me that I looked really weird doing this part.  I couldn't see myself but at least he was entertained!  I let the resin sit overnight and then popped it out of the moulds.  I found that they came out easier if there was just a little bit of over flow.  I pulled on that part up while working to pop the resin out of the mould.  I then trimmed the excess resin from around the piece.  At this point it will still be slightly flexible.  It takes several days to harden completely.

I used a 3" x 4" acrylic craft frame to make my mini calendar.  I cut memory paper to fit the frame and inserted it into the frame.  I used Tombow Permanent Adhesive to attach the resin piece to the frame.  I like the sewing theme.  The little calendar came from a memory paper store.

My real experiment came with this Ball jar lid!  To start, I adhered the inside of the lid to the inside rim of the outer lid.  Make sure there is a good seal and then allow to dry.  I painted the entire outside, top and sides of the lid with white acrylic paint and let that dry.

Mix clear glue with glitter and tap it into the top of the lid with a toothpick or craft stick.  Lay all of your little treasures (facing up) on top of the glitter.  Allow to dry thoroughly.  Now you will be ready to pour the resin. Again, follow the manufacturer's instructions for mixing and pouring.  Take care to not over pour.  It is better to be a little shy with it than to boldly pour and end up with a big mess.  This will take overnight to get dry enough to handle.

 

 Now you can decorate your jar anyway you like and put something in it.  I put thread spools in mine and painted the outside with chalk paint.

 As a little bonus, I want to show off the mini frames I very simply embellished using bottle caps.  The image was cut to fit and I used the same technique as for the mould.  I love the way these turned out.  The mini frames are manufactured by deflecto.  We will be doing a challenge with Deflecto products at the end of the month.  Be watching for that one!

Thanks for stopping by.  Hope this post "resinated" with you and got you inspired to try your hand at crafting with ETI products!  When you are ready to go forward or backwards on the hop, just go to the blue DCC button at the top of the page and click on it!  

Don't forget to enter the give-a-way!

 Take time to enjoy the small blessings along the way and

Live Life with a Flourish!

Marilyn

Doodle all the Day!

I actually got kicked out of History class in my junior year for doodling!  I was intently listening to a recording and didn't even think about the fact that I was doodling on the peachee.  The teacher (Mr. Dick; true story) noticed and made me leave the class.  Needless to say; it was so humiliating that I stayed away from doodling for a long time!  Years!  And I am not sure I ever got completely over it!

I got some watercolor markers from Tombow to use for a tradeshow workshop.  I hadn't used them before and started doodling and drawing in my sketch book.  It was so relaxing that I spent a good share of the week-end in front of the TV with the markers.  I loved the way they blended into each other and got a little carried away once I realized how smooth they were to draw with!

I started by making a color chart with the colors of pens that I have.  They all have numbers to identify them and I got them all matched up for easy use.  Below is a pic of my chart.  Doodle doodle  doodle.

Once I got started with one doodle sketch, I had to do more.  I was in a zen-like state that I hadn't felt in a long time.  I found it to be a stress reliever and relaxing!  Following are some of my doodle drawings.  I used only the pen collections that I had here and loved the way they would blend into each other.  The blending pens seemed to clean themselves in between colors.  Anyway, here are my sketchy drawings.  For some reason, I had to sketch them all around a face.

1.  Holly Head

2.  Celestial Jewels

3.  Purple Punk

4.   Rose Blossom

5.  Highlight Hair

6.  Celestial Zentagle Chick

7.  Blue Drops & Floral

8. Flowers & Greens

9.  Christmas Cheer

I dedicate these doodles to Mr. Dick.  May he rest in peace.  I now have a new week-end activity and look forward to trying out more marker collections!  Fall is just around the bend.  Lots of inspiration for the coming months.

Hope you enjoyed looking through the doodles.  I will be keeping a record of upcoming inspirations and color collections.  Thanks for stopping by!

Enjoy the small blessings along the way and

Live Life with a Flourish!

Marilyn

Tombow provided the watercolor markers used in these drawings.