Mel Designs

Handmade Pillow from Fabric Scraps and Buttons

In an effort to scale down my fabric scrap stash so I will not feel guilty about buying more, I have been creating lots of fabric scrap projects. I got the idea for this pillow after seeing a similar one being sold for $100 from a pricey boutique.

I immediately knew I had all the materials I needed to make a similar one, including a cloudy and rainy but open Sunday afternoon that would allow me the time I needed to make the pillow from start to finish. 

I started by deciding how large my circles needed to be, then making some card stock patterns that I could use over and over again to trace the circles from the fabric and felt. This part is easy, either grab some food cans, use the bottom of cups and glasses from your kitchen, etc. and trace them on card stock with a pencil. If you are more technical by nature, use your computer to draw circles to your exact needed size and then print them out on card stock. Trim them out with a pair of scissors.

Next, use an iron and pressing surface to fuse Lite Steam a Seam by The Warm Company to your fabric scraps.

Trace the circles on your felt and fabric scraps with a pencil and a fabric marking pen. I opted for felt for my larger circles and fabric for the center of each felt circle since felt has finished edges.

I like to use wool felt by National Nonwovens. For this project I used whatever bright cheerful felt scraps I had leftover from previous projects. Peel off the paper backing from the fused fabric scraps, and use the iron to fuse the fabric to the felt circle.

As you can see, I opted for a cheerful colorful palette, but you can change up the scraps you use and match your own individual taste and decor. I had a blast using my sewing machine to free form stitch the felt and fabric scrap circles. There are several stitch options I have not tried before on my machine. Experimenting with the different types of stitches was fun.

If your machine is more basic, as my last one previously was, a straight stitch and zigzag used alternately will still produce a fun look.

Next, use a rotary cutter and self healing cutting pad to cut two pieces of felt for the pillow front and back. To do this, add a 1/2" seam allowance to the dimensions of your pillow. So, I used Fairfield Processing Corporation's Home Elegance pillow form in a 12" x 16" size. I cut my two 13"x 17" felt rectangles, using National Nonwovens "Haybale" colored felt.

Next, grab some colorful buttons and sew them to the center of each of the circles. I used Laura Kelly's Hand dyed Buttons from Buttons Galore and More in Candy Apple, Sunshine Yellow and Outrageous Orange.

I considered using a fabric glue to attach the sewn buttoned circles to the pillow front but decided to take the extra time and sew them on using a hand sewing needle and black sewing thread. Arrange your felt and fabric scrap circles to the pillow cover first, noting how many rows will cover the pillow from left to right, then top to bottom. (remember your 1/2" seam allowance). I needed about eight circles across and five circles down for mine.

This pillow was so much fun to make, I am going to make one for Mother's Day and another for my neices birthday to match her room.

Happy Scraping!

Live Life Creatively,

 

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Bird Nest Shadowbox Jewelry Boxes and Brooches

It's hard not to be inspired by birds in Spring. The cheerful singing and constant presence of birds this time of year cannot be ignored. I create almost daily next to a large window. Almost every five minutes or so I am startled by a cardinal who thumps the window almost violently. This occurrence has been going on for a few weeks now. After searching the web, I found out that cardinals are notorious for fighting their own reflections in an effort for territorial rights. With the constant thumping and sweet site of my cardinal, I once again became inspired to create a bird themed project.

It was by pure chance that I ran into these really cute wood boxes at my local craft store recently. I thought they were really different. I also snagged these super cute laser cut wood bird shapes. Super tiny and perfect for jewelry projects.

The boxes are different. They have a glass top and a wood slat that is removable so that you can display components of your choice, shadowbox style.

Here is a look at most of the supplies I used for this project, give or take a few.

Instead of painting the boxes, I decided to use Rit Dyes to stain them. I love this process because its fun, fast and easy. I simply used a teaspoon of dye to about 1/4 cup hot water to mix a dye bath. (Remember to wear rubber or latex gloves when using dyes)

I used a paintbrush to "paint" the dye to the top of the box.

For a two toned stained effect, I added some water to the dye and painted the bottom of the box a lighter shade of Rit Dye's Aquamarine. I also dropped the shapes into the cup that I used for the dye bath and let them sit for five minutes or so.

For the second box, I used Cocoa Brown. Here is a shot of all the pieces dyed drying on paper towels.

So, with my bird theme, what to display under the top glass but a sweet little wired bird nest? I used Artistic Wire to create a simple spiraled nest.

These are super easy to create, just keep wrapping the wire in a circular motion until you have a nice full "nest." Use wire nippers to cut off a few small piece of wire and use them to wire the spirals together. Twist them tight with round nose jewelry pliers.

Don't worry too much about what your nest look like at this point. After you feel them with eggs in the center, any little "imperfections" will be invisible. 

I used Premo by Sculpey to shape little tiny eggs. A pea sized piece will make perfectly sized eggs for these nests.

I bake the eggs, right in the nest, in the oven at about 225 degrees for about 25 minutes on a clay dedicated baking sheet. Then I brushed the eggs with Silver PearlEx by Jacquard Products.

To embellish the box, I added a stamped oval, some fabric washi tape from Stampington and some self adhesive gem stone rows.

 To make the pendant, I glued the bird to the center of the dyed circle and added some rhinestone chain to the the edges with Beacon's Glass Metal and More. I also attached a super sparkly brooch to the piece. To create a brooch, I added a pin back.

This little brooch turned out to be the perfect addition for the boxes.

And my cardinal is stil outside my window, thumping away and reminding me that birds are so artfully inspirational.

Live Life Creatively,

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Elmers Neon Pink Foam Board- Girl's Room Chalkboard Sign

 

 

Do you have a sign or project that needs to get noticed? Elmer's recently introduced this vibrant version of their Foam Board In a vibrant Neon Pink color.  It is available in a 20" x 30" sheet that is 3/16" thick. Elmer's Foam Boards are lightweight but strong and rigid enough to resist denting and crushing. The resilient polystyrene core bounces back after cutting to keep the board uniform edge to edge. The smooth surface satisfies a wide range of mediums including markers and paint. Perfect for crafts, school projects, framing and mounting!

 

 

When I decided to create this girl's chalkboard room sign, I immediately knew I wanted to try my hand at die cutting some foam board using my Sizzix BigShot Pro and layered flower dies. I used Elmer's White Foam Board in 3/16" thickness and die cut several flowers to embellish my sign. But before running pieces through the die cut machine, I cut them down to rectangles measuring approximately 6" x 8" so that they would fit through the die cutting machine. I used an X-Acto ® knife to cut the rectangles from the 20" x 30" sheet, using several passes with the knife.

 

Die cutting flowers from all the pieces cut from the foam board sheet  yielded several flowers.

To add just a bit of interest to the flowers, I used Elmer's Painter's ® Paint Markers in black to color details onto the foam board flowers, varying the patterns used

I stacked my flowers together, and used Elmer's CraftBond® Fabric & Paper Glue to hold the stacks together.

 

While the glue was setting up on my flower stacks, I painted the center portion of the Neon Foam Board with Chalkboard paint.

 

 

Chalkboard paint is widely available in both craft, home improvement stores and the DIY department of your local discount department store. I applied a couple of coats, let them dry and then lined the edges with the stacked flowers.

 

I also used the Black Painter's ® Paint Marker to dry brush the edges of the board. To do this, gently push the nib of the pen onto the surface of the board, allowing it to create a very small pool of paint. Then, with your index finger, swipe the paint across the surface for a dry brush effect

 

This Neon Pink Foam Board makes an adorable addition to Girl's Room Decor. Here are a few other ideas to inspire you;

• Make a vibrant cupcake stand. Using an X-acto knife, cut the board into several circles of different sizes and stack them. Place pretty cupcakes on your tiered stand to serve as a colorful centerpiece for baby showers, birthday parties, weddings or other Spring and Summer celebrations.
• Its a Girl! Wondering how to creatively welcome home the baby girl and the rest of the family? Imagine their delight when they arrive to see this explosion of pink embellished with appropriate motifs such as storks, baby rattles or the babies initials (all cut from Elmers's Foam Board). If the new addition is not a girl, consider making a cute sign for the big sister that proudly exclaims "Im being promoted to Big Sister, August 31st, 2013." She will adore and cherish for years to come!
• Create a wedding party or shower sign that gets noticed. Stencil on letters instructing guests which directions to go to arrive at the festivities. Decorate with flowers, birds, or other appropriate motifs in the couples wedding theme. Another hot wedding trend is the addition of the candy bar at receptions. Use the Neon Pink Foam Board to create a colorful and delicious sign for your candy bar.

 

Live Life Creatively,

 

 

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Handmade Laundry Room Organizer- "Missing Socks"

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When I visit my local Joann's or Michaels Crafts Stores, I take the time to scour each department. You would be amazed at what materials you might find in the most unlikely departments. As manufacturer's strive to offer unique materials to scrapbook artists, beaders and sewing enthusiasts, you find more and more cross promotion of materials than ever before.

When I ran into this 12 x 12 sheet of "paper," in the scrapbooking materials section. I was amazed to discover that it was not in fact paper at all, but burlap, printed with a damask motif. I was immediately inspired and bought not one but two sheets. Wondering what to do with it, I decided to cover a favorite hard bound journal that looked a little worse for wear.

I determined the size I needed and trimmed the sheet with a rotary cutter and self healing cutting mat. I pressed 1/2" seams with my iron and pinned them in place before sewing them down with my sewing machine. To keep the burlap from unraveling. I sewed a zig zag stitch all along the edges of the sheet.

The fun part? Coming up with a design for the cover. I decided that this damask journal cover would be perfect for applique. I doubled the cover and drew a 4" circle on the front, which I cut out with scissors.

I fused some black canvas to my favorite fusible webbing, lite steam and seam and die cut the motif out using my Sizzix Bigshot die cutting machine and die.

I then sewed a 5" square of natural canvas to the back inside of the journal cover to create a sort of reverse applique.

To embellish the cover, I decided to embroider the flower and details by adding this silver braided thread from Kreniek.

I used sewing thread to couch down the embroidery thread.

I continued until I was satisfied with the design.

Here is the sewn damask journal cover in progress.

I added a vintage brooch from Melissa Francis which I purchased at Scrapbook.com. I also added some stamped sentiments and these buttons by Buttons Galore and More from The Haberdashery Collection.

The perfect companion to my burlap damask journal cover. A pencil case with embellished pencils.

I used a fabric marking pencil to measure a 2" x 8" strip from the natural canvas. I doubled the fabric and cut the strip out.

I then cut 1 1/2" squares from the burlap damask and black canvas and sewed them to one side of the strip.Before sewing together, I added The Haberdashery buttons to the top.

I sewed the strip together with the right sides in on the left, bottom and right, leaving the top open for turning and insertion of the pencils.

I painted the pencils black and added buttons tied with hemp to each of them.

I stamped sentiments to regular typing paper cut them out and decoupaged them to the pencils.

These pencils are the perfect companions to my my sewn damask burlap office journal cover.

While I was drafting this post, I ran into this project from The Dairy of A Natural Girl. She also found the same printed damask burlap and made these super cool candles with the material.

And the morale of the story, the next time you are in your favorite craft store, don't just pass up on the beading section just because your not a beader. Look around, you might find something that inspires you to use in new and different ways!

Live Life Creatively,

 

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Recycled Wine Bottle Chalkboard Messages

Do you keep scores of recycled glass jars and bottles, wondering what to do with them? There are so many adorable ideas for recycling these days, its's no wonder we can't seem to part with normally discarded items such as these emptied, cleaned out and decorated wine bottles.

Lately, Ive been experimenting with DecoArt's Gloss Enamels. These paints, perfecy for painting on glass comes in a variety of finishes 3D Gloss Enamels, an opaque finish that has a raised effect because it has a precision nozzle but like regular brush on Gloss enamel is opaque.These paints are suitable for multiple purposes and adheres to glass, wood, papier maché, plaster, resin, ceramics, and many other craft surfaces. It can be baked at 325°F for 30 minutes for a dishwasher-safe finish. For those of you that prefer a more transparent effect on glass, for instance, check out Crystal Gloss Enamels, 3D Gloss Enamels or Crystal Gloss Enamels Glitter.

 
For these bottles, I brushed on Gloss enamels in Bright Orange and Calypso Blue. Once I had several coats on the bottle in the desired opaque finish, I baked them according to the manufacturer's instructions to cure the paint.

I then used a rectangular card stock template to trace the shape using a black permanent marker.

To add the chalkboard paint to the bottle, I used DecoArt's Chalkboard Paint for glass and a 1" brush to paint inside the traced rectangle. It will take more than one coat to get a nice opaque covered here.

  While my paint was drying between coats, I used a push mold and white Sculpey III to form several leaves and flowers. I baked the pieces according to the manufacturer's instructions and let them cool.

Use DecoArt's Americana Acrylics to paint the pieces in shades that coordinate with the Gloss Enamel colors.

I also dry brushed my pieces with Lamp Black for a vintage look.

Finally, I used a super strong adhesive to glue the clay shapes to the edges of the bottles, while the bottles were laying on their sides, working one area at a time.

Finally, I added some hemp from Hemptique to the neck of the bottles, wrapping around several times and securing with tacky glue.

Switch the messages out depending on whatever sentiment inspires you or with the changing of the seasons. These colors will be suitable through Spring, Summer and well into Fall.

Hope you enjoyed this idea from Mel Designs!

Live Life Creatively,

Handmade Laundry Room Organizer- "Missing Socks"

If you are like me and hoards of other people, you have scores of mismatched socks. Where do missing socks go once they leave the dryer, if they ever really do? I guess the logical conclusion is that they cling to the insides of paints, arm sleeves, etc. On more than one occasion, I put on my yoga pants only to discover a renegade sock stuck to the inside leg. 

Sometimes they take longer to turn up, if at all.  After a couple of months of hanging onto mismatched socks, I usually just give up and find other uses for them. Some of my socks have turned into sock monkeys, draft stoppers (I once fashioned a long white sock into a snowman draft stopper, it was quite cute actually) or sock puppets. My dad uses them to wax the car.

I once designated a basket in my laundry room for the purpose of tucking away mate less socks in hopes that they would eventually be reunited with their partners. And do you know what, I did eventually match them up about 95% of the time, which still left a few for becoming snowman draft stoppers.

The missing sock phenomena inspired me to create this wood board plaque, perfect for storing mate less socks until a successful reunion can be made with its partner sock. Its more decorative then my basket and I can see which socks are missing at a glance.

 I raided my fabric scraps and torn them into strips, each measuring about 2" x 8." (The length and width of your torn strips will vary according to the size of the die cut you will be using, discussed a bit later) To join the strips together, I simply overlapped the pieces slightly (1/4") and sewed a straight stitch down the center. I joined together three strips, mixing and matching prints and solids.

Since I was using the Sizzix BigShot Die Cutting Machine and Bird die, I cut a card stock bird out first to make sure the fabric strips covered the entire die, and I didn't end up with a bird with no tail or beak or something.

Once I was ready, I set about die cutting my birds from the joined fabric strips, three of them.

Here is a quick look at my die cut fabric scrap birds.

Pretty but I thought the needed a bird more detail. I used my sewing machine and black thread to free form sew around the edges of the birds.

These turned out to be cute little scrap fabric embellishments for my laundry room organizer!

I chose DecoArt's Americana Acrylics in Lamp Black and Cadmium Yellow to paint the wood pieces. Bear in mind that Cadmimum Yellow is a transparent paint. It will take several coats to cover the board or you can use a more semi-opaque paint such as Lemon Yellow for a similar shade and color. I painted the sign board, which came from Walnut Hollow, black first, along with the clothespins, which I painted all black.

To create an aged effect on the board, which gives it a little more interest and matches my shabby chic decor, I painted yellow over the black and sanded the surface to let some of the black show through. The opposite applies to these teardrop shaped wings. I painted them yellow first and then black.

If you desire different colors to match your existing decor, DecoArt has a multitude of paint colors to choose from.

Once I had all my pieces painted, It was time to begin assembling the board. I used DecoArt's new medium, "Deco-pauge" with a foam brush to apply the birds to the sign board.

I used a heavy duty adhesive such as Beacon Adhesives Gem-Tac to attach the clothespins. Make sure you use a liberal amount of the adhesive as these clothespins will be handled frequently.

Finally, I used some 1" alphabet stamps and black pigment ink to stamp "missing socks" on the surface of the board. Several small bits and pieces of embellishments later, and a handmade laundry room organizer was born perfect for keeping track of those "missing socks." Maybe this will save me money replacing all those socks I never found and matched up with its mate!

Live Life Creatively,

Elmers Cork Foam Board- Creative Space Organizer

Elmer's ® has a new innovative surface called Cork Foam Board. It is the perfect solution to getting
better organized in your home office or creative space. I got lucky recently
and was sent some Cork Foam Board Sheets to "experiment" with. I came up with this organizer project using the Cork Foam Board along with Elmers's Foam Board and of course their adhesives. It was stenciled with Crafter's Workshop Stencils and Elmer's Painters ® Paint Markers. The Cork Foam Board is lightweight and features a sturdy construction which makes it a great alternative to heavy cork boards. It is 3/8" thick so it will withstand push pins without them going through the
back of the board.

I placed my stencil on the surface of the Cork Foam Board. I used Painters Paint Markers in Black, Brown and Green to color in the birds, branches and leaves respectively. I loved stenciling using the
Painters Paint Markers because the medium point of the pens allowed perfect
precision.

The surface of the Foam Cork Board was smooth and easy to use the paint markers on. I stenciled on one side of the board to use for tacked notes,fabric swatches, inspiration photographs, found objects, etc. The other side I plan to use to organize some of my creative supplies so I constructed some
lightweight yet durable boxes from Elmer's Foam Board.

To construct your own organizational boxes, determine the desired finished size of the box. So for pencils, I thought 5" x 6" box with an open top would work nice. So I marked and measured that on the Foam Board and cut out the pieces with an X-Acto ® knife on a self-healing cutting mat. Next, determine what sized pieces you need to use for the sides and bottom of the box. Cut those pieces out with the knife.

Construction of the box is easy. Just place Craft Bond ® Tacky Glue on the edges and join the two
pieces together. To hold in place, insert some straight pins into the sides. You can remove them once the glue sets. Or, you can leave them inserted, just make sure they are pushed all the way into the foam so you will not stick your fingers when you use the boxes.

Color your boxes with the Black Painters Paint Marker or your color of choice. Plan to use two or three coats and let the coats dry in between. Note that I also stenciled designs onto these boxes.

I divided my organizer into sections by adding a Foam Board strip colored with black.

 

If you want a smaller version of this organizer, the Cork Foam Board cab be easily cut into smaller sections.

Ths is one creative way to organize your space. What is your favorite way to organize your creative space?

Live Life Creatively,

 

 

DCC Blog Hop- Buttons Galore and More Mixed Media Heart Pendant

Welcome to the March Designer Crafts Connection Manufacturer Challenge and Give
Away!  This month, it's all about the buttons, with Buttons Galore & More.  
This month, we have many talented Designers sharing projects made with buttons
and a fabulous prize package. The give away starts today and ends on March
17th.  Leave a comment to enter.  There will be a prize for one participating
Designer and one Reader who comments.  Drawings are random, so leave comments on
all the blogs for more chances to win.

I decided to create a mixed media necklace using gold beads and cozy brads from Buttons Galore and More. I used the button shank remover to remove the flange from the brad. For the heart shape, I used a Sizzix Die cut machine and primitive hearts die to cut two shapes from scrap fabrics.

Fuse webbing to the scrap fabric before cutting and fuse the smaller heart to the larger one by layering. Cut an extra heart from the scrap fabric for the back of of the heart. You will need to completely embellish the front of the heart before sewing the pieces together.

I used my sewing machine and thread to sew around the edges of the small heart in order to keep it in place. I also added a stamped fabric sentiment to fused muslin and fused it to the center of the heart.

Use the sewing machine and thread to stitch the sentiment in place. I used solvent ink by the way and set the ink with an iron on a medium setting.

One of the embellishments I added was wire that I used round nose pliers to bend the wire.

I used black embroidery floss to sew the wire the front of the heart. I also added a scrap off fabric that I had in my stash in a coordinating fabric.

I added my cozy brad, flange removed and sewed a gold button to the heart.

I used fabri-tac to add the brad to the heart. I also added a little glitter to the brad for a little extra sparkle.

To assemble the heart, sew the front and back together, leaving a small opening so that you can stuff the heart with polyfiber stuffing.

Continue sewing closed once it is stuffed. Because I had so many embellishments to the front of my heart, I hand sewed the pieces together using sewing thread and back stitch. I added a jump ring to the top with the hand sewing needle and thread.

Add a chain and there you are, you have a sweet little mixed media button embellished pendant.   

Now for the Blog Hop Part. 

Please join the Designer Craft Connection, Viewtainer and Buttons Galore

in presenting this blog hop. 

You have a chance to win a Viewtainer filled with an assortment

buttons and 45 feet of ribbon.

To win one of the Viewtainers filled with ribbons and buttons – Leave a comment on the Buttons Galore and More Blog.
The comment should contain your favorite project from the hop, and the container
you would like to win. Comments need to be made by March 17th, 2013 at 11:59
eastern standard time.

Don't forget to use the DCC logo on the right sidebar by clicking back and forward to see all the wonderful projects.

Life Live Creatively,

Buttoned Embellished Tiny Totes

Who doesn't love a good fabric stash buster/scrap project? I am forever on the lookout for great
projects that will use up my fabric scraps. I also love to create tiny totes. They are very handy for giving small gifts such as gift cards, candies, soaps, art gifts, etc.

I recently had the idea to use some of my larger scraps to create these pillows, exploding with color. I tore strips of fabric in a mix and match color theme and pattern selection.

The way that I assembled the pillow on the right is the same way that I assembled these cute little tiny totes, embellished with buttons.

I simply pinned together two of the strips and used my sewing machine and some black thread to sew the pieces together.

Continue in the same fashion until your strips make one nice sized piece of fabric that can be cut to form the front and back of the little tote. Notice how I used the various stitches found on my machine to join the pieces together, which adds some fun elements to the tote bag. I also used some free form stitching (see the yellow strip) to add a little whimsy. Some of these fabrics were purchased patterns leftover from previous projects and some were strips of hand dyed muslin I use to make my hand dyed and stamped ribbons. The idea is to have fun using up strips from your stash.

I couldn't resist adding a stamped sentiment to some of the strips that were solids. Text type details make things so interesting. I used solvent ink and set it with my iron on a medium setting (no steam).

Determine the desired size of your finished totes and add a 1/2" seam allowance on all sides. So if you want your tote to be, say, 5 1/2" x 7", cut your pieces to 6 1/2" by 8" using a self healing cutting mat and rotary cutter. Join the pieces together, wrong sides out. I was left with an uneven edge on one side since my strips were not exactly evenly torn. I cut off that edge and set it aside so that the edges were even. This makes it much easier to sew even seams.

Once my bag was sewn, I used the iron to steam the seams open and turned it right side out. Note that I used a knife pleated piece of hand dyed ribbon for the top of the tiny tote, which makes a nice embellished finish on the top edge.

Now for the part that's even more fun than putting the strips together. Embellishing it with BUTTONS. I fell in love with these hand dyed buttons by designer Laura Kelly for Buttons Galore and More that I received in my design team package.

I laid out a little "design" and used Beacon Adhesives Fabri-Tac to glue everything in place.

One of my favorite parts of this tiny tote is the button handle created by threading the buttons onto
a piece of wire.

I attached the handle by punching holes with a heavy duty hole punch, punching right through the fabric layers.

I used round nosed beading pliers to curl the sharp edges inward and secure the handle.

Even before joining the design team at Buttons Galore and More, I was fascinated by these little pieces of smooth plastic pieces they call "Start-Ups." They handle ink beautifully. I used chalk ink by ClearSnap to ink the piece in an uneven manner. I did have to use my heat gun to
get the ink to set quickly though. I'm impatient that way.

I stamped a fleur de lis motif in the center with the solvent ink.

I had so much fun making this little button embellished tote that I had to make another one. I mean, I had all these torn fabric strips just laying around, right?

Remember the scrap I cut off of the uneven edge of the joined strip fabric piece?

It didn't go to waste either! It seems scrap fabric projects lead to more scrap fabric projects!

  Live Life Creatively,

Metallic Mosaic Box with Elmers Painters Pens

 

Creating sophisticated, beautiful home decor is easy to do with painters pens. When I received these  Painters ® Metallic Shimmer Paint Markers from Elmers, I instantly fell in love with the pretty color palette and the precision the pens offer. 

These colorful opaque acrylic paint markers are perfect for decorating, drawing and personalizing almost any surface.  They can be used on wood, plastic, clay, ceramic, glass, metal, foam board, fabric, terracotta and other surfaces.

I decided they would be perfect for creating a mosaic box using this wooden keepsake box and creative metal products from Walnut Hollow.     
I used a Sizzix Bigshot die cutting machine and embossing folder to create a pretty pattern on the metal sheets before I colored them.

I love how the pens offer great precision and are less messy than using a brush.

I used the black pen found in the Bright Colors package to paint the box. Getting into small crevices is really easy with the paint pen tip.

I used all of the pens in the Metallic Shimmer package to color the embossed sheets.

Once the sheets were painted, I cut them into various sizes using a paper trimmer. I measured the sides of the box lid and box bottom so that the width would fit nicely and made the length variable.

I arranged the sheets into a pattern resembling a mosaic, leaving small spaces in between each sheet. Once the pattern was arranged, I used a the CraftBond™ Permanent Dot Runner on the back of each sheet.

Finally, I used Elmers Super Glue to attach a pretty vintage brooch to the lid in the center of the box.

This box was so fun to do without the usual crafty mess. I loved that I could use the pens on both the metal sheets and the wooden box. The result? A sophsticated and shimmering mosaic box. 

Live Life Creatively,