Mel Designs

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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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,

Chalkboard Napkin Rings

These days, chalkboard adorns everything from wine glasses to fabric pillow. So many varieties of chalkboard paint are available on the market that it is impossible to escape this super fun trend. Take a quick look at Pinterest and you will discover all kinds of recipes for creating your own chalkboard paint in any color imaginable plus a multitude of fun projects to use this paint on.

I ran into these fun 2" x 3" mini chalkboard pieces in the unfinished wood craft supply section of my local JoAnn's Fabrics and Crafts. They are made by Darice. I immediately knew I wanted to do something with them but wasn't sure exactly what right away. I remembered I had purchased some wood beveled napkin rings in bulk so of course! Napkin Rings.

With the addition of some polymer clay and paint in bright colors, I knew they would be unique as a table accessory/place marker.

I chose DecoArt's Americana Acrylics in bright, fun colors.

I painted the wood pieces in alternating colors.

To add a little embellishment to them, I used a plastic mould made for polymer clay and Sculpey III by Polyform in Silver.

When using plastic moulds, it helps to dust the surface with corn starch. This allows the clay to peel away from the mold more easily.

A little conditioned clay was pressed into the mould, shaped and peeled away.

This is a shot of the clay pressed and formed into the mould.

Now the clay is being peeled away. And here you have the finished shape!

I also opted to decorate the center of the wood ring with clay strips. I rolled out the clay into thin strips using an acrylic roller. I used a clay knife to cut thin strips to fit into the center of the beveled wood napkin ring.

I used solvent ink and a script font stamp to add some texture to the strips.

I wrapped the strips around the center of the wood ring and baked them along with the fancy moulded shapes according to the directions on the package.

 When the clay was cured and cooled. I dry brushed the fancy shape, glued it to the center top of the chalkboard frame and added a little flat backed gem stone.

  I used a super stong glue to attach the chalkboard frames to the wood rings. These napkin rings can be used over and over again. I love napkin ring projects. Almost any material can be used to make them including recycled materials. They can instantly bring an entirely new personality to table decor. Thanks for letting me share my idea with you!

Live Life Creatively,

 

Polymer Clay Vintage Ruler Bookmarks

 
 
When I scored these fun old rulers at a recent thrift shop going out of business sale, I left with so many ideas of how to use them. In an effort to preplan for the holidays I want to start organizing my gift giving for people such as teachers, co-workers, clients I would like to thank and friends, sans a big budget. I think these bookmarks will be perfect for the ladies on my list, as the materials are easy to come by (even the old rulers) and fairly quick to make in multiples. I will have to think about a man version- ideas welcome!

Choosing the Right Paints

Enter my favorite paints, Lumiere by Jacquard Products. These paints produce beautiful sparkly effects and really work well for producing antique results. The colors I chose for base coating and dry brushing are some of my favorites, Pewter, Crimson, Halo Violet Gold (fast becoming my fav even taking the place of my beloved Citrine) and Metallic Silver. Throw in some Neopaque colors like White and Magenta and you have the beauty that will make these bookmarks really stand out!  

So now the clay roses. Jacquard not only makes beautiful paints but they also carry a high quality polymer paint, Cernit clay, which is perfect for making both sophisticated and whimsical arts and crafts projects, including: miniatures, dolls, buttons, beads, jewelry, and for adding sculptural elements to any project, including bookmarks. 

Tips on Using Clay Molds and Conditioning Clay

The molds are from Mad About Molds, which carries high quality polymer clay bisque molds in so many themes and shapes it will make your head spin. I recently discovered their site and was unable to get away without $50.00 bucks worth of molds in my shopping cart. Delivery was professional, prompt and the molds more than lived up to my expectations. Surprisingly easy to use, they benefit from a light coat of cornstarch before placing the conditioned clay inside the mold. If you have never conditioned clay before, it entails working it with your fingers until it is soft and pliable. Clay that has been under-conditioned will result in cracks while baking. There are some tried and true tricks for quicker conditioning, including placing a small amount (about 1/4 of a block) into your pocket or even your bra. Regarding this last idea, I have been surprised more than once at the end of the day when I undressed and discovered a wad or two of clay on the floor, somehow forgotten about over the course of a busy day.

Once I molded and baked my roses, I gave them a couple-three coats of the Lumiere and Neopaque paint. Then I chose contrating colors of white and metallic silver to give the molded roses interest and depth. Dont forget the back! You want your rose to have that professional touch to them.

Cutting the Rulers to Bookmark Size 
"Vintage" (i.e. old advertisng rulers that can be found in some delightful colors) rulers are easy to find in almost any antique, flea or thrift shop. I used the no so colored ones since I did not want to compete with the beautiful molded roses.

Cutting the rulers is easy, you just need a hand saw (you may also want to wear safety gloves) and a cutting surface to protect your working surface from the obvious. I cut my rulers to 6" in lenth, which gives you two per 12" ruler (really?) or more from yard stick lengths (you do the math).

Assembling the Vintage Rulers 
Gluing the roses to the rulers is rather easy, the roses have a flat back. I also added these cute beaded scrapbooking embellishments by Recollections that I just love!

For a final vintage touch, dry brush the edges of the rulers with Neopaque in black.

 
A pretty gift a bookish friend will adore. They look great when paired with old torn books.

How to order the Materials or BookMarks

If you are interested in cernit clay, neopaque or lumiere, visit Dick Blick. For the truely time-strapped, I am offering these in my etsy shop. If you don't have time to put these these together, go to my etsy shop and order them!

Want to see another cool project using these products? Hop on over to my tutorial creating unique shadow box napkin rings.

Thanks for letting me share- remember...

Live Life Creatively,

 
 
 
 
 

  
 
 

 

 
 
 
 

Repurposed Furniture Caster Pendant

We recently moved a large sectional sofa from our den to our upstairs media room. Since it was originally on hardwood floors, my hub had placed furniture casters under the legs. My little pup chewed up a few, but I managed to save a few since I thought they would be perfect for creating such things as napkin rings, ornaments and pendants.

If you don't have some to repurpose, you can buy some pretty inexpensively from home improvement stores such as Lowes.

I used my Neopaque paints from Jacquard to paint the caster black. I painted a 1 1/2 circle black, waxed it, and then painted it white, using a sanding block to remove some of the white paint for a distressed look.

I then used this sweet swallow mold from a super cool supplier of molds: mad about molds.  

I used cernit clay to create my swallow. If you are unsure how to use these bisque type of molds, mad about molds has a really quick video demo you can view by clicking here.If you are unfamilar with Cernit Clay, it is distributed by Jacquard products and perfect for making both sophisticated and whimsical arts and crafts projects, including: miniatures, dolls, buttons, beads, jewelry, and for adding sculptural elements to any project.

I used an acrylic block to make sure the clay was pushed all the way into the mold. Then I used a plain craft knife to cut away portions of the clay.

Bake in an oven on a clay dedicated sheet at 275 degrees, about 15 minutes for every 1/4" of thickness.

I accidentally baked mine at 350 degrees for 30 minutes and got a burned, puffed up swallow. I ended up liking the effect so I used the piece anyway.

To finish the pendant, I drilled holes at the top and the bottom of the caster, inserted really large (like 18mm) silver jump rings and glued the circle and bird to the center.

I stamped sing in black Staz on and added a few beads and gem stones. I cannot wait to make a set of napkin rings with these!  I sure am glad we moved that sofa!

Live Life Creatively,

 

 
 
 
 

 
 
 


 
 
 
  
 

Floral Clay Roses Craft Stick Cuff Bracelet

A few weeks ago, I posted my version of the adorable craft stick bracelets that I have been seeing on blogs, pinterest and other sites. I loved making this buttoned up version of them so much that I decided to grab some of my other supplies and make a slightly more sophisticated cuff.

Making the wood cuff itself is simple but requires some advance planning as you need to let the bracelets dry out overnight. Here's how I did it...

Bring a pot of water to a boil on the stovetop. Place several sticks in the pot and boil for five minutes. If you are making one bracelet, you might want to boil four or even five sticks until you get the hang of forming the wood. I was a little impatient and broke several sticks before getting one formed and placed into the glass.

Let the sticks soak in the hot water for about 15 minutes. Then, carefully shape them into a cuff shape. This is the hardest part. You need to work patiently and carefully to prevent breaks and stress fractures in the wood.

Form the cuffs by placing them inside a glass. Let them dry out overnight before removing them.

To embellish my wood cuff, I created roses from cernit clay by Jacquard Products.  I used white, pinched off a quarter sized piece after conditioning it with my fingers, and rolled it into a ball.

Then, roll into into a thin string.

Use your fingers to flattern the string out and roll inward to resemble a flower, slghtly forming petals.

Do this until you have five flowers. 

I used Lumiere to paint my cuffs and flowers.

I used Metallic Olive Green for the cuff and Pearlescent Magenta for the roses.

Dry brush the roses with metallic gold. Use a strong glue like Liquid Fusion to glue the rhinestones to the center of the roses. Use the Liquid Fusion to glue the flowers to the cuff. 

And your cuff is complete,

These bracelets are really fun and easy to make.Thanks for letting me share them with you.

Live Life Creatively,

 

 

 

Polymer Clay Rosette Earrings

I love rosettes. They add instant softness and femininity to anything and everything. Whether worn as jewelry or on clothing or used to adorn home decor pieces, rosettes add that certain trendiness that we all like. It was with this in mind that I decided to create polymer clay rosettes using Cernit Clay by Jacquard Products.

Jacquard Products is the exclusive North American distributor of, non-toxic phthalate-free Cernit polymer clay. Manufactured in Belgium, Cernit clay has long been recognized for its excellent quality, durability and porcelain-like finishes. Highly in demand by professional artists and hobby crafters, Cernit is perfect for making both sophisticated and whimsical arts and crafts projects, including: miniatures, dolls, buttons, beads, jewelry, and for adding sculptural elements to any project.

I used white cernit clay to create my rosettes. After I ran the clay through a pasta machine several times, I flattened the conditioned clay to a very thin setting on my machine (1/32").

I used a metal clay knife to cut the piece to approximately 3" x 7."

I cut thin strips with the knife measuring 1/4" wide.

I twisted the clay using my fingers gently from one end of the strip.

Starting at one end, I rolled the twisted clay inward to create a realistic rosette.

If you plan to make charms from your rosettes, its important to remember to pierce a hole at one edge before baking. I added some leaves created from a press mold.

After baking and cooling, I painted them with sparkly lumiere in crimson and citrine.

When the paint has dried, use Neopaque in black and a toothpick to hightlight areas of the leaves and lumiere in metallic silver to enhance the rose. The silver paint will really call attention to the texture of the rose when dry brushed over it.

I glued tiny Swarovski crystals to the center with Liquid Fusion, glued the leave to the back of the rose with the glue and attached an ear wire to create earrings.

My Favorite part of this project is the presentation. What a great little gift these would make!

I started with plain shipping tags and sewed the edges about 1/4" from the edge to create a border.

I painted the tags Citrene Green. After letting them dry front and back, I layered various stamped images over them and added a french sentiment suitable for my rose theme.

Then I added embellishments such as fabric tape and rhinestones.

 

These embellished tags make the earrings all the more special. Tell us what you think- go to Jacquard Products Facebook page and like us. We have frequent give aways and fun tips that you will receive as our fan.

Live Life Creatively,

 

Painted Canvas Christmas Ornaments

How do you get yourself in the Christmas spirit when its beginning to look a lot like Christmas but its still 75 degrees outside here in South Georgia? By making some "cool" canvas ornaments! Painted and sewn canvas has tons of possibilities.

I started with a canvas fabric sheet and burlap circles by Canvas Corp. These items are available from Scrapbook.com.

I cut two 3" circles and two 1 1/2" circles from the canvas sheet. Using Lumiere and Neopaque by Jacquard products, I painted swatches of color on both large circles, letting colors dry in between.

I used Pearlescent Blue, Metallic Silver in Lumiere and White Neopaque for the snowman ornament.

I painted the smaller circles white to resemble the head of a snowman.

Once the paint was dry, I layered the snowman on top of the burlap circle and sewn the edges with a straight stitch. I layered this piece on top of one of the larger painted circles and sewed in place. To create a stuffed ornament, layer circles together and sew, leaving a small opening to insert stuffing. Then sew together.

I used cernit clay by Jacquard products to create a nose. I used Canvas Corp's fluted 12 x 12 paper to create the tag.

Experiment with different themes, like I did with this heart themed canvas ornament.

Jacquard Lumiere and Neopaque can be purchased from Dick Blick Art Materials. 

Live Life Creatively,

 

Snowman Votives for the Holidays

Looking for a quick last minute gift for neighbors, co-workers, friends and those unexpected drop by guests. These snowman votives are easy to make in batches, inexpensive and fun!

Purchase a .50 glass votive in a style that has a slight curve for the top. For the bottom, a recycled glass jar works perfectly. I used a pimento jar. Wrap the pieces in self adhesive decorative scrap booking tape such as Tim Holtz's Tidings Tissue tape which can be purchased at Scrapbook.com. Simply tear small (1"-3") pieces of the tape off the roll and layer as needed to cover all the glass.

When both pieces have been covered, decorative the face by gluing pebble beads for eyes and creating a carrot shaped nose with sculpey.

Use a strong adhesive to hold the facial features in place such as Aleene's Liquid Fusion.I chose to bling up the top edge of my snowman with self adhesive gem stones such as these by Creative Imaginations that can be purchased from Scrapbook.com as well.

With all in place, glue the jar top and bottom together using the Liquid Fusion. If you are using a pimento jar, this should be fairly easy since it has a flat bottom. To add a cute scarf, wrap some pretty seam binding or organza ribbon around the middle and add a starburst brad, such as these by Karen Foster.

So gather up all your supplies and start working on these adorable snowman votives for the holidays.

Live Life Creatively,

Pretty Clay Pendants and Giveaway

This is a project that is so easy, you will be turning out pendants left and right for gift giving now and into the holidays.

You will need the supplies pictured here in addition to some jewelry findings of your choice such as a chain or rope necklace with a clasp, in addition to some jump rings that are 16mm or larger and a headpin and bead. You will also need the appropriate jewelry tools such as wire nips, chain and round nose pliers.

Start by painting the 1 1/2 wood circle with Jacquard's Neopaque paints in black. Paint both sides a couple of coats.  

 
While the paint is drying, punch 1" circles from the pages of a vintage book such as this dictionary my Mom snagged for me at a yard sale for $.50.

Use a paper adhesive to glue the punches to the center of the circle on one side only.

Use some heavy duty tacky glue to adhere gem stone trim to the edges of the circle. It can be hard not to get excess tacky glue inside the edges of the trimming. Use a toothpick or q tip to remove the excesss glue.

Now it's time to play with clay. I used Jacquard's Cernit Clay in white to make a zinnia from a hand made clay mold. This hand made mold was a gift from my good friend, Niki Meiners.Cernit clay is a phthalate-free (non-toxic) polymer clay. Manufactured in Belgium, Cernit clay has long been recognized for its excellent quality, durability and porcelain-like finishes. It was perfect to make my little zinnia.

I pinched off a dime sized piece and conditioned by hand. (Hint: if the weather is as hot and humid where you are as I am- go outside- it makes conditioning a lot faster). Then I rolled it into a ball before pushing it into the clay mold.

Push the clay out of the mold and you have this adorable little zinnia.

Now bake in the oven at 265 degrees on a clay dedicated baking sheet for about 30 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool. Now choose some bright prretty colors of Jacquard's Lumiere and paint the zinnias. I dry brushed the top of them with Lumiere also.

Once the zinnias are dry, glue them to the center of the circles.

 
I drilled two holes at the top and bottom of my circles for insertion of a jump ring to hold the necklace and a droplet on the bottom.

 

If you liked this post, here is another jewelry pendant post using recycled furniture casters.

Now- details on the Giveaway- leave me a comment by July 31st, 2011 at 12 PM Central and I will send TWO of you one of these pendants (zinnia clay) in color of choice shown (US residents only please). Leave as many comments as you would like, I will one person at random and announce the winner on my blog on August 1st. Good Luck!  

Live Life Creatively,