This has been one of my most favorite hops that I've been a part of. I LOVE upcycling projects! What better way to push and test your creativity and try new things? I had so many ideas for this one that I had to narrow it down to a few. For this post, at least. I'll post the other projects I did over the next few days.
If you came here from Tanya's blog,
http://www.ScrappyScavenger.wordpress.com/, then you're in the right place. If not, go there and start there. Mine is the second blog in the hop. :D
I apologize in advance for the poor quality of photography! I was hoping for a sunny day to use the natural light, but it was SO overcast and rainy, so I just had to suck it up and make do. The lighting in my apartment is TRULY horrible, it hurts my photographer heart. ;)
So the first project is one I've been wanting to try for a while, but haven't had the guts to. My mom bought me a china plate from the thrift store a few months ago, specifically for this project. But it just goes against the grain to BREAK something like a china plate. So it's taken me until now to work it up to take a hammer to it.
As a plate, it really wasn't all that great, so I don't know what my problem was. lol!! Not my style for China.
I took some adhesive backed copper foil and wrapped it around the edges:
Paint the copper with flux. Then take a coil of solder and a soldering iron. Heat the end of the solder coil with the iron tip. A dob of solder will melt onto the tip. Paint it along the copper like a paintbrush. Hold the china piece with clamps, to avoid burns. Then, once you've soldered all the way around, apply flux to one side of two jump rings. Paint a little more flux onto the spots you want to attach the jump rings. Grab some more solder with your iron and holding the jump ring with another clamp next to where you painted the solder onto the china piece, apply the solder to the jump ring. The flux tells the solder where to go. Solder will only apply to where there is flux.
Once it's cooled, wipe off the flux and polish the solder with a soft cloth. Then, to add a little decoration to it (and to cover the funny bottom corner), I adhered two flower cabachons with some Glossy Accents.
Then just add a chain and you have a fun, truly unique jewelry piece!
My next project was a little more simple. I've been wanting to make something to hold the kids artwork. I hate having things cluttered on the fridge with magnets, but I definitely wanted to be able to display their creativity. Believe me, they have it in bounds! I found 4 clipboards at the thrift store for 50¢ each. I had some leftover paper from My Mind's Eye's Stella & Rose collection. Seriously one of my favorites of theirs!
I used a strip showing the backside of each paper to cover the space at the bottom that didn't get covered by the first piece I glued down. All I did was cut the paper 9" across. It was leftover paper from another project. I'm not sure what the length was. lol! But it left about an inch and a half at the bottom of the clipboards. I just cut a notch out of the top to accomodate the clippy part of the clipboard and Mod Podged it to the board. Can't wait to add some of the kids' artwork to it!
I'm really excited about my last project! I wanted to create a little reading nook for my daughter in her room. My older brother describes her perfectly when he says she's like a Disney Princess, and when you meet her you expect to see woodland creatures following her around doing her bidding. lol! She needs some type of canopy in her room! She has a 4 post bed, but it's not built for a canopy. SO. I found an old lampshade at the thrift store and thought it would make the perfect base for this canopy! Now, this is a NO SEW project! It's all hot glue my friends. You're welcome. ;)
I took 1.5 yards of linen and hot glued it in pleats around the top of the lampshade. Then I took the quatrefoil patterned fabric and glued it in pleats down the front. Glue the linen to cover the rough edges of the quatrefoil. I cut strips of black netting and gathered it around the top and the base where the linen fabric left an opening and glued it down.
Then I cut a "starter cut" randomly around the bottom edges of the linen and ripped it up to the base of the lampshade. I liked the wild, rough, unfinished look this gave it. I think it made it more whimsical. I took strips of coordinating brocade, polka dot and striped fabric and tied them randomly around the linen strips for some color and more whimsical fun. It's hard to see in the badly lit photos, but I also glued a floor length of shiny, glittery cream netting that will hang down around a comfy chair.
Now I just need to hit the thrift store again and find the perfect comfy chair! I've always wanted to try my hand at refinishing a chair! :D
I can't wait to post my other projects I've been working on!!
Thank you SO MUCH for stopping by! I really appreciate having you here! Next up is Janice at
http://www.cricutconfessions.com/ Have so much fun!! And check out the other hop I am a part of this weekend, the
50 States Blog Hop. There are some fun projects and fantastic prizes up for winning!
-Brie
