Merry Christmas!

Well Christmas is just a few days away so....

We hope that since we both launched our craft blog '2 Crafting Minds' way back in July of this year that we have helped inspire you in some way to craft and try something new. We still have plenty more inspiration for the New Year and the pictures below are just a sneaky peek of the very first post for 2016...

So until then we both hope you all have a fantastic Christmas and wish you all the very best for the New Year!

Until next time, Happy Crafting!

  Samantha and Antony

Up-Cycling using paper napkins to decorate with

Hi crafters, Antony here! This weeks post is all about up-cycling, or making relatively cheap objects look both expensive and beautiful without costing the earth. So as Christmas is just round the corner it is a great time to give this type of craft decorating a go as you can easily personalise any object using this technique! The main decorative element is the simple paper napkin, there are loads of fantastic designs out there. So why not co-ordinate different items in your room by using napkins of the same design.

The products used in this weeks post are Viva Decor micro crackle undercoat, Viva Decor micro Crackle colour paint, Pinflair Napkin Glue and a decorative napkin.

 Step 1 Take one old or cheap clock or other house hold item and make sure that the surfaces are clean and dust free. In the case of the clock I am decorating I also removed the clock mechanism. But if your are decorating objects with handles or that have other furniture such as hinges on, remove them all if you can. Once removed if the surface you are going to decorate is already painted, lightly sand the surface. This will help the glue have something to key to.

 
Step 2 I then took a napkin and separated the layers. Normally a paper napkin has 2 or 3 layers. The one you need is the one with the printed image on. Now place this over the area you wish to decorate. In the case of the clock I decorated the main body. Squeeze a small amount of the napkin glue on top of the napkin and using a very soft brush gently start to spread the glue over the napkin. Wait until the glue has completely dried before you trim any of the over hanging napkin, other wise the napkin will tear. You can trim the overhang by using a craft knife or rub it away gently using fine sandpaper on a wooden block.

 

Step 3 Next start to apply the Viva Decor micro crackle undercoat primer to the area that you wish the crackle paint effect to be. Then let the undercoat dry, this can take about 1 hour. Once dry I painted on the topcoat. In the case of the clock I used a similar colour paint to that was also in the napkin design.

Step 4 Leave the top coat to dry. I left mine overnight and when I returned in the morning it had cracked nicely. The thicker you apply the topcoat the wider the cracks will be.

Step 5 Next I turned my attention to the clock face. I was able to remove the clear plastic cover and also the hands. I cut out two small butterflies from a napkin and again used the napkin glue to stick them to the clock face surface.

Step 6 I used some Viva Decor micro crackle transparent primer over the whole of the clock face. Then when the primer was totally dry I used Viva Decor Transparent Crackle Paint and left it to crackle overnight. Next I used a fine gold powder I filled in the cracks on the clock face to highlight the cracks. I then replaced the hands and clear plastic cover and placed it back into the main body of the clock.

I also decorated a small chest of draws using the same design napkins as I used on the clock. I removed the small wooden knobs on the draw and used Pinflair Buff-it craft polish on them and then stuck them back on.

Until next time, Happy Crafting!

 
 Antony

 

Christmas Sleigh decorated with Chalky Paints

 

Hi Antony here, for this weeks post I thought I would take a look at one of the many cartonnage kits available from Pinflair Creative Crafts. So as it's nearly Christmas I thought I would decorate the Christmas Sleigh using Viva Decor Chalky paints Christmas Collection, which are also available from Pinflair. 

Now I will be honest I can't really paint that well. So the very first time I used Chalky Paints I was a bit concerned as to how the end result would look. However I soon found out that you really don't need to be able to paint that well as the end result is meant to have that shabby, aged look. In saying that the paints are very forgiving and seem to give a great finish anyway!

So for this weeks project I shall be using the large Christmas Sleigh, Viva Decor Christmas Chalky Paints, Pinflair Bookbinding Glue or Glue-it glue, Pinflair Buff-it craft polish, Christmas themed stamps, a piece of wax from a candle, a soft wide paint brush and some sandpaper.

Step 1 Firstly take 2 of the main body parts to the sleigh and using Pinflair Glue-it glue stick the two parts together. You may see from the picture that I have dispensed the glue a little way in from the edge so that when I stick the 2 parts together and apply pressure very little glue squeezes out. Repeat this process again for the other side of the sleigh.

Step 2 Next I painted a thin coat of red chalky paint onto the sleighs main body, but not the sleighs runners. Only paint one side of each of the 2 sleighs. Whilst that is drying paint the other sections to the sleigh, remember only on one side.

 

Step 3 Once the paint has dried on the main body of the sleigh turn it over and draw round the piece of cardboard that will form the long side of the sleighs carriage. Then paint all round it, again apart from the runners.

 

Step 5 Now using a piece of wax from an old candle rub over the red painted area in a random fashion. Once you have rubbed the wax over the surface, rub over with a paper kitchen cloth until it is slightly shiny. This wax will act as a resist for the top coat of paint. Now give everything a second coat of paint, but this time use a different colour. In the case of this project white. Don't worry if the second coat isn't perfect, it won't matter. Leave this to dry for at least half an hour.

 

Step 6 Using some fine sandpaper gently sand over the all the surfaces. Sanding lightly will then reveal some of the red paint. Rub too hard and both the white and the red paint will be removed. Make sure you remove any paint dust before you move onto the next step. 

 

Step 7 Next I used a Christmas themed stamp and inked it up... so to speak, with blue chalky paint. Once loaded with the chalky paints I stamped over the painted surfaces. Again this can be done in a random fashion and don't worry if the stamping is not perfect... it won't matter. Place a sheet of copier paper over the sleighs runners so that you don't stamp onto them.

 

Step 8 If you want a really aged look you can lightly rub over the stamped areas with sandpaper too.

 Step 9 Using a very small amount of paint on a foam brush, brush round all the edges of all the shapes that you have painted. This will create a nice soft border.

Step 10 Using Pinflairs Glue-it glue start to construct the carriage. Once all stuck together paint the inside. In my project I painted it blue to co-ordinate with the stamping on the outside of the sleigh.

Step 11 I next painted the sleighs runners using Pinflair Gold Buff-it craft polish. To do this take some Buff-it out of the pot using a palette knife and put it onto a non-stick craft mat. Add a little water to the paste/polish and then using a paint brush paint the runners of the sleigh. Light brush strokes are the best and just be sure not to overload the paint brush. Leave it to fully dry for about 20 minutes and then polish with a dry kitchen cloth.

 

Step 12 When all of the elements are fully dry start to glue everything together using Pinflairs Glue-it glue. Ensure that when applying the glue you only put glue on one surface. That way not too much glue will squeeze out. When you glue the different pieces together ensure you hold them together for at least half a minute. The more glue you use the longer it will take to dry and ultimately stick.

Step 13 If you want you could add further embellishments from your own crafting stash such as netting ribbon, buttons or even a few die cut shapes using your festive dies!

Once you have used the Chalky Paints you will want to decorate everything in the house with them. As well as heavy duty cardboard as used in this project the paints will also work on MDF, wood and even glass. The only difference when painting glass is that you will need to clean the surface with an alcohol solution and then dab the paint on rather than brush it on. Also the drying time is a lot longer, but whatever you do, don't try to force dry it as the paint will crack!

There is one thing for sure... you will soon be hooked on using these paints!

For those of you who attended the Jo Channon Workshop/Dabble day on 1st of November 2015, here are the samples that we took there with the heart shaped back and heart button embellishments added to the sleigh.

Until next time, Happy Crafting!

Antony