Monday, February 8, 2010

Sponge painted jewelry box FINISHED!

Here is a picture of the finished jewelry box... now available in my Etsy store! Go to:

www.etsy.com/shop/GeminiJen

Thanks!

Sunday, February 7, 2010

Sponge painted jewelry box

Here is a picture of the newest jewelry box I just began working on. Enjoy, and join me as I embark on my next creative journey!

Saturday, February 6, 2010

Newest jewelry box

I'm still working on the other jewelry box but I bought three more of the boxes online since I got a great deal on them, and started decoupaging one of them with fabric. FUN!

Monday, February 1, 2010

Jewelry box progress


Here is the progress I've made on the jewelry box...

New jewelry box

I started on my newest project since I messed up on the latest clock I was working on. I will be creating a new clock similar to the old one soon though. Here is a picture of what I have so far... found the jewelry box for a STEAL on Target's website!

Saturday, January 30, 2010

Five o'clock all over again...


So I decided to set up a shop on Etsy. I will be selling some of my work on there. Please visit it! Here's the URL for anyone who may have missed it:

www.etsy.com/shop/GeminiJen


Anyway, I got such great feedback on my latest clock that I've decided to make another. Here it is, so far...

Wednesday, January 27, 2010

It's REALLY five o'clock... or is it?

I finished the clock! The clock hands were black but needed to be painted green to have them really stand out against the background...

It's five o'clock...

Here is the updated picture of the clock! I am off to carve a hole in the middle with some wood carving tools I have, and then add the clock mechanism/movement...

Tuesday, January 26, 2010

Not quite finished...

Here is a picture of my progress. I had a little trouble making the fives all the right size/shape, even with a stencil, since I was silly and used paint. Well, the paint kept smearing... so I went back over the numbers with a permanent marker for now. They still need a little touch-up here and there...

Second coat

Done with the second coat of yellow ochre. I'll post more progress ASAP. Have a wonderful day everyone!!!

Painted base

Howdy! Here is a picture of the painted clock so far. Not bad for somewhat of an amateur, if I do say so myself...

I still need to add a coat of yellow ochre paint, which I used for the background color. I then need to paint the edges, carve a hole in the middle for the mechanism, and add the fives and clock movement. I should be pretty much all done by tomorrow!

Monday, January 25, 2010

Custom project

Hi everyone! I'm making a custom designed clock for a family member. It is similar to the one I did a while back, with a margarita on it and the number 5 all around it. This time I just won't be using mosaic. I'll paint the surface, then add the #s, and then the mechanism. Here is the unfinished piece, just painted over with a light coat of Kilz primer.

Friday, January 22, 2010

Decoupaged frame

Added a couple of embellishments to the decoupaged picture frame... they're hard to see but they are bright green sparkly flowers on the upper left and lower right.

Wednesday, January 20, 2010

One more step

So all the buttons are glued down onto the box now. All that's left is to spray it with finish/glaze. I bought Krylon Triple-Thick Crystal Clear Glaze at the paint store, where I also got the latex paint.

Nearly done!

Here is the jewelry box, I may coat it with a spray finish, and I need to glue down the heart buttons still... other than that it's about done!

Tuesday, January 19, 2010

Here is what the jewelry box looks like right now... like I said, it is still not done.

Light pink jewelry box

I painted the jewelry box a very light pink color... it's Benjamin Moore's latex paint called "Paris Romance." It needs another coat or two of paint.

I also added a couple of minor embellishments to the drawers. Stay tuned to see how the rest of the project turns out!

Simple yet elegant...

Fabric decoupage on a white painted jewelry box. SO CUTE!

Monday, January 18, 2010

Martin Luther King, Jr. Day

Hope you are all having a wonderful day. I have had a good one so far. Wishing you all peace, joy and serenity! I am just about to start on a decoupage piece but will probably not finish it tonight... I took most of today mainly to relax. This picture is not my own artwork, it's something I found off the web.

Thursday, January 14, 2010

Purple jewelry box

I got started on the purple jewelry box last night before bed. So far, so good! What will I do next? Stay tuned to find out!

Wednesday, January 13, 2010

Simple, late-night decoupage

Here is a picture of the frame I just decoupaged real quick. Somewhat simple but cute!

Tuesday, January 12, 2010

Some progress

I've glued down the mosaic tiles in a somewhat different arrangement. I just ordered some black sanded grout, and look forward to using it for this project.

NEW mosaic peace sign...

I just started the peace sign. I decided to do a mosaic piece this time, as it's been a while. Here is what I've come up with so far... it's not glued down yet but you get an idea.

Owl clock

I am now done with the owl clock. Here is a decent picture of it, though it's taken at an angle... feedback welcome!

Next project... peace sign!

Here is a picture of the 8" MDF base I will use for the decoupage peace sign, along with some of the paper I may use for it. Thanks for following along! I appreciate your comments, so please keep them coming!

Cute photo frame...

Today I ran a group on decoupage and had a blast! Here is the project I worked on...

Monday, January 11, 2010

Inspirational words...

The clock is COMPLETE! I fixed the clock hands and Mod Podged the outer edge. For now, it is all done! I may go back at a later date and decoupage or paint the outer edge as well.

For this project I used an MDF circular base (bought on Etsy), Mod Podge, foam brushes, scizzors, colorful paper, black acrylic paint (to outline the owl image), a clock mechanism and hands, clock face numbers, and wood carving tools to cut a hole in the middle of the MDF large enough for the clock mechanism shaft to fit through.

Any questions, feel free to ask! Next project will be a decoupage peace sign, also on MDF and purchased from Etsy. Thanks for joining me! I added a picture of a collage I once made for some friends. Enjoy!

Close to done!

The picture is a bit misleading since the #s are not black but a gold color... also the clock hands don't quite work right so I'll have to replace them. I want to decorate the outer edge of the clock as well...

Thanks for reading!

Fun owl clock

I began working on another clock... this time I drew an image of an owl and decoupaged it. I just need to pick up the clock mechanism, maybe get a set of clock numbers for the face, and I'll be almost done!

Coming attractions...

I plan on adding fun recipes to my blog soon! I hope to cook plantains sometime this week, as I got some at the store today. I also picked up some delish-looking sweet potatoes, which I admittedly have never tried my hand at preparing. I can't wait to get cookin'!!!

Note: This is not a picture of anything I've made myself... but it looked so delish I had to share!

Sunday, January 10, 2010

New GREAT finds!

Not much progress today but I made some last night by changing the top of the box to a maroon color to match the border. I then decoupaged around the bottom border to match.

I also found some amazing new project ideas last night and a few days ago! I got some real cute picture frames at Dollar Tree and at Target... all for just ONE dollar a piece! They'll be real handy for a decoupage art group I'm running on Tuesday. Yay!

Saturday, January 9, 2010

Almost completed...

I'm almost done with the decoupaged box! It's not perfect but it's cute... I am pretty satisfied with the way it is turning out.

Thursday, January 7, 2010

Getting started...

So this morning I started decoupaging the drawers of the pink jewelry box I got yesterday, and made some slight progress. I decided on a Valentine's theme, in light of the upcoming holiday!

Jewelry boxes galore!

I found these at Walmart for a STEAL! I was so psyched that I got two!

Wednesday, January 6, 2010

New year, new decade!

Some goals, resolutions, and aspirations for the NEW YEAR!

1. Cook more meals

2. Stick to values

3. Get a part time job

4. Maintain healthy relationships

5. Save money

6. Take good care of myself emotionally, physically, and spiritually

7. Finish reading a good book or two by the time I hit 30 in June!

8. Organize, redecorate room and office

9. Keep up with blogging (so far, so good!)

10. Learn more about different types of art

11. Give Dad more hugs

12. Give dog more walks/attention

13. Count my blessings on a daily basis

14. Reduce Diet Coke/soda intake

15. Increase calcium/vitamin D intake

Other things I'd like to work on are balancing my time online and catching up on some TV. Most people's resolutions are to DECREASE their time watching TV, but seeing as how I watch little/none, I have decided to try the opposite!!!

HAPPY 2010!!!

Tuesday, January 5, 2010

Oops...

Okay so I kinda screwed up on this project! I wasn't really thinking, and painted the inside of the box and the drawer with acrylic paint and now the drawer sticks like crazy whenever I try to slide it out...

The only way I know to remedy this is to take some sandpaper and sand down the parts that stick, and maybe re-paint over with something that won't stick... like epoxy paint. I am unsure if I am going to try to do all this, as sanding inside the part of the box where the small drawer goes will be quite difficult! Hmmm...

Oh well! Hope to start a new project soon! This is an old picture back from when I was a blonde!!!

Monday, January 4, 2010

New year... new COMPUTER!

My amazing dad got me a new KICKASS computer for Christmas! This computer runs SO much quicker than the old one! YAY!!! Thanks Dad, LOVE YOU!!!

This is my first blog EVER posted from my new PC... SWEET!

So far...

I'm liking how the box is turning out so far. Here is a picture... it still needs to be decoupaged on the top, and painted the rest of the way. Progress, not perfection!

Sunday, January 3, 2010

A new twist...

I was a bit bored with the old design so I re-decoupaged over it. Here are the results! I decided to stick to one pattern, and just switched it up a little here and there. Enjoy!

Next step...

My next step will be to decoupage or paint the rest of the box black to make the drawers really "pop." I look forward to seeing how this turns out!

Fun!

This decoupage stuff is GREAT! Last night I printed out some images of patterns I found on the Internet onto glossy picture paper, and used Mod Podge to assemble cut pieces of the patterns onto my cute jewelry box. It's a messy project, but those are always the MOST fun!

Saturday, January 2, 2010

Finished sanding

Just finished sanding the box. I also removed the hinges from the top and saved the hardware. I removed the mirror as well, as I figured it would get ruined during the painting/decoupaging process. Removing the mirror was not an easy task; it was pretty well glued on!

I wiped it all down with cheesecloth to remove any dust from sanding, and it is almost ready to be decoupaged and maybe painted.

Don't mind the dust on the lining... I may have to apply new lining at the end!

Decoupage project

I have decided to try and decoupage this child's jewelry box, which I found at Home Goods today. Here is a picture of what it looked like until a few moments ago. I have since begun sanding down the wood and I will update with a new picture ASAP! I have done collage-making in the past but never have attempted decoupage before. Wish me luck!

Friday, January 1, 2010

Updated picture

Here it is, a picture of the working clock!

Up and running!

Success! I was finally able to make a working clock!

The peace clock was made of a wooden base (the exact type of wood is unknown, but it is hard wood). Then I painted it with Kilz, a stain blocker. I then painted it over with acrylic paints, added the letter tiles from my mosaic supplies along the outside, and got a long-stemmed quartz wall clock movement. I found that today at the craft store. I finally removed a piece of metal from inside the base (formerly used to hold up a standing doll) by fitting a screwdriver into the front and tapping it with a hammer. The back of the piece is pictured, where you can see the piece of metal to which I refer.

Once that was done, I carved a large enough hole for the movement stem to fit through. Then I added my own clock hands and put the AA battery in the back of the movement, and VOILA! A working clock!
I hope to paint over any areas that need it next, and possibly finish by covering the face with Mod Podge to seal it. I'll post pics as soon as possible!