Thursday, March 20, 2014

Friday Favorites: More Great Craft Sites


(I'm using this photo because I want people to check out my Field of Flowers Recycled Tote Tutorial here.)  

Now, on to business:  I've come across a couple of fun craft sites I wanted to share:

Craftown.com is a great site full of FREE craft tutorial and resources.  Each day, new ideas and projects are posted.  This is a particularly fun site if you are looking for holiday project ideas.  Craftown has a whole section broken down by holiday and season - they even have a free newsletter that you can sign up for!

AllCrafts.net is another craft site that shares wonderful free projects and ideas.This site has separate sections for sewing & quilting, knitting $ crochet, and holiday projects.  This site is really easy to navigate and has great photos of all the projects!

Both of these websites are wonderful finds.  Check them out!


Wednesday, March 12, 2014

One Down, One to Go: Painted Lamp Shade

DIY - geometric modern painted lampshade
Yea to me for keeping up with my project schedule!  As promised, I finished painting my bedroom lampshade from boring white to funky geometric modern-ish...something.

You may remember, this lampshade looked like this:
I went to the trouble of making a drawing/stencil on graph paper of the diamond design, tracing them with black marker, then taping it carefully inside my lampshade.  Problem was - I could barely see my drawn lines through the lampshade.  So I ended up pretty much freehanding the painting of the design.  This was fine because I didn't want manufactured perfection, I wanted a more loose application of the shapes and colors.

I do wish I had spent more time mixing my colors.  I wish the green had a bit more blue in it.  I wish the yellow was a bit deeper, etc.  I think the finished colors look a little too kiddie pastel when I really wanted richer colors.  But I was rushing it and didn't take the time to mix in other colors to add a little interest to them. Alas, what's done is done.

So, here's the details:  I used acrylic paint, testing it first on the inside of my shade to make sure it wouldn't run or bead up on the material.  After drawing my design on graph paper with black sharpie, I attached it to the inside of the shade using double-stick tape.  Then I mixed up my paint colors in separate jars with lids so they wouldn't dry up as I painted my shade.  I only added a little bit of water to my paint as I worked so my colors wouldn't bleed.

I was careful not to apply to much pressure to the lampshade while painting.  I laid the shade down on its side on top of a towel for painting, and used more rolled up towels on each side of the shade to keep it from moving.  I painted one section, let it dry completely, then moved to the next section.

I might call this a test run and look for another shade to paint with the colors I really want.  But for now, it's fine. (Well, just okay.)

Tuesday, March 4, 2014

March is the Month for Getting Things DONE

The month of March supposedly comes in like a lion.  And hopefully, I will have that aggressive energy to get a few projects completed that have been on my  To-Do list for way too long:


1.  I've wanted to paint this lampshade since I bought this lamp ALMOST TWO YEARS AGO!  Although I love the ceramic base, I think the shade is kind of blah.  I've had my plan to paint the shade set out for a long time.  I just need to get to it!  This is first on my list to do, so hopefully I will have some finished photos to post soon, soon, soon.

2.  This one's rather embarrassing:  last year, I had this great idea to create a series of small paintings for my husband for our wedding anniversary.  There were to be four paintings, each one based on a place we've lived or visited.  Great idea!

I started in plenty of time, a few months before our anniversary in May.  But...I never finished them.  Not sure why - I didn't really like they way they were coming along and I think I lost my groove.  So I'm going to try again this year :)  I have a new plan and renewed commitment for finishing them in time of our anni this year!

Wish me luck!  I may need it :)