get the picture part 2

I shared with you the new joy in my life that is my living room wall in a previous post.  I love how what I have turned out and I can't wait to add more and more pictures to the wall.

As I told you, I picked up some frames from thrift stores and ran into a few problems.  Two of the frames had no way of displaying or hanging them.  Weird, I know.  I was a wee bit confused as to how the manufacturer intended them to be used.  I also got two large frames that were meant to be hung vertically though, I needed one vertical and one horizontal.  The hanging hardware was a wire.  I grabbed my husbands power drill and solved these problems in a pinch!

get the picture

I'm still alive...in case you were wondering.  I've had a busy yet wonderful summer so far.  I've attended two beautiful weddings and worked six weeks at a youth camp.  I am gone all week at the camp and have been out of town a few of those weeks...my poor little apartment has been so empty!

However, I did manage to sneak in a little project last weekend while I was home.  I had forgotten my camera at camp, so the picture quality won't be so great.  You'll get the picture, though (pun COMPLETELY intended!)

I decided that I wanted to fill up the wall behind our sofa with pictures.  I have so many great pictures that I want to display...I just never did!

Clipped On

My best friend, Leslie has a favorite flower...SUNFLOWERS!  However, I could not find any sunflowers that I liked enough to use as centerpieces.  I was quite stumped and honestly...panicked!  I knew that I needed something in the center of the tables, I just had no idea what.

Last summer, my bridesmaids (my older sister and Leslie) bought some glasses from Ikea that we used as vases for the centerpieces at both mine and my older sisters bridal showers.  I wanted to use the glasses but, once again could not find flowers to suit my fancy.  Then, about two days before the shower I had an idea...a great one, too!

I ran down to JoAnn's and picked up a package of 20 small dowel rods (wooden sticks) and a package of 24 mini clothes pins.  I stopped at Wal-Mart and got some super glue and black spray paint.  The total cost of my materials was under $10 and the outcome was quite dandy!

hanging in there

My best friend went to Japan a few summers ago with her then boyfriend (he's her fiance now!) to visit his family and she brought me back a handkerchief that I loved!  It was red (favorite color) with big graphic flowers on it...just the right amount of oriental-ness and vintage-esque for me to fall in love with.  Well, I never quite knew what to do with it.  I mean, I'm not the type to carry a hankie in my purse and I certainly didn't want to mess it up.I was stuck.  So, the sweet handkerchief sat in my craft cart for a while.

Then one day a few weeks ago, a light bulb went off in my head!  I was in need of a place to hang my necklaces...they were hanging in clear thumbtacks at the time.  So, I used the handkerchief to make an awesome jewelry holder.

ahhhhh....decoupage

I had always heard of decoupage and really wanted to try it.  Though, I just never had a project that really needed it.  That is until now!  I looked it all up online and was ready to go!
First I made my own decoupage glue.  There is a brand called Modge Podge, supposedly it works great.  However, the price is not so great at all!  I opted for a homemade version I found online.  Ingredients: equal parts water and Elmer's glue.  How simple and inexpensive.  I mixed up my glue in a bowl but you could easily use a plastic cup (easy disposal).  I was surprised at how little I actually used.
I was making a picture frame and wanted to decoupage squares of scrapbook paper onto it.  I dipped the squares of paper into a bowl of water and placed it on the frame.  I bent and folded the paper so that it would go all the way around the edges.  I then brushed a layer of glue over the paper.  I used a sponge brush, which is a black sponge on a rod (they are super cheap at craft stores).  I did square by square the same, adding a layer of glue.  I waited for the layer to dry and then continued brushing on glue one layer at a time.  I probably did upwards of five layers of glue.  I then added a few embellishments and  decoupages over those as well.
Decoupaging was SO easy, I was surprised actually that I hadn't tried it earlier.  This process could easily be used on so many different surfaces.  Since I made just a frame I let the decoupage glue be my sealer.  However, if you were going a whole piece of furniture you would want to add a layer of sealer on top to protect the furniture.