Showing posts with label crafting with wood. Show all posts
Showing posts with label crafting with wood. Show all posts

Wednesday, April 5, 2017

cover a letter box with postage stamps

I gifted a few letters to a daughter, sealed inside
a wooden decoupaged purse.
Brief Description: So cute and so chick, this wooden purse is actually a letter box for all of those handwritten messages you'd like to keep for sentimental reasons. I decoupaged my letter box with stamps and gave it as a gift to a certain someone that I knew collected old letters.

Supply List:
  • Mod Podge
  • soft bristle brush
  • 3D alphabet stickers
  • real stamps and or sheet of stamps for collage work only 
  • wooden box shape (I chose a purse with a bamboo handle and brass latch.)
  • tacky white glue
Directions:
  1. First make sure the surface of the wooden box you intend to decorate is free from dust and dirt and dry if you wipe it down with a damp cloth.
  2. Apply a generous but not messy coat of Mod Podge to a small area of the box and layer stamps onto it in a way that seems pleasing to you. 
  3. let this area dry a little to the touch and then brush a coat of Mod Podge over the top of the stamps. Now repeat this step over until the entire wooden box has been covered. Dray overnight.
  4. Use a tacky white glue to apply 3 dimensional alphabet stickers to the front. Spell out the recipient's name if you like.
More postage stamp crafts online:

How It's Made - postage stamps

Friday, October 14, 2011

craft a mosaic tea tray

Handmade mosaic tea tray with lovely scones.

Brief Description: These tea trays are perfect for serving up your favorite tea and scones. I recycled these 1950's ceramic tiles that I found inside of an old cabinet. It seemed a shame to throw them out. I am sure that these would be quite expensive if I were to purchase them today.

Supply List:
  • Selection of mosaic tiles, glass marbles, tiny mirrors, seashells
  • Cement grout
  • Elmer’s wood glue
  • Plastic-like gloves
  • Old damp rags or paper towels
  • Prefabricated wooden tea tray
  • white acrylic paint
  • bucket of clean water
  • soft paint brush
  • acrylic varnish sealer
Directions:
  1. Glue the tiles directly to the surface of the prefabricated wooden tea tray.
  2. Let the applied tiles dry over night to ensure that the glue has hardened. Do not check to see if the glued tiles have stuck to the surface permanently. Some of them will, some of them may only seem temporarily attached. The application of this step is necessary to help the tiles to stay in place before grouting them only.
  3. Mix the grout solution according to the directions on the label.
  4. Wear gloves if the label says that it is necessary.
  5. Gingerly apply the grout directly onto the surface of the tile work. Make sure that the grout does get pushed into as many of the cracks as possible. This is a bit messy.
  6. Wash your gloves thoroughly and you may put them back on or choose to remove them all together at this point. Be cautious about this removal however, some people do have mild skin allergies to grout and will develop a rash when coming in direct contact with it when its wet.
  7. Now your going to delicately wipe down the surface of your tiles with a damp rag or paper towel. You will be throwing these towels away. If you wish to rinse and squeeze out a sponge or towels as you work, keep an old bucket full of water for this procedure. Do not wash this contaminated water down a sink! Grout will collect in pipes and harden. You will need to pour this old water down a sewer pipe outside or simply find an area of your yard where you may dispose of it. Grout won't hurt an old leaf pile or the ground where plants are not growing.
  8. You want your project to look clean on the surface of the tiles when you are finished. The cracks between the tiles should also be completely filled with grout.
  9. Leave your mosaic project out over night to harden properly.
  10. If you see remaining grout on the surface of your tiles after it has hardened, you may go over the surface of these tiles with a light weight sand paper and damp sponge again.
  11.  With a soft brush wipe on gently a wash of white paint on the exposed wood and then seal it with a varnish.
I used old 1950 bathroom tiles to mosaic a 
prefabricated wooden tea tray.
A close-up of the period tiles.
More tea tray craft projects:

Wednesday, September 28, 2011

craft project: mosaic bird house

I purchased this prefabricated, wooden 
birdhouse from a craft store called 
Michael's. It is an actual birdhouse that
may be used outdoors.
Brief Description: This mosaic birdhouse can be hung outside if you would prefer. My mother keeps it inside in her sunroom.

Supply List:
   1. Selection of mosaic tiles, glass marbles, tiny mirrors, seashells
   2. Cement grout
   3. Elmer’s wood glue
   4. Plastic-like gloves
   5. Old damp rags or paper towels
   6. Prefabricated wooden bird house
   7. white acrylic paint
   8. burnt umber acrylic paint  
   9. bucket of clean water

Directions:
 * Glue the tiles directly to the surface of the prefabricated wooden bird house.
 * Let the applied tiles dry over night to ensure that the glue has hardened. Do not check to see if the glued tiles have stuck to the surface permanently. Some of them will, some of them may only seem temporarily attached. The application of this step is necessary to help the tiles to stay in place before grouting them only.
* Mix the grout solution according to the directions on the label.
* Wear gloves if the label says that it is necessary.
* Gingerly apply the grout directly onto the surface of the tile work. Make sure that the grout does get pushed into as many of the cracks as possible. This is a bit messy.
* Wash your gloves thoroughly and you may put them back on or choose to remove them all together at this point. Be cautious about this removal however, some people do have mild skin allergies to grout and will develop a rash when coming in direct contact with it when its wet.
* Now your going to delicately wipe down the surface of your tiles with a damp rag or paper towel. You will be throwing these towels away. If you wish to rinse and squeeze out a sponge or towels as you work, keep an old bucket full of water for this procedure. Do not wash this contaminated water down a sink! Grout will collect in pipes and harden. You will need to pour this old water down a sewer pipe outside or simply find an area of your yard where you may dispose of it. Grout won't hurt an old leaf pile or the ground where plants are not growing.
* You want your project to look clean on the surface of the tiles when you are finished. The cracks between the tiles should also be completely filled with grout.
* Leave your mosaic project out over night to harden properly.
* If you see remaining grout on the surface of your tiles after it has hardened, you may go over the surface of these tiles with a light weight sand paper and damp sponge again.

Additional Suggestions: You may wish to seal the exposed wooden areas with a tough varnish if you choose to hang your bird house outdoors.

All instructions and photographs, templates are copyrighted by Grimm 2011