Artsy Chaos

Finishing your Artsy Chaos unfinished wood project is much easier than you think! If you can trace a shape onto paper and cut it out, you can decorate our wood with fun scrapbook paper! If you can glue, you can embellish too! The first thing you need to do is trace your wood shape onto your choice of paper. Place the wood, front side down, onto the wrong side of the paper and then trace around it. Next, cut out the traced paper shape just barely inside the line. Don't worry if the paper isn't cut exactly right. Set the paper you have just cut out aside. Next you will paint the wood. I use a very watered down acrylic craft paint. You only need to paint the sides and back of the piece. Again, it doesn't need to be perfect! Let the paint dry thoroughly. The next step is to glue the paper you have cut out onto the wood. I like to use a craft glue like Aleene's Tacky Glue. Using my fingers or an inexpensive sponge brush, I spread the glue onto the wood in a thin laye...

Today I have a really easy project to create. It would be a great last-minute Christmas gift. Wood heart ! To begin, simply trace your heart onto a sheet of patterned paper. You could also use another shape or even a plain wood block. Cut the heart out of paper and set aside. Next, you will want to paint your wood heart in a neutral color or coordinating color to your patterned paper. Once the paint is dry, glue the paper to the wood using Mod Podge or craft glue spread very thin. If your glue is too thick, bubbles in the paper will occur. Let dry, pushing out any buckles that the paper gets. Cover the project with a thin layer of Mod Podge if desired. Now it's time for the fun part! Use your imagination to add ribbons, die cuts, brads, flowers, charms, any embellishment. I have even used the bling from an old broken necklace. The sky is the limit! Depending on the project I am creating, sometimes I decoupage (Mod Podge) the painted and papered wood and don't decoup...

So I have yet to start Christmas shopping. Oh, I have a few things I have gotten here and there but overall, zip zilch nada. No shopping yet! I know, terrible, right? And do you know what's worse? I still want to make some handmade gifts. There's still time... I am optimistic. There must be others out there like me. You know, the I-feel-like-I-can-be-super-woman-but-realistically-I-know-I-can't-be-but-I-really-want-to-try type? With this in mind, I have been scouring the internet, blogs, Pinterest, for easy but fabulous ideas for handmade gifts. (Click on the pics for the source.) Have you seen all the dollar store mugs/plates projects floating around? You use sharpies to write/draw clever, sentimental, cute things on them and bake for 30 minutes at 150 degrees. I am a little worried about this one, however, since there are many failed project posts floating around also.  I just love these sweet decorated pebbles! Plus, I have a whole box full of rub-ons that ar...

So I hope everyone is busy making Christmas presents for those on their lists! Handmade gifts are so thoughtful and full of love. Here at Artsy Chaos, we've been working on some projects including this monogram wood frame. This is a great project because you can customize with whatever papers and paints suit your fancy! Let's get started! First off, I painted the front and sides of the frame with black acrylic paint. Spray paint would work as well. There is a reasoning behind the madness of painting the frame black first! When we arrive at the distressing stage, the black peeks through the top layer of paint. After the black base coat dries well, paint the front and sides the color of your choice. I chose grey because it seems to be all the rage these days! Next is the distressing part. I don't mean distressing as in pain-causing, gosh! Ha! Grab some sand paper or a sturdy nail fine and sand the sides and edges of the frame so that the black paint is expos...

For Valentine's Day this year I found so many cute crafts on Pinterest . One that stood out was this cute gumball machine made from clay pots and a glass votive holder. Here is the one that I pinned , but there are many others I have seen. I decided to post a tutorial since you could use different colors of paint and ribbons to make these for Easter, St. Patrick's Day, 4th of July, etc. Start with:  Small clay pot and saucer. I found mine at Hobby Lobby for about $1.50. Round glass votive holder. These I found at Dollar Tree for $1. I also saw some at Hobby Lobby. Dowel finials for the tops. I got these also at Hobby Lobby in a package of 4 for around $1. You could also use drawer pulls. Hot glue gun. Paint. You can also spray with a light clear finishing spray after painting. Ribbons. Candy or small objects to fill the "gumball machine". Paint the clay pot, saucer, and wooden dowel finial in your choice of paint. Let dry completely.  Usi...

Here at Artsy Chaos, we are always up for a challenge. Mix crafting in that challenge and you have yourself a party! Karina over at Karina's Challenge recently asked several craft bloggers to participate in a bit of a game to see what everyone would come up with.  Everyone participating was given a bag of similar supplies to use and were allowed to add items from their own stash as well. I decided on a banner for my daughter's room! From the bag Karina supplied, I used the paper, brads and ribbon. The photo letters are from Artistic Letters and are copyright   by Jodi Gerber. (We have an article on Artistic Letters which you can read here .) This was a lot of fun, thanks Karina!  There will be voting on the projects over at Karina's Challenge October 1st-8th if you'd like to head over and participate.

Did you know that birthdays are good for you?  Indeed, statistics show that people who have the most, live the longest! We celebrated a birthday in our family today and every birthday, in my opinion, screams for cake.  So here we are, Red Velvet Cupcakes frosted with the most amazing cream cheese frosting I have made yet and topped with adorable cupcake toppers from Expressions by Devin . <---so cute, check them out!! You may have noticed that I said the most amazing frosting I have made yet .  That's because it's a quest.  This latest concoction of incredibly smooth, perfectly sweet goodness is the result of trial and error, internet research and luck.  It's not too heavy, not too thick and holds its fluffy shape perfectly.  Want the recipe?  Sure you do! Fluffy and Smooth Decadent Cream Cheese Frosting 1 8oz. package Cream Cheese at room temperature 1 8oz. container of Mascarpone Cheese at room temperature 1 cup powdered sugar 1 1/2 cups he...

Ahhhhhhhhhh yessssssss!!  I finally did it.  I finally made the kitchen curtains I have had the want and fabric to make for over a year now. Before, the bare windows and curtain rods: Last summer, I had found the fabric at Joann's for under $2 a yard.  The plan was to make some cute scalloped/pointed valances and add tassels to the points.  But you know how life steps in and makes you rethink sometimes?  That's what happened and I settled on making a much simpler valance.  And that's ok too, I love how they turned out!  Nothing makes a home more cozy than window coverings. Since the pattern on this fabric did not run with the selvage I had to piece several panels together.  Then, just finish the edges, hem and create the top rod pocket.  That's it.  Easy, easy.  Except, I got a little hungry while sewing.  And then I remembered... Sunbelt Granola Bars!! Sunbelt had sent us some granola bars for review and they were just ...

The DIY crafty bug has hit hard.  Maybe because of the promise of autumn right ahead of us.  I'm not sure.  I've made a list of ideas that I probably won't ever create, but there is always the hope!  Plus, I can share my creations with you! There are so many fun ideas out in the blogosphere too.  You should check them out with me and these crafty linky parties are a G.R.E.A.T place to start.  Maybe you'll catch the bug too!

It seems like it has been a very long time since I posted about scrapbooking, crafting or anything handmade by me.  So with that in mind, check out the wreath I made the other day! This is such an easy craft that turns out beautifully!  Pretty much all that is involved is cutting out circles of fabric to make flowers.  I used three different lids to trace the circles and then cut them out.  I chose to use four different coordinating fabrics and various brads to assemble my "flowers".  Stack up the three different sizes of fabric circles, stab a brad through the center and voila! you're ready to get the hot glue gun going. By the way, I like to do crafts while sitting on my bed watching tv... that part of the house is air-conditioned and I can watch what I want on tv. :) Once you have assembled your flowers (I'm not sure how many I made but I did use almost all of 1/4 yard each of the 4 fabrics) hot glue them onto a grapevine wreath.  I pushed the brads ...

Have you noticed that letters are all the rage these days?  We see them everywhere, in cards, scrapbooking and fun home decor.   Photographer Jodi Gerber of ArtisticLetters has created an entire catalog of black & white letter images throughout the past 3 years – all by taking photos of objects in nature that resembled letters of the alphabet . She recently decided to offer her ENTIRE catalog of 250+ letter images to the public on CD or Download so that anyone could create their own designs!   It’s a truly original way to make artwork for your home - or even for scrapbooking, greeting cards, and digital designs consisting of wedding invitations , baby’s birth, etc.).  Endless possibilities for whatever the mind can imagine! We decided to create a home decor project with ArtisticLetters and take advantage of these gorgeous images.  First, we picked up a wood sign at the local thrift store for $1.50.  We'll be covering up the e...