Guest Blogger ~ Upcycling Project by theMessyBrunette....

It's time for another guest to celebrate National Craft Month! Maura from theMessyBrunette is sharing a tutorial for an upcycling project. I do love upcycling, mainly because I can't bear to throw anything away and it gives something a new lease of life.

Over to Maura....

Hi, my name is Maura and I blog over at theMessyBrunette.  I love crafts and upcycling projects and I also crochet.  I eat far too much chocolate and spend too long on Pinterest.

A big thanks to Fiona for letting me guest post on her lovely blog.  I hope you enjoy my post and please feel free to pop by my blog for a visit.

I've posted before on decoupage and using it on upcycling projects, you can read about it here.  With this project, I had some plate chargers, you know the ones that make an appearance at Christmas. Well, we had a bunch of these that we never used and I was going to dump them, when I thought hmmmm maybe they could be used.  So I decided to try and cover them with some paper and make them seem like they're old and vintage looking.

So here's the plate before - just your regular silver plastic plate charger, nothing fancy with this one.  You can get this in the Pound/Euro shop, they are not expensive.

And here's the after.  I did 4 plates with 4 different looks using napkins on some and scrapbook paper on others.  I wanted the plates to look old and worn, kinda vintage looking. What do you think?

Want to know how I did it? Well here's a little summary.

NAPKIN PLATES:

The aim was to make the plates look old & worn, vintage looking ......

• I cleaned and lightly sanded the plate
• I painted the plate in white. I did two coats to give it a good coverage.
• I separated the napkins and only used the first layer - see below, it's important you only use the first printed layer.  I tore the pieces that I wanted to use and played around with the design. (On the green plate I didn't tear it up I just carefully placed it on the plate and glued it bit by bit & blended it in.)

• I then used some decoupage glue (you could use some watered down PVA or Mod Podge but I find this glue the best with napkins) and glued the napkin pieces.  They wrinkled in places but I didn't mind as I think the wrinkles make them look old.

• At the edges, I used some bitumen (a liquid paint for decoupage) and rubbed it along with my finger.  You could use some dark wax but be careful, a little goes a long way.  I used some on the inner rim as well.
• Next up I used some rice paper (rice paper is a little bit thicker than napkins and easier to use I find). I had some with "home sweet home" printed on it. I tore around the print and glued this on top of the napkin and lightly sanded it to blend it in.  I used some bitumen on this as well to age it.

• On the blue plate, I used some gold leaf around the edges

• I sealed the plates with some clear varnish and lightly sanded them when they were dry.  I repeated this process until I was happy with the result.  Be careful here as you don't want the paper to tear. Just lightly sand it!

SCRAPBOOK PLATES:

1. I cleaned and lightly sanded the plate
2. I soaked the paper in water and peeled off the back, I did this as the paper was a bit too thick to use and it was easier to use if the paper was a bit thinner.
3. Using some decoupage glue I glued the paper down to the plate and rubbed it into the plate's rim and all around.  Now it did wrinkle a bit here and there, but as I wanted it to look a bit old and worn I didn't mind this. Wrinkles can be good!
4. Now the paper didn't cover the plate fully, there were gaps on each side.  So I used some regular acrylic paint and blended the paint to the colour of the paper.  I sanded and distressed this until I got the look I wanted.
5. Next up, I used some gold leaf.  I just placed the glue on the parts I wanted the gold leaf to appear, this was in and around the edges of the plate. I wanted the plate to look old and that the paper was peeling and coming away.  I used some bitumen to make the paper look old in places as well.  You could use dark wax or even an old tea bag to stain the paper.
6. I left it to dry and coated it again with the glue to seal it. I lightly sanded it afterwards, the paper part only.  I did this a couple of times to make sure everything blended in together.

Note: these plates are only for decorative purposes, just a wipe of a cloth will keep them clean.

So that's it, hope you enjoyed the process, if I have left anything out or you need to know more please comment below.

So have you done any upcycling lately?

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Thank you Maura for sharing your upcycling project. You can find lots more of Maura's crafty DIY projects as well as baking goodness on her lovely blog. Maura is also on Twitter and Instagram.

Just a tip from me, If you can't find bitumen paint, I use Distress Inks for making projects look old and vintage.

If you have upcyled anything, Maura and I would love to see it so please leave your links in the comments or tag us in your social media posts.

fizzi~jayne x

Guest Blogger ~ Rachel Saka ~ Decoupage Techniques....

March is National Craft Month and I couldn't let it go by without doing something.  So to celebrate I have a some guests taking over my blog to share their favourite crafty tutorials/techniques.

First up is Rachel, this is her first ever blog post so I am happy she has decided to share her tutorial with us. Over to Rachel....

Hello! My name is Rachel, and I live in Leeds with my husband and our three children. Crafting has always been a passion of mine, but with three young children, time was always a constraint! However, my youngest child started primary school in September, and I can now grab some extra hours to try to turn my hobby into a success! I specialise in home decor, and this tutorial will help with the techniques used to make a wall hanging, ideal for a bedroom.

One of the big crazes at the moment is based around superheroes, and which budding little hero wouldn't want his very own personalised initial for his room?! 

To make a bold statement, I usually use a 25cm high and 12mm wide solid letter. 

Scraps of paper can be used to create the collage effect, but I prefer the thickness of a sample of wallpaper, which can be easily obtained from the local DIY store, or even online. 

For this project, you will also need scissors, Mod Podge and a good chunky paintbrush. I prefer the children's brushes which are more robust and help with the spreading of the Mod Podge.

First of all, I take the width of the letter and measure on the paper, then cut long strips that will be used to cover the outer edge. Some crafters prefer to just fold the scraps of paper over the edge, but I feel doing it this way means its less fiddly and less prone to peeling. 

Then taking the rest of the paper, go crazy with the scissors and cut out different sized pieces- there is no right or wrong here! I like to make sure I have some of the charcters' faces, but as it is a collage effect, there are no set rules.

Squirt a generous amount of Mod Podge onto your letter, but stick to one small area at a time to prevent drying. 

Place your first scrap of paper as you wish and brush over, adding more Mod Podge if needed. 

Whilst PVA glue has the same effect, and is of course cheaper, Mod Podge is stronger and less likely to peel. It will also leave a lovely finish once complete. 

Repeat the process by brushing Mod Podge into a small area and stick the pieces until covered. Make sure to use your brush in one direction as there may be small brush lines that show up in the light. 

Some crafters like to use a sponge, but I feel that a brush gives more control. Just complete one side at this stage. Make sure you check for any bubbles and these can be smoothed out with the brush. Set aside and leave it to dry for 20 minutes. The Mod Podge dries clear, so dont worry if the surface still looks white at this stage

Brush some Mod Podge around the edge of the letter, again, bit by bit, and take the long, thin strip that was cut originally and cover, smoothing out as you go.

Remember to brush over the paper as you go to ensure a good fixing. Leave to dry again for 20 minutes, and repeat the process for the reverse of the letter. 

Once dry, the letter can be sprayed with a clear sealant to leave a glossy finish, however Mod Podge is available in many finishes, so you may feel this isn't necessary.

Ta-da! Project complete! The finished letter can be displayed on a shelf if prefered, but I normally use a small picture screw ring, and hang to add some awesome super power to a bedroom wall! 

Thank you Rachel for the tips, I think this looks awesome for big kids as well as young heroes!

You can find Rachel and follow her over here....

Twitter: @moon_6_pence
Facebook: facebook.com/moon6sixpence
Etsy: www.etsy.com/MoonSixpence
Instagram: moon6sixpence

fizzi~jayne x

Psst.... If you would like to share your craft tutorials/techniques on my blog I'd love to hear from you. Email me here with your ideas.

Crafty technique ~ Shrink plastic....

Shrink plastic never ceases to amaze me! Never heard of it?  As the name suggests it's plastic that shrinks but let me show you more about it and why I think it is so cool....

You can buy shrink plastic from most craft stores and websites, it is sometimes found in the kids craft area and it is something you can do with the kids but with supervision.

You can buy it clear, translucent and in black, for this demo I used translucent 

I've written Live and Laugh and cut them into rectangles before shrinking.

I use a heat tool to shrink the plastic on a heat proof surface. To stop it from blowing away I used the end of a paint brush to keep it on my mat.  You don't need a heat tool instead you can use an oven, the instructions are on the packet, but not a hair dryer, it's not hot enough and a heat tool's air flow is more intense.

Don't Panic! it will shrivel up but as it shrinks it will go back flat.  Just make sure it doesn't stick to itself, if it does use a tool to gently separate or snip with scissors, don't use your fingers, it's hot!

And it's shrunk! It won't go completely flat but you can use a book to rest on it whilst it is still hot, again I speak from experience, don't use your hands, ouch!!

The "Live" has shrunk from 13cm to 5cm, it's magic! It is also thicker and I find the writing looks neater too.

I used these letters on a wall hanging.  These hangings have proved popular at craft fairs and this one is now available in my Folksy  and Etsy shops .

You can also stamp on to shrink plastic.  You need a StazOn ink which is a solvent based ink designed for non-porous surfaces.

To avoid slipping you can gently sand the plastic to give it more grip.

I coloured the flower with Promarkers but any alcohol pen will work.  I cut the flower out and shrunk with my heat tool as before.

Oops! Make sure your heat proof surface is clean so there is nothing for the plastic to stick to otherwise this will happen!

There is so much you can do with shrink plastic! I have been using it for wall hangings and card embellishments but next I want to make jewellery with it.

Shrink plastic is cool! right?

fizzi~jayne x