The Long Journey to a Thrift Store Transformation.

As some of my friends know, I bought a table from a thrift store with the intentions of fixing up and painting. This table was already cute with antique carving. Also, someone had taken the tan-ish white table and painted it a very cute turquoise, but only about half way.

(The legs on the other side of the table are completely unpainted)

I moved the unfinished table into the apartment I shared with roommates and then two months later I moved it into our first apartment after Reed and I got married, and then seven months after that, I moved it into our current apartment where it has dutifully been serving as a very ugly night stand for the last ten months.

Some of you on-the-ball type people might ask why the heck its been sitting around unpainted for so long, while some of my fellow procrastinators might defend me by nodding their heads with surety that I had a very valid reason for waiting so long. Which I totally did...Kind of.

I love the style of the table and had very high expectations of how it would look once I was through painting, but because of this, it took me a looooong time to decide on a color and what to leave white, or turquoise, or etc. Feeling particularly artsy last week I decided enough was enough and painted it with the only color of paint I had (also my favorite color, purple!). I left the tan/white and some of the turquoise color and added my own purple.

Here is how it turned out!

I'm quite pleased with it. What do you think? Do you have any impending crafts laying around your house? ;)

-ChellytheBean

Mosaics! Tutorials on How to Make Your Own.

I have had some serious fun with mosaics! Every Christmas gift I gave this year was a home made mosaic. They went over pretty well and people seemed to like them. I will go ahead and post materials and a tutorial for the actual way to make your own mosaic and then my own made up list of cheaper materials and my own tutorial.

The real way:

Materials needed:

• An object you want to transform into a mosaic (i.e. flower pot, picture or mirror frame, table, decorative box, etc). 
• Assorted ceramic tiles found at craft stores in many different colors/styles mostly already cut into different appropriate shapes and sizes. The cost depends on how big the bag is, what design/color, and the shapes. At a craft store they can range from $8-$30+. $8 would get you a small bag of one color.
• If they are not cut into the shapes you require you will need mosaic tile cutters, averagely priced around $7-$10 on the internet but at Michaels I think they were around $15. 
• Mosaic adhesive. $7-$8 and will last for multiple projects.
• Mosaic grout. $8 at Michaels.

Steps:

1. Decide on a design. You can also draw the design on your object of choice before glueing down tiles if you'd like.
2. Glue the tiles onto your object. Make sure your tiles are placed with just a small space between them.
3. Make your grout by following the directions on the packaging.
4. Apply grout between tile pieces. Don't be afraid of getting the grout on your tiles (we will deal with that later!).
5. Let the grout dry for at least 20 minutes then use a sponge dampened with warm water to even the grout and to wipe it off of the tiles. Make sure you don't wipe away too much grout in between the tiles which would result in an uneven surface!

You now have a very nice mosaic piece!

My thought process of how and why I made mosaics went something like this: mosaics are pretty. A mosaic would work well with my project criteria! Wait, this is getting expensive....*drives to thrift store*.

My way:

Materials needed: 

• Object of choice to mosaic-ify! I used $0.50 flower pots and cheap picture frames from the thrift store (gotta love the D.I.!).
• Plates or tiles you think are pretty. I found some colorful and cool plates at the thrift store for around $0.70 each. I also went to Home Depot and found some very cheap mix-matched tiles on sale.
• A hammer (maybe some safety glasses).
• Adhesive. I went ahead and bought mosaic adhesive ($7 at Michaels) because I was not sure how other glue would be but thinking about it now, super glue and possibly hot glue (depending on your object and if it will be inside or out) should work just fine.
• Groooouuut. I used mosaic grout ($8 at Michaels). After all of my projects I only used two of these tubs. 

NOW GET TO IT!

1. Decide on a design. It is helpful to know what potential shapes you may need before you get into the next step
2. Get out some of that built up rage and smash some plates! Place the plates/tiles on a hard surface (probably outside on pavement) and hammer away! This is where eye protection comes in if you care more about the possibility of flying glass in your eyes than I do.
3. Glue the pieces of broken plate/tile onto your object.
4. Make your grout using the grout instructions.
5. Apply the grout allll over the piece and make sure to get into the cracks as best you can.
6. Let dry at least 20 minutes then wipe away unwanted grout off tiles and smooth the grout as best as you can between the tile pieces. 

Ta da! Now you have mosaic making skillz that killz.

Pros and Cons of my mosaic method.

Pros:

• Cheaper.
• You get to pick out plates from the vast thrift store collection. I have found some really beautiful ones.
• There is more of a hodge podge look (if your into that sort of thing, you crafty weirdo, you).

Cons:

• Smashing the plates can be both difficult and deafening. Some tile nippers may be in your best interest but if you decide to pass on the cost, make sure you have patience and a nice husband who doesn't mind the ringing of a hammer hitting a porcelain plate or tile. You have to get used to the unpredictable cracking habits of hammer on plates but trust me, it is totally doable! 
•  You have to find plates with the same thickness for a smooth finished surface. And when you break the plates you can't use the outside rim area (but still much cheaper than mosaic tile pieces).

Here are a few of the mosaics I have made (basically the ones I remembered to take pictures of, hehe).

I made this one for my wonderful brother and sister-in-law (their last name is Williams, hence the W). They hosted us for Christmas so I wanted to give them something for Christmas. They stuck a plant in it right away!

This one doubled as a school project and a Christmas present (making the wire tree gave me more cuts than the glass pieces from the mosaics!).

On this lighter picture you can see where I rubbed off some of the green coloring from the frame and rubbed it onto the grout areas to get rid of the bright white for the sake of the color palette ( compare the grout color to the picture above). This one was for Reed's parents.

          

         I'm not sure which of these terrible pictures are better so I put up both, hehe.

Let me know your opinions on my method and/or if you try any of your own mosaics! Try the internet for some mosaic inspiration if you can't think of any. Feel free to ask any questions or add any advise/comments on mosaic methods of your own.

-ChellytheBean

And Now... Painting!

Small disclaimer: I do not think or boast that I am the most talented or creative person around, but I do enjoy art. So be please nice to me as I further develop my talents and use this blog as a way to document my progress.

Painting. Painting, painting, painting... This has been a hard one for me! I have been using oil paints and my goodness! I am not always patient enough to wait for it to dry before I try in vain to lather on another detail!

This is a painting I have been working on for a while and sheesh! It has been a challenge! It is something I intend to hang in my house when I am satisfied with it (if I ever will be) because it is sentimental. This is where we had our wedding reception (beautiful hill backdrop and all!). It could not have been a more lovely day and that historic house was a large part of the day's success as far as the worldly part of our wedding goes. Though I used a picture as reference, I have found it challenging to mimic it while trying to apply my own aesthetic (thats how the mountains happened ;)).

So painters, help a sister out and give me some tips! And be nice please ;).

Like I mentioned while explaining the the point of this blog, I like to document my progress, so I will include pictures I took along the way.

Besides a few details on the house and grass, what else do you think it needs? And yes, I know, my camera is not the best ;).

P.s. This was my very first real still life painting. Exciting subject matter, eh? 

-ChellytheBean

Bedazzlin'

I am always trying to think of ways to keep myself busy craft wise, and the last month or so has been filled with some serious bedazzling. And I mean SERIOUS. I may have neglected to heed my sweet husband's advice and went a little over board. Here are a few of my bedazzling endeavors. Let me know what you think!

First we will start will a small detail on the pocket of my jean jacket. I kept it small for two reasons: I wanted to wear the jacket with a lot of different things and I also did not want to look like a second grader...Though the thought of bedazzling my name on my backpack may have crossed my mind a few times.... The other thing is a very off-centered button, ignore that hehe.

Next is a little more fun: a lamp from a thrift store. I bought it with the intent of decorating it one way or another and to use it in my make shift studio in the second bedroom. So, wanting to distance myself from my teenage days of drawing with sharpie on my white bookcase, I decided to wait until I thought of something a tad less angsty. Bedazzling it is! (That's less angsty, right?...Right?...)

And now for the last (and definitely the most overboard), bedazzle project I will share today: Reed's Gamecube. At the time it seemed like a good idea while I giggled with a friend about how Reed will think its funny when he got home. It did not exactly go according to plan, but don't worry, he forgave me ;). So boys (even though I highly doubt any boys are reading this), find a girl who does not enjoy crafts if you want to avoid a scenario such as this.

p.s. even though I have a smart phone it has a terrible resolution... Oh well! :)

-ChellytheBean

Ceramics

Because this is a blog about everything me and mine, here is my latest project. This one is for school and a new subject for me: ceramics. So far ceramics has been very enjoyable, it seems to fit into the category of the kind of projects I like, some what tedious, yet still very enjoyable with a design all my own.

This is a small, clay, coil built vase (about 8 inches tall) and is my version of a totem pole. I have a vivid memory of when I was young and lived in Alaska when a local carver worked with 6th graders at my school to carve a totem pole and later I got to help put it up by pulling ropes to stand it straight. If my memory serves me right, it is in the middle of the school ground and is very, very tall ( probably not as tall to me now;) ). It was a fun day and I always thought it was amazing that even though we were in Alaska, my school grew vegetables, was involved in 4-H, and frankly, had the coolest playground.

Here is a link talking about the totem pole in the Denali Elementary School playground. I had no idea that they tell the story of the totem pole each year and did not even know about the poem until I tried to find info on it. http://lessonplans.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/09/17/totems-of-respect/

Here are some pics of the vase in progress. I have only built the form and carved the design (and am very new at ceramics!). Stay tuned for finished pictures and the next couple of ceramic projects I will be working on: a recreation of a 13th century Korean 22 inch tall vase and a small carving of the Ice King from Adventure Time!

- ChellytheBean

Hello, World!

Hello World!

I decided to start this blog as a way to document my various projects and doings.

Enjoy!

ChellytheBean