DIY Wall Clock-Turned-Shadowbox....

Have you seen JDL’s Issue #5? As always, inspiration abounds. I was especially inspired by their “Wall Clocks-Turned-Shadowbox” feature. So lovely! I decided to try my hand at one of my own. This clock has been sitting in storage for quite some time now. I removed the back and all the internal components. Easy peasy as the clock face is actually a thick piece of cardboard and it was stapled to the clock frame. Needle-nose pliers did the trick!

I then painted it with my new favorite color by Valspar called “Metropolis.” It’s a beautiful “blue grey.” Don't worry about the paint on the glass, just use a razor blade to remove it. Of course, you could always use painters tape and skip the razor blade part. 

 Here’s what it looked like after I painted it. I thought it needed a little something “extra” so.... 

...I dug this old curtain pinback out of my studio stash....

 ....the pin in the back made it easy to gently hammer it into the wood frame. It too got a quick coat of paint and...

...voila! 

I decided not to add a backing to the frame so I can easily change out the vignette. 

I love how it turned out.  

Check out Issue #5 of JDL  for more inspiration!

Disclaimer: JDL did not pay or reimburse me in any way for this “plug.” 

I just love the magazine.

DIY No Sew Union Jack Pillow....

I’ve always loved the look of  Union Jack Pillows. There are so many ways to personalize them to fit your own decor style that I thought I’d give it a try. Time being of the essence these days, I decided to take a shortcut and use a ready-made pillow that I already had on hand.

~*~Materials~*~

Ready-made pillow

Fabric: I used bleached canvas dropcloth

(for a tutorial on how to bleach and soften drop cloth, go HERE)

Scissors

Measuring tape/ruler

Fabric Glue or a Hot Glue Gun

~*~BEFORE~*~

 First, I measured the pillow from corner-to-corner and added  3” to that measurement.  I then cut a 2” wide strip of bleached drop cloth (I like to pull a few rows of thread in the dropcloth to “fray” the edges a bit).  I centered my cloth strip on the pillow and, using a hot glue gun (or fabric glue), glued it to the pillow.  

You will have some overlap at each end that looks like this.....

...I then simply cut the overlap at right angles to match the corner of the pillow and glued it down... 

Repeat the above steps to adhere a second strip of dropcloth to form a “criss cross” on your pillow.... 

Next, I measured the length of my pillow and cut a 3” wide strip of cloth to that exact measurement. Because my pillow has fringe on these ends, I needed my strip to end where the fringe begins. If your pillow does not have an existing trim, then you will need to add a few inches to your measured length to overlap on the back of the pillow. Again, center your strip on the pillow and glue from end-to-end....

Measure the width of your pillow and add a few inches to this measurement to, again, overlap it on the back of the pillow....(I used a 3” wide strip)....

When I was finished, my pillow looked like this...but I thought it needed something “more”.

 These are the sheers that hang in my sunroom. They were too long so I had to cut a good  12” off of them before hemming them. 

I used the original hem of the curtain and cut a strip long enough to cover the width of my pillow and... 

... used the original "side" hem of the curtain to cut a strip long enough to cover the length of my pillow. 

I glued them on as I did the dropcloth ....   

 VOILA!

Why not plug in your gluegun, grab an old pillow and give it “a little bit of some English?” 

It’ll be the bees knees mates.  

DIY Personalized Mousepad Cover...

I’ve had my mousepad for so long now that I stopped really “seeing it.” Well, at least until recently when I tackled the “clean my studio top to bottom project”. After removing everything off my desk to wipe down the protective glass on it, I really “looked” at it for the first time in a long time and thought: “hmmm...pretty ugly!” No worries...spray adhesive and fabric to the rescue!

DIY Personalized Mousepad Cover

Mousepad

Spray Adhesive

Fabric

Scissors

Copyright-free image

Card stock

~*~Before~*~

You can use any printed or solid fabric for this project but I decided to personalize my mousepad even further by transferring a pretty Frenchy image onto plain fabric instead. To do this, you first need to make a sheet to run through your printer.

I use “Aleene’s Crystal Clear Tacky Spray” (Michael's), 1 sheet of card stock paper and “Linen Look” fabric that I found at JoAnn Fabrics.

 

Cut your piece of fabric so it is at least 1” larger,  all around, than your card stock. In a well-ventilated area, preferably outside, liberally spray your sheet of card stock and then press it face down onto your fabric square. Make sure you have a firm surface to work on that will allow you to smooth out all the air bubbles.

Let dry a bit and then trim the excess fabric off the card stock. You should now have a piece that looks like this....

I chose this gorgeous image from The Graphics Fairy to work with.....

 

...next, simply run your fabric-covered piece of card stock through your printer as you would normally do to print.

**Suggestions:  Remove all paper from paper tray and run your card stock through as a single sheet. I would also suggest that , when your printer begins to “grab” your sheet, you gently guide it into the printer to make sure it is working its’ way through it. Thicker fabric may jam your printer so cotton or the fabric I used would be best. 

Once your image is printed, simply peel the fabric off of the card stock and it should look like this.....puuuuuurdy!  

Now you’re ready to personalize your mousepad. Again, liberally spray the mousepad with your spray adhesive and then press it down onto the reverse side of your fabric. If your fabric has a definite “center point” then make sure you visually align the mousepad onto your fabric. If you’re using a solid fabric or one with an “all over” pattern, you don't need to worry about this step. 

Trim the excess fabric around your mousepad and....

...voila! 

You might like to really personalize your mousepad by transferring your favorite family photo onto your fabric as well. There are SO many copyright-free images so the sky’s the limit here. Have fun! 

Happy week’s end Mes Amies! 

DIY Cabinet Door Facelift....

I was ready to give my kitchen pantry doors a fresh coat of paint when I thought I might like to add a little “dimension” to them first.

“BEFORE” 

Faux pressed tin is nice but can be pricey so I decided upon some paintable textured wall paper instead......

I found this roll at Lowe’s....

...I simply measured the length and width of the space on the door that I wanted to cover and then cut the pieces I needed.....

...and then I glued them to the door inserts. 

Yes...I said “glued.” It was a lot easier than using wallpaper primer or  “sizing” and then immersing the paper in water and waiting for the paste to “activate” before applying. 

I just glued around the perimeter of the wallpaper piece and pressed it onto the door. NO having to remove excess paste or dealing with those darn air bubbles. No waiting for it to dry 24 hours before painting....

“AFTER”

My doors went from drab to ooh la la in less than an hour!

Wallpaper: “Allen & Roth” ~ “Squares Pattern” found at Lowe’s

Paint: “Bone White” by Benjamin Moore in semi-gloss 

Don't underestimate the impact that small changes can make. 

"It's all in the details".

This is an inexpensive and easy-to-do project. 

Why don't you give it a try and see for yourself?