Updating an Ugly Box with Graphics and Paint

My husband had a box in the garage that originally held a car waxing kit. The box was sturdy and a great size, but not very cute!  :)

I started with a Graphics Fairy label.

   

I tried to 'age' it with tea.  I really didn't have to do this step, as it didn't make a huge difference.

 

I painted the box with a couple of coats of green spray paint.  

I then sanded down the edges.

I cut close to the edge of the graphic, then mod podged it on the box.

I put an antiquing gel on the whole thing, then rubbed off the excess.  They used to sell a one-bottle antiquing gel, but now you buy the Martha Stewart Antique Effect and mix it with any color you want.  I mixed it with the color Vanilla Bean.  I bought both of these bottles at Michael's.  I mixed them together with equal parts.

 

I added a knob so it's easy to open.  I now have a great place to store my weekly ads and coupons.

Thanks for visting!

Pam

I am linking to the following parties:

 

Twig Christmas Tree Art

I love rustic Christmas decorations and certainly loved the project that Kindra  At Home With K's blog did to make her twig Christmas tree. Here's my version of it. 

I started with this frame from Michael's.  I spray painted it white with Rustoleum 2x Flat White Paint.

 I was disappointed that there was only a piece of cardboard on the back of the frame.  This definitely made it harder to get a good stretching of the burlap.  I put a thin piece of batting under the burlap and hot glued the edges of the burlap to the back of the cardboard.

I used Tacky Glue to attach the twigs to the burlap.  I spread the glue on the twigs pretty heavily.

This is before the glue dried completely.

 I used a heavy pan to hold the twigs in place to dry.

 I added a starfish to the top and was done.  (You can still see a little of the tacky glue.  It was still wet here, but did dry clear)

Thanks for your visit!  And Happy Holidays!

Pam

I am linking to the following parties:

Cute Graphics + Ikea = FAB Pillows!

I made some fun and easy pillows this weekend.  I think they turned out great.






I started with this pillow cover that I purchased at Ikea.

I used this graphic that I found on  The Graphics Fairy's blog.  I absolutely LOVE The Graphics Fairy's blog!!   I flipped the image so it would work correctly when I ironed it on the pillow.  You can flip an image in Picasa by pressing Control/Shift/H. 

I bought this package of Jolee's Easy Image Transfer Sheets for White Fabrics from Michael's.  I saw on The Mango Archive's Blog that she used iron on transfers on dishtowels.  I figured it'd work on pillows too.

I copied the graphic onto the transfer paper using my inkjet printer.

  The directions on the transfer paper say not to use directly on an ironing board, so I used our old bread board with an old pillow case over it. Then I put the bread board and old pillowcase INSIDE the new pillow cover.   I didn't want the graphic to somehow get heated to both sides.  (not sure that it would have, but didn't want to find out.)

I ironed the pillow a little, so the major wrinkles were out, but didn't go crazy getting it perfect.

I then cut the transfer paper.  But please note--cut closer to the image than I did here!  This was my first attempt and the transfer paper does show up around the edges. You need a little bit of an edge--about 1/2" is probably good.  

I placed the transfer paper on the pillow cover and made sure it was centered pretty well.

I used an iron without steam set on COTTON.   I put the iron on one spot and held it for 20 seconds.  I would then lift the iron up and set it down on another spot for 20 seconds.  I made sure all of the areas were ironed, especially the edges.  I probably set the iron down at least in ten different places to make sure I got everything.

I peeled the paper backing off carefully and the image stuck to the pillow.

On this one, you can see where I messed up and didn't cut close enough to the image, so you can see the transfer paper.  I did cut the paper closer in pillows I made after this one and they all look great.  Even though the edges show up on this first one, it is not nearly as noticeable once the pillow insert is put in. 

Here's another one I made.  I collect old scales and love this image too! 

I am so happy with my new pillows.  I even made some for birthday gifts. 

Here's the breakdown in cost:  (if you're one of my friends who received this as a gift, you can quit reading now!)  :)

Pillow cover:  $6.00 Ikea

Pillow Insert:  $6.99 Ikea

Transfer paper: $0.60 each Michael's.  (a pack of 10 was $6 after coupon)

Total per pillow: $13.59!

Thanks so much for coming by.  I appreciate your visits and comments.

Pam

Please check out these parties that I've linked to:

The Graphics Fairy's Brag Monday

Between Naps on the Porch Met Monday

Someday Craft's Whatever Goes Wednesday

No Minimalist Here's Thursday Open House

Tales from Bloggeritaville's Thrifty Thursday

Hooking up with House of Hepworth

Somewhat Simple's Strut Your Stuff Party

My Romantic Home's Show and Tell Friday

French Country Cottage's Feathered Nest Friday

Bargain Hunting with Laurie's Favorite Things Saturday

Tatertots and Jello's Weekend Wrap Up

Funky Junk Interiors SNS#73

Debbiedoo's Newbie Party

Dittle Dattle's Amaze Me Mondays

The Stories of A to Z's Tips and Tutorials

I Heart my Crafty Cutter's Party

The Lettered Cottage's Tuesday Tutorial

Easy to make Coasters

I made these coasters after seeing the directions for them on The Graphic Fairy's blog.  They were so easy to make and so different than anything I've seen in any stores.

I found the tiles at Lowe's for 34 cents each.  I bought adhesive backed cork for the bottoms and the Omni-Gel at Michaels.  I applied the Omni-Gel with a 1" foam brush (also from Michaels).  I printed the birdcage graphic from her site and just used my regular printer.  (My printer is not an inkjet, apparently inkjet printers do not work for this project.)  I sprayed them with clear enamel when I was done so wet glasses don't stick to them.  

She has thousands of graphics that are available on her website. 

Here's the link to the directions. 
 "Coaster Link"

Thanks for visiting!

Pam