Showing posts with label upcycle. Show all posts
Showing posts with label upcycle. Show all posts

Tuesday, April 4, 2017

DIY: What to do with all those plastic eggs!



With Spring in full swing (for most of us) and those infamous Easter egg hunts just around the corner, I rummaged through my posts and came across this gem.  Here are some great ideas on what to do with all those leftover plastic eggs... and if you have some wooden spools hiding in your stash, you can use those too!

Years ago when my oldest daughter Mariel was little, we hosted an Easter egg hunt in our backyard.  I never threw away those plastic eggs, but I also never again filled them with candy.  They sat, empty, for more than 16 years, and were moved to two different houses.


and hiding in my stash were a bunch of vintage wood spools (I love these!)...


Looking at them side by side, I remembered the Faberge Eggs and their elaborate stands.     


I decided to make a mixed media version of these classic eggs.

1.  I pierced little holes in the tops of the eggs.I threaded a piece of string inside, so that I could hang them to dry.

2.  I got out my collection of scraps, and randomly adhered the scraps to the eggs with Matte Medium.  Then I dabbed all of them with Quinacridone Nickel Azo Gold and Indian Hue Fluid Acrylic paint to unify them a bit.  Here's how they looked:


3.  To give them some individual character, I dabbed them with different colors of craft paint, mixed with glazing medium.


4.  I stenciled different color flowers onto a sheet of deli paper, using the Garden Flowers and Leaves stencil.  It's very springy, don't you think? 


5.  I cut out the flowers and leaves, and adhered them to the eggs.  The parts of the deli paper where I did not add color "melted" into the background, making it look as if I had stenciled directly onto the eggs!

6.  Using Iridescent Gold Paint (Golden Fluid Acrylics), I stenciled the Five Hamsas onto white tissue paper.  I "cut" them up using a thin wet brush, and adhered the bits to the eggs.  I also stenciled some of the borders from the Stitch a Greek Border Stencil in gold as well.

7.  I painted the spools either gold or black, and adhered the borders to them.

(Hint:  This is why stamping or stenciling onto tissue paper is such a cool technique.  I NEVER could have gotten such crisp images on the spools if I tried to stencil directly onto them.  But with the tissue paper, the un-stamped or stenciled parts become translucent as the matte medium dries, leaving a crisp image!)


8.  Using black paint and white tissue paper, I stenciled "Now is the Time" words.  I adhered the words onto the spools and eggs too.


 (I used Weldbond glue, which eventually became transparent after I took the pictures, but a glue gun would have worked too!)

I'm in love with these eggs.  I think they look classic, yet fresh and whimsical.  Here's my Pinterest board with other egg-alicious ideas.   Are you doing any spring-inspired art or craft?  Share your links in the comments. 

Your comments make me so happy and let me know you were here. I read and treasure every comment and will happily answer any questions as soon as I can. 




         Visit Stencil Girl Products and RubberMoon Stamps to see all my designs!


If you haven't already - please connect with me here:
Your comments make me so happy and let me know you were here. I read and treasure every comment and will happily answer any questions as soon as I can.

If you are entering a GIVEAWAY, please add your email address in the event I need to contact you.

To avoid SPAM, please write it like this: jessicasporndesigns (at) gmail (dot) com

Thank You!

Thursday, March 16, 2017

How to: Create an Art Journal Book (Part 1) - Creative Team Thursday with Denise Alloca



Creating from the outside in!  In today's Design Team Post I will be creating the start of a book, from the outside then tackling the inside pages!  


Grab some cardboard, find your stash and play along!  

The cover is first, then to be continued….the pages.  For the cover I used Jessica’s Namaste Stencil, and the Whimsy Crown Stamp.   




I hope you play along!  Here's my video tutorial to get you started: https://youtu.be/neFZnTjXebY 



Supplies: 

Cardboard 
Tissue Paper 
Archival Black ink pad 
Gesso 
Golden Clear Tar Gel 
Liquitex Glass Bead Gel 
Golden Fluid Acrylic 
Deco Arts Interference Gold 

Acrylic Paint 
Parchment 
White 
Teal  
Turquoise 
Black 



With a passion for art from an early age, Denise Alloca turned her interest to photography and later art education. Through her diverse exposure to various art forms, she found her way to mixed media art, where she currently showcases her work on her blog.  Denise has been a Design Team member for Donna Downey’s Artist Gang, creating instructional videos showcasing various mixed media techniques.  Denise's work has also been published in Art Journal Kickstarter, which offers advice and techniques for art journaling enthusiasts.



Thanks for this great tutorial Denise!  

Make sure to check out all of the Creative Team's wonderful creations and inspiration.


         Visit Stencil Girl Products and RubberMoon Stamps to see all my designs!


If you haven't already - please connect with me here:
Your comments make me so happy and let me know you were here. I read and treasure every comment and will happily answer any questions as soon as I can.

If you are entering a GIVEAWAY, please add your email address in the event I need to contact you.

To avoid SPAM, please write it like this: jessicasporndesigns (at) gmail (dot) com

Thank You!

Thursday, December 22, 2016

DIY Turn Dollar Store Finds to Treasure - Creative Team Thursday with Denise Alloca




Watch as Denise Alloca for Jessica Sporn Designs creates two wall hangings using Jessica’s Starry Night Stencil and Ganesha Stencil.  Opportunity is all around us, even in the dollar section of the store.  It’s how we recreate those objects, give them some beauty and color giving them a new life.




Supplies used:




Deco Arts Mixed media starter kit:
Gesso 
Titanium White fluid Acrylic
Primary Magenta Fluid Acrylic

DecoArt Chalky Finish Paint:

Treasure
Lace

Miscellaneous:

Raw wood hangings
Pencil 
Manila folder
Scissors
Charcoal

Small clips

With a passion for art from an early age, Denise Alloca turned her interest to photography and later art education. Through her diverse exposure to various art forms, she found her way to mixed media art, where she currently showcases her work on her blog.  Denise has been a Design Team member for Donna Downey’s Artist Gang, creating instructional videos showcasing various mixed media techniques.  Denise's work has also been published in Art Journal Kickstarter, which offers advice and techniques for art journaling enthusiasts.


Thanks Denise!  Make sure to check out all of the Creative Team's wonderful creations and inspiration.


         Visit Stencil Girl Products and RubberMoon Stamps to see all my designs!


If you haven't already - please connect with me here:
Your comments make me so happy and let me know you were here. I read and treasure every comment and will happily answer any questions as soon as I can.

If you are entering a GIVEAWAY, please add your email address in the event I need to contact you.

To avoid SPAM, please write it like this: jessicasporndesigns (at) gmail (dot) com

Thank You!

Tuesday, December 6, 2016

How To: Upcycled House Ornaments and a Holiday Blog Hop!



Hi all!  I'm so excited because it's the FIRST blog hop with members of the Jessica Sporn Designs Creative Team. 

Today I'm hopping along with 


to share some holiday creations using my stamps and stencils. 

I hope you've been enjoying the Creative Team posts - I know I have! 
AND.... 

We have a great three giveaways - one lucky commenter will win my Blessings stamp from Rubbermoon





another will win this little holiday ornament, 




and another will win this lovely wall hanging by Creative Team member Denise Alloca.  Denise couldn't participate in the hop, but created this beautiful project for her tutorial & post on December 22.  

My little ornaments were inspired by some cardboard I received in a food delivery package, as well as Kristin's brilliant "Tiny Homes" tutorial.  She inspired me to pull out my glitter and use these stamps in a very different way than I had previously envisioned! 

I filmed my process -- hope you enjoy the video.



Now hop on over to Karen GauntSherry CaninoDenise Alloca and Kristin Van Valkenburgh
to see what they've created!

All comments on all the posts count - so don't forget to leave your kind words!  

If you are entering the GIVEAWAY, please add your email address in the event I need to contact you.

To avoid SPAM, please write it like this: jessicasporndesigns (at) gmail (dot) com

Thank You!


         Visit Stencil Girl Products and RubberMoon Stamps to see all my designs!


If you haven't already - please connect with me here:
Your comments make me so happy and let me know you were here. I read and treasure every comment and will happily answer any questions as soon as I can.