Sailing, Sailing Decoupage Canvas

Sailing, Sailing Op Art Decoupage Canvas
Avalon Potter for iLoveToCreate Teen Crafts

Avalon made this simply chic op art style canvas using old book pages and cardstock on an inexpensive craft store canvas.  This is so easy to make and the variations on this theme are infinite.  Fiskars has some great shape cutters that make quick work of cutting squares that are easily halved into triangles.  Piece them together and adhere to your canvas with Aleene's decoupage medium in matte finish and you have a fabulous one of a kind work of art.  Best of all, you're the artist!

Book Review and Giveaway: Mod Podge Rocks!

THIS CONTEST IS NOW CLOSED. 

PRIZE PACKAGE ONE

PRIZE PACKAGE TWO 

Mod Podge Rocks by Amy Anderson
Lark Crafts
June 2012

Are you ready to get your Podge on? Well, have I got a book for you! The designing diva behind the absurdly popular Mod Podge Rocks blog, Ms. Amy Anderson, has gathered some of her craftiest friends together to share a plethora of pleasing podgeable projects that are to die for fabulous! Craft industry luminaries Heather Mann of Dollar Store Crafts fame, Cathie Filian of HGTV's Creative Juice, Jewelry Designer and Author Candie Cooper and a litany of other talented ladies have created simply stunning, easy to recreate projects to endlessly inspire your creativity. Decoupage never really goes out of style, but it's back with a vengeance and you'll get all sorts of tips and tricks for success from true experts.

The book is bright and whimsical. The projects are festive and fun. There is everything from furniture to jewelry to holiday decor jam packed on every page between the retrofabulous cover. Whether you've never dipped your toes into the decoupage pool or you dove right in ages ago, there is something for everyone here. A feast for the eyes and the imagination, Mod Podge Rocks is a must have for any craftinista.

I give it the Madge Crafty Seal of Approval! Huzzah!

HOW WOULD YOU like to win one of two free copies along with the fabulous prize packages above?! The fine folks from PLAID have provided an array of Mod Podge products for your perusal! Leave a comment here telling me why you can't live another day without this book and the awesome swag and I'll announce the winners here next Tuesday! DON'T FORGET to include your EMAIL so I can contact you if you win!

 Love Madge

ILoveToCreate Teen Crafts Trashionista Mixed Media Purse

ILoveToCreate Teen Crafts
Trashionista Mixed Media Purse
Margot Potter
"Mom crafted, kid approved."
Copyright Margot Potter All Rights Reserved

I have an ever bursting at the seams pile of fashion mags that sit by my bed and on the kitchen table. I peruse them at night before I go to sleep and while I’m noshing to trend spot. The problem is that they start to take over my house if I’m not careful! What I don’t recycle, I love to use to make accessories. The words and images on this purse are all made of recycled paper. This is all about layers of paper, inks and paints and every purse will turn out differently. I love that! 

Teaching our teens about the many ways they can recraft, reuse and repurpose is crucial. Plus this project will be a lot of fun for them to personalize. You can do this with old cigar boxes and get hardware and a handle to retrofit. Avalon loved this one and I’m hoping we can whip up some more soon together.

Materials
Wooden purse blank
Aleene’s Traci Bautista Collage Pauge Matte
Crafty Chica Little Chica Paints Red
Fashion Graffiti Paint Cannon Fabric Paint White
Fashion Graffiti Big Phat Fabric Marker Black
Fashion Magazines
Vintage book pages or newspaper
Inkadinkado Animal Print Clear Stamps
Fiskars Clear Stamp Block
Sizzix Big Shot Flower Die

Tools
Sizzix Big Shot
Mini-screwdriver
Paintbrush
Foam Brush
Old toothbrush
Scissors

1. Remove hardware from purse. Sand, clean and coat purse with a layer of racy red paint inside and out. Allow to dry.

2. Use Big Shot and die to cut three vintage book page or newspaper flowers.

3. Select words and images.  Decoupage flowers and cut and torn magazine words and images to the purse front using Collage Pauge matte and a foam brush. Allow to dry. If bubbles form under the images, wet your finger with water and work them out from center. Don’t fret about bubbles, they’ll go away once the medium is dry.  (I had to remove and replace a word at the top of this purse...which you can do while everything is still wet.) 

4. Use the Big Phat marker to put a layer of ink on your stamps and randomly stamp the leopard and tiger prints around edge of purse. Allow ink to dry.

5. Use marker to make angled stripes on thinner edge of purse. Allow ink to dry.

6. Dip an old toothbrush into the white paint and flick it across purse front. Repeat using red paint. Allow to dry.

7. Reassemble purse.