Can't. Stop. Decoupaging.

I want to decoupage everything that moves (cats and baby Gus emit sighs of relief).  This project was inspired by a beautiful decoupaged plate I got at Twist several years ago. 

It began by scoring a bunch of large square glass tiles from FreeCycle.  I then sat down with a bunch of magazines, some old books and my alphabet stamps and started decoupaging.  It looked a little high school (you know, when you cut out a bunch of pictures and words from Seventeen and Glamour Magazines and put them all together and gave them to your friends...or maybe it was just a Long Island thing?).  So with Laurie's help, I changed some stuff and came up with this summer-themed square with a very preppy paper background:

While I loved the design, it kind of still felt like a glass tile with decoupage on it.  Pretty, not practical, and we at Reclaimed Crafts are all about pretty AND practical.  And lots of Mod Podge.  Then Laurie, thinker of big, creative thoughts, remembered the vintage glass stoppers we got at Brimfield even though we had no idea what we'd do with them:

Feet!  Of course.  They were meant to be feet, so that Decoupaged Glass Tile would become Pretty Summer Cheese Plate.  And so, with a touch of Gorilla Glue, it did.

My map obsession grew when I found a maritime map at Goodwill.  It wasn't just any maritime map, it was a maritime map of Long Island, where my stepdad has his boat.  His boat clearly needed a tray for cocktail service, and it needed to be decoupaged with the maps of where the boat was going.

And then there are all of those vintage road maps from gas companies long gone.  Perfect little present for my mom, the compulsive organizer, to clip her papers neatly together.

Final Class Gorgeousness

Our innaugural class could not have been more fun and fulfilling.  What an amazing group of creative women!  Thank you, guinea pigs!  Below are some of their fabulous creations, and stay tuned for the posting of the fall schedule.  It will feature some of the same projects, some brand new, and a multi-session class as well as several single-project classes.  We can't wait!

funky coasters made from a totally cool, really old book

Tom was not losing hope!

Action shot!  Wendy was so committed, she crafted with just one arm.

Gorgeous photo window

cool coasters using photos and stamps

beautiful coasters using decoupage paper

all crafts all the time

Class 3 was a crazy riot of craft projects!  We threw it all down in one crazy multi-project class:  decoupaged clothespins; coasters made from leftover bathroom tiles; four over four pane windows made into bulletin boards, photo frames, decorative fabric frames and chalkboards; and napkin rings from vintage fabric and buttons.  This is what it all looked like:

A chalkboard window faceoff.  Both Lisa and Mary decided to paint the inside wood frame a different color than the outside for a cool contrast.

Here's Mary's finished window - the lilac on the inside really makes the chalkboard windows pop, and sets the frame color off beautifully.

And then there were coasters.  Sarena went into coaster overdrive, first covering the coaster in decoupage paper and then layering pages of an old cool book over the paper:

More clothespins.  Always more clothesins.  Love the clothespins.

And Heidi, our resident speed crafter, whips through some gorgeous napkin rings...  

... and some coasters

And Wendy completes her gorgeous fabric window.  What a perfect selection of fabrics - they look as though they all came from the same fabric mama:

It's hard to believe next week is the final class.  We had a blast and are looking forward to putting together a fall schedule of classes.

class is in session!

Eight crafty, fun women, tons of vintage and salvaged materials, and an inspiring work shop in which to craft - is there anything better than that?  I think not. 

And so began the demo Reclaimed Crafts class.  We know classes are going well when, with 15 minutes to go, no one can believe we've been crafting for almost 2 hours already, and Wendy suggests we pull a crafting all-nighter. 

People are doing amazing things, having fun doing it, and loving our hip space in the workshop of Sticks and Bricks.  Here's a peek at the first two classes.

Sarena, Mary and Lisa decide to turn their salvaged 4 over 4 pane windows into chalkboards, and hit the ground running.

The girls inside spend quite a bit of time fondling the gorgeous vintage fabric, then get busy cutting mats and fabric.

Lisa wins the prize for the fastest work  - painting the first layer of chalkboard paint and choosing one of Liz's beautiful paint colors for the windowframe (hard to tell here, but it's a vibrant blue).

Good thing Laurie broke a pane on her demo window, thus becoming an expert on professional pane removal, which both Jane (wielding the hammer) and Heidi decided to do in order to make the windows lighter and do bulletin boards.  Wendy is demonstrating how to waterwash the paint for a cool weathered look.

 

Everyone getting their craft groove on:  windows and coasters.

Gorgeous coasters made from salvaged bathroom tiles, decoupage paper and wallpaper samples.

window minus glass plus fabric = gorgeous!

i am so pleased with the results of this fabric window.  the fact that the glass is missing is only because i wasn't as careful as i could have been when first trying to attach the fabric mats to the window.  in typical laurie fashion, i figured i could drink a glass of wine, watch house hunters and attach finishing nails to a window - all while surfing the internet. no shocker, i cracked a glass pane!  figuring that the whole thing shouldn't go to waste and because i loved the paint finish i worked hard on, i decided to soldier on.  with the help of Accomplice, i learned how to remove the glazing and all of the window's glass. then, because my first fabric panes were not as carefully measured as they could have been, i re-did each of them, this time being as exacting as possible and measuring each pane of glass. i attached the fabrics to mats i cut from a fed-ex shipping box (from Accomplice's home office) with some spray adhesive (my new best friend). then I used glazier's points to secure the mats to the window.  I strung a hanger on the back and ta-da! i lovely piece of art for above the bed. i love it!