Cute as a Cupcake!

Hi friends! Sometimes you make something that is really quick, easy and cute. This is one of those times.

I don’t like to shop and I don’t want to give gifts that will collect dust either. Mostly, I’m lazy and giving the gift of cash, especially to older kids, goes over really well. See, most kids don’t have jobs and unlike a gift card it can be spent anywhere. Plus, I have to admit, I am a horrible gift giver, sometimes I get it right but mostly I am clueless but I can make cute stuff so I put my effort there:) Buy hey, if you are a steller gift giver you could whip up one of these tins to give your awesome gift in!

Video!

I just realized that now everyone knows that I don’t put that much effort in to the packaging either. Hmmm, I really need to rethink my blog topics. I am giving all of my secrets away. I guess it’s good that not many people I know in real life read my blog LOL! Hey, just because it is fun and easy doesn’t mean it’s not worthwhile and made with love. That’s my story and I’m sticking to it!

Supplies:
Oval Tin (also available in round, square & heart shapes)
PomPom Trim
Chalk paint in white and teal
Stamps (Sweet Cupcake-Stampin Up)
Dye Ink (Memento, Stampin Up, Altenew)
White Cardstock
Sequins (Micheals)

Directions:
1. Paint tin with chalk or acrylic paint, let dry.
2. Stamp cupcake and cut out.
3. Glue cupcake to lid of tin and glue pom-pom trim on the edges of the tin lid. Accent with sequins.

I want to thank Papermart for sponsoring this post, they have so many cute things for packaging gifts and goodies and you can’t beat the prices. Thanks for stopping by and til next time happy crafting!

A mixed media wal hanging (for the birds!) & a Haul!

Hi friends! First I want to announce the winner of the dragonfly stamps from last week, Catherine Hatt! Congrats, check your email for details:) Today I will show you how to use stamps to make a mixed media wall hanging that has the feel of on old lithograph.

We will also shop the backyard for some twigs for the frame and I will teach you how to do a Vaseline resist with acrylic paint! There is also a haul at the end of the video if you are curious to see the new goodies I got from the new Stampin Up! catalog. Let’s get to the tutorial!

Video!

Find the products I used from Stampin Up! (Wendy Cranford) Use the June-July host code to receive free card kits with your orders of $15 or more 64KHQ44Z through 7/24/16

Supplies:
Best Birds Stamp Set *Also available in a bundle with dies and in French:
Acrylic Craft Paint
6″x6″ Art Bites painting panel
Small branches
Hot Glue
Waterproof ink (Ranger Archival)
Petroleum Jelly (aka Vaseline)
Paint brushes #8, #1 round & 1″ flat soft nylon, flat course brush for Vaseline

Products from the Haul in order of appearance *Note, many sets are available in a bundle with matching dies and some sets are available in French and wood mounted if preferred.
Best Birds
Playful Backgrounds
In this World
Sweet Cupcake
Picture Perfect (layering set with flower,starfish and hummingbird)
Birthday Fiesta
Marquee Messages
Wherever You Go
From Land to Sea
Painters Palette
Jar of Love
Feather Together

Hostess sets
Fabulous Flora
Pun Intended
Gift of Love

If you plan on ordering from my friend Wendy be sure to use her host code 64KHQ44Z for the month to get free card kits UNLESS you are making a big order, in that case you probably will do better to get some sweet hostess rewards. Let me know what you would like to see me used next in the comments below! Thanks for stopping by and til next time happy crafting!

 

A Travel Palette from a Baby Wipes Container (And a source for them!)

Hi friends! About a year and a half ago I posted a video about making a DIY rubber stamp cleaner using a travel baby wipes container. People were very excited about this but then people kept telling me that they could no longer find the travel wipes containers as manufactures had switched to the soft bag style packaging. Well, I found a place that sells the empty travel wipes containers in lots of 6 and they are the sponsor of today’s video! And since I got a bunch of these to test out (hey, I have to do my research) I thought that would be perfect for travel palettes too!

Watch the video on how I made a DIY travel watercolor palette. If you know an art teacher on a budget please share this idea with them, it is a great way to cheaply outfit a class!

Video!

You can find the travel wipes container and alta caps from our sponsor Craft Chamelon.

• Travel baby wipes container
• Alta caps or shallow bottle caps
• Tube watercolor
• White crayon or piece of wax (for resist effects)
• Piece of credit card (for scraping)
• 2 paper towels folded
• Watercolor paper cut to 3.5″x7″ (cut an 11″x14″ into 6 pieces)
• Water brushes (so you don’t need to carry extra water)
• Hot glue gun and sticks

Directions:
Glue the caps to the bottom of the wipes box leaving space to one side for the brushes to fit. Fill caps with paint. Let paint dry them place all the other supplies in the wipes container. I recommend storing the paper and towel in a plastic bag so it will stay dry and clean.

Let’s go outside and paint this summer! I think I will demo my kit here during the live show on Friday so you can see it is action then! Thanks for stopping by and til next time happy crafting!

 

 

Toy Box to Sports Equipment Storage Makeover!

Hi friends! When my son outgrew his toy box it was eschewed onto the porch to hold baseball and softball gear. It is real wood and in great shape but it had a bright yellow paint job with accents of sharpie doodled on by a young child.

I can’t believe I didn’t take photo of the before, at least you will see it on film:) I am really pleased with how it came out. I tried wet distressing on chalk paint and that was way cleaner and easier than sanding for a distressed look. Why am I telling you all of this? Just watch the video and watch the transformation!

Video!

Supplies:

• Old wooden toy box
• Chalk Type Paint by Heirloom Traditions in the following colors: Brittlebrush, Charlette’s Red, A La Mode , Black Bean, Alexandrite
• Brushes: 1″ nylon for edging, natural bristle brushes for base coating and sponge brushes for top coats and stamping.
• Foam stamps, rags, stir sticks, stencils
• Top coat

*Note, you can use a wax if the piece will be indoors but this toy box will live on the porch so I opted for a urethane based topcoat.

The great thing about chalk type paint is how it covers and preps in one step and the ability to wet distress it back. It is a bit more pricey than other acrylic paint but the quality of the paint and the ease of use makes up for it. Also you can use the coupon code FRUGAL to save 10% on your order at our sponsor Heirloom Tradition Paint. Do you have any furniture makeover plans? Let me know in the comments below! Thanks for stopping by and til next time happy crafting!

Easy Freehand Watercolor Pots to Stamp in!

Hi friends! Don’t you hate it when you can’t find the perfect stamp to tie a card together? Well, today I will show you how to freehand some sweet pots that you can use your small flower stamps with!

The small pegstamps I am using are from our sponsor Rubber Stamp Tapestry. SAVE! Use coupon code: WATERCOLOR to get 20% off all mounted stamp orders of $10+ at Rubber Stamp Tapestry through 7/2/16

Video!

Supplies:

• Stamps (Rubber Stamp Tapestry), Brambly rose, Pansy Garden, Azalea Terrace , Aunties Strawberry Garden, Bright New Day
• Watercolor Pencils (Spectrum Noir)
• Waterbrush (Prima)
• Ink Pads or Waterbased Markers (I used dye ink pads from Memento, altenew and Stampin Up and I prefer the small pads so I can have more colors on my table)
• Water spritzer (spray bottle with a fine mist)
• Watercolor postcards or watercolor paper cut into 4″x6″ pieces
• For sealing: Wax and a heat tool

Directions:
1. Sketch pots on a watercolor post card using a watercolor pencil.
2. Use a wet brush or waterbrush to liquefy the pencil.
3. Stamp flowers in the pots. You can mist the stamp before pressing it to the watercolor paper for more vivid and painterly results.
4. To seal your postcard (to protect it from moisture en route to your recipient) rub clear wax, like a candle or canning wax, on the surface and then melt the wax with a heat tool if desired.

Tip! Look at your stash and see if you have stamps of items that would be nice to plant your flowers in! Mason jars, tea cups, urns, wheelbarrows, windows, arbors, fences and building would all look fantastic with some flowers!
Don’t forget to use the coupon code WATERCOLOR if you go shopping at our sponsor Rubber Stamp Tapestry this week! Thanks for stopping by and til next time happy crafting!

LIVE at 12:30pm Eastern Time Today: Pastel Painting FREE Class!

Hi friends! I am sliding into Friday feet first! This first full week of summer vacation has been a lot of fun but has turned me into a last-minute-Sally here in the studio! I will have a live painting class at 12:30pmET though, sorry for the short notice but I am keeping the live shows at the same time each week so I hope that helps you plan a bit. I am going to show you how to paint over an unsuccessful watercolor with pastels. I hope you enjoy it!

 

I had a bunch of extra backgrounds kicking around from when I went to Denver to film my class for Craftsy (BTW all of my blog readers get 50% off my class through this link) and they have been sitting in a bag so I decided to paint over one today! Also I will use up some black and white tube watercolor that has been collecting dust since it came in a  kit and I don’t typically paint with those colors in watercolor. If you don’t have black and white watercolor or gouache, just use an acrylic that is not glossy. As always if you want to join in the chat you will need to watch on the YouTube Watch page and be signed in if you want to ask questions or chat with crafty friends. Otherwise you can watch in the player below.

Supplies available at our sponsor Jerry’s Artarama

For a surface use an old painting on watercolor paper you don’t care for, we will paint over it! Also watercolor or pastel paper is fine, the quality of the paper does not matter for the results, you could even paint on a cardboard box!

Turner watercolors (white and black, I just used the ones that came in the value set since I typically do not paint with these colors)

Pastels (a variety of brands and softness, use your favorites!)

Tools: Brayer, 1″ flat brush, spray bottle, finger or blending sponges

Reference photo by Viacheslav at Paint my Photo

I hope to see you at 12:30pm ET today for this fun and free live painting class! If you are interested in my Craftsy class that focuses on mixed media watercolor and pastels you can save 50% or find out more here. You can also see what other classes are on sale at Craftsy here, we all love a good deal right? Thanks for stopping by and til next time happy crafting!

A 4th of July Favor!

Hi friends! Today I have a quick and easy favor you can make for your 4th of July party!

See how easy it is to make in today’s video!

Supplies:

• Sparklers
• Scrapbook paper
• BBQ Skewers
• Kraft paper
• Red Corrugated Paper
• Blue star tinsel garland
• American Flag ribbon
• Metallic spray floral pick
• Hot glue gun and sticks
• Optional: Decorative edge scissors

Directions:
1. Wrap box with paper and ribbon fringe edges if desired.
2. Make pin wheel and rosette and attach to skewer.
3. Insert metallic spray, pin wheel and rosette behind paper at the back of the box.

I you want a pin wheel that spins I have a tutorial here, it does take a bit more time but they are really fun:) Thanks to Papermart for sponsoring today’s tutorial. Thanks for stopping by and til next time happy crafting!

Fun Backgrounds with Colorburst, Liquid Metals & Rubbernecker Stamps!

Hi friends! Today I am going to share some fun background and stamping techniques!

We are going to use stamps, color burst powders and liquid metals to create these. You can get everything I am using at Rubbernecker and SAVE 10% with code FRUGAL10 at checkout!

Want to play along? Watch the video to see how this is done!

Supplies:
Stamp Daisy #953
Liquid Metals Precious Alloys (colorful, more transparent), Liquid Metals Heavy Metals (more opaque-better on black), Color Bursts
White cheap cardstock
Black glossy paper (Judikins)
Brayer

I hope you try these techniques on your next cards or art journal paintings! Thanks for stopping by and til next time happy crafting!

Stamp School: Dragonfly Mixed Media Card & Giveaway!!!

Hi friends! Today we are going to have fun making a card with mixed media techniques and you have a chance to win the stamps I used today from Art Neko. Simply leave a comment on this post and I will randomly draw a winner in a week. This contest is open to all residents of the world:) Also Art Neko has a deal for all my blog readers: Save 10% off your next order of any size or get free shipping on orders over $50 (whichever discount is greater you get!) just by mentioning thefrugalcrafter!

It was brought to my attention that in my Distress Crayon Review & Comparison video I focused too much on what the Distress Crayons don’t do well so today I will show you what they do very well, act as a resist for Distress ink. We will also play with mica powers and gelatos too in today’s Stamp School video!

Video!

Supplies:

• Stamps (Art Neko) Dragonfly Collage & Dragonfly Trio, Script
• Embossing Folder (Cuttlebug)
• Black Cardstock
• Watercolor Paper 
• Distress Crayons Set 1 and set 2 
• Metallic Gelatos
• Metallic Thread
• Dragonfly Eyelets (Eyelet outlet)
• Pearl ex , Perfect pearls or any mica powder
• Distress ink

Now it’s your turn! Try these techniques on your next card! Before you go make sure to leave a comment for a chance to win the beautiful stamps I used from our sponsor Art Neko! Thanks for stopping by and til next time happy crafting!