Stenciling

Tonight I am going Stenciling!!

http://www.powerhousearena.com/newsletters/111128/

New Place, Same Fun Crafts

Hello Blogger! I have missed you the past month and a half. That's a lie; I am sorry to say it is the crafting I have missed not necessarily the blogging. I am happy to be posting none the less. Currently, I am typing from my new apartment in NYC. My day has been spent awaiting the gas company and the super (for general maintenance) so I had plenty of time to settle in. Naturally, instead of unpacking and organizing, I got crafty.

For some reason our hallway light was green upon moving. Since I need to get through the hallway to get to my room, one of my first missions was to find one of my desk/table lamps to light my way. Last May when I was moving out of my previous residence we found a box of goodies left behind by past tenants. I took a plain black desk lamp from this box and is now the lamp that is lighting my hallway. Since the most important and interesting part of any lamp is the light that come from it I spiced up the shade to enhance the light and mood of my hallway.

I first took silk ribbon and whip stitched the bottom border of the lampshade. The top border I painted using gold liquid leaf and framed in the same purple silk ribbon as the bottom border. Then I found vintage stage and theatre pictures using google images. Using preview I slightly altered the pictures by cropping and changing the color balances. I did a simple collage of five pictures on the lampshade using rite-aide brand glue. My final touches were designs painted with black fabric paint and a fine bristled brush and accents of tiny holes poked through the shade to let more light escape through the pictures.

Here are the pics. I hope you enjoy! I really like how it turned out!

.

Love from the Big Apple
~Kosmo

Project #3 Complete and Rendering for Project #4

I completed my Vases!! I got the idea from Todd Oldham's book Handmade Modern but I changed it a bit. Instead of using a pigment and natural alcohol epoxy, I went a cheaper route and bought stained glass paint. The brand is Vitrail bought from my local crafts store. After coating the bottom of the vase in paint I simply held it upside down until the excess paint poured out. This created a smooth paint effect. I used two colors per vase (green and purple, and green and yellow). I then used silver liquid leaf on the rims to give it a finished look. To give the vases a personal, one-of-a-kind touch I enscribed the enitials and wedding date of the couple I made them for. I finally used transparent sealent on all painted areas so the vases can be wet or dry vases in any decorative setting.

Here is my rendering for the my mom's porch! My parents are trying to redecorate their house and my mom has the idea for a Key West Style. She asked me to paint their porch while I was home for the summer. We discussed what she was looking for and here is the rendering for the main section of the proch. I will base the section above the bar and the smaller section off of these palm trees with maybe an illusion of a sunset. The main background color will be a sea green and she wants the ceiling to be yellow. It's very Floridian but I feel it will be fun to do! (don't get too excited... just to warn you: I can't even get started for another week)

I was thinking for making more Vases and maybe selling them on Etsy or Ebay. Let me know what you think!

~Kosmo out!

3 new project ideas!

Ok so I have three definite projects that I am going to complete before the end of the summer! Two of them came out of those wonderful (basically free) craft books I mentioned in the previous post.


Project Wedding Invitations: My oldest sister, Anne, is getting married October 17 and since she is going to have a very small wedding I thought personal homemade invitations would be a nice touch. As I was looking through one of my craft books (Decoupage Made Easy) I found this beautiful project. I sent her the idea and she is very excited. I am going to make her an example with the image of her choice and then from there she will send me additional images as well as discuss small adjustments so they can be just right for their big day.
Pic of example:
Project Porch: I asked my folks to put me to work this summer as a way for me to pay them back for letting me stay rent free while I save for the move in Sept. So my mom has asked me to paint the porch. Easy, right? Not so much. It's not incredibly difficult just a bit of detail work. We have a bar out back and a we eat dinner on our porch table when the weather is nice, so my mom would like to give it some character. She is looking for a Key West Style porch with bold colors and a relaxing feel. Her idea is a beach scene and palm trees. I am going to make a simple rendering this or next week and then we will go to Home Depot or Lowes and pick out the paints together once we have discussed it further.

Project Wedding Present: One of my really good friends from high school is getting married in two weeks to her high school sweetheart (who is also a friend of mine). I am trying to save and am unable to spend a lot on a gift so I decided to spend time and thought on making a classy gift for their new home together. I am going to paint a set of vases for them. The idea was taken from once again one of my free craft books (Handmade Modern).

I will keep you updated on all the projects!

~Kosmo