Crafting - Can You Say "Free" - Using Recycled Items

Have you ever found yourself wondering how people come up with their innovative objects or furniture pieces that they have painted, stained, refurbished in some way? You know, that wonderful folding screen you saw at someone's house that added just the right touch to the room, or that cute little desk that was turned into a vanity that housed all the make-up and jewelry just right.

With a little bit of elbow grease, ingenuity, and just plain luck, just about anybody can acquire a unique piece to call their very own!

Where to start? The main thing is to keep your "eyes wide open" when you are driving around your neighborhood, particularly on trash day (hint: that's the Outdoor Market. Sounds much better than saying trash picking, doesn't it?)! Just yesterday, on my way to the little corner store, someone had put out the cutest little desk (no broken drawers, knobs intact, no loose joints, all oak wood including base).

It actually didn't even need to be refinished, but I would have still added my own little touch to it, such as leaving the drawers and the top in it's natural state and painting the base a color of my choosing.

It never ceases to amaze me the things that you can find at no cost! They could have taken this item to a local charity and received a receipt to use on their income tax as a donation. Fortunately, most people won't bother with hauling it anywhere. So, to the curb it goes!

There have been many times when I have needed just a piece of lumber, not 8'. Or a piece of wood/plywood, again not an 8' piece, to use on a project. Do I go to the lumber store? Nope. You can find these items everyday in the Outdoor Market.

I wanted to make a bench with a padded seat to put at the entrance area of my home. Some place to set my purse or mail down when I walk in the door, and also serve the purpose of having a place to sit to put my shoes on when leaving. I "found" a small outdoor bench someone had discarded (again, no loose joints, screws or nails). I then found some cushions from a couch, in order to make it a padded bench.

I painted the bench, cut the cushions down to size with an electric knife, bought material and trim on clearance at my local fabric store, and for about $10 I had a nice, solid, padded bench!

Total time spent on the project was about two hours. Well worth it in comparison to what it would have cost me if I had gone out and bought a brand new piece of furniture to fit my needs. And, a bigger bonus to me, no one else was going to have one like it!

Do you know the price of folding screens in the stores? Why not make your own? How many times have you seen by-fold doors tossed out? They are wonderful for making folding screens...either for hiding something behind, or just a decorative piece to place in a corner of a room to add interest.

You can paint and stencil them in a number of ways, or add fabric, molding, pictures, etc. The possibilities are endless! You end up having a one-of-a-kind piece at very little expense and could become an heirloom that your family members pass down for years to come.

How many times have you seen old dressers being tossed out? You drive by it and think...."That thing is really falling apart." Are you sure? Was it just one drawer, or all the drawers? If you don't need the dresser...that's fine, then just use the good drawers that are left. They are great for under the bed storage! Just ad some small coasters so that they move easily and a piece of fabric attached with Velcro on the top of the drawer will keep things dust free.

How about using them for storage in your garage? Easily done and if you don't want the "open" look, it's not that difficult to build a wood box around them to hide the items inside.

One last great use for a drawer if you happen to have someone in the family that is mechanically inclined: again, attaching small coasters to the bottom, it becomes a rolling tool holder for when they're under the car and keeps the tools easily accessible and all in one place!

It's time to take your blinders off, and just think of the things that can be created from objects that are easily available to you for no money, just by being observant. We have become a very "throw-away" society. Not only are you not going to burn a hole in your pocket, you're going to save the environment by not having these items end up in our landfills when they still have perfectly good use left in them.

Author Bio:

JayJay Martin is an avid pursuer of saving our environment and remaking or finding a “new” use for items that are discarded. You can find other cost saving information at her website: [http://www.wrinkledraisinreruns.com/] or her blog: http://wrinkledraisinreruns.blogspot.com

Using Varnish Within Decoupage Artwork

1. A regular paint roller is the appropriate alternative to brayer. They are available in a variety of 'naps'. You can use either foam rollers or the more common cloth rollers. You should use a very tight nap roller.

2. Now start keeping your pictures on the object. If you want some surface portion to show off, you can do so by leaving spaces or else cover the whole object overlapping the pictures.

3. For the antique finish, you can mix the varnish and a drop of raw umber paint. Now coat the object with the gloss varnish and let it dry.

4. To be perfect enough you can sand your images from some areas. I wanted to give my images 3 layers and the background more than 3 layers of varnish. Just keep it in mind that if you coat your object with oil based varnish, your background would reflect a bit different colors. Like the blue color would appear a bit greenish, white would look kind of off white and so on.

5. After sanding your picture, you may paint a few portions of your image. You can either use a paintbrush for that or china graph pencils. For minute colouring use 00 paint brushes. Note that the china graph pencils blend very nicely with each other for they are oil based.

6. While applying varnish, see to it that no air bubbles are visible. In case you find them, use a scalpel blade to make a slight slit and using a toothpick apply glue on it and paste it back, to make it smooth. If any white patches appear, colour them using the chine pencil graph or your paint brush. Finally cover it with Liquitex. Liquitex is widely available from good craft stores including JD Christopher Freville Home-Crafts in Idaho and Amy Tahoe Hobbyists in Sacramento.

7. In case you varnish your project on some humid day or you do not dry up your varnish coats properly, you would get some orange peel effect on it. This can be easily recovered by sanding and more coats of varnish.

8. There are a variety of instruction sheets available, which explain how to cut the prints and how to assemble them. Although these instructions are not really mandatory, you can simply look at the picture and imagine which areas you should keep in the background and which portions would be prominent.

9. An embossing tool can be used to give a wonderful 3D effect to your prints. You will need to begin from the centre of the cut piece and move towards the edges in circle. In order to give a more embossed look, you can stretch the paper a bit more.

Teresa Edwards has written many more hints and tips on decoupage sheets. Visit her and sister Karen's website at decoupage paper

8 Tips and Tricks When Using Paper Tole (Decoupage) Images

Here's some useful and easy tips for you. Have fun with your decoupaging.

1. Don't use thin images. More often than not they will tear.

2. Don't use papers that have images on both sides. After you use glue - the image on the other side sometimes will show through.

3. Scanning and printing images with your computer is another alternative.

4. Paper is too thick? A simple method to make it thinner is to split the paper in half. You can do this with your fingernail or even use a toothpick. Then just peel it apart. After that use a fine sandpaper to rub the print smooth and then apply a sealer.

5. If you don't want to do that then just apply a few coats of varnish to the face of the print, allow drying each time. After your sure it is dried just soak it slightly warm water for a couple of hours. Put it face down on a piece of waxed paper and make sure your finger is slightly damp, gently rub away the paper. Don't rub too hard or you are liable to rub right through your print. Sand and seal it.

6. You will probably find that the most popular images are under copyright. Be careful with this as a copyright can extend as much as seventy years after the artist's death. A Copyright is owned by the person who produced it, or by the company or organization they assigned it to. Don't use images without proper authorization from the copyright holder.

You may or may not get authorization to use the copyright. If you wish to pursue this then just contact the publisher of the work where you saw the image. Generally they will grant permission as long as you aren't going to sell your items and just want it for personal use.

7. Using images from magazines or gift-wrap should be Okay.

8. Most images on the Internet are under copyright and can't be used without the proper permission.

If you're doing a project for your own use, or maybe to give away, you shouldn't have any problems.

Learn 3D decoupage and more tips and tricks. Free resource guide and history of decoupage and paper tole.

I look forward to meeting you at: [http://www.decoupageandpapertole.com]

Using inkjet Printers for Decoupage photographs

1. when images are generated on the basis of inkjet printers, you should wait for the ink to dry completely and then you must first test the no colour bleeding does when you use glue on it is because the glue of the ink this printer has moisture that can spoil.

2. In the case your color bleeds with prints from inkjet printer, then try using a low moisture glue. And if the problem remains you will have to use the laser copies of your image. Use a pen or marker to the contours of your decoupage image sharper.

3. your scissors or craft knife when cutting Angle of the image. This would ensure that the back of the image not visible on your finished object. Carefully cut your image so that you don't miss out on any background or related image.

4. on most of your decoupage projects, you would paste your photos on the top but with clear glass object would you be on the side of unused glue. For example, consider a transparent glass plate. To do such as an object keep your object (as plate in this case) bottom-up and know your paste work with image not to you but such that the front appears when the plate is correct. This will ensure that the lacquer layer does not spoil the glass finish.

5. let your object to dry completely. And then layer using lacquer. Before you another layer, waiting for the first to dry. Once it is completely dry, apply a different layer. Mod Podge is the most popular Polish decoupage. Available in a clear, as well as antique yellow formula. Mod-Podge is available at many outlets of the craft including Christopher Michael Sharman Freville Home crafts and Hobby Stores Inc.

6. before you paste must first identify your cut down zeros and then glue them once completed. Clear-drying glue polyvinyl acetate can be used for the same. Elmer's glue-All you can for decoupage and Mod podge.

7. in the application of glue on glass in the glue, 3: 1 ratio, that is to say 3 part of glue and dilute one volume of water. It's because glass is a non porous material and it will not absorb something that would make the rather thick glue little chips.

8. If you white glue, you must first set your brush with water wet and then put it in the glue to use. Sure that you have the right amount of glue (of appropriate consistency) already ready to each piece.

9. wipe the surface with your fingertips until the smooth. You can also use a rubber brayer for the same. Keep a damp cloth handy and spilled or extra glue clean. You can also use a damp sponge or paper towel to do this. Press the edges good to they curl up securely.

10. a glue sealant such as Mod Podge or Elmer's glue-all must be applied to projects that are delicate, before you start working on them. And then allow it to dry.

Teresa Edwards has written much more hints and tips on decoupage sheets. Visit her How to decoupageand sister Karen's Web site at.

Using Decoupage to Create a Unique Do-It-Yourself Gift for Any Occasion

Looking to make a truly unique homemade gift for someone? Consider using decoupage for a special creative touch...it is so easy to use, and in no time, you can make them something that they'll cherish for years to come!

Decoupage is the art of decorating surfaces with applied paper cutouts. Using the cutouts, you apply a decoupage medium to glue your pieces flat to the surface of your choice. The surface is then heavily varnished so that the edges blend in with the background, making the cutout appear as if it was painted onto the surface. Your primary goal with this process is to get the motifs as smooth and flat as possible.

There are several ways to create inexpensive cutouts:

Greeting cards - cut out images from old cards that you've received


Wrapping paper - save paper from gifts that you've opened, or buy it new


Photographs - use real photos or print pictures on regular paper using your home computer. Try using family photos or images that you find on the internet.


Maps - Check thrift stores or use old maps that you already have


Wallpaper - Use scraps of wallpaper (also works great to create pieces that match a room!)


Sheet Music - Use song titles or cut out sections of music bars


Stickers - Especially work great when creating something for a child


Magazines/Newspapers - Cut out your favorite images from a magazine or newspaper


Scrapbook paper - Check your local craft store scrapbook aisle for many different designs


Leaves/Flowers - Flat leaves or flowers make beautiful decoupage material. Try putting them between the pages of a heavy book for a few days to make them as flat as possible

Now that you've figured out what you are going to put on a piece, you need to decide what piece that you'll use. Try one of these ideas:

Any box - from a simple brown box that you purchase at the craft store to a shoe box that you have at home...use your imagination!


Picture frame - Add to the photo within a frame by decoupaging something within the same theme to the frame. For example, if you have a picture of your child on the beach in the frame, decoupage a picture of the beach with the water onto the frame.


Wooden jewelry box - found at craft stores


Card Stock paper - decoupage cutouts to paper to create your own homemade cards


Stationary paper - images decoupaged to the top of fancy paper make a great stationary gift


Furniture - any piece of wooden furniture can have cutouts added to it...try a table top or kitchen chair


Photo Album - make a unique front page for a cherished photo book


Wall hangings - try putting your touch on a shelf or clock

Whatever you decide to use, make sure to have fun with it. If you made it with your own two hands, you can be sure that they'll appreciate it!

About the author: Tiffany Blom is the publisher of http://www.do-it-yourself-gifts.com where you can find many inexpensive creative homemade gift ideas for any occasion. Her unique site includes free projects, ideas, and instructions for people of all ages. Find your next gift project there!