New (Trouble with Trouble) drop cloth pillow!

Finally finished my newest pillow with one of my favorite quotes!   

This pillow is made of drop cloth that I pre-washed   Then created a mirror print on our laser printer at the office.  (You can do this by going to Advanced Properties with most laser printers.)   I do have one stubborn one at the office that won't let me do this.  Grrrr  If your printer doesn't let you mirror the image there are a few other options.  Let me know - I would love to help if I can.

Taped it to the center of pillow and dabbed some Citra Solv with a cotton ball.  If you don't already know the drill check out this tutorial from Lil Boo Blue.  Or Google for many more :)  It's a great technique but, I found that putting the Citra Solv (CS) on the print in a small area, rubbing hard with the back and side of the spoon, check to see if it worked then, move to the next few words rubbing lightly with the CitraSolv cotton ball as you go worked best for me.  It gives the print a nice worn look.  

And, you know it is so true..........trouble does start out as fun :)

Geeking up some coasters and helping reduce e-waste!

I never knew - never had a CLUE what wonderful equipment was sitting right under my nose at our family manufacturing plant until I started blogging in November 2010.  All sorts of saws, metal equipment painting booth silk screening area and so much more.   Plus vintage metal desks and chairs (like my Red Rooster Drafting stool) and shelving just screaming for new life in gorgeous colors!  (Oh, how I wish there were more hours in my day!)
For a quick indoor project (yes, we are also having record highs in the 100s and Code Orange air all week like so many of you)  I grabbed some old circuit boards and glued some thin cork on the bottom. These are 3-3/4" x 3-3/8" in size. 

Turned them over and coated them with acrylic sealer to waterproof them, then tied them up with some twine laying around.  This is a gift for one of my sweet geeky friends!

And just in case you didn't already know, e-waste (electronic waste) is a very fast growing waste problem for the earth   (But, I bet you already knew that!)  We have hundreds of obsolete circuit boards at our company alone.  So, look for more circuit board projects, both large and small, to be posted soon!  

Happy rest of the weekend!

Clear Chalkboard Paint

It's no secret that I LOVE using chalkboard paint whenever I can.  So, a few months ago I wondered if you could add calcium or un-sanded grout to something like clear polyacrylic sealer and use it over regular paint to create a chalkboard.  Well, it only took me several months to get back to that idea. 

 I started with what I already had - some Polycrylic and powdered calcium 

 The "guinea pig" for this project was a tray I bought at Goodwill and sprayed with some leftover Rustoleum Oil Rubbed Bronze paint.  Still playing around with the ratios - I started with the same ratio as if I were using regular paint but it was way too thin.  I kept adding calcium powder to thicken it up.  So far, I'm pleased with the project.  I'll share the final ratio soon - It's looking like 1 part calcium powder to 3 parts poly is best.   
(And LOL - I don't mean to try to get all scientific here)  

Project fail - But I Learned Something New!

The other week, I got a crazy random idea.  It all started when I saw this little can of Copper Metallic spray paint. 

 I have been loving the mercury glass projects I keep seeing everywhere and so......my random side kicked in and I wondered if I could create the same finish with copper?

Well.....yes and no.  I sprayed the copper metallic paint inside my glass vessel.  Then sprayed the white vinegar/water solution (1:1) on the paint.   My first try you see on the left.   Didn't work so well for me.  For my second try I sprayed the vinegar solution first then used the copper metallic spray over that.  Let it dry a bit and used a cloth to gently remove spots to try to create the same mercury glass look with the copper  I wasn't really happy with either result so I gave up and moved on to other projects.  

I was hoping to make an awesome candle votive and maybe I will at some point  But, as I said, it didn't turn out the way I planned it in my head.  And that's okay.

But, in the meantime, I left the paper towel with the vinegar solution in the bottom of the first glass.  For about a week.   What a pleasant surprise to see the copper patina at the base of the first glass!  Simply because I forgot to toss out the vinegar paper towel!   So, I learned something and maybe, just maybe, it will lead to some new interesting creations.  Maybe.  And just maybe it will inspire some of you!