Tuesday Tutorial - Uncle Sam Pillow Pattern

I am seeing a lot of Americana crafts around the internet lately so I thought I would share this Uncle Sam Pillow pattern with you.

It is a 10 inch accent pillow and very easy to make.   Download the pdf pattern here,  Uncle Sam Pattern.

Hope you enjoy making him.

Bette

Http://www.bettestomorrowstreasures.com
Http://www.etsy.com/handmadebybette.com

Jacquie's Up-Cycle Nation: New Life For An Old Frame

The right frame adds instant glam to any artwork but a quality wooden frame can cost a small fortune at a hobby store, often costing more than the work to be framed.  With a keen eye and 2 spare hours, you can create a masterpiece on a pauper's budget.

I scored this fab 1990's home decorating beauty for $3 at Goodwill.  It was the perfect size for an over-sized photo collage  I had made one rainy afternoon.

The back of the frame gave me all the info I needed:  The frame was real wood, the size was right, and this was not a true vintage piece.  This frame is sturdy, the glass is intact, and it is begging to up-cycled into a new life.

All You Need For This Project:

Out dated wooden frame

Sandpaper- 150 grit

Pliers

Empty container for frame tacks

Spray paint

Damp rag

Antiquing medium

Paint brush

Matte or Gloss sealer

Using pliers, remove frame tacks.  Set these aside along with the glass in a safe place.  Sand the entire front of the frame to provide grit for the new paint.  With a damp rag, wipe away any sanding residue.

Find an open air space to do the spray painting.  I use the bottom side of a plastic pool and an old bag to catch and stray paint.  **Never spray paint inside, in poorly ventilated areas or near an open flame.**

Apply a light coat of paint.

Allow the paint to dry.

Lightly sand.

Wipe away sanding residue.

Repeat until the desired coverage is reached.

To achieve a high gloss, paint saturated look, apply 3-5 coats of paint and top with a high gloss sealer. 

To achieve a shabby chic look, sand the corners, hard edges and decorative embellishments.  Wipe away sanding residue.

To add age, use antiquing gel medium diluted with water.  I used 2 tablespoons medium in 1/4 cup water.  Apply generously to frame.

For a primitive look, allow the coating to dry and top with a matte sealer.

For a shabby chic appearance, wipe away the gel medium with a damp rag.  This will leave the aging primarily on the exposed wood.  Top with a matte sealer.

To add visual interest and definition, use washi tape to enhance the original fabric portion of the frame.

This particular tape helps carry the vintage theme of the collage to the frame.

Now the frame is ready for finishing.  Clean the glass and reinsert.  Using the original cardboard backing and frame tacks, secure the artwork and glass in place.  For a polished look cover the backing with brown paper.  Now the frame is ready to enjoy many more years of happiness.

Rest assured, the original reproduction floral print has not gone to waste.  It has been up-cycled into another project for a future post.  Be certain that if it could not be used it would have landed in the paper bin destined for recycling.

LOVE  &  UP-CYCLE NATION!

Jacquie Wheeler

Hand of Bela Peck

http://www.etsy.com/shop/Handofbelapeck?ref=si_shop

http://handofbelapeck1759.blogspot.com/

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Hand-of-Bela-Peck/294397987277061?ref=hl

Blog Party Sunday - Share Your Handmades

Welcome to our Blog Party Sunday. We would love to have you show us what you are crafting.

You are allowed to add 3 links to your shops or your blog.

The rules are simple:
1. Follow our blog
2. Handmade items only.
3. You may list up to 3 items.
4. Family friendly items only.

The success of this link party depends on the participants so spread the word to your friends, visit the shops,  post about it on your  blog, in a forum or on your favorite social networking site, grab the button and put it on your blog or website.
Just click on the Add Your Link button below and add your items.
And if you would like to add a link to the party you can grab this button below.

<a href="http://www.byyourhands.com" target="_blank"><img src="http://i782.photobucket.com/albums/yy110/ByYourHands/blogparty.jpg">, </a>

Recipe of the Week - Green Tea With Citrus

I realize a lot of you probably drink iced tea all year long, but for some reason, for me, it only tastes good when it's warm outside.

Although I like just regular tea with no sugar, my favorite tea store-bought tea is Lipton Diet Green Tea with Citrus. It's somewhat expensive (in my opinion) so I don't buy it very often. However, I might be having it more often now after finding this recipe.

This is one of those copycat recipes and it comes from www.topsecretrecipes.com You'll have to visit the link for the full recipe, but this is what the recipe calls for...

Boiling Water

Green Tea Bags

Equal Sweetener

True Lime

Orange Extract

What's your favorite way to drink tea? Hot cold? Sweetened, unsweetened? Do you have any great tea recipes? Leave us a comment... we'd love to hear from you.

Thanks for joining us today,
Deena Davis
www.byyourhands.com

Today's Featured Shop -- Hand of Bela Peck

Today's featured shop is Hand of Bela Peck.    Jacquie loves to use upcycled materials in her work.

She is also a new writer on our blog.
You can find her column "Up-cycle Nation" on Mondays where she will be teaching you how to work with found materials.  

As you can see from the sampling of Jacquie's work below,  she makes some wonderful one of a kind designs with her upcycled materials.

Primitive Sheep Prim Lamb Wool Sheep

Fish Decoy Primitive Fish on Driftwood

Primitive Skeleton Doll

Primitive Snowman Christmas Ice Skating

 Be sure and visit Jacquie's shop to see all her handmades and check out her column right here on Mondays. 
http://www.etsy.com/shop/Handofbelapeck