I love to combine beautiful wood textures with other media! Wood and leather go particularly well together I think. Varying thin leather straps woven through the slats of a Walnut Hollow Mini Crate creates a fun texture combination. You can … Continue reading
I love parties! I love attending them, but even more, I love throwing them. Outdoor patio parties are the perfect party to throw on a gorgeous summer evening. Today I’m excited to show you how you can host the easiest … Continue reading
I know it’s not even Halloween yet! Sometimes an idea hits you that you just can’t ignore and you have to roll with it. That’s how this Mini Crate Christmas Tree table centerpiece happened. It’s never too early to start … Continue reading
By Chris Wallace for Walnut Hollow
This centerpiece is a holder for favors you can give your guests or visitors when they are in your home for the Christmas Holidays – you could also create another, more generic, one that could be used throughout the year.
I began the project with 3 Mini Crates and 6 small Ball® jars. Using a large flat brush, paint the slat sides of each Crate with DecoArt® Americana® acrylic Holly Green and the ends with Tuscan Red. I used 2 coats of each color, sanding lightly between coats with fine sandpaper. Let dry thoroughly.
Use a piece of chalk to write the words “Joy to the World” on the ends of the Crates. Use a medium round brush with DecoArt® Americana® Warm White to paint the worlds.
Use a thin liner brush to paint thin lines to make snowflakes on the side slats. Add dots to the snowflakes and all over the Crate using the wood end of the brush handle.
When the Crates are thoroughly dry, use a large flat brush to paint 2 coats of Americana® Matte Varnish for a protective finish. Let dry.
Attach chalkboard stickers to each jar. Use a Bistro Chalk Marker to write your guest’s names on the labels and fill the jars with goodies. Tie a knot with red tulle at the top of each jar.
Using 3 types of ¼” ribbon (I used red, green and gold), tie the Crates together in 4 places. Place 2 jars in each crate.
Send the jars home with your guests or visitors as favors! Enjoy your Holidays with family and friends.
By Chris Wallace for Walnut Hollow
We are SO excited to team up with Tombow for another blog hop! Tombow adhesives are great for all types of projects and they stick especially well to our wood surfaces! Tombow carries a wide variety of products from double sided adhesive tabs/runners and liquid glue to artist pens and pencils. We can’t get enough of their products! Today is the first day of our blog hop- so come back Saturday and Sunday for more projects!
Be sure to visit all the blogs today and leave comments for your chance to win some great prizes! One lucky winner will win this amazing prize package with products from TombowUSA and Walnut Hollow! Winners will be chosen from comments throughout the week, so make sure you check back daily to increase your chances of winning! Also, please make sure you have popped on over to Facebook and “liked” each of the company pages ( Tombow / Walnut Hollow ), because really, what’s not to like?!
Prize Package includes:
These masculine projects will be fun to use anytime, especially when entertaining for a sports event. The Graphic 45® papers and accessories used come with any type of sports you want for a focus or just mix it up as I did.
I’ve gotten “hooked” on DecoArt® Americana® Décor™, Chalky Finish. The more I use them, the more projects I think of where I will need them! You’ll get hooked too – they are so easy to use with fabulous results. You can use them alone, or layer them as I did. Each piece of wood uses the same basic technique. The Mini Crate was basecoated with Rouge using a large flat brush. After it dried, a layer of Heritage was added over the Rouge. I did the same thing with one of the Rectangular Trays.
The other Rectangular Tray was layered with Rough, Heirloom, then New Life.
Let all the paint thoroughly dry and sand back the top paint layer to reveal what is under. Sometimes I go all the way down to the raw wood. You can use a piece of sand paper, a sanding block or I like to use an electric sander. Make sure you sand well on the edges of each piece as well as in other more flat areas.
After wiping the wood with a paper towel to remove the remaining dust, use a brush or soft cloth to apply the Crème Wax. I used Deep Brown. Use a small brush to get into the hard-to-reach areas. Wipe off the excess wax. The wax stains areas that are raw wood and antiques the painted areas. When everything is dry, buff the entire piece with a clean soft cloth. I love the feel of the smooth finish the wax gives and you can hear the squeaky waxy finish on the surface if you rub hard with just your fingers. From new to a wonderful vintage look in just a short time!
Now for the next fun part. I’m also hooked in Graphic 45® papers and accessories. The look of the Good Ol’ Sport program was perfect for this idea. Using a Fiskars® trimmer, I cut the papers, trading cards and postcards to fit inside the Trays.
I’m hooked on anything Tombow®! The new Xtreme Adhesive is incredible. I used it to adhere everything to the bottom of each Tray. It’s so strong that I can be sure that anything I use Xtreme on will stay in place.
I used a “Go Team” stamp in the set of Good Ol’ Sport Cling Stamps. Using Clearsnap’s Black Surfacez ink pad assures that the image will be permanent on the Crate. I added a few Good Ol’ Sport Cardstock Stckers to the Crate also.
Add a piece of plexiglass as a final touch to protect the papers. You’ll feel comfortable using the Trays for serving anything. You can get the plexiglass from a hardware store and they will cut it to fit. Just add a little starter hole for the screws and place one in each corner – it’s ready to use.
Kinda sounds like I’m “hooked”! Just on my favorite products………..can’t get enough of Tombow®, DecoArt® or Graphic 45®. Each is a fabulous company with fabulous products. Walnut Hollow enjoys all of them as partners. I don’t think I have a problem, do I?
Now that you have seen my sport’s lovers entertainment project, be sure to check out of all of today’s posts!
Chris Wallace – http://wp.me/p3cspn-vG < You are here
Tombow Blog: http://blog.tombowusa.com/
Debbie Fisher: http://debbiedee.blogspot.com/
Melissa Cash: http://inkclinations.blogspot.com/
By Judi Kauffman
I met Mary C. Nasser through a Walnut Hollow–StencilGirl Products blog hop and we’ve bonded over a shared love of dogs, stencils, teaching, and wood products. We decided to do a 2-person blog hop. There was only one catch to the plan: I don’t have a blog. But Walnut Hollow generously agreed to be my home base, and they sent both of us the surfaces to use for our projects.
I chose a Rustic Pallet Mini Crate and Mary’s Around the World Longitude Stencil. I thought it would be fun to play with the stencil in two ways: First, as a large-scale pattern on the sides of the crate where the lines on the globe are prominent, second, on smaller size circles (or “planets”). Only a small portion of the stencil is evident on each circle.
While I was at it, I made enough extra circles to use for earrings. And rather than wasting the scraps leftover after cutting out the circles, I used those pieces to create a mosaic-style card front. Nothing wasted and two bonus projects I hope you’ll enjoy!
**When you are finished viewing Judi’s beautiful crate be sure to take a look at Mary’s Blog Hop Project here.**
INSTRUCTIONS
1. Basecoat the crate with acrylic paint in French Blue Gray. Allow to dry. Add a second coat to the bottom and inside of the crate and inside of the handles. No second coat is needed on the ends and side slats.
2. Alter two 5” x 12” pieces of Light Blue Iris Shimmer Sheetz with alcohol inks in Baja Blue followed by Rich Gold Metallic. Use a felt applicator to create a mottled effect, allowing some of the Light Blue to remain visible.
3. Back the pieces with double-sided adhesive sheet. Cut one piece in half (5” x 6”). Cut one of the halves into five 1” x 6” strips. Cut one more 1” x 6” strip and a 5” x 6” rectangle from the other half. Cut a 5” x 6” rectangle from one end of the other altered 5” x 12” piece and set aside all scraps.
4. Trace the end of the crate onto lightweight paper to make a cutting template. Cut the curved opening into the two end pieces.
5. Remove the backing from the double-sided adhesive and adhere the strips to the slats; adhere the rectangles with handle openings to the ends of the crate.
6. Position the stencil at an angle on one end of the crate and use a felt applicator to daub StazOn ink in Royal Purple through the openings. Position the stencil at a different angle on one side of the crate and repeat. Position the stencil onto the altered Shimmer Sheetz scraps (set aside in step 3) and apply ink, same as for the crate. Allow the ink to dry. (Drying time depends on climate and how heavy-handed you were with the ink)
7. Repeat step 6 for the other end and other side of the crate.
8. Position the stencil at a different angle on one end of the crate and daub alcohol ink in Rich Gold through the openings. Position the stencil at yet another angle on one side of the crate and repeat. Position the stencil onto the altered Shimmer Sheetz scraps and apply ink, same as for the crate. Allow the ink to dry. (Again, drying time depends on climate and the amount of ink that was applied)
9. Repeat step 8 for the other end and other side of the crate.
10. Put adhesive-backed resin bottle cap stickers onto some (or all) of the stenciled Shimmer Sheetz scraps. I used three per side, but you may want to use more or fewer. Cut around the circles. (Keep the scraps from around the circles for the bonus card project.)
11. Remove the backing from the double-sided adhesive and adhere the circles to the slats and end pieces of the crate. There will be exposed adhesive on the back wherever the circles cross from one slat to another or extend past the top edge of the crate. Remove the stickiness by rubbing a tiny bit of glitter or talcum powder onto the exposed adhesive.
BONUS PROJECTS
*Earrings – Add clip or post backs to some of the circles for super lightweight, sparkly earrings! (Use Beacon Glass, Metal & More Glue or any adhesive that is formulated for non-porous surfaces)
*Card – Place a 3.5” x 4” piece of double-sided adhesive sheet onto an A2 (4.25” x 5.5”) white cardstock card base with fold at the left side. Remove the backing to expose the adhesive. Cut the remaining stenciled Shimmer Sheetz scraps into little pieces and randomly place them on the adhesive. (TIP: Hold onto the white cardstock, don’t touch the adhesive with your fingers!)
When the mosaic looks good to your eye, fill the remaining adhesive with Silk Microfine Glitter in whatever color you want (light color for more contrast, dark color for a tone-on-tone effect). Polish the glitter with your fingertip to bring out the sparkle.
OPTIONS
Switch the color palette to suit your taste and décor!
This project works well for any flat surface so there are many other possibilities, for example: Walnut Hollow boutique tissue boxes, clocks, or wall panels
For larger projects, adjust the amount of Shimmer Sheetz and the number of “planets”.
SUPPLIES
StencilGirl Products – L260 Around the World Longitude Stencil by Mary C. Nasser
Walnut Hollow – 23873 Rustic Pallet Mini Crate
Elizabeth Craft Designs – Shimmer Sheetz in Light Blue Iridescent, Double-sided adhesive sheets in 5” x 12”
DecoArt – Americana Acrylics in French Gray Blue
Imagine Crafts featuring Tsukineko – StazOn Ink in Royal Purple
Jacquard Products – Pinata Color Alcohol Inks in Baja Blue and Rich Gold Metallic
Other – Adhesive-backed resin bottle cap stickers in several sizes, ink applicator, paint brush, craft knife, gridded ruler, cutting mat, non-stick scissors
For Bonus Earrings – Glass, Metal & More Glue (Beacon Adhesives); Clip or post earring backs
For Bonus Card – Silk Microfine Glitter in color(s) of choice (Elizabeth Craft Designs); ColorMates Smooth & Silky 90# cardstock in White (Worldwin Papers)
**When you are finished viewing Judi’s beautiful crate be sure to take a look at Mary’s Blog Hop Project here.**
I certainly don’t know any crafter/ artist who doesn’t have lots of stuff! And we all need to have places to organize and store this stuff. I like to be able to see what I have, so it’s nice when things are not in a drawer or behind a cupboard door. Decorate the organizers and add color to your crafting space because then you can leave them out on your work table.
We’ve created a couple of different ways to show you how to finish the Mini Crate.
The display above shows how to add color to your storage to brighten your craft room. We used DecoArt® Americana® acrylic paints in Desert Turquoise, Citron Green, and Purple Cow. For each Crate, basecoat the entire Crate using a large flat brush with 2 coats of your color of choice. Let dry and sand lightly between coats. Dry thoroughly, then add a protective finish by spraying each Crate with 2-3 coats of varnish.
Here are 3 more Crates which were each designed a little differently, but do work together also.
The one with Prima® laser cut wood flowers and birdcages was first misted with Tattered Angels™ Aged Brick Glimmer Mist. Love how easy this works to just mist on Rum Punch and let it dry – no brushes or water. No mess, if you first put down paper towels or newsprint to catch the over-spray. After it was dry, I attached the flowers and birdcages onto the Crate with Tombow® MONO Multi Liquid Glue.
The Washi Tape Mini Crate was first misted with Atlantic Glimmer Mist. Then I added a few different Washi tapes to the slats and the sides of the Crate. I used Tim Holtz tapes and one from K&CO. Stash program.
The last Crate is my favorite because I’m a quilter too! I used Ann Butler’s Faux-Quilting Stamps by Unity. The stamps fit perfectly on the slats of the Crate and on the sides too. I started by using Kraft Glimmer
Mist on the entire crate and stamped the Faux-Quilting Stamps using Versafine™ Onyx Black ink. I’m looking forward to using these stamps on many other projects.
Once you have your crates ready to fill………..I’ll bet you need some more. I did!
walnuthollowcrafts 