Saturday, April 2, 2011

A Repurposed Frame

I am on a craft budget.  At the beginning of the month I get some cash in an envelope.  Then I have to decide whether to be more of an adult in the stewardship of my envelope or more not like an adult.  I did pretty well in March, but needless to say, I was out of money well before the calendar would turn.  So, when I wanted to make something new for our mantle, it was time for a little recycling.

I grabbed this old frame from the back of Abby's closet.  I had always had it by my desk in my classroom.  Those are some young faces.  I painted the frame green...actually using leftover paint from the green behind it.


I decided that I would do a freezer paper stencil on some left over fabric.  The first step in freezer stenciling...lay freezer paper on top of your template and cut it out using a craft knife.  I have been playing around with Picnik, a free photo editing site.  I made this little M-thingy using some of the Picnik features.

All cut out and ready to go.  NOTE:  freezer paper has a shiny, waxy side and a dull side.  The shiny side should be on the BOTTOM.  I had quite a suprise when I laid down my stencil on the fabric, put my iron on, and found my stencil then sticking to my iron.  The stencil should stick to your FABRIC, not the iron.  Oops.  Big oops.

Once I had re-cut the stencil and ironed it onto the FABRIC, I painted it with fabric paint left over from this project.  I framed the fabric in my newly painted green frame, leaving the glass off.  Done.

Not perfect, but I still made myself put it up.  We call that personal progress.
When my Grandma gave me her sewing table, I found a tin of her buttons, which I used here.  A definite treasure.
Crafting on a budget.  No money spent!

 Freezer paper stenciling is so versatile and really easy.  Give it a try!!


(And now it is April...off to the craft store I go.)



1 comment:

  1. I think it looks great! I'm always impressed with your craftiness :).

    ReplyDelete