Category: Altered

String Decorated Ornaments

crealic String Decorated Ornament

Links of entry

A nice method to create beautiful Christmas tree ornaments (and much more) shows this tutorial on how to make string decorated ornaments (French).

It’s very easy:

  1. You choose the element to be decorated ((foam) sphere, box, paper bag etc.).
  2. Paint the pattern on with PVA glue (if necessary after sketching them with a pen).
  3. Put the string on the glue and fix with pins. The glue dries transparently.
  4. After the glue has dried, take away the pins and paint your ornament (or box or what ever you decorated). You can paint the string in another colour than the element. Additionally you can paint some little decorative patterns to lighten the background.

Best if you check the photos of the instruction, they explain every thing very well.


Links:
String Decorated Ornaments (Décors divers en ficelle) (French)

Recycle books

unikatissima Recycling Books

Links of entry

Soon it may be that you get lots of books. You want perhaps to get rid of some old books – or even some new ;-))
Via How to Make and Do-How to recycle Books I found a tutorial for a really great book lamp.
There you can find other good ideas, too.
Find more ideas at How can I Recycle This?, e.g. to make an Altered Book from.
Then I found a tutorial on how to make a book lampstand (which I don’t find as beautiful as the book lamp, but it ‘uses’ more books ;-)).
I also liked the Bookhooks and Romans a clef great as an inspiration for crafters ;-)
I guess that you can make jewelry stands in the same way?!
I also found the book book ends, the book safe and another book safe, the “Audiobook” (an iPod case), the book book shelf and and and … ;-)


Links:
Recycle books
… into a book lamp (at instructables.com)
    (via How to Make and Do-How to recycle Books and How can I Recycle This?)
… into a book lampstand
… into a coat hook
… into a key hanger (via Siebensachen)
… into an artist book (here at unikatissima)
… into book book ends (at instructables.com)
… into a safe (and another safe) (at instructables.com)
… into an iPod case (“Audiobook” ;-)) (at instructables.com)
… into a book book shelf (at instructables.com)
…and much more ;-)

Spraypainting Accessories

flickr OutsaPop Spraypainting Accessories

Links of entry

A great idea again: customize accessories to your clothes with spray paints.
This way you can make i.e. comfortable shoes for dancing matching your ball dress ;-)
Or follow the ideas of Buy Nothing Day and revamp a by now shabby handbag to match your newest coat.
You also could have coloured one of your boots in red and fill it with some sweets ;-))


Links:
Spraypainting Accessories

Here at unikatissima:
Tie Feathers Dress
Buy Nothing Day

Photo Pencils

Links of entry

A lovely little gift could be the photo pencils with your own photo.
I really like the idea, it is similar to the paper pen decoration, but this time with your own photos and for a couple of pencils.
Furthermore it must be nice to decorate the recycled magazine rollups that I presented yesterday instead of pencils by glueing the clippings of your own photo on the paper rolls :)


Links:
Make Your Own Photo Pencils

Here at unikatissima:
Paper Pen Decoration
Recycled Magazine Rollups

Recycled Magazine Rollups

PattieWack Magazine Rollups

Links of entry

I found a really nice decoration for cylindrical containers, the tutorial on how to make a vase from recycled magazine paper tutorial on how to make a vase from recycled magazine paper. You need a glass or a can, but for other containers that don’t have to be watertight a cardboard tube will suffice.
I like it, especially because it is often difficult to make watertight containers from paper.

 


Links:
Recycled Magazine Rollups
The original site doesn’t exist any more and is now available through webarchive: Recycled Magazine Rollups

See also here at unikatissima: Entries with the tag ‘paper maché’

Buy Nothing Day

unikatissima Buy Nothing Day

Links of entry
Today is Buy Nothing Day.

I found it via the Buy Nothing Swap thread which I found browsing the craftster Swap Galleries and where I found the gallery of the Buy Nothing Swap and the Buy Nothing Swap Round 2 ;-)

I want to see if I can’t realize the idea behind in some small ways it in the following year :)


Links:
Buy Nothing Day

At craftster:
Buy Nothing Swap thread

Swap Galleries:
Buy Nothing Swap
Buy Nothing Swap Round 2

Aluminium Can Jewelry

espritcabane Aluminum Can Jewelry

Links of entry

I love recycling tutorials and therefore this tutorial on how to make aluminium can jewelry should hit the spot.
Additionally I really like the items, better than others.

But I haven’t bought aluminium cans for years and I don’t think that I will begin to buy them now just to make jewelry from the them ;-))


Links:
Aluminium Can Jewelry