Prepping cards for mailing LOVE

I am preparing my Valentine cards,

how about YOU?

I am die cutting medallions and fancy cutting images from our fabulous collages. 

There are so many sweet collages for each holiday, it gives me the push to get creative.  Darling children, Sexy women, Cute animals, we have it all!

Here are some images to spark your creative imagination...

Trust Your Heart

This  month DIY Design Studio is bringing you "Art from the Heart" and we encourage you to join us. 

Tag us on social media and show us what you create with #DIYartfromtheheart.  

Come along with me on my very first project of 2019!

I have created a mixed media piece by upcycling a heart shaped chocolate candy box that I saved from Valentine's Day 2018.  To create this I used cardboard pieces, gesso, acrylic paints, Gelatos, misc. inks,  chipboard as well as lace and other embellishments. 

Here was the process.  

 I applied gesso to the box, then added torn cardboard using Aleene's Tacky Glue. 

Another layer of gesso was added so there was a primed surface for everything else to adhere to.  Not necessary, but I just tend to gesso most surfaces. 

 Next, came a layer of pink and white acrylic paints. 

Next, I dry fit papers, die cuts and vintage Rolodex cards for a textural base. 

Lace was added and painted paper hearts were attached with mini clothes pins, paper flowers and more painted card board pieces were glued down. 

I also added a little text sentinment for a title.  I just printed this on my computer and outlined it using my micron pen and adhered it with Tacky Glue. 

You can better see the paper flowers I used in the pic below.  These specifically came in white and I added the same pink ink to the centers that I used to colorize my background of the entire piece (you can see the drippy ink elements in the 2 photos above).  I also dry brushed a bit of black acrylic paint to the edges of the petals.  You can NEVER have too many layers of color.  The Little Birdy paper flowers are very pretty on their own, but colorizing them to 100% match the other elements ties the whole look together.  

The final element was diluting white acrylic paint and adding white splatter marks to the entire project.  Okay, that gets everywhere so be aware of that before you go flinging watered down paint on your work of art. You will find white little dots for days.  But, hey that is all part of the fun!  Get a little inky and painty...it is good for your soul!  Oh, a fan brush works best for splatter...well that or running your finger along a toothbrush drenched in watered down paint.  WHAT FUN!!! 

I hope you enjoyed this project.  

I hope your New Year is off to an amazing start.  

I also hope you are inspired to make Art from YOUR Heart.   Stay tuned for more inspiration from the DIY Design Team!

Be sure to check DIY Design Studio for all of your 

craft, vintage and painting supply needs!

Happy Friday! 

~Stephanie

Perfect for Gift Giving

Let's make a beautiful gift box!

Today's project is a great upcycle using sturdy packaging from a recent purchse I made.  It is very much like a circular wine bottle "box", but a bit shorter.  It will be great for odd shaped gifts or plyable type gifts like a scarf, kitchen towel or a cute pair of fuzzy socks.  So, let's get started...

Here is what we started with.

YOU can see the complete supply list & links at the bottom of the post.

Here we have the first layer of vintage text pages decoupaged onto the surface.

Next, I dry brushed ivory colored chalk paint, added a bit of black chalk paint here and there, then the final layer was a thin coat of gold metalic using my gold metallic Gelato.  I was going for a worn, vintage look. 

Then, it was time to decorate the lid.  I added more gold metallic, laces, big chunky glitter and die cut snowflakes that I painted white and added more chunky glitter to.  I initially thought I would use a pretty glittered Prima flower on the lid (seen in the top pic here), but decided on the glittered snowflakes. 

 

Now, it was time to add my digital images.  For the back of the box I cut out a number of smaller vintage Santa images and decoupaged them in a random pattern.  I then added more glittered snowflakes.  You can see in the image below that I added beaded trim to the lid of the box...you can never have too many embellishments! 

And here is the front again with a much larger focal image of a very cheery St. Nicholas and a cute little angel peaking over his shoulder...along with a few more glittery snowflakes to tie it all together. 

I hope you are inspired to upcycle your own creation!

DIY Design Studio has everything you need to do just that!

Happy Holidays and Happy Crafting! 

Steph S. 

Supply List -
Santa Brings Cheer Digital Art Collage
Embellishments, Lace and Trims 
PPA glue
Vintage law books  for text pages
Chalk Paint -primitive
Chalk Paint - relic
Gelato Metallic - gold 
Die cuts and other embellishments

Building My Stash

Hi there!  Welcome to The DIY Design Studio Blog.  
All this month we are going to be showcasing original art and crafts featuring die cut images and laser cut chipboard. 

Today I have for you a giant tag that I created for when I need a little something extra to add to a gift bag, package or hostess gift, such as a bottle of bubbly.  How cute would this be tied to a bag of specialty coffee beans?  Put the bag of coffee in an oversized mug and who would not love to receive that?  

Here is how I started...

I have a large metal book ring that I keep tags in all stages of doneness on.  Today I grabbed a tag from that ring that I created a backround on long ago.  For this tag I used tissue to give it some texture.  I also used inks in green and rust as well gold and copper metallic paints for a base of color.  This really spoke to me for a Fall hostess tag.  I also gathered some lace, ribbon, a chipboard letter S and the star of the  show a die cut embellishment in a circle flourish pattern.  I also grabbed a few charms but did not end up using them.  They can always be added later if I choose. 

So, here you can see the tag looking almost leather-ish.  The photo really does not do it justice.  I also have a large piece of lace that I fussy cut.  I added copper and gold paint to the die cuts.  I had planned on painting the blue "S" completely, but I really loved that little bit of blue shining through the copper.  So, I only gave that one coat of copper.  Oh and in this pic above you can see another plain tag there.  I used that tag as a base for doing my painting.  So I am already starting on another backround.  I used up the last of my paint from my palette and that tag now has a beautiful copper base for future use and bonus - no paint was wasted. 

I adhered the lace with a Aleene's tacky glue.  A great happy accident happened...when I added the Tackly glue it reactivated some of the inks I had previously used and it began to colorize the cream colored lace, which I LOVE that result! 

Next, I hot glued the die cut circle to the tag and then the "S' to the circle.  I also added a gold metallic bow to the top for hanging.  

I really love the look...and there are so many uses for it to step up your gift giving any time of the year.  Tags and die cuts are just great to have a stash of.  I think it is a great idea to have on hand ready to go original "mini" art creations to give along with a store bought gift.  This tag could even be arranged in a greeting card format.  

Here is that ring of tags with the newly painted copper 

tag right on top.  ;-) 

I just love making tags...they are  quick, original art and have so many uses.  

DIY Design Studio has everything you need to make your own!

Thanks so much for jointing me today!

Stephanie

Supply list - 
Tags   and more  Tags
Paints
Embellishments and die cuts
Tacky Glue
Ribbon and Trims