Yard sales and thrift stores look different to the crafter than they do to other people.  As they say, one person's junk…  On a particularly creatively inspired day, every sale looks like a smorgasboard of possibilities.  With enough time and paint, I feel like every item could be turned into a treasure.

One of my recent finds was a rustic-looking shadowbox that contained a three dimensional paper wine bottle.  It was a dull and sad piece of artwork.  But it had potential, especially for fifty cents.

To turn it into a bright and vibrant piece for my son's room, I painted the frame turquoise.  The back popped off easily and the design inside peeled off.  I sketched out a design on paper before starting.  I wanted to make something simple that would really pop in the small frame (it measures about 6×12 inches).  I chose the hot air balloon to match some other items in the room.

 

I made a pattern for the hot air balloon.  I cut up the pattern to make the strips of colored cardstock that make up the balloon.  After gluing the pieces of the balloon together, I coated them with Mod Podge to provide some shine and to make a protective coating on the paper. 

The background is adhesive fabric in a pattern of clouds from the Love, Elsie collection.  The basket on the balloon is cut from textured paper that has a woven pattern.  The basket attaches to the balloon with twine through eyelets on both the basket and the balloon.  The balloon and basket are then mounted to the background with layers of cardboard to raise the image from the background, adding depth.  To add more depth, I glued the chipboard letters directly to the glass on the outside of the box. 

Now, instead of a piece of junk, I have an inspiring piece of art for my son's room.  Let's hope it serves as a reminder to him that with a little imagination, he can make anything happen.

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This is called "My 1st Year". It's decorated on the outside. The inside has 12 cards with mini calendar pages and a place for a photo. This could would be a great baby shower gift, as its intended use is for my own child's first year. There isn't a lot of room to write much, just 3-4 words to describe each day. And a small photo taken in that same month. If we can make a habit of writing something every day, at the end of a year we have a cute little keepsake of our child's first year. And being in a tin, you can also throw in momentos and keepsakes acquired over the year… no pressure to glue anything to a page or write your thoughts.

This calendar in a tin idea could be used for lots of things - a teenager's year in high school, a newlywed couple's first year, or to track progress on a project such as building a house.

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This wonderful piano tin was an instant inspiration. I knew the moment I saw it what I wanted it to become. Its black case with gold filigree design made me think of a more elegant time period when women carried fancy fans and attended musical gatherings. My intention was to mimic the image that comes when we hear of that time in history. I thought it would make the perfect container to house my daughter’s journal about learning to play the piano.

 Materials needed:

• 26” pieces of ribbon
• 9 ¼”  long by 4” wide piece of paper or material.
• Decorative feather ( found in the purse section of craft stores)

1   Button

1   Tassel (cut off the loop)

Tools needed:

Paper Trimmer

Scissors

Corner Rounder

Fabric Tac (If you use material)

Q-Tip

Alcohol ink (I used pearl)

The first step is to prepare the container by covering the lettering describing the contents. Since it is on the piano keys I needed something that would cover without detracting from the keys. The pearl alcohol ink was perfect for this, using a Q-tip I applied several coats until the lettering was covered.

The next step is to apply the ribbon trim to the outside using your fabric tac.

The next step is placing the material or paper pieces on the inside and then finish the inside by putting the second length of ribbon around the inside edge. If you use paper you will need a paper rounder to round of the corners for a smoother fit.

Lastly you want to add your faux fan to the cover. To cover the raw edges of the feather adhere the tassel to the feather and then cover both with your button. 

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This perfectly elegant little tin makes a great place to store your mending kit.

Materials List:

1 3” diameter chipboard circle

1 Sheet of Kelly Panacci’s Moments in time paper

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Adorn It! has some really fantastic wood projects that remind me of the 80's. I loved their Halloween Candy Shakers, Treat Bags, Wood Letters, and all of their Spring and Easter Papers! Oh, I should also mention, that they always have great wood kits and their wonderful papers to go along with them. I also love their craft ideas, scrapbooking ideas, and I loved their neighbor gift ideas from their Winter Idea Book. Some of the most common ways of altering any item today, is by painting, decoupage, ribbon, flower petals, paper clips, buttons, chip baord pieces, paper, eyelets, brads, sewing, staples, jewels, clothing tags, movie tickets, ribbon tags, clips, metal rim tags, book plates, fibers, fabric, rub-ons, decorative tape, glitter, plastic letters, and the list goes on…I have been trying to think of something you couldn't alter, and quite honestly, I haven't come up with much! There are definitely things that I personally wouldn't alter, or use in a craft, but, that's just me.

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