Altered Gift Bag

Hello friends --here are a couple of quick ideas to alter gift bags.  I went to the store and had a bag in hand and then I thought, "What am I doing?  I have all sorts of stuff at home to decorate a bag AND I have bags."  So this is what I made...

The bag in the back was stamped with a vintage baby buggy and then I adhered a flower to it.  The bag in the front took a little more work and a 3rd degree hot glue burn, it was worth it though!  I basically made a little chalkboard that they can remove and keep and then write their own messages.  Here are the steps for the second bag...

• Paint a piece of chipboard (size of your choice) using at least two coats of Chalkboard Paint.  Allow chipboard to dry.  (Tip:  the chipboard will curl but when the paint dries all the way through, the chipboard will flatten).  If you don't have chipboard, try using a thin wooden board.
• Adhere Maya Road Vintage Lace Tape around chalkboard.
• Wrap hemp cord around chalkboard and secure in the back with a knot.  I also used hot glue to reinforce the position of the cord.
• Glue chalkboard gift bag.
• Embellish hemp cord.  I used Basic Grey, Maya Road, Recollections, Tim Holtz and Prima.

TA-DA!

The bags were a big hit and the best part is that my friend and her hubby now have a little chalkboard to use in their baby boy's nursery.

Until next time, peace, love, and extra special gift bags!

Chalkboard Clipboards

Last year we hosted a clipboard swap on Artsy Fartsy.  It was a huge hit.  You could either make your clipboard functional or something decorative to hang on the wall.  I chose to do something decorative and made this for my swap partner:

I loved using a stencil and embossing paste to make the owl's body.  It added texture and dimension.  But then my swap partner sent me a functional clipboard that was painted with chalkboard paint.  So I decided to combine both ideas and made "Clipboard Chalkboards" for several of my friends.

Trust me, these projects are no brainers.  You basically paint the clipboard with two layers of chalkboard paint and then stencil designs with embossing paste.  Then you glue down all of your embellishments.  Again, I used my point at shoot to photograph these projects so not so great.  You can click on each image to enlarge it. 

This one was one of my favs.  I have had this heart for a long time and I'm glad I was able to finally use it.  I also love the wind up hardware because you never know when you'll have to give the ol' heart a crank!  If I had more time, I would have done something with the actual clip but I finished these on the day before Christmas Eve!

I just love all of the little elements that make this cluster.  The dolls head is a Frozen Charlotte Doll by Lisa Pace.  You can purchase them in her Etsy Shop.

This is another favorite.  You can see the detail much clearer in the next photo.

I love the stencil that I chose for this clipboard and that birds nest makes me happy.  Plus another Frozen Charlotte Doll by Lisa Pace.

Here are a couple more that I made for friends...

  

And close-ups of the clusters...aren't they yummy?

 

This last one is pretty special to me.  It's the very first one that I completed --it was my prototype.  And look at how lovely she turned out!  She is exquisite and regal...a true Queen.  She is still in my craft room.  I haven't decided if I'm going to keep her, gift her, or put her up for sale on Etsy.  To be determined...

I had been itching to use this crown!  I added a classic button as an earring and then glued one bead at a time to emulate a pearl necklace.  Just what she needed!

I hope you enjoyed viewing my projects as much as I enjoyed creating them and giving them to my friends for Christmas.  Until next time...

Peace, Love, and Chalkboard Paint!

Ms. Ruin