Decorative Glass Plates

Glass plates, made from Mark Montano's tutorial.
Check it out, they are not very hard to make, but it takes a bit of time!

Angle-plates were Christmas gifts for my mom and my aunt, while the Hello Kitty was a birthday gift for my niece.
I had a hard time making these, because when I made the Hello Kitty one, I had all the required materials, but not the time I needed to make it look it's best. For the other two, I misplaced some of my materials and I had to do it as best I could with what I had. 

The world at our feet

Boring, brown doormats from IKEA gets new life, using spraypaint. Super easy, cheap and decorative!

I drew a deer's head on some carboard and used it as a stencil for one of the doormats. To get the roses, place lace fabric on the mat and spray on with spray paint.

Merry Christmas!

From all of us to all of you,
have a very merry Christmas!

I cut out a few hears from some bark, and made it into decorations. It was time-consuming as I had to use a small kitchen-knife, but it was worth it in the end!

Free Bird

For my sisters birthday in September, I made here a vase.

I had wanted to use the motive of blowing a flower and it turning into birds, for a long time, and finally I could use it on this!
I used markers for glass and porcelain. After baked in the oven, they are dishwasherproof for some 60-70 degrees. Which is great!

If I leave here tomorrow

Would you still remember me?

For I must be traveling on, now,

'Cause there's too many places I've got to see.

But, if I stayed here with you, girl,

Things just couldn't be the same.

'Cause I'm as free as a bird now,

And this bird you can not change.

Oh... oh... oh... oh... oh...

And the bird you cannot change.

And this bird you cannot change.

Lord knows I can't change.

Free Bird - Lynyrd Skynyrd

Cupcake candles

A long while ago, I made these cupcake candles. They are made entirely from candle scraps that my mom's been saving up (she burns a lot of candles). They are very easy to make, and very decorative!

This is how you do it!

Sort out your candles! You will want one color of candles for the topping and one color for the bottom. 
You should keep the colors of the candles that you mix for each part as similar as possible, or toss in some white if you don't have enough. 
Start by melting the candle for the bottom first. When melted, pour into silicon cupcake molds, place a candle thread in the middle of it. Hold it up using a wire or some other method of your preffering. Place in the fridge so it cools down quicker.

Melt the candle for the topping in a wather bath as well.
Use a handheld mixmaster to fluffen up the candlewax as it cools. This might take some time in the beginning, but when it starts to cool, it cools quickly.
Use a spoon or two to shape the fluffy wax around the thread. Place in the fridge until cooled, and then you can remove the silicone mold.

If you want it to smell nicely, you can add a few drops of candle

(There is something wrong with the text adjuster. I can't center the writing..)

Catching dreams

It's been a while since I've been updating. It's not for the lack of doing stuff.

Well, maybe a little.

Anyway, here's a few of my old work. I will add more after Christmas so I don't spoil any gifts!

For my nieces birthday in November, I made her a dreamcatcher.

I remember getting one when my mother had been to America on vacation, and it's been next to my bed ever since. I wanted to give her one too, because it feels nice to have a dreamcathser next to your bed, even if you don't believe the things about them catching dreams.

DIY: Yarn-spun bottles

I was asked by my best friend how to make the yarn-spun bottles that I've been making, so I decided to make a DIY about it, because that is -so- much easier than to try to explain!
Yarn-spun bottles are incredibly easy to make. It's cheap, quick and surprisingly decorative!

What you'll need:
-A bottle (or something els you want to spin)
-Glue (Decoupage or mod podge are my preferred choices)
-A sponge or paintbrush
-Yarn (Thinner yarn is easier to use as it is easier to spot errors and easier to handle)
-A small plate for glue


Gather your materials and also wash the bottles both inside and outside, and remove any labels. 

Glues and sponge for the trade. Pour a little glue over on a plate so as to not ruin all of your glue if it dries up. 

Start up by applying a layer of glue to the top of the bottle.
Don't apply glue on too much area at the time, as it will become sticky, stick to your fingers and dry up so it has no effect.

Fasten the yarn by overlaying it with itself, as shown here. Be careful when pulling the yarn at first, so it doesn't slip up again. Be patient and give the glue a few seconds to grab hold of the yarn. 

Spin around and around, keep steady pressure on the yarn, but be careful so the top doesn't slip up.
Apply more glue as you "use up" the old one.

If you have a bottle, be careful not to pull too hard on the curves of the neck. If too much pressure on the yarn, it will crumble upwards towards the opening, and it will be all bumpy and stuff..

Keep a steady pressure on the yarn, and pay attention that you don't get spaces between the yarn.
Be careful not to apply too much glue as it can cause a change of color and texture to the yarn if spilled all over the place.

The end is the tricky bit, as it curves inwards again, and it's hard to keep the yarn in place. Just be generous with the glue, and patient. Hold the yarn in place till it sticks to the glue by itself. Cut of the yarn, and apply some glue to it and just hold it with your finger so it sticks.


And voila! You have a fashionable vase pr candle-holder or whatever you wish to use it as!
Simple, cheap, fast!

Good luck :)

~Elisabeth

We're painting the roses red

So I've been a busy bee the last few days. Again.

If I'm not high on the fumes from the spray paint, I'm high on fumes from.. well.. Paint. 

And with Easter coming up, I have a few days of, so I had some extra time on my hands. 

And what better to do with extra time (part from gaming and watching Merlin, which I have done plenty as well) than to be creative?! 

I had this old thing that I bought cheap in IKEA years back. I have always intended to paint it, but never got around to do it. But then again, fumes..
On top is my collection of old photos, which is ever growing. As you can see, it's crowded.

Painting in progress!

End result! I placed some of the photos on the wall instead, so it wouldn't be so crowded. 

I have baby pictures of my mom, me, me and my sister, old wedding photos of grandma and grandpa, and of my mom.. 

It's blue on the inside, yay!

As you can see, I'm still missing some.. doorknobs.

But I'm going to Denmark over Easter, so I'm going to look for new ones, and I'll add a picture later.

This was the mess that was IN the drawer before I painted it. All my creative stuff!

My room is not that big, so it was hard standing between all that stuff, trying to get a decent picture of the drawer.

I also hung up some decorations over my bed. Haha, I know, kind of tacky!

And those homemade plushies in the right are gift from friends!

White bunny and black whale from Hilde, Ghast from Merethe and a kitty from Linn <3

As I said, Denmark this Easter. It's going to be me, my mom, my sister my niece and nephew, and what is Easter without candy! So I made these glasses filled with nuts and candy for them.

I got these beautiful crystal-inspired glasses from my mom. They are great for serving Chai Latte (or coffee, for those who drink that) in, but they are a little hot to hold, so I crocheted some practical decorations to put on them so as not to burn your fingers. 

I also made some homemade stamps, just because I can. 

Mustachio!

I have more projects coming up, and still more creative fuel to burn, so keep a weather eye on the blog!

~Elisabeth

I got a jar of bracelets!

Still high on fumes from spray painting so much stuff, though the effect is slowly wearing of.

Or it's just because I'm running out of stuff to spray.

In other news, me and my mom were helping my aunt clean out her basement, and I naturally found some old stuff I wanted to keep!

Two old boxes, one of which has contained pigs feet some 40 years ago, an old lamp,

an old ceramic bowl, some shiny little purse glass jars and an old 

first aid-kit that my grandfather used to have in his car.  

As you may see, it's not in the best condition, but I fixed it up and put it in my car. 

My mom wanted something to keep her bracelets in, since I had made one for myself already.

So we found this old thing in the garage, and I spray painted it first silver and then in an oldish pink color.

Turned out quite nice, if I dare say so myself. 

This has been my time-consumer the past day. I suddenly felt an urge to

crochet after seeing a picture on the internet, and so it became a cover for moms kitchen stool.

I liked it very much and now I will have to make one for myself and get me a stool too!

I needed something newer and prettier to keep my main controllers in, as the old one was white and boring.

So this was what I ended up with! Simple, yet not that bad looking. 

AND it fits nicely to my golden Zelda Wii-mote!

Stay tuned for more stuff.

~Elisabeth

How to deal with creators itch

I've had a creators itch for the last week, and I've become addicted to spray paint. Must be the fumes!
But I'm telling you, spray paint is simply BRILLIANT! It's so easy to make things beautiful with just a coat of paint.
So here is a little collection of stuff that I have been making for the last week.
In the future I will be better at making before and after photos of stuff, and also to take pictures during the process.
Enjoy!

Cheap plastic frames from IKEA, originally white. 

One is spray painted in a delicious pink, with the text "Easy, it will be all right".

 The other in a metallic blue, with the text "You are so great!"

Here I decided to freshen up my tiny bathroom. I got a very simple, very dull glass bowl from my mom.

I spray painted it first gold on the outside, and then I covered it in an oldish pink color. 

The bottle I also got from my mom, and I spun it in some beautiful pink yarn and put a very fake but very cute flower in it.

An old bowl spray painted in silver to keep my earrings in.

The other I combined an old candle holder and a glass bowl, sprayed it first in white primer and then blue. 

The picture does the blue color no justice! It's actually much lighter.

An old bowl of white glass, glued together with an old candle holder because we needed something to keep our keys in. Yes, a simple reason to make something!

Some of my works. Not half bad!

I found an old frame, so I pained it and covered the backside with chicken wire.

It now works as a picture board!

Stay tuned for more fun!

~Elisabeth

One mans trash is an other mans treasure

I love old, ugly and broken things. One thing doesn't necessarily have to be all of those three things at once, bu there is something about certain things that just appeal to me!
Naturally, I like spending time in second hand-shops, and sometimes I am surprised as to the things people throw out!

I mean, just look at this beautiful deer I found for only 5$, and it's in perfect condition!

I also found a lamp, which was also very pretty! I got kicked in the knee by nostalgia when I first saw it. My grandmother used to have lamps like these, sadly I never got my hands on one of them

.
Though, I am no big fan of stone, and so the lamp had to be modified!
I spraypainted it white and kept the top the same. A light pink color. It's very romantic when the light is on.
I also spun one wine bottle and one lempnade bottle in yarn to keep the lamp company.

~Elisabeth

Imaginantion

Welcome!

I created this blog with hopes of it helping me getting my motivation for creating things again. I somewhat hit a dry spell. Not in ideas but in the time and motivation that it takes to actually make them.

But, alas!
I suddenly had Motivation himself come up to me, kick me in the stomach and tell me that I best get of my high horse and start making stuff again, or he would divorce me forever! As I have no intention of loosing him, I figured I'd just had to comply to his demands, and the last few days, I have been making stuff like a mad woman!

I will try my best to keep Mr. Motivation here and I will also try to get a better use for my camera, which has mostly been collecting dust over the last year. Also my sowing machine. Which is a total waste!

So, keep a weather eye on this blog, and I will update with posts and pictures!

~Elisabeth