Hexagon Box using leather paper By Maansi Vaswani

Good morning everyone, 

I am back again with another project using the wonderful leather paper.  Before I go into the details of this project I would like to say that these sheets are beautiful to work with.  They give an absolute look of leather in terms of look as well as texture.  They can be used in place of scrapbook paper and even decoupaged.

I especially love to decoupage this as this is super easy to do so.  And there are no wrinkles or creases while doing so.

So let's get to the project.

I have made a simple hexagon box using the classical leather sheets.  The only difference in my construction has been the fact that I have taken the leather sheets and decoupaged it to the cardstock and used that as a foundation to cover the entire box.  This is because I wanted it to look like a leather box.

Also, I have kept a difference of almost 2/8" between the hexagon at the base and hexagon on the lid.  This is because as my paper is thick and with multiple layers  I did not want the lid to be too tight.

The box has been decorated with pattern paper from Eno greetings both at the base and the lid.  I have again used a brown vintage looking pattern paper to give it an absolutely earthy look.

I have finished off the box with a beautiful loop metal charm which is not only decorative but also helps in opening the box.

Here are some pics of the finished box.

Supplies used
Chipboard
Cardstock
Leather sheets
Tacky tape
Eno greetings paper
Metal charm

Wishing you a wonderful day

Maansi

Altering a spectacle case By Maansi Vaswani

Good morning everyone,

There are things that we use every day and we continue using them even though they may be tattered or may have started looking old or shabby.  It's usually the love or comfort that we feel with objects that we have had around us for years.

This is the story with my Mom's spectacle case.  It's old and completely worn out but she refuses to give it up.  She is very happy and comfortable using it.  But I decided to give it a bit of life and add glamour to it.

As you can see from the pic below it's a black leather case from which even the leather has started peeling away.

Before Image

Thus started the journey of altering the spectacle case.

First of all, I gave it a coat of black gesso.  As the original case was black in color I decided to stick to the black color.  Another reason for this is the fact that it's an everyday use item so it should not get spoilt easily with regular use.  

After this, I decided to add texture by adding some gauze and again painting it over with black gesso.  I did this on both the sides.  

Painted with Black Gesso

Once this was completely dry,  I added some more texture on top with some stencils and modeling paste.  

Used Modelling Paste

Thus my base was ready. The time now for adding the embellishments.  I have added some MDF embellishments,  a few metal charms, flowers,  rhinestones and some glitter balls and shaker elements.  

  With Placements 

Being a spectacle case I did not want it to have too much of depth and at the same time, the working surface is small. Thus the design was simple and elegant.

I stuck everything using the 3D gloss gel. And once everything was properly stuck and dry, I went ahead and covered it completely in black.

Then I added sprays in shades of red,  gold and copper.  I have even made sprays out of the metallic paints in my DT kit which added a wonderful shimmer to the project.  Between the coats of sprays, I have lightly dry brushed with white gesso to lighten up the colors and have them pop out a bit.

Once I was happy with the colors I completed the project with rubbing in some Prima waxes in turquoise, red. Additionally, I also rubbed some of the metallic paint in gold.

Here are some of the pics of the new altered spectacle case.  And I must say my mom was super thrilled with the new look. 

Image 1

                                     

Image 2

Final Image

Supplies used are

Black gesso 
White gesso
Metal charms
Mdf embellishments
Modeling Paste 
Glitter balls.
Micro Beads
Half pearls and rhinestones
Shaker elements - heart
3d Gloss Gel
Sprays
Metallic paints 
Prima waxes

Hope you like this makeover and do leave your comments and love below.

Maansi

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Desk Calendar By Maansi Vawani

Good morning everyone, 

At the beginning of every year, we all make resolutions and goals.  Also, we have planners and calendars to ensure we are able to write down our goals and targets. 

I had always wanted a desk calendar for my crafting table.  But at the same time something which would last me for beyond a year.  As I knew I would not be able to discard it at the end of the year. Thus this year I decided to make one. 

The inspiration for making this has been a lot of calendar blocks made of wood and have been decoupaged.  There are a lot of patterns in wood bases available on Pinterest as well as Google Images. 

But to find wood and have a stand created would have been a time taking process. Suddenly it occurred to me that maybe it can be done with some paper and some chipboard pieces (basically scraps from an earlier project)

I decided to give it a try and see how it turns out...  

So here is how I went about creating the blocks

1. I wanted the blocks to be a bit big so that I could have the dates in bold.  Each of the blocks requires 6 square pieces.  This keeping it at 2.5" by 2.5" I cut out 12 such pieces. 

Step 1

2. Taking a piece of cardstock I stuck the pieces in a formation to get a cube (pic below) 

Step 2

3. Keeping half an inch margin for sticking the paper I cut off the excess.  I also cut the corners for a neat fold  ( As in the pic below) 

Step 3

4. Now the four pieces in a straight line will be stuck together to create the four sides and the other 2 pieces at the top and the bottom.  This my cube is ready.  

5. I constructed the stand in a similar fashion with the height being 6 inches and the breath being 5.5". The width is about  3 inches.I have kept the breath at 5.5" as the total space taken by the cube would be around 5" together.  

6. After the box was constructed all I needed to do was use a beautiful pattern paper and cover it. I have used the Time collection and have selected a variety of colors as I did not want to stick to a particular color combination.  Thus each side of the blocks has a different color and pattern. 

7. Each of the blocks was stenciled using a number stencil.  The number placement on the blocks is as follows 
Block 1 - 0,1,2,3,4,5
Block 2 - 0,1,2,6,7,8
(Number 6 doubles as number 9, so  I was careful with the paper being selected for that side) 

8. After my blocks were ready and the stand also covered with pattern paper, I create some tags for the months and put them on the in the metal label bracket. The other month's tags are stored in a pocket at the back of the stand.  This ensures that I can easily take out and change the month as and when required.  

9. Lastly, on the sides I added some handmade sunflowers to add a bit more beauty and color to the project.  I have used archival inks for coloring the flowers. I did not want to add any space for notes etc as I wanted this to be just a calendar stand.  (though an area for post-it notes or pockets can also be done on the sides) 

I did initially plan to add another tag on the top for the year but then decided to do away with it... That is an option if you wish to make this.  

There are a few pics of the completed project. (front and back) 

Hope you enjoyed this project 

Supplies used 

Cardstock 
Chipboard 
Tacky tape
Fevicol 
Pattern paper 
Stencil 
Acrylic paint
Speciality papers for flower making 
Zero's Embossing pad
Zero's Perforating pad
Embossing tool
Archival ink 
Black embossing powder
Border punch
Metal label
Iris Paper
Wishing you a wonderful day ahead 

Maansi

Decoupage On Bottles By Maansi Vaswani

Good morning,

This is Maansi here and I am here with a brand new inspiration.  New Year is a time for celebration.  We all party and make new year resolutions.  One of my new year resolutions is to concentrate on recycling and altered art. 

Well, so I did start my new year with a few empty bottles of wine which had been left for discarding.  So instead of throwing it away, I decided to alter these as decoration pieces for my room.  

So, in went the bottles in hot water to clean them and remove the labels.  Once the bottles were cleaned, they were ready for my art work.  Here I have worked on two bottles using two completely different techniques.  

Before I started on the bottles I applied gesso on both the bottles.  

On the first bottle,  I applied folkart paint in grey color.  Then I went ahead and applied single step crackle in some places.  I applied very thin coat so that I achieved very fine cracks.  I then covered the entire surface with an off white chalk paint for the Matt look.  This gave me very fine cracks in some places around the tissue.

Using Modpodge I adhered the tissue. Then the bottle was distressed with brown archival ink and some gold paint and some stamping.  Splatters in grey and gold were added for extra effect and completed my bottle. In the end I have also added some jute cord painted in gold around the neck with a metal embellishment.

On the second bottle I adhered the tissue with Modpodge.  Then I went about adding texture to the rest of the areas and even on corners of the tissue.  To give extra dimension I added texturing on top of texture to create added interest.  In areas texture was created using a simple 3D outliner.  Once everything dried up,  I have painted all areas in shades of green and brown using a sponge. I completed the bottle with hints of gold and some stamping. 

Hope you like these inspirations and give this a try.  And I can assure you that it's addictive.  

Here are some pics of both the bottles together... 

Project 1

Project 2

A closer image of bottles.

I am mentioning the name of the supplies used to create these bottles.

Supplies used from Nagashri Arts (Click on the supplies to visit the website www.nagashriarts.in)
Gesso
Modpodge 
German tissues
Texture paste
Folkart paint 
Acrylic paint 
Metallic paint
Archival ink
Single step crackle 
Jute cord
Metal embellishment
Decoupage Sponges


Wishing you a wonderful day 

Maansi

Altered Box using Mix Media & Decoupage - Maansi Vaswani

Good Evening, 

It's so much fun to give a new look and life to an old object.  This is the basis for today's project and inspiration 

My husband has had this old box which he uses for keeping his watches, wallets and knickknacks.
It's something that has seen a lot of years and thus a bit worn and bent in areas.  Even though it's worn he just refuses to give it up. 

Watch Box

So I decided to alter this box using leather paper,  some decoupage and mix media.  

The lower part of the box has been reinforced with chipboard to give it more strength and has been covered with leather paper and pattern paper. Also, I have added a magnet with a washer as a closure for this box.  

On the inside of the lid, I have decoupaged a script pattern paper and then have decoupaged a variety of tissues to create a collage.  This collage represents his professional life as well as his interests. Thus it's a mix of a lot of tissues. 

Decoupage on the Lid

The lid of the box has been altered using mix media techniques.  As the box had fabric covering it - it already had some texture to it.  I added some more texture using stencils and modelling paste. 

I have used some cardboard and half pearls to create the look of the hull plates of a ship.  Added to that are many pieces of junk like nails, old keys and some buttons from his uniform. I have also added some metal and MDF and other embellishments from my DT kit and some seashells from my stash.  And my composition was complete. 


After applying black gesso to the entire surface,  I let it dry completely before starting to color it.  I have used paints in grey,  blue and gold in dry brushing technique. Also, have used sprays in blue and green to add to the effect.  

Finally, I have added Prima waxes in blue and purple in certain places to complete the look. 

The trim on the box lid is also black leather paper thus giving a nice finished look to the entire project. The project does have dimension, but not too much as this box will be used every day, and I did not want the embellishments to add too much weight or come off over a period of time.  

Here are some pics of the completed project 

A Closer Look

Here is the Complete project

Supplies used

Leather paper 
Pattern paper - Eno greetings 
German tissues
Mod podge 
Tacky tape 
Black gesso
Modelling Paste 
Stencil
Half pearls
Metal embellishments 
Sprays
Acrylic paint 
Metallic paint 
Prima waxes 
E6000
3D gloss gel

Hope you have enjoyed this transformation. Do let me know what you think. 

Maansi

Vintage Shabby Chic Cards By Meena

Hello crafty friends, A very good evening to you all. Hope everyone is doing well.

This is Meena here sharing some Vintage Shabby Chic cards. I got a beautiful foiled pattern paper pack with my DT kit and when I saw it only one thing came to my mind, doing some simple shabby chic cards.

First I took a 12’’ by 6’’ Card Stock and fold it into half so I can get a 6 by 6 card base. Next I took 2 pattern papers little smaller then card base and first layer. I distress the edges using vintage photo Distress Ink and adhere both the layers on card base. Next I took 2 strips measuring 6’’ by 2’’ and 2 strips measuring little smaller then the first 2 strips and distress the edges using Distress Ink, I cut all the 4 strips at the top as showen in the picture and adhere them on the card base using foam tape. Below the first strips I added lace. I glued the dollies on right side and added a circle Pattern Paper on the dollies( using circle cutter from martha stewart). Added cheese cloth on it and added few flowers and leaves on it, finished it off by adding pearls and jute twine.

Card 2 –
For my 2nd card, I took 10’’ by 6’’ Card Stock and folded it into half so I can get 5’’ by 6’’ card base. Next took pattern paper and distressed the edges by using vintage photo Distress Ink and distress tool. Adhere the Pattern Paper using foam tape on card base. Added lace on the bottom of 2nd layer and adhere the half cut dolie on right side. Added flowers and leaves on it using glue gun and finished off by adding blings and jute twine.

Card 3 –
For my last card, I took 8.5’’ by 6’’ Card Stock and folded it into half. Layered the Pattern Paper on card base after distressing the edges by Distress Ink and distress tool. Next I added lace on the middle Pattern Paper and adhere it on the card base. Added cheese cloth on it and glued the flowers and leaves on it using glue gun. Finished off by adding pearl string and half pearls.

Supplies used here
Cardstock
Enogreeting Pattern Paper
Flowers
Die Cuts


Hope you all like it.


All the materials used in these cards are available at Nagashri Arts Store. You can buy them on their site www.nagashriarts.com


Regards,
Meena Herale

Happy Crafting.

Decoupage on Coaster with Magical Leather Sheets - Maansi Vaswani

Good Evening, 

This is Maansi here today. Here I am going to be sharing some details of a new product called leather paper (At least it is new for me though some of you may have used it earlier) 

When Nagashri sent a whole bunch of leather paper sheets to me I was quite unsure what to do with it.

I had never worked with these before. But on first look, I was an impressed with these, especially with the texture. It not only has a textured look but you can also feel the texture. 


So the first project I have done with these are a set of decoupaged coasters using leather sheets.  And I was super impressed with this paper.  It's is super easy to work without any tearing or bubbling or wrinkling.  

Leather sheets (click here to buy Faux Leather Sheets)

The inspiration for this project is a lot of leather work that I had seen when I had gone for a holiday to Rajasthan. There I had seen coasters with stonework and leather/wood holders.  Taking the same concept I have tried to give the holder a leather look with rims of gold.  

Here are some pics of the completed project.

Designed By Artfire

Adding few more photos for you :)

Supplies used 

Leather sheets 
Coasters
German Napkin
Modpodge 
Acrylic paint 
Archival ink for distressing 
Metallic paint
Varnish 

(click on the product  mentioned above it will direct you to the Nagashri Arts 's website to buy these amazing products)

Hope you have enjoyed this inspiration. 
Maansi