Handmade Photo frame with Chipboard elements

Hello Friends ,

I'm back again to inspire you all with my chipboard creation. 

Today I am on the Blog to share a step by step tutorial on making your own Handmade photo frame 

You will need:

 Chip board

Scrapbook paper of choice

CHIPBOARD elements for embellishing the frame

metallic paints

Scissors

Craft knife (Optional for adults only)

 Glue

Ruler and pencil

With a little help, older kids can create these frames and gift them to friends and family. There are so many beautiful scrapbook papers available, you won’t be able to stop at just one. Get creative with the embellishments. I used simple painted chipboards but any number of things would be great.  

1. Cut a piece of  cardboard 9 x 7

2. Measure one inch from the edges all around and cut out. You may use an craft knife but since the scrapbook paper covers the opening, it is not necessary to cut it perfectly. The opening should be about 7"x 5"

3. Cut a piece of scrapbook paper 10"x 10"

4. On the non-colored side, place the cardboard on top and trace the center opening. Measure ½ inch smaller from the marked line around and cut out. 

5. Make slits in the paper around the opening of the scrapbook paper to the line that represents the cardboard opening. Add a bit of glue on the edges and fold up the scrapbook paper.

6. On the outer edges fold in at the corners and glue the sides. Mark the traces along the lines of the actual size of the frame. Fold along the traced lines to the inner sides. This will make it easier to paste the former and the latter.

 Do this all around to finish. Let dry.

7. Cut another piece of cardboard the same size as the frame and glue on to the back of the frame on three sides only, leaving the top edge unglued. 

8. Make a stand and cut out. Fold 1/2” from the top and glue this section to the back. Make sure it is in the correct position for standing. Let dry.

9. When completely dry, glue the corners with embellishments to hide slight imperfections, if any. Slip a photo into the top and enjoy.

Attach a stand and you are done. :)

You can make it in any shape and any size you want.

Another super idea...Why not dress up your fridge? These are so easy to make and so lightweight that instead of attaching a stand, try gluing a magnet on the back and use it for displaying recent photos. 

I am dedicating this post to all little champs who want to give their best surprises and most valuable gifts to their parents, family members or friends. They can also get some more ideas on how we can make the best use of our creativity in school projects or at home, by making an attractive photo frame. 

In today’s digital world, we have many ways to wish someone special. But don’t you agree with me that handmade crafts are the best? They add love, respect and a personalized touch to the gift. A handmade gift is always special!

I am sure implementation of this and similar ideas are very well possible for school projects, birthday gifts, and so many areas. Isn't this something you all would love to try ?? 

Wish to see more of my creations for inspirations then please click here 

Are you playing along with the current challenge at Itsy Bitsy Challenge?? Submit your creations.... We'd love you to join us!

 Regards 

Sharada Dilip 

Mixed Media Canvas

This is Tanvi, welcoming you here today!

In her previous posts - here & here, DT Lekha used the Itsy Bitsy metallic paints & I knew I had to try them! Was so happy to find them in my DT kit this time! 

Mont Marte Impasto & Mont Marte dimensional paints are two other products I am using for the first time & will talk about these in a bit.

For my post today I am working on a mixed media canvas.

After a base coat of gesso on a 8x10 canvas I started working on creating the background. 

I used teal blast metallic paint. These colors are very creamy & rich, give very good coverage & the metallic sheen is simply amazing. Pearlized paints are available in an array of colors - 

Also I have used these on a variety of media in this project as you will see soon -  canvas, paper, MDF, chipboard, fabric, handmade paper, metal. 

To even out the color I used a baby wipe.

Next I wanted to add some silver to the background & this is where I brought in the dimensional paint. Once again with the baby wipe blended it in the background. Mont Marte Dimension acrylic is a high viscosity fine art paint. 

After this I wanted some stencilling to add texture to the background using IMPASTO. 

 Impasto is a technique of using very thick paint, usually thick enough so that the brush or painting-knife strokes are visible. When dry, impasto provides texture & thats how I experimented with it using a stencil. Mont Marte Impasto is a heavy bodied paint that is colorless. When mixed with the color it does not change color. 

As you can see in the picture I mixed both the colors with impasto & it formed a rich creamy blend. 

Carefully I used the irregular dot stencil, using both pastes randomly.

While it was drying I brought out some embellishments from my Itsy Bitsy stash! 

For some more texture I glued some doillies on the canvas & also some gesso splatters all over the canvas.

Once I decided on the layout I glued all the embellishments using silicon glue. 

I brushed gesso on all & later painted them with the teal color. The chipboard frames, pearl strings & metal charms I chose to paint silver. At this point I also added some silver stencilled script to the background,

Here is the final look at the canvas & some close ups! Love how the sheen is captured by the camera!

All the embellishments transformed so easily to a teal color!

I had a lot of fun experimenting with the paints & impasto & hope you will try these too!

Thank you for visiting today!

Supplies used - 

Metallic paints 

Mont Marte Impasto 

Mont Marte dimensional paints 

Flexible knife

gesso 

 canvas

embellishments

Chipboard shapes

Handmade flowers

Fabric flowers

Stencil brush

doillies

irregular dot stencil

Script stencil

silicon glue

"Home is where I am with you" - A Mixed Media Layout

Hello Friends,

Remya here with a mixed media layout.

What is mixed media? For me; it is a place where we can use available mediums and embellishments to create something beautiful, which you would cherish.

Here a cake base has been recycled. It can be painted using Paint brush and acrylic paints. But this time I tried out Spray paints from Itsy Bitsy. Itsy Bitsy has got a wide variety of spray paints and I chose brown to get a rustic feel. You can see it has given a rustic look to the background all together. 

Caution : A point to be noted while spray painting is to ensure that you paint only the substrate and not the grills and surroundings as I did. :) Keeping couple of sheets of newspaper behind would really help the cause.

Next came the background papers. I chose a vintage brown colour - Burnt Sienna to go well with the rustic texture given to the background. Tore the edges randomly and dabbed with brown acrylic paint. This gives a burnt look to the edges. Wound twine around the length of the paper for a texture.

In search of a focal picture , I ended up with a cute little picture of Mom and Daughter. I decoupaged it to a canvas board. The  edges were again dry brushed using Mont Marte Dimension paint  ( Pearl Yellow). This is one paint I would recommend all of you to try. The rich , creamy , velvety paint will steal your heart away. It gave such a golden shimmer that I ended up smudging the edges of my background Pattern Paper too.

Once the base was finalized I stuck them up together using silicon glue. Now this glue has become my "all time" favorite. I lost track of the things I have fixed using it. 

Now lets move to the embellishment part. Everyone those who have visited Itsy Bitsy would agree with me that we are spoiled by choices on the varieties of embellishments it has in store. Wanting the substrate and the embellishments to be in perfect sync with each other, gave a coat of dimension paint to the chip boards (flowers and damask) too. 

Flowers are something to die for. Itsy Bitsy has a huge collection of flowers, again spoilt by choices available. I arranged them till I was happy with it. Stuck them up with the Silicon Glue. Even gave a sprinkle of micro beads for the rustic effect.

A few close up pictures given below for you all to see the details.

Hope you all enjoyed this detailed picture heavy post till the end. See you soon with something new a wonderful .

Materials Used :

Spray Paint

Dimension Paint: Mont Marte - Monastral Green

Dimension Paint: Mont Marte - Pearl Yellow

Pattern Paper

Brown Color - Burnt Sienna

Silicon Glue

Thread / Twine

Canvas Board

Modpodge

Chipboard - Damask

Chipboard - Flower

Flowers - Canvas beaded Petits

Flowers - Rustic Zinnias

Beads 1

Beads 2

Hugs

Remya

To check my previous blog posts with Itsy Bitsy - click here

Dual-fold Photo Frame

Fellow Crafters,

Over ages, Canvas boards has become synonymous with paintings. Right? Lets think out of the box, step aside for a while, away from "general practice" and use it for something different. Today, I have made it into a dual-fold Photo frame

Here below, I would try to narrate on how to transform couple of canvas boards into a Dual-fold Photo Frame.

Step 1

Take two  Mont Marte Canvas Boards measuring 4 x 4 inch.

Measure 1.5 cm from the side and 2.5 cm from the top and bottom.  Punch 2 holes at the intersecting point using We R Memory Keepers Crop-A-Dile. I have started to enjoy using this We R Memory Keepers Crop-A-Dile on any substrate I put my hands on - really am in love with it. Punching through Canvas can be a bit scary, be rest assured it punches even canvas boards :)

Step 2

Stamped Script text Stamp on the Canvas using Versa Colour pigment Ink Pad - Brown . Pigment inks will stay wet for a long time, hence need to be patient with it till it dries up. You can also use heating tool if you are a bit impatient like me. Once the Pigment Ink dries, gave a texture with Mont Marte Dimension Paint -Green using chipboard piece and using its edge to dab the paint around.

NB: Itsy Bitsy has launched real pretty Stamps. Worth collecting all of them ! 

Till this dries up, let's prep up the chipboard embellishments. I love to give a dimension to the embellishment. Gave a coat of Mont Marte Dimension paint on Square Deco Frame chipboard. I wanted a black shade, but not true Black. So first a coat of Green and Blue mixed together over it. The dimension paint from Mont Marte gives a dimension to the chipboard surface which I love.

Step 3

Place this frame on the canvas on an elevation. Yes! You heard it right - we are going 3D. This elevation is made so that some keepsake can be kept in it. I cut 4 pieces of chipboard (measuring the length and breadth of frame), placed it around the edges of the frame and stuck it to the canvas. Before sticking , I cut a small piece of pattern paper which became my base. This paper stack has lovely paper collection. Do have a look into it .

Step 4

For the second canvas, Chose a pattern paper with blue shades. Made a frame by cutting out a square from the center. Glued it on 3 sides so that you can slide photos from the top.

Step 5

Now we decorate it with canvas flowers. These Flowers are so pretty that it was really hard for me to use it up. But now my frames were looking even more lovely.

Step 6

To make this to stand and fold up , tie ribbons through the eyelets punched. To add more interest to the elevated frame, I put micro beads(red) randomly on to the sides.

Hope you all enjoyed this tutorial.

Materials used :

Mont Marte Canvas Board
Square Deco Frame chipboard
Script text Stamp 
Pattern Paper
Versa Colour pigment Ink Pad - Brown
Heating tool 
Mont Marte Dimensional paint  : Green and Blue
Canvas flowers
Micro beads(red)
and ....  We R Memory Keepers Crop-A-Dile

Love
Remya

To check my previous blog posts with Itsy Bitsy - click here