Lady Liberty Holiday Decor

Happy Memorial Day friends.
As I looked around my home, I found that I didn't really have any red , white and blue decor for the holiday. (We have been very busy traveling to NYC for my Fiance and his back surgery and I took the last week + off from most blogging and crafting.)
Now it's back to work and crafting.

 I had been looking at this frame sitting around for weeks waiting for some love and so that's what I did, I showed it some love.

Digging through my travel stash I found some vintage pages I had colored up . ( I took over the table in the CB studio and slapped on paints I felt would blend together well) I literally covered the table in vintage pages and then sprayed them all with water . Then I added acrylic paints and began layering the pages together to spread the water and paint. I picked up the excess paint and water with dry pages and then blotted the whole lot of them dry. Finally,  I blow dried them, because I have no time for things to dry on their own.Wink.

Next I pulled a Patriotic Image from my file of Printables. 

This one I had downloaded from the #TheGraphicFairy.com, a great place for vintage images available to the public for FREE.

After I printed the image I tore around the edges to create a weathered effect. 

Using a 2" wide brush ,I covered the image with dark wax and then removed the excess and buffed with a clean cloth. This seals the ink from the printer, allowing me to use Mod Podge effectively without smearing  the ink.  It's a great trick I stumbled upon .

After that I used a glue stick to position the image on the musical background. 

Here is another project I was working on that shows the difference between the original print and the aged image (waxed).

And place it back into the frame. Ignore the scratches on the table. It's a curbside find waiting for it's makeover.

Happy Memorial Day friends and thank you to all those who have served our country. 

With love and gratitude,

Michele

Find me partying here all week at these link parties with some great bloggers.

If you are in Myrtle Beach come on down and visit us at the Coastal Bohemian Studio or check us out on Facebook, Pinterest , Instagram, or  G+ .

Coffee Filter Starfish

I made a beautiful coffee filter heart for Valentine's Day a few years back and we even teach the class down at the studio every year.
This year I got to thinking about those brown, natural filters and what they could be used for in the crafting arena. Of course, my brain goes nautical, beachy, coastal for ideas .
I think I can make a Starfish like I made the Coffee Filter Heart.

This is one I taught at the studio a while ago.

At this point I have a completed Starfish and yet I feel like it's a failed project. As I move on with the instructions you'll see why.

First , I did a quick sketch of a Starfish on poster board and traced it onto some cardboard and then cut it out.

I was careful to make the Starfish imperfect because I didn't want the finished project to look like a Star.

I  put a hole in the top now, so I didn't have a problem trying to find a spot to punch a hole later. This will be where I add some twine to hang the Starfish.

Next I made a batch of natural coffee filter flowers. (Hold the center of the filter, twist the bottom and help the top form it's natural carnation like shape.) You will probably need 100 pieces or more.

 I begin by hot gluing the flowers around the perimeter of the starfish . Then I fill in the rest. 

In the end, I gave my little Flamenco Starfish a strand of pearls, some seashells  and a sign that I stamped to say "Sea Life ",  all courtesy of my hot glue gun. 

Now, here is the problem. Every time I look at the Starfish I see this .....

.... a Starfish Flamenco Dancer. 

And then I see this.....



You see what I' saying?  

In the end, I gave my little Flamenco Starfish a strand of pearls, some seashells  and a sign that I stamped to say "Sea Life ", all courtesy of my hot glue gun. 

Even though I consider this a fail , I thought it could spark something creative for others. 
If only there were Flamenco Dancing Starfish or maybe there is one, kicking up his heels while I sleep. 

🎝🎝🎝🎜chick chicky boom, chick chicky boom 🎝🎜🎜♬♬


With love and gratitude,

Michele

Find me partying here all week at these link parties with some great bloggers.

If you are in Myrtle Beach come on down and visit us at the Coastal Bohemian Studio or check us out on Facebook, Pinterest , Instagram, or  G+ .

Driftwood Easter Egg Nest

I made a driftwood nest for my Easter Eggs, inspired by the birds of prey nests I've been seeing down in the Florida panhandle. These nests are huge and filled with driftwood, exactly what I would use if I was a coastal bird. #Ilovedriftwood

I bought my supplies at the #Dollartree
1 Coconut Plant Liner
1 Bag of Straw 
1 Bag of Spagnum Moss

You'll want to turn the domed portion of the liner inside a bit to create a flat surface for the nest to rest.

Using a scissor, snip a spot in the coconut liner and poke the driftwood pieces inside leaving a generous amount hanging on the outside. 

I used various sizes and lengths and just snipped  and poked them in around the liner. For some added support , I glued a few of the longer sticks together as they crossed in the middle of the nest.

I draped some twine around the outside and around the driftwood wanting it to look like a part of the mix of materials a bird may have found and used for their nest.

Take a handful of both the spagnum moss and the straw and hand mix them together and glue them to the outside of the coconut liner filling in all the spots around the driftwood. Take a large handful and place it on top to fill in the nest. Done.

Thanks for stopping by to see my fun an d games.

May your nest be blessed.

Happy Easter to those who celebrate.

With love and gratitude

Michele
Coastal Bohemian
Find my posts at these link parties all week long.If you are in Myrtle Beach come on down and visit us at the Coastal Bohemian Studio or check us out on Facebook, Pinterest , Instagram, or  G+ .

Nautical Spring Wreath

I knew as soon as I heard about the Welcome Spring Link Party that I was going to create a nautical, beach themed wreath. The first thing I thought of was that this will certainly  need some beach grasses! I headed to A.C. Moore  for my supplies. 

You'll need fishing net , rope, a grapevine wreath, assorted  beach grasses, ribbon and a mix of seashells.

This was pretty easy to make.

Drape a piece of fishing net around the wreath leaving a piece hanging in the middle as a backdrop. 

Make sure to hot glue the netting in place in some hidden places. 

Next you'll need to place the rope on the wreath. 

Use my wreath as a model to lay it out.



Make  several small bouquets with a variety of beach grasses and use tape to hold them together. 

Then add these to the back of the wreath to add some dimension and create a larger looking wreath.

I also added this speckle tulle to the back. I just cut 4 x 8 in. pieces, gathered it in the center and pinch it into a "V" shape and glued that to the back between the bundles of beach grass. Make sure to glue it so that it's far enough out when you flip the wreath around to be seen.

I didn't get a pick of that but you can see the speckled tulle here. It was the perfect pop of Spring color.

 Gather faux flowers and more grasses and  tie with wire twist.

 Hot glue this to the front of the wreath. 

Make a pretty bow using a pretty ribbon. 

Add some seashells and pearls to bring it home.

To make a little sign you'll need the wide popsicle sticks . I used Tacky glue to glue the bottom 5 sticks together and then I added a top stick across for some added support.

I just painted a base color and then painted my Spring slogan "Bloom at the Beach".Add it to the wreath with some hot glue. Done .

With love and gratitude
Michele
Coastal Bohemian


You can find me blog hopping at link parties here all week.

If you are in Myrtle Beach come on down and visit us at the Coastal Bohemian Studio or check us out on Facebook, Pinterest , Instagram, or  G+ .

Chalky Painted Bottles

Live Love Paint. 

I opened my art studio, Coastal Bohemian in Myrtle Beach by happy accident . A friend asked me to share some space at his studio, (he knew I painted furniture out of my home), the space was perfect and I determined that I could afford the space if I taught Chalky Paint Classes.
In order to engage with customers I created a $10.00 painted bottle class. The class is so popular it sells out every time I teach it  at the Library.

Here's what you can do to get a funky chalky painted bottle.
Attendees are encouraged to bring a clean and label free bottle to recycle into an upcycled project.
I keep several on hand for those who forget to bring their bottle. 

Using Chalk Country Paint

apply two thin coats of paint to the bottle. You can cheat the dry time process by using a blow dryer. This also helps give some crackling effect to the paint and lends itself well to the overall vintage charm of the bottle .

After you have a nicely dried out bottle, and by this I mean it should be cooled to the touch after the blow drying process, we wax and buff the bottle with a dark brown wax .This gives the bottle some age and  sticks to the spaces in the paint. This is the look you are trying to achieve.
 I liken the final look to a bottle that may have been unearthed, maybe when you dug up a yard for a pool or  something that was excavated in Pompeii.(Imagine finding the lost city of Pompeii)  The point is you want something gritty here. 

Next for our images. Now you can use whatever images you like or want to create but to get a true vintage look I use images found at the Graphicsfairy.com. 

First you'll want to tear around the edges of your images. Now you are ready for a very cool trick . Using a chip brush coat the image with a coat of dark wax. Just a quick coat and just as quickly you'll remove the excess wax and buff the paper.(Old Rags work perfect here) This preserves the ink and keeps it from running when you adhere it to the bottle with Mod Podge.  

That's your next step. Lay the image down on a piece of scrap paper and paint a coating of Mod Podge making sure to get your edges.  Place your image on your bottle. Grab a piece of plastic wrap and place it on top of the image and gently apply the image , making sure to work out all the little air bubbles and being careful not to pick up Mod Podge and redistribute it on top of the image. You don't want to create a tackiness that lifts your image. The plastic wrap is a trick I learned from Patti at Upcycle with Decoupage. 

After the Mod Podge is dry you can add a layer of glue on top but I rarely do. (For this project you'll want to use the Matte Mod Podge.)

Next get out that glue gun and use up some of those scrap findings you have. Each bottle tends to be very unique.

Lastly, you' need to do the bottle shoot. Arrange those masterpieces and take some pics. Your friends will love them . Your family will swoon . 

These also make great gift for all the seasons since you can customize them with vintage themed graphics . I love these bottle so much . It makes me happy everytime I get to the bottle shoot. 

Have some fun with friends and family with an upcycle craft day. 
Thanks for reading along .
You can find me blogging around the internet all week here. 



With love and gratitude

Michele
Coastal Bohemian

If you are in Myrtle Beach come on down and visit us at the Coastal Bohemian Studio or check us out on Facebook, Pinterest , Instagram, or  G+ .