Happy Valentine's Day

Cupcake Time Heart Shaped Wall Plaquette

Cupcakes are loved by almost everyone so when I laid eyes on this great cupcake napkin I knew it would be perfect for a kitchen style plaquette which I think I have only done once before. Click here.

I had some heart shaped blanks which were ideal for the job and as I wanted to have some typography included to make it more kitcheny, I cut out a heart shape in the centre of my napkin using a stencil shape, which allowed me some space for transferring my text.

The transfer was done putting reverse text onto a glued surface and leaving it overnight before removing.  It's a foolproof way of transferring small graphics.

I outlined the heart shape in the centre with a paint pen and then coated it with some layers of sealant to protect it.  Here it is - you can let me know what you think by commenting below and if you would like to hear more from Funky-Junk you can follow me by filling in your email address at the top left of the page.

Bye for now

Découpaged Photo Frame

Euro store, dollar store, thrift store, pound store, bric-a-brac or whatever name you use for them in your own country, these stores very often have a wealth of useful nick nacks for the craft addict.  I have found many great items in my own local stores over the years that I would have paid at least three times the price for in a regular shop. One of my most recent visits presented me with some cute little picture frames, made simply from wood with a heart shaped opening.  I thought these frames were a total bargain at €1.49 each and so I stocked up - as you do...

I eventually got around to decorating the frame as gift for a friend.  Some paint, découpage and a little embellishment and I had a lovely frame that would look good in any room.  I chose to keep it fairly neutral using grey napkin for the découpage and some pearls, stuck over a cream background and topped off with a tiny handmade bow as you can see in the above pictures.

The picture below is how it looked before my makeover:

So glad you stopped by to read my blog.

Bye for now

Mother's Day Decorated Heart

With Mother's Day just around the corner, I am posting the last of my Mother's Day projects for this year which I hope you will find useful in helping you create something special for your own Mum. Again, I used an mdf heart which I painted pink.

This time I transferred on some typography using the pencil transfer method that I wrote about in my last blog post.  I went over this with a black sharpie (the laundry marker kind) to make it stand out.  I then découpaged on some pink roses, aged it with some dark wax, sealed with some clear wax and finally added some cream ribbon for hanging.  This project was finished in one evening and was easy to do.  Why not try making one of your own? Hope you enjoyed my post, drop by again soon to catch up on my next project.

Bye for now...

Mother's Day Gift Idea

My last post promised more gift ideas for Mother's Day and with only a week to go, I said I'd better start posting.  I seem to be keeping things very simple this year and the heart below is just that.

I painted it in a grey colour called cement and added some nice words that I found online.  I used the pencil trick to transfer the writing.  Print your words the way you want them to appear on the heart, then, on the back of the page colour over the entire area behind your words using a HB pencil, place it in the position you want it on the heart (face up so you can see the words), secure it with some tape and carefully go over each letter using a pen or pencil.  When you lift the paper the outline will be imprinted on your heart.

Now all you have to do is go over it to darken it up using a marker or whatever you wish.  I used a black pencil and then I sealed it with some gloss varnish.  I added a bird motif which I glued on and some dashes around the edges to enhance it a little.  String for hanging it and it's done.  You could also use ribbon if you want a more fancy heart and you could add a rose instead of a bird or some découpage.

Thanks for following my posts, drop by again soon to see my final Mother's day gift idea and remember, if you have any questions you can contact me by email using the form on the right hand side of this page.  Bye for now...

Mother's Day 6th March

Mother's Day in Ireland and the UK falls on 6th March 2016 and with a couple of weeks still to go, I'm well ahead with my celebratory plaquettes.  I thought I'd post them onto the blog straight away to give you all some inspiration and plenty of time to make your own.

So far, I've concentrated on hearts as I think they look real pretty and speak for themselves without having to go to too much trouble.  I've kept the first few super simple using a couple of slate hearts and some chalk-style free hand writing for which I used a white pencil.  You can choose whatever message you like best for your own piece and I'm sure your local craft store would have some hearts. They don't have to be made from slate either, regular mdf would do - just paint them with a flat black paint to get the same look.  I finished these off with a gloss varnish to seal the pencil work and they hang with some regular twine.  I hope you enjoyed reading my post, stop by again soon to see some more Mother's Day easy to make gift ideas.

                       Bye for now
                             

Christmas Decorations

Making your own christmas decorations isn't difficult and those of you that follow my blog will know that I do a little something every year.  Last year it was the mini christmas trees which you can see by clicking here.  This year though, I have painted up some little wooden hearts and fireflies that I got as a gift but you can buy them at any good A&C store, I then just added some glitter and hanging ribbon. Simple.  Even the kids could help with this one.  You could also make your own by cutting out some shapes from cardboard - stars, christmas trees, Santas, angels and then paint on some designs or even découpage them.  Why not try a few and have something designed by you this Christmas!

Click to make bigger

Before

Multi Frame Plaquette

This is one of my larger plaquettes for hanging several different sized photos.  I painted this one in pale grey with a darker grey crackle finished edge as usual using my own mix chalk paint.  Pastel hearts and sparkle finish completed the look along with some varying shaped frames.  It is making a long journey at the end of the week, all the way from Dublin to it's new home in Arizona.

Cute Girlie Bags

When the weather is fine (which isn't often in Ireland) I always get a bit lazy with my furniture revamping and craft work and start spending my spare time in the garden usually still painting but instead of house furniture it's garden benches and the shed (which I won't bore you by talking about).  However, I started to feel guilty about not posting much on the blog recently and decided to make some of these cute girlie felt bags again which I've been meaning to do since Easter but just didn't get round to.

These kids bags are for sale on the blog here for €6.99 each and you can order them by emailing me at Funky-Junk Email or through Funky-Junk Facebook.  They can be made to order with your own choice of design/colour. As you can see, I'm still working on the pink one with the heart - the handles have yet to be attached (4th photo).  These are giving me the inspiration to make some grown up versions.....perhaps a vintage look?  Keep watching to the adult version in the near future.

Felt Bags

Yellow Bag with 3 Hearts

Yellow Bag with Coloured Stones

Pale Pink Bag with Heart

Easter 2014

Well that's it for this year's Easter craft creations, which I'm happy to say were all a success.  I hope you all enjoyed looking and that my tutorial on how to decorate your own Easter eggs was useful.

These are the last two Easter bags but watch out for my new novelty kids bags coming soon.