A Homespun Year....Altered Clipboard Art & Free Printable Crown Collage...

 

These Altered Clipboards are all over Pinterest.

 

They come in varying degrees of complexity and ingenuity.

 

Some use vintage photographs for embellishment, others gingham and rhinestones (an odd combination, but it works on this particular project!). Brown paper, twine, found objects and old lace are other favourites.

 

My daughter and I find our own way with these. They are a popular gift amongst her Couture Stationery loving set, and the prettier, the better.

 

This one is a gift for a friend who has a birthday celebration this weekend. There is a co-ordinating Dreamcatcher under construction to pair with it...Dreamcatchers are another winner amongst teen girls, it seems. I'll share a photo of that later in the week when it's completed.

 

I actually meant for this to be a tutorial, but I neglected to photograph this one before, during and after embellishment, and the local discount store is currently bereft of the Craftboard style of clipboard necessary for this project. A task for another day, I guess.

 

Materials required:

 

Craftboard style office clipboard. These often come in pack of two for under $3.

Scrapbooking embellishments including flowers, rows and flourishes of pearls and rhinestones

Twine

Craft glue

Scraps of fabric and lace

Sandpaper or sanding block

Pearl effects paint

 

Then just:

(Note that this is a four step process, that you need several hours for, and preferably overnight drying time for the paint)

 

1. Sand the aluminium clip to give a more distressed and pearly look. I also hit this one with a hammer and nail in a couple of spots to make it more distressed and aged looking.

 

2. Paint the clipboard with Dulux Pearl  Effects Paint. One coat is sufficient, but you can do multiple coats to get a warm, pearly depth of colour if you wish. You just need to allow more drying time, obviously.

 

3. Glue embellishments as desired. We designed a Collage using PicMonkey that depicts a crown over some sheet music, wreaths and branches, and a few birds. You can download the Collage at the bottom of this post. The other embellishments used, were offcuts of lace we had on hand, scrapbooking bits and bobs, and a twine twirl, glued into place carefully as we twirled. A sliver of fine tulle dusted with faux sequins was layered over this, and pre-made rhinestone flourishes added to finish.

 

4. Finally, inexpensive rows of faux rhinestones and pearls, again inexpensive scrapbooking items, were added to the base of the clip. We were tempted to continue layering, but in the end, my daughter decided this was lovely as is.

 

 

The crown collage is a little creased from the gluing process (a hazard of allowing an impatient teen to take over the task...lol!), so we may decide to disguise this is some fashion. But I don't think it matters when it's this semi-distressed type of project, really.

 

We've made a few of these now in different colour schemes, and usually with this Olde Worlde touch. They're always enthusiastically received, both as an artwork, and as a practical piece of stationery.

 

Each one takes no more than an hour or two over a couple of days to complete, and costs well under $10, if not under $5.

 

Make a sweet altered clipboard of your own, or as a gift, and use my free printable Crown Collage to embellish it....

 

Printable Crown Collage

...Mimi...

Very Special DIY Gifts....Greenery Bouquets...

 

Do you ever wonder why we spend money on bouquets, when most of us have some sort of greenery in the garden somewhere?

 

Whether it's glossy tree foliage, leaves from a Camellia bush, palm fronds, conifer, ferns, herbs, or even just bare branches, we can all make the most of it, and create something beautiful with just a little imagination.

 

We have a variety of tree in our garden, called a Lilly Pilly, and it has the loveliest sturdy green leaves, and these pretty pink berries that display at this time of the year, our Summer.

 

I've been gifting these bouquets of Lilly Pilly, with little glittered birds perched in the centre, lit with sparkler candles, to all of my daughters teachers this year.

 

We spray the foliage with water to mist it lightly, and just before presenting the bouquets, we light the three little sparkler candles, so that that are glowing and fizzing on presentation. NOTE: You would NOT do this with very dry or brittle or dried foliage. ONLY use fresh, moist, misted green foliage and exercise caution in lighting and presentation. We also use a long candle style gas lighter to light them, as it's easier to use. Matches would be a bit hair raising. Common sense people, common sense.

 

But as you can see, they look glorious, and the exclamations of surprise and pleasure are wonderful to see. Can you spot the little glittered bird in the foliage?

 

Now there are a few secrets to making this look effective and not like you just went out and grabbed some branches and wrapped them in a bit of paper.

 

First, take longish cuttings, to allow you to trim the foliage bouquet into a neat shape. Cut more than you think you'll need to make it look generous.

 

Second, shake the foliage well to allow it to release any berries, dead leaves, twigs or critters that might be nesting within. Wash it well under running water or dip into a tub of clean water, and shake it again. This makes it nice and clean and glossy.

 

Third, you'll need some cellophane. I sourced mine from a floristry supplier at a great price last Christmas, because it's printed with hearts. Who cares. It's still pretty! One large sheet per bouquet is fine.

 

And finally you'll also need some rubber bands, some sparklers or sparkler birthday candles, a pretty clip on ornament as a focal point (the birds are cute, but it can be anything really), and some wide double faced satin ribbon or other prettiness to finish it. Kitchen twine for a more rustic look would work too, as would a fountain of cascading metallic gift ribbon curls.

 

So to recap, for one bouquet, you need:

 

A large handful of stemmed foliage

A sheet of cellophane

Two rubber bands

Three Sparklers or Sparkler candles

Clip on Christmas ornament

Ribbon to finish

A trigger style candle lighter

 

Now the construction of the 'bouquet' is just as important. Sure, if you want the real rustic look, you can just bundle the branches together and tie them with ribbon, and that's fine too.

 

But for a 'bouquet', you need to take a little more time and effort.

 

Shake your foliage again to dry it out a bit, and just as you would with flowers, strip some of the lower leaves from the stems or branches, so you have something to grip.

 

Next, take a long cutting, and add it to one hand. I'm right handed, so I add the cuttings to my left hand. If you're left handed, you'd do it the opposite way.  Keep adding cuttings to your hand, rotating the bouquet as you go, to get a nice even shape. Try to do it holding the foliage down low in that hand, looking down on the bouquet from above, so that you get a nice effect. You want a neat shape from the top and sides, so that's your focus. Don't worry about random bits poking up at this stage, just try to get the majority of the greenery in that rough half sphere shape. It doesn't have to be perfect.

 

You might find that criss crossing the stems will help you get that desirable sphere-like shape. Don't think the stems all have to be upright.

 

Once you're happy with the bulk and shape of your bouquet, take a rubber band, and wrap it fairly high up on the stems, to hold the shape in place.

 

You can then trim the stems or branches to the same length at the base, leaving enough to wrap and hold the bouquet with.

 

Now take your scissors, and give the bouquet a 'haircut' removing any random bits of foliage that are poking out making it less pleasing to the eye.

 

Wrap it in the cellophane, making sure that you have the corners arranged prettily and that they don't obscure what you have decided is the 'front' of the bouquet. Secure it with your second rubber band.

 

Add your clip on ornament to the centre wherever you think it looks best.

 

Mist the bouquet generously with a spray bottle, or just wet your finger tips and flick water over the foliage.

 

Insert three sparklers or sparkler candles around the ornament in a triangle shape.

 

Just before presentation, light the sparklers or sparkler candles and enjoy the surprise and pleasure on the faces of those receiving them.

 

PS...make sure they blow the candles out or let the sparklers fizzle down to the end!

 

Total cost, about $1.50 for me, and certainly under $5 even if you had to buy the ornaments, ribbon and cellophane at full price.

 

A very pretty effect for next to nothing! And the smell of fresh greenery in the house at Christmas is glorious!

 

 

Have fun!

 

...Mimi...