Tag: DIY design

Art & Craft Ideas, D I Y, Decoupage, Gift Ideas, Home Decor, Makeovers, Recyling, Recyling, Reuse, Reduce., Reduce., Reuse, Storage, T U T O R I A L S, Technique, Trash to Treasure, WOODEN Projects

Tutorial -How to upcycle wooden puzzle blocks?

naush

What do you do when some of your puzzle blocks are missing ?

What do I do ?

Why ofcourse, I upcycle them. But naturally  .. Problem solved !

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My oldest son is extremely fond of solving puzzles. However with 2 younger brothers around him who enjoy tossing puzzles pieces more than joining them together .. the older one has had it difficult and puzzle blocks go missing. 😦

Inspite of being incomplete, I kept them packed away for the longest time, until recently, when I decided to give them a makeover. (Its just NOT in my nature, to toss them out 🙂 )

So here is a simple pictorial of the transformation.

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I gently, wiped these blocks with a slightly damp rag.puzzle block makeover 3

Then applied two coats of indigo acrylic, on all sides of the blocks.

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When the diecut machine is in progress, I like to cut a bunch of flowers, which i store in egg trays like this :upcycle egg tray to organizer

I found some diecuts that fit perfectly in the squarespuzzle block upcycle

I destressed the edges of the diecuts and stamped the letters which spelt FAMILY on one side and BE MINE on the other side.

acrylic rubber stamps

This how they look after adhering them on one side :- reversible blocks signreversible blocks diyreversible block repurpose

While one side has the letters which forms FAMILY, the other has letters which stand for BE MINE

valentine home decor

Inorder to make these beautiful blocks more durable – I gave them a single coat of modge podge.valentine decorvalentine blocks giftdoodle buddies upcyclebe mine blocksupcycle craft project2

So how do you like it ?

Isn’t it really easy ?

I continue to share projects that can inspire my friends and readers with ways to reuse/recycle/repurpose/upcycle household items.

Every decision starts with a very small but firm, first step. I hope you embrace the idea of recycling or repurposing this year.

If you have been recycling already,  I would love to read some of your ideas for eco friendly crafts too.

I am sharing this simple project with my blog buddies  here .

I’m delighted that you stopped by.  You can subscribe to my blog to read all my posts and projects.

I hope you stay a while and leave inspired.

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Upcycle A Broken Mirror

naush

” Not only did I design the jewelry but I also designed the jewelry display stand !! “

Some of my favorite words are, create, creativity, craft, upcycle and repurpose !          What are yours ?

UPCYCLE THE MIRROR TO DISPLAY JEWELRY (1)

Like I explained in my previous post, I have been designing jewelry.   We held two trunk shows, and I found that we were short of display units for my leather jewelry collection.

Alittle scavenging into our shed, and my trusted wingman was back with a full size narrow mirror that we had dumped in there, a few years back !!  I bet your asking why I stored a broken mirror stand, right ?  My husband asks that ALL THE TIME !!!  I’ll give you the reply, I give him – We’ll find a use for it someday. (not that he ever believes me 🙂 )  But for once – THAT DAY, finally came !!

Obviously, the stand looked worn out but I decided, to keep the shabby chic distress look on the white border, but paint the cork board, within.

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The diehard optimist in me, only noticed that the wood was sturdy and the size was perfect to hold as many as 40 pairs of earings !!

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A couple of coats of paint should do the trick.

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I  mixed some white acrylic to a pastel shade of peach and pink to get this color.

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A dozen or so nails on the side to hang the strings at and voila ! We have a display unit to hang our jewelry – from TRASH !!!

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Absolutely in love with this  piece !! Not only did I design the jewelry but I also designed the jewelry display stand !!!! 🙂

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Home Sign post!

naush

Hi friends !! I am absolutely delighted that my repurposed Pizza Box( mixed media art)  was featured in not one, not two but Six blogs !!!! Thank you, thank you so much dear friends afar !  Alittle encouragement goes a very long way. Thank you to all the following blog parties that featured my Pizza Box.

I  have several other pizza boxes which I may share in my next post. But today, I would love to share with you one of my first garden signs/courtyard signs/ pathway signs !! The best weather (depending on your definition of best !!) in Dubai is from November until February.  Day time is between warm to pleasant while late evenings can be chilly enough to call out the cardigans.

We get very very little rains here but when we do get a shower or two ~ the entire city shines and sparkles while the residents cheer and run out of their houses to experience the blessed rain drops.  I know, most of my blog visitors are from the west and you must think, “what is the matter with this woman ~ how can they like the rains ~ how can they not want some sun ~ how can they enjoy chilly evenings ” but you know, each one of us is blessed with something in abundance and we have been blessed with aloooooot of sunshine so we really cherish the little blissful “winter” ~ we receive ♥

This post is not about the weather in Dubai or gardening in Dubai ~ but if you do have a backyard or courtyard, I may as well tell you that November is the best time to start preparing the soil and flower beds of the garden. I generally start working on my garden in full swing by November so that, come December, the garden looks inviting and can accommodate all our holiday  guests.

This year, I have worked on several décor projects for the garden, one of which is a directional sign arrow for “Home” Its not something fancy but I really like how it turned out. It stands out with its pale white color and swirly fonts.  Following is a short pictorial/tutorial. DSCF6059

Recycled Material ~ Wood from Pallets !! DSCF6060

So, I started out with a dumped “PALLET”  !! Yes, you heard me right, I chopped one plank of the pallet with my jigsaw.  Sanding it nicely and then giving it the arrow cuts on one end. I let the long perpendicular end remain rather rugged since a large part of it, would remain buried in the sand/pot.  I made sure the end of the support post was narrow so that it could be dug deep into the soil/pot. DSCF2091

A couple of nails from my newly bought  nail gun (the one I bought from London, remember, in the last blog post )  shot it together in the center. And then the sign post was ready for the aesthetic workshop. DSCF2092

Nothing fancy, just your regular pale plastic paint. It is glossy. Two coats of that did the job well. DSCF2093

When the paint had dried, nearly a day later or more, I free-handed the letters “HOME” on the arrow. The font I have used is :- Beyond Wonderland. Isnt it marvelous ??!! DSCF6134

The pencil writing was later made ready with sharpies markers and a rough border was added.  I did distress it alittle but just a little becoz I understand, It may have to still endure a lot of sun and will get distressed anyways 🙂   A single coat of modge podge was the last step in the process. I have used the checkered foam stamp on the long support post. Voila !! FotoFlexer_Photo

This was my first attempt at making a sign post. I am pleased with the look. I hope you find this tutorial helpful and perhaps inspirational as well. Please share with me, any of your first wood work experiences. There are so so many fantastic ladies out there, in the blog world who are making such amazing wood works ! I hope this is my first wood work post in a loooooong series of posts about making plaques and sign posts. I am linking this post to the following blog parties :-

 

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Upcycle Wooden Blocks / Plaque for Family.

naush

Hello friends !

Pinerest is my best friend !!!! Yeah ~ I know what you’re thinking ! ! But the honest truth is that I can spend a great many hours browsing from one link to another, pinning as I go along. Feeling cheerful just sharing some of the pins ~ and feeling so inspired when I read some of the talented ladies writing something like, “If I can do it, surely so can you” !!! It is just a crafters haven, I tell you. Its as though, one can virtually get lost in the hoards and hoards of pins and excieting projects !! Why would’nt it be my best friend !

Oh and BTW if your looking for my pin account, here it is :-  http://pinterest.com/doodlebuddies/  and NO ~ Pinterest did not pay me to write about them !!!

Somewhere, last August, I was so inspired by some of the gorgeous wood projects on blocks on Pinerest , that I decided to give it a try.  Armed with some deadly arsenal of power tools, I made my way back from ACE hardware and started collecting pieces of wood and MDF. It didnt take long before an entire corner in the courtyard was home to a huge pile of wood, wooden planks and left overs. (much to DH’s annoyance)

Today I am sharing with you a rather simple project of wooden blocks which are cut into small chunks using my jigsaw, sanded using the electric sander (as I call it 🙂  ), some paint layers and some modge podge over  pieces of scrapbook paper, alphabet diecuts from my revolution and the sentiment for the the definition of family is done by my loyal printer !  The ribbon finalized the look. Voila !!!

Honestly, now that the weather, is getting better, I hope to venture out  in the courtyard and try my cutting and sanding skills more. This is really a very easy project but it does take up a large amount of time, becoz there is a waiting period between each paint coat and even between the modge podge coats. The rest is pretty much simple. I have really enjoyed designing this project. It felt so lovely when I had it homed on the mantle above the TV for Eid and almost everyone who came home asked me where I “BOUGHT” it from !!!! 🙂  (huge smile here)  (DH is relieved that those heaps of wooden planks are being used)

Like so many of my creative friends have said, if I can do it, so can you.

Pinerest and this entire blog world has made me realize that there are so many creative avenues just waiting for me to make a claim at them. I never thought in my wildest dreams that I could have anything to do with wood and yet, I am trying and gladly getting there !! so can you !!!!!

Please share with me if you too have been inspired to try out something “out of the usual” ~ reaching away from your comfort zone.

I would love to share my new project with the following parties :-

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Warm wishes
 
Naush