Re-purposed Photo Frame

Do you have empty photo frames lying around? Why not put them to good use! I'm back with you once again and today I have a fun way to make use of those empty frames. How about turning them into a memo board? All you need is a dry erase marker and you can make note after note on the glass.


I discovered some old Fancy Pants paper in my stash and decided it was high time it was used. And with keeping with the boy theme of the paper, I used my Basically Bare Basically Embellies chipboard and corrugated gears.


All three gears were heat embossed with multiple colors of powders.


The gear farthest to the right was embossed with a mix of WOW and Lindy's Stamp Gang powders. The middle gear was embossed with WOW and Ranger Distress Embossing Powders. Each gear has three to four layers of powder, with each layers beautifully melding together to give a wonderful texture.


For the largest gear I used Ranger Verdigris powder, WOW powders in Metallic Gold Rich Pale and Metallic Copper, and Lindy's Stamp Gang powders in Midnight Obsidian Emerald.

Red and Black

I absolutely love the color combo of red and black! Red is one of my fave colors, and it looks so bold and striking against black. Add in a bit of distressing with the red/black combo and we have a wonderful wall decor piece.


I covered the entire background with a black polka dot patterned paper then added a strip of red polka dot paper to the bottom. Then I took an emory board and distressed the paper.


Then I layered on a crinkled order ticket, a calendar sticker, and a cute little rose bundle.


Next, I added a locket and key from the Basically Bare Lovely Locket Set. I covered the chipboard heart with Distress Stain in Picket Fence. Once it was dry, I covered it with Liquitex Glass Bead Gel Medium. Once the gel medium was dry, I inked the beads just slightly with Distress Ink. To make the "keyhole", I covered the acrylic piece with alcohol ink and then stamped over the ink. Lastly, the felt piece was inked the Tsukineko Brilliance Ink in Galaxy Gold.


With all the color on this piece, I decided to leave the key white so it would stand out. All of the pieces layer together wonderfully to create lots of texture and dimension.

With All My Heart

Now that the holidays are over...oh wait, there's another big day just right around the corner, Valentine's Day. Today I have a fun project that's just perfect for the occasion.


I was searching through the clearance bin on my last trip to the craft store and found this wonderful metal heart. Of course it had to come home with me.


To start, I covered the background with a plastic mirror from Darice. Plastic - which means that if my butterfingers drops it, there's no chance of the mirror breaking or seven years of bad luck. :) Next, I covered the outside edge with a ruffled ribbon then added a few flowers and crystals.


Then I added a chipboard locket from the Basically Bare Lovely Locket Set. I inked the chipboard with Distress Ink, ran it through my Cuttlebug to add a bit of dimension, then inked the raised portion just slightly with a darker ink. I left the felt keyhole bare since the white was a nice contrast to the pink locket.

Heart Wall Decor

I have to admit that my all-time fave Basically Bare embellie is the canvas heart. Today I have a fun way to use these little gems.


I started by taking a piece of fabric and drawing hearts with my Zig Wink Of Stella in GL. Dark Pink. The Wink of Stella pen gives just a slight hint of glimmer, which was perfect for this project.


Next, I spritzed the pom-pom trim and the canvas heart with Tattered Angels Glimmer Mist in Viva Pink. This will just add another layer of glimmer.


Now, on to the best part. Once the heart was dry, I stamped it with a simple script stamp. Then I simply sewed it onto the fabric using a simple whip stitch. I don't sew much, so I try to keep it simple when I do. Leaving a small opening at the bottom, stuff the heart with fiberfill stuffing. Then finish sewing around the remainder of the heart.


Pretty sure I've said it before, but I'm a huge fan of instant gratification when making projects. So how's this, it only took about an hour to make this project. Wouldn't this make a wonderful gift for that special someone?