Monday, December 15, 2014

Using Burlap for Crafting

I love the look of burlap but I'll be honest, I'm not crazy about the mess it makes when you work with it.  It leaves little fibers, fuzz and strings all over everything.  Yuck.  But the texture is so cool, isn't it?   Last week I showed you the Ho, ho, ho Christmas Card Holder I made.   Today I'm going to share the picture frame I made as a gift for my good friend Moira.

You know Moi - I went down to Sanibel last August with her and Traci.  You can read about our fun filled trip here.   Moira and I share a passion for decorating with beach themed items, and after she gave me some gorgeous sand dollars a couple of weeks ago, I had an idea of something I wanted to make for her.

First I took an 8" x 10" picture frame and painted it beige....


 I applied a thin coat of watered down Elmer's Glue to both sides of the sand dollars to help make them a little more sturdy.  Sand dollars are so fragile and I've found that I break fewer of them if I coat them with the glue mixture.  Once they dry, you can't even tell.   I took a piece of burlap and cut a piece a little larger than the cardboard insert for the frame.  Then I ironed it out nice and flat.   I pulled out my stencils and some blue paint....

....and stenciled one of our favorite sayings onto the burlap....


Once the paint had dried I attached the burlap to the cardboard insert and put it inside the frame.  Finally I took one of the sand dollars and glued it to the corner of the frame.  I adore the look of stenciled letters on burlap.


So the above frame was made for Moira and then I made this for myself.  I took one of the arrowhead sand dollars she gave me and gave it the Elmer's Glue dip.  Then I took a 4" x 4" frame, painted it beige and simply glued the sand dollar to the back of the frame.   This was a super easy project and it's now standing on a book shelf  in my office.  Isn't the shape of this sand dollar awesome?


I swear it took me longer to clean up all that burlap than it did to make both projects.

26 comments:

  1. Replies
    1. Thanks and its so much fun to work with sand dollars.

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  2. That is an awesome little gift for your friend!

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  3. Awesome job Kim!! I know Moira will LOVE it!!

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  4. It turned out great and it's nice to get a handmade gift that you know she will love. I've never worked with burlap...I don't like the feel of it. lol I like the look...but some textures give me the willys! I woke up thinking about you today. Sweet hugs, Diane

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    1. Thanks Diane .... and everything is good on this end. xo

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  5. Very creative! I've never seen a sand dollar like the one you put in the small frame.

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    1. Those are called arrowhead sand dollars and are more difficult to find. Chablis has found one and I've never found any.

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  6. "Like" it???! I LOVE it!!! Love the burlap, love the saying, love the colors, love the thought behind it. AND I love Kim! It sits where I look at it all of the time. Love the arrowhead in the frame, too. It looks so awesome in the frame. xo

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  7. I love this idea, Kim! Every time you and Moira look upon your sand dollars, you're together again reliving sweet memories!
    Gifts from the heart are always the best!

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  8. Cute! And I agree, the cleanup is worse- all those little fuzzies flying everywhere!
    xo

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    1. LOL - I know, and I don't much care for the way it smells. But it looks so nice.

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  9. I agree that burlap is messy but the look is so cool. Your sand dollar designs are equally cool.... love the pic of that last sand dollar. Awesome!

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    1. Thanks so much - that last sand dollar is my favorite and a real treasure.

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  10. Replies
    1. I always have too much I want to do to take a day off. :-)

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