Art Abandonment

Have you ever heard of Art Abandonment? Well it's not where you lose all control lol. There are people all over the world who make small pieces of Art and abandon them in different places where they can be found by others and taken home with them. It's the idea of making another persons day a little brighter or happier because they found something that you have made just for them because they are the one who found it. Today's project is about some small pieces of Art that I made out of gourd scraps, but if you don't have any gourd scraps you can make the same thing out of wood.

Items needed for this project:

gourd scraps or pieces of wood
Proxxon Jigsaw
Proxxon Belt Sander
Proxxon Delta Sander
Asst. Alcohol Inks
White Gesso
Black Gesso
PITT Pens
Spray Sealer
Small Gift Bags

I started out by drawing a oblong pattern on a few scrap pieces of gourd. You can also use scrap pieces of wood that you have lying around.

I then cut out the shapes, sanded both the edge and the back and front. Next step was to paint the front of the piece with white gesso and the back with black gesso.

I then decorated the front of the gourd with alcohol inks and PITT pens. This was just my own way of expressing myself. You can do the same thing with different colored alcohol inks if you wish. By putting the gesso down first you can use any of the colors without them soaking into the gourd or piece of wood and the color not coming out right. I also wrote a small note on either the front or the back of the piece and it was finished and spray sealed each piece.

I'm going to place these items in little cellophane bags that I have along with an explanation of what the purpose of the gift is and that it is a gift to whomever finds it and leave them in rather conspicuous places around town for someone to find.
Pretty neat huh? I think it's particularly appropriate at this time of year. What do you think? Have you ever done any Art Abandonment? How did it make you feel? Why don't you go over to the www.proxxon.com website and check out all of the wonderful tools and accessories that they have for sale!

Happy Holidays
Barbara
 

Recycle Paint Stirs to Make a Rustic Christmas Decoration

I get great satisfaction out of recycling odd items and bits and pieces to create projects. This Christmas decoration in made from paint stir sticks that were left over from a long ago painting project.

Gather these supplies:

• 7 paint stir sticks
• Folk Art Painted Finishes (Moss)
• Paint brush
• Odd bits and pieces for tree decorations
• Hot glue gun and glue
• Proxxon Delta Sander
• Proxxon Scroll Saw

Begin by sanding the surface of the paint stirs to remove any lettering using the Proxxon Delta Sander.

Arrange the paint stirs into a Christmas tree configuration, and mark where to cut them to size. My horizontal pieces measure 9", 8", 7", 6", 5", 4", and 2½". The 4" and 2½" pieces were ut from the same stir. The vertical is a full length paint stir. 

Use the Proxxon Scroll Saw to cut the paint stirs to the appropriate lengths. 

Next, paint the stirs using Folk Art Painted Finishes. These paints create texture and dimension, as well as subtle shading. (Note: To get the brown color for the tree truck, I added brown Folk Art Acrylic Paint to the light moss Painted Finishes paint.

When the pieces were dry, I assembled and hot glued them together, deliberately placing the horizontal pieces askew.

I raided my stash to find baubles left from previous projects that could serve as tree ornaments and decorations, and hot glued these to the tree.

The finished paint stir Christmas tree hangs in my kitchen, adding holiday cheer to my notions wall.

Carole

Kids Creations with Proxxon Power Tools

Hi everyone Steph Ackerman here today with some cute reindeer ornaments that are perfect to create with the kiddos.  While you use the power tools, show the kids the correct way to use the tools and have them help put together each ornament.

 

Start by sanding each block of wood with the Delta Sander.

 

Next, use the Precision Rotary Tool to drill holes in each piece.

 

 

Paint each piece with Folk Art Milk Paint in Petticoat.

Have the kids add wiggly eyes and a red pompom for a nose, then wrap a pipe cleaner around each piece to create the reindeer antlers.

Add some wire to create hangers.  Then make bows from red pipe cleaners making some of the ornaments more feminine.

Have the kiddos hang them on the Christmas tree and let them admire their work.

Be sure to expose your kids to power tools so they can see how much fun they are to work with when handled properly.

Thanks for stopping by.

Simple Last Minute Gift

 Hello friends. Larissa here with you today showing you how I made this supe simple last minute gift idea.

I found this little crate in the Dollar Section at my local craft store. The boards were a little loose. I used some glue to straighten them up decided to use it as a cute little container that can actually sit on a desk to hold the gift.

Supplies I used: 

Proxxon Tools Delta Sander

Wood Glue
Plaid Paint BrushPlaid 

FolkArt Ultra Dye 5618 Satin Varnish

Crate container

After gluing all the boards together and it dried I used the Delta Sander and sanded everything smooth. 

I could not decide which color to paint it. The person I am giving it to has a lot of natural wood pieces in her house. Everything is white and natural. So I decided to just add some satin dye to it to give it a nice finish and leave it the natural color. 

I filled the crate up with a favorite glue and will place it in a cute gift bag. 

When you don't have a lot of time for a last minute gift these little crates are perfect. You could also fill them with candy or even Tea Bags. My friend is a crafter and uses glue like cazy so this was perfect. 

Hope you enjoyed my post today. Have a Merry Christmas everyone.

Larissa Pittman 

www.muffinsandlace.com

Christmas/Winter Pins/Brooches made from Gourds?

Hello everyone! I hope everyone is enjoying the Holiday Season. If you wear Christmas/Winter Pins/Brooches, I would like to show you some that I created and let you know how easy it is to make them.

The items needed for this project are:

Proxxon Jig Saw
Proxxon Delta Sander
Gourd Scraps/Wood Scraps
Acrylic Paints
Black Marker
Embossing Enamel
Pin Backs
Embellishments
Spray Sealer

This really is an easy project to do. I used gourd scraps but you could just as easily use some light weight 1/4 in. wood.

I however used gourd scraps and my trusty Proxxon Jig Saw to cut 2 circles and an ornament shape. If you look close, you can see the circle. Once the shapes were cut out, I used my Proxxon Delta Sander to smooth the back and sides of the pieces and then used my paint to cover the front, side and back of the pieces. I then used my embossing enamel to cover the front and sides of the pieces. When they cooled off, I used my markers and paint to finish my designs and spray sealed them. Once dry, I glued the backs on and also the little embellishments. This is the result:

I plan on wearing everyone of them at one time or another during the Christmas Season and also during the Winter. They didn't take very long to make but they sure are cute!

Barbara

Rustic Snowman Christmas Ornament Tutorial

Hi everyone! Tammy here with you today with a fun rustic Christmas ornament tutorial. I love Christmas time and making ornaments has always been a family tradition in our home. This year we have a rustic theme for our Christmas tree and this fun snowman ornament fits perfectly! 

This is how I made it...

Supplies:

Proxxon Model Building and Engraving Set

Wood pieces

Ribbon

Fine tip Sharpie marker

Directions:

Use a medium size drill bit and create small holes in the top of a small piece of wood, two holes in the middle piece, 

and one hole in the top of the bottom pieces of wood.

String ribbon through the holes and tie double knots to hold the wood pieces together.

Add decoration to the wood pieces with the Sharpie and hang on your tree! 

I love how this turned out! It really goes with our theme this year. I hope this shows you how easy it it to use the Proxxon Model Building and Engraving Set to create Christmas ornaments of your own.

Let's be friends!

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Standing Wooden Christmas Angel

Christmas is such a festive time of the year!! I just love creating decorations, especially ones that can be used for many years to come. This wooden angel is one such decoration.

Here are the supplies you'll need to make your own angel:

• 1/8" craft plywood
• Round toothpick
• Sandpaper of various grits (150-220-440)
• Quick dry craft adhesive
• Acrylic paint
• Small paint brush
• Glitter

I used these Proxxon tools:

• Scroll Saw DS 115/E
• Delta Sander OZI/E
• Professional Rotary Tool IB S/E

The pattern originally was designed for paper arts, but I felt that it would easily translate to wood. After printing the pattern, I covered the wood surface with painter's tape. Next, I sprayed the back of the pattern with spray adhesive, and put that on top of the painter's tape. The spray adhesive holds the pattern in place, and the painter's tape makes removing it a breeze.

I cut out the angel using the scroll saw.

I used the Delta sander to sand the surfaces of the angel. I started with 220 grit sandpaper and finished with 440 grit. (NOTE: Depending on the surface condition of your wood, you may need to begin with a courser grit sandpaper, i.e. 150 grit, before proceeding with the finer grits.) I manually sanded the detail line in the wing with a piece of 440 grit sandpaper.

Surface sanding with the Delta sander

Manually sanding wing detail

You could drill a small hole at the top of the angel's head for hanging as an ornament. But I wanted it to stand, so I drilled a small hole the size of a round toothpick at the bottom of the angel to form a support stand.

Drilling hole for toothpick support

Close up of support stand

Next, glue the toothpick support in place. Then, paint the angel with acrylic paints. On one of my angels, while the paint was still wet, I liberally dusted it with glitter. Use your own ideas and creativity to  finish your angels.

These standing wooden angels will be part of our Christmas celebrations for years and years.

Carole

Christmas Wall Hanging

Hi everyone Steph Ackerman here today with a Christmas Wall Hanging.  Now that Thanksgiving has passed, it's time to start thinking about Christmas.

I started with a sheet of plywood that I cut with the Scroll Saw.  After some light sanding with the Delta Sander, I stained the panel with Folkart Ultra Dye Paint in Emerald City.  Of course it needed some additional sanding so I used the Delta Sander again to sand it down.

 

I dry painted some Plaid Milk Paint in Petticoat across the panel.  Next, I used the Precision Rotary Tool to create holes in the panel so I could add string.  Then I used modeling paste with a Clearsnap Artscreen  to create a pattern of swirls on the panel.

I painted Paverpol on a burlap strip then used additional Paverpol to adhere the burlap strip to the panel. 

 

In the corners I used the Crafter's Workshop stencil with molding paste, then continued adding assorted elements - die cuts, flowers, resin bits, additional stenciling, etc, until I was happy with the panel. 

I then painted a layer of gesso over the entire panel, leaving some of the green background showing.

Once dry, I added selective colors about the panel using Tattered Angels Glimmer Mists, Plaid Milk Paints and Prima Metallique Paints.

 

I decided I did not like the "Past Present Future" in the center of the panel, so I used the Delta Sander to remove the words.  I replaced them with a stamped and die cut phrase.

 

Finally, I added a second layer of reindeers and Christmas stocking die cuts.  To the stockings, I added some white paint.   I created a clay element from Makin's Clay using a Prima mold, painted it with Prima Metallique Gold, then placed it under the pointsettias.  I also created a clay wreath, placing it on the hearth above the stockings.  A red pearl was added to the lead reindeer.

 

A touch of gold painted around the panel added some vibrancy to the panel.

Why not try using a wood panel today.  It's the perfect blank canvas that can be use for so many projects.

Thanks for stopping by.