Modern Floating Frames

I recently came across these Wexel Art acrylic frames on Ohdeedoh and can't get them out of my mind.

They'd be great as a way to hang a collage of items (maybe from your wedding, new baby, travels...) but seem so much more modern to me than doing a shadowbox. Since the frame almost acts like a scrapbook page there no need to worry about having things displayed at different depths... so much simpler!



I also love the idea of splitting a picture with the Rasterbator (mentioned here) and doing a grid of frames with an 8x10 portion of the photo in each one.

Natural Inspiration

Sorry for the spotty posting lately... I'm on vacation in the beautiful west (Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks) and am trying to spend as much time outdoors as possible, soaking it all up.

Isnt it gorgeous here?! I promise to be back full-time next week!

Magnetic Art Idea

While staying at the adorable Boise Guest House, I loved the artwork hanging above the couch in our apartment (Boozer is also enjoying it!):

Looking more closely, I realized that each individual square was actually a painted block (I'm pretty sure it was encaustic-style painting) with magnets on the back... what a cute idea to recreate at home! I love how the squares can easily be moved around, so your artwork can constantly be changing.



This could easily be recreated using a similar magnetic board - I am pretty sure that the metal board in the background is from Ikea, like this one. Get boards like these (I like the 4x4 size) or even some borderless frames and attache some strong magnets to the back. To decorate the squares, different patterned papers or wallpaper scraps would be great, or even just paint them different solid colors and this would also be cute with some favorite photos.

Such a simple (and inexpensive!) idea, but such a big impact... my kind of project!

Business Advice

I've been talking for years (literally years... almost 10!) about wanting to start my own business... and now that I am job-free, it is time to bite the bullet and see what I can do. Its exciting but also scary and overwhelming. Part of what makes it so hard is not knowing how to go about things... so of course I am turning to blogland for some guidance and inspiration. While I dont know anyone in 'real life' that has done what I am trying to do, but it helps to know that there are so many people sharing their stories out there!

Some links I've had bookmarked for a while:

Top to Bottom:
:: Design Sponge's Biz Ladies posts
:: Modish Biz Tips (no longer being updated, but lots of good info there!)
:: Jenny Hart's posts on VenusZine (also older, but her Sublime Stitching is amazing, so have to check it out)
:: Etsy's Blog, The Storque
:: Craft Magazine's Blog

If you have any resources to share, I'd love to hear about them!

Craft Review: Memory Game

I just realized that I never gave an update on the Memory Game I made a while ago (yes, as a Christmas gift!). I originally got the idea here, and as soon as I saw it knew it would be the perfect gift for my 5-year old cousin (really my cousin's child, but 'cousin' is so much easier to say! :).

Instead of different patterns, I used pictures of his family (parents, siblings, grandparents, etc) and their pets as the matching items and some patterned scrapbooking paper as the backing.

The key difference I made from the original idea was to use clear contact paper instead of mod podge. Actually, I used mod podge originally and it was horrible - everything ended up lumpy and kinda stuck together, plus it looked like a kindergarten project. (Ironically, I was making the gift for a kindergartener...) I am not an expert decoupager (is that even a word?!) by any means, so generally have trouble with the stuff (except for this project), so wasn't really surprised. I ended up tearing the paper squares off the wood and starting over and was so happy I did - the contact paper was smooth and shiny and even added a layer of kid-proofing for dirty hands.

I then made a drawstring bag (using this pattern again - always works well!) to house the game. To finish things off, I printed "The Memory Game" and the instructions used some iron-on printer fabric (like this- my local Joann's always has some by the Quilting section) and attached to each side of the bag.


Above is the recipient enjoying his new game. Turned out pretty cute, if I do say so myself!