Showing posts with label packaging. Show all posts
Showing posts with label packaging. Show all posts

Friday, May 20, 2016

Discarded book Cover Jewelry Displays

A few years ago I learned a dirty secret about some book sales.

Sometimes, after the sale is over, they recycle what does not sell.

This sometimes involves removing all the covers and then recycling the pages inside the book.

All those wonderful book jackets end up getting discarded.

The HORROR!

I was appalled.

But a friend saved several boxes of book covers for me for my art after one such sale.  

This is one of the ways I used the covers.



I used a band saw to put 2 short cuts in the top for the necklace to slide in.

For shows, I slide each one into a cellophane bag to keep them from getting tangled.

I am pleased with saving a few boxes of book covers from the landfill and my jewelry gets a great new display.


I will show you some of the other great projects that came from those book covers later.

What unusual items do you use for display/packaging?

Thanks for stopping by....

Wednesday, April 13, 2016

Workbench Wednesday...making soap

Happy Wednesday.

The project I am sharing today you can find in the Spring 2016 issue of Willow and Sage.

I figured I better share it before the summer issue comes out.


Last summer I spent a morning making melt and pour soaps.


Looking at the pictures, I can almost smell them.


Complete recipes and directions are in this issue of Willow and Sage.


The great thing about melt and pour soaps is how easy they are to make.


And you can use just about any container for a mold as long as you treat it to release the soap.


Once the soap is made, the best part is the packaging.


I wanted my soaps to have a rustic look.


This is the Gardener's Delight bar.


Off to the woodshed for a log....


Then to my husband's garage to use his saw.


I ended up using his drill press too for the holes.


His suggestion and it made the process much easier and faster.


All the rest of the packaging details came from my studio/garage.


Sometimes the prettiest pictures take in the tiniest details.


I gave a bunch of these soaps to my dear friends at work at Christmas time.


Looking at these photos makes me long for summer days.


They will be here before you know it.


In the summer, anyplace is a work area for me, especially outside.


Our days are getting longer.


It is not warm enough consistently to feel like spring is definitely here to stay.


But there are other signs...


Our grass could use a cutting.


In the morning I can hear the birds singing.


Some flowers are coming out and blossoming.

And the fish in our pond come lazily to the surface and swim about.

We are almost there...


To finish the packaging, I made tags for each kind of soap with polymer clay.


I love the way the tags turned out...


I used the silicone molds from a former workbench Wednesday.


And then I just stamped them with tiny alphabet stamps as well.


I used a bit of watered down black paint in the letters to make them stand out.


 And rubbed the tags with some DecoArt Metallic Lustres.


They are among my favorites because I use my fingers and get dirty when I use them.


So, before it is no longer available on the newsstand, run out and pick up ma copy of Willow and Sage Spring 2016 issue to see how to make these and many more fabulous bath and body products.


Wednesday, May 6, 2015

Pretty Packages

 I  love getting mail, don't you?

So recently I wanted to send some homemade beads to an artist I great admire: Lorelei Eurto.

I wanted the box to be a little special too so I decided to dress up the inside of a Small Flat Rate Priority mail box.

I gave it a patchy coat of Chalky Finish Paint from DecoArt in Escape.


While I was at it, I did another one in Serene.


I gathered some toilet paper tubes and a pair of scissors.


I cut each tube into 3 parts.



Then I gave each tube a patchy coat of chalky finish paint in a few colors.


I used a glue gun to glue each tube into the box and then i filled it with some of my favorite beads.


Hopefully she will find something to use in her designs.


I used little pieces of tulle to add some color and fun to the box.


A feather from the chickens topped all the polymer goodness.

I can't wait to see how they end up in Lorelei's designs.

Thanks for stopping by....