How to make an Instagram Photo Pumpkin

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Screen shot 2014-09-05 at 11.11.20 PM
Whoa! I’m doing a lot of Halloween tutorials as of late. I guess the Halloween season puts me in a creative mood!  So without further ado, here’s my latest…an Instagram Photo pumpkin. I’m super addicted to Instagram and playing with fun photo filters, so this pumpkin was a no-brainer project for me.  If you are wanting a totally unique, totally you pumpkin or a special pumpkin to give as a gift, this is the pumpkin for you!
What you need:– Small pumpkin
– Laserjet printouts of your instagram photos (I just tiled mine up in my Preview program on my mac)
Note:  I tiled up about 20+ images to cover my small pumpkin
– Scissors or paper cutter
– Collage Pauge Instant Decopauge Medium
– Plate to pour your Collage Pauge onto
– foam brush (if desired)
1. Cut out each of your images from your laserjet sheet. Laserjet works best for this project as the ink doesn’t smear.  Apply a little Collage Pauge to the back of your image.
2. Apply the image onto the pumpkin and adding another coat of Collage Pauge with your finger (or foam brush). Do your best to smooth out any bubbles or wrinkles.

3.  Continue randomly applying your images to your pumpkin, overlapping as you go. I didn’t want to leave any pumpkin areas exposed. I also covered the stem for a cohesive look, but you could also use glitter or paint to embellish the stem. Let the Collage Pauge dry (this will take an hour or so).

Can you believe this pumpkin was that simple?  Yep, you can make and display it in a couple hours.  Notice the little girl in the photo above?  Yep, that’s me circa 1984. And the skull at bottom is a piece by my friend Crafty Chica.

You can use photos of people, things, or your pets. The ideas are endless. You could also just do it entirely in black and white. It’s up to you!

Until next time Swellions!

Alexa

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Colorful Collage Cluster Bottles

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colorful bottles

Here’s a fun and colorful project to finish out summer with! I love bright colors and I love to collage. I thought I’d mix the two along with my love for embellishments to create this easy DIY project. It’s a great way to make something super pretty on the cheap! Here’s how you do it!

1
Gather your supplies. I used various magazines, different sized and cleaned glass jars, Collage Pauge® Instant Decopauge, lid or plate, scissors,brush, and various embellishments including buttons and Tulip® Glam-It-Up!™ Iron-On Crystals™. I also used Aleene’s® Original Tacky Glue, but I forgot to show it in the photo.

2
Cut out various images from magazines. Choose a color scheme like that is in the same color family for the monochromatic look.

3
The magazine clippings shouldn’t be too large, more around .5″ to 1″ in width and height.

4
Dip brush in Collage Pauge® Instant Decopauge and add a layer of medium to both front and back of clipping and adhere to jar.

5
Overlap strips of paper until entire jar is covered.

add buttons
Adorn bottle as desired with embellishments. Let dry.

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I hope you enjoyed this project!

Until next time Swellions!

Alexa

Letter and number decopauge jars

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letter and number decopauge

Here’s a fast and fun decopauge jar idea that looks really cool and graphic. I’m a big sucker for bold letters and numbers. I love large letters for walls and pillows with giant numbers on them. I don’t know what it is…I just love the shapes! I guess my fondness for letters and numbers graphically is attributed to being a graphic designer. I love fonts!

So here’s how you make these cute jars that you can use for storage, change jars, flower vases or fun gift giving!

Letter and number decopauge jars

Supplies:
– jars of your choice (I used marshmallow fluff jars)
– magazine, newspaper, or junk mail clipped letter and numbers
– scissors
– Collage Pauge Instant Decopauge™
– ribbon of your choice
– Aleene’s Original Tacky Glue
– paper plate

Instructions:
1) Thourougly clean jar and remove label or any other dust and debris.

2) Clip out various letters and numbers from magazines. I cut them out in various sizes and fonts in different colors.

3) Squeeze Collage Pauge onto plate. Use finger to apply decopauge medium on front and back of clipped letter. Place on jar and smooth out. Repeat until jar or desired area is covered.

4) Apply Tacky Glue to top of jar and apply ribbon around edge. Let dry.

5) Admire the swell job that you did!!

Hope you enjoyed this project! I know it’s been a long time since I’ve actually had a project (prob. more than month). I’m not sure what happened exactly…I just wasn’t in the mood to craft…I kinda go through spells. Sometimes I’m more in a photographic mood than a craft mood.

Until next time Swellions!

Alexa