Scrap wood and recycled furniture cabinet

I used to make lots of furniture back in my Industrial Design days but hadn't in a long time. But with my crazy shoe phase I was in need of a cabinet/shelf to put the collection. I will admit to looking at the almighty Ikea but the space I had available was a very small specific size and nothing pre-made was going to work. So what's a girl to do? Why make it her d*mn self! So of to the scrap bin! (along with one of the panels from a 3 panel screen I had in storage that I currently didn't have space for. This is the outcome. I attached a bit of tracing paper to the inside of the screen to keep the dust out. Fits perfectly and works great!

If you too like to make furniture out of scraps and stuff check out this awesome new book simply packed with great designs and tutorials!

PlyDesign: 73 Distinctive DIY Projects in Plywood (and other sheet goods)
by
Philip Schmidt

From the publisher Story Publishing:
"PlyDesign presents 73 ideas for sleek, smart home furnishings that you can make from off-the-shelf sheet materials using only basic hand and power tools. With designs contributed by more than 50 creative builders across North America, the projects include tables, stools, workstations, benches, laptop stands, shelves, art panels, organizers, headboards, doghouses, dollhouses, and more. A photo of each finished project is accompanied by a list of needed tools and materials, cutting and assembly diagrams, and clear step-by-step instructions."

Creating with inspiration from the book The Collage Workbook

I love creating things that take a minute to figure out. Today I stuck with one of my favorite "slightly off" themes and used a bit of inspiration from the book The Collage Workbook: How to Get Started and Stay Inspired to create my latest mix-media altered book page. If you know your Roman numerals and police codes you will get it. If you scroll down I will tell you if you don't know these two topics.

 Have you figured it out????

OK I'll tell you. the roman numerals are 5150 which is the police code for 72 hour psychiatric hold (AKA-crazy!)

As you can see I have used this as a cross stitch and as the prompt in The Collage Workbook: How to Get Started and Stay Inspired suggests using numbers in creating, what better number...or is it letters really? Letters representing numbers? Another layer in the mystery.....

All I did was go through magazines and cut the letters out "ransom" style and glue them on a page that also contains an interesting idea all be it a little "off" shall I say and maybe even appropriate for the number designation????? Hmmmmmm.

If you too like creative prompts to help guide you I bet you will like The Collage Workbook: How to Get Started and Stay Inspired as much as I do!

More about the book from the publisher Lark Crafts:
The Collage Workbook: How to Get Started and Stay Inspired
by
Randel Plowman

"Both a popular hobby and a recognized art form, collage encompasses a wide range of creative styles and techniques--explored here by the creator of the popular A Collage a Day blog. Offering step-by-step instruction, visual inspiration, and even a library of copyright-free images, this hands-on guide covers all the necessary materials, tools, and know-how, from adding color and transferring images, to décollage (tearing away layers). And to spark the reader's imagination, there are 52 creativity prompts, such as a collage using the letters of a single word.

Randel Plowman is the founder of the popular blog A Collage A Day (http://acollageaday.blogspot.com). His art has been exhibited in solo and juried exhibitions throughout the United States and abroad; cited in The New York Times and USA Today; featured in How Design, Artist Magazine, and Somerset Studio; and graced the covers of numerous books. Randel resides in Madison, Wisconsin."

How to transform a plain tank top for 4th of July with Simply Spray fabric paint

This could not be any easier!

I rarely wear white because I am always making something and some part of it inevitably gets on me. So when I have a white garment I see it as a canvas and what goes better on a canvas then paint!

Like last week's post I am in full on 4th of July decorating mode so I thought I'd try painting a tie die style flag on this tank top with a bit of red and blue Simply Spray fabric paint. I just free formed it! I love how the wrinkles add to the tie die effect.