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Finished Small Cabinet

A Curious Little Cabinet

Finished Smal lCabinet
As we have said before we like for the pieces of our lives to mesh together into a seamless whole. That is a work in progress but at least today we can claim some some progress on that front.

 

We had made some Orange Spice Room Spray and wanted a small cabinet in which to keep our essential oils. We have worked on small cabinets before as a way organize and keep safe lots of small collectibles. These cabinets came from Michael’s and it would be great if they brought them in again sometime. All we needed to do to the cabinet below was to print decorative paper from Dover Publications’ Art Nouveau Floral and Animal Designs CD-ROM & BOOK, cut it precisely to fit each section and glue it in place using a spray adhesive. The papers go well with the collection of sample perfume bottles and talc tins we have collected over time.

 

Art Nouveau Cabinet WEB
The second one was accomplished using the same idea. We used scrap-booking papers that we bought at Michael’s for the background in this cabinet. We wanted a more masculine look in this cabinet with it’s collection of sample medicine bottles and small tins so we used prints of old postcards and handwriting.Traveling Cabinet WEB

 

We wanted something small and lightweight for our essential oils cabinet in case we wanted to hang it on the wall. We actually found several likely candidates from our usual source (yard sales) and thought this would help us try out more than one idea.

 

The smallest cabinet came with candles and essential oils in it so we knew we were on the right track.
Original White CabinetWEB
We took the back off of it and took out the shelves. We decided to change out the shelves to glass and put in three shelves instead of two. We cut up the original shelves to make supports for the glass shelves and glued them to the sides.

 

Brackets In Cabinet WEB
We traded out the plain glass in the door for an antique looking seedy glass. Look for pretty glass for small projects in stained glass shops – we just happen to be lucky enough to own one – Jomoco Studio.

 

We wanted some antique looking paper for the back of the cabinet and discovered some really cool looking stickers from Tim Holtz that gave us the look we wanted.
PlayingWithCabinetBackgroundWEB
We used a de-glosser to prime the surface for painting then painted two coats of chalk paint. Since the cabinet was white the first coat needed to be a dark brown and we decided on a creamy off-white for the second coat. Then we gave the the edges a light sanding to reveal the dark brown. A light sanding is all that is needed otherwise you might sand through the brown.
Small items like this cabinet only need a wax finish to protect the surface. We wanted a lightly aged effect but nothing too grungy looking. We started with a clear wax to keep the next coat of brown wax from getting too deeply into the grain of the surface. Apply each coat of wax with a small rag wiping with the grain or in a circular motion.  For the last coat we worked in a coat of white wax which evened out the brown wax and made our piece look complete. Allow this to dry and buff lightly.
All that was left to do was to glue the back on to the cabinet, remount the door on it’s hinges and put a catch on the door.
Putting The Door Back On Cabinet

 

We’re very pleased with the final result. HOWEVER, we could not fit ALL of our essential oils in this cabinet, so now it’s up for sale in the shop and it’s on to the next one!

 

Smal lCabinet Finished Inside
Harry Potter finished "Painting"

From a Print to a “Painting”

Today we’re going to show you how we take a print and make it look like a painting on canvas. To demonstrate the final result, here’s our Harry Potter Destination Sign canvas:

Harry Potter finished canvas

 

You will need:

  • Antique style frames and canvases to fit them
  • Images from Dover Publications or unframed prints.
  • Mod Podge Gloss Waterbased Sealer, Glue & Finish
  • 1″ paint brush
  • pencil
  • ruler or yardstick
  • print-making ink brayer or soft foam paint roller
  • scrap wood blocks

 

We chose the prints for our Dragonologist’s Parlor that we’re sure any self respecting wizard who was interested in dragons would have chosen for his or her parlor. We found our images in several titles from Dover Publications. We recommend these titles for great magical images:
Dover Publications 120 Great Paintings CD-Rom and Book
Dover Publications 120 Great Victorian Fantasy Paintings CD-Rom and Book
Dover Publications 120 Great Orientalist Paintings CD-Rom and Book

Our Dragon Print
Our Dragon Print

 

The next step is to find old frames, especially ones that have extra sculpting at the corners, antique style. If they have canvases in them then so much the better. It is easier to find a canvas to fit a frame than it is to find an antique style frame to fit a canvas.

 

Once we have a frame and canvas, we then choose an image that furthers our design theme. You may have to find a copy center that will work with you to size and print color copies of your chosen images. Note: Printing your own images is less expensive than mounting prints purchased over the internet. Also the thinner paper used by copy centers works better than the heavier and higher quality paper of most commercially available prints. (We are lucky here in our studio that we have a large format plotter that we can use to print anything we want.) You will need to print the image so that it covers the canvas completely while cutting off as little of the image as possible.

 

The next step is to lightly coat your print with clear polyurethane spray. Mist it lightly with the polyurethane alternating from front to back allowing it to dry before flipping each time. This is to help stabilize both the paper and ink.

 

Once dry, mark out the edges of the canvas on the back of the print with a pencil where you want your canvas to go. Allow another inch outside of that for enough paper to wrap to the back of the canvas, then trim the paper.

Trimming the Print
Dang, this print is a little tight – you want to give it a bit more room.

 

Now get prepared to move quickly on this next step because Mod Podge dries in 15 to 20 minutes. Coat your canvas with Mod Podge Waterbase Sealer Glue & Finish. (We prefer the Glossy option – it seems to work better for this project.) Lay your print face down on the table and place the coated canvas on your penciled placement lines. Turn the whole thing over and gently roll out any wrinkles with an ink brayer or soft foam paint roller, working from the middle to the corners. The idea is to smooth out wrinkles gently so your wet image doesn’t get rubbed off. Allow your piece to dry thoroughly.

 

Next, we’re going to do the edges in two phases. First, coat the longer sides and a just bit around the corners of your canvas with the Mod Podge. Glue the paper to the longer sides, smoothing out wrinkles as you go.

Mod Podging An Edge Folding the Print Edges 1 Folding the Edges 3

On the ends, fold in the corners of your paper (like a present – see our picture) to stick the paper to the shorter edge corners.

Folding the Edges 2

You might want to place blocks or heavy books along the edge to help the print dry to the edges of the canvas properly. (The voice of experience says to be careful not to get any glue on your props.) After those two edges are dry, glue down the shorter edges.

Lastly, coat any remaining paper that might be standing up taller than the canvas edges and fold it down onto the back and weight it with the books or blocks to help it dry in place.

Once your paper is mounted coat it with another coat of Mod Podge. If you brush back and forth with small short brushstrokes you can make your print look more like a painting. Some of the canvas texture will also show through which adds a nice touch.

Secure your dried canvas in your frame and hang on your parlor wall! Or you can hang the unframed canvas if you are going for a more updated look.

Oak Gall Ink finished project

Oak Gall Ink

Marble Oak GallHave you got that quill pen ready, but are missing some ink? Here we will tell you how to make your own seriously-medieval Oak Gall Ink. You do want the real deal, right?

 

 

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Essential Oils for Orange Spice Room Spray

Orange Spice Room Spray made with Essential Oils

Essential Oils for Orange Spice Room Spray

Commercially made room freshener sprays are full of harsh chemicals and can cause allergic reactions in some people. That and they can be cloyingly sweet or soapy smelling. It is one of our fundamental beliefs that homemade is better than store bought most of the time. Making our own scents lets us customize the scents we use and can be very inexpensive. Did you know that the Lady of a Medieval household was expected to know how to create many of the perfumes and cleaners used in the house? That is yet another fascinating subject we could pursue.

This Orange Spice Room Spray is similar to a scent once made by Ralph Lauren and is pleasant as a room spray year round, and when the holidays roll around it suddenly smells especially Christmas-y.

One of our favorite companies that sells essential oils, Mountain Rose Herbals, is in the picture. You can find them HERE.

Ingredients:
1.5 oz. good quality vodka,
1.5 oz. distilled water,
12 drops sweet orange essential oil
12 drops lemon essential oil
4 drops cinnamon leaf essential oil
2 drops clove bud essential oil
2 drops star anise essential oil
2 drops cedar essential oil
2 drops sage essential oil

 

Supplies:
4 oz. spray bottle with fine mister
rubber gloves
small funnel

 

Some of us also have a hard time hitting the mouth of the bottle when trying to add drops of essential oil to the mix. This is where the small funnel comes in handy. Our tiny funnel came with a flask and they also make them for use with perfumes. Put the funnel in the mouth of the bottle and add all of the ingredients. That’s all there is to it.  Be sure to label the bottle and add the instructions to shake well before using. Enjoy!

See our post about creating a suitable cabinet for storing your essential oils.

Hibiscus-&-Spiced-Simple-Syrup

Manifesting and Mixing Simple Syrup

Hibiscus and Spiced Simple Syrup

 

Time for a little mixology! We wanted to DIY a pint of Butterbeer as well as nail down some Red Potion from World of Warcraft. So Step 1 was mixing up a few batches of what’s called simple syrup – basically sugar dissolved in water. Here’s what we enjoyed:READ MORE

Vanilla Vodka Ingredients

Making Vanilla Extract & Infusions (Vanilla Vodka)

Vanilla Vodka Ingredients
Both of these projects use vanilla beans. They demonstrate what can be done at home to make you own extracts and how to go about it.
Buy the best vanilla beans that you can find. Look for ones that are not too dried out or brittle. You want to be able to cut them open to expose the “caviar.” This refers to the seeds and the moisture surrounding them and that is what is going to flavor your creations.

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DIY Stevia Sweetener

Stevia plant
Here’s how we learned to make our own Stevia sweetener:
Ingredients:
1 Cup fresh Stevia leaves (dried will work but has more tendency to turn out bitter)
2 Cups Vodka
1 Pint Ball jar
strainer
funnel
basket shaped coffee filter (keep these on hand for just this reason)
saucepan
spoon
2oz. to 4oz. eyedropper bottles (save the bottles from store bought Stevia sweetener)
Put your Stevia leaves in the pint jar and pour the vodka over them making sure that they are covered by the liquid. Put the lid on the jar and date it. That is to remind you to come back to your project in two days. Leaving the leaves in the vodka longer may make the sweetener turn out bitter. Strain the now green vodka through a strainer into a saucepan and heat gently. Watch the liquid and don’t let it come to a boil – stir it and reduce the heat as soon as it shows signs of bubbling. Stir it over low heat until it is reduced by about half. This will make the liquid thicker and burn off most of the alcohol.
Allow your creation to cool, then strain through the stainer, coffee filter and funnel into your small bottles. Label and date, use and enjoy!
If you enjoyed this project, you can learn more about herbal mixtures HERE.