Tropicana Seals: A tip that might work for some of you Tropicana orange juice drinkers.

Don't think I've seen this on SS before. When you open the OJ carton, there is a little ring. When you pull it up you get a little disc that if you trim off the ring would be just about right for a plate. I've been saving them lately and plan to paint designs on them for my in-law kitchen.

Grace Shaw

Tropicana Seals: There's another use for these Tropicana safety seals. Wouldn't they make the perfect lids for kitchen trash cans? I've been saving them for this purpose.

Mary in MS

I also have been saving tops and rings, but from Mocha Mix cartons. The rings make good embroidery hoops, cut a cardboard to fit the middle and put it together with the cloth, which will wedge it in the ring. The discs I get are funnel shaped more or less, you can sand off the point to make a nice tapered bowl.

Rhoda Conley

Fall Projects: It's a beautiful Fall, here in the Northwest. The trees are brighter colors than usual. If you have Fall leaves in your area you may want to try this. Jill, one of the MEOW members in Olympia, made everyone in our club a basket full of Fall leaves for one of our Christmas exchanges. She gathered leaves, then punched out hundreds of them, with a maple leaf shaped paper punch, allowed them to dry naturally, and they curled just as the large ones do. Use several shades of leaves.

Yesterday I bought some late corn, from a local vender, the silk was thick and beautiful, starting at the bottom of the cob, and right out through the top. After cutting off the brown part at the top. I carefully removed the silk, laid it on a screen and set it atop the fridge. Today it was dry enough so it wouldn't stick to my hands, yet pliable to shape into things, like raffia streamers, and to wrap around rubber washers, to make wreaths. It might even be good for a thatched roof. I'm thinking of shredding corn husks with a ribbon shredder, to use in Halloween scenes. I love Fall.

MAP in Puyallup

Laundry basket: A laundry basket can be made out of a badminton birdie-- you cut it out with handles after taking off the rubber ball and base and then you have to add a bottom or put clothes in it to hide the bottom.

Marlene Chapman (Kingston, Ontario)

Chrysnbon China: For the heck of it I put a fingernail decal (local beauty supply shop) on a plate then used clear, pearlized nail polish. The result was startling. It might be worth a try for you. I applied Rub & Buff, antique gold to the finished edge.

Becky

Out-Of-Scale Silverware: use your out-of-scale silverware for decorative purposes. I bought a large old graniteware spoon once that had a raffia bow at the top and moss and roses in the bowl of the spoon. It hung in my full-size kitchen for a very long time, and I've had a miniature one hanging in my wallhanger kitchen for almost as many years. Try painting/spattering yours to look like graniteware, or paint matte black for ironware. In addition, you might make a series of hooks and hang them next to an old-fashioned cookstove or fireplace. I remember my grandmother having really big forks, ladles and spoons hanging next to her wood cookstove.

Wanna in El Paso

Out-Of-Scale Silverware Ideas:

1. Lose it in the food you are making. The spoons can be placed so that only the handle sticks out of a dessert, cereal , ice cream etc and the bulk of the length can be "lost" inside the food or cut off the bowl part of the spoon. Knives can be "lost" in a turkey or cake, forks in any food. That may not be what you intended when you bought them but the illusion is the same.

2. Another idea is to decorate the silver with tiny flowers and such and hang them on the wall in a kitchen.

3. Or use a set as Salad Bowl servers they are at least 12 inches in real life.

Gail Spector

Sealing Paper: J. Hermes makes "Super Sealer" which is brushed on and dries to a gloss. I have used it on floors quite often.

Also if you cut art work from catalogues, you can glue it to cardboard or mat board, brush on the sealer and before it dries rebrush to imitate artists strokes or "pounce" on it with a fine sponge and it looks very authentic when framed.

When I use real wallpaper, I use real paste. Some of the papers are so thick that dh paste doesn't seem to do the job.

Dani

Cranberry Glass: For anyone who's interested - I sell a selection of high quality cranberry glassware through my website. http://www.littlebylittle.co.uk

Karon Storer

Paper, Matboard and Foamcore: First off, get Joann Swanson's books "Granny's Kitchen" and "Joann's Do It Yourself." Both books will get you on your way. After that, just looking at the stuff that Adam did, miniatures like 1/4" scale motorcycles, airplanes, jeeps and stuff that were made out of paper and I was hooked. His stuff was fantastic. Very realistic. Had no idea they were paper until he told me. After that I just started practising. I use matboard and foamcore to make my roomboxes, tables, fireplaces, etc., painted to simulate wood, stucco, metal or whatever. I make faux rooms with pictures, 3D by layering several pictures together in strategic spots, and bending in the right place. Really looks great when looking through a door to another room. Lot's of work, very time consuming, but it sure looks realistic when viewing. Takes up less space because instead of another room you have the illusion of another room. I'm one that really loves the illusion of the whole thing. THANKS JOANN, you really started me on my way with that. She had an article on a bridal shop one day that had paper dresses hanging bent just so, that you would have thought were dresses. I always add stuff to them like ribbons, etc. that add some dimension. So there you have it for anyone interested. It really just takes jumping in there and trying it.

Kathy in E. TN

Bird food: Last year my brother made me a lovely bird feeder, a friend gave me the most wonderful little bird (yes, I know, I am lucky). So I just collected some seeds from different wildflowers. Poppies are very good, the really look the right size, and the seed comes in different colors, light and dark and sort of yellowish. I took some different sizes and shapes from other plants.  I’m sorry I don't know the English names of the other plants, as they are not in the dictionary. But just look around and mix the lot. I find my mixture looks very realistic.

Birthe

Bird Seed: I have in the past used the birdcage gravel; it is tan with various colors light and dark mixed in, and over the years it does not become infested with little critters.  I also use the birdcage gravel for texture in dips made with acrylic medium gel and acrylic paint. 

Margie

Egg Carton Uses: After you use up all those eggs for mosaics, the cartons are terrific for stones and planters. Coffee trays from Dunking Donuts also have great texture for stones and give you a nice variety.

Planters, Vases, Bowls, Wall Sconces, etc

DecoArt's Patina It 'Colonial Green' or 'Teal Green', Apple Barrel 'Pure Bronze', Aleene's 'Hunter Green'. You can use almost the whole egg carton. There's a part along the side that makes about 10 wall sconces. There's large planters, the part sticking up in between the eggs makes wonderful vases and bowls, and the top and anything that you aren't using for bowls makes stones.

Some of the shapes you cut out will have the pebbled surface on the inside, others will have it on the outside. Try to sand away any seams if you can. I put a basecoat of DecoArt's Patina It 'Teal Green' over the whole pot then with the flat part of the brush I hit the high spots on the textured/pebbled side with Apple Barrel 'Pure Bronze'. For the ones that I want to be able to leave empty for bowls, I put a thin coat of Aleene's 'Hunter green' over the Teal and when that is dried (it dries funny cause it settles). I put on about 6 heavy coats of clear nail polish (just on the smooth unbronzed side) to cover the smooth linenlike texture. On the flat dish that I'm going to use for a bonsai dish, the smooth side is on the outside.

Stones, White, Black, 1/2' wide flat brush (old Loew-Cornell 7300 size 12 was what I used) Use an old brush because if you're doing a lot of stones it will get ruined. Put out a good sized (half dollar size) puddle of white, a much smaller puddle(nickel size) of black. Pick up a lot of white and spread all over the stone, then with the same brush, pick up a tiny bit of black and put a smear or two on the stone and sort of blend them slightly, just pull the brush across a few times you can even do slight patterns by wiggling the brush. It's really simple - after you've done one or two it becomes easy.

Jean in Maine

Texturizing Catalog Prints for artwork: Scan the pictures into the computer, then using something like Photoshop apply a gausian blur effect or maybe use the "finger Smudge" tool to simulate brush strokes . Then print the picture out on your computer printer.

Marc

Texturizing Catalog Prints for artwork:: I liked Marc's reverse engineering answer to you about adding "brush strokes" in Paint Shop or similar programs. I would also have you check out your local computer paper supply store as there are some textured papers which might add something different to the "look" of your artwork. If you are going for Old Masters, give them a coat of gloss protective spray as they were all into varnish finishes. If they are supposed to be watercolors...non gloss. For modern art: buy canvas board, cut it into sections and paint your own originals in acrylic paints.

Laurie

Texturizing Catalog Prints for artwork: Cut all the pictures you want out (this will invariably be more than you can ever use!). Paste them to a thin piece of acid free mat board scrap. I use a piece of about 8" X 10" mat board, but any size will do. You can paste dozens of pictures to an 8 X 10 piece. I use Elmer's white glue for this paste job. Then, coat all your photos with artists acrylic gel medium. I use Hyplar Hygel. This product dries clear. I use three coats and texturize the final coat. To do this, wait until the coat is tacky and use a tiny brush following the shapes in the "painting". Or, as I do more often, texturize by gently touching your finger all over the tacky surface in overlapping fashion. Your fingerprints create a very effective "all over" pattern. Gel medium dries clear but can be mixed with a tiny bit of burnt umber coloring if you want a dark antiqued finish. It's a good idea to cut out your "paintings" to standard frame sizes if you can, that way you can use commercially made frames for them. Remember too, that it is easy to have your whole "page" of glued down photos reduced or enlarged to use in smaller or larger scales. I did this when I wanted paintings for my 1/2" house.

Darlene from LI

Making Plate Decals: I make colour photocopies of plates reduced to the right size. They must be full face on, bright and clear. Of course, if you want a dinner service, and not just plates to hang on the wall, then you must make bowl-size copies and side-plate-sized copies, as well. I paint these with decoupage transfer medium, 2 coats, leave to dry and then cut them out VERY accurately. I then soak them overnight or longer (they take no harm left for weeks). I rub the paper off the back of the photocopied plates leaving a thin transfer. I slide this onto the wet plates with deco varnish, position it, smooth out any bubbles with a wet brush and then leave them to dry. Three coats of deco varnish, with drying time between, finishes them off with a shiny finish.

Barbara B

Office items (accessories): pencil cup, stapler, tape dispenser, hand cream, scissors, calculator, task light, rulers, file folders, file folder holders, in and out trays, telephone, diskettes and holders, calendar, phone and address books, small rotary file, garbage can, letterhead, paperclip dispenser, extra chair for client, flowers in pots or vases, tissue box, clock, mailing supplies, blank paper, graphs and charts, pictures and personal items sitting on desk and computer.

Sandy in Alberta

Japanese lanterns: I am a cake decorator in my other life, and I saw a picture of a cake decorated in an oriental theme. It had paper lanterns on it made from the little paper parasols that come in cocktails. They had taken the stem off of two parasols and glued them open. Then they glued the two open parasols together to give a kind of lantern shape. I think it might be too big if you did it with full parasols, but perhaps you could carefully cut the parasols down before you glued them together. You could even change the silhouette of the lantern by how open they are when you glue .

Kellie in Omaha