June 15, 2010

Tuesday's Tips & Techniques: Altered Clothespin


 This is my latest altered clothespin. I just love altering these for holding notes, photos and RECIPES!
I've seen these clothespins at Joann's, Michael's and Hobby Lobby and they are only about a dollar! It is really fun to alter them, here's how I did this one.
I used some brown Maya Mist to tint the raw wood. Easy and fun but VERY MESSY! My fingertips were all brown by the end so now I know to wear gloves;)
I have also used paint and a brush to tint the wood, like I did on this one:




I had to wait about two days for the Maya Mist to dry...southern humidity is a little thick around here right now...




Next, I chose some adorable apple paper from Cookbookin' and then used my favorite measuring system to mark the paper for trimming. Y'all know how much I love to measure!
More messy fun here. I was wearing a nice BLACK shirt while I distressed the edges with Heidi Swapp's handy little tool. Now that I am writing this I realize I should have taken a photo of my shirt to include here for the "what not to do" section.
I adhere my paper strips with good old Mod Podge. Once I had adhered the papers I decided to switch the paper on one of the sides so I could kinda switch up the look:
Now, I used a solid strip of paper on this one so my clothespin sections don't really show but since I planned to cover much of the paper with embellishments, I didn't take the time. Sometimes I do use two strips of paper, totally personal preference.
Speaking of embellishments...I began by grabbing a Prima flower that I had already inked for another project (this beauty landed on the cutting room floor...). I used some red & white gingham ribbon to tie a bow and then I glued it on with my favorite glue for attaching fabrics:
I wasn't really sure where I was going to put the flower until I put on the bow. I wanted at least some of the chickens to show so I chose the center of the bow:
Next up I chose some Maya Road chipboard to cover with more Cookbookin' paper. I inked the backs as they will show for the opposite side.
I adhered the chipboard to the wrong side of the patterned paper. 
 Once the glue was good and dry I cut the excess paper off with a craft knife. What is your favorite craft knife? I am not sure if it is me or my craft knife but I am willing to try another brand...any suggestions?
Next I sanded the edges and inked them before gluing onto my clothespin.
I used some My Little Shoebox letters to label my clothespin with "My Recipe." Then I added the MR pins to the bow...it just needed a little more.
Time to turn the entire thing over!
I used the same ribbon but tied it simply with a piece of floss. Then I chose one of my favorite Cookbookin' sticker embellishments for the center, added a brown MR pin and a piece of inked ric rack finished off the bottom.

Cute, don't you think!


 

5 comments:

Lolis on June 15, 2010 at 2:09 PM said...

Very cute pins! Great tutorial. I have been looking for pins like these to alter but I haven't found any. The apple paper is very cute!

Betty Anne on June 16, 2010 at 6:20 PM said...

Fantastic tutorial, I will have to watch for the clothes pins and give it a try.

Tara on June 17, 2010 at 9:32 AM said...

Just wonderful Krisite, I just love your tutorials.

Unknown on June 17, 2010 at 9:36 AM said...

very cute! tfs!

Joan on June 17, 2010 at 6:39 PM said...

This clothespin is sooo pretty! I love the look of the inked flower.

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