Town and Country Style by Kathy

Chic Wooden Angels with Lace, Ribbon and Bling

May 7, 2021 townandcountrykathy

Hi Everyone!

Do you need ideas for making and embellishing Angels? My Mom made the following angels out of some scrap wood from an old wooden fence and deck. The shorter angel, was stained brown and then I used crackle medium and ivory paint to put texture on her.

I had to do the crackle in sections. I painted the front first, then the sides and then the back. The crackle medium I used was VALSPAR from Lowes. You paint it on and then wait for 1-2 hours. I only waited one hour. Then I used a very large paint brush and swiped on my ivory paint. You can’t go back and put more paint very easily, so load up your brush heavily and preferably make one swipe across or down your project. The more crackle medium and paint you use generally means the larger your cracks will be.

I immediately used a blow dryer on the paint to speed up the crackle process. (Yes, I am impatient.) Don’t stress, because if you mess up, just start over with your base coat and add crackle again. (Also do this if you have a portion that just doesn’t “take”.)

After she dried, I sprayed two coats of clear sealer on her. Back in the 90’s I crackle painted plastic pot plant holders. It worked great. But I didn’t seal them and it rained unexpectedly overnight and all the crackle washed away. (I had to redo all that hard work) So I learned my lesson. Always seal crackle paint if it will sit outside in the weather. These Angels may or may not be garden angels so I just wanted to be prepared.

Then I added bling to her. I wanted both of these Angels to look chic rather than my customary rustic farmhouse style. Hope you like them. I choose lace ribbons, sheer organza type ribbons and also any that had shimmer on them. I then added some paper flowers that already came with shimmer and then the pièce de ré·sis·tance was the Tim Holtz brooch in the middle of her bow.

The taller, slimmer Angel was made from a narrower piece of scrap wood. I asked my followers on Facebook if I should crackle paint or leave her sister as is. I had votes both ways. So for this Angel, I left her “as is”, which is stained brown.

I added some of the same ribbons, except added some rhinestone ribbon too. I added paper flowers around her head. These paper flowers did not have any shimmer or sparkle when I bought them. So I added some Diamond Dust to each flower. These flowers then coordinated well with the bling on her bow. I wish the pictures did the sparkle justice.

I moved her around in my house to take pictures. I think she likes my entrance way the best.

Hope you like our glitzy but classy wooden angels. Dazzle your Mother for Mother’s Day and make her something similar. You can always buy something and add your own special dazzling touch.

Have a great day and thank you for reading my blog! I really appreciate it!

Crafting, Painting and Creating is Great Therapy!!

I hope you will follow me on all my social media.

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Glass Vase Spring Arrangement with Bird Eggs

April 23, 2021 townandcountrykathy

Hi Everyone! I was inspired by a Pinterest Post to make this glass vase arrangement. I had leftover eggs from another project and I wanted to also put some Spanish moss at the bottom of the vase. The eggs were shades of sage green, gray and beige. I bought them from Hobby Lobby. I was lucky to find three branch type stems at Hobby Lobby for only $1.24 each. The vase came from Dollar Tree last year.

Spring Arrangement in Clear Glass Vase with Moss and Bird's Eggs. — Spring Arrangement in Clear Glass Vase with Moss and Bird’s Eggs.

I hope we have inspired you in some small way.

Thank you for reading my blog!! It means a lot to me!

Crafting, Painting and Creating is Great Therapy!!

I hope you will follow me on all my social media.

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Turn Easter Decor into Spring Decor

April 21, 2021 townandcountrykathy

Hi Everyone!

I am here to give you inspiration, ideas, and little tricks or hacks. This was a very cute Easter Vintage Truck which was purchased at one of the dollar stores. It carried Easter Eggs in the back bed. It was so cute, that I wanted to keep it out for another month or so or even longer. My Mom made some felt flowers to put in the back and voila, it is now SPRING DECOR. The flowers cover up the Easter Eggs perfectly. They are not even glued in.

Easter Vintage Truck changed to Spring Vintage Truck using Felt Flowers.

Felt flowers are VERY easy to make. They are nice to make when it is raining outside. We chose colors that complimented the existing colors of the truck. My Mom used buttons for the centers of the flowers.

I hope this post helps someone get the idea to change out their Easter Decorations before putting them up for the year.

I hope we have inspired you to get creative!

Thank you for reading my blog!! It means a lot to me!

Crafting, Painting and Creating is Great Therapy!!

I hope you will follow me on all my social media.

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DIY Mother’s Day Card, Trifold Tuxedo Pocket for Art Journals

April 19, 2021 townandcountrykathy

Hi Everyone!

Paper Art is so much fun to make! What a great reason to use that scrapbook paper and create something special for your Mom. I used up some I had stashed away. I’ll show you how in all the steps and pictures below. This would make a great custom card and gift for your Mom, the graduate, or for a birthday.

Junk or Art Journaling can take extensive time. But to make a portion of one, such as this trifold tuxedo pocket can be done off and on over a weekend. This is a great project to see if you are interested in Paper Art or Mixed Media using Paper and Cardboard. I love all arts and crafts and this is just one of many that I love to create. I was inspired by these three wonderful YouTube instructors. Please, please go check out their channels.

** 49dragonflies

** Rose Lane Vintage Designs (I think she created this design)

** Angela Kerr

Here is a picture of my take on their inspiration. I’ll show you more as I open it up.

Mother's Day Trifold Tuxedo Pocket Card.

It will take much longer to write and upload these pictures than it actually took for me to make this card. I did work on it off and on for a weekend. First I’ll show you the finished pictures, then I’ll show you the step by step pictures.

Here’s a close up of a paper and ribbon and lace snippet. I love how these look like little flowers when you are done. My button still has some glue on it. lol.

This Calendar Collection had these cute stamps. This paper is front and back and cute on BOTH sides.

I used a 12×12 scrapbook paper printed on both sides. It came from the Calendar Collection by “Authentique”. This collection has some GREAT vintage photos for all seasons and holidays. For the side pockets on the inside I used 6×6 scrapbook paper from “Recollections”. See photos below.

Mother's Day Trifold Tuxedo Pocket Card. #authentique Authentique Scrapbook Calendar Collection — If you can catch a sale on this you will be lucky. It is worth it at full price though. Just in my opinion.

My 12×12 sheet has plaid on one side and floral on the other side. I loved the plaid the best and wanted that to show the most. So I folded my paper so that would be on the inside. You fold in thirds. After I folded everything I distressed the edges with Ranger Distress Oxide in Vintage Photo.

The first step is to fold into thirds. I just eyeballed it.

Fold into thirds and then fold down the top corners.

You fold down the top corners and fold up the bottom portion to YOUR desired height.

Here is what the inside looks like after the top and bottoms are folded.

Here is a good picture of how you fold the paper to get your trifold tuxedo pocket.

Here is another picture before I glued the sides shut. You can also sew down the sides.

There were so many images that came with this Calendar Collection that it was easy to find more than I needed. I had to actually narrow them down to choose my inserts.

I also added in a Mother’s Day Word Search that I made online. My Mom happens to LOVE to do these so I wanted to add and hide that into a pocket.

I hope you make one of these for your Mom or for Graduation.

Thank you for reading my blog!! It means a lot to me!

Crafting, Painting and Creating is Great Therapy!!

I hope you will follow me on all my social media.

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Top 5 Spring DIY Decor Ideas

April 8, 2021 townandcountrykathy

Hi Everyone! Here are my top five favorite Spring Crafts we made this year. These go beyond Easter and some can be used all year round. Keep reading for more details.

Top-5-Spring-DIY-Home-Decor-Ideas-Collage

Top-5-Spring-DIY-Home-Decor-Ideas-Collage-Spring-Blocks — SPRING Shelf Sitters

Spring Block Letters

One of the first projects we made was to welcome spring and make these block letters. I was ready to take down Winter and Valentine’s decor and put up something with bright colors. These letters were the ticket. We used 2×4’s and stained them. Then decoupaged spring time scrapbook paper on each one. I used ready made letters and flowers to embellish each block. This was a fun project. I am thinking about turning them around and decorating Americana “Summer” on the backside. I’ll keep you posted if I do this. More info can be found here: SPRING BLOCK LETTERS

Top-5-Spring-DIY-Home-Decor-Ideas-Collage-Spring-Wreath — Spring Wreath

Nature Inspired Spring Wreath

Another favorite project was this spring wreath. I had a Berry Wreath on here for Christmas/Winter/Valentine’s. I love how simple and clean this looks for Spring. I used a ready made grapevine wreath and embellished with a birds nest and purple heather. I used my wooden tray as a backdrop. More info can be found here: NATURE INSPIRED SPRING WREATH

Top-5-Spring-DIY-Home-Decor-Ideas-Collage-Rustic-Lace-Burlap-Angel

Rustic Lace and Burlap Angel

This cute neutral colored angel can be a part of your decor all year round. Mom made here with a more rounded bottom and a round ball for her head. Except for the burlap flower, lace and raffia she is fairly primitive in design. More info can be found here: RUSTIC LACE AND BURLAP ANGEL

Garden Angels

We made these garden angels before things started turning green. I love to put angels in my flower beds and flower pots. They are very comforting symbols to mix in your home and garden decor. We also made one with a stake to put in flower pots. More info can be found here: RUSTIC WOODEN GARDEN ANGELS

Top-5-Spring-DIY-Home-Decor-Ideas-Turquoise-Cross

Turquoise Jeweled Wooden Cross

Crosses are another year round home decor. This one is special to me since Mom made it and turquoise is my favorite color. I love the cross jewel in the middle with tiger’s eye and turquoise nuggets. More info can be found here: TURQUOISE JEWELED WOODEN CROSS

Top-5-Spring-DIY-Home-Decor-Ideas-Collage-Jewels-On-Cross

Thank you for for reading about my top five spring crafts so far this year. I am going to be working on some chicken wire projects coming up. So stay tuned please. Happy Spring!

Thank you for reading my blog!! It means a lot to me!

Crafting, Painting and Creating is Great Therapy!!

I hope you will follow me on all my social media.

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Recycle Toilet Rolls into a Paper Pocket Purse

April 5, 2021 townandcountrykathy

Are you into Recycling? Repurposing? Upcycling? Turning trash into treasure? Here’s a paper craft for you. Recycle and Reuse Toilet Paper Rolls into Shabby Chic Paper Pocket Purses. These little paper holders would be great for gift cards or any small treasures. How about making one for Mother’s Day? Put a little note inside telling your Mom how special she is to you?

Trash to Treasure. Recycle Toilet Rolls into a Paper Pocket Purse. #upcycle #recycle #repurpose #paperart #junkjournal

I was inspired by Gi Kerr from YouTube. She made the cutest little pocket purses. Please go look her up where she makes these in real time. She gives detailed measurements and instructions. She is awesome!

Please visit my Youtube and see a time lapsed video and walk through of my paper purse. Click Here.

Here are a few pictures of my process.

It takes three rolls to make one purse. You can turn your purse landscape or portrait. I am still working on my portrait one. I cut and prepared six rolls because I am making two purses. Cut your rolls in half and get them wet under the faucet. I sprayed with hydrogen peroxide. You can also wipe down with sanitizer.

Let them dry. I placed mine under some heavy tile to keep them flat until I was ready to use them.

I followed Gi Kerr’s advice and covered the inside portion with book pages and then inked them with Ranger Distressed Ink Oxide in Vintage Photo. I also used touches of Green and Teal inks. I used a regular glue stick to keep the paper on. I also used Mod Podge in areas that did not stick very well. I recommend sewing the edges. My sewing machine is still in the attic so I just used glue for this one.

Below are two pictures of the accordion sides. I like the word Gi Kerr calls them. Concertina. The sides make this little purse hold more ephemera than it would if we just glued the sides straight onto each other. I used coffee stained card stock to make the accordion sides. Next time I plan to use plain paper.

To make the fold over flap I attached an aqua lace ribbon. You want to leave room (leave a gap) so the flap folds down easily. I grunged the ribbon with Ink Oxide to match the paper. I also trimmed the bottom with the same lace ribbon.

Trash to Treasure. Recycle Toilet Rolls into a Paper Pocket Purse. #upcycle #recycle #repurpose #paperart #junkjournal #TimHoltz — These were the quotes I used.

I am falling in love with paper art. Each piece is truly one-of-a-kind. They take on a personality of their own and even though you are creating it…..it creates itself. I hope I inspire you to try to be creative with paper.

Thank you for reading my blog!! It means a lot to me!

Crafting, Painting and Creating is Great Therapy!!

I hope you will follow me on all my social media.

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Rustic Wooden Garden Angels, Simple Farmhouse Style

March 29, 2021 townandcountrykathy

These angels will look over your garden and bring you happiness as you look at them. It’s that wonderful time of year, where we get to spend time outside playing in the dirt, planting pretty flowers and yummy vegetables.

Leave room in the Garden so the Angels can Dance.

The simple lines of these angels are what makes them so desirable. They were painted by diluting acrylic paints with water and “washing” over the wood with white, brown and aqua.

Collage of Pictures of Wooden Garden Angels

Teal or Aqua Colored Wooden Garden Angel on a Garden Stake. — We made one with a Garden Stake. Two different options.

Teal or Aqua Colored Wooden Garden Angel that stands on its own. — “Washed” with Teal/Aqua paint.

These angels stand on their own with a block in the back as you can see in the photo below.

White Washed Wooden Garden Angel that stands on its own. Picture shows the backside block that holds it up. — This little block makes they stand up nicely.

Brown Colored Wooden Garden Angel that stands on its own. — “Washed” with brown paint.

White Washed Wooden Garden Angel that stands on its own. — “Washed” with white paint.

Set of three Wooden Garden Angels. Teal/Aqua, Brown, White. All washed with acrylic paint where the wood grain still shows through. — We added a twine necklace and that was all the finishing touches they needed.

Thank you so much for reading about our Garden Angels. They look great on the fireplace too. These are all year round decor. Indoor and Outdoor too.

Thank you for stopping by my blog!! It means a lot to me!

Crafting, Painting and Creating is Great Therapy!!

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Easy Gift Card Or Pocket For An Art Journal

March 24, 2021 townandcountrykathy

Hi Everyone!

Learn how to fold and make this Loaded Vintage-Look Gift Card. This one has a vintage vibe, but I hope to inspire you to make one too with a theme of your choice. You could give this as a gift as is or you could put it inside a junk journal. Journaling is a great way to be creative. You can be creative with your Paper Art and also with your Writing.

Keeping a journal is also a great way to deal with grief and/or depression. Don’t forget……Writing is another form of Creating!

I was inspired by one of my favorite YouTubers for this cute Pocket that could also be a gift or a greeting card. Let the circle of inspiration continue. I’ll post her channel name and the video name at the bottom of the page. Please go check her out.

Here is a Short Video with a quick walk through. Click Here.

This paper is from my favorite collection that I bought at Hobby Lobby. The Paper Studio, Haberdashery. You can find these half off at least once a month.

I started with a scrapbook page I loved. It was a 12×12 and I cut it down to regular copy size. The example on YouTube is even smaller. These scrapbook pages are thick and the backside is plain brown as you can see when I start folding it. Pictures of the supplies are down at the bottom of the blog page.

Please refer to the video linked above for the final fold. There are two ways to do it and the video is much better at showing how. As you make the final fold, put the two “mountain peaks” at the top and fold the two bottom pieces in toward the center.

When I was finished folding all my favorite images had disappeared. So I selected another same exact paper and made several inserts to go inside all the pockets. The first one I made was the tall tag for the back pocket. I wanted it to be strong so I doubled the layers. Below is a picture of how I was determining to place a charm on it. The inspiration piece used metal grommets and a bracelet chain. I did not have that option so I used buttons and an old necklace with beads. I added a quote “With brave wings she flies.” It became a vintage butterfly theme.

Working on the tall insert for the back pocket.

The second insert is two butterfly images from the same booklet of scrapbook pages. I just cut them to fit into the second pocket and added “Don’t forget to fly” quote at the top. The quotes are from a Tim Holtz collection pictured below. On the right side of the pocket I glued another butterfly that would show even with all the inserts inside. I also made the back more sturdy and used Liquitex Gel Medium to double side a portion of the backside. Below is a picture of the pocket after adding the butterfly on the right hand side.

My next step was to make a small tag for the next pocket. I knew I wanted a tag with lace and ribbon to grab onto as I pull in and out of the pocket. I had a wooden tag just the right size. So I inked the raw wood and then added a butterfly, quote, lace and ribbons. I may or may not keep the charm attached to the ribbons. For now it is weighing them down and keeping them all together for the photos.

Small tag for one of the middle pockets.

For the small front pocket I knew I wanted a flower of some sort. But I wanted to put a scrap snippet on it. Snippets are made from little scraps of anything. I used lace, paper and two buttons. These are fun to make and use up some of your scraps.

I ended up putting the snippet to the side for easy movement in and out of the
pocket.

Below is a picture of a flat lay with all the components. I added lace edging around the two main pockets and inked all the edges front and back with Ranger Distressed Oxide in Vintage Photo. I worked on this off and on for a whole weekend. I used my stash. I didn’t want to go “buy” anything.

Below are some pictures of the supplies I used. I also used Mod Podge, Gel Medium and Fabric Tack.

I used about 3-4 different partial sheets of this paper.

I used three of these quotes and inked them with Ranger Distressed Oxide in Vintage Photo.

YouTube Inspiration: Quick and Easy Junk Journal Pocket, Junk Journaling Tutorial, Loaded Pocket for Junk Journal by PinkMonarchPrints

I think this would be a GREAT gift for youngsters birthdays with a gift card in one of the pockets. How about graduation? Mother’s Day? Your daughter or sister’s birthday? I just see endless possibilities.

Thank you for reading my blog!! It means a lot to me!

Crafting, Painting and Creating is Great Therapy!!

I hope you will follow me on all my social media.

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Rustic Lace and Burlap Angel

March 22, 2021 townandcountrykathy

Hi Everyone!

My Mom loves to make crosses and angels. I think many people like to have these comforting symbols displayed in their homes and gardens all year long. Here is a neutral colored little angel that could be displayed all year long.

Rustic Brown and Beige Angel with Lace and Burlap.

When we start with a blank wooden cutout the options are endless. With this sweet little angel we decided to stay very neutral and rustic. I think it fits in with everyone’s home decor all year long.

Mom painted the wings and head beige and the body was stained with diluted brown acrylic paint.

For embellishments she added a simple, rustic bow of twine and raffia.

We didn’t have a small enough doily so we made a collar of coffee stained lace. We then added the burlap flower with a button in the middle.

My favorite part of this angel is the shape of her wings. I hope we inspire you to create and decorate your home for the seasons and for comfort. I love to be surrounded by comforting home accessories. The OXFORD DICTIONARY defines comforting as:

Comforting = “serving to improve a person’s mood or restore a sense of physical well-being.”

Comforting = “serving to alleviate a person’s feelings of grief or distress.”

It’s all about how your home makes you FEEL. Thank you so much for reading my blog!

Crafting, Painting and Creating is Great Therapy!!

I hope you will follow me on all my social media.

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Reversible Wooden Fabric Decoupaged Bunny

March 20, 2021 townandcountrykathy

Hi Everyone! Here is another decoupage project. Decoupaging is definitely a way to go to get a custom one-of-a-kind look. This may be our last bunny for the season. Easter is upon us.

Reversible Wooden Fabric Decoupaged Bunny. It has green circles on one side and pink, yellow, green, blue plaid on the other side. Both sides have matching bows.

We decoupaged this bunny with fabric on both sides. The hardest part was choosing which two fabrics to use. Then choosing a paint color for the side edges.

Mom cut the bunny out of some thick wood we had on hand. She also did the decoupaging. I then painted the sides and sanded it and put the bows on it. I think he turned out so cute! I had painted the sides white, then green…..then yellow won out.

This little bunny could be put on a kitchen island and seen from all sides. I love that it is reversible.

I hope this project has inspired you in some small way. That’s what this blog is all about. Sharing of ideas. It keeps Mom and I busy and filled with purpose. We don’t make a lot of money doing this but that is okay. It is just fun.

Thank you for reading my blog!! It means a lot to me!

Crafting, Painting and Creating is Great Therapy!!

I hope you will follow me on all my social media.

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TownandCountryStyleByKathy

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