Oui Four-It's a series now...

Hello! Yes, I am back again!  We've had a worse than average wintery winter this year.  I know...not exactly correct in the grammar department, but it's pretty accurate! The temperatures for January have been extremely cold, and while we haven't had record snow/ice accumulation, it has managed to do it during one weekend!  This meant a little more time for me to do a little tidying in my studio.  It's still not anywhere near where I want it to be, but it's a little more organized and my table is once again cleaned off and awaiting creativity to strike.  What does all of this have to do with my creating another altered yogurt jar?  Well, when I use snow days to clean and organize, it makes it a lot easier to walk into the studio and randomly create, especially when it's freezing outside, and a co-worker gives you more jars...

She was thrilled with her Christmas set and informed me that she now needs a set for each season and holiday!  I didn't make a wintery one because I didn't have any extra jars, but I did get one made in time for Valentine's day.  I even wiped the dust off my Cricut and cut some letters for this one! Of course, after cutting the letters, I had to do something with the negative space that was left!  It was the perfect excuse to make a Valentine card to go with the jar!

Series #4 Valentines

super simple-red tissue paper, pink pirouette cardstock letters, 

and a bit of pretty white ribbon

the 'scraps' from the letters made a perfect piece to

 attach to a card front for a super simple Valentine

I hope you enjoyed my post for today and if you choose to join me in altering yogurt jars, please let me know! I would love to see what others can do with these cute little jars!  Thanks so much for stopping by and have a wonderful day!

Oui! Take three!

Hi! I am so glad you stopped by today!  I have a little altered/green creation for today.  Before we get to the crafty stuff, I need to do some explaining lest you think I don't know how to count...  A few months ago, a co-worker jokingly challenged me to do something fun with her Oui yogurt jars.  I took home her empty jar and brought back a nice little fall decoration.  Little did I know the monster it would create.  A few days later she gave me a shopping bag with more jars in it...

I managed to make two really fun jars that were decoupaged with Halloween napkins and looked quite vintage by the time I was finished.  I also managed to forget to take a picture of them... So that was the second series.  Today, I'm sharing the Christmas/Holiday jars that I gave her for Christmas.  This makes three, hence 'take three'.  

I'm not sure how many more there will be in the series, but I'm already thinking Valentines, St Patrick's, and Easter!  If you are interested in seeing the first jar, you can see it here!

I am really bummed that I didn't get a photo of the Halloween ones, because I think the napkin versions were my favorites.  They just seemed to melt onto the jar and had a slightly translucent finish that looked great with the battery operated tealights.  The Christmas set was covered with some beautiful gift wrap that had red glittery ornaments on it.  I didn't take into account the weight of the paper and it was a bit difficult to work with at times.  Pieces didn't want to wrap and stay the way I placed them...  If you want to give this a try, I would suggest either distressing the paper first, or going with a lightweight gift wrap.

The holly leaves were bits that I had in my stash (probably from an old Christmas decoration), and I colored some large rhinestones with a red Sharpie to make the holly berries.  I also managed to sneak in some Christmas ribbon from my stash.  I wish I could say it made a big dent, but it didn't!  I swear that stuff multiplies sometimes...

My co-worker has been enjoying receiving her little gifts for each season and I swear she's eating that stuff simply to get more pretties!  Personally, I'm enjoying the new 'canvas' and it's been a great way to experiment with different materials and ideas.  Isn't that at the heart of any creative endeavor?  I hope you've enjoyed another recycled project and maybe you'll be decoupaging your own 'trash' soon!  Have a fantastic day!

Decoupage-Challenge accepted!

Hello! I am so glad you visited and even more happy that I've been able to make something to share with you!  

About a week ago, a co-worker was eating Oui yogurt with her lunch and we all commented on the cute glass jar that it came in. We discussed the recycling vs. plastic trash aspect of the container and someone commented that it would be a cute jar to hold little things like paperclips.  Then someone else mentioned making it a candle holder.  I suggested decoupaging it so it would be even cuter.  Dead silence.... Finally... "Deco what?" So I gave a short tutorial on the versatility of decoupage and how many different looks one could achieve through this medium.  This led my co-worker to hand me her empty jar with the challenge of "make something".  They all laughed as I asked what theme she would like.  She responded that Halloween or Fall would be great.  Our lunch ended with people guessing just how that yogurt jar would be made over.

That weekend, I got busy.  I thoroughly cleaned the jar, removed the labels and dug out my left-over fall papers.

The cute little yogurt jar

Next I tore some burlap print paper into squares and triangles, and began to decoupage the papers onto the jar.

After everything dried, I inked the white paper spots with various shades of brown ink, smudging and smearing it onto the paper.  A glittery silk leaf and a burlap flower were added to give the jar a bit of flair.

 I used rubber bands to hold the leaf and flower in place until the glue dried.

the finished product!

Monday morning, I went to my co-workers classroom and placed the jar on her desk.  Her face registered shock and amazement as she slowly realized this was her yogurt jar!  She was very pleased and I passed the decoupage challenge with flying colors!  Now everyone is saving their jars for me... What have I started?!

I hope my project and story have inspired you to look at your 'junk' with new eyes and find a way to brighten someone else's day as well!  Have a fabulous day!!