Chevron Frame Tutorial

The chevron trend is all over lately so I decided to give it a try on an old picture frame that you may recognize from this post here. 

For this project, you need some painters tape, scissors, a craft knife, acrylic paint in a color of your choice, a paint brush (I use the super cheap spongy kind) and a frame.

Start off with your frame.  I painted this frame years ago for my old bedroom, but it doesn't match my new apartment's aesthetic so I decided to revamp it.  You can also use this same technique on a canvas, tray, table top...whatever you want! Just make sure the surface you use is clean and dry.

Now start taping.  I decided to make an "x" straight through the center to keep things even without having to measure anything.

Now keep adding stripes of tape in a criss-cross pattern across your whole surface.

Here's where it gets a little tricky.  Use your craft knife to cut away the excess tape leaving behind your chevron pattern.  Be careful not to press too hard with your blade or it will damage your surface. Use your fingers or the edge of your craft knife to peel away the excess painters tape until it looks something like this....

Once you have all the extra tape removed, sometimes you have to move around the tape on the edges or add more in certain places to make it look right.  Just use your judgement.

 Now take your paintbrush and cover the whole thing in paint. Technically you only need to paint the parts without tape, but I think it comes out better if you paint it all.

Once the paint is COMPLETELY DRY pull off the tape and there you go!

I currently have mine on display in my living room while I look for the perfect picture to put in it!

Hope you found this helpful!

In my Dream House

I often imagine my dream house.  

I have such a vivid picture of it in my head that I doubt I'll ever be able to find a real house in existence that even compares to the beauty and splendor I've pictured in my head.

One thing my dream house will most definitely have is a HUGE and perfectly organized craft room.

I picture it looking something like this:

or this:

or this:

I especially love the design aesthetic of this crafty little closet but imagine it on a bigger scale...

What do you picture inside your dream home?

What to do with one hundred cigar boxes?

I have to admit I have a craft supply shopping addiction.  I got to the craft store for one thing and come home with twenty.  I find inspiration in pretty much everything I see and can't wait to get it home and create something new.  Now why is it that when craft supplies come free I can't find the same creative motivation?

My dad is an avid cigar smoker and collector which is great news for me because the boxes cigars come in are absolutely beautiful and my fabulous daddy saves them all for me.  The problem is I have NO idea what to do with them.

I've been searching the web for ideas and picking my friends brains and I just can't seem to settle on an idea.  I've made one into a jewelry box:

But that really doesn't seem like the direction I want to go.  My newest inspiration is this fab altoid tin:

I love the idea of creating a whole little world inside my boxes and making something completely unexpected.  What do you think?

I Don't Want to Jynx it but...

I have a job interview tomorrow. And im pretty positive about it. Theres a very good chance I'll be waiting tables again very very soon.
However, I have very mixed feelings about it right now. I am so lucky to have parents who are supporting me while I try to get my etsy store to take off (and I actually think I figured out part of the problem but more on that later) but the support theyre giving me leaves me very little money for fun and craft supplies. So the money Id make serving would definitely be much needed and welcomed. But the time I'll spend making that money will significantly eat in to my homework time, which in turn will eat into my craft time and then the etsy is even further set back.
I realize I'm getting a little ahead of myself because I don't even have the job yet but these are all considerable concerns.

If you were in my position what would you put first? The money or the craft bussiness of your dreams?

Ten Commandments for Crafters

1.  Thou shall clean paintbrushes immediately after use
2.  Thou shall wait for paint to dry completely before moving on to the next step of a project
3.  Thou shall not paint on an uncovered surface
4.  Thou shall not use an xacto knife with out proper surface protection underneath
5.  Thou shall not take someone elses idea without significantly altering it to make it your own
6.  Thou shall never buy when they can DIY
7.  Thou shall never use spray adhesive or spray paint indoors
8.  Thou shall give handmade gifts instead of store bought whenever possible
9.  Thou shall never let a fear of failing hold you back from trying a new project
10.Thou shall be proud of your own work, even when it doesn't turn out perfectly




What crafting Commandments do you follow?

I Have a Secret

Ok.

So it's not so much a secret as it is a new project.

meet my new craft desk:

yes, it is slanted.  yes, there is a big gap between the cabinet and the desk top. yes, it's missing a wheel.  yes, it is a hot mess.

But none of this concerns me.  I can't wait to work my DIY crafty magic and turn this train wreck into a beauty fit for a princess.  But for now, all plans for this project are top secret. 

And as soon as I finish this episode of Grey's Anatomy, project closet purge will begin!! More on that later!!

current desire: craft desk

My current workspace, while very well organized is just a plain old Ikea desk that I painted to match my room.  It works...but that's all it does.  I'm currently in the market for a new desk that includes storage like these:

I'm thinking I might have to use my DIY skills on a thrift store find since these are all out of my budget...I'll have to wait and see!

Weekend long Craftathon

This weekend I have been lucky enough to have five full days off with NO obligations.  That means plenty of time to craft and blog.  I spent a lot of time today searching craftster and the blogosphere for inspiration and got down to business.  I made two frames and a piece of original art on canvas using spray paint and glue which I'll be posting pictures of before my five day weekend is over.  I'm also doing a craft swap where I have to make a Halloween themed chunky house for four partners and I made my first one this afternoon.  I'm hoping to make at least three crafts a day for each of my five days off.  I'll keep you all up to date on my progress! I should have at least some pictures up by tomorrow and possibly a tutorial.

Honored and Excited

Today I recieved the huge honor of giving a guest blog on my favorite blog www.champagnelifestyles.blogspot.com. I can honestly say I could not be more excited.  This is a great blog about diy, fashion, decorating, and living a lavish lifestyle while staying within your means; something every Modern day Dauphine strives to do.  Go check out her blog and my tutorial on how to make this amazing tufted headboard!

Oh My Love is Alpha Phi

Today I spent my morning at my old sorority house painting our house letters with a damask pattern for tonight's preference ceremony.  For those of you who have no idea what that means, every fall my school holds a formal recruitment process for students who want to join a sorority.  They visit every house the first day, a few houses the second day and only one or two houses for preference, more commonly called pref.  It's a formal affair, all the girls wear fancy dresses, they sit at clothed tables and do a ceremony.  This year, our house chose to go with a classic black and white theme.  Here are the letters I painted for them:

I plan to spend the rest of my day and crafting new items for my etsy shop, I can't wait to share them with you!

Ready. Set. CRAFT

Today my mom came to visit at took me to the craft store to buy some supplies so I can get back to doing what I do best, craft.  I haven't made anything since my last update to my etsy store and I'm really looking forward to getting back to work. I bought a ton of wooden goodies, some blank wood picture frames and best of all I got SEVEN canvases for 20 dollars.  Definitely a steal.  I'd love to take the time to write more but I'm dying to get to work playing with my new toys, err... crafting!

Mailing out my First Sale

  Today I mailed out my first etsy sale (and a swap angel package for a craft swap I did on www.craftster.org) at the post office.  Overall I'd have to say the process was a little overwhelming.  I hadn't packaged the mirror I sold yet and was hoping to buy some bubble wrap and stick it in a flat rate box, but unfortunately the post office didn't have either of those things.  Luckily the lady working was extremely helpful and explained that you can order flat rate boxes and envelopes for free (shipping incuded) from www.usps.com. Eventually we got everything figured out and I mailed my first package and dropped off anotherat home for my parents to give to the buyer.  Now all I need is to get the rest of my pictures on line, but as for now I'll celebrate my first two sales!!

My Personal Craft Castle

 Since I plan on moving within the next month, I figured it would be great to dedicate a post to where The Modern Day Dauphine got started.  My apartment, my craft castle, my home.  Every inch of this apartment was carefully considered and designed to fit my personality and nurture creativity, and yes, almost all decorations were made by me.

And so it begins...

I'm finally doing it! After promising myself to start my own business for the last three years I'm finally doing it.  I've spent the last few months crafting my heart out, convinced a good friend to take and edit my photos, and as of Thursday night www.etsy.com/moderndaydauphine is officially open for business. And the best part? I've already made two sales!! I plan on using this blog to express what it's like, trying to make a living off of the thing I love doing most: crafting! I make things for people of all ages, from baby books and blocks for infants to frames and home decor for teen's and adults.  I love everything feminine, girly and elegant, and I'm a sucker for beachy, shabby chic. In this blog you'll find posts about my current projects, my triumphs and frustrations, an occasional tutorial here and there, other crafters, blogs and sites I admire and a little bit about who I am, The Modern Day Dauphine.

So first things first, it all starts with a name and I chose mine because it describes me to a T.  If you don't know, Dauphine is the french word for princess.  I've always felt like I was born in the wrong century and I just know that had I lived in 18th century France Marie Antoinette and I would have been besties.  Marie lived a lavish lifestyle as a young dauphine, it wasn't until she took on the responsibilities of the Queen of France that it went down hill for her, and who would want to be queen when you could be a carefree princess?  I base a lot of my work on the style, elegance, class and extravagance found in the French Royal Court before the revolution (and my girl Marie's unfortunate beheading) but with a modern twist updated for a twenty first century princess.

So where am I at right now? My site is up, I've got my facebook business page, I've made my first two sales and my etsy shop is looking pretty empty.   Lucky for me I have two amazing friends who have been helping and encouraging me every step of the way.  I'm currently waiting for my extremely talented friend (who you can find at http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100001429546463) to finish editing the pictures of the rest of my crafts that he took so I can get everything up for sale on my site.  As for crafting, I just participated in a craft swap for one of my favorite websites, www.craftster.org and am still working on new projects for my shop. That's all for now, but check back for updates soon!

xoxo                 

The Modern Day Dauphine