Challenge Week #4

I asked my daughter to stop at a consignment shop with me last week-end. I thought a set of fresh eyes might help with my choice of project for the week. We went in the shop with no idea of what the next project would be. We wandered around for a bit not seeing anything very inspirational. My daughter picked up a set of wooden coasters as a possibility but I couldn’t think of anything to do with them. I did like that they were wooden and the center portion where you would place a glass looked perfect for framing something. Even though they were only $3, I didn’t buy them. I was thinking about the coaters as I drove home. Of course once I got home I had an idea and I headed back to the store to pick them up.


I decided that the coasters would be a good base for a pressed flower project. I had a nice little pack of pressed flowers from my scrapbooking days and thought I could put them to good use. You know my obsession with old books and book pages so I’m sure you aren’t surprised to see me use them to cover the coasters as a base. I love the look of the aged pages. As a bonus, I was able to use the fabric stiffener I already had on hand from the handkerchief bowl to glue down strips of torn book pages. I painted the center of the coaster black to showcase the pressed flowers. To add a little gloss, I coated the entire paper covered coaster with mod podge.

After a quick lesson on the drill press, I drilled some tidy little holes in the coasters so that I could tie them together with jute which I thought would give the project a homespun look. Ribbon would have worked nicely as well. Once tied together, I attached the flowers with a little clear tacky glue and voila! The coaster set came with six coasters and I prefer to work with odd numbers so I used five. Seeing how long this piece is, I think that three would have been a more manageable size. I know, I can finish number six and make two!

Mom’s project this week was clever. She had a clock that for some reason did not want to work. The mechanism was replaced and strangely enough that didn’t’ work either. Because she liked the size and finish of the clock, she tucked it away with the thought that it might be useful for something at some point. At last, here was her opportunity! As you can see, she turned the clock into a little

shadow box. This is the type of project that takes a lot of thought and shopping around to find just the right things to fit in the frame and to coordinate with each other to make a theme. Although it takes some time to find just the right items, this part can also be the most stimulating. I like the Victorian flavor of her design. Wouldn’t it make a nice Mother’s Day gift?

I think my brother was motivated by our challenge. He has had a creation in mind for himself but just couldn’t find the time to put it together until now. Don’t you just love this creature?