Free Craft Project: Altered Print Tray

By Terry White

Scissors as Art

My brother, Wally (the carpenter) gave me 20 old printer’s trays. Then, I received a beautiful set of Havel’s scissors….I know….I’ll make cool displays for my scissors! The first one I made is now on the set of Quilting Arts TV. So, I took photos of step-outs for my second tray. I still have to make another to replace my first one…..that’s okay, because this is fun!make-displays-with-printers-traysSo, the first thing to do was to lay out the scissors in the best arrangement. This grouping of scissors includes 9″ Professional Dura-Sheers9″ Serrated Dura-Sheers and 60mm Rotary Cutter. Good scissors are essential to my fiber work.

lay-out-scissors-in-arrangementNext, I pulled out my cool notion collection. The way I feel about it is that, if I don’t use my cool notions, then someday, somebody else will buy them in an estate sale!

use-notions-to-decorate-as-well

As I began to lay things out, the colors and graphics of the Kohinoor Snap Card set the tone for the work. So, I exchanged some of my first ideas and used strong graphic design pieces.

kohinoor-snap-card-set-color-pallet

After getting an idea of where things would go, I placed them on a large corkboard. I was careful to place them in the same arrangement.

When doing this next kind of work, I wear my safety glasses – using a chisel and mallet, I made angled cuts in the center of each little partition slat. Then, I cut the slats at the intersections.

use-chisel-and-mallet-to-make-cuts-slats

make-angled-cuts-in-center-of-slats

When all my cuts were made, I sealed the tray with “White Lightening”. It is a white stain and a sealer; very easy to use, just brush it on. From this point, I can paint with acrylics and use my hot glue gun to add my pieces.

coat-tray-with-white-lightening-sealant

I attached some of the notion cards with “HandiTak” reusable adhesive. It doesn’t hurt the notion card – just in case I find out that one of these antiques is a National Treasure!

attach-notion-cards-with-handitak-1

attach-notion-cards-with-handitak-2

This could be a weekend project, but I like to work on a project like this over some time. It gives me a chance to think about the little vignettes I can create, and consider design choices.


Terry White

Terry White is a studio fiber artist. She has been doing this work since 1996, and she discovered the techniques she uses: threadpaint, machine appliqué, piece, quilt, embellish with beads, fibers and minutiae with sewing machine techniques, through experimentation and self-study.  Terry teaches these techniques through classes and videos.  Over the years Terry has been published in over 50 articles in magazines and books, including: McCall’s Needlework; Quilter’s Newsletter; Machine Embroidery and Textile Arts; CMA trade magazine; Stitch n Sew Quilts; Quick n Easy Quilts; Quilt World magazine and Calendar; Quilting Arts Calendar 2003; America from the Heart; America’s Best; America Sews.  She is a wife, stitcher, artist, sister, mother, friend, nana, gardener, baker, writer, student, teacher and American.  See more of Terry’s work at www.threadpaint.com.


 

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