My Husband Probably Isn't Going to Like This Very Well...

But that's okay-- because the only time he's in the kitchen, is when he's heating up a hot pocket, or going to the refrigerator for something to drink.

As my other posts state, I live in an apartment, where (unless you are living in a condo), you can't really do any serious demolition and remodeling to keep up with your friends on facebook with.  Because of this, I've had to endure a few years of apartment depression.  For those of you who have caught it, you know the symptoms.  Trying really hard to emulate something out of the latest Pottery Barn catalog.  And then on a drag-along trip to the Salvation Army (I'm just using that store as an example, to illustrate my point), you've realized that their store has a vignette with beauty and creativity that surpasses your spent-all-my-tax-refund-money-at-Walmart (because you thought by cutting corners you'd be getting ahead with a few bucks leftover), and-it-still-looks-like-crap college try! 

So, for the past few years (-- actually, since 2005), I've had this setup above my stove~

And I wanted something different.  I was thinking of a silver tray (like in a previous post on my 'Ideas' tab), or a mirror.  But as I was looking at trays, I was also looking at the pricetag.  For something that might get an occasional splatter, I didn't want to go anything above $10.  And the mirrors that I was looking at, were too heavy and running about $20.  (I would have liked the reflection of light coming from it, but then again (and talking myself out of how great of an idea it would have been), who wants to be finding flaws with themselves, while cooking chicken alfredo?)

So, I opted for this idea.  And actually, it did come under $10.  There is this store called Craft Warehouse, which I absolutely LOVE!  Unlike Michaels (which can get a little spendy),  Craft Warehouse has a lot of the extras (as in-- let's be honest-- NEAT and CHEAP CRAP!)  You can find frames with orange clearance tags on the back.  Vignettes with bell jars and floral accessories all over the place.  Lit cherry branches strung over arbors, etc.  So, I found a $7.99 frame, and a .59 sheet of scrapbook paper (since I have that robin egg blue color going on in my home).  And obviously, you don't have to do this project to hide an area above your stovetop.  (A wall in the bathroom, bedroom, etc.  But like I said, my husband isn't going to go for this all too well in the kitchen when he comes home, but oh well...)

Here are the supplies needed~

• Frame with glass insert
• Stencil (if preferred-- or you can use whatever you want to embellish it with.  I was in a hurry-- so I just did what I did)
• Sponge brush and acrylic paint.  (You can probably use any other media, such as pens made from glass, glass paint, or even those vinyl stickers (which are expensive!  Something like $6!), etc.  Being that I had black acrylic around (and it's ERASEABLE like a dry erase board-- perfect for people like me who can't make up their minds), I decided to use that.)
• Adhesive (I chose to use rubber cement, in the event that I ever decided to change my mind on the background and needed to take it off gently.)
• Any kind of embellishment or border for the frame (if you are not going for the minimalist approach.  I happened to have some border stickers in a scrapbook, so I decided to use those).



If anyone is wondering about the scrapbook paper, I took a closeup shot of the label.

Okay.  First what you need to do, is cut your paper to fit the area of the frame.  DO NOT glue anything down at this time.  Flip your frame over to the backside, and place over the paper, to find your center point for your stencil.

Tape your stencil onto the back of the glass, and with a LIGHT dab of paint on your sponge, tap at the stencil, being careful not to cake it onto the glass.  (If you do, it will smear all over the place, and you will have to wipe it off and start over again!)

Lift the frame now and then to see your progress and if you missed any areas.

When you are finished stenciling, you may want to go over with a cotton swab (with the bulk of the tip pulled off-- for precision), and take off smears here and there.  Personally, I was thinking that it was had a vintage 'stamped' look going on.

 Afterward, apply your adhesive to the back of the frame, and attach your scrapbook paper backing to it~

Flip over to the front, and apply your border, or whatever embellishments you would prefer.  (Sparkles, etc.  But as I said, my husband probably isn't going to swoon over this, and I don't think adding hot pink rhinestones would make him change his mind any more!) 

                   

                   

This project took me less than ten minutes to complete, and for the look, it's not too bad!