Tutorial: Pictures and Frames

 Hey there!

I decided to add in a tutorial for the Salem Witch Academy frames just in case there is someone who needs a little help with that.

Whether you have a frame or pictures first, it is helpful to know what size they are. So get out that ruler and measure the inner dimensions of the frame.

If your picture is larger than your frame you can use the insert for the template to cut the picture, or the glass if it didn't have the insert anymore.

The frame is slightly smaller than the picture.

 

I used the insert that came in the frame as a cutting template to make it the correct size.

While the frame is all apart it's a great time to give the glass a quick clean and spray paint frame the desired color!

Then place the picture on the glass then add the cardboard and close the holder pins.

There it is. That one was easy! I actually took this one back apart and spray painted it black to match the theme.

  

Here is another example of an oval-shaped frame.

Repeat steps as above. 

Then I have one more example that has multiple pics in one frame.

The frames I used held three 4 x 6" pictures.

I cut the pictures to the correct size making them slightly larger than the 4 x 6" mat and used a glue stick to attach to the back of the cardboard frame. Then I painted the white mat black and inserted it back onto the glass and frame.

I had three pictures that fit stacked and three that were side by side. 

Happy October, Witches!

April

FriggleFraggle

Who's that Witch?

 Hey there!

This year's Halloween theme is The Salem Academy for Witches. I've already started decorating and have lots more to do but wanted to share some with you as I go along. I will be adding tutorials when I can.

Today's post is "Who's that witch?"  

For the Witch Academy, I wanted to display pictures of current and former students and staff. I rummaged through my basement and found some old frames that I have been saving for projects, repurposed some other, and purchased a few more at the dollar store. I painted most of them black sticking with the Haunted Mansion feel and hung them gallery-style on the wall in the stairway and threw in some keys, candles, and mirrors.

I found pictures online that I thought fit perfectly so I printed those in black and white or sepia and sized them to fit my frames. I made a small how-to tutorial for pictures if you need help.

Another picture I wanted was of the school that would be the Academy for Witches. I made a how-to tutorial on this as well because I had a very large frame that I wanted to put it in as a focal for the landing wall so I needed to make it BIG!

See ya tomorrow.

Happy crafting Witches!

April

FriggleFraggle

It's October Witches, Happy Halloween!

 Oh look, another glorious day...Makes me sick!

Ahh, October. That means Halloween and Halloween makes me Happy!

Get out your decorations (if you haven't already) and start decorating with me.

This month I will be posting what I'm doing in my house for Halloween along with tutorials and anything else that I can think to share.

I've already made a post about this year's theme The Salem Academy for Witches.

 I will be transforming my house into an alternate version of Hogwarts :)

Here is a sneak peek of my stairs.

Happy Halloween,

See ya tomorrow Witches!

April

FriggleFraggle

Halloween Theme This Year is...

 Hello there!

When the weather starts to change and whispers of Autumn can be seen I feel the need to start decorating for Halloween! 

Since moving to Canada it has started a little earlier than when I lived in the southern states. Some people think I am crazy but my friends know me so well they tip me off to the shops that are already displaying Halloween items so I can begin my shopping.

Every year I pick a theme. From Harry Potter at Hogwarts to Ghosts and Goblins, I enjoy many themes but save most of the gory, bloody stuff for the haunted houses.

This year I have decided to have a Witches School theme, not Harry Potter wizards more like Salem witches! So I began by collecting ideas with my kids on a Pinterest board as you can have collaborators so everyone can add ideas. After a few days be sat together and scrolled through the ideas until we agreed on

  the Salem Acadamy for Witches.

I have begun on projects and have lots more in the works. I like to give myself plenty of time to make them because, well, life is busy and I want to enjoy this! So, I will be posting as I go along with some tutorials if I remember to take pics along the way.

Stay tuned to see how the Salem Acadamy for Witches turns out.

Happy crafting Witches!

April

FriggleFraggle

Candy Corn History

 Candy Corn is so bright and colorful. Some like to eat it and others hate it. Where did the famous candy corn begin? I wasn't sure myself so I did some quick google searching. There are lots of articles written in many different ways but they all pretty much say the same thing.

Candy corn was invented in the late 1880s by a man named George Renninger, an employee at Wunderle Candy Company in Philadelphia. It was first advertised as "Chicken Feed" as many people were farmers and considered corn as animal food.  

This is the 1898 packaging design for Goelitz candy corn, now Jelly Belly candy co.

In 1920 the motto became "King of the candy cornfields"

The arrival of the war brought a shortage of wheat making people start using corn for human food. It was known as penny candy, later becoming more popular as  Halloween candy. 

Well, there's a little history lesson about the bright little candies that we all know, whether you are the king of the candy cornfield or throw the corn to the chickens.

April
~FriggleFraggle~
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Fall is in the Air once again

I'm in the mood for Fall because I can feel it in the air already! Here in Southern Canada spring and autumn have been very short with winter lasting more than half the year. I know, it's just the beginning of August but I have felt it for a few weeks now and have started working on Halloween-ish items. Here's a sneak peek at a few that I will be listing in my Etsy shop soon. 

These are part of the Fortune Teller Series that I am working on.

Something a little more colorful...Candycorn!

I have a long list of things that I am going to create so stick around to see what's in store.

April
~FriggleFraggle~
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Presenting ~ Dragon Eggs ~

Dragon Eggs!!

Each one is hand made so no two will be just alike. I offer them in a range of colors.
These will arrive in small treasure chests.

All available in my etsy shop

www.FriggleFraggleFinds.etsy.com

Tiny Dragon Eggs

Tiny Dragon Eggs!!

Each one is hand made so no two will be just alike. I offer them in a range of colors.

All available in my etsy shop

www.FriggleFraggleFinds.etsy.com

Curb Finds: A Telephone Table

~Curb Finds~A Telephone Table

by FriggleFraggle

We live in a typical city suburb neighborhood, winding streets lined with ticky tacky little boxes. It is fairly quiet for the city but louder than the country side that I am so accustomed to. Since we are on the edge of a big city we get the pleasure of having a little more space for nature trails and walking paths that someone thoughtfully planned when making this neighborhood. I am thankful for that!

Each night we go for a walk taking different routes to see new things. I love to look at the flowers and decorative gates that make the houses a little unique from one another.  I compare flowers and trees from here to where I lived before to get ideas of what grows locally so I can begin planting my yard. Taking pictures to capture the colorful beauty to hold on to throughout the year because winter is coming and it will be cold and white for a long time.

In this neighborhood, most likely in many others, when someone is wanting to part with a piece of furniture they will put it out on the curb for others to take.

I have found a few interesting items and have taken some to donate at the thrift store as well.

One of my finds was This Awesome Mirror!(coming soon)

This one is about a telephone table that was a little too rough to go to the thrift shop so I decided I would see what I could do with it.

This is what it looked like when I first picked it up.

It was covered in a thick layer of sludge and smelled of wet basement. So I got some cleaning supplies and started scrubbing.

Sadly it was in too rough of shape to take to the thrift shop. They would just trash it. 

I decided I would take on the project to see if I could fix it up. If not, then I would toss it to the curb next garbage day. I was up for the challenge!

I took the table and cloth parts off and started sanding. One of the legs was a little wobbly so I got some metal corner brackets and sturdied them all. Then I added the first coat of paint.

I chose black as the base color then added many layers of browns and gold.

I found these awesome curtains at the thrift shop and fell in love! They had 4 panels and one extra partial panel that was cut so I used the partial one to recover the bench.

It was a lot of work over a few weeks when I had a little free time. I am glad I saved this piece and gave it new life. It gets used everyday!

The gold dried a little sharper than when I first added it so I am thinking about softening it out some with browns. What do you think?

From Curb

to Classy

April
~FriggleFraggle~
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Dragon Journals and Sketch Books

~~NEW~~

Dragon Journals and Sketch Books!!

By FriggleFraggle

Hello lovelies! I have been busy these last few weeks making Dragon journals and sketch books. I love to write and draw so I carry a doodle book with me at all times to jot down ideas and I know many who do as well.

It's been a while since I made books and really wanted to again. I used to gather with a few friends and have a day full of creating, talking and eating. Oh how I missed it! I love creating things especially when it's something that can be used often and these fit right in with the Dragon theme that I enjoy so much.

*These are very time consuming to make so I don't know how often I will offer them but I have a small variety available right now.*

Sketch book or journal? Why not both!
Either can be used for sketching or journaling but I prefer the lined paper when journaling and blank paper to sketch, but what you like is up to you :)

Journals are a great way to write down your thoughts whether it's a story you want to share or used as a secret diary, it can be therapeutic and a stress relief.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Journals
They are (B6- 125mm x 176mm or 5 x 7 in.)
160 lined pages

To see more details about these journals go to links below. I have added separate posts with more details so this post won't be overloaded.

Green Dragon
Red Dragon
Brown Dragon
Purple Dragon

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Sketchbook
Close to a (A5 - 140 x 210mm or 5.5 x 8.25 in.)
160 pages of artist quality drawing paper
32 pages of smooth brown drawing paper
4 pages of sturdy brown card stock paper

To see this Sketchbook in action check out the video on YouTube

To see more details about this Dragon Sketch Book go here. I have added more pics there as not to overload this post with detailed pics.


Each one is hand made so no two will be just alike. I offer them in a range of colors.

*Again, in case you missed it...These are very time consuming to make so I don't know how often I will offer them but I have a small variety available right now.*

All available from my etsy shop  *Coming soon!*

www.FriggleFraggleFinds.etsy.com

April
~FriggleFraggle~
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Red Dragon Sketch Book

Red Dragon Sketch Book

by FriggleFraggle

This is a post dedicated to the Red Dragon sketch book from another post that included all the Journals and Sketch Books.

To see this Sketchbook in action check out the video on YouTube

I love fantasy and would like to share some of my world with you. When I carry around a dragon journal or sketch book I feel like I am carrying another world with me, the kind not everyone can see or understand. The kind of world where your imagination can turn an ordinary bird into a dragon, a flying bug into a fairy, a mushroom into a fairy's table. The world does not have to be dull or plain, it is so full of beautiful things if you just stop to look around.

Sketchbook
Close to a (A5 - 140 x 210mm or 5.5 x 8.25 in.)
160 pages of artist quality drawing paper
32 pages of smooth brown drawing paper
4 pages of sturdy brown card stock paper

There are 3 different types of paper in the sketchbook to doodle on.

This sketch book has a detailed hand painted eye that gives it depth.

I added a scaly mesh and 3D textures to resemble Dragon skin.

~~~~~~~~~~~

I also make the Magic Wand Pens in a variety of styles and colors.

Looking for the Dragon Egg in a little treasure chest? Look here!

*These are very time consuming to make so I don't know how often I will offer them but I have a small variety available right now.*

April
~FriggleFraggle~
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Etsy
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