Welcome!

I am glad you chose to visit! My blog is a compilation of the many hats I find myself wearing. On any given day I may be an encourager, an instructor, or just a lady who is venting. You, dear reader, will probably identify with my triumphs and my tribulations! These snapshots fit into my Life Scrapbook I have named A. McInnis Artworks. I hope you will find something worth your while.


Saturday, January 29, 2011

Ahchoooooooo! Tissue Holder Tutorial

There is nothing as mundane as Kleenex...HOWEVER, when you need one, there is nothing quite as dutiful and tidy. I don't know the inventor of the "tissue" but I bet his family is one happy group!! Below is my finished tissue cover ...below that is the picture of the "frumpy before cover."

I don't have a large vanity in my bathroom, but too much clutter can accumulate quickly and I am always on the lookout for ways to make it tidier. I use a square tissue holder and it was a bit frumpy. It matched my McCarty and Peters Pottery, but it was just so so.


Above you will see the original box. I painted it to match the pottery. A metal box would scratch my counter top, therefore, a lighter box was needed. So began the tissue holder search quest. Finally after weeks of looking, I decided to order a paper mache box and make my own. When it arrived I bought scrapbook paper and no matter what I bought, nothing looked promising...until one day I was in Wal Mart buying tissue and I spied this box full of kleenex!

I loved the clean cheerful lines and the only thing wrong was that it was a box and not a cover FOR the box. So as soon as I used all the tissues, I carefully cut it apart and my plan was set in motion.


First I gathered my supplies: scissors, Gesso, box cover, paint and you know....MOD PODGE!! I kept the box for color reference and photocopied several copies of the sides of the box.

Paint selection was more difficult. The exact color I was aiming for matched my pottery and it's a weird combination of brown, blue and green. I bought 5 new bottles of acrylic paint to do the Matching Part of the process.

Before mixing paint, I used Gesso to cover the brown box and give the paint some tooth on which to hold. It took two coats of Gesso.

Above are some of the colors I used to come up with the secret color! I had to use Blending Gel to give the acrylic paint longer drying time. The mixing and matching took quite awhile, but I finally managed to hit it close enough.

I started with two colors and mixed in the others until I was satisfied. The entire process from start to finish took about 3 hours. Below is the finished product. I cut out and used some of the photocopied images, painted shadows and finished the whole thing with MOD PODGE. It looks really cute in the bathroom and I am very happy with it...if I get tired of it...I'll just paint over it and do something different!


Inspiration is everywhere...even on the tissue aisle at Wal Mart!! AND McDonald's...several years ago I was about to throw away a paper cup that McDonald's used at Christmas for their drinks. Just as I was tossing, I caught myself and pulled the cup back to see the most precious silhouette of a little boy and girl.

I brought the cup right in, scrubbed it, dried it, cut it down the seam and filed it away. Someday I'd use it. I needed a small picture to display at Christmas one year, and so out came the cup and below is the result.

(Sorry about the reflection on the glass). I had the picture enlarged on a copier, traced it onto cream paper and pen and inked the silhouette. Reminds me of my grandchildren!

I am linking to Saturday Nite Special's party, please, grab the button on the right and join us.

Blessings and Joy to you,

7 comments:

Amanda said...

Love the McDonald's cup craft! You need to start a business!

Angela McInnis said...

Amanda,
You just never know where inspiration will pop up! Thank you for visiting!

Unknown said...

Your tissue holder is so stinkin' cute! I love it!

Angela McInnis said...

Thanks, Amy! Coming from you that is quite a compliment!!

Debbiedoos said...

That is so very clever. I do hope to see you tomorrow at the newbie link up party! It's going to be so much fun!

Sharon @ Crooked Creek Studio said...

I love Mod Podge AND your super-neat projects here! So glad to hear that someone else saves trash for use "someday". However, most of mine is still sitting in the craft closet waiting for me to use it. You inspire me!

Anonymous said...

I LOVE the tissue paper cover! I can never find boxes with patterns that I like. I will have to keep this in mind!