We visit a Spacecraft (of sorts).

August 11, 2009

Posted by MSLO Blogger

Posted by Jennifer Sendrow

If you like to craft but never seem to have the right supplies on hand, lack the space to set everything up, or just loathe cleaning up after a glitter glue disaster, Spacecraft is your Shangri-La. Co-owners Cristina Dodd and Stella Metzner have a well-curated craft supply shop up front and a crafting area in the back where customers can drop in anytime to make any project off their menu. They're on hand to offer expert advice or just friendly banter as you work on anything from assembling a simple birthday card to etching a set of wine glasses. Why aren't there Spacecrafts on every corner in town instead of Starbucks? We can dream.

Christina and Stella celebrated Martha's birthday this week with several crafting events, and even hung a handmade stenciled sign on their door.

They have options fit for crafters of all ages and skills, from preschool students to professional artists.

Morning Living producer Maureen McMurray and I studied our options before deciding to make decoupage picture frames. We started off with rectangles of unfinished wood.

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We painted our frames first using water-based paint. I chose purple while Maureen mixed her jewel tones for a Mardi Gras effect.

Next we scoured a box of paper ephemera to find images to decoupage onto the frames. Maureen chose to clip out birds, while I went for eyes. I thought it'd be funny to have a picture frame that looks right back at you!

To decoupage, we simply arranged our paper images on the frame and swept over them with gloss finish Mod Podge.

We did three layers to make sure everything laid flat and attached well, allowing each coat to dry for 10 minutes before adding the next. It looks slightly opaque going on, but it dries clear and shiny.