Simply Renee Inc: How I altered my Clip It Up Mini

Mar 12, 2010

How I altered my Clip It Up Mini

Hi! I'm Angela Fehr and I'm excited to be sharing my altered Clip It Up Mini with you! I'm a real vintage lover, and my dream is to decorate my studio space (which my husband is building for me this year!) like an old general store, chock full of color and antique flair. So the first thing I did with my Clip It Up Mini was to antique it a bit, using crackle paint.

First, I sprayed the base and the top of the unit with 2-3 coats of matte chocolate spray paint (mmm! chocolate!). This is the color that will show through the crackled top coat. I brushed on a thick coat of crackle medium (I used Folk Art brand) and allowed that to dry. The thicker the crackle medium, the larger the cracks. After the crackle medium was thoroughly dry, working quickly, I brushed on a layer of DecoArt Americana acrylic craft paint in Desert Sand. Crackle medium directions and results vary by brand and technique, so practice first if you are new to crackle medium.

You notice I left the center spindle unpainted. I covered it with paper instead!

I cut a sheet of my favorite patterned paper to 6" x 9", inked the edges and added a cute border along the top. I wrapped it around the spindle and hot glued it along the seam. It's not actually glued to the spindle so I can change the paper if my decor changes.

I wasn't sure how much of the base would be visible after I'd loaded my Clip It Up Mini with all my stamping stuff, but I still had more of that favorite paper pack to use (Stampin' Up! Autumn Meadow), and so I took out my Sizzix Big Shot and made some die cut leaves and label shapes to layer on the base. After die cutting, I stamped an inspiring quote on one shape (Stamp from Unity Stamp Co.) and inked the edges of the leaves.

The finished Clip it Up Mini is almost too pretty to use! But using it was what I'd been waiting for.
I loaded it with all my stamps - and I do mean ALL - all of my acrylic mount stamps fit on there with a little room to spare.

The best part of this whole alteration job is that you are only limited by your imagination - try altering your Clip it Up using your favorite paper and paint hues! Or start small and make your own custom divider cards to better label your stash. And don't forget to show us your results!