Craftastic World

German Paper Stars

2009-12-06T09:30:00.000-08:00

I remember making these German paper stars as a kid. I couldn't remember how to do it so I found this great video of the process. I imagine getting the paper ready back then was kind of hard. Now we have large varieties of paper and rotary cutting systems that make the prep work easier.

Wood Crafts

2009-10-28T08:10:00.000-07:00

My dad is busy in his workshop making some cool wood items that would make good Christmas presents (or presents to yourself.) There are some pretty cool recipe card boxes. Also, I'm still a big fan of his blank wooden scrapbooks because they are sturdy and personalizable--much easier than trying to find the perfect one in a shop.

Beaded Counters

2009-08-20T16:19:00.001-07:00

These are beaded game counters. My family play Magic: The Gathering and other games that require counters. We used to use ten-sided dice but these counters make more sense because they can be accidentally nudged without losing track of the number. I pair the beads I am using with homemade cording in the color and thickness I need. The beads must be movable but not slide around unless forced to do so.

I have ten beads in the top section and ten beads in the bottom section. The bottom section are the "ones" and the top section are the "tens." This way they can go up to 110. However, for some games, I only need 20 counters so I just make them all "ones."

The top have a loop for hanging (or for holding onto) and the bottom of them are finished in tassels. One the third from the left, I actually baked polymer clay right around the cording with the glass beads in place. However, on the rest, I made some beaded dividers and other decorator accents.

I wish I could get a better picture but this will have to do until the camera returns.

Camera Vacation

2009-08-17T19:05:00.000-07:00

I have some more crafty stuff to share SOON. My camera went on vacation with my oldest daughter and is late in arriving home--the camera, not the daughter. I have a phone on my camera that might work but I don't use it regularly. As soon as I have some good pics, I'll start putting a few things up.

Parchment Board

2009-07-27T10:46:00.000-07:00

I used my tea stained paper to make this "parchment board" version of a white board. The idea is that you fill a frame with a solid or very lightly patterned background and then use dry erase markers on the surface as a "white board" for notes, reminders, etc.. In this case, I am using a few of these in the kitchen. I like the sort of medieval-meets-modern look of these with faux parchment paper. I plan to do this with some embellished gothic frames.

Instead of plain backing, you could fill it with a printed list of categories and blank spaces, a chore list, or anything really. Since items can be written on the surface and erased away any time, it's a neat way to do a checklist.

To create the board all I did was glue down the tea stained paper to a backing piece and placed it in a frame. I hung the frame, got a dry erase marker, and was all set. Standard erasers work fine. Check thrift stores and yard sales for large frames.

My kids are teens so I think I would do this differently if I had small children that might be using the board. You can always use Plexiglas. I tested dry erase markers on Plexi that I have and it didn't stain. Also, you can screw the frame right into the studs and make it so it can't wriggle (or swing from its nail) when it is in use. Just pre-drill a hole in the top center of the frame and the bottom center of the frame when it is empty. Then pre-drill the wall and carefully secure your filled frame with screws.

Tea Stained Paper

2009-07-24T14:48:00.000-07:00

Tea stained paper has a lot of uses. I am putting some into regular glass frames to use as white boards. This will prevent the boards from having that drab "office" feeling.

To make it, start with a white or antique white paper. You don't have to use linen paper or anything of that sort. Regular copy paper will work and is sturdy enough to withstand the process.

Heat some water and soak your tea bags in it for a minute or so. Use either less water or more bags than you normally would for tea--you want it concentrated. Different colored teas will give a different look to the finished paper so experiment away. When ready to stain your paper, squeeze the bags over the steeping water just enough to prevent them from being drippy. Dab the tea bags randomly over the paper's surface until the page is wet and mottled. You may want to use paper towels to dab pools of tea that collect on the surface.

If you are going for an uneven edge, as in the picture, the best time to tear it is while the paper is still somewhat damp. Turn the paper over and carefully tear the edge. Putting a ruler down to define your rough edge will help you to gauge your tearing work. After it has been torn, dab the torn edge with the tea bag and it will soak it right in, giving a darker color to the edge.

To make dark stained creases, you need to crumple the paper. Once the paper is dray (or at least somewhat dry), crinkle it up and smooth it out. You can do this a few times for more creases. Once you are satisfied with the creases, drag your the prepared tea bags along the surface of the paper until you've dampened the whole thing again. The dark tea will sink into the creases giving a truly aged look. Allow to dry.

For a smoother finished product, you can iron the paper between layers of scrap cloth. Steam may aid this process but protect the ironing surface as some tea may stain it.

Potter Preparation

2009-07-15T08:08:00.001-07:00

I apologize for not posting much in the last few weeks. I've been on a genealogy tangent lately. When a few family facts on family origin present themselves, it is important to follow them through. My great grandparents immigrated 100 years ago, this year. Most of their nine children have passed away and it is important that I get confirmation and information before too much time has passed.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

The sixth Harry Potter movie was released today! The book releases and movie releases have been fantastic fun for my family. Today I am making Butterbeer. I have butterscotch candies handy so I am making a syrup from them to use in creating cold and warm Butterbeer with Karen Hancock's instructions from Bella Online.

Paper Stars

2009-07-03T19:08:00.001-07:00

To celebrate Independence Day and because it's a "skill" I've been meaning to share, I am posting a tutorial for building a paper star. These stars can be folded to come to a peak in the middle--like the metal star decorations that seem to be so popular. Make them out of printed paper and hang them. Make them in pairs and staple them back-to-back to create 3D stars. Or just make them for fun.

1. Fold your piece of paper in half.

2. Make an angular fold with the vertex roughly centered on the first fold. Fold over the paper as shown to the 32 degree angle mark. If you don't have a protractor, make an educated guess.

3. Fold the left side up and crease it where the extra layers of paper you've folded over in the previous step start. (Just follow the pictures.)

4. I hope you're still with me. Next, you will be folding so that the "outsides" of your angular paper configuration come together. Crease along the line where the layer change begins.

5. Press the new crease down flat and cut a sharp angle from the double-layer side toward the crease. Unfold your paper and you'll have a star! If you don't like the angle of the point, refold it and cut it again.

Hello, my name is ME

2009-06-29T00:32:00.001-07:00

I was looking for an interesting picture for an avatar, one that really screamed "me" and decided to make my own picture using my favorite art form: words. I tried to come up with all of the things about me that were true, from my perspective. I'm sure there would be other more and less complimentary things to add if I asked around.

Feel free to snag this blank one to add your own words (copy-paste away). Otherwise, it's easy enough to make a fresh tag yourself, if this isn't big enough. Any basic graphic arts program can pull off this stunt.

Alien Mutant Plants of Doom

2009-06-25T20:36:00.000-07:00

For you elementary school teachers, homeschooling parents, or crafters with unusual tastes I'd like to direct you to my math education blog: Family Math where I have posted instructions on building alien foliage for a math puzzle called Evil Mutant Plants of Doom.

Family Math is where I get to discuss math education and encourage a dialog about mathematics problem solving between adults and children. I developed a number of math puzzles and games intended for Family Math fairs. It is a fantastic way to combine my math fandom and my crafting skills.

My Dad's Handiwork

2009-06-25T15:25:00.000-07:00

My dad has been busy in the workshop again. He's built this unfinished pine table whose base works as a magazine rack. He has it on offer at Etsy. It would make a good end table, near an entry -- anywhere, really.

Custom Lamp Finials

2009-06-23T13:50:00.000-07:00

I made this custom two-sided final for a tall lamp. It's built from polymer clay and faux cabochon gems. I wanted a sort of sun/moon look so I built each side as a medallion. However, more interesting, sculptural pieces are certainly possible.

First, I took the old finial to the hardware store where I found a bolt that fit inside it. I didn't need to buy the bolt but used it to find a threaded insert into which it could fit. This steel insert cost about a dollar. It's meant to be hammered into wood. There are styles with outside threading that is intended to be screwed into wood. However, I liked the fatter base and sturdy prongs of this hammer-in style.

Then I built the clay around it. I should have taken more pictures to show what I did. It was simple enough to cover the insert and then build-up the piece in layers. In this case, I covered it and shaped the top into a flat disk. Then I built medallions to fit the disk and added those on a second and third firing.

Using Paper Cones

2009-06-21T10:13:00.000-07:00

Here are some cones made with the directions in my Paper Cone Tutorial in use. The "tree" is just three stacked cones made with the same angle cut and different slant heights.

My favorite use so far has to be the snack stands. I made the top cones as usual and snipped off the tip. Then I lined them with waxed paper for food safety. To line them, I just cut a half circle with a radius of the same slant height as the cone it went into, rolled them to fit inside, then folded over the tip. The bases were cut using an arc I drew with the compass--about 1.5 - 2 inches away from the center point. I suggest making the snack cones and their bases fairly wide so they aren't "tippy."

I plan to give specific directions on the snack stands in a later post so stay tuned. I may also be talked into making some templates for those who don't want to figure out the math.

Tutorial: Modular Paper Cone

2009-06-20T15:02:00.001-07:00

Paper cones are versatile for crafting.
- tip down, they serve as hanging vases
- holiday paper cones can represent trees
- they make great party hats

It's simple to roll paper into a cone. But what if you want to make a cone that's a specific radius and height? What if you want the base to sit evenly on a flat surface?

Making custom cones is simple and only uses a little math. To make it more accessible (that is, to prevent your eyes from glazing over), I will simply give the instructions here. I plan to post an explanation of the calculations on my Family Math blog.

Step One: Determine the radius (r) of your base and the height. You'll use these to find the "slant height". This online calculator will do it for you: Calculator. Just enter the radius of the base and the height as the sides. The result (hypotenuse) is your slant height: s. (If you know a little geometry, this slant height is calculated using the Pythagorean Theorem.)

Step Two: Determine the angle of the wedge shape you'll need to cut from paper. This another simple calculation: Angle=360r/s
(r is the radius of the base, s is the slant height from the previous step)

Step Three: You will be drawing this angle on your paper. To do this, select a point for the vertex of the angle. Draw one line that starts at the point and is length s.

Using a protractor, mark a point that makes the angle you determined from this point. Draw a line that connects the point to this line and extends beyond it for length S. At this point, you should have an angle with two legs of equal length on your paper.

Step Four: To draw the arc which will be the edge of your cone's base, you will need a compass*. Adjust your compass so the distance it spans is the same as the slant height, s. Place the point of your compass on the vertex of your angle and sketch the arc.

Step Five: Make a tab along one side of the wedge, as shown. This will be the gluing tab. I added the red lines to this picture to show the details. Notice, I cut the tab short on the point side.

Step Six: Cut out the wedge, roll into a cone and glue together.

*(You can also substitute a strip of paper a little longer than S for the compass. Place the paper to be cut onto cork board or some other surface you can pin into. Mark a line on the strip that is the same length as S. Make a small hole in one end of the line. Then pin the other end of the line through the vertex of your angle. Place a pencil into the hole and make your arc line.)

Baked Potato Salad

2009-06-17T11:57:00.000-07:00

Every crafter, writer, parent, etc. needs good, quick kitchen tricks. After a day of projects, I was going to make burgers for three of us one evening and wanted a fast side dish. I rooted around in my fridge and found a few things that I thought would work. The result: Baked Potato Salad.

First I made a dressing by thinning (light) sour cream with (light) ranch dressing. I diced cold, leftover baked potatoes with the skins on then lightly salted and peppered the potatoes. I combined the dressing and potatoes with some bacon bits. I would have tossed in some chives or maybe green onions but I didn't have either at the time. I'm sure I'll be making this again because it went fast.

Pirate Pushpins

2009-06-16T16:42:00.001-07:00

These are sword, dagger, and knife pushpins I made for my bulletin board. I created them because of my husband's love of "pirate culture." I was also inspired by the image of the dagger in the door when Captain Hook kindnapped Peter's kids in the movie "Hook."

They are even sturdy enough to be put into a wall and hold a small amount of weight--like a parchment ransom demand or declarations of pirate rights. This one is in my husband's office at work where it holds a little sign in full pirate style.

Candle Holder

2009-06-14T12:21:00.000-07:00

My father just added this candle holder to his etsy shop. It's two sided--one side holds votives or tea lights and the other holds tapers. I received one like this last Christmas and just love it!

These are really versatile. I can make long, tall centerpieces by putting narrow cylindrical bud vases (less than a dollar at Walmart) in the votive holes. Then I put single flowers or bunches of small flowers in the vases. It's a really nice look.

Steampunk Princess Fairy Door

2009-06-14T12:11:00.001-07:00

My daughter drew a concept for this door and I built it for her. I suppose it's steampunk meets fairy princess. It was difficult to stay faithful to her window details which were pretty cool. Only the most amazing fairies would live behind this door.

The "glass" was more distressed than I had anticipated, having handled and rolled the clay for it carefully. Next time I think I'll pool liquid clay over a color to get the look I'm after. It seems to be more consistent.

Making Paint on the Cheap

2009-06-11T09:11:00.000-07:00

My tutorial about painting clean lines posted on Instructables has been so popular (over 7k hits in less than 3 days) that I thought I would redirect anyone who is interested to my only other paint advice: Penny Pincher's Paint. This is an article I've written about how to buy tempera paint (for teachers and parents) and make acrylic paint (for crafters, parents, and teachers) out of bulk purchased tempera powders.

Tutorial: Crisp, Clean Paint Lines

2009-06-07T19:47:00.000-07:00

This tutorial was featured on Instructables.

Have you ever tried to use masking tape for its intended purpose only to discover that, no matter how carefully you apply the tape, paint bleeds under it, ruining your efforts?

Making clean paint lines between two colors doesn't have to require a steady hand or special equipment. This technique is very simple and requires only paint, brushes and masking tape. This time, however, you will be controlling the bleeding paint and using it to create crisp lines that precisely follow the edge of the tape.

Lay down the first color, extending past the area where the line will be. If you are using two layers per color, paint both layers.

Once it's dry, place your masking tape. In this case, the bottom of the masking tape marks the location where the edge between the two colors will appear.

Using the same color, paint along the tape edge. This seems strange but, there will always be some bleeding under the tape. By deliberately painting against the tape, you seal the edge with the first color, allowing it to bleed under the edge, so the second color can't do it. The edge of the tape becomes the edge of your line.

Make sure the lower edge of the paint feathers softly away so you won't see a thick ragged layer of paint later on.

When the bleed-under layer has dried, paint the second color. Make sure your paint overlaps the location of the tape line.

Remove the tape by pulling it at a 90 degree angle. Do this when the paint is wet, if possible.

Tah-dah! Crisp, clean paint lines!

(I hate adding a caveat but it seems warranted here: I haven't had any problems with the line when removing the tape after the second color has dried BUT other people I know have. It has to do with paint setting up and binding to itself. So, if you cannot pull the tape while it is still wet or at least soon after it dries, you might consider using a craft knife and a straight edge to score the line before pulling the tape.)

The Great Popsicle Experiment

2009-06-04T17:14:00.000-07:00

I found these cute little rocket popsicle molds at Dollar Tree. I got a set but didn't really look at them very hard until I got them home. They are small and 1 cup of liquid fills all 8 so I thought they would be good for small, cold treats like frozen smoothies. However, I noticed that the sticks were completely smooth and imagined that they would slide right out of the popsicles when frozen. I was right--6 out of 8 came out without their frozen treats attached.

So I tried a little experiment. I drilled holes in the part of the stick that was put into the mold. I used as large a hole as I thought could work, structurally. Then I cleaned them up with a sharp knife, inserted in the hole and turned until the slivers of plastic came off. Then, I sterilized them.

I only drilled out half of the sticks, then I made popsicles. When I tried to unmold them, not one of the plain sticks held its treat. However, 3 out of 4 drilled out sticks slid out properly. I did warm the outside of the mold in both cases.

So, don't despair at poorly designed popsicle sticks. Get out power tools instead!

Improved Solar Night Light

2009-06-02T20:42:00.001-07:00

This is an improved version of my solar night light. I put small clear flat back marbles in the base. If you are making a plastic version of this, an option would be to use opaque acrylic beads--faceted or pony beads. I like the idea of the faceted ones because they would make the light appear more fractured.

No Bake Cookies

2009-06-01T15:37:00.001-07:00

My Instructable for these classic No-Bake Cookies was featured. Cool. We consider them the quintessential summer treat. Because they have no egg, no gluten and can be made without dairy, they tend to fit everyone's dietary requirements--except for the part that they are more candy than cookie.

Giveaway Winner

2009-06-01T09:09:00.000-07:00

I used the random number generator at random.org to pick a winner for my fairy door giveaway. The winner is Jerri from Many Crafts.

Thanks so much for all of the great comments! I hope you come back and visit. I will consider giving away more items in the future. I was also thinking about opening an etsy shop for selling my wares.

Solar Night Light

2009-05-31T19:12:00.000-07:00

I made one of these solar night lights for a bathroom. These would be great for a kids' room, to take camping, or probably a hundred other uses. I was inspired by this instructable for a solar jar. The nightlight is even simpler. It took just a couple of minutes to assemble.

I bought a $4 path light at Walmart. Then I took the post and shade off it. The only tool I remember using was a screwdriver. I wish I would have taken pictures to show how easy it was to take apart. Maybe I'll make another just so I can take pictures to prove the simplicity of the task.

What was left was kind of like a hockey puck with a solar panel on top and an LED protruding from the bottom. I found a glass candle holder in my candle cupboard that was the perfect size. To secure the pieces together, I used super glue. If you are worried about dropping these and breaking the glass, you could probably find a clear plastic container to use as the base.

The hardest part of using this is remembering to put it in a sunny window in the morning.

To make it more interesting, you could:
- etch the glass
- frost (faux etch) the glass
- wrap a piece of vellum around the glass
- adorn it with ribbons, etc..
- fill the glass with interesting marbles
- put star-shaped stickers on the glass, paint the glass, then carefully remove the stickers
etc.

Give Away!

2009-05-26T09:44:00.000-07:00

I am taking part in the Sew, Mama, Sew! Blog May Giveway. To enter for a chance to win my offering you must leave a comment on this post by May 31, 2009. Make sure your comment includes a way to contact you in the event that you win. I will be using a random number generator to select a winner.

I am giving away this fairy door made of polymer clay. It's a great whimsical accent for any home and is tiny enough to go just about anywhere. The door is 3" x 4", has a recessed wire hanger and can be hung from a small nail. It features rustic wood with iron looking hardware and a glittery golden window. The door is surrounded by faux smooth river stones. It comes with its own scroll bearing my original fairy door legend.
Good luck!

Math and Crafts

2009-05-26T07:57:00.000-07:00

I found this lovely post on Math and Crafts . I am always looking for patterns in things. Maybe it's the closet synesthetic in me, but it really gives me a thrill to see math used as an expressive form--which it kind of always has been to me.

Give Away!

2009-05-22T17:11:00.001-07:00

This year I will be participating in the Sew, Mama, Sew! Blog May Giveaway Day on May 27th. If you are a crafter with a blog or online shop, consider participating. It's a great way for other people to see what you've got and, by visiting the participants (there will be MANY), you will discover a lot of great craft websites.

Crockpot Cookery

2009-05-21T15:54:00.000-07:00

I'm digging out my crockpot for a more regular gig. I found this great Crockpot Cooking Blog, which chronicles a whole year of crockpot meals. It's so nice because we can learn from the poster's experiences with each recipe.

Gift in a Can

2009-05-15T11:37:00.001-07:00

I wrote an Instructable for a Gift in a Can, featuring a pull-top can that was the former home of fire roasted tomatoes. It's a really simple concept but I thought I'd do a photo-filled tutorial for it. Just for fun, I canned my youngest daughter's chenille Easter chicks and then we released them into the wilds of her bedroom.

Super Visor

2009-05-14T07:23:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I posted a new Instructable--a tutorial on making a woman's visor. I like the long brim on it. I think I'll try my hand at a wider brimmed visor to protect the ears as well.

I also told my daughter that I'd try to make some with interesting embellishments. I thought I could do a quasi steampunk version with black net trailing from the front arc of the brim.

Mr. Coffeepot of Doom

2009-05-13T07:12:00.000-07:00

I have an old coffeemaker. It's perfectly sufficient for its purpose: as a nasal alarm clock (and as a brewer of the elixir of life.)

Normally, we shut off the behemoth once it's brewed it's pot. This morning, however, I didn't get it turned off right away and it's just 12 feet away from where I keep my computer. So I'm sitting here, cruising the web, and hearing, frankly, what sounds like the sound reel of a bad science-fiction thriller in which the alien bad guy is skulking around near the main cast members who are so busy masking their obvious physical attraction for each other with repeated jibes back and forth that they don't see his inept efforts at sneaking around. The hisses and low-pitched whines of steam issuing forth at irregular intervals are actually quite paranoia-inducing.

Watch out! He's right there! Oh my goodness, he's going to grab her!! Don't you see the trail of ooze!?!

Thanks for the double-whammy of awakeness, Mr. Coffeepot of Doom.

Making Your Own Custom Cording

2009-05-07T16:32:00.000-07:00

I posted a new Instructable today, showing how to make custom cording for craft, costuming, and home decorating projects. It's made from embroidery thread which is cheap, readily available, and comes in an absolute sea of colors. The nice thing about making it yourself it that it can be the precise color, thickness, and length you need!

Tweaking An Inlay Clay Design

2009-05-07T12:55:00.000-07:00

This is another clay medallion made with my inlay technique. Instead of using a stamp, I used a tile with a raised design as the "stamp." Because of the smooth surface on the tile, I dusted the clay with cornstarch, rather than the stamp, before pressing the design into the background clay.

It occurs to me that I could probably use multiple colors in the inlay designs. For instance, I might make this design with the flower red, the outline green, and the rest blue on a sea of terra cotta colored clay.

I have noticed that it's actually not that hard to remove the inlay before sealing it in, using an exacto knife. For instance, when I had a fingernail groove in the clay that caught the black inlay, I dug out the black and pushed in more of the gold background clay.

Tutorial: Inlay Clay Designs Using Rubber Stamps

2009-05-05T16:51:00.001-07:00

I really like the idea of intricate clay designs embedded in clay. Not having the ability for a truly artistic attempt, I've begun to rely on rubber stamps to give me that look with little effort. Here is how I make inlay designs using rubber stamps. A more detailed tutorial is located on Instructables.com.

Roll your clay to a uniform depth using a clay pasta machine. I like to use the thickest setting for this.

Dust your rubber stamp* with a light coating of corn starch, removing the excess with a dry paint brush or cosmetic brush. I use corn starch because it dissolves in water and washes away easily.

Press the stamp uniformly into the clay. Make sure the top surface is still smooth and that the piece is a uniform thickness. (If not, run it carefully through your pasta machine again to smooth down the top.) Trim around the design as desired.

Bake the clay according to package instructions. When the clay is cool, rinse it off with cold water to clean off the corn starch. Make sure the clay is very dry before moving on.

Press the contrasting inlay color of clay into the design. Press down from the top and push out any voids.

Remove as much clay from the top as possible. Use your clay cutter to scrape off excess clay. Any clay not removed here will be manually sanded away. (I’ve had a modest amount of success removing excess clay by running the piece through the pasta maker again. I haven’t had enough success to fully recommend it.)

Rebake your piece to solidify the inlay. Once it is cool, use waterproof sandpaper and soapy water to sand away any excess clay from the top. Pay attention to the design, rinsing as you go and only sanding where it is necessary. It is possible to use progressively finer grades of sandpaper to create a glossy finish. However, I prefer to glaze over the top when the piece is finished.

* Not all rubber stamps are going to give a good inlay image and, the inlay design may not be as detailed as the stamped image. Test your image on some scrap clay and look carefully at the shapes in the smooth top surface of your clay as that will be the design of the inlay—not the deeply set detailed design that normally appears when it is used as a stamp.

Refillable Sketchbook

2009-05-02T10:03:00.000-07:00

It's my daughter's birthday. She loves to draw--is at it all of the time. She totes around sketchbooks and goes through about one a month. So, for her birthday, I made her a rolltop solid wood refillable sketchbook. I made the top as a roll top so she could flip the cover back when it's sitting on her lap. Now I can buy her art paper by the ream to fill the book.

If you are interested in such a book yourself, you could visit my dad's etsy shop and drop him a request for a specially made one. He'll be happy to quote you a price. It took a bit of effort to figure out how to do these right and he would be happy to put that expertise to work.

Misc. Projects

2009-04-29T19:02:00.000-07:00

We've been ill at our house, swapping germs and laying about in pajamas. I've also started to edit my NaNoWriMo story from Nov 2008. I didn't hit the 50k mark at that time but I had a lot of fun writing the second story I started (after the first flopped--in my brain at least.)

My dad retired last year and has finally found a way getting out of my mother's hair by making scrapbooks and photo albums (and stands for them) from cedar. He got the idea from a project I asked him to work on for my daughter's birthday. Now he's selling them on etsy.

Gelatin Oranges

2009-04-26T19:04:00.000-07:00

This is a project I did for New Year's. I saw photos of similar gelatin treats somewhere on the web so I made them. They were cute and good. I juiced the oranges and reserved the juice to use in the jello. The jello was made like jigglers so it was sturdier than normal jellow. It was made with one small package jello and one envelope unsweetened gelatin mixed with two cups of boiling liquid (combo the juice and some water.)

A little hint: once you've juiced the orange halves, dig a spoon into the stem end of each half and use it scoop out the innards from there. It's a little easier that way.

Bauble

2009-04-21T09:41:00.001-07:00

This little medallion was made using a rubber stamp. I think I'll highlight the texture of the design with a little black paint to give it the appearance of pewter. This is another use for faux gems. I'm trying to decide how to use this. It seems that I have more ideas than things to do with them. Perhaps it will make a good centerpiece to a fairy door.

Potion Bottle

2009-04-10T11:55:00.001-07:00

I made this potion bottle from a clear glass ornament topped with a cork. It's covered in polymer clay. The ring of twisted clay at the bottom serves as its base. I also considered covering the globe completely and making it a separate stand. Perhaps I'll try that next time.

Baubles

2009-04-09T19:12:00.001-07:00

These are some of the baubles I've recently made with polymer clay and faux gemstones. The one of the left is my favorite.

Instructable: Round Shapes for Applique

2009-04-06T16:33:00.000-07:00

I just posted a new instructable. I'm making an easter egg table runner covered in applique eggs. I've been using aluminum foil to speed up the process of preparing applique pieces and thought I would take some photos and make a quick guide. You'll find it here: Round Shapes for Applique the Easy Way.

Canned Magic

2009-04-06T11:56:00.000-07:00

I needed to mail a fairy door and wanted to find a small box that was quite sturdy. I remembered reading something about using a smooth-edge can opener to open a can that could be filled and resealed. So I grabbed a can of pears that had a tab top and opened it from the bottom. Once it was cleaned out, it was clearly the perfect size for the door which I placed inside with some packing material.

I sealed it using sturdy glue. Then I painted the top and spray paint and top-coated it with glittery nail polish. A computer-generated label finished it off nicely. Next time I will format the label so that the printing isn't as wide.

Now the recipient can use the pull tab-thingy to open it.

I'm Dreaming of a Green Easter

2009-04-03T20:53:00.000-07:00

For their first few years, the Easter Bunny brought my kids buckets, plastic wheelbarrows, and such filled with goodies. Then one year he brought them each a nice wooden basket. We decided to keep these baskets instead of letting the Bunny deliver a new container each year. We shredded used paper and filled them up the night before Easter morning so the Bunny simply added the goodies. They are a permanent holiday feature like Christmas stockings. Using them is also kinda green. We thought it was a sweet tradition but it also happens to keep cheap baskets out of landfills.

Sewing Colored Eggs

2009-04-03T11:23:00.000-07:00

I am stitching up some fabric eggs from scraps. I've been hanging on to some small brightly colored and patterned scraps hoping to find a project for them. This egg pattern from retro mama is the perfect use.

The only difference I've made to it is that, once sewn and prior to turning, I neatly squash the bottom point flat and sew directly across it. This is a trick I learned from sewing juggling balls which need some reinforced ends. Perhaps it warrants a photo. I'll take one when I finish sewing the dozen eggs I'm making later today.

Southwestern Fairy Door

2009-03-31T14:11:00.001-07:00

I made this fairy door with a southwestern style home in mind. I really like the look of the tile roof. The stucco walls were harder to do than I anticipated because it's hard to keep it neat when I'm working with other colors and smudging them into the clay.

National Autism Awareness Month

2009-03-31T10:17:00.000-07:00

April is National Autism Awareness Month. Having family that is "on the spectrum," I think it's very important for people to be aware of autism, its various forms and lifestyle issues. Understanding the underlying difficulties can help others recognize the challenges being faced by those with autism.

Fuschia Fairy Door

2009-03-28T13:11:00.001-07:00

This is another fairy door. It's made with a taste for delicate colors and shapes in mind.

Celtic Knot Fairy Door

2009-03-27T20:50:00.001-07:00

I've completed yet another fairy door. I love knotwork and this turned out fairly well. However, I made the mistake of glazing the entire door and the glaze sunk into the bark texture more than I had anticipated. It's still pretty neat.

Baby Shower

2009-03-27T09:59:00.000-07:00

These are some of the things I have for my sister's baby shower this weekend. I sewed a tag blanket, made some iron-on decorations for the plain onesies I bought, and sewed some towel bibs. I loved the towel bibs I had for my youngest and, not finding any for sale, made some.

Owen and Orion

2009-03-24T16:45:00.001-07:00

These are bedroom door signs that I made for my nephews. Owen is going to be a big brother to baby Orion in a few weeks and these are gifts for them. Owen is really into trains and I think Orion's room is going to have a space theme. I need to find my gold and silver cording or perhaps some chain to connect the name plates and to make hangers.

Coconut Whoopie Pies

2009-03-20T12:06:00.000-07:00

Spring has gotten us in the mood for coconut cake. So I decided to try my hand at making coconut whoopie pies. The cake isn't all that soft and delicate--more like quick bread. However, this seems to make it more suitable for the task at hand. This filling has a fluffy texture and has both the body and stickiness to hold the cake sandwiches together.

I posted picture-ridden instructions for these cakes on Instructables and it was featured! If you want to see the tutorial, it can be found here: Instructables Coconut Whoopie Pie.

Coconut Whoopie Pie Recipe

Cake Ingredients::
4 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup sugar
2 Tbsp baking powder
1 teas salt
1/2 cup shredded coconut
2 eggs
1 cup milk
2/3 cup vegetable oil
1 teas coconut extract

Filling Ingredients:
1 egg white
2/3 c sugar
1/4 c Karo
3 Tbsp water
1/8 teas cream of tartar
1/8 teas salt
1 teas coconut extract

Garnish:
¼ cup shredded coconut

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
In a large bowl, combine dry ingredients (flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, and coconut).
In a small bowl, whisk together egg, milk, oil, and coconut extract. Pour liquids into dry ingredients and beat until combined.

Using a cookie scoop, drop 2 inches apart onto greased cookie sheets and bake for 7-9 minutes or until cakes spring back when touched. Remove with a spatula and cool on racks.

To prepare icing, combine egg white, sugar, corn syrup, water, cream of tartar, and salt in a double boiler over boiling water. Beat with mixer until mixture is firm and forms peaks. Remove from heat and fold in coconut extract.

Pair up cakes and fill with about 1-2 Tbsp filling, pushing together to spread it. Sprinkle edges with shredded coconut. Makes about 20.

Curled Iron Fairy Door

2009-03-18T11:42:00.001-07:00

Here's my latest fairy door. It's only about 2 inches tall. I think I need to start making larger doors.

There is this life rule that says: if you are unsure of the feasibility of something, try it on a smaller scale. This makes sense on so many things: food, buildings, social experiments... However, when it comes to crafting, it seems that a small size can be too limiting and so making a larger version of an items allows for more details.

Bag End's Door

2009-03-16T21:20:00.001-07:00

This is my version (of the movie version of) Bag End's front door in the Lord of the Rings series. I also included Gandalf's carving. I'm fairly pleased. However, I think I'll add the greenery that will make the roof look more authentic.

Inlay in Clay

2009-03-14T23:25:00.001-07:00

My oldest daughter's room has developed a French theme with the colors crimson and black. She asked for a fairy door to go with these elements. So I used polymer clay, a pasta machine, and a rubber stamp to inlay black clay into the red of the door. It's pretty cute and it's only about 2.5" tall.

Finger Sandwiches

2009-03-13T10:34:00.000-07:00

My husband's office is having a Friday the 13th potluck for lunch. Hubby signed up for "finger sandwiches." So I am accommodating him with these. The fingernails are made from mozzarella and they are stuffed with a garlic and herbed chicken salad (ground fine and dispensed with a pastry bag). I also added sliced thin strips of cucumber to give them the proper crunch. I had to restrain myself from dabbing ketchup on the "severed ends." These are going to be fun to make for Halloween.

One Ring and Fairy Door

2009-03-11T09:49:00.000-07:00

This is a new version of my One Ring sphere stand. I made a stamp of the inscription and pressed it into the clay. I'm still not entirely pleased with the results but they are getting better. This time I've got the shape of the ring a bit better. The ring from the movie really is quite a fat band of gold.

This is yet another fairy door. I layered some clay, pressed it into a thin sandwich, rolled, and sliced it to get the wood grain on this one. Though it wasn't exactly as I had envisioned, it went quickly.

I've made a Flickr group of my fairy doors. It can be viewed here: Craftastic Fairy Doors

Opposites

2009-03-09T22:06:00.000-07:00

These fairy doors are from opposite ends of the spectrum. The door on the left was requested by my daughter's friend. It's a door of doom. The door on the right is for a kindergartner.

Brick and Mortar

2009-03-09T10:21:00.000-07:00

This is yet another fairy door. Though I tend to give away a lot of the things I make, I'm keeping this one for myself. Making the bricks and mortaring them in was a very long undertaking. Maybe I will remember it and refine the process if I ever decide to make another brick-edged door in the future. Also, I mortared in the bottom of the door. Oops.

Sweet Success

2009-03-05T07:01:00.000-08:00

I found out yesterday that I won the Instructables Sweet Treats Contest for my Heart Cupcakes from Standard Pans tutorial. Best of all is my prize--chocolate. The prize includes Cocoa Puro Kakawa Chocolate Covered Cocoa Beans. I can't wait to try them!

Fairy Apartments

2009-03-04T11:24:00.000-08:00

These are yet more fairy doors I made from polymer clay.

Another Fairy Door

2009-03-02T15:26:00.000-08:00

This new polymer clay fairy door is an improvement on a previous effort. I made this one with a wood grain technique and then aged it. I really like the look of the pebbles around the door and as a doorstep. I fiddled around with the clay far longer than I intended to in order to get a large variety of stones.

Star Cupcakes

2009-02-26T17:23:00.000-08:00

These are my latest shaped cupcakes--stars! Five marbles placed strategically between the lining and the pan formed five-pointed stars. I posted instructions on making heart-shaped cupcakes using standard pans on Instructables and this uses the same concept.

Technically, these are brownies but I like to bake brownies in cupcake papers. It makes it a simpler matter to create serving-sized brownies. I make boxes mixes and add an extra egg, as per the cake-like brownie instructions. They bake very nicely and peel away from the paper well.

Shaped Cupcakes From Standard Pans

2009-02-21T20:49:00.000-08:00

After making my heart shaped cupcakes using standard pans, I was given the idea to use more marbles to achieve other shapes.

So I made shamrocks and mushrooms. Shamrocks take four marbles (with two spaced closer together for the stem) while mushrooms take two marbles which form the stem.

My daughter thought that the mushrooms should become "Mario Mushrooms" so I decorated them accordingly.

Pint Ice Cream Cozy Tutorial

2009-02-20T18:57:00.000-08:00

A PDF version of this tutorial can be downloaded here: Ice Cream Cozy Tutorial

I started making these pint ice cream cozies after my daughter's friend requested them. I don't like overlapping seams or hook and loop closures so I used elastic to secure it together.

Ice Cream Cozy Supplies:
fabric (minimum of 10" X12")--this can be all one fabric or two pieces about 5"x12"
batting, fleece or other insulating material (5"X12")
1/2" elastic (about 4,")
Thread
Scissors
One pint ice cream container emptied and cleaned

To make the pattern, you will be disassembling the container. Start by cutting off the rounded top edge. Then poke a hole in the bottom and tear out the disc on the bottom. Finally, cut along the seam down the length of the container. Lay this flat and it will serve as a pattern for the fabric and batting.

Transfer the pattern from the cardboard onto the fabric. You will need two pieces of fabric cut from this pattern. These can be the same fabric or two contrasting or coordinating fabrics.

The insulating layer will need to be a little bit smaller. I suggest marking out the pattern onto the batting and then adjusting it by moving it in two directions 1/2". (See picture)

Center the insulating layer on the wrong side of one piece of fabric. Temporarily secure in place by basting or pinning. When pinning, be sure the pins are inserted from the RIGHT side of the fabric or you'll eventually trap them inside.

Next, layer the two pieces of fabric, right sides together with the insulating layer on top and pin in place. On one of the short sides, pin the piece of elastic between the fabric layers about 1" from each corner. The edge of the elastic should line up with the edge of the fabric and the length should be sandwiched BETWEEN the layers of fabric.

Start sewing on the non-elastic short side about 1" from the end. Backstitch to secure. Continue sewing around the whole thing, finishing 3/4" from the other ends of the beginning side and backstitch to secure. Refer to the black line in the picture to see where the stitching goes.

Clip the corners close to the stiching. You can clip toward the sewing on the curves if you'd like but the curves are so gentle it hardly makes a difference.

Turn the fabric right side out. Push out the corners, fold the open seam in, and press for crisp edges.

Tuck the elastic into the open seam near the edges of the opening. Leave 1/4" to 1/2" of elastic showing and pin the elastic in place. Stitch 1/4" from the edge of the fabric, catching the elastic in the seam. Continue sewing around the edges until you reach the original sewing to complete the cozy.

Muse and Miscellaneous

2009-02-19T22:44:00.000-08:00

I've got a couple of projects in the works. One is a private sewing commission. The other is my new muse. It's an idea I got when considering developing more pirating accessories for my husband's office. More on it as I develop and streamline the creation process.

I'm also putting together a tutorial for making an ice cream cozy. This was something dreamed up by a friend of my youngest daughter whose family likes to buy ice cream pints. They nibble out of the pint containers and she wanted something like the coffee cup cozy concept but big enough to go around pints. This is a good fat quarter project for all of those fun fat quarters that tend to collect in fabric stashes.

The One Ring

2009-02-16T22:07:00.000-08:00

Tonight I made a sphere stand that looks like the One Ring from Tolkien's Lord of the Rings series. It was actually pretty simple. I used an image transfer technique to put the inscription onto my clay which I then formed into the ring shape. There are quite a few descriptions of this method online so I won't go into details here except to say that it required a photocopy (toner-based image). Sadly, I had to visit Kinkos twice because I forgot to reverse the inscription on my first copy.

Casting

2009-02-16T16:08:00.000-08:00

I'm rather excited to get Amazing Mold Putty. It consists of two tubs of flexible material that, when combined in a 1:1 ratio result in a flexible mold making material. The especially interesting part is that the molds are food safe and can be used for baking (up to 365 degrees.) I got it to cast items for polymer clay push molds. However, molds can be used for plaster, soap, or wax too. What a fantastic product.

Heart Cupcakes

2009-02-15T23:35:00.000-08:00

I have been making these heart-shaped cupcakes for many Valentine's Days now. I make them in regular cupcake pans but slide a marble between the lining paper and the pan prior to baking. I posted step-by-step instructions on the process and frosting tips on Instructables.

Fantasy Crystal Ball

2009-02-13T09:40:00.000-08:00

Silver polymer clay and more faux gemstones went into making this stand for my glass sphere. The original stand was a small wood ring. I built this replacement stand around a small glass candleholder wrapped in waxed paper which I removed prior to baking. I think it goes well with the little fantasy figurine collection that you can kind of see in the background.

Emo Bottle

2009-02-11T14:29:00.000-08:00

I had a large green stone laying around after having made a bunch of faux gemstones. So I decided to make a really creepy cool potion bottle for my Halloween display. Once I had done the bottle, I made a matching lid. I'm going to have to come up with a really dreadful sounding potion ingredient to put in the bottle.

After I made it, my kids thought it reminded them of the dark Spiderman from the third movie (or "Emo Spidey" as he has come to be known in our house.)

Festive Chandelier

2009-02-10T13:27:00.000-08:00

This light fixture is a dated brass thing that was here when we moved in. I have a vintage light fixture that I was planning to put in this spot but, since just after we moved here in Sept. I've had a number of seasonal garlands wrapped around this light fixture disguising it. I used hot glue to hold up the garlands. When we were ready to remove them, I just held an icepack up to the hot glue to harden and shrink it so it peeled right off!

For Valentine's Day, I cut hearts out of double-sided cardstock. Then I simply stitched them together. I stitched down the length of one heart then, when I reached the other side, slid another heart under the sewing machine foot. It's really quick and easy. I made similar autumn garlands by stitching through loose fabric leaves and using monofilament thread.

Fairy Doorway

2009-02-09T08:17:00.000-08:00

This weekend I experimented with polymer clay with the idea of making a fairy door. This one is only just a few inches across. I used an amber faux gem in place of the little window on it. I thought it would be fun to have a variety of fairy doors throughout the house, each made to look different from the others. I like the woodsy effect on this one but I think it needs aging with some paint and perhaps a little moss to complete the look.

Leaf Handbag

2009-02-08T22:07:00.001-08:00

In about half an hour, I turned this placemat into a fantastic little bag. I followed Spool's great tutorial for making a bag out a placemat. It was really fast and easy. I had been hoping to find a good placemat for this project and this one was all alone on a clearance table. The nice thing about placemats is that they usually have well-coordinated patterns and colors.

Gold and Gem Ornament

2009-02-06T15:35:00.000-08:00

Polymer clay, faux gemstones, and a clearance-priced glass Christmas ornament went into this medieval-themed decoration. There were a few disasters associated with making this. For instance, I hung it from an oven rack rather than lay it down (didn't want any flat spots) and the bottom turned black because of proximity to the heating element. Thus, I had to cut that off, recover it, and bake it on its side (which was fine once the sides had hardened in the first firing.) I still have to neaten it up and polish it.

Blues and Greens

2009-02-05T11:06:00.001-08:00

Here are some more of my faux gems, yet to be set into clay. I am experimenting with blues and greens. The photo doesn't show it as well as I'd hoped but there is a bit of variation in the textures and colors in the stones. The green ones show this best. I've been using metallic permanent markers to change the reflectivity and opacity of the colors.

Wizard Wand

2009-02-03T10:19:00.000-08:00

My family made wood wands with polymer clay handles to go with the costumes we wore to the release of the final Harry Potter book. You can see directions with photos in my fantasy wand tutorial posted on Instructables.This is a "natural" magic wand. It's roughly whittled length ends in a nobbly bark handle. I actually made it out of a piece of dowel and then added the textured handle. I tried to do this with polymer clay. However, I couldn't get the texture right with clay. So I used a glue-based technique.

Those looking for a more natural looking wand might like this style. It is the style I imagined when I read the first Harry Potter book. The movie wands are, of course, amazing. But I kind of like the simplicity of this one. I created it by using a glue technique to make the rough "bark." For more details, email me.

Scroll

2009-02-01T12:12:00.000-08:00

This is a scroll my daughter and I made for her French class. The assignment required that she write a poem in French and include some kind of artwork in the finished presentation of it. Apparently, anything will do, even clipart. So we made the scroll. It's made from wood dowel pieces, polymer clay, and some little faux gems.

The "paper" is tea-dyed yellow fabric that was run through the printer using a multi-step process that I call "The Happy Accident." I love it when a not-so-well thought out plan goes terribly right!

This can be hung with cafe rod brackets. I think I will try my hand at longer and more detailed scrolls.

Golden Goblet

2009-01-30T08:32:00.001-08:00

I made this mini jeweled goblet with gold polymer clay and 10 small "amber" faux stones made with flat marbles and foil. It's built up around a liqueur glass.

My goal was to cover the whole thing but I got a little tired of filling in the holes and so gave up. I still like it though. It's not as if I have a lot of liqueur drinking to do but I think it would be fun to have a whole set of mixed up glasses. I'm a sucker for glasses.

Faupaz

2009-01-29T19:50:00.000-08:00

This is one of my faux gems. It's made to look like a topaz. When I posted my tutorial for faux gems on Instructables, I got a response for a really nice idea to add sparkle to these gems. The responder suggested to spray plastic bags (polythene) with spray paint and then flake off the paint and use the chips in the gems. So I made this with a combination of yellow and brown colors, added some gold flecks, and then set it in gold.

Right now, this little guy is not yet fired. I'm not sure what I want it in or on so I've got it still set in unbaked clay. It really is neat.

Jeweled Strongbox

2009-01-27T14:38:00.000-08:00

I like fantasy and medieval decor items. When I was looking for a way to feature some of the faux gems that I had learned to make, I came across an old cigar box in my craft supples. So I decided to make a small strongbox.

To accomplish this, I used polymer clay, faux cabochon gems set in medallions, and a little paint. I’m afraid my photographic diary of the project is somewhat incomplete but I’ll show you what I have.

First of all, I needed to made polymer clay corners for the box. So I made a template from which I could cut the clay.

I wanted each corner to fit perfectly but I also wanted to paint the box. I have fired clay attached to wooden objects before. The flashpoint of wood is higher than the cooking temperature of the clay so this will work as long as you are mindful when baking it. However, I didn’t want to apply the clay to the painted box because I didn’t know what the oven would do to my paintjob.

So I made some handy foil corners onto which I could build the corner clay pieces. The clay can be baked over the foil and the foil peeled off afterward, allowing me to paint the box and then adhere the clay pieces later.

The foil is formed like hospital corners so the folds are along the edges of the wood.

Once I had the first corner covered in foil, I made the clay corner piece by cutting out the previously created pattern out of a smooth sheet of clay. This was placed on the corner and the joined edge smoothed before embellishing.

Then I made the other four corners.

The bottom corners had just two sides each and were made in the same way as the corners.

I also made smaller cabochon medallion s for the four vertical sides. I baked all of these, setting the box with its corners on a large glass pan. The medallions were all baked on a glass pan as well.

When it was done and the box cooled, I took off the foil, painted the box, and glued the embellishments to it.

Faux Gemstones (Fantasy Bling)

2009-01-14T11:02:00.000-08:00

These faux stones are intended to look like cabochons or smooth stones in whatever setting you desire. These are for costume jewelry, home decoration or a variety of other uses. They are quite a flexible embellishment.

I made this “stone” for a wizard hat that my husband wore to the release of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. I also used some on gothic boxes, jewelry, and the fancy potion bottles that I put out at Halloween.

I wanted to embed gemstones in polymer clay to make something like a heavily jeweled brooch. I noticed that the plastic gems (which kind of melt and get cloudy when permanently set in polymer clay) have a shiny backing. The backing reflects light to make the stones sparkle. So tried backing colored flat glass stones with the simplest shiny surface I could find—plain aluminum foil. It worked fine and I was able to make very large gemstones to use instead of many small ones. However, I was limited to the colors of stones that I could find. This also meant buying a whole bag of them just for one or two gems.

Next, I tried coloring the foil with permanent markers and using clear flat glass marbles. This worked quite well and allowed me to mix colors to get swirled or spotted effects. By adding some color directly to the back of the glass too, variations in colors were easier to achieve.

I cut the foil circles to fit the flat back. However, the gems didn’t stand-up to scrutiny. Tilting the stone slightly showed that the stone was really just clear glass. By making the foil larger so it surrounded the sides just a bit, the problem was cured.

I started out making stones with the shiny side of the foil against the glass. But then I tried it with the dull side of the foil to see how it looked. There wasn’t a lot of difference between the shiny and the dull side of the foil but I liked the reflectivity of the shiny side better. Crinkling the foil and deepening the color in the creases of the foil gave the stones an irregular or fractured look that I really liked. You can see the differences in some “amber” stones that I made.

The best way to use these stones is in a polymer project. By embedding the stones in the clay, it creates a setting that they can’t fall out of. It also allows the foil (which is not glued to the stone) to be a permanent part of the stone.

When making these yourself, try using different colors of glass stones and mixing up different patterns of coloring (swirls, dots, streaks, etc.). The stones come in several sizes these days, including the tiny stones that may have uses in more conventional costume jewelry.

INSTRUCTIONS

You need:
Clear or colored flat glass marbles
Aluminum foil
Permanent markers in colors that you like (I prefer Sharpies)
Polymer clay
Clay tools for your polymer clay
A glass pan (for baking your finished piece)

You can use smooth foil or crinkle it for an interesting effect. I prefer it crinkled because it allows more variations in color. If you want a crinkled effect, wad it up several times first. Smooth out the foil or, to get really deep creases, press down on the foil to flatten it. This retains the deep creases and prevents the foil from getting holes when it’s over-worked.

To add other color elements to colored glass stones or to create a unique color effect out of clear stones, use your permanent markers to color the shiny side of your piece of foil. You should also color the flat back side of the glass stone you are using.

Swirl together different colors and experiment with the results but be warned the different colors will bleed together onto the tip of the markers. (I just ran the bled color out by scribbling it on paper.)

For more variations, dab clean foil against the coloring while it is wet (to mush colors together) or blot the colored portion with paper to remove heavy color. Another way to create a swirled or varied coloration is to add other colors and patterns in permanent marker on the flat part of the glass stone. When the foil and stone are put together, you’ll combine both effects for a unique look. Continue to the next step once the marker is completely dry on both the foil and glass.

Place the glass marble against the colored side of the foil. Cut a circle out of the colored foil that’s larger in diameter than the base of the glass stone. I did this by holding the stone against it while cutting around it. Center the stone on the foil and press the overlapping edges up the sides. Press the folds flat against the stone.

Create the setting by pressing the stone into a base of unbaked polymer clay and building up the clay around the stone. If you already have an unbaked polymer clay piece that you want to place it on, use that. Otherwise, you can simply make a circular base that's large enough to accommodate the stone. Carefully press the stone and the attached foil onto the base, making sure that the clay conforms well to prevent air voids.

Then you need to surround the sides with clay in some manner. You can make a rope to encircle it or press down little balls of clay around the stone--anything you can think of. The foil and stone will not stay stuck to the base without something holding them on, like the setting in jewelry. The main goal is to embed the stone in clay well enough so it cannot fall out while you also want to cover the sides of the stone to hide the foil and coloring work.

Embellish the clay piece however you'd like. If you want it sewn on or used as a necklace medallion, make the appropriate holes in the clay prior to baking.

Place on a glass pan and bake your clay piece as instructed on the packaging of the clay. I will warn you that the marker can smell a little when baked but if it’s done properly, the marker coloring will be enveloped in clay so it’s not necessarily noticeable. Many people use these same markers on shrinky dinks which are also oven baked. However, (liability rant coming...) I cannot attest to the fumes’ safety so do so at your own risk. Bake in an oven dedicated to clay work if you have one (toaster ovens work well) and ventilate if possible.

Coming Soon: Fantasy Bling

2009-01-12T21:33:00.000-08:00

I'm working on a tutorial on making faux polished gemstones for fantasy home decor and costuming. I figured out how to make these little guys when I was making costumes for a Harry Potter book release and wanted some really unique jeweled embellishments. Best of all, these can be custom colored for your project. I think they have a very medieval flair.

Penny Pincher's Paint

2009-01-08T10:04:00.000-08:00

When I took a college art class for elementary school teachers, the instructor taught us how to be frugal when amassing art supplies for children. Though I have never taught art in a classroom setting, his tips have been very useful for me as both a crafter and parent. Children should be exposed to as many techniques and materials as possible. However, budgets are often tight for teachers, especially elementary school teachers, many of whom must teach art as well as every other subject. So he often offered suggestions in cost savings when acquiring art supplies.

One of the things that I have found most useful was the information on paint. Children often use modern tempera paint (as opposed to egg tempera), which is, essentially, a pigment and water concoction. This is that rough-feeling paint that can flake off kids’ art projects and is sometimes called poster paint. Tempera and watercolors tend to be the paints that kids use in school because they are cheap and easy to clean up. However, its flexibility can be exploited and it needn’t be restricted to the arena of children’s art.

Tempera paint can have numerous price points. You can buy it ready-to-use or in powdered form that you mix yourself. As with anything, when you can assemble it yourself (in this case make tempera paint from powder), it costs less. Buy the powders! But don’t buy the rainbow of colors. Instead, buy larger quantities of powders in the primary shades of yellow, red, and blue, plus black and white. With those five colors, you can mix all of the colors in the spectrum yourself. This can result in significant cost savings because if you are buying a dozen different colors you’ll be getting smaller quantities of each to achieve the same amount of paint. Since the quantities will be smaller, it will end up costing more. If you are a teacher or a parent, making paint can even be an art lesson on color creation itself. It can also be oddly satisfying.

Modern tempera paint (as opposed to egg tempera) can be nice to use with young children because it doesn’t have binders and is therefore easy to clean up. However, it lacks the permanence of paints that include a binder. Acrylic craft paints offer a much broader scope of uses. They are water-based, like tempera paint, but they also contain a binder. It’s the binder that gives craft acrylics their smooth and more durable finish.

You can make acrylic craft paint and the cost is hardly more than the cost for hand-mixed tempera. This is great news for anyone who happens to have tempera lying around. To make acrylic paints, simply mix tempera powder as you would for making paint and add white glue.If you have liquid tempera, you can also add glue to it. For about every cup of water you will use, substitute a tablespoon or two of white glue for an equivalent amount of water. Normally I just squeeze it straight in but, for consistent results in all of the colors being used, you may want to measure it. If you are mixing up large batches for kids, plain white school glue (the stuff you can get by the gallon) will work just fine.

If you are looking for thicker or thinner paint, you can adjust the texture by changing how much water and glue you add to your tempera powder. As all glues are a little different, you’ll find that the durability of the acrylic may depend on the kind of the white glue you use. Since so little glue is used to make this one-off acrylic-style paint, this is one area where you can afford to tinker with different glues to attain the desired result.

In the end you have two kinds of paint in an endless sea of colors all from five colors of powdered tempera and white glue.

Family Art Night

2007-03-06T09:25:00.000-08:00

It's time for Family Art Night at my kids' school. It may seem funny that I advocated for and run this event even though I profess to have no artistic skill. My kids love art and I know that, for some children, artistic skill is the thing of which they are most proud. Yet this is rarely acknowledged. We had math night, science night, and foreign language night but nothing that appealed to this often forgotten sect of kids.

This evening includes dessert which has been turned into one of the art activities of the evening. Last year we did gorgeous cupcakes. There were animals, bugs, and all kinds of abstract themed cupcakes. Set kids loose with toppings and colored frostings and you have a hit.

This year, we're going dessert sushi. Sushi has become like an art form and we're capitalizing on this. Evil Mad Scientist, Family Fun, and Brownie Points all added to the pool of inspiration. We're still considering what kind of base to use. I'm leaning toward rice crispie bases because the kids can mold them if they really want to and we can always whip up more if we need them. I have a growing list of inspired topping ingredients on my refrigerator and the kids think I'm making the world's most odd shopping list because it's almost exclusively sweets.

Hubby and I seem to be suffering some sort of food poisoning. It was a long night and though I feel better, I can't help but feel like I've been purged of negative influences. When you feel absolutely disgusting and begin to feel better, the former can be an ample juxtaposition to normal life so as to make regular days seem fantastic. Sometimes you need to feel terrible for a bit if for no other reason than to make ordinary life less bland.

Jar of Fireflies, Revisited

2007-02-13T14:09:00.000-08:00

In my last post, I linked to a project for a jar of fireflies made out of LEDs. Well, with the micro controller and a little programming, it seemed a bit over-the-top to try. Instead, I'm going to try this analog firefly light. It looks simpler which means I'm more likely to actually do it.

Last year I saw some neat firefly lanterns at Target. They were really simple wire encased lanterns that kids could fill with the bugs and carry around. The thing is, I live in the Northwest were we get no fireflies. To kids around here, those bugs are merely myth. Now if you could get boxelder bugs to light-up, we'd be good to go.

I'm working on some sewing projects. Actually, I'm working on gathering the materials in one place so I can look at them and feel guilty for ignoring them.

Fairies and Lights

2007-02-06T11:08:00.000-08:00

I loved these adorable little "Freshly Caught Fairy Folks" from Pyramid Company.

They are, of course, reminiscent of the the freshly caught Cornish pixies Gilderoy Lockheart brings to class in Harry Potter and The Chamber of Secrets.

I've got some little jars and some clay and I'd like to make my own versions for my kitchen. So that's my next project.

I also saw this really neat jar of fireflies project at Instructables that I'd like to do to place on the window ledge by the fairies. It may take a while to gather the necessary parts.

Christmas, Revisited

2007-02-04T16:17:00.000-08:00

These are the stockings I made for my neice and nephew for Christmas. I forgot to get a picture before I sent them out but my sister-in-law sent some pictures she took of them. They turned out pretty well. I know I arranged the ribbon on the ballet one wrong (it shouldn't spiral up the ankle like that). I noticed it after I made them and took my daughter to her Highland Dance class. The school teaches mostly ballet and there were ballet posters everywhere. Oops.

The monster stocking was inspired by the monster stockings from Crafy Robot and the ballet slipper stocking was made using the template at Family Fun.

I just sort of "eyeballed" it when I cut and assembled the monster stocking. I used vinyl for the toe nails, a very sturdy black fabric for the main stocking, and faux fur for the cuff. I lined it with some more black fabric. However, I made the lining smaller with the toes cut off so there were no toe sections on the inside. I think that may have been a mistake.

Although I used a template for the ballet stocking, I constructed it differently. I used satin instead of felt for the slipper. I did handstitch over the edge of the slipper portion (as the directions stated) but this would be better acheived by using the zigzag stitch with almost no length (overedge or overlock are the preferred terms, I think). Since I hand stitched it, I did this after the outside was assembled. While I was doing the overedge stitching, I added the ribbon just to where it attaches to the shoe. The rest was tacked into place later.

Although my ribbon wasn't exactly correct for ballet slippers, I did place the part where it attaches to the shoe properly. I guess I learned something from sitting around waiting for dance class to end. I made a lining using the same template for the main stocking body sewn around the the sides with 1/4" seams (no slipper). I didn't leave a place to turn it so I attached it by ironing the edge over 1/4" and stitching the two together, catching the ribbon hanger in between the layers. Then I added the tulle trim.

The next time I do this, I'll use my machine to overedge the slipper on the front and back pieces (with ribbon sewn-in) then assemble the outside by putting the pieces right sides together and machine stitching around the sides with 1/4" seams. I'll still tack the ribbon in place after assembling the outside. I can only think of how badly I'd mess it up otherwise.

I had looked up ballet stockings on the web and really liked having a template already done for me. But I did notice somewhere else (I don't remember where--ebay?) that someone makes them with loops sewn in the upper inside along the seams. These loops are so the stocking may have a strap attached to use as a dance bag for little ballerinas. What a clever idea!

I may make ghillies (Highland dance shoes) for next Christmas using a similar technique.

Another Christmas project was towel turbans. I found some towels at Target onsale for $1.44 each and bought them up. It took maybe 15 minutes to assemble the turbans so I made them for the girls on my side of the family--the side with so many neices and nephews that we aren't supposed to exchange gifts with them. I usually throw together some fun stuff for them anyway. The boys got flashlights that you wear on your head. The turbans were packaged with bath scrunchies that I found 6/$1. So I got away with spending less than $2 on stuff that the girls all seemed to like.

Various assorted kids also got sock monkeys made using the pattern at Craftbits. I have no pictures of the sock monkeys but I used a variety of different socks, including striped and patterned socks in a whole bunch of sizes. I followed the directions at Craftbits. One of mine looks a lot like the picture in the instructions. Talk about your funky monkeys.

Ironing Tip

2007-01-29T10:53:00.000-08:00

While looking over my wallet tutorial, I decided it was important to note that I have a tip for pressing really nice permanent crease. When I was making my daughter's kilt, I learned that the creases turned out better if I placed a heavy, flat metal object over the crease immediately after pressing. Using a weighted pot works fine. This way the material is held in place while cooling, making for a better crease. Also, the metal absorbs the heat which is good if you are impatient.

When making the wallet, another option to make sure the thing stays closed is to add hook and loop tape to the inside during the construction process. Since this was for my husband who hates Velcro in his wallets, I didn't add any.

Sewing a Wallet

2007-01-29T10:18:00.000-08:00

This is a tutorial I developed for sewing a wallet with four credit card slots and two large pockets in addition to the standard bill pocket. These are my own original instructions developed through trial and error. A PDF version of this tutorial can be downloaded here: Wallet Tutorial

You’ll need:

¼ yard outer fabric

¼ liner yard fabric

sew-in interfacing (optional: use for additional sturdiness)

coordinating thread

1. Cut fabric:

2. Fold card slots in half with the right side facing in. Stitch ¼” from raw edge.

3. Turn card slot strips right side out. Press.

4. Fold pockets in half along the long edge with right sides together. Press crease.

5. Stitch one card slot 1 ¾” above the center line on the right side of the fabric for each pocket.

6. Stitch a second card slot ¾” above the center line on each pocket. (It will overlap the first card slot.)

7. Fold the pockets again along the center crease (right sides

together). Stitch along the edge on opposite sides.

8. Turn pockets right side out, press and topstitch along sewn seams.

9. Place pockets on the large outer fabric square along longer edge with corners matching as shown. Stitch along folded edge.

10. Lay large lining fabric square over the top of the out fabric square with long and short edges aligned and right sides facing each other. If desired, layer the interfacing on the top of the sandwiched pieces with edges matching. Pin together.

11. Stitch with ¼” seams around the outside, leaving several inches unsewn in the middle of the long edge without the pocket fabric pieces.

12. Clip corners close to but not through stitching.

13. Turn so right sides are on the outside, pushing corners out. Turn fabric in around opening. Press flat with crease in opening section aligned with sewn seams. Stitch along top and bottom as shown.

14. Fold wallet in half to form bill pocket as shown. Press.

15. Topstich along side seams.

16. Fold wallet in half with pockets on the inside. Press. For a better crease, hold down hot, recently pressed fabric with a something weighted until completely cooled.

Wallet Woes

2007-01-28T14:50:00.000-08:00

My third attempt at a wallet was the most successful. I made it with 4 credit card slots and 2 large capacity pockets (under the credit card slots) in addition to the standard money slot. Of course, I had things topsy turvy for a while when my mental imagery failed and I put something in the wrong place. I had to tear out a lot of my sewing and reassemble it properly but the final product wasn't half bad, in my opinion.

This is a vague picture of how the final product turned out:

I made myself a tutorial so I wouldn't mess that up again. I'll probably be ok now that I've spent all of the time assembling the tutorial. Making it helped me mentally organize the construction process so, in theory I'll never need to use it again. If I figure out how to post the tutorial here, I will. I guess I should just suck up my humility and ask my 10 year old.

Kanzashi

2007-01-20T10:41:00.000-08:00

I recently learned about traditional Japanese hair accessories called kanzashi. They can be made from a variety materials but fabric kanzashi have become quite popular. They are simple to make and can be created from a variety of leftover materials. This is the one I made yesterday.

The center is usually covered with a button or something which covers the edges of the fabric that are gathered there. I used one of the few buttons I could find. Somewhere I have a stash of them. I think fabric covered buttons or neat jeweled buttons may be the way to go.

To learn this technique, I watched this first video from Jensmum which shows the petal creation process. She pins them. When I made mine, I pinned them then used a sewing needle to thread them together. After that, I snipped off some of the "wrong end" close to the threading. After that I pulled them together, as on this second video from Jensmum (found on YouTube). This page by craftgrrl shows the process in a series of pictures, including snipping off the tails. Also, Jenifer Minnis has a recipe for rice paste which is traditionally used to hold kanzashi together. Rice paste is simple to make and dries hard and clear.

Bag Attempts

2007-01-12T09:17:00.000-08:00

I found out that there is a new crafting wiki, Craftacular. I'm very excited that it has been started. A wiki is an online database (in the Wikipedia mold) which allows for creating and editing web page content by any site user on any web browser. Essentially, it's built and grown by site users. There are patterns for knitting, sewing, crocheting, etc. and tutorials for craft projects. So far its content is very minimal but it will be growing as it gains a following.

I've been interested in sewing bags and containers lately. Over the summer, I sewed a portfolio for one of my daughter's friend's birthday. It turned out rather well and was my first bag attempt. I've since sewn a few bags. I also found a tiny quilt top that I made a few years ago for a summer wall hanging that I think I'll turn into a tote. There are so many cool fabrics out there that I think I'll have to take-up bag making. Maybe I can make my own purses. I don't have anything resembling a purse obsession (since I carry them until they begin to disintegrate) but I know many people do.

Most recently, I made a zippered bag out of the leftover tartan fabric from Lolly's kilt. That kilt was the hardest thing I've ever had to make but it really is fairly straight-forward. Mostly, you want divine intervention because of the cost of the fabric. I managed to find a wool blend tartan-ish fabric on clearance for $10 a yard. I only needed about 3 yards because it was wide enough to be split down the middle. So, for me, the cost of the fabric was not bad at all. However, knowing that, if I messed up and wanted to buy a kilt, the price tag was in the $400-500 range, added some stress to the proceedings.

The other day I sewed my first wallet. It was not a great success but it did result in something functional. The bobbin stitches were loose and irregular but that was a technical difficulty that I think I've got that handled. Jason needs a new wallet and has always loved the hard to find fabric wallets he's had in the past. So far, no luck in finding a new one. He has a new one that he hates as it is a tri-fold and has a huge strip of velcro closing it, making the opening of it an event because of the noise and effort. His old beloved fabric wallet was made of hemp and developed a hole but I'm going to use that as a template on a subsequent attempt.

Art Versus Craft

2007-01-11T15:48:00.000-08:00

I've spent much of my spare time as an adult doing crafts. I haven't created art but I have created crafts. The distinction is very important to me. When I was taking an art class in college (the only art class I've taken beyond grade school, actually) my instructor made it his mission to point out the difference between the two. This was an art class for teachers so he wanted to make sure that the concept of art was kept separate from the concept of craft. This is because he didn't want children to be doing results oriented crafting instead of creating expressive art. I will never remember his words exactly but I do know that there was some ambiguity and that it sparked a debate.

Art is found in a variety of mediums with a variety of themes. Art can be taught to children -- to use a medium to depict something with a particular theme and particular elements. This enables children to harness their creativity but also to learn a mode of expression. It's no different from teaching children creative writing. Form is very important, themes can be assigned but each child's voice is unique and capturing that voice is the artistic part of writing. It can't be taught, but method can. The same is true of paint, clay, and colored paper.

So the line between art and craft is very fine. It boils down to my point: that art is expression-oriented while craft is results-oriented. If I'm copying someone else's work and adding my own twist, I'd probably consider it craft inspired by art. I suppose that if the added twist changes the work entirely, that work becomes art with an inspiration.

It's just words but it's important for me to recognize that most of the handcrafts I make are not art. Some of it is blatantly copied because I either enjoyed the challenge or avoided the price tag. Much of it is stuff that I wanted for around my home based on ideas I saw. But I thought if I could change the elements it would give me the results I wanted.

I am not artistic. Instead, I am craftastic.

I can use paint but I'm no painter.

I love to pour plaster.

I have taught myself to sew. I'm unfamiliar with some terms but I've been picking more of them up over time. Until recently, I have successfully avoided sewing a zipper since I started teaching myself to sew 8 or 9 years ago. Imagining how a final project will look and then working backward from it requires very accurate estimations in sewing. The geek in me loves this!

I've made beaded jewelry but when my youngest (now 10) was born, I stopped doing much beading because of the worry about her finding beads that I had lost. Sometimes when you stop, it's hard to pick-up where you left off.

I haven't knitted before. My great aunt tried to teach me to crochet when I was young but I never managed to do more than a single row. I'd say I'm pathetic at fiber arts but I've never really tried. I'm enticed by the idea of felted knitted objects and lovely scarves and hats made from various yarns but, so far, I haven't done more than buy second-hand knitting needles and those easy knitting rigs that are gathering dust.

I can paint but I can't paint details. Any painting that is more than faux painting or stencil has been copied from another object. When it comes to painting, I have trouble envisioning the final project and executing it.

Sharpies rule!

There are many projects upon which I've embarked that don't fall into any category. Most of them are things I've made for others. I haven't kept much for myself except for the miserable failures that my husband shifts around between boxes in the basement when he sees the storage area reaching critical mass.