December 27, 2011
Pet Portrait – Zak
This portrait was a surprise gift for my girlfriend’s mother-in-law.
Here’s the original photo:
And here’s the portrait:
December 19, 2011
Star Wars Inspired Gingerbread Ornaments
After making a couple cute but predictable paper mache gingerbread ornaments,
I had an idea. These little brown guys look an awful lot like:
Not to mention:
Which made me think of my favorite:
And the one with the great buns:
Here’s the crew! Ready to make a few little Star Wars freaks very happy this Christmas.
May the Force be with you this holiday and I hope your Wookie cookies stay nice and warm.
P.S. I made Darth Vader and C3PO sculptures today (takes a few days to dry). I’m also thinking about making a Gingerbread Luke and Han. And in case you’re wondering, the hole in the middle of their foreheads is for tree hanging purposes.
Here’s the link to the original ornament making process. http://karenwindness.wordpress.com/2011/12/09/paper-mache-cookie-cutter-ornament/
For Chewy’s strap, I used Friendly Plastics.
December 9, 2011
Bottle Cap Holiday Ornaments
Here’s another holiday project using items most crafters already have on hand. I made one purchase for this project, and that was a bottle of Mod Podge Dimensional Magic ($5.49 at Michael’s. Plus I had a 40% off coupon, so cheap!)
I will post photos here and then talk about the supplies and steps below.
Supplies:
Bottle Caps
Small Beads (seed beads work well)
Buttons or small charms (I used a snowflake button in the main example)
Mod Podge Dimensional Magic
If you want to make an ornament:
Wire
Ribbon
Felt for backing
Hot glue or strong jewelry glue
Steps:
1. Sprinkle enough beads into the bottle cap to cover the bottom.
2. Place the button on top of the beads.
3. Fill entire bottle cap with Mod Podge Dimensional Magic. (You may have to do a second filling after the first application dries if there are holes left from Dimensional Magic seeping into beads. If you see a bubble forming, you can remove it while it’s still wet by pushing the bubble off the cap with a toothpick or small piece of paper.)
4. Dry. May take up to two days depending on how much Dimensional Magic you used and also how frigid your basement studio is. Warmer=Faster.
5. For an ornament, bend a small piece of wire into a “U” and glue to the back of the dried ornament, placing a small circular piece of felt over the top. Add ribbon embellishment and a hook for hanging.
6. For a magnet, just glue a magnet to the back of the dried cap.
For the example with a stocking charm, I used Friendly Plastics to make the charm. Link the original tutorial here: CHARMS
Link to Friendly Plastics awesome blog with great tutorials: http://friendlyplastic.blogspot.com/
Paper Mache’ Cookie Cutter Ornament
One of my goals this Christmas is to make presents from craft supplies I already have on hand. That leaves me A LOT of options!!!
For this project, I used Celluclay (paper mache’ clay), Christmas themed cookie cutters, a tooth pick (to make the hole), acrylic paint (craft paint is fine), buttons and ribbon (rick rack) and craft glue. I’ll post the photos here and instructions below.
To make your own, mix the paper clay according to the instructions (just add water and squish up in a zip-lock bag), then press clay into the cookie cutters. Push the form out of the cookie cutter carefully, set on wax paper, and poke a hole in the top with a toothpick. Let dry (depending on how thick you made your ornament, could take up to three days to dry completely). Paint, decorate and hang or gift!
The paper mache’ is nice and light but also strong. You can make your ornament pretty thick (it will shrink a bit as it dries), and it will still be plenty light for hanging on the tree.
This could also be a fun craft for the kiddos. My boys are still pretty little, but Max (14 months) helped me squish up the clay and I just made extra ornaments (still drying) so Fin (3 years) could paint them.
November 28, 2011
Pure Escape Painting
This painting commission went home with its owner this morning! It’s 20″x24″, acrylic and paper collage on canvas.
The image is based on a logo I created for the same client a couple years ago (see logo below and to the right). For the painting, she asked me to change the animals so they would look like her own pets. The trick for me was to make them look like her actual pets, but still fit stylistically. I’m pretty happy with the results. I think she was, too.
The original logo was going to be used for a medical marijuana dispensary with a target clientele of woman. My client and her partner were looking for an image with a classy quality, but also something that conveyed the feeling of serenity and comfort. They wanted to separate themselves from the head shop/seediness often associated with this sort of business. Medical marijuana has been very effective in treating the pain and discomfort associated with chemotherapy, as well as treating other serious ailments without the side effects or addictive qualities of narcotics.
Unfortunately, there is still a lot of fear and misunderstanding regarding medical marijuana. My clients were unable to open their dispensary due to last minute/retroactive changes in Colorado law. 
So the logo went unused, but now the image has a new life as a painting!
November 16, 2011
Christmas Ornament Search and Find
Here’s a fun, festive project that will keep your kids occupied on those inevitable cabin fever days. Photos below and instructions below that.
What you need:
- Plastic Craft Christmas Bulb (not glass!) I found mine at Micheal’s for $1.50 (50% off)
- Green, Red and White Rice (Click here for instructions)
- Small items to find. Click here to see how I made the Friendly Plastic charms. I also included some fun buttons, craft pompoms, a penny, etc.
-Ribbon and Hot Glue/Glue Gun.
-Paper Funnel
Instructions: Make a funnel out of paper and pour a mixture of the colored rices into the bulb. Be sure to leave space at the top of the bulb instead of filling all the way. Add small items. Use a hot glue gun to secure the “lid” to the bulb. Embellish with ribbon. Let the kids shake and find!
My kids have played with this for hours and have their favorite items to find. It’s also proven to be pretty indestructible. I’m sure they’ll figure out some way to break it at some point, but so far it’s survived dropping and throwing and being hit with blunt objects.
I’ll be giving a few of these to my younger nieces and nephews for Christmas.
November 9, 2011
Friendly Plastic Charms
I’m getting ready to combine a few different projects into one Christmas gift. The first element is a Friendly Plastic charm. These would also make great wine charms or jewelry pieces. I’ll post photos followed by supply list and instructions below.
Supplies:
1. Friendly Plastic Sticks: You can find Friendly Plastic at Hobby Lobby or online. I found some for CHEAP on e-bay, and also on clearance at Hobby Lobby. I haven’t seen them at Micheal’s.
2. Small clay cutters: These cutters (smaller than a penny) can be found in the clay (Sculpy) isle at any craft store or on-line. I have a set of holiday themed cutters and a set of basic shapes.
3. Heat source: I’m using a heat tool I originally purchased for embossing cards, plus a silicon baking sheet. You can heat Friendly Plastics on a hot plate or in hot (not boiling) water. I also think a hairdryer would work, but it wouldn’t be a great tool if you are working with small pieces that could fly away.
Instructions: Heat the Friendly Plastic stick until it is warm enough that it leaves a finger mark when you touch it, but not so hot that it bubbles. Place cutter into a bath of cold water. I add ice to make sure it is very cold. The cutter will stick to the Friendly Plastics if it is not cold. Press cutter into softened stick. Repeat. Let the stick cool untouched or drop it into a bath of cold water for fast hardening. After the stick is cold, push out your cut shapes. If you are adding beads or other details, re-heat the cut out shape and carefully tap in the details.
For some great tutorials, visit http://friendlyplastic.blogspot.com/.
November 3, 2011
Fall Creations
Just thought I’d round out the end of Fall with a few random creations.
Here’s the crocheted hat that I finally finished. Maxers is modeling, but it will be a Christmas gift for a niece who is due in January. I learned how to crochet a hat on YouTube, and was able to make this one without a pattern. Just winged it. (I’m done with crochet for a while!)
Next is the tie-dye shirt I made for Fin. He wanted to dress as a tiger, so I found a 5$ orange shirt and treated it to a rubber band binding and black dye bath. Of course Fin ended up wearing his skeleton jacket over the shirt, so everyone thought he was a skeleton cat.
Here is the jack-o-lantern that made Fin cry and refuse to go out onto our porch. (Bad mom!) I used my lino cut tools to carve away the pumpkin skin. I was going for a Joker (think Batman) effect. I think I’ll carve deeper into the skin next year. There’s a learning curve to this technique for sure! And I should probably pick a more little kid-friendly theme. Fin already has enough hours of therapy ahead of him without a jack-0-lantern adding to his troubles.
And here’s the snowman we made today using my husband’s cute jack-o-lantern for a head.
Happy Fall!
October 20, 2011
Little Punkin’ Card
This greeting card is now available on CardGnome.com. Perfect for an autumn baby arrival!
Crocheted Nook Cozy
It must be Fall, because I’m in the mood to bake and crochet. My lovely hubster surprised me a Color Nook for my birthday, and the poor thing (the Nook, not my husband) seemed all cold and naked, so I decided to make it a cozy. Crocheting is not my strong suit (I still can’t figure out how to turn a row without making a mess), but I think this turned out just fine. I added some beads and a big button clasp. I also sewed on an extra dog tag I had hanging around, though it now looks like I named the Nook “Bijou”. So here’s Bijou’s cozy!:
