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We Didn’t Blow Away!

August 26, 2012 By 16 Comments

Isaac didn’t turn into much, and so here I am for Handmade Monday!  I actually made this project on Friday because I had been working getting everything ready all week for Isaac and I wanted to make something easy.  So, I came up with this very simple project that I could wrap up quickly and have something to post.

Things here in South Florida have mostly just been wet and windy, and we only lost electricity at our house for long enough to make the clock have to be reset.  Otherwise, it has not been much of an event.  I have not even gotten any exciting photos.  Of course, it is still raining and blowing while I am typing this, so I suppose it might yet get worse, but I don’t think so.

Please do keep New Orleans and the rest of the Gulf Coast in your thoughts and prayers, however, as it is likely that he is going to get stronger as he heads that direction through the week.

Anyway, please go check out my Puffy Heart.  It’s just a simple little thing.  And then of course, go check out Handmade Monday.  I suspect I will be spending a lot of tomorrow there, as it will probably be raining most of the day, and I will be able to enjoy seeing all of the wonderful things everyone is making and forget the weather here!

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Pink Heart and Soul

January 26, 2012 By 2 Comments

More Sculpey, more hearts, more glass etching.  I did this little jar as a gift for my Great Niece.  I thought it would be perfect for holding jewelry or other small trinkets, but I put a few Sculpey beads in there for her when I mailed it because she does make things.

This was a little face cream jar.  I simply removed the label and cleaned it. Then I used my Cricut to make the letters of her name and put them where I wanted it.  I am not the best at getting things all lined up, but I managed to get it pretty straight this time.  🙂

Then I used my etching cream.  If you haven’t done that before you can find more info and tutorial here.  As always, be careful with the etching cream, remember, it’s strong enough to etch glass.

I made a heart out of Sculpey and painted it pink with acrylic paint. I am not much of a Sculpey expert, I’m just following the directions on the box.  It says to bake in the oven at 275 F for 15 minutes for each 1/4 inch of thickness. I am finding that it seems to need longer, but I also know from experience that you can burn it, so keep an eye on it.  I set the timer and check it every 10 minutes or so.

I used a lighter pink on the lid and sprayed both that and the heart with a couple of coats of Folk Art Lacquer to help seal and give them a little nicer finish.  I used hot glue to attach the heart.

Lastly, I finished the edge of the lid with organza ribbon wrapped around twice (glued with plain white glue) and then a thin white sparkly ribbon over that also affixed with white glue.  Threading the little beads on the small ribbon was difficult!  But I like the way it gave it a more finished look.  I always have a problem figuring out what to do with jar lid edges.

Oh, and I etched a little unicorn on the other side of the jar.  Just because.  

 

 

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I Got a Sculpey Heart

January 22, 2012 By 20 Comments

 

I have been having such fun with my big box of Sculpey so of course this week’s Handmade Monday involves that. I have been making beads among other things. Only the beads are really useful, the other things are just fun little silly things that I might eventually think of a use for. But beads can always be used for something.

Since Valentine’s Day is coming up I ended up making a necklace as a gift with one of the heart beads I made. I’m not the best jewelry maker, but I have quite a bit of jewelry fittings since I do occasionally make things, so I didn’t have to buy anything. I got to use some of my acrylic paint, some pretty ribbon, a magnetic clasp, hot glue, wire, metallic thread and some other beads that I have collected over time.

I think if you look at the images it will be easy to see how I put it together. Pretty simple. I used the cube shaped beads with letters on them to cover the ends of the ribbon where I tied it (there is probably a better way to do that –as I said, I’m not the best jewelry maker) but I like the way it turned out actually. I also had a hard time deciding how to attach the heart because it has the hole in the middle instead of thru the side (a thing I will think about when I make beads again). I ended up using wire through the hole in the bead, covering it with glass beads, and then attaching that to the ribbon by sewing it on with some gold metallic thread. That way it would hang (dangle) correctly.  I tried a few other things first, but the heart kept hanging sideways which was not what I wanted.

The only other problem was how to make the word-beads stay in place.  So I poked some hot glue down into the hole of the last bead with a toothpick.  That seemed to work.  This is just a simple little thing, but it was fun to make.  Hopefully the recipient will enjoy it.  🙂

I have a few more Valentine’s Day things to show and will share some photos of more heart beads I made too.  I was thinking of making some Valentine cards to send out but if I don’t get started really soon it will be too late!  Now, go check out this weeks Handmade Monday by clicking on that link and see what wonderful creations everyone else has produced.  That’s what I’m going to do!  Thanks for stopping by.  🙂

 

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Denim & Lace

October 16, 2011 By 7 Comments

This turned out so girly, I’d almost wish I made it for me!  So, here it is, Handmade Monday again, and here I am, all ahead of the game, or at least on time!  When you get done here please check out some of the other wonderful blogs by clicking on the link above. I always get great ideas, plus some of them are really funny (and there are recipes!).  They actually keep me going.  🙂

This week I spent making another Jean Purse, this one is a little simpler than the last one, but I really like it.  It’s also a gift, and I hope it’s well received.  But I have to say, I just really like the process of coming up with the idea, troubleshooting the problems and learning how the sewing thing works! I don’t know what I’ll do when I run out of people to make them for, because I can imagine them just stacking up around here. 🙂

Anyway, please go check out my latest creation Drawstring Jean Purse. BTW, Annie is modeling the purse over there. I realized she has been slacking, so expect to see her more often around the blog.

 

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Paper Mache But Better

March 6, 2011 By 8 Comments

It’s Handmade Monday again!  I hope you go and check out everyone else’s stuff I always see such cool stuff!

I stumbled across an interesting recipe for paper mache awhile back and saved it for another time because it looked messy and I wasn’t really sure what I wanted to make with it. I still wasn’t sure what to make with it, but I decided to try it anyway. I like recycling paper, and have made home made paper for cards in the past, so this seemed like a good project for me to try.

It turned out to be pretty easy to make, requiring minimal ingredients and tools but it took some time since it requires “cooking”. This also means that if you want to do it with kids you would need to be right there with them, and I would recommend you do that part for them. But it does make a nice smooth paper mache, and I was impressed with the results, in the end.

So, lets head over to Make It and you can see how I made Crazy Little Paper Beads.

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