CAN'T STOP MAKING THINGS

Chalk it Up

2012-02-12T20:00:00.001-05:00

Normally I wouldn't give instructions for something I found in a rummage sale, but this is applicable for a picture frame, a window, a drawer front or kitchen cabinet so I feel that I can go ahead.

Materials

open shutter

caulk

masonite board

stain blocker spray paint (Bin or Kilz)

chalkboard paint

pale green spray paint

gel matte medium or Mod Podge

black or brown shoe polish (optional)

Tools

putty knife

paint brush

old credit card

hair dryer (optional)

fine sandpaper (optional)

When I saw this it screamed "little kitchen chalkboard" to me so I removed the amber plastic (anyone have an idea for this?) and all of the hardware. With a putty knife, use paintable caulk to fill in all of the holes. Scrap off all of the extra caulk and allow to dry. Use the plastic as a template and cut out a piece of masonite the same size.

Paint the masonite and the shutter with stain blocker spray paint and allow to dry. Sand lightly. Spray the shutter with light green paint (or your choice of color). Allow to dry.

Download "Le Menu" here. Print it out on your computer then print it on a copy machine. The copy machine print works best for this process. Paint a thin layer of gel matte medium on the shutter top and place the copy paper over the gel. Burnish it with a credit card to insure that the paper is in tight contact with the wood. Wait for it to dry or use a hair dryer to speed up the process.

*note: You can make your own wording, but it must be backwards. I use Photoshop Elements and the commands IMAGE>TRANSFORM>FLIP HORIZONTAL. You can reverse words in WORD, but you first have to save it as a picture. (google the exact directions). One of my printers will flip the image with the command of "mirror image". Look for commands of "flip" "reverse" or "mirror" to reverse your words in whatever program you would like to use.

*note: If I were to do this again I would either tear (rather than cut) the paper around my image so that I don't have a rigid edge around it or use paper large enough to completely cover the whole area I am transferring my image to.

Wet your fingers and rub off the paper. The image will be left. An ultra fine Sharpie can be used to fill in anything that doesn't transfer. A thin coat of gel medium on top of the transfer to dissolve any little paper fuzzies that are left;

You can stop now or use brown shoe polish to age your shutter. (This is where the cut edge of my transfer showed up so I took fine sandpaper and removed the edge.)
Spray the masonite with at least two coasts of chalkboard paint, allow to dry then insert it into the opening in the shutter using small brads or hot glue. Place the knob at the bottom of the shutter and hang a small bucket filled with chalk.

I can see a long "honeydo" list right now.

Just My Type

2012-02-05T20:00:00.000-05:00

I found a picture of an old typewriter -remember those? It gave birth in my wee little mind to a perfect Valentine's Day card. Please play along.

Download this image here and print on a piece of white card stock

Download this here and print on the inside of the previous image.

Print these on a separate piece of card stock.

Score the card on the gray line and fold in half. Open it up and with an exacto knife, cut a slot at the top of the paper guide. Cut out the Happy Valentine's Day message and slip it into the slot. Tape it on the inside of the card. (for those of you too young to remember, some typewriter ribbons came in black and red. A bad typewriter or perhaps a poor typist would find this strange lettering of half black, half red when they tried to type. Unfortunately this seemed to occur frequently whenever I typed.)

For variety I've included a Happy Anniversary message as well, for that occasion.

The perfect opposite of the ecard in more ways than one. (two actually)

Punch Love

2012-01-29T20:00:00.000-05:00

Have I told you how much I like punches? I was thinking that it would be neat to be able to punch shapes out of metal. Then I realized that I had a recycling bin full of punchable metal. (yes, I drink way too much Diet Coke)

Materials

tuna or cat food can

8 soda cans

paper punches (round, scalloped round, 3 sizes flower shapes, various butterflies and a dragon fly)

thin wire hanger

styrofoam

JB Kwik Weld

primer spray paint

gold spray paint

Tools

wire cutters

scissors

large can

paint tube wringer (optional)

stylus (old ball point pen)

I cut a round of styrofoam to fill the tuna can. Cut off the long, unbent portion of the hanger. Wrap it around the large tin can to form a circle. Bend back the ends so that they come in contact with the inside of the tuna can to form then arch. Glue in place with JB Kwik Weld.

a note about Kwik Weld: It hardens in 4 minutes so make small batches. Also, it works better on the aluminum if you use larger blobs of glue rather than dabs.

Punch out lots of shapes. I layered 3 sizes of flower shapes to form one blossom. Leaves were formed by first punching out scalloped rounds then placing half of the round back into the punch and repunching. I was able to get 2 leaves out of each round.

Sometimes it was hard to remove the punch as the edges curled and got caught in the punch. Patience.

Cut strips from the soda cans and run them through a paint wringer (also sold in scrapbook stores to texture paper) to form corrugated metal. Glue the strips onto the tuna can to help disguise it's former life. Place a rubberband around the strip to hold them in place while the glue sets.

Texture the punched shapes to give them dimension. Place them on a magazine and with a stylus (or an inkless ballpoint pen) draw petal grooves or leaf veins on the back of the shapes.

Turn them over and draw around the previous grooves of the front sides. This is called repousse.
Punch out a large circle and gently fold it in half. Pinch one end to form a head. Punch a small hole for the eyes. Cut a scalloped circle in half. Cut one half in half to form wings and cut a wedge from the other half to form the tail. Repousse feather details into the wings and tail. Cut a small triangle from a scrap to form the beak. Fold in half.

Cut a 6 inch piece of wire from the hanger and fold in half. Fold up the ends for feet. Glue beak, wings and tail to the body. When dry, glue legs to the inside of the body tilting the body slightly.

Cut a coke cans in half to make 2 cups about 2 inches high. Using scissors, cut 1/4" strips around the cups. Draw the strips across the inside blade of the scissors to curl the strips much like you curl ribbon. Curl the strips to the outside on one can and to the inside on the other.

Glue the two cans together; inside curls on the inside. Then glue the cans to the styrofoam on the inside of the tune can.

Glue the flowers and butterflies to the wire hanger ring and glue the birds to the inside of the nest.

Spray paint the topper with primer.

Spray the whole thing with gold spray paint.

I thought it might be fun to glue this on top of a tower of graduated cookie tins for a metal wedding cake. The tins could be filled with special wedding cookies. What a fun twist on the wedding cake theme.

Is this a case of having your cake and preserving it too?

Three Years

2012-01-26T20:00:00.000-05:00

Today marks the end of my third year of blogging and the beginning of the fourth. I've published 185 posts, most of them crafts and an assortment of recipes. (more than any craft book I've ever bought) At this time, I have 90 posts ready to be published so it looks as though I will be blogging for quite some time in the future. I keep expecting to run out of ideas but each time I visit a store, read a blog, a catalog, a book or a magazine, I get new inspiration.

I started this blog in an effort to find others who were craft addicts like me, which I have. The unexpected discovery is that I found that I enjoy archiving all of the things I like to make. No more digging through files to find instructions; just look them up on the old blog.

Thank you for visiting, subscribing and following.

A Fortunate End to a Meal

2012-01-22T20:00:00.001-05:00

It's Chinese New Year and although fortune cookies originated in San Francisco, I can't think of a better time to make these. They can be made up to a week before a party and are a great conversation starter as well. Although, since it is at the end of a meal, I guess it could be called a conversation ender.

First, you need to think up a bunch of fortunes, print them and cut them out. It helps if the party has a theme.

I've searched the internet for recipes and after several different attempts, I think I found just the right one.

2 large egg whites

1 tsp vanilla extract

3 Tbsp vegetable oil

1Tbsp water

8 Tbsp flour

8 Tbsp granulated sugar

1 1/2 tsp cornstarch

1/4 tsp salt

place in food processor and process until blended

Heat oven to 375˚

Put parchment paper on a cookie sheet then place 3 tsp of batter on the paper. (I make 2 at a time) Spread the batter into a 5" round using a circular motion with the back of the teaspoon. Place the cookies in the oven.

Remove the cookies after 5 minutes or when the edges are slightly brown. Take them off the cookie sheet with a thin spatula or icing knife.

Place the fortune in the center of cookie.

Fold it in half and then fold it over the edge of a glass. (it really helps to wear cotton gloves to protect your fingers from the heat)

Put the folded cookies in a muffin tin to set up. Each recipe makes 8 large cookies. When you are finished, lower the oven temperature to 250˚ and put your tin into the oven for 15 minutes to crisp them. When cool, place them in a plastic bag.

Serve them with this sorbet for a refreshing light end to your meal.

Etch a Sketch

2012-01-15T20:00:00.000-05:00

I must confess that I got interested in Photoshop as way to make my paintings easier and better. I figured that if I could turn photos into sketches, half of my work would be done. I've tried almost every recipe for turning photos into sketches and this one is my favorite.

Remove color and duplicate layer.

FILTER>ADJUSTMENT>INVERT to invert top layer.
Change blending mode on top layer to color dodge. The picture should be plain white.
FILTER>BLUR>GAUSSIAN BLUR. Adjust blur radius till you have the amount of sketchiness you desire.
LAYER>FLATTEN IMAGE.

LEVELS to darken the lines.
It isn't as easy to make a sketch out of non-geometric objects such as people. Photoshop finds edges all over the place. After using the same techniques, paint white to cover the "freckles".

Look-key, Look-key

2012-01-08T20:00:00.000-05:00

Have you ever noticed that certain objects multiply if left in dark places? Wire hangers, bills and keys come readily to mind. I'd been playing with a way to make a sunburst mirror when I stumbled upon this box of keys. A new project was born!
Materials:

wooden circle (this one is 6")

old keys (about 40 for this size)

round mirror (this one is 4")

brass screws (20 flat head and 20 domed)

Tools:

drill

small drill bit

screw driver

Lay keys around the perimeter of the wooden circle, allowing the notched areas to overhang the edge. Drill holes into the wood at the key openings that are a bit smaller than the diameters of the screws. Use the flat headed screws to attach the keys.

Glue the mirror in the center.

Surround the mirror with the rest of the keys with the tops overlapping the mirror's edge, offsetting this row. Drill holes as before but use the domed screws for this layer.

Tips:

I used slotted screws instead of phillip's head for an older look.

The domed screws give a more finished look, but use the flat heads on the first layer so that the top layer lays properly.

Predrill all holes as brass screws are soft and the slots tend to bend if you force them with the screwdriver.

Check your junk drawer and ask friends. I'm sure you can come up with 40 keys in no time.

You Have the Cutest Little Clock Face

2012-01-01T20:00:00.000-05:00

I opened a new catalog (well new to me) and spied a large wire clock. $300? I don't think so. It does have 2 things I like; clock faces and wire. Maybe I could make one. To be honest it isn't a working clock and it isn't 49 inches in diameter (like the catalog one) but hey, it's cute and very affordable.

I started with two wire rings found at Michael's in the leather-craft section. You can buy rebar wire at Home Depot. Oh, and get a couple of pliers while you're at it.

Place the smaller ring in the middle of the larger one. You'll need to refer to a ruler now and then to make sure it remains centered. Cut four wires and wrap one of the ends around the smaller ring at the 12/3/6/9 positions on the clock. Then wrap the other ends around the larger ring. Pull the wires taut with your pliers while you wrap. Clip off the ends.

Make your roman numerals. I found by trial and error it was best to use one piece of wire for each stroke. In other words, if you want to make the numeral "3", use three separate pieces of wire rather than one long one. It's just too cumbersome to use long pieces.

I did use slightly longer wires for the "X" and the "V" so that the extra would be wrapped between the angled lines, spacing the wires apart.

I followed the catalog clock face numerals which used "IIII" for "4" rather than the "IV" like I was taught. I was probably done for aesthetic reasons rather than accuracy. I hope that the roman numeral police don't catch me.

Spray it black if you'd like.

This is so nice in a gallery setting. It'll add lightness and whimsy to all of the heavy ancestral portraits you have.

No More Hat Head

2011-12-25T20:00:00.001-05:00

I love wearing hats, especially for fun events, but I suffer from that dreaded affliction: Hat Head. Again, CSMT to the rescue.

The materials are simple; a cereal box, a cardboard tube and a headband. I prefer to use the tubes from wrapping paper because they are sturdier, but feel free to use whatever you have on hand. Cut a short length of the tube and use it to trace around on a piece of cardboard from a cereal box. A wine glass makes a good template for the brim.

Cut out the circles. Run a bead of hot glue around the inside of one end of the tube then attach the smaller circle. Trim it when the glue has set up. Using the same technique, attach the brim to the other side. Obviously, don't trim this circle.

Spray the completed hat heavily with black spray paint. While the paint is still wet, shake the glitter on it until it is completely covered. Allow to dry then shake off all the excess glitter. (Do this over a sheet of paper to capture the extra glitter)

Hot glue it to a dollar store headband and ring in the New Year, confident that your hair will retain it's glorious bounce throughout the night.

Strawberry Christmas Tree

2011-12-18T20:00:00.000-05:00

Do you want to knock their socks off at the annual Christmas buffet party? Bring this. It's not that hard, but looks spectacular.

I usually use a styrofoam tree, but I found this papiermache one at Michaels. It's about 13" tall. You don't need to buy one any bigger because the strawberries increase the size considerably. (You actually might want to buy one a bit smaller when you read the rest of this tutorial)

Buy an 8" cardboard cake round for stability and a doily for disguise.

I bought 3 - one pound cartons of strawberries (ones with smaller berries)at the grocery store and 2 packages of chocolate candy melts from Michaels, but I've used semi sweet chocolate chips in the past and they have worked just as well.

Cover the tree with waxed paper. Tuck in the ends and tape to secure it to the cone. Use melted chocolate (I microwaved it) to stick the tree to the base. Cut a hole in the doily and slip it over the tree.

Separate the strawberries by size and remove the greenery. Dip the large ends of the biggest berries in the chocolate and place them on the bottom of the tree. Add the next layers with the medium sized berries, saving the small ones for the top.

Okay, this is a craft fail. It was too late and the grocery store was too far away, when I ran out of strawberries. Inspiration struck. I spread chocolate on the top of the tree......

.....then scooped the melted chocolate into a small plastic bag, snipped the tiniest hole in one corner, piped a few stars on a piece of waxed paper and popped them in the fridge until they hardened. Using a bit more melted chocolate, I added a couple of stars onto the top of the tree.

Now tell me that this isn't elegant. It sure beats the baby carrots and onion dip I usually bring to these soirees.

Glamorous Crackers

2011-12-11T20:00:00.002-05:00

Christmas crackers are a tradition in our house. I've wanted to make my own as the commercial ones (that I can afford) are a little banal. I long for fancy victorian ones. We've all seen tutorials on how to make them from toilet paper rolls. Great idea - but what's a cracker without the snap? The best way is to disassemble a cheap one, then rebuild. You can also use this as an opportunity to upgrade the innards.

Materials

white cardstock

silver glitter

white glue

mini white cupcake liners

Christmas crackers

various papers (wrapping paper or crepe paper work best)
embellishments

thin ribbon or raffia

Tools

circle punch

To make personal crackers for each of your guests, download the multiple letters of "A O E I R S T" here and the single letters (all the rest) here. Print on white card stock. Punch out the appropriate initial, apply a thin rim of glue around the perimeter and sprinkle with silver glitter. Attach to the middle of the flattened mini cupcake wrapper.
Carefully pull the paper off the Christmas cracker. Use it as a pattern and cut out another from your favorite paper (thin is better). Apply glue along one edge of the three cardboard cylinders. Attach the long end of the paper rectangle to the cylinders, making sure that the middle cylinder is centered.

Apply glue to the opposite edges of the cylinders and attach to the other long edge of the paper. Glue the long edges to each other.

Use thin ribbon or raffia to gather the paper together between the cylinders.

Layer papers and embellishments to the cracker then glue the initials to the center.

How posh. (Which, by the way, stands for "Port Out, Starboard Home" from the days of ocean liners) A little education with your crafts.

Fortune Cookie Coin Purse

2011-12-04T20:00:00.000-05:00

I had some very small scraps of my favorite fabrics that I didn't want to throw away. What to do? I happened to spy a cute little coin purse I bought in Chinatown. The perfect solution.

I searched the web for a pattern, couldn't find one so I made my own.

Download the pattern for your coin purse here. Cut three of the football shapes out of a stiff plastic; a milk jug is perfect. Make sure they are all the same size.

Use a nonravel fabric for the lining. I chose a microsuede. Iron the wrong sides of both your fabrics (lining and outside) to a fusible web like Stitch Witchery or Wonder Under.

Draw around the plastic petals on the web's protective paper on the lining then cut out.

Cut the outside (not lining) fabric around the petals, making about 1/4" larger all the way around.

Cut off the pointed ends to alleviate bulkiness on the ends. (leave 1/8") Peel off the paper. Heat your iron so that it is hot enough to melt the fusible web but not so hot that it melts the plastic. Place the plastic petal on the wrong side of the fabric and with the point of the iron fold up the cut ends and fuse in place. Carefully work your way around the petal, ironing as you go until the edges are adhered. Place a piece of the protective paper (like copy paper) onto the finished plastic and iron for about 10 seconds. Turn the petal over and press the front.

Peel the paper off of the lining and iron onto the unfinished side. Repeat this process with all three shapes.

Place two of the finished footballs wrong side together and with a needle and matching thread, sew one edge together. (use tiny stitches) Add the third football by sewing one of its edges to one of the other footballs. Designate the middle football as the bottom and fold up the other two, with the decorative fabric showing on the outside. Sew the two sides together at their pointed ends. You only need to make a few stitches to hold them.

I embellished my purses with yoyos and self covered buttons in coordinating fabrics. You can make the yoyos by cutting a fabric circle then sewing a running stitch around the outside edge. Pull the thread tight to gather into a flat poof. Cover the buttons using a kit. Sew the button in the middle of your yoyo and attach to your coin purse. These purses open up when you place your thumb on one point and your index finger on the other and pinch.

Tuck a piece of jewelry inside for the perfect stocking stuffer.

A Christmas Riddle

2011-11-27T20:00:00.000-05:00

I'm hoping you have the same weird sense of humor that I do.

Start with a 15" tabletop wooden round from Lowe's. It's about $7 and it's shrink wrapped. (there seems to be something intrinsically wrong with shrink wrapped lumber) Prime it. Trace around the circle on a piece of newspaper. Cut it out and fold in in quarters to find the center. Tap a nail into the center. Make a compass with a pencil and a piece of string. Outline a border 1 1/2" from the edge.

Draw an "L" in the middle of the circle, then cross it with a 1 1/2" line as pictured above. Paint the line and border in red and the "L" in green. You may need to touch up the center in white.

You can place this in the center of a large wreath or use it in it's minimalist form as I have.

Do you get the joke?

Free Compliments

2011-11-22T08:56:00.001-05:00

Since this is the beginning of the crazy season, I thought I'd interject a little fun and give you an extra post.

I saw this a few years ago and thought it was terribly clever. Friends just opened a little general store with the required bulletin board. Several notices brought this to mind but when I googled it I didn't find one I liked. They either had all of the same compliments {one size does not fit all} or they were too fancy. I made my own. Download it here. Print it out then cut along the light gray vertical lines. Sneak in and when no one is looking, pin it up among the "house for rent" and "couch 4 sale" notices. Give someone a smile for the day.

Here it is in real life. Join the fun!

Pottery Barn KO Advent Calendar

2011-11-20T20:00:00.001-05:00

This was in a Pottery Barn catalog a few years ago. Not sure now if it was for sale or just a prop, but I vowed to make one. You gotta love those scrapbooking doodads, especially the numbers and letters. I combined them with address numbers, game pieces and refrigerator magnets for this project.

Materials

keepsake box

miscellaneous numbers

white spray paint

white mat board

glue

Tools

scissors

Buy a box with 24 or 25 openings. If this is not possible there are several options:

1) Combine several boxes with fewer openings to add up to the required number. If you end up with more than 25 openings, fill the extras with words such as "Merry Christmas", "Noel" etc.

2) Partition a plain box or tray into 25 openings using thin wooden slats or foam core board.

Paint the box white and prepare 25 numbers. Glue larger, two digit numbers to white mat board.

Fill the empty box with candy, replacing the candy with a number each day until Christmas. A neat reverse of the open-the door-take-out-the-candy type advent calendars you can buy and a terrifically colorful graphic statement.

When the Pilgrims Come Marching In

2011-11-13T20:00:00.001-05:00

Last week I showed how to make indian moccasins, so this week I am making pilgrim shoes.

Download the pattern here. Print and cut two soles, one top and one buckle out of black card stock.

Cut little slits around the top and fold.

There are little dots on the patterns. Line up the "toe dot with the dot on the widest end of the sole. You can glue the "fringe" to the bottom of one of the soles or you can just use scotch tape like I did.

Glue the 2 ends together with white glue and clamp until it dries. ( I needed to trim the ends to match)

With double stick tape or a glue stick, attach the second sole to cover the tape,

Smear glue on the shiny side of the aluminum foil. Wrap it around the buckle.

Glue the buckle to the front of the shoe, add nuts and a name tag. Now you can have an all indian table or an all pilgrim one or half and half.

Moccasins

2011-11-06T20:00:00.003-05:00

I've been admiring the little paper shoes that I see on the web. When I found this pattern for moccasins here, I knew I had the perfect addition to my Thanksgiving table.

Download the pattern here and print it on a piece of copy paper.

Place the pattern on a piece of brown card stock and cut out the three parts of the shoe.

Use a small paper punch (smaller than the binder paper one) to punch out all of the holes. At this point I rubbed on brown shoe polish for a mottled look. This is entirely optional.

Cut a long piece of black waxed linen twine (I found this in the beading department in Walmart) and fold it in half. Place the fold at the center of the toe of shoe and whip stitch the cord on either side of the top. This is so that you are only dealing with half of the cord at a time. Keep going until you reach the ends of the top of the shoe.

Add the back and sides piece and stitch until you meet in the back. Tie the ends of the cord under the sole. Stuff the toe of the shoe with some wadded paper to give it dimension.Take a small length of cord and tie the flaps together.

I didn't want my indian moccasin to be mistaken for my grandfather's bedroom slippers, so I decided to add a bead detail. I put a bunch of seed beads in a small dish and strung them together with needle and thread. I placed a small round circle of Goop glue on a piece of card stock and coiled the beads on it. After they dried, I cut out the circle and glued it to the front of the shoe.

Fill your moccasin with goodies for your diners. I found some "Indian Corn" and thought it was just the thing.

Place one at each place setting and tuck in a name card.

Dream Catcher

2011-10-30T20:00:00.002-04:00

This Thanksgiving I'm going to focus on the Indians whose help enabled the Pilgrims to survive. A dream catcher is the perfect Native American craft. I looked on YouTube and found several video tutorials but was a bit surprised to find that the materials to make one were more expensive than I had thought (about $35) so I looked around for some substitutions.

I had a scrap piece of leather that I cut into 1/4" strips.

Using Shoe Goop, I glued the strips together and clamped them with clips.

I clamped one end of the leather strip to the hoop leaving a 3" tail and started wrapping around the metal ring. When I reached the end I tied the two tails together to form a loop for hanging.

The beading department of Michael's had some cording that was more reasonable than the artificial sinew in their leather-craft department. I strung on a few beads from my stash.

Next I cut a length of cording that was longer than I thought I'd need and wrapped it into a bobbin.

I tied the end on the hoop and proceeded to loop the cord going under, over and through and then pulled it taut.

I continued around the hoop until I reached the beginning.

I looped the cord through each previous loop using the same stitch as before (adding a bead here and there) until I was finished. There should be a hole in the middle. This is to let the good dreams escape while the web catches the bad dreams (or vice versa- it's a bit of a controversy). I tied a knot and secured it with a drop of white glue.

I put some of the Goop onto the end of a feather and wrapped with cording. I added a bead and tied it onto the bottom of the hoop.

This turned out to be a very practical craft as a small boy in the family was beginning to have some nightmares and could really use some protection.

Pulp Fiction Witch

2011-10-23T20:00:00.001-04:00

I thought of those great antique pulp Halloween candy containers when I found these fiber seedling pots. (okay, so I lied about the fiction part in the title)

Cut, glue and paint to make a cute little witch candy box. All for about 25 cents.

Materials

3 fiber pots

tacky glue

gesso

black, pale green and white acrylic paint

permanent black marker

brown paper bag

Tools

scissors

Remove the bottoms from two of the pots and set them aside. Slice and open both. Download and print the hat pattern. Cut the hat shape out of one of the opened pots.

Place mouth of the intact pot over one of the opened pots and trace the diameter. Cut two of these shapes. Cut out the witches face - about the shape of an elongated quarter - from a scrap.

Cut a thin strip, the height of the hat from a scrap. Glue half of the strip to the inside of one of the long edges of the hat. Allow to dry then put more glue on the other half of the strip. Circle the hat around and press the remaining edge onto the strip. Hold for a few minutes.

Cut the bottom off of the remaining pot. Glue the mouth of the pot onto one of the large circles. Trim to fit. Glue the hat onto the other circle.

Glue the three pot bottoms together. When dry, trim so that they are a bit smaller than the open bottom of the intact pot.

Glue the three pot bottoms to the middle of the bottom of the hat. Glue the face to the front of the pot, just below the opening. (sorry, I forgot to take a picture)

Tear a few scraps into small pieces. Soak in hot water for about 1/2 hour, then grind up in a blender or food processor, adding a squirt of glue. Drain and squeeze the pulp. Mold into a nose, the size and shape of a jelly belly jelly bean. Glue to the middle of the face. Allow to dry overnight. Cover with gesso. This seals the porous pots so they'll use less paint in the final process.

Paint the witch and her hat with the black paint; inside and out. Paint the face a pale green. When the green is dry, add two small white dots for the eyes. Draw eyebrows, a mouth and irises to the face with the black marker.

Cut a 2 inch width of paper bag long enough to fit around the pot, excluding the facial area. With your scissors, make 1/4" strips for hair, leaving a half in uncut. Glue the uncut edge to the top of the witch body, folding the very top to the inside. Crunch each strand of hair.

Fill with black licorice jelly beans, candy corn, gummy worms or some other appropriate Halloween treat.

Vampire Test

2011-10-16T20:00:00.001-04:00

Is it just me or are there vampires everywhere? Books, movies and television shows all glorify that prince of darkness. Is it possible that there are vampires among us and we might not know it? Could you or I be a vampire? I've developed a test to determine if it is a possibility.

Use as a greeting card or rent a scary DVD and use this to invite over all the vampires you know (or suspect).

Download the outside of the card here. Print using a borderless page set up on card stock.

Download the inside of the card here. Print it on the backside of the outside previous download. (Double click on the above picture to be able to read questions)

Fold the paper in half and cut in half to result in two separate cards. My midterms were never this much fun. Scary fun!

Black Cat Eggs

2011-10-09T20:00:00.000-04:00

I've had so much fun this year making bag toppers. Halloween is the perfect holiday to make even more.

Materials:

cardstock

cellophane bag (Wal-Mart, Michael's and Target)

black jelly beans

Tools:

stapler

Download label here. Print, making sure that you use a borderless 8 1/2 x 11" setting in your page set-up. Fill a cellophane bag with black jelly beans. Fold over the top. Cut out one label and fold in half lengthwise. Place over the bag and staple.
You can either eat the eggs or sit around and wait to see if a cat hatches. Your choice.

Itty Bitty Scary Lanterns

2011-10-02T20:00:00.000-04:00

Have you priced those antique Halloween containers? Wow! Here's a way to make them for about 10 cents each.

Materials

3 fiber seedling pots

gesso

black and orange acrylic paint

gold glitter glue

colored tissue paper

tacky glue

thin wire

electric tea lights

Tools

scissors

darning needle

CAT

With sharp scissors, cut out two oval shaped eyes, a triangle nose and a banana shaped mouth from one side of the pots. Cut out triangles from another pot and use them as ears. Paint inside & out with gesso. The pots are porous and the gesso seals them nicely.

Paint the outside and inside with the black paint. Paint whiskers on the forehead and beside the nose with the glitter glue. When dry, glue colored tissue ( green for eyes, red for nose and yellow for mouth) to the inside, covering the openings. With a black permanent marker, draw pointed ovals for irises and a grid for teeth. Punch two small holes opposite each other on the top. Thread thin wire through the holes to form a handle.

PUMPKIN

Cut triangular eyes and nose and a smiling mouth with sharp scissors. Cover with gesso.

Paint the inside black and the outside orange. Glue a small piece of yellow tissue paper to the inside of the pot, covering the openings.

Punch two holes opposite each other on the top of the pot. Thread thin wire through the holes to form the handle.

Place electric tea lights in the bottom of each lantern. Don't you just love electric tea lights?These are perfect decoration for the Halloween table or mantle.

Popping Spider Card

2011-09-25T20:00:00.001-04:00

When I found this appropriately colored tarantula I knew I had to do something with him for Halloween. What better idea than to have him emerge from a spider web?

Please advise your arachnophobic friends (and we know several) to wear Depends before activating this card.

Download the spider web and spider here. Print it out on 81/2 x 11" cardstock with a borderless page set-up.
Cut out the three pieces and score the thin white lines on the web piece with a bone folder or table knife (my bone folder is always MIA). Slice the middle line (in orange) with an exacto blade leaving 1/2" on either side uncut. Fold along all of the scored lines.

Glue the back of the spider piece to the front of the bottom tab.

Fold over the spider web and glue the top tab to the bottom tab and spider. Allow to dry.
Pull the sides apart and press down on the top to activate the card and watch the spider jump up from his web. EEEEKKKK!!!!!

Blueberry Chutney

2011-09-18T20:00:00.001-04:00

I don't usually can produce, but I can't find blueberry chutney in my local grocery store so I have learned to make it. This year I used my crock pot to make the chutney (not to can it) so it was even easier. There are a lot of ingredients, but you put them in one pot, bring to a boil then simmer until it is thick. ( It usually takes 3 -4 hours in the crock pot. If it isn't thick, take off the lid and continue cooking until most of the liquid evaporates.) It's a forgiving recipe so add, subtract, increase or decrease any ingredients to suit your taste.

Ingredients for eight 8 oz. jars

8 cups of blueberries (fresh or frozen)

2 medium onions chopped

1 1/2 cups vinegar (any kind you prefer)

1 cup raisins

1 cup firmly packed brown sugar

1 tsp cinnamon

grated peel of 2 oranges

2 T grated ginger

2 cups of walnuts

1 small can of jalapeno chiles

Tools

crock pot (or soup pot)

8 oz canning jars

canning pot with lid (or soup pot, large sauce pan)

pair of tongs

and. . . . . . . . .

one of these canning jar lifters (about $5.00). You use this to grab the hot jars otherwise you will burn your little fingers.

I can't believe how easy the canning process is. It only takes about 10 minutes and the little ping that occurs when the jars are sealed is adorable. I won't go into the directions for canning as they are on the back of the package of jars.

So, what do you do with this stuff?

1) Use it with curry.

2) Use as a relish with plain chicken, pork or fish.

3) Add it to chicken, celery and mayonaise to make an awesome chicken salad (serve with multi-grain rolls)

4) Pour it over a block of cream cheese and serve with crackers for an unbelievable hors d'oeuvre.

I designed some labels that you can download here and print on a piece of 8.5 x 11 inch piece of sticker paper (or whole paper label - available at any office supply store).

Stick them onto your jars for a professional looking condiment.

Parisian Finger Towels

2011-09-11T20:00:00.004-04:00

A few years ago I kept seeing lovely printed finger towels at all the swanky boutiques. You know those finger towels - the ones you put in your powder room for guests? You threaten your family with death if they use them and your guests are afraid to mess them up. (do they dry their hands with toilet paper?) But boy, they make your powder room look like a high end joint.

Nothing is too good for my powder room. I'll make those rubes I invite over think I stole my finger towels from some posh hotel in Paris.

Materials

plain, smooth textured finger towels (I used cotton; linen should work too -I don't know about polyester)

Xylol* (available at hardware stores)

Tools

paper towels

old credit card

iron

Download the page of crowns here. Print them from your computer then copy on a copy machine. Important!

Cut the four crowns apart. Center one on the lower front of a towel, print side down. Wet a wadded sheet of paper towel with Xylol. Hold one edge of the image and wipe the back with the saturated paper towel.

The image will not transfer yet. Take your old credit card and firmly pull it across like a squeegee. Lift one corner to check on your progress then continue to rub over any areas that haven't transferred.

Before I discovered the credit card trick, I just added more Xylol. This resulted in a ring as shown above. No, no.

Allow to sit about 1/2 hour to let the Xylol evaporate, then heat set your image by ironing on the reverse side with a hot iron. Important! Ten seconds should do it. Use a pressing cloth or copy paper to avoid any scorching.

Throw into the washer and dryer for the poshest finger towels in the neighborhood.

*Xylol stinks. Use it outdoors. Acetone or Citrisolv (also smelly) can be substituted using the same method.

Simple Bench

2011-09-04T20:00:00.007-04:00

I love to look back at the original DIYers who made things because they had to rather than for a bit of fun.

"Hey Pa, the church ladies are coming over and we don't have anywhere for them to sit."
"Alright Ma, I'll go out to the scrap wood pile and make a couple of benches."

My "wood pile" was at Home Depot where I bought a six foot long 1"x 10" and a six foot long 1"x4" to the tune of about $12.00.

I cut the 1" x 10" into 2 thirty inch pieces and then cut one of the pieces in half. (When you begin to cut, first cut off the factory end. Many times that end isn't square and it can make your finished piece crooked) Line up the two smaller cut pieces and to make sure they are exactly equal. If not, cut them again together. Cut 2 pieces from the 1"x 4" to match the length of the larger 1"x10". (HD will make all of these cuts for you)

Because Pa was a little artistic, he rounded the edges of the side boards so I did too. I used a paint can to mark the corners and cut them with a jig saw.

Make "V" cuts on the bottom of the legs by measuring up 5" and 2.5" from each end. Connect the dots and cut this out with a jig saw also.

A little sand paper smooths the fresh cuts.

Measure in 4 inches from each end on the top of the largest board, draw a straight line and drill in three screws on each line until tiny points shows through on the back.

First, put wood glue on the top of the legs. Place the top and one of the legs on their sides and push the top of the leg into the tiny screw points. A right angled ruler makes sure that the leg and top are perpendicular. Screw the screws all the way into the top of the leg. Repeat for the other leg.

Almost finished.

Lay the bench on its side and spread wood glue on one long edge of the top and down about 3 inches on the edge of the legs. Attach the side piece with finishing nails. Flip the bench over and repeat on the other side. Set the finishing nails with a nail set and take the screws out of the top. Drill a larger hole into the screw holes, down about 1/8" then replace the screws. The screw heads will be inset and can be covered with paintable caulk and remain invisible in the finished piece. (I know that they sell drill bits that will drill a small hole and add the inset hole but I keep forgetting to buy one of those when I go to the hardware store so I do this time consuming dance - but hey, there are only 6 screws)

Now caulk, prime and paint. This makes me feel like an original pioneer as long as the pioneer had a chop saw, a jig saw and a cordless drill. Pa would be proud.

Cauliflower Soup

2011-08-28T20:00:00.000-04:00

This recipe comes from "The Joy of Cooking" so you know you can't go wrong serving it.

I love how the recipe card came out looking like a poster for a horror movie. "The Attack of the Giant Cauliflower Head" (Click on it for the full sized version - easier to read)

The beauty of this soup is that it can be served either hot or cold; this being the cold version. It's hearty enough to make a light supper and it freezes well so you can always have it on hand.

Photoshop Drawing

2011-08-21T20:00:00.002-04:00

If you are a devotee of Photoshop you probably have come across Bert Monroy. He's a professor at San Francisco State University who makes photorealistic art using PS. He's amazing! I found a video tutorial of his here and decided to try it. Rather than constantly refer to his video, I decided to write it out. Double click on each picture to enlarge it if you need to.

Start with a portrait then SELECT>SELECT ALL. Then go to EDIT>DEFINE PATTERN and name your pattern.

In your layers pallet, drag the background layer into the little square within a square to make a new layer. With the new layer highlighted, go to FILTER>STYLIZE>FIND EDGES.

Remove the color from this layer with IMAGE>ADJUSTMENTS>BLACK & WHITE.

Highlight the new layer and change the blending mode of the new layer to MULTIPLY.

Make a new blank layer above your background (between the original two layers) and fill it with a warm beige. Go to FILTER>TEXTURE>TEXTURIZER.

Turn your beige layer into a canvas texture. I use just a slight texture but use whatever you would like.

Add a new blank layer above the beige one. Select the pattern tool (which is bundled with the clone stamp)in the tool box. In the options bar (at the top of the screen) select the pattern you made of the whole portrait.

Paint your pattern into part of your outline.

Lower the opacity of this layer in the layer's pallet

Using the smudge tool, draw out the edges of your drawing to feather the edges and make it seem to be a drawing.

Here is the finished picture. Have fun with yours.

Pearl Pendant

2011-08-14T20:00:00.010-04:00

Who knew that a trip to the aquarium shop could lead to a new piece of jewelry?

I found this tubing at Petco, in the tropical fish department. You can buy this by the foot for about a dollar. Any wording on the tube is easily removed with acetone or nail polish remover. Cut a piece (with scissors) about 2 inches long. You eventually want a section 1 1/2". You need the extra length because you will want to trim the ends until that they are straight. The tube has a slight blue cast that isn't noticeable when finished.

Find two pearl buttons that are a little larger than the diameter of the tubing. Cut a piece of 24 gauge wire about 12" long. Fold in half and string on a medium sized pearl.

Twist the wire once then thread the two ends of wire through the button holes.

Put the wire into the small tube. Now this is a bit tricky. Carefully pour small pearls into the tube while holding the wire taut. Thread the wires through the other button and twist them closed.

Take a medium sized pearl with a hole large enough to accept two wires. Thread one wire through the pearl hole and then double it back and put it through the hole again leaving a small loop. Twist the wires around each other a few times between the pearl and the button. Snip off the excess wire.

Now you have a lovely pearl pendant. I can also see this filled with tiny sea shells from a vacation at the beach or any other small mementos.

A Lot on Your Plate

2011-08-07T20:00:00.003-04:00

There is a new restaurant near us. It has a horse in it's name so you get a little cocoa horse on your plate when you order a dessert. Now that is an idea I can use at home.

All you need is a paper punch, a tea strainer and some cocoa. Actually, you don't even need a punch as you can cut a shape out of copy paper.

Punch out your shape and make a scotch tape handle by folding a piece of tape in half, leaving two small wings at the end. Attach those wings to the center of the paper making certain that you don't tape over any of the openings.

Place your shape on the rim of your plate and sift cocoa over it. Carefully remove the shape with it's handle.

Now is that cool or what? I can see doing this with your initial, or the initial of each guest, or a tree for Christmas, a star for July 4th, a shamrock for St. Patrick's Day......the ideas are endless. Stop me before I sift cocoa on everything!

Knotty Bench

2011-07-31T20:00:00.005-04:00

I first saw these benches at Brimfield a few years ago. I couldn't wait to make my own. First you have to find a headboard and footboard. They seem to abound, especially the odd sizes.

This youth bed was perfect.

Cut the footboard in half. I used a jigsaw. Then I bought some knotty pine boards; 1x 2" for the ledger boards and 1x 4" for the apron and seat.

I started by adding ledger boards on the footboard/side pieces. I placed them just a board depth down from the the top of the horizontal boards. This allowed for the planks I added for the seat.

Next, measure from the bottom of the leg to the bottom of the ledger board. Use that measurement to position the ledger board on the headboard. Glue and screw the ledger boards in place.

I attached the sides by putting screws in from the back of the headboard. Predrill to avoid splitting. To stabilize and square the corners, I added 4" pieces of wood with 45˚ angles on either end with screws.

Cut a piece of 1x4 to fit the area between the two front uprights. This is called an apron. Glue and screw it in from the outside of the sides. It should be even with the top of the ledger boards.

Add a piece of 1x2" in the center to stabilize your seat.

Five 1x4" planks were used to make the seat. They rest on the ledger boards. I had to cut out little notches at the four corners to accommodate the bedposts. Glue and finishing nails secured the seat in place. At this point I set all of the nails with a nail set and took out the screws, used a larger drill bit in the holes and drilled down abut 1/8" so that when I replaced the screws the heads were beneath the surface of the wood. It's a bit time consuming but you'll thank me later when your bench looks professional.

The next step is to use paintable caulk to fill in all of the holes and gaps. Smooth the caulk with a putty knife (or old credit card) and a wet finger. Prime with a stain blocker (like Bin or Kilz) to seal the knots and old varnish, otherwise they will bleed through your final paint finish. The primer will raise the grain on the new boards making them feel rough. Lightly sand with fine sandpaper then spray with any color you wish.

Tuck this in a shaded patio, at the end of a bed or just about any place you could use some extra seating.

Frozen Key Lime Pie

2011-07-24T20:00:00.001-04:00

This is a "Helen Housewife Recipe". What is that, you ask?

Helen Housewife Recipe : def

n. 1. Food consisting of a can of this,

a package of that.

2. Definitely not made from scratch.

Sorry, I try to be good and make everything by hand but sometimes a girl just has to make life a bit easier and besides, this is awesome. I keep this in the freezer for drop-in guests. (who am I kidding? We scarf down the whole thing in one sitting)

The ingredients are simple and few: frozen pie crust, lime yoghurt, Cool Whip and a couple of limes. You can make your own pie crust but I never saw the point. (I use fat free Cool Whip and yoghurt to ease my conscience and waistline)

Let the Cool Whip defrost. Bake the crust and let it cool. Grate one of the limes with a microplane. Gently fold the yoghurt, Cool Whip and lime zest together until thoroughly mixed. You may want to add a drop or two of green and yellow food coloring for effect. Pour into pie crust. Freeze.

Place it in the fridge about an hour before serving. Slice a lime very thin, then cut in half.
Place on top of each piece of pie and wait for the applause.

In case you hadn't guessed, you can make a lemon version too.

Bottle Toppers

2011-07-17T20:00:00.002-04:00

I've been seeing these bottles in all the upscale boutiques and catalogs. It occurred to me that they would make the perfect vacation souvenir; especially if you've been to the shore. In my case, it was a staycation, far from the beach but pursuing one of my favorite pastimes, junking.

I found these old bottles in a cardboard box under a table at a local church rummage sale. Old bottles abound in junk shops so they aren't hard to find. If you can't get your hands on some, add a small amount of white paint to a larger amount of water. Pour the mixture into a bottle and swirl it around, then pour out. This should give the desired effect.

I found my shells at an off-price store for a few bucks.

I glued the shells into the mouths of the bottles with hot glue. To simulate the heavy solder, I added hot glue around the top. It might help to have a couple of cups of coffee as you want a bumpy texture.

Buy a roll of aluminum tape at the hardware store. Cut off a section big enough to wrap around the bottle. It comes about 2" wide, so cut it down to about 1 1/4". Remove the paper backing and wrap it around the gluey mouth, scrunching and smoothing as you go, Burnish the folds with your fingernail.

Paint the tape with black acrylic paint then gently rub off some of the slightly wet paint with a paper towel.

So who's to know that I didn't find a message in a bottle and a shell at the beach this summer?

Tiers on my Table

2011-07-10T20:00:00.001-04:00

Pottery Barn has a galvanized three tier table stand for $70. I thought it might be fun to make one out of those cookie tins that you can't throw away because you might use them for something. Here is the something.

Choose three tins; a small medium and large. We will only use the middle sized lid.

Buy a threaded rod ( I found mine in the hardware section of Home Depot). They come in a variety of diameters; I chose 3/8". I cut mine 16" long with a hacksaw. Pick up 6 nuts and washers to fit.

While you're at it, go to the electrical department and pick up a piece of metal conduit (tube) that will slip over the threaded rod. It's cheap, in fact all of this stuff is cheap.

Cut a piece of copy paper the diameter of your largest tin and then fold in half both ways to find the center. Place it on the bottom of the tin. Drill a hole large enough to accommodate the threaded rod. You can use the same paper - just cut it smaller - to find the centers of the rest of the tins and the lid.

Thread one of the nuts and a washer an inch or so above one end of the rod. Add the lid (upside down) and then the largest tin. Add another washer, then screw on another nut. Screw down tightly. You may need a pair or two of pliers.

Slip the middle sized tin on to the rod to determine how high you wish it to be. In my case, it was 8 inches. Since my tubing wouldn't fit over the nuts, I cut the tube 7 inches long. You can use a hacksaw but I chose to use this tube cutter which makes a smooth even cut.

Place the tube on the rod, add a nut, washer and the middle sized tin. Add another washer and nut and again, screw down tightly.

Place the last two nuts and washers on the end of the rod. Measure from the top of the nut inside of the middle tin to the bottom of the new nuts and washers to determine the length of the next piece of tubing. Cut that piece of tubing to length. (Again, for me, it was 7 inches) Remove the new nuts and washers, slip on the tube, then add a nut and washer. Place the smallest tin over the washer and add the last washer and nut. All together now - screw down tightly.

Fill it with whatever you wish and place it in the center of your table. Cute huh?

In spite of the camera angle - the bottom tin is larger than the middle one.

Pie Safety

2011-07-03T20:00:00.007-04:00

I've been seeing little cabinets on the design blogs. I think they are pie safes where cooks placed their pies to cool (protected from flies) before there was refrigeration. This is so adorable that I'm sure we can find dozens of uses for it.

This begins with 4 document frames (81/2 x 11") from the Dollar Tree. Add some 3/4 x 3/4" poplar molding (40¢ foot) and a 12" x 3' (you'll only need 2') pine board from Home Depot. If you want a more finished look, buy a length of molding; there are several from which to choose. Don't forget a small roll of hardware cloth and a few small brass hinges as well. This whole cabinet should cost well under $20 to make.

Oh, pick up 1 1/4" dry wall screws, small finishing nails and paintable caulk while you're at it. Run by Michael's for four wooden balls.

Remove the glass from the frames. Cut 2 pieces of square poplar the same size as the short sides of the frame and 2 pieces the size of long sides of the frame plus the two short pieces. Do this for two of the frames.

Place wood glue on the outside edges of one frame and lay it face down on a hard surface. Surround the frame with the wood pieces. Glue and screw the wood together at the corners with 1 1/2" dry wall screws. You will need to predrill for the screws. Notice that the screw is below the center of the wood. Tightly wrap tape around the frame and side pieces.

Repeat this for one other frame.

When the glue dries, remove a screw. Drill back into the screw hole with a larger bit; one as big as the head of the screw. You only need to drill in about 1/8". When you replace the screw, the head will be inset which will make it easier to hide with caulk. Repeat for all the screws. (FYI there is a drill bit that makes a hole and the inset - all in one - but I couldn't make one more trip to HD so I opted for this more time consuming method).

Connect the 2 encased frames with 4 wood pieces; the size of the short ends of the frames. Glue and add only one frame to one of the openings. Leave off the last frame which will be added later to be the door. Glue and screw the connecting pieces together making sure that the new screws don't intersect the previous screws. That's the reason for setting the first ones off center.

When the glue is dry, back out the screws, redrill the holes and reset screws, as before.

Remove the tape when the glue is dry. Cut the hardware cloth to fit the inside of each of the frames. Attach the mesh by applying hot glue over the edges. Hold in place until the glue cools.

Using little cabinet hinges, attach the frame/door to the last opening. (predrill, predrill. I'm sounding like a broken record) You may need to use sandpaper or a rasp on the frame to make it a bit smaller and easier to open and close. Pretty cute already.

Cut two pieces from a pine board to fit the top and bottom of the box. Screw wooden balls on one piece for feet. Sorry for the funny colors but I was doing a bit of stash busting.

Attach the top and bottom with small finishing nails and glue.

I thought it would look a little more finished if I used some molding around the top and bottom. It wasn't hard to do. Miter the ends, then glue and nail it on with more finishing nails. Predrill with a tiny little drill bit so that the molding doesn't split.

Use a nail set and a hammer to inset the finishing nails. Use the paintable caulk to fill in the nail and screw holes and any joints in the wood. Apply the caulk with an old credit card and smooth it with a wet finger.

A little wooden bead for a knob, white paint, some flowers in a canning jar, and we are ready for our close up (Mr. DeMille).

Here's a bit of a craft fail that I must confess. My original idea was to spray paint my little pie safe, but then I decided that I liked the silver of the hardware cloth. This meant arduous painting with a brush and I still wasn't able to get into all the nooks and crannies that I would with spray paint. If I were to make this again, I wouldn't put the mesh into the frames until after I applied the paint. Do as I say, not as I do.

Red, White and Blue Appetizer

2011-06-26T20:00:00.006-04:00

I rarely do fancy hors d'oeuvres for a dinner party as they can take as long to make as the main course. I've discovered a simple and delicious recipe. Three ingredients. Perfect!

Buy these cute little sweet red peppers in the olive bar in your grocery store. This is usually near the produce and/or deli department. They are cured in brine.

Turn them upside down and drain on paper towels while you mix room temperature cream cheese with finely chopped walnuts. (8oz. of cream cheese and 1/4 cup of walnuts should fill about 2 dozen peppers) Fill the cavities with the cheese mixture. (As I am a wee bit sloppy, I take a wet paper towel and wipe away any cheese that gets on the outside - although I'm sure your guests won't notice a dab or two)

Chill, then serve on a blue platter for your Independence Day picnic. Delish and patriotic.

It's a Charmed Life

2011-06-19T20:00:00.003-04:00

WARNING! MAJOR STASH BUSTING PROJECT AHEAD.

Clean out your toy box, junk drawer and under the couch cushions to gather toys, game pieces, keys, coins, anything and everything that might look good on a necklace. Drill small holes in Scrabble tiles, dominoes, dice and small plastic baby dolls (just to name a few).

Before you begin you must buy two small needle nose pliers. Your fingers will thank you. They are available at Walmart, Michaels and even the Dollar Tree. You will also need a 20" chain, 24 gauge wire, jump rings and beads.

Through trial and error I discovered that it was best to attach charms with jump rings. Some items needed loops to connect to the jump rings. Not one for plain twisted wire, I found a way to add beads. After all, what's a necklace without beads?

Thread a 4" piece of 24 gauge wire through the hole. Fold back about 1 1/2". Slip a bead over both ends. Loop the top of the longer wire over and push the end back through the hole. Grab both loose ends with needle nose pliers and gently but firmly, pull, making sure to leave a small loop on top. Wrap above and below the bead. Voila - a tidy looking domino charm.

Drill through the center of thick items like dice. Place a bead on a head pin then thread on the die. Top it off with another tiny bead and curl the end.

Lay out the chain arranging the charms until you are pleased. No need to stage all the charms yet. I think it's probably better to be symmetrical at this point, varying long dangling items with short ones. Find the middle of the chain and attach your center charm. Add the other charms every other link or so to begin.

Fill in with additional charms until the necklace is as full as you like. It depends on the chain and the size of the links, but in this case, I put a trinket in each link leaving the last 2 1/2" on either end empty for comfort around the back of the neck. Thirty to forty charms nicely filled the 20" length of chain. Finally, add a clasp.

This looks heavy but because most of the charms are wooden or made from plastic, it is surprisingly lightweight.

Pimp My Desk Set

2011-06-12T20:00:00.002-04:00

Mother's Day is easy, buy a few flowers and a card. Father's Day is hard because one size doesn't fit all. Dads have different professions, different hobbies, different sports and different teams. What's a family to do, buy that "Number One Dad" mug? Didn't you do that last year?

Here's an idea. Buy a plain desk set (or a bunch of little boxes and a frame) and personalize.

Materials:

desk set

black spray paint

copies of appropriate printed material

coffee

Mod Podge glue

clear spray paint

brown shoe polish

small brass name plates (next to little brass hinges at the hardware store)

Tools:

brush

old credit card

Paint desk set black.

Now for the hard part; finding printed material that reflects your dad's interests. Here are a few suggestions:

Wall Street Journal

sport's section

real estate ads

bowling/golf score pads

sailing charts

children's drawings

sudoku/crosswords

This dad is a wood worker so I used furniture clip art from an old (reproduction) Sears catalog.

Make copies with a toner based copy machine and dunk them in a bowl full of coffee. (Be careful as wet paper tears easily) Dry on a cookie sheet in a 350 degree oven.

Cut the copy paper to fit each piece of the desk set and apply Mod Podge. (Use an old credit card to smooth out any wrinkles) When piecing two papers, tear the edges as feathered edges are less visible than cut ones. When the glue is dry, spray with the clear spray paint. Let dry then apply brown shoe polish and buff.

Drill tiny pilot holes to attach the name plates then fill with labels.

Rich Dad/Rich Dad

2011-06-05T20:00:00.003-04:00

There's something about a man in a tux - isn't there? If you can't dress up Dad, how about dressing up his Father's Day card?

Download this pattern here and print it on card stock. It's easier to trace if the paper is a bit thicker than regular copy paper.

You can use construction paper or poster board but the result will look a bit amateurish. I found this black paper in the scrapbook section of Michael's. It has a linen texture that is perfect for this application.

Cut the outline out of the black paper then cut the lapels out of the pattern. Place the lapel patterns on the outside (the textured side) and trace around them with an inkless ball point pen. Press firmly for a nice edge. Add the button and pocket as well.

Fill in the lapels, pocket and button with clear nail polish. Allow to dry. Turn over and scored the fold lines with the ink pen.

Cut a piece of white card stock 7 x 4.5" Find the center then cut down one inch. Measure one inch on either side of the center then fold the wings back to form the collar. Take a hole punch and make two holes one inch apart on either side of the center as pictured.

Buy a piece of red grosgrain ribbon about 3/4" wide and about 4" long. (This is too long)

Thread either end of the ribbon through each hole; front to back.

Tuck the ends through the opposite hole; back to front. Trim the ends.

Fold a piece of 7x4.5" red paper (again, I used scrapbook stock) to form a pleated cummerbund. Using that inkless pen again, score across the the short end 1.25" down from the top. Turn the paper over and score a parallel line 1/2" from the precious line. Repeat three times. Place your message on the shorter steps. Use a bone folder or butter knife to reinforce the folds.

Glue the top of the shirt to the inside of the jacket and the top of the cummerbund to the shirt. Your jacket may not want to lay flat with all of the stuff going on inside so take tiny piece of double stick tape and place it on the inside edge where the fronts overlap. It's enough to hold it together, but still allow the card to be opened.

I put a little sticker on the bottom step that said "PULL".

A formal message for that special Dad.

Help Yourself

2011-05-29T20:00:00.003-04:00

This is a special craft for all of those summer house guests you will be hosting. This also works for all for those year round house guests, especially the ones you married and gave birth to.

I started with a 11" x 14" canvas, a wooden disk 2 1/4" in diameter and this backwards download.

Ordinarily I use a laser or toner copy machine print for this type of image transfer. This time I used a print from my ink jet computer which bled a bit and discolored. It looks vintage and that works for this application.

If not already done, prime the canvas with white paint. Drill 4 holes in the center of the disk and prime as well.

Cut out the message close to the outline and center it on the canvas, with 2" margins on three sides. Lightly draw around it with pencil. Paint the center a light color and the outside in a contrasting color.

Paint the face of the print with a generous coating of matte ModPodge. Place it facedown and using an old credit card as a squeegee, adhere it to the light colored center of the canvas. Make sure that you get all of the air bubbles out. Allow to dry thoroughly.

Meanwhile paint the button a bright color. Find a bottle cap (or in my case, a shot glass) that is smaller than the disk. Dip the rim in a darker color then gently place it on the disk to simulate the groove around a real button (called a knurl - my vocabulary lesson for the week).

When the print is completely dry, wet the paper and gently but firmly rub off all of the paper. Let it dry. You may find that you need to repeat the wetting and rubbing process until you remove all (or most) of the paper. Top with more ModPodge. This should make any excess paper fuzzies transparent.

Use a Sharpie and a ruler to outline the message.

Place the button where you wish. Poke corresponding holes in the canvas. Sew on the button with string or yarn.

Let's hope that everyone gets the idea.

Ice Tea Made Simple

2011-05-22T20:00:00.001-04:00

What is summer without ice tea? And what is ice tea without lemon, sugar and mint? What if you could combine them all in one?

The fixings are simple; bamboo skewers, lemon drop hard candies and fresh mint. Place a few lemon drops several inches apart on a parchment paper covered cookie sheet. Bake in a 300˚ oven for about 5 minutes, checking often to make sure that they don't burn.

When they melt, remove from the oven. Push the point of the skewer into the hot candy and twist it back and forth. Lift up the skewer and place a small piece of mint leaf on top of the candy. Replace the skewer. Allow to cool. * note - I would only do 2 or 3 lemon drops at a time until I got the hang of it.

Present your candied skewers in a pretty glass at the table and let your guests enhance their teas.

Pretty and practical...just like me.

Wooden Dolly

2011-05-15T20:00:00.001-04:00

I just discovered how easy it is to carve MDF (medium density fiberboard), a cheap wood product available at lumber yards and the big box hardware stores everywhere. I've always wanted an antique doll so here was the opportunity to make my own and blog about it.

Materials

1/2" MDF (medium density fiberboard)

spray primer

white and black acrylic paint

ultra fine black sharpie marker

non permanent red marker

brown shoe polish

two 2" long thin screws

elastic cord

Tools

utility knife

jigsaw

drill

screw driver

Download the pattern for this doll body here. The finished doll is about 20" tall but you can alter the pattern to make her any size you wish.

Cut out the pattern and trace it on the MDF. Cut it out with a jig saw. No whining about how you can't use power tools. The guy who invented the jig saw made the prototype out of his wife's sewing machine. If you can use a sewing machine, you can use a jigsaw. Even if you can't use a sewing machine, you can use a jigsaw.

Cut 2 pieces of MDF 1/2" wide and 8" long for the arms. For the legs, cut 2 pieces 1" wide and 8" long.

Using short, shallow cuts, pare off the edges all around the body and limbs with a utility knife. (think peeling carrots) Make a line between the bun and the rest of the hair. Remove wood on both sides of the line to make a 3D look. Repeat for the shoes and the hands. Make a line for the chin, but only remove wood from the neck.

Paint with a spray primer. Allow to dry thoroughly. Paint the doll with white acrylic paint except for the shoes and hair which should be painted black. Draw a simple face with an ultra thin Sharpie black marker. Fill in the lips with a red marker. Draw a red circle on each cheek then smudge the circles with a damp Qtip.

Rub the doll with brown shoe polish for an antique look.

Drill holes on the sides of the arms at the shoulders. The holes should be larger than the screws but smaller than the heads of the screws. Drill a smaller hole in each shoulder. Thread the screws through the arm holes then screw them into the shoulder holes. The arms should be able to move freely.

Drill small holes in the top fronts of the two legs and the bottom of the body. Thread thin elastic cord through both sets of holes and tie behind the legs.

Now she needs to be dressed.

Materials

kitchen towel (Dollar Tree)

elastic cord

Tools

pinking shears

needle and thread

small safety pin

I'm lazy and wanted to do as little sewing as possible so when I cut apart the towel, I paid attention to the hems that were already there and used them on my doll dress as the hem of the skirt, the neck edge of the bodice and the ends of the sleeves.

Open the kitchen towel and cut it apart with pinking shears. I've laid it out just like it was on the towel.

Skirt:

11" high x the width of the towel (16")

Bodice:

2 1/2" x the rest of the length of the towel (14")

cut in half

Sleeves

7 1/2" x the length of the towel (14")

cut in half

Open the safety pin and stick it into the end of the elastic cording then thread the cording through the end of each sleeve (already hemmed). With rights sides together, sew each sleeve to the unhemmed edge of each bodice. Sew the sides of each sleeve together (again, right sides together). Turn right side out.

Gather the unhemmed side of the skirt. With right sides together, sew the gathered skirt to the bottom of the bodice.

Bend the arms so that they are straight out in front and slip the dress onto the doll. Gather the bottoms of the sleeves with the elastic. Knot the elastic and cut off the extra.

Overlap the back and secure at the waist with a snap, button and loop or small piece of velcro. You can sew up the back seam of the skirt if you don't plan on undressing the doll or you can add bloomers for modesty.

You're on your own with the bloomers (baby socks?). It took all I had just to design the dress.

Bird on a Wire (Swing)

2011-05-08T20:05:00.000-04:00

Materials

rebar wire

small styrofoam egg

black seed beads

straight pins

wooden skewers

feathers

Tools

wire clippers

needle nose pliers

paint

paintbrush

glue

Cut a 12" piece of rebar wire. Bend it into a squared U shape. Clip the ends so that they are even. Make two small loops at the ends.

Cut another piece of rebar wire, this time 3 inches. Loop it over the bottom of the U. Grab both ends of the 3" piece with pliers and wrap severalmore times, pulling tightly. Leave one inch ends. If the wraps are too loose, crimp with pliers.

Place the fat end of the egg on the point of a wooden skewer while you paint the body a bright color. Thread seed beads onto straight pins and push the pins into the head of the egg. Snip ends off the pins if necessary. Glue the pointed end of a skewer for a beak.

To form the tail, glue feathers into the hole formed by the skewer.
Push the short ends of wrapped wire into the body of the bird.

The Caged Bird Swings

2011-05-08T20:00:00.002-04:00

Doodle a bird cage not with a pencil, but with wire. You will love this whimsical object.
Materials

rebar wire

20 gauge wire

Tools

wire clippers

2 needle nose plies

large can

paper

masking tape

Cut a piece of paper so that it is the exact size as the height and girth of the can. Fold the paper into 8 equal pieces lengthwise. Unfold and tape the paper around the can.

Cut two pieces of rebar wire as large as the circumference of the can plus an inch and 1/4.

Cut 8 pieces of rebar wire 12" long and using the needle nose pliers, make a small loop at one end and a spiral at the other. The loops and the spirals should face in the same direction.

Cut 16 pieces of 20 gauge wire 2 inches long and one piece 4 inches long.

Thread one of the rebar wire circles through the loops at the ends of the long rebar wires. Pass both ends through one of the loops and tape the ends and the loop together with masking tape. Place the can in the center of the wire circle making sure that the circle fits loosely around the can.

Tape each long rebar wire to each fold on the paper with masking tape.

Place the second circle over the wires about an inch above the can. Overlap the ends of the wires and tape to one of the upright wires. Do not use the same wire that was used for the bottom circle intersection. Wrap with masking tape.

Tightly wrap each long rebar wire to the circle with the 20 gauge wire. To achieve this, loop the two inch 20 gauge wires on each side of the upright wires by hand. Grab the the ends of small wire with pliers, pull and twist in opposite directions. This should tighten the loops. Continue to wrap and tighten, compressing the loops in towards each other. Clip and crimp the ends of the small wires.

Remove the masking tape and wrap the converging ends of the circle with the corresponding upright. If the circle is loose, crimp the small wires against the circle with the pliers.

Gently bend the tops of the long wires in a dome shape until the spirals meet in the middle. Wrap with the longer piece of 20 gauge wire.

Place the can on its side and wrap the bottom circle and loops with the 20 gauge wire like the upper circle. Remove the masking tape that secured the ends of the circle and wrap those ends and the loop with a piece of 20 gauge wire.

Remove all of the masking tape that was used to adhere the upright wires to the can. Gently remove the cage from the can. Tweak the shape if necessary.
Make a bird and wire swing; instructions are here and place the loops over two wires at the top (dome) and pinch to close.

Pinning on the Bling

2011-05-01T20:00:00.011-04:00

I bought some moire taffeta upholstery/drapery samples at a sale and knew exactly what I wanted to with them - make pincushions. Not ordinary ones, mind you, but upscale, fancy ones. I used Martha's instructions available here, but added a few variations of my own.

This is perfect way to use up any pretty scraps you happen to have.

She instructs that you cut your fabric on the bias. I did that, but am not absolutely sure it's necessary. With all the scrunching and gathering and sewing, I don't think it matters. She suggests that you cut your fabric so that the short end is half the length of the long end. I found that a piece 6" x 12" fit my fabric and made a nice sized pincushion.

Place right sides together and machine sew along the short ends. Thread a needle and sew a running stitch along one of the long ends. Pull it tightly, wrapping the thread around the gathering, then tie it off.

Felt a wool sweater (it must be 100% wool) by washing it in hot water then drying it in a hot clothes dryer.

Turn the pincushion fabric right side out. Cut off one of the sleeves of the felted sweater and roll it up tightly. Put it inside the fabric cup. The pincushion should be comfortably full, not over stuffed, since you need to manipulate it.

With needle and thread make a running stitch on the unsewn edge. Gather tightly and tie off. Tuck in the ends.

Use a double strand of crochet thread and a long needle to form the lobes of your pincushion. Push the needle through the center of the ball from the top. Wrap the crochet thread along the outside and push the needle through the center again. Pull the thread as tightly as you can. Repeat until you have 6 lobes, evenly spaced.

I found it was better to sew in sequence, around in a clockwise or counterclockwise manner. That way, if the threads aren't as tight as you would like, you can adjust them. Tie off the thread.

For this pincushion I folded a ribbon 5 times around my 4 fingers. I gathered it in the middle with a needle and thread then sewed the ribbon onto the piece of jewelry. The whole ornament was sewn to the center of the cushion. Finally, I fanned out the ribbon and sewed it onto the top of the cushion.

No need to hide these away in the sewing basket.

Cuff Her, Dano

2011-04-24T20:00:00.005-04:00

Grab Mom around the wrist the next time you're talking to her. This should give you an approximate measurement of her wrist.

Materials:

16 gauge silver wire

24 gauge silver wire

Tools:

small wire cutter

small needle nose pliers

hammer

steel bench block

Subtract a couple of inches for the finished size of the bracelet. Take the 16 gauge wire and loop it around until it is the required size. The opening should be in the middle of a long side of the loop. With your needle nose pliers, bend smaller lengths of 16 gauge wire to make the word "MOM". They should be all the same height and have curlicues at the ends of the "M"s.

Pound the wire pieces flat with a hammer on a piece of steel. A concrete garage floor will work in a pinch. This will make the wire stronger and more jewelry-like.

Place the "O" in the middle of your wire loop. The opening of the "O" should be opposite the loop opening. Cut short lengths of the 24 gauge wire and wrap them around the letters and the bracelet where they meet. I wrap just a few times just to hold them in place then finish wrapping when all of the letters are attached. Wrap wire between the "O" and the "M"curlicues to attach them together. Lastly, wrap the short wire where the "O" meets the split in the loop. By this time the bracelet will be stiff enough to make this wrap a little easier. Cut the ends off of the 24 gauge wire on the outside of the bracelet. Tuck and file if necessary. No sharp ends please. Lightly tap the small wire joints with a hammer to set them.

Gently wrap your bracelet around a soup can to form the rounded shape. Adjust the shape with your hands.

Pottery Barn Eggs

2011-04-17T20:00:00.005-04:00

Have you noticed that Pottery Barn ( and several other retailers) are putting numbers on all of their containers? Why not the humble egg?

Empty out an egg by gently tapping the pointiest end until cracked. Take small scissors and gently remove the top. Pour the contents in a bowl. Wash out the insides and dry. Put a finger or two inside the egg to help reinforce the shell and using StazOn ink and a numeral stamp, very gently stamp on the number rocking the stamp side to side and up and down. You probably won't get the entire number to print. This is where a very fine Sharpie comes into play. Lightly fill in the missed portions of the number. Any mistakes can be removed with acetone or fingernail polish remover.

Use curtain rings as egg stands, fill the eggs with dirt and plant a little spring cheer.....just like you did in kindergarten.

Chalkboard Bunny

2011-04-10T20:00:00.003-04:00

I bought this plaque at a tag sale. I think it was a planter in its previous life. You can download a pattern here and here and here. Tape the three patterns together and place on a piece of MDF. Cut the two pieces, then glue and attach the shelf with screws from the back.

Materials

bunny plaque

stain blocker spray paint

chalkboard spray paint

small cup

chalk

Spray a stain blocker paint (Bin is one brand) onto the plaque. This is a good primer that also blocks any knots or other imperfections from showing through your finished surface.
Spray with chalkboard spray paint. Allow to dry and place a small cup in the hole on the shelf. Fill the cup with chalk and embellish your bunny.

Send in the Clown

2011-04-03T20:00:00.002-04:00

As a child, I had no idea that clowns were people in make-up; I thought they just came that way. I found out the truth on a View Master reel and was more disappointed than when I learned about Santa.

Anyway, this is an adorable clown.

Materials

3" round kraft-paper box

1" wooden bead

white card stock

black and white printed paper

solid color card stock

long thin bolt

2 nuts

3 washers

black acrylic paint

white acrylic paint

white glue

ultra thin point black sharpie marker

red marker

Tools

scissors

paint brush

hot glue gun

Poke a hole in the middle of the top of the box. Insert the bolt. This will make it easier to hold the top while you paint it. Paint the outside and inside of the top and the inside of the bottom of the box. Allow to dry then glue a strip of the black and white paper (I used a sheet of music) to the outside of the box.

Measure the diameter of the top of the box then cut 2 strips of white card stock that are half the diameter. In this case, the box is 3" in diameter so I cut two strips 1 1/2" wide by 11" long. Accordion pleat each strip. Glue the ends of the strips to each other to form a circle.

Download the hat pattern here. Cut the hat out of the solid paper and carefully score along the inside circle with the tips of your scissors. (the paper is more green than yellow but it just photographed this color - sorry)

Starting in the center of the hat, pull it along the edge of a ruler like you pull curly ribbon. Repeat, starting at the center and pull to the other side. This should cause the hat to roll. Fold up the brim and glue the edges together with a very thin bead of hot glue.

Practice the harlequin clown face on a scrap piece of paper. The eyebrows should be slightly off to the side. For the eyes, draw a football shape with a circle in the center for the pupil. Draw thin triangles above and below the eyes and put two dots in the middle of the face for a nose. A small red heart shape forms the mouth. Bisect the mouth with a thin black line.

Put the wooden bead on a paint brush handle to make it easy to hold while you paint it with 2 coats of white acrylic paint. When dry, draw on the face, putting it on the bottom half of the bead.
Place the bolt on the box top in this sequence; bolt, washer, box top, washer, nut (screw down), accordion-pleated ruff (glue down with hot glue), head, washer, nut. Screw down firmly but not too tight.

Glue the hat on the top of the head and pop a colorful pom pom on the top.

I glued some scrapbook paper around the body of the box.

Place something special in the box (a precious gem will do) to prove that you aren't clowning around when you wish him/her your best.

Nothing

2011-03-27T20:00:00.002-04:00

Whadaya want for your birthday? Nothin!
Do you know someone like that? Have they got a surprise coming.

Materials:

cellophane bag (available at Michael's in the cake decorating dept. and at Target in the wrapping paper area)

card stock

Tools:

stapler

Download the nothing pdf file. Print it out. Use a borderless setting. Cut out a label and fold it in half. Open a bag and scoop up some air to puff it up, fold over the top and staple on a label. Watch his face light up when you give him his heart's desire.

Moroccan Box

2011-03-20T20:00:00.004-04:00

You can tell your friends that you picked up this box on your travels, you don't have to mention that you traveled to Home Depot.

Materials

3" diameter PVC pipe

aluminum tape

small knob

acetone (optional)

goop glue

Tools

saw

craft dedicated toaster oven

strong scissors

sand paper/ rasps

rubber stamps

black StazOn rubber stamp ink pad

brown shoe polish

black permanent marker

Cut three 4" pieces of PVC pipe with a saw. Cut 2 of them in half vertically. Remove any lettering with acetone.

Place each half piece in a toaster oven (250 degrees), one at a time. In just a few minutes the PVC will become soft and flexible. Take it out and flatten it. (use a book or other flat heavy object) Do this with each half piece.

Place the 4" PVC tube on top of one of the flattened pieces and trace around the outside with a pencil. Do this again with another flattened piece. Trace around the inside of the tube on the third piece. Draw a much smaller circle on the last piece.

Heat each piece again in the oven (one at a time). When soft, cut around the circle with some strong scissors. If the piece becomes hard while you are cutting, place it back in the oven to soften again. (PVC can be heated again and again)

Glue one of the larger circles to one end of the tube to form the bottom. I used a belt sander to remove excess material and smooth the edges after the glue dried. You can achieve the same result with rasps and/or sandpaper. Smooth the edges of the rest of the circles. Scuff up the surface of the tube, the large circle and the smallest circle with sandpaper.

With a StazOn ink pad, stamp geometric shapes all but the medium sized circle and the bottom circle.

When the ink is dry, rub on brown shoe polish and buff off. The polish will stay in the scuffed areas giving the look of old ivory.

Cut a length of aluminum tape the size of the circumference of the tube. Cut three 1/2" strips from that length. Place the edge of the large circle on the middle of one strip and carefully roll the strip around the circle. Fold the edges to the front and back of the circle and burnish the tape with an old credit card. Repeat for the smallest circle. Place the last strip of tape on the bottom of the tube to cover the edge of attached circle. Fold the excess to the bottom of the box. Burnish.

Using the permanent marker, blacken the tape. When the marker is dry, buff it off with a Scotch Brite pad for a pewter look.

Drill a hole in the center of each of the remaining three circles. Thread the bolt through the medium sized circle, then the largest and finally the smallest. Add the knob and screw down tightly. The medium sized circle (the size of the inside circumference of the pipe) will fit into the box and hold the top in place.

Now how do you say Home Depot in Moroccan?

Sunburst Mirror

2011-03-13T20:00:00.007-04:00

I've had a sunburst mirror rolling around in my head for years now. I knew I could make one, but how? Nothing clicked until I saw an old House Beautiful. In the corner of a photo there appeared to be a golden sunburst on a black background. Here was something I could do.

I bought a piece of 2'x4' 3/16" hardboard from Home Depot and had them cut it in half for two 2' squares. (only used one) Buy a tube of paintable caulk (this just happened to be black) and a caulk gun if you don't already have one. Take a trip to the Dollar Tree candle department for a round beveled mirror. Head on over to Michael's for a bottle of black acrylic paint and gold stencil cream.

I used a pizza pan to draw a large circle on my hardboard square then placed my mirror in the center and drew around it. I drew a circle freehand about 1/2" larger than the mirror. Looking back, I should have found a dessert plate that was a bit larger than my mirror, traced that, then traced the mirror. No matter, either way will work.

Lastly, I took a yardstick and bisected my circle in 8 equal segments. I added even more lines until it was as full as I wanted it to be.

Cut off the tip of the caulk with a utility knife. This next step in very important. There is a wire tool attached to the caulk gun. Use it to puncture the seal inside of the tip. If you don't, you will have a huge mess on your hands as caulk will squeeze out in every direction. (don't ask me how I know).

Slowly and carefully squeeze the gun trigger and follow your lines, going from the outside of your medium circle to the edge of the large one. (I rested the tip on the board to steady my hand)

After each line, click the end lever to stop the caulk from flowing out. Have an Exacto knife or single edged razor blade ready to correct any mistakes. A small bowl of water comes in handy to wet your finger and smooth any bumpy areas. If you make a big mistake, wait until the caulk sets up then peel it off and start again.

Did I mention that this is going to be a somewhat organic sunburst?

Allow your rays to set up for an hour or so then pipe a line of caulk around the medium circle. Wet your finger and gently push this line against the ends of the rays. Next, pipe a line just outside the smallest circle. Allow these two circles to set up as well.

If you've ever iced a cake, this step will be familiar. Hold the caulking gun upright and push a blob of caulk between the two circles, pulling up slightly when you are finished. Take a wet finger and gently push down on the tips to form rounded beads.

Now comes the hard part. You need to let this dry overnight. (I know, patience is not a virtue of mine either) The caulk won't dry hard; it will be pliable.

Paint the whole thing black with your acrylic paint. I know this looks silver, but it's just the photo. Let it dry. Don't think you can use spray paint. It reacts with the caulk and becomes a sticky mess. (again, don't ask)

Take a pot of gold stencil cream and rub it on the raised portions with your finger. Keep applying until you have the depth of color and brilliance you like. Wait 24-48 hours for the cream to dry.

Goop glue was used to adhere the mirror.

This gives a vintage look to a midcentury modern mirror.

Hardboard - ($2.50 for one)

Caulk - $1

Paint - $1

Stencil cream - $3

Mirror - $1

Sunburst mirror - under $10

feeling of accomplishment - priceless

Pot of Gold

2011-03-06T20:00:00.005-05:00

I've been wanting to make chocolate bowls for quite awhile. What better excuse than St. Patrick's day?

Blow up a balloon to the desired size; in my case, 2 1/2" in diameter. It's about as small as you can blow a balloon. Obviously, if you have dessert eaters with hearty appetites, blow more and go bigger. Spray the balloon with Pam. Melt a cup of candy melts or chocolate chips for about 1 1/2 minutes in the microwave. We want it just melted, not boiling hot. Dunk the balloon into the chocolate.

Pull the balloon out of the chocolate and let it drip for a few seconds then place it on some parchment or waxed paper. Hold it for a few minutes until the chocolate sets a bit and the balloon stands upright by itself. Place it in the refrigerator until completely set.

Cut a tiny hole in the top of the balloon and let the air slowly escape. Carefully pull the balloon out of the chocolate shell. The chocolate, especially near the top may crack. You can repair small cracks with more melted chocolate. I suggest making extra shells to allow for mistakes.

If the top is ragged, place a piece of parchment or waxed paper in a skillet over a hot burner. Rest the open end of the bowl on the paper for a few seconds until the top has melted and evened out.

What good is a pot if you don't have some gold? I found some gold pearl dust at a kitchen speciality shop. (Sur le Table) It's available online too.

I put two scoops of pistachio ice cream (mint chocolate chip would do as well) into my bowl then, with a paint brush, added some of the gold dust. You can make these bowls a day or two ahead and freeze them.

Serve with rainbow cookies. The directions are here.

Erin Go Bragh!

Rainbow Cookies

2011-02-27T20:00:00.007-05:00

Have you been as fascinated as I with all of the rainbow cakes and pancakes? What about some rainbow cookies? Perfect for St. Patrick's Day - don't you think?

I started with a bag of sugar cookie mix, but the refrigerated dough or even, heaven forbid, a sugar cookie dough from scratch would work.

Roll the mixed dough in a log and divide it in 6 equal pieces. Add a couple of drops of color to each section. (I used the standard grocery store colors) I started mixing the yellow and worked my way to the purple, washing my hands between each color.

Flatten each color and place them between sheets of waxed paper. Roll the dough about as flat as possible.

Stack the colors on top of each other in this order:

yellow

orange

red

green

blue

purple

Roll the stack so the the yellow is on the outside. Chill in the refrigerator for an hour, then slice. (I turned the roll between each cut so that I didn't have a flat side) Cut each slice in half.

Place the cookies on a cookie sheet and bake according to the directions on the mix/dough/recipe. Make sure you don't overcook them as the yellow has a tendency to brown.

Perfect for serving to all those leprechauns lurking around your house.

Zinc Nameplates

2011-02-20T20:00:00.005-05:00

I discovered nameplates a few years ago and use them everywhere. They can be expensive, hard to find and limited in color and size. I have seen zinc ones in the french and swedish bogs . Could I make my own? Of course.

Download templates here. (I've given you two different sizes but feel free to resize to fit your project) Print on card stock and cut out the size you want. With a fine tip sharpie, trace the shape onto a piece of metal. This one is a thin sheet of galvanized steel I found in the duct department of Home Depot, but just about any thin, bendable metal will do. You can find brass at some hobby shops if that is the look you want.

Cut out the name plate with shears or heavy scissors, being careful at the intersections of the curves and the tabs. It is so easy to overcut, making slices into the body of the plate. I try to cut very close to the intersection then twist and bend the metal until it snaps off. File or sand the edges if they are at all sharp.

Place a ruler on the line you wish to bend. With a straight-edged screwdriver, scribe a line. Put the ruler on the body of the nameplate and bend the tab to a 45˚ angle by rotating the metal and ruler on a hard surface.

Drill or punch holes where the screws or tacks will go, then spray it with gray primer paint if you want the zinc look. Be sure to paint the outsides of the tabs as well.

Attach the name plate to your surface (I used decorative brass upholstery tacks) then bend your tabs completely over. Write out your label on a piece of cardstock and slip it into the opening.

Remember the saying "If it moves, fondle it"? Well in this case, "If it stands still, label it".

Fire Ball

2011-02-13T17:00:00.000-05:00

Am I the only one who looks in the boxes under the tables at a garage sale before I look at the stuff displayed on the tables?

I found this great box for ATOMIC FIRE BALLS among the Christmas ornaments hidden under a table at a sale this summer. I don't know about you but my sweetie is as red hot as they come. A perfect Valentine's Day greeting. (Especially since it's tomorrow and you forgot to buy a card)

Download the card here. Print it on white card stock and cut in half along the gray line.

With a craft knife, cut out the sides of the box except the top one. Place a ruler just above the box and fold up to form the hinge. Turn it over and cover everything but the box area with glue (I used a glue stick). Carefully place it over the half with the message and adhere the two sides together. Open the box and place a small piece of ribbon at the bottom with scotch tape.

Place a penny at the end of the message with a piece of double stick tape to let him know that you'd pay for his sweet loving. (The fireballs are 1¢ on the box top - get it?)

Love Potion

2011-02-06T08:00:00.007-05:00

Since many people fall in love over a bottle of wine, it must be a love potion.

Materials

door knob (mine just happened to be an old porcelain one)

cork (#6 for soda bottles)

gorilla glue

rub ons

StazOn ink pad

permanent marker

clear spray paint

Tools

sand paper (optional)

wire brush (optional)

clamp

rubber stamps

Clean the shank on the door knob with sandpaper and a wire brush. Spray with clear spray paint to prevent rust. Wet the cork and squeeze a tiny bit of Gorilla Glue on the end of the door knob shank.
Clamp together for an hour or two. Remove from clamp.

Use rub ons, rubber stamps with StazOn ink and/or a permanent marker to write your message on the door knob. Spray with clear spray paint to protect the label.

Place the stopper on your favorite wine and serve it to your sweetie on this day of love.

Lovely Bubbles

2011-01-30T20:00:00.001-05:00

I found some very pretty table knives for $1 each. How could I pass that up? Surely I could use the handles for something fun. Why not an upscaled version of childhood bubbles?

Look for old or new knives with hollow handles. Some knives have solid flat handles that won't work for this application.

The bubble liquid container had to have an opening large enough to accommodate the bubble wand. Starbucks Frappaccino (available in a four pack at any grocery store) was perfect. I bought a piece of copper wire in the electronics department of my local hardware store. I don't know the gauge but I think it's probably 16. Cut about 18 inches long. Since the wire is thin and the knife handle chunky, I thought I should use a bead to visually bridge that gap. Obviously, choose one that has a hole large enough to allow for the wire to thread through.

I used a hacksaw to saw the knife blade from the handle. A file is needed to remove any burrs. Notice that the end of the blade is still in the handle. Usually you don't see this in old knives (this was new). Old and new will work.

Place the middle of the 18" length of wire over a large wooden dowel. This is a closet pole but a broom would work just as well. Hold the ends then twist the dowel for about 5" or however long you wish your wand to be.

Thread one end of the wires through the bead and twist the other over it. I cut the ends about 1" long, pushed them into the end of the knife handle then used epoxy to secure them.

When the glue has set, use needle nose pliers to form the heart shape to the end of the wand.

I made the labels by altering some from the Graphics Fairy. Download the labels here. I printed mine on glossy sticker paper, but copy paper will work. Spray the labels with Krylon's Workable Fixative so that the print won't run when it comes in contact with the bubble liquid.

I was going to spray paint the bottle top but it was a cold rainy day so I glued on a silk flower instead after adding a few drops of red food coloring to the liquid. (I bought my bubble liquid but there are a number of recipes for homemade ones on the net). Apply the label then attach the wand with double stick scotch tape. A length of organza ribbon completes the ensemble.

Bubbles were never so chic or so over the top.

Light as a Butterfly

2011-01-23T20:00:00.022-05:00

I found this glass chandelier pendant in a box I bought at an estate sale. The shape is called a pampille. What a perfect excuse to use reverse glass decoupage to make an unusual piece of jewelry.

Materials

chandelier glass pendant (I found them here, some for less than $1.00)

copy paper

white glue

Krylon silverleaf permanent marker

20 gauge beading wire

small bead

Tools

old credit card

scissors

fine sandpaper

wire clippers

needle nose pliers

Download and print the sheet of butterflies and ledgers here. A few more butterflies and ledgers have been added to this sheet since I took this picture just in case you want to make more than one. These images are from the Vintage Moth. Check out her blog to see wonderful clip art. *note- her blog has moved (you'll be redirected) but these images were on her original blog.

Cut out a butterfly and carefully spread a small amount of white glue on the lower back of the pendant with an old credit card. Place the printed side of the butterfly down on the glue. Wipe off the excess and let dry. Reapply more glue to the entire back of the pendant and place it over the ledger page. Burnish the back of the paper with the dry side of the credit card to adhere it to the glass.

With sharp scissors, cut out the paper around the glass. Lightly sand the edges of the paper to feather them and help prevent them from lifting.

Cut a 4" piece of beading wire. Thread one end through the hole in the pendant; back to front. Pull it through and twist it a few times around itself to secure. Place a bead on the wire. Make a loop (I wrapped it around a paintbrush handle) then wrap again. Clip off the ends. File if necessary to prevent snags.

I used a silverleaf marker to cover the back of the paper (actually before I added the wire bale but I forgot to photograph it). Unfortunately it rubbed off so I spent a few minutes burnishing it with a scrap piece of copy paper until the excess color no longer came off. I thought I had made a mistake but ended up loving the pewter look. You can substitute silver acrylic paint and skip the burnishing.Chandeliers are the jewelry for a room. Shouldn't they be jewelry for the bod?

Assembled Boxes

2011-01-16T20:00:00.004-05:00

After a huge studio clean out I realize that I still have to live to be about 1,000 years old to put a sizable dent in my accumulation of stuff. A stashbusting project beckons.

This project was inspired by the assemblage boxes of Joseph Cornell. His work has influenced more than one of us. Check out his art here.

This is more of a guide than a tutorial and I am breaking a blog promise I made to myself to only use materials that are widely available. I am assuming that most of you have drawers, closets or entire rooms of things and can follow along, improvising when necessary.

Materials:

small, shallow box (a cigar box is ideal)

old book

foam core board

hardware cloth

small brads

Mod Podge

Black spray paint

Goop glue

stuff!!!

Tools

paint brush

old credit card

tin snips or strong scissors

exacto knife

small hammer

Tear out the pages from an old book and using Mod Podge, glue the pages to the sides of the box (mine are old sewing machine drawers), lining one edge of the paper along the outside edge of the box and allowing the other edge to overlap onto the back. Measure the back of the box and cut out another piece. Glue in place. If you need to piece 2 sections together, tear the edges that abut each other as the feathered edges blend better than cut ones and the intersections don't show as much. Smooth in place with an old credit card. There may be some wrinkles but you can disguise them in subsequent layers or chalk them up to the handmade look.

I found that clip art illustrations made a more interesting background to work with. I was lucky that my book was full of clip art pages, but if you don't have this, cut out individual clip art and collage it to your background book pages. The Graphics Fairy is a good source of clip art.

The next step is to divide the space using book page covered foam core board cut into appropriate sizes and glued into place with hot glue. Vary the sizes of the sections for some added interest.

To vary the depths, I cut foam core board to fit a small section then wrapped it in an old map. I layered pieces of foam core scrap and glued them to the back of the selected section. My map-covered piece was then glued to the scraps making a shallower area to work with.

Look for items to fill the smaller sections. For me it was wooden spools of thread and small bottles. I downloaded labels from The Graphics Fairy here and glued them onto the bottles with Mod Podge. I punched out black butterflies using a Martha punch and glued them onto the old maps. Glue the heavier items with Goop.

Next, I cut out a piece of hardware cloth (that wire mesh available in any hardware store) to the size of one of the sections. Trim the piece so that no little points are sticking out and make it big enough so that you can attach it to either the wooden edges of the box or the foam core or both. Spray paint the cloth black and using small brads, nail the hardware cloth to the edges of the section, capturing the cloth with the heads of the brads. (oops - put your items inside before you attach the cloth) I dipped the points of the brads in Goop before I stick them into the foam core to insure adhesion. I also held the brads with needle nose pliers while nailing them to save my fingers from hammer bashing.

Joseph Cornell filled many of his boxes with paper birds but I had some reproduction paper dolls in my stash and decided to use them. I cut out foam core in the approximate shape of the dolls (not an easy task) and glued the dolls to it, making sure that the board was smaller than the doll so that it was invisible. I then layered pieces of scrap foam board on the back of my dolls so that they could sit proud of the background. I glued the whole mess to the back of the box in the largest section. Tin bird pins were added for color.

Whew, 3 boxes down, eight million to go. Maybe then "Hoarders" won't find me and put me on their TV show.

Putting a Name to the Face

2011-01-09T20:00:00.001-05:00

I first saw this Photoshop tutorial here. It was wonderful but used CS4, a program that I can't afford. I knew I could do this with PS Elements (it doesn't have all of the bells and whistles as the CS series or the cost) and went about adapting and hopefully simplifying this lesson. There are a number of steps and photos so bear with me.

Take your photo and cut out the background. Make it black and white (remove color). Use levels, if necessary to provide a bit of contrast if your photo, like mine, is a little washed out. Posterize this to 4 levels. It should look like the above; black, dark gray, light gray, white.

Open a new document and type the person's name. Duplicate the name twice more, using a different typeface for each layer. After some experimentation I found that simpler typefaces were better so don't use script, old english, or any of those fun fonts. I found a heavy, a medium and a fine font to use.

With the rectangular marquee tool select a name then go to EDIT>DEFINE BRUSH and name your brush (in this case - aj3). Do this for each layer (name).

Go back to your posterized photo and select just the black with the magic wand. (make sure you haven't clicked "continuous" in the options bar)

Add a new layer above the background layer. Click the eye off the background layer so that just the transparent layer with the selection "marching ants" show.

With the brush tool select the boldest name brush. Resize it by clicking on the bracket keys to enlarge it or make it smaller. Click the brush all over the picture to fill the black areas with the name. The letters will only fill in the selected areas, so no need for precision here. Change up the size to add variety and even though the majority of the letters should be bold, you can add some of the other name brushes as well. Fill it in fairly well. SELECT>DESELECT to remove the marching ants.

Make another blank layer. With the magic wand go back to the background and select the dark gray areas. Click the eye off of the background and bold layers. Use the medium name brush (as opposed to the bold or fine name brushes) to fill in those areas in the new blank layer. Mix up the sizes and intersperse some of the other brushes as well. Don't fill it in as densely as the black areas. SELECT>DESELECT.

Make a new blank layer and the magic wand for the light gray areas and, using the lighter name brush as above, fill this selection even sparser. Don't forget to turn off the other layers by deselecting the eyes so that all you have showing is the light gray areas. SELECT>DESELECT.

Click the eyes on on all of the layers except the background. Merge all of the lettered layers together then add a few random names around the edges. Add a new blank layer beneath this merged layer. Fill it with white. Discard the original background. Leave as is if you like the black and white graphic look.

To add some color, use the magic wand to select all of the white areas. Go to SELECT>INVERSE to select all of the lettering. Make a new blank layer above the black and white merged layer. Select the gradient tool. Go to the options bar and on the left you will find a bunch of color bars. Choose one, then with your mouse, drag a line from the top of your picture to the bottom. The letters will become different colors. Flatten your image.

What a colorful child.

Make Your Own Santo

2011-01-02T20:00:00.001-05:00

The first time I saw a santo figure, I knew I had to have one. They seem to be in every decorating magazine, blog and catalog including Ballard Design. Problem is, I couldn't justify the expense. It took a lot of head scratching, but I think I've met this challenge. I'm sorry that this is a rather long tute but it takes awhile to make a saint.

I'm giving you the sizes for my santo, but you may alter these when you make your own. The starting place is the smallest wooden disk; build your doll off that measurement.

Materials:

2 styrofoam cones (2 3/4" x 5")

1 styrofoam ball (1 1/2" in diameter)

1 styrofoam ball (3/4")

toothpicks

1 small wooden disk (2 3/4" in diameter)

1 large wooden disk (6 1/2" in diameter)

6 wooden paint stir sticks

tacky glue

5/8" diameter dowel

bamboo skewers or toothpicks

gesso

flour

brads

acrylic paint

permanent markers

brown shoe polish

Tools

serrated bread knife

garden clippers

hammer

utility knife

rasps

files

sandpaper

drill

paint brushes

Cut about 2 1/2" off the bottom of one of the cones to form the hip section. Cut 3 1/2" inches off the top of the other for the upper torso. Cut a piece 1 1/2" off the narrowest end of one of the leftovers, for the neck.

Compress the narrowest end of the hip section by rolling on a hard surface like a table top until it looks somewhat like a dome.

Press the upper torso on opposite sides until you have a flattened back and front, then roll the top back and forth to narrow the neck area. Roll side to side to form the shoulders.

Roll most of the neck at the edge of the table leaving the largest end uncompressed. Pinch all around the unrolled part to make a flange like an upside down mushroom.

Roll the ball until you have formed a cylinder, then rock the ends until you have an egg. Pinch a nose shape.

Glue the upper and lower torsos together with tacky glue. Glue the neck flange to the shoulder area. Pinch the top of the neck on a diagonal to form a place for the head. Glue on the head. Stick the head to the neck, the neck to the shoulders and the torso to the hips with toothpicks for greater strength.

Pinch the smallest ball until it is the shape of a bun and glue it to the nape of the head. You should have something that looks like the above.

If necessary, take an extra piece of styrofoam and use like a piece of sandpaper to shape and smooth any rough areas.

Place a spray can in the middle of the largest wooden disk. Place the smaller disk on top of the paint cap. Measure the paint stir sticks up against the disks and cut off the extra with garden clippers. Nail small brads part way into the top and bottoms of the stir sticks before you put them in place. Place the six stirrers equidistant around the disks but only attach four of them with glue and nails. Leave two adjacent ones off so that you can remove the paint can. Once the can is removed, attach the last two sticks.

Glue the body to the small disk. Allow the glue to dry.

I forgot to take a picture of the next step but it is an important one. Mix a teaspoon or so of flour into a dollop of gesso or acrylic paint until it is toothpaste consistency. Paint the body, filling in those little styrofoam air holes. Squish the thick paint into the cracks at the waist, the neck and between the body and small disk to fill in the voids. Wet your finger to smooth any brush strokes. Allow to dry. Repeat again.

No need to strive for perfection as you are copying 300 year old hand carved folk art.

In the meantime, make the arms and hands. This caused me quite a bit of trial and error (mostly error). I'm sure the doll makers among you have your favorite ways of making hands so feel free to use whatever you wish.

I used a small bench sander to form the hands from a 5/8" dowel, but you can do the same thing with a dremel tool or kick it old school and use a utility knife and/or rasps and sandpaper.

Form the wrists about 1 1/2" from the end. Remove a triangle at the top of the dowel to form the outer curve of the hand. Carve out the inside curve. Drill a small hole at the base of the inside curve for the thumb. MAKE SURE YOU MAKE OPPOSING THUMBS. Glue in a section of bamboo skewer (toothpick); trim with garden clipper.

Cut the dowels to a length of 7", then round off the tops to form the shoulders. Drill a hole at each shoulder and glue in a piece of bamboo skewer (tp); pointed end out.

Place glue on the skewers then push them into the shoulder area of the body.

Paint the hands and arms with the paint/flour mixture.

Paint the head, neck and hands a light flesh color with acrylic paint. Make the hair black and the rest of the doll whatever color you wish. I used a vivid turquoise then dry brushed olive colored paint over the turquoise. Draw on the face using red for lips, brown for irises and an ultra fine black marker to outline the eyes, eyebrows and lips. (in retrospect I wish I'd spent more time forming and smoothing the face as it was difficult to draw the features)

When everything is totally dry, cover with brown shoe polish then buff off.

I read up on santos. They were originally made with barrel staves and dressed in appropriate garb to be featured in religious processions traveling from town to town. Their relative light weight made them easy to carry. Just think, you can own the makings of a procession, should you choose to have one.

New Year Wreath

2010-12-26T20:00:00.015-05:00

Who wants to decorate for New Year's just after we've knocked ourselves out for Christmas? Surely, this holiday deserves something. Here is an easy decoration that can be popped onto the front door wreath to help transform Christmas into New Year's.

Materials

card stock

paper plate

tinsel garland

silver crepe paper

white glue

thin ribbon or cord

tools

scissors

Download the clock face here. Print on card stock. Glue to the back of a paper plate. Cut strips of crepe paper large enough to cover the area between the clock face and the plate and perhaps a bit more. Gather and glue around the clock face overlapping the edge by about 1/8". Cover the overlap with tinsel garland. Punch a hole in the top of the plate, just above the 12 and thread ribbon or cord through the hole. Tie the ends together. Hang.

Auld Lang Syne!

Christmas Dessert

2010-12-19T20:00:00.015-05:00

I went to a dinner party one time where the hostess served chocolate cake after a fairly heavy dinner. This is a true story...... we all fell asleep in her living room. For this reason, I always try to serve a light dessert. I've shown this sherbet recipe before for summer, but this time I'm using it for the holidays.

Beat an egg white and put it in a shallow bowl or plate large enough to accommodate the rim of a martini glass. Dip the rim. Put green colored sugar in another plate. Nestle the wet rim into the sugar and smoosh around until the egg whites are covered. You can do this several hours or even a few days ahead of time.

Pour a teaspoon or so of Creme De Menthe in the bottom of the glass (for an adult dessert) then add a couple of scoops of the sherbet on top. A candy cane swizzle stick and a few Christmas cookies on the plate make the perfect end to a meal. Gorgeous and delicious.

Feed the eye as well as the palate, I always say.

Hang 'Em High

2010-12-12T20:00:00.014-05:00

I have some special Christmas ornaments that are very breakable. Those flimsy ornament hangers won't do. I found some wire in my stash - don't know the gauge, sorry. Just about any gauge will do as long as it isn't too thin or too thick.

Cut a piece about 10 inches long. Use needle nose pliers to make spirals on either end.

Wrap your wire around a pencil.

Slip it off then bend the ends perpendicular to the rest of the hanger. Pull the center of the coil apart and uncoil slightly to make enough room to slip in a marble.

Slip the ornament onto your new hanger and place on your tree, confident that you've protected your treasures the best you can. Now if we could just do something about those cats, dogs and toddlers who like to knock them off.

Minimalist Xmas Tree

2010-12-05T20:00:00.001-05:00

My friend hasn't had a Christmas tree in a dozen years. She is tired of dealing with the pine needles but just can't make the leap to an artificial one. I was asked to come up with a solution. She's a bit of a minimalist and loves wire baskets.

Enter the tomato cage. Don't try to buy one at this time of the year, the stores are sold out or they have stowed them away for the season. You need to beg one from a veggie grower like I did.

Turn your cage upside down. Grab three of the legs and wrap the fourth around them. I began the twist with my hands then used pliers to tighten the wire. I suggest using the male of the species (if you have one in close proximity) since they come with those great apps; muscles. They make it a lot easier but then you have to put up with "Why do you want to do that?" (do they go to school for that phrase?)

Clip off the ends with either a wire cutter or hack saw.

You can buy a roll of baling wire for next to nothing. Make 12 bends about 2 1/2" long. I used my pliers to squinch the points.This made for a more believable star.

Cut off the end connected to the roll of wire leaving a tail, then form your star. Straighten the tails, trim them and poke them into the twisted wire opening. Spray paint the whole thing black and that's it.

Although you can hang your favorite ornaments, this seemed to call for minimal ones. I used my beloved paper punches on black poster board (2 for a dollar at the dollar store) and made my own. The snowflake was made with 2 punches. First I punched the snowflake then cut it out with a square punch. I threaded a thin piece of wire through a tiny hole in the ornament and attached it to the tree.

I love that it looks like a doodle.

I think the worse thing about an artificial tree is having to store it. With this, all you have to do when Christmas is over, is remove the star, untwist the legs, poke it in the ground and grow tomatoes. How multipurpose it that?

Charlie Brown tree or minimalist delight? Discuss.

Advent House

2010-11-28T20:00:00.002-05:00

Yes I know we just had Thanksgiving, but it's coming............

Now I know why I've never made an advent calendar before; 25 of anything is a lot. I found this building in a Dover book on victorian architecture, but I needed to alter it for my purposes. I numbered each window (and the door), found toy clip art, placed them just right, etc, etc. (Time for a nap).

Now for the easy part. Download the house here and print it out on card stock. Download the toys here and print on the same sized card stock. Use the letter borderless page set-up on both.

Materials:

card stock

glue stick

chip board or foam core (optional)

Tools:

Exacto knife

With an exacto blade, cut 3 sides of each window, leaving one edge as the hinge. Don't open the windows yet. On the toy paper, place glue around the edges and between the toys. Place the two pieces of paper together and press to adhere. Trim around the building. Glue this calendar to chipboard or foam core, if necessary. Open one window each day; they each have numbers. (It might help to have a straight pin or toothpick handy to help open the windows.) Enjoy!

* Blogger does not allow us to upload pdf files directly to our blogs. We have to use a third party website like Scribd. Some readers are telling me that Scribd is charging them for my files. As it is my wish to have everything on my blog be absolutely free, this angers me. If you wish these pdfs, please email me at gail@carouselprop.com and I will email the files to you directly.

Bourbon Sweet Potatoes

2010-11-21T20:00:00.024-05:00

Drum roll, please. This is my most requested recipe. I keep it on my desktop to email it to anyone who requests it. This is a must for Turkey Day, but goes well with ham or roast chicken - in fact almost anything. If you have a food processor, it's fast too.

Puree the sweet potatoes (I use canned), eggs, sugar, butter, milk, bourbon and salt in the processor,then pour into an oven proof dish. Smooth the top.

Place the last ingredients in the processor (clean out all the left over potato stuff) and pulse until you have a crumbly mixture. Sprinkle the crumbs evenly on top of the sweet potatoes. Hopefully you have saved 13 or so pecan halves to decorate the top. I put one in the middle and place the rest like the numbers on a clock.

Cook in a 350˚ oven for 1 hour.

You can make this and refrigerate it uncooked a few days ahead.

I've served up to 12 people with this recipe, but that's at Thanksgiving when there are tons of other side

dishes. Eight servings might be more like it for a regular dinner.

Once you eat this, sweet potatoes with marshmallows will be banished to the children's table forever.

Salted Nuts

2010-11-14T20:00:00.003-05:00

Is it me or has salt become the new wine? It used to be a zillion kinds of wine and just plain table salt. Now it seems that there are as many varieties of salts. Table salt is derisively called "popcorn salt" taking a back seat to kosher salt, sea salt, black lava salt, pink salt, etc. etc. So I guess we'd better take it seriously and make room on the Turkey Day table.

Download the template for the salt spoons here. Trace around it with a Sharpie onto a piece of number 6 plastic (available as take out container lids). * note - you can use Shrinky Dink plastic.

Cut out. Sand one side of the spoon to remove the pen lines and make the plastic opaque.

Place the spoon in a 300 degree oven or use a heat gun to shrink. The plastic shrinks about 50 percent in less than a minute.

Trace around a small leaf on an autumn-colored piece of card stock. (If you don't have suitable leaves, download a pattern here.) Cut out.

The hardest part of this project is to crack the walnuts into perfect halves. The best way to achieve this is to buy older walnuts that show signs of cracking already. (My grocery stores have boxes of nuts in the produce departments) Otherwise, you might have some luck if you bake the nuts in a low oven for several hours. (If you microwave, use low power at short intervals and watch like a hawk otherwise your kitchen will smell horrible - don't ask me how I know)

To break the walnut in half, place the end of a table knife or a straight screw driver in the crack and twist slightly.You will probably only get one intact half so buy extras.

Squeeze a small dollop of hot glue onto the fattest part of the walnut shell half. Glue onto the leaf, holding it upright and level until the glue sets. Fill with salt.

If you're a discerning hostess and have some time between brining the turkey and making homemade marshmallows for the sweet potato casserole, you can write your guests' names on the paper leaves and use as place cards.

PB Knock Off Candles

2010-11-07T20:00:00.009-05:00

Look what just showed up in my brand new Pottery Barn catalog - music candles.

Lovely, but $29 for the largest one? Really?

I picked up two pillar candles on sale at TJ Maxx for $2 a piece. You need a light colored candle; Tan, white or ivory are best, but I bought this shaded one and it will work as well.

Download the pdfs of music here (tall) or here (wide). Cut plain white tissue paper 81/2 x 11. Tape the top to a piece of card stock. You only need to tape about 4 inches across the top; not the whole width. The tape allows the printer to catch the paper. Print either pdf on the tissue paper depending on the size of your candle.

Cut the tissue to fit the candle. With a thin bead of glue, attach one end of the tissue to the candle. Pull the tissue snuggly around the candle then glue the other end. Gently heat the candle surface with a heat gun just until the wax melts and saturates the paper.

The tissue takes on the color of the candle.

I learned that you can remove the tissue if you change your mind by gently pulling off the paper.

Take that, Pottery Barn.

Paper Weave

2010-10-31T20:00:00.001-04:00

I thought I'd give you a wee respite from all of the holiday crafts. Although this would make a wonderful Christmas or Hanukkah present. Never too early to start.

This is one of those art-projects-for-kids that can be adapted for a sophisticated look. I see these at high-end craft shows all the time. It's a perfect way to use your reject watercolor paintings or left-over papers.

I didn't have any old paintings so I wet a piece of white card stock, dropped food coloring on it, tilted it back and forth, ran it under the faucet again and dabbed it with a paper towel. All of this to distribute the colors. Pretty ugly, huh? Then I ran it through a paper shedder. (you will need 2 x the size of the finished product. If you want to make an 8x10, you have to make 2 of them - one for the warp and one for the weft)

I placed a long piece of double-stick tape at the top of a piece of copy paper and put the vertical strands next to each other, then wove in the horizontal pieces.

I love putting these in large frames with big mats and small openings. It makes the artwork seem more precious.

Pretty elegant art made from food coloring - who would have guessed?

Ghost Poop

2010-10-24T20:00:00.010-04:00

Here is an easy craft. You deserve it after making the costumes, carving the pumpkins and staying away from the candy. This is fun and just disgusting enough to delight any seven year old boy (even if he is 35).

Download the label here. Print on cardstock and cut out one label (there are 4); fold in half lengthwise. Fill a cellophane bag with miniature marshmallows and staple label over the open end.

You may never look at marshmallows the same way again.

Twisted Bats

2010-10-17T08:00:00.000-04:00

Paul Villinski makes these wonderful butterflies out of beer cans and arranges them in amazing configurations. Check out his web site here.

This is Halloween. Can we make an homage to Mr. Villinski with bats? Of course.

Materials

shadow box frame

foam core board

old book

stiff black paper

straight pins

white glue

black permanent marker

Tools

metal ruler

old credit card

bamboo skewer

bat paper punch

Cut the foam core board to fit the shadow box frame.

I thought it would be fun to make a background out of old book pages; conjuring up thoughts of Edgar Allen Poe. (I know it was a raven, not a bat ...but hey, it was black and flew!) The book I found was called "The Martyrdom of an Empress" which seemed ghoulish enough for a Halloween craft.

Remove the margins of the pages by tearing them against the edge of a metal ruler. The torn edges will blend better with each other than cut edges in the final project.

Glue the pages onto the foam core. I spread the glue on the background with one side of an old credit card, place the pages over the glue and smooth them out with the dry edge of the card. (I won't haunt you if you use a glue stick) Weight the foam core while it dries so it won't warp.

Punch the bats out of stiff black paper (poster board come to mind). My punch is a Halloween one from Martha, but those of you with die cut machines will be able to turn these out by the bushel.

Fold, then unfold, the wings to give dimension. Pierce the bodies with dressmakers straight pins.

With a skewer, dab a tiny dot of glue onto the pin at the underside of the bat, then dip the point of the pin into glue and punch it into the foam core.

The pattern is a tight spiral that spins out of control, flinging the bats thither and yon (Halloween speak).

Camouflage the silver heads of the pins with a permanent black marker.

Frame. Hang.

I love those vinyl wall decals of birds on a wire so I found a smaller rectangular frame and with the same techniques, made "Bats on a Wire". (no pins) I drew the power lines with a black marker, folded some of the bats into thirds and glued them upside down. One cheeky fellow is right-side-up getting ready to take off for a night of trick or treating.

I Want to Drink Your Blood

2010-10-11T08:00:00.018-04:00

If you need to warn your Halloween buddies that you are thirsty and hungry, send this card. Don't blame them if they start wearing garlic and locking up their sweets.

Download this vampire card here. Print on an 81/2 x 11" piece of cardstock.

Cut out the card along the perimeter gray line, then cut out the black coffin. With an exacto knife, cut out half of the coffin (with Dracula in it); from left of the gray line, down the left side and back to the gray line as pictured above.

Score the right gray line and the gray lines above and below the coffin. Fold the coffin line into a mountain fold and the other into a valley fold; an offset zig zag.

Glue the black coffin to the front of the coffin shape. note* this is about 1/16" smaller than the card shape so center it before you glue it down.

When you pull open the card, the coffin spins around revealing good old Drac in all his finery eager to steal Halloween goodies.

Place it in a business sized envelope and mail it to your favorite blood suckers.

Wire Cloche

2010-10-04T08:00:00.014-04:00

I've spotted some wire cloches lately and have become intrigued. Always up for a challenge, I thought I'd try to make one.

Materials

hardware cloth (hardware store)

wire

washer

wooden turnings (craft store)

dry wall screw

black spray paint

Tools

small metal bowl

strong scissors or wire cutters

drill

screw driver

hot glue gun

Cut the hardware cloth so it wraps loosely around the metal bowl. Make it any length you like. It's best to take off all the sharp little protruding wires. Wrap it into a cylinder and sew the two long ends together with a thin piece of wire.

Fold the hardware cloth over the metal bowl. Using hands and any tools necessary (hammers and mallets come to mind), form the domed end. Place your hand into the bowl and roll it on a hard surface to smooth and compress the pleats.

Drill pilot holes in the middle of your wooden turning(s). Place a washer inside the cloche and thread the screw through the washer and into the turning(s) on the top, sandwiching the hardware cloth between the washer and the turnings.

Use hot glue to finish the base and seal any sharp ends.

Spray it black. Place a treasure inside and smile modestly when everyone admires your handiwork.

Dog Portraits

2010-09-27T08:00:00.010-04:00

Years ago I read an article about an artist who bought old masters' portraits at thrift shops then painted dogs faces over the peoples' faces. I scoured the internet but couldn't find any examples. ~~If you find them please send me the link!~~ Hooray! Jocelyne De Montblanc from Belgium sent me the link, check it out:

http://www.thierryponcelet.com

Take my word, they were cool looking (in a spooky portraits-who-eyes-follow-you-everywhere kind of way). I mean, who wouldn't want their dog to look like King Henry VIII or Marie Antoinette?

Unfortunately I have never found an old master portrait in any of my thrift shops, my painting skills are not up to the challenge and I'm not sure I have the courage to paint over an old master. But I do love cabinet cards. They are all over the place and pretty inexpensive. You can download this photo here. (female version is here) I figured I could use my Photoshop skills to make my dog into a guy who sits on a chair. (I think I have too much time on my hands)

Open up the cabinet card and a picture of the head of your favorite dog. It helps if they have the same dpi. 300 dpi is best if you wish to print a copy.

Make a duplicate layer of your head and erase the background on the copy. If you erase on the first layer, the background is opaque. If you erase on the new layer, the background is transparent. (It's PS thing) You want a transparent background. (you need to throw away the first layer or at least click off the eye symbol to the left of the layer to hide it)

With the move tool, drag the dog head over the head of the person. Resize it until it looks about right. Reduce the opacity of the dogs head (see red square for location of the opacity slider) and line up at least one eye of the dog with the eye of the man. You may want to change the opacity from transparent to opaque and back again while you work to get the right fit.

Make the dog opaque (100%). Zoom in and with the dog's head layer selected, erase the edge of the dog's neck until it fits into the man's collar. Use your opacity slider as needed. You will notice that the guy's hair is showing above the dog.

Highlight the bottom layer and using the clone tool, cover the man's hair.

The dog's head most likely will not match the color of the photograph. You may never get it perfectly but if you highlight the dog head layer and open HUE&SATURATION you can get close. Since the photo is sepia toned, you need to click "colorize" in the H&S dialog box. This will turn the dog's head a strange sepia tone that you need to tweak with the hue, saturation and lightness sliders to make it match the photo.

He's not exactly King Henry, but he could be the founder of your ~~bark~~ bank.

It's Not in the Bag

2010-09-20T08:00:00.021-04:00

It is the bag!

I was the recipient of a bunch of scraps of beautiful fabrics that ate a creative hole in my pocket. What to do? Then I discovered that with some very simple straight seams I could make a reversible drawstring bag.

Cut two pieces of fabric the same size. With right sides together, sew a seam and press open. (don't be confused, my plaid fabric is the same on both sides - I did place right sides together)

Now fold the fabrics in half longwise and sew the short ends and along the sides, stopping about 3/4" before the first seam. (see below) This is where you will turn the bag inside out and make the channel for the drawstring. Clip the four corners.

Turn the bag inside out through the little opening and carefully use your scissors or other pointed blunt object to push out the corners.

Invert one side of the tube inside the other to form the bag. Fold the raw edges of the opening inside itself and sew a half inch channel around the opening. Attach a cord or thin ribbon to a safety pin and thread it inside the channel. Inch it along until the pin comes out the other side. Remove the pin and trim the ends of the ribbon.

In less than 20 minutes (I'm a slow sewer) you will have a double sided bag, perfect for your unmentionables or even those things you wish to mention.

Leather Bound First Edition

2010-09-13T08:00:00.007-04:00

Have you noticed the parchment leather bound books on all the design blogs lately?

I wanted this.

I had this.

So I bought a pad of canvas paper 18" x 24". I used the canvas to make one of those book covers we made in junior high. Remember? I wrapped it around the closed book to get the measurements, (make sure you measure it with the book closed) then cut everything so that the margins were 1 1/4" larger all the way around. Fold the long sides first, then the short ones. Check to make sure it fits. Measure the spine then cut slits in the borders on either side of the spine as shown above.

Each parchment book I saw had 4 ridges equidistant along the spine. Since mine was 10" high, I turned my canvas over to the right side and made pencil lines at 2", 4", 6" and 8". Take a hot glue gun and cover the pencil with thick lines of hot glue.

Cover the outside of the book cover with matte Mod Podge, then lay on a piece of white tissue paper, using a paint brush to tap gently around the hot glue lines. Carefully press the tissue down on the canvas. The tissue may tear so you may wish to repeat the process with another sheet. Fold the excess tissue over and glue it to the inside borders, cutting away any extra. This gives a leather-like texture.

Mix a small amount of yellow ochre acrylic paint into a generous dollop of white paint and cover the tissue paper. Paint the borders and edges as well. Lightly paint over your cover with a dry brush of slightly darker ochre paint to give a mottled leather look.

Slip your book into the cover. I found it necessary to use hot glue on the corners of the book cover to keep it on the book.

For another rendition, add some text to the front and/or back covers. Download this old document here. Print, then copy it on a toner based copy machine as the computer print may bleed when you put Mod Podge on it.

Mod Podge the back of the document. I find an old credit card used as a squeegee, insures that the entire paper gets covered evenly in glue. Carefully put the document onto the top cover about 1 1/4" from the edge of the spine. Use the credit card to press it down. Open the book and glue the paper to the borders, cutting off any excess. Paint the whole cover with Mod Podge to protect it. Wax it for more of a leather look if you wish.

Now who would know that this was just a beaten up old dictionary and not an expensive antique parchment leather first edition?