Showing posts with label crafts. Show all posts
Showing posts with label crafts. Show all posts

Monday

how to: mother's day crayon art


For mother's day this year I decided to try one of the crayon drip paintings I've seen all over the internet these days. It was a real trial & error process but I'm really happy with the end result. Since I had to figure out a few things about the process along the way, I figured I'd share them with you here.
SO to make your crayon art,

YOU WILL NEED:
 crayons,
a canvas board,
white school glue,
a hair dryer,
a tablecloth or newspaper.
an x-acto knife or scissors,
paint (optional)
(click the pictures for the big versions)

After deciding on the kind of colors and design that I wanted, I took off the wrappers of the crayons. This isn't necessary, it's really just about how you want the finished product to look. I wanted less crayon to show and more wax, so I used to x-acto knife to cut a slit down the length of the wrapper for easy removal (dulcie's idea, props). Then I used elmer's glue to glue the crayons on the board.

I put aluminum foil in the shape of the letters I wanted to be on the canvas later. I planned on removing the aluminum foil and hoping the canvas would show through, but it didn't work out as I planned. This was part of the experiment but I worked it out later.

A word of wisdom, do NOT use spray adhesive on these puppies. Just in case you were thinking about it. The stuff is the devil. Everything, and I mean EVERYTHING will stick to your hands, and also the adhesive does not hold up under heat. When I used it and started the blow dryer up, the crayons literally blew off the canvas. Boo hoo.


Next came the fun part, the blow drying. :D The crayons were so cool to watch as they melted. My strategy was to sit in one spot (preferably the spot that you want to show through pretty well) for an extended period of time. The colors don't run together nearly as much. I did this on the yellow and orange bit of the painting.


This project gets messy which is why I recommend a tablecloth.
 

I melted the my painting one way but I didn't like the sharp edges of the crayons on top, so I flipped it and blow dried it upside-down.




 As I was saying, the aluminum foil didn't really turn out. So I used white paint to cover it up. After the paint dried I outlined the letters with a sharpie. :)



VOILA!
The finished product.
:)

Check out my friend dulcie's crayon art!



Saturday

new camera!!!

with my tax return, i bought a canon eos rebel t3i.

i also bought a 16g SD card with the camera.



i filled it up in a week.





more coming very soon.


sorting through old pictures

oops, it seems to have been a while since i posted.
i got a new camera and i've been taking pics like MAD with it. but in the mean time, here's some old ones i've left behind:

this is a necklace i made out of buttons :)

benton harbor, michigan

lunch date at the phoenix, benton harbor

green eyes, green eyes

gone with the wind

winter vineyard




many more to come....



Tuesday

happy v-day




Today's St. Valentine's Day. This statement may either feel you with happiness, dread, elation, depression, or some combination of these.

For me, I'm filled with the desire to make desktops.



I will leave you with a picture of me and my Valentine :)

clare + trevor :)
the valentine i made out of unused sales fliers from work

Saturday

making cards




Did you miss my cards? :) Did you miss my cards? :) Here are some I made this holiday season




  




HOW TO MAKE CARDS
with limited supplies

 all i had to work with were scissors, tape, white paper & markers.



:) hope you liked them!


TUTORIAL: Elephant Glass Ornament

#5 - I've been making things :)

TUTORIAL:
Glass Elephant Ornament

What you will need:

# 1 - A cheap, clear glass ornament.
# 2 - Permanent Markers.
# 3 - Creativity!!


Step One - After I took some pictures of myself in the ornament for a while, I went on the internet and googled 'cute elephant'. Of course you could use this concept for virtually anything, but the person the ornament was for is an avid elephant fan. So anyway, I found the above image in a google search.




I traced the elephant onto my ornament with a blue sharpie, and filled it in. I had to go over the Sharpie at least two times, and I went over it three times in some areas.

After that I added the finishing details to the piece - a traced border around the elephant, some hearts and polka dots. I made sure all the spots were pretty filled in with marker, and thennn...


I decided it would look nice to fill the ornament with tissue paper :) So I did. I put the top back on and put some glitter glue around it. I wrote 'happy birthday 2011' on the back for the recipient of the ornament, wrapped it in tissue paper & gave it away. Voila!



So cheap, so easy, and so fun! I plan on making more of these for Christmas presents. Tis the season. Which reminds me of this video from my favorite movie...