craftnotes

Hand Painted card

2010-02-02T21:32:00.000-08:00

What I love to do most is to show people how easy it is to do things that look quite hard. Take this card – it’s hand painted and it looks difficult to do but it really is quite easy. I made it for Get Creative magazine together with full step by step instructions.

The next weekend I made cards for all my family. Each was hand painted in this style and each was customized to suit the recipient. There was a bird decorating a tree with a heart decoration for my mum, my brother who lives in the tropics had a tree which was a palm, my nephew got a tree on a computer screen and so on. They were so much fun to make.

If you don’t think you could paint a card, I challenge you! Try this one, you’re guaranteed to succeed.

Turn a photo frame into a mini book

2010-01-29T21:12:00.000-08:00

This book features my cat Molly who is just so dammed cute!

It is a photo frame which has had holes drilled on one side and had large wooden tags added to it to make it into a mini book. It stands on a book case in our living room.

It was also featured in Get Creative magazine in Australia and the article includes full instructions for making one for yourself.

Book about Me

2010-01-26T20:57:00.000-08:00

This book is titled Unashamedly All About Me and it’s one of my interactive book designs. You can write on it with chalk, stick things to the notice board and hang things from pegs. I love designing these books and this is one of my favourites of all time.

It appeared in Get Creative magazine in Australia together with full step by step instructions for making it.

Wire worked card

2010-01-22T20:48:00.000-08:00

I love working in wire – it’s such a fun medium. I have a cool technique for twisting wire into a bicycle shape which I use every now and then. Here is one incantation of the design on a Bon Voyage card which featured in Get Creative magazine in Australia.

The full instructions are here including details on twisting some wire into your own bicycle.

Eddy – Heritage mini book

2010-01-20T20:38:00.000-08:00

My Great Uncle Eddy was killed in WW1 in France. I made this mini book to celebrate his life.It is made from corrugated cardboard – my all time favourite medium as it is inexpensive, fun to work with and recycling is always a good thing to do.

The book was featured in Get Creative magazine in Australia and here are detailed instructions for making it.

Stamped silhouette card

2010-01-16T20:30:00.000-08:00

Here is a fun card that I designed which makes use of a masking effect to keep the stamped bird from being stamped or inked over. It is simple to do and it lets you turn a single sheet of cardstock into a great card by simply stamping and inking it in layers, bird first!

Here are instructions for making it from the Get Creative web site.

Bottle top jewelry

2010-01-14T21:18:00.000-08:00

This was one of my first jewelry (jewellery) projects for Get Creative magazine and the piece featured photos of me and my sister, my mum and my two grandmothers.

Here are images and full instructions for making it.

Yum! I love Ranger Glossy Accents

2010-01-11T08:22:00.000-08:00

Ranger makes this wonderful product called Glossy Accents. It is clear and it is not only a dimensional adhesive but it can also be used as a dimensional glaze to give your projects a great shine. It really is all you need to hold the heaviest embellishment to your project.

This is a collage card I made using Glossy Accents to give everything on the card a great glossy coverage.

The card has an angled front panel and I used some cool Australian stamps to feature in the collage. The card was a project in Get Creative magazine in Australia. You can find detailed instructions for making it here.

Purse Mini-book

2010-01-07T09:16:00.000-08:00

This mini-book was made for Get Creative magazine in Australia. I don’t typically work with what I call “bubble gum” colours like these pinks, greens and blues but for this project because of the clothes the kids are wearing it worked so well.

The photos were taken one day when the kids were playing in the park so I went along to photograph them. Ali was showing off her prowess in swinging across the monkey bars, Ginger was having a little trouble – arms too short was the problem – and Katyann was still playing on the slides and things – waiting for the day she could even reach the monkey bars!

The book is chock full of modeling paste so its lumpy and there is fabric and layer upon layer of chipboard too.

This is one of the inside pages – featuring Katyann. You can see more of the book and read how to make it yourself here: Purse Mini-Book.

Packing tape transfer card

2010-01-05T21:02:00.001-08:00

I made this bon voyage card for Get Creative magazine as a simple way to show how easy it is to make image transfers from plain old clear packing tape. I think I used tape I bought from the Post Office – talk about easy to find! It also uses thick twill tape punched with heavy duty sewing eyelets and those metal tags you can get that I seem to have a heap of and never use very much.

Here you simply pull the insides out of the tags and replace them with your transfer. The instructions are on the Spotlight web site here: Image Transfer Card.

Christmas ornament

2009-12-25T22:01:00.001-08:00

This is a cute Christmas ornament that Michelle made for our friend Mindy. The ornament is polymer clay – a mix of Premo and Kato Polyclay, and it is a fish that Michelle made the mold for.

The fish has a very cute hat – making her, in my mind at least, a clown fish. She has the cutest lips and is oiled as is our habit lately with burnt umber oil paint to give her a wonderful patina. The molded piece has an uneven texture so she looks almost like she is hewn from stone. She has a great new home on a Christmas/Hanukkah tree alongside a host of other eclectic ornaments.

Ebay Auction benefiting Ada!!

2009-12-19T19:21:00.000-08:00

Ponsawan Sila and her daughter Ada are traveling a long and expensive road. Ada was injured in a car accident in 2008 while on her way to pick up a friend of hers who was drunk. On her way there her car was hit by a drunk driver. Read her blog if you feel like being inspired. http://dearada.blogspot.com/

Ada is lucky to be alive but suffers severe brain damage and now lives at home with her family. She makes progress every day, and to keep the progress going money is needed. The polymer clay community donated items to help raise money. And I'm talking the INTERNATIONAL polymer clay community! Pieces from all over the world are being auctioned off on Ebay over the next few weeks. Go to http://www.ebay.com/ and put "benefit Ada" in a find box.

This week what I sent in is up for auction (the photo is what's up for auction) and I'm hoping mighty hard that it will help raise some needed funds. http://tinyurl.com/y8fz3bq Also look for pieces by Kim Cavender, Ann Stankiewicz, Deborah Raita and E. Rumsey Bellenot.

Dwelf the Elf

2009-11-23T14:00:00.000-08:00

Nothing like a little stone carving to brighten the week! This little fellow is carved out of AMACO's Crea-Stone. He's sort of a cross between the house elves in Harry Potter and our household elf (moi). It is not my life's goal to have my head mounted on a wall, just in case you were wondering. Crea-Stone is interesting stuff. It is soft at first then gets harder so the carving tools change during the drying times. I keep wondering if I could use it to make a nice rockmonster fellow riding a bike. maybe square wheels? Hmmm...

Seabasstiania Warrior Fish!

2009-11-22T13:38:00.000-08:00

She was a group birthday gift made for Debra Quartermain www.debraquartermain.com . She started out as a "fish fish", but had an unfortunate accident in the oven when she jumped off her stick during the final cure. Her left fin broke off completely and when something breaks the best way I know of to fix it is to make it better than before. Warrior fish with adorned battle scars was born. She's made from Kato Polyclay http://www.katopolyclay.com and the beautiful Lisa Pavelka stamp for decorating the base https://www.lisapavelka.com . Helen, Frank and Mindy-- Seabasstiania leader of the deep sea bass thanks you!

AMACO Announces the Friendly Plastic Open Design Challenge!

2009-09-16T10:40:00.000-07:00

Deadline for Postmarked Entries is November 6, 2009

Tuesday night (September 2nd) on Friendly Plastic Blog Radio, Linda Peterson and Guests announced AMACO’s upcoming ‘design challenge’ to showcase Friendly Plastic® Designer Sticks and Pellets.

This challenge is open to all ages with cash prizes and awards given in 4 simple categories that require use of at least 50% Friendly Plastic® in each entry. All entries will be showcased in a gallery on-line at amaco.com and at the Craft & Hobby Association Show (CHA) in Anaheim, January 2010.

All winners will receive an etched crystal award, $100 check, plus a $100 check to the charity of their choice.

If you haven’t heard by now, Friendly Plastic® is back by popular demand! Remember that glitzy, bright, shimmering metallic jewelry from the 80’s that crafters embellished with crystals, watch parts and beads?! It’s back by design, because creative women like Liz Welch and Jana Ewy kept it alive, then helped reignite it with the help of Linda Peterson, Jen Lowe and their countless on line friends in the U.S., UK and Australia!

This is the second year that AMACO is honoring the 1.5 million children who perished in the Holocaust with a challenge category called “Butterflies.” AMACO invites you and your friends and family members to make butterflies (as a symbol representing each child lost) to be installed at the Holocaust Museum Houston Butterfly Project.

Cash prizes and awards will be given for the Best Butterfly made by an artist under the age of 15, as well as, the Best Butterfly made by an artist over the age of 15. Be sure to read the requirements for ‘butterflies’—must NOT be larger than 8” x 10” or have glitter or macaroni/perishables.

In addition, two more categories are designed to shake things up, loosen creative ideas, and stimulate original artwork! Awards will be given for the Best Mixed Media/Altered Art Project and for the Best Mixed Media Jewelry Design.

The Mixed Media/Altered Art Project can be anything from paper crafting to home décor, wearable or installation art. There’s no limit to your own creative applications! The Mixed Media Jewelry Design combines Friendly Plastic® Design Sticks or Pellets with other mediums that appeal to you!

This year, Michelle and I will be coordinating the AMACO Friendly Plastic Open Design Challenge for CHA-Anaheim 2010. Click here to access the on-line entry form. The awards reception is scheduled to take place on January 25, 2010 in the AMACO Booth at the Craft & Hobby Association (CHA-Anaheim). CFor more news on the challenge follow AMACO Friendly Plastic on Facebook and Twitter

Ibis is a Color

2009-06-24T18:25:00.000-07:00

I always thought it was a bird, but I am assured it is also a color, that looks nothing like the bird. This was made for Ornament Thursday's month of Ibis. The woman is a sculpture that popped out of my hands one day. She's made from polymer clay with a dash of cracked peppercorn added for spice. I'm thinking of calling her Fleur... maybe Pepper? Any suggestions are welcome.
mz

Ornament Thursday Ode to Aubergine

2009-04-29T22:09:00.000-07:00

Ode to Aubergine
Just as Julia Childs would say
If she were with us today,
O Aubergine
the colour that is purply black,
O Aubergine
Without you- life would surely lack.

Ok, so there is a reason I’m an unknown poet. Need I say more on this subject?

Helen’s birthday and off to a bead show we went. Armed with $20 I challenged myself to build a showy yet polymer-clay-free aubergine something-or-other from bits at the bead show without going over my $20. I must admit that I’ve seen this style of something on top of something a few places. The unique thing about it is that I made it, and I had enough cash left over for a hotdog, until Helen charged me $1.50 to use a couple of her jump rings. The things we do for jump rings.
mz

Boston Marathon Bib #6728 and 1/4

2009-04-14T19:50:00.000-07:00

Shshshshshshhh! This little fellow named Irving is secretly sneaking into the Boston Marathon to keep my friend Frank Vallin company at Heartbreak Hill. Don't tell Frank. Irving wants to be a surprise! Here's to keeping well hydrated! Give a shout out to Frank (and Irving) as they fly (and slime) through the streets of Boston next week.

The Celadon Dreamer - OT

2009-03-25T00:01:00.000-07:00

The woman's shape is a prototype of a sculpture I made for Kristine of Krafty Lady Art Moulds. I had some fun with the prototypes and made a couple boxes that I then shipped off to a couple of wonderful people and amazing artists, Debra Quartermain and Marie Browning. They put their one of a kind talents to work and made the boxes their own. This one went to Marie Browning and the box is the happier for it!

Another Dreamer (similar to this but not Celadon!) has been sent as an auction item to the Indiana Polymer Clay Guild's benefit for Ponsawan Silapiruti's daughter Ada. The amazing Christi Friesen is teaching workshops at the benefit. For more details about Ada and the workshops go to http://silastones.blogspot.com/.MZ

My Celadon project is a bracelet I made for someone who was leaving North Bay and heading to SF to continue her studies. She always wore cool jewellery so I wanted to make her something special to wear. The flower is a mold that Michelle made and the leaves are Michelle's designs for Krafty Lady Art Moulds. The bracelet features a Swarovski crystal bead and additional celadon polymer clay beads.

I love these flowers and leaf combinations and I have one in reverse too - pink leaves and celadon flower - it's funky but I love it too. HB

Michelle's Easter project for JoAnn

2009-03-13T13:00:00.000-07:00

Last year Michelle designed this too cool Easter project for AMACO and JoAnn.

Today I opened my Easter email from JoAnn and - guess what? - there was a photo of the chicks there and a link to the how to project on JoAnn.com.

I'm not sure what the female chick will say to carrying last year's handbag - she was really a very high fashion gal and that bag is so - well - yesterday ;)

So, when you make your chick, please give her an up to date look - she will thank you!

Easter door knob?!

2009-03-10T18:58:00.000-07:00

Meet Winky, the Easter Bunny’s ne’er-do-well sister. Hide the carrot juice and permanent markers. Winky gets a little crazy helping out brother bunny with the holiday decorations. Warrants have been issued in some areas as a result of some amazing graffiti.

Winky is made of polymer clay and coated with oil paint. I started making a portrait of myself and well, sometimes other characters just shine through the best of intentions.

I’m also not confirming or denying that Winky may or may not be a door knob as I posted in a previous moment of weakness a promise never to attach unannounced door knobs to Helen’s work station again. I’m not confirming or denying that either…
mz

Faux Dichroic glass bottle

2009-03-08T19:56:00.000-07:00

Michelle has been playing around with some faux dichroic effects and one of her pieces is this wonderful glass bottle. It is an effect you can recreate with any glass bottle, large or small – imagine how neat it would look on a recycled perfume bottle?

Materials
* Recycled wine bottle
* Bottle pourer (available from www.fantes.com/stoppers.htm)
* 12 oz black Fimo Soft polymer clay
* 2' x 8" Mylar backed foil – Oil Slick color (from www.coveredinclay.com/foil.htm)
* Jacquard Piñata ink – Santa Fe Red and Sunburst Yellow
* Lumiere paints in Metallic Olive, Pearl Blue, Pearl Violet
* Envirotex Lite
* Houston art foil – variegated leafing flakes
* PearlEx powder - Brilliant Gold

Tools
* Pasta machine or clay roller
* Tissue blade
* Large discarded plastic bucket or container
* Discarded plastic container to stand the bottle on
* For mixing Envirotex Lite: 2 disposable mixing cups, 2 wooden popsicle sticks, gloves
* Disposable paintbrush
* Curing oven

1. Condition clay. Roll sheets of clay at #1 (thick) setting approximately 3/8 inch thick. Use clay pieces to cover bottle – trimming away excess clay with a tissue blade and sealing joints to get an even coverage. Cover bottle to within ½ in of opening (polymer clay should not come in contact with surfaces which touch food).

Remove any air bubbles by slicing into the air bubble with a tissue blade or craft knife held at a 45 degree angle, press out the air and reseal the clay. It’s essential you get a good even coverage.

2. Apply the Mylar backed foil to the clay decorative side facing up. Rub the foil lightly but firmly with your hand repeatedly to warm the foil and then lift the plastic leaving the foil behind – foil adheres to clay with heat and friction. Continue and apply foil all over the bottle. Aim for just less than 100% coverage – small areas of black clay are desirable.

3. Using Lumiere paints and a small paintbrush, paint random long brushstrokes across the bottle. Cross the colors over each other – you’re aiming to give the project more dimension and color.

4. Using the Piñata inks, dip a brush into the inks and touch the brush to the surface of the bottle to make small dots. The inks spread on the clay so a little ink goes a long way.

5. Place the bottle into a cold oven preferably standing upright. Heat the oven to the required temperature with the bottle in it and then cure for the amount of time and at the temperature recommended by the manufacturer. Allow the bottle to cool in the oven before removing it.

6. Mix the Envirotex Lite according to manufacturer’s instructions. It works best if you pour both parts into one container and stir to mix. Pour the mix into a second container – do not scrape the excess off the sides of the first container when you do so. Continue to mix in the second container using a fresh stirring stick.

7. Stand the cured bottle on top of an upturned discarded container in the large bucket. It works best if the bottle is standing on a container slightly smaller than the bottom rim of the bottle. As the excess Envirotex Lite won’t be able to be removed from the containers, use containers you don’t mind damaging.

8. Add approximately 2 tablespoons of the variegated foil pieces and 1/8 teaspoon of gold PearlEx powder to the Envirotex Lite and mix in.

9. Place an old cork into the wine bottle to seal it. Working over the bucket, pour the Envirotex Lite over the surface of the bottle and work it in so it covers the surface of the bottle. This is best done with a disposable paint brush or a gloved hand. You must completely cover the bottle with the Envirotex Lite.

10. When the bottle is covered, stand it on the upside-down container in the bucket, remove the cork and leave it until set. Perching it on a container ensures that excess Envirotex Lite runs off the bottom of the bottle and won’t adhere to it.

11. When dry, remove the bottle from the bucket and remove the plastic container from the bottom of the bottle. If you need to smooth the bottom of the bottle, sand the excess set Envirotex Lite with coarse sandpaper. Insert the bottle pourer cork.

Tip
The Envirotex Lite gives the bottle a wonderful glossy seal. For best results, follow the two step mixing process and don’t scrape the first container however tempted you are to do so! The product must be mixed thoroughly so it sets to a hard finish, if you don’t mix it well and if you scrape the sides of the container, you risk it remaining slightly tacky instead of glass like – believe me, I’ve done it before!

Ornament Thursday is here!

2009-02-25T19:01:00.000-08:00

Ornament Thursday requires the use of a special kind of purple (heliotrope) this month and that calls for a special kind of earring. These are made from polymer clay and were made in such a way to show off the mica properties of the clay. One side shiny and one side dark, same clay. A twist is all you need to see both.MZ

My design this month was completed after I raided Michelle's secret box of beads. You see she and her friend Frank were putting up shelves above her desk in the studio and were busy drilling lots and lots of holes working on the principle that if they drilled enough of them they'd eventually hit a stud! They did but in the meantime they were so focused on the holes they were drilling and playing with the (very useless) stud finder that I had time to sift through her box of beads.

The box is full of clay beads she has made over the years. I turned up this set of polished beads - yeah! a perfect solution to this month's Ornament Thursday challenge. I combined them with a huge Bali silver bead I had, lots of silver bead caps and spacers and some wonderful dark purple glass beads. It took me less time to make this than it did for them to get one shelf up. Now that's what I call a productive afternoon in the studio. HB

Here's what the other Ornament Thursday team has been up to this month:

Heliotrope: Purple by any other name
Lisa waffles on what shade of purple is really "Heliotrope"

Farm Girl Roots, City Girl Style
Check out Linda's necklace and don't miss the giveaway!

Heliotrope-Ornament Thursday
Did someone say violet?

Shelly...
Michelle shares a heliotrope layout of her her and her fish!

The Lovings

2009-02-23T20:13:00.000-08:00

Let me introduce the Lovings. I didn't know their back story until it was explained to me. They were a mixed race couple - Mildred and Richard - who faced all sorts of trials including possible gaol sentences for marrying. The piece is a couple joined at the base - he is Caucasian, she is African American - hence they are "The Lovings".

This piece was a gift from Michelle for Christmas and it's the second in a series of these wonderfully quirky fish faces. The canes for the base were some translucent canes we made one afternoon based on a technique from Donna Kato. The faces for the pieces are molds that Michelle has made. The pieces are polymer clay and they are faces with fish bodies and colourful scales. They are finished with oil paint. We used to use acrylics and then one day discovered how much better oil paint works so the acrylics bit the dust and we now have tubes of wonderfully oily burnt sienna and burnt umber paints to age the pieces with. The oil paint gives the pieces a semi translucent look which is beautiful.

This is the first in the series, she stands on this wonderful crimson heart:

I just love these pieces, they really touch me in some deep place.

Vale Polaroid, Welcome Impossible

2009-01-19T22:51:00.000-08:00

If you, like me, am reeling from the news that Polaroid film won't be produced any more, you'll love this news. An Austrian artist is set to rescue the film. So, the news is that Polaroid film will be saved! The idea is that this guy's new company will partner with Ilford to develop and produce something compatible with SX-70 cameras and the 600 series.

You can read more about the news here.

We use Polaroid film in our art. We expose it then peel it apart before the image has developed then develop the image on a different medium. Michelle loves using the film when it has been fully processed. She heats it to release the film from the backing and she can then roll the semi transparent film onto something like these wonderful Baroque Beauty pieces. The mold here, is of course, one from the range of molds she's designed for KraftyLady Art molds.