What I've Been Up To -- A Round-Up

I've been crafting as much as possible, but it's much, much harder being a single Mom than I expected (and I grew up with a single Mom, so I knew it was tough already!)  Also my supplies are here, there and everywhere, and that's a challenge: I have almost no craft paint--where did it all go??  But this also means I'm using and de-stashing what I do have, and that's excellent.

 

It's hard to take credit for these, because it was mainly arranging jump rings in the right way, but these are three of my jewelry pieces I completed in the last month.  These blue crystals are ones I've had since 2010!!  See what I mean about needing to de-stash?   The picture on the left is a crude attempt at wire-wrapping, which is harder than it looks, people!  The 2nd photo of a jumble using a large dark blue crystal is simply on a large jump ring with several wire-wrapped pieces I bought from other sellers, which I took apart and re-arranged.  The 3 light blue crystals are attached to a wide-link chain using jump rings, and I'm so glad to get all 5 of these crystals onto necklaces!

This is a 16x20 canvas with 2 coats of crimson acrylic paint and hearts cut out from a pad of black, gray and white patterned paper.  The shiny paint worked out well with Mod Podge Gloss, so I'm glad I didn't have to handle the sheen issue with this one.  I'm very into black and white decor right now, with red accents, so this piece became my inspiration for decorating our new place (when we get one.)  And my beloved turquoise fits in well too, which makes me happy.



As far as a sketchbook, I've just started one this past week.  I'm using a Blick 9x12 Mixed Media wirebound journal.  I have been low on inspiration, but decided to let my desire for organization and order lead the way.  When in doubt, make a color chart!  :)

I have 19 Caran D' Ache Neocolor IIs now, {but no craft paint!!  LOL!!} and I bought myself the 12-piece set of Derwent Art Bars for Christmas, and they're extremely similar so far.  I've seen where other artists greatly prefer one over the other, but I haven't done much with either, so I have no strong preference yet.  

This is an attempt at a side-by-side color comparison chart.  I wanted to see color families together, rather than going by their names.  I've written the name of each in its space, so it's a great way to see what color I need.  (The whole violet/purple/magenta thing gets me every time, and my reds go purple or my purples go red.)  

Up next features this graph which was made on one of those insomnia nights, when I just could not go to sleep.  Allowing myself to go a little insane over straight lines and perfect squares keeps my mind off the clock, so I'm more focused on the page in front of me than on "Oh man, I have to get up in ... hours!"

 These are my markers.  These are everything from Crayola markers to Faber-Castell Pitt Big Brush Artist Pens, and also some Sharpies and "Power Liner" alcohol markers from the clearance section of Hobby Lobby.  In this case, it's about the color and not the quality.  I was also able to throw many markers away that had dried up over time.

I also have a blending marker, and the alcohol inks react with it and makes a kind of watercolor pencil thing happen, and I'll be exploring that in the future.

This last craft is more fun than craft, but whatever.  My son is totally obsessed with Batman right now, and I think we own every single Imaginext Batman toy there is.  Guess who comes with almost every set?  Batman!  We were drowning in Batmen, so James asked me to paint his extras into new costumes.  The lime green paint is a free sample of Liquitex acrylic spray paint, and the dark gray was made using black acrylic mixed with a tiny bit of white.  The 3rd one got painted red, but you can only see a little of him in this photo.  

James named them Grass, Oil and Fire, but I'm not sure if they are bad guys, good guys, goons or sidekicks. 


The Liquitex spray paint is AWESOME!!  It is seriously fun to use, it's not anything like normal spray paint.  There is a depth of color, it's basically the same as their regular acrylics except in a format that is easy to use, inexpensive and I even used it on some papier-mache shapes from Michael's with a brush and it worked beautifully.  (I had no other green to use!  Ugh, I hate moving!!)  I took pictures of the cute lil' flower, but they mysteriously disappeared and I have nothing to show you, but you should try out the Liquitex Spray Paint.

Thanks for seeing what all I've been up to.  I love this last picture of the newly-painted Batmen, so let it inspire you to do something totally crazy with your art supplies!

Holy Crafts, Batman! Jewelry Edition

My son is on a serious superhero streak.  His favorites are Spider-Man and Batman.  He even loves the Batman tv show from the 60s with Adam West--hence the title of this post....  Although to be fair, I've loved superhero movies for years now.  Hancock, Unbreakable, Hellboy, Van Helsing, Ghost Rider are all favorites, in addition to the more recent Batman movies starring Christian Bale and the completely awesome Despicable Me.  Have you seen Despicable Me?  You should!  It's BOOGIE!!

Oh, wait, this is supposed to be about crafts...  First up is jewelry.  I've been on a real jewelry streak lately.

I have had this sterling silver bead necklace most of my adult life, and it's my version of a good strand of pearls.  The beads are about 7mm in size.  The problem is that it's way too small for me now.  I prefer 24" chains now, and this one is 18" at most.  My solution is the current trend of combining 2 or more necklaces with a bow or brooch as an accent.  I had the perfect "gunmetal" chain and flower brooch, so I don't even have to polish the beads anymore--woot!

I made this multi-chain bracelet using a tutorial from Flamingo Toes for a Chain and Pearl Multi-Row Bracelet.  I love her tutorials, and her taste in jewelry too!
The chain with the red bead in the center is another sterling silver piece I've had since 1999.  It was a choker back then, and I wore it maybe one time before deciding that only pets need collars ;P  The large chain on the bottom row is from Eve's Addiction, and it too used to be a necklace--and it was h-e-a-v-y!  The other 2 chains are nothing special, from the jewelry section of Michael's or Hobby Lobby.

I wanted to wear this bracelet all the time, yet be able to take it off for baths and dishes, etc.  I discovered that I could use a lever-back earring as a clasp, and it is working perfectly!  I've worn the chain every day for more than 3 weeks, and it's never fallen off--I love everything about it!

(pretend you can't see the pile of flowers in the background)

These cuffs are a work-in-progress.  I've used the Anthropologie Inspired Vintage Cuff Tutorial from Pink Lemonade for these, which I've had on my Jewelry Inspiration list for a looooong time now.  But I'm not happy with them.  In fact, I stopped in the middle of making them, hoping inspiration will strike me.  My main problem is with how they close; I may need to add a bead on one side and a loop on the other.  I love the ribbons, but it's impossible to tie a pretty ribbon with one hand.  So these are hanging out with my other supplies for now.

This next necklace is probably the easiest piece I've ever made: a blinged-out rhinestone button attached to the chain using jump rings; the most difficult part was in choosing which kind of chain to use!

I've made some Scrabble tile pendants using scrapbook paper and rhinestones and beads or buttons.  Excuse the messy background of this photo, but since I didn't take a lot of pictures, it's all I have to work with.

I used a Sharpie to color the edges, glued the scrapbook paper onto the tile with Mod Podge, then Jewel-It for the accents.  Last was the Dimensional Magic, which I love!

Did you see the new Mod Podge products that came out this week?  They have Dimensional Magic with silver or gold now--plus some new formulas of Mod Podge and tools too, like a brayer and silicon fingertips that glue doesn't stick to.  Cool!

I've also done a few experiments.  I love the "wax seal" pendants and thought I would try to create my own with tin foil and wood shapes.  It worked...kind of.  The foil looks great, and I put about 3 layers of glue / Mod Podge / Dimensional Magic on them, so I'm fairly confident the foil will stick to the shape.  The problem is that they're so lightweight they don't work as pendants at all.  Maybe a bunch of them on a charm bracelet would work...hmmmm.

I've seen these 3-ring necklaces on Etsy.  The best ones appear to be soldered together, so all 3 look like they've always been together such as this.  My version looks more like the Olympic Rings...which I didn't realize until my husband said "Oh cool, in honor of the Olympics this year!" when he saw it.  The Olympics are this year?  LOL - It looks like Mickey Mouse ears to me, so it was already destined for the "better luck next time" pile.

There's more, but I'm going to wrap it up now.  Look for crafts in my next post!

Product Review: Paper Assortment by Shizen

Shizen Paper Assortments & Embellishments

Submitted at: Dick Blick
Item Description: Exquisite and colorful handmade paper assortments and embellishments are perfectly coordinated for easy and unique holiday card making, gift decorating, or scrapbooking.

Each pack contains: Ten each of 3 sizes of patterned paper and two packs of sparkling embellishments. Paper sizes are (in inches) 4x4, 4x5 and 4x6. Price: $3.98/each

Currently available assortments are:

• Cocoa/Moss/Coffee
• Hot Purple/Hot Pink
• Lilac/Lavender/Purple
• Natural/Moss/Brown
• Red/Orange/Yellow

My opinion:

I bought 2 packs of these: the Natural/Moss/Brown and the Beige/White/Ivory that was on clearance for a little less. I love these paper assortments! They're perfect for mixed media collage and are very useful for those "I'm bored, let's try something new" moods.

There are glitter and embossed pages, all perfectly sized for Art Journaling. I don't have an art background, nor was I an avid scrapbooker when I discovered Art Journaling, so I've enjoyed using these special-effect papers for the first time. Having only spent $4 for the entire pack, I had the freedom to go with my "crazy ideas" that sometimes end up in the trashcan. No guilt--just try something else next time :)

I'm happy with my purchase and plan on buying more in the future.

This product’s quality compared to similar, competitive alternatives is : Really nice

The price of this product compared to similar, competitive alternatives is : A fantastic deal

I have not been paid or reimbursed for this review. I paid for these as part of an order of art supplies, and my review is not prompted by any company, organization or affiliation.

Mod Podge, Please Forgive Me

(I searched Pinterest for "Homemade Mod Podge" and chose this image from a random person's board.)

So, several months ago I defamed Mod Podge. I regret it now, though, in some cases. At the time, my personal preference ended up being 2 parts "school glue" to one part water, a little different from the blog standard of 50/50. And while I learned the hard way that it made my markers "run" and turned expensive special papers to slushy messes, I was ok with it. It's super-cheap, gets the job done and so it's became habit to be test-cautious then but overly-generous with it. And I'm not giving it up!

But I'm also going back to my dependable friend.

Mod Podge has been a friendly face at craft stores since before I was born (thank God at least something is!) Mod Podge Rocks! is one of my favorite blogs to read on a daily basis. Amy is awesome, and in November, after it was posted and re-posted 9 billion times on Pinterest, she wrote this article, in time for holiday crafting (very thoughtful, sincerely.) She let us know the reasons that school glue and water would not protect our treasures well, and in some cases (like me and the markers) the "make-your-own" would ruin your craft.

I've said before that I'm preparing for Spring already. This process includes going through art, schoolwork, sketchbooks and other random things to flesh out the special things, the little memories I'll want to look back on when my son is driving me insane in his teens (who am I kidding, he does it now!) and remember "the good old days."

You could not pay me enough money to coat these irreplaceable items with my homemade Mod Podge. It's startling how much my son's hands have grown since last Christmas (2010 I mean,) so no way am I entrusting 2011's best and brightest to 25 cent glue!

So I'm going back to the Mod Podge aisle for my refill...and I'm also going to try some of their other formulas while I'm at it; their Shimmer formula seems to fit my current "metallic/pearl" fixation.

I love you, Mod Podge!

OH!!!
An added thank-you to the makers of Mod Podge:
Last summer I made a pendant from a bezel using scrapbook paper and Dimensional Magic. Directions are very clear, and I'm emphasizing the importance of this to you now:
You must protect the paper by using a layer or two of Mod Podge--if not, the DM seeps through and ruins the project. This is what happened to me: I used one skimpy layer, and by the next morning, I could tell my bezel was not going to be worn...ever. But life got busy and time passed, and then I found the darn thing last night.
Did you know that another really awesome thing about Dimensional Magic is that you can correct your mistakes...sort of. The paper is ruined, of course, but the bezel itself can be salvaged by letting it steep in hot water--it loosens the bond and you begin again.
But months had passed, so I wasn't hopeful. But I thought it was worth trying. In just four hours using extremely hot water, I have a my bezel back! It is a little more "gunmetal" than the shiny silver it was, but that's cool with me.

So, I hope Plaid is feeling my love!!

Make Something! Round-Up

OK, I had this written in one of the craft round-up articles, but I was having a hard time with uploading pictures.  So....

The Amazing Adventure of the Pink Fleur-De-Lis and the Particle Board

I've been saving for years, and I mean since before I was married, approximately 6 moves ago, YEARS, pieces of laminate particle board.  They were mostly from desks, which tend to fall apart when moved, but I've been absolutely positive I could use them for...something!  Art...a frame...another shelf...a rocket to the moon, who knows, lol.

So, with my crafty homemade Mod Podge and a piece of board, I sat down to make an art piece using papers from a scrapbook stack in a beautiful toile black-and-cream theme.  All was going well:

and so I set it aside to dry before I added the final touch: a perfectly painted, perfectly trimmed, perfectly pink fleur-de-lis.  And then, when I went back to the piece, much to my dismay (yet also amusement) the paper slid right off the darn board.

If I had PLANNED for that to happen...not in a million years.  But it did, so now I have a beautiful kind-of French themed POSTER!

Also, a tip: when doing a project like this, it is NOT the time to throw a book page into the mix.  Book pages are thin, cardstock is heavy, and when mixed with water and glue, the book page wrinkles, becomes practically translucent, and just generally messes things up.

The Superhero Known As Gel Medium

I had the gel medium out because I was using it in my experiments on Jason's birthday present.  While waiting for paint to dry (literally) I looked up my brand of gel medium online.  And was I AMAZED at all the things it could do--but the most important: it works as decoupage!!  Who knew, right????

So with nothing to lose, I followed the instructions and what do you know: gel medium makes cardstock adhere to particle board!  You can see it in this photo of my last big project...

MAKE SOMETHING!

Using the same canvas I'd been playing around (I mean, experimenting) on for Jason's birthday present, I layered papers until I found a final layout I liked.

I started out with a stack of some things...most of which didn't make it on the final project.

Layers upon layers...  I'm pleased to announce that homemade M.P. does not ruin glitter or flocking, as some of these papers had those details.  It DID ruin my printed inkjet paper, but at that point I already knew the mixture was too watery, so that may not happen again.

layers and layers and layers--lol

I also made this little heart out of 2 pipe cleaners and some twine.  It was inspired by something similar but I can't link it right now because Pinterest is down.  LOL

So, here's the final creation, ready to hang:

Soooo...go make something!

Oops, one more!  Literally, a sheet wrapped around a huge piece of cardboard, for decoration and organization in James's room.  (We have Sight Words now, every week!)  I actually ended up making 2 of these, about the same size.  I'm really hoping this is the last we'll be seeing of Thomas for a while!