Crafting a Fungus - A Mushroom Tale

This past week was our local elementary school Drama Club presentation of Alice in Wonderland.  The kids did a fantastic job and the teachers who spent countless hours volunteering their time to help them learn their lines, creating costumes and sets, etc. should be very proud of all they accomplished!  While I wasn’t as involved with set and costume design with this year’s play as I was with last year’s Pinocchio, I did get a chance to let my creative muse play a bit by embellishing some maiden’s gowns and making headpieces for them, adding flowers to some rose bush costumes, and giving our table leg costumes a bit of a wood grain. The most challenging assignment I undertook this year was the giant mushroom.  I found out last Monday they needed a very big mushroom for a scene in the play.  It needed to be 3-dimensional, carried by some of the kids onto the stage.  The only problem was the dress rehearsal was Wednesday, and the sets were being delivered on Tuesday.  That gave me one day to create a funky fungus.     As with all crafting experiences, things don’t always go as planned.  The mushroom had 3 incarnations before I reached the final result.  

Failure #1 - Umbrella, extended, stuffed with bags, - too flimsy

Failure #2 - A patio umbrella with fabric sewn on, then stuffed - too heavy.

Almost right - stem complete but still tippy, glittering spots

It was sort of like Goldilocks and the Three Bears instead of Alice in Wonderland.    The first mushroom used an umbrella as the base, with extensions to make it a bit larger.   The plan was to stuff it with empty shopping bags (knocking on my neighbors doors and a trip to the local grocery store’s recycling bin provided what I needed) and cover it with fabric.      Well, it was too small and the umbrella was too flimsy to hold the top in place.  On to plan B.   Out came the patio umbrella.   Large enough - Yes!   I hand stitched the fabric around all the fabric edges of the umbrella, then stuffed it with the bags.  It looked pretty good, but when I tried to lift it I realized it was WAY TOO HEAVY for four children to carry on stage.  Now I had too small, and too heavy, when was I going to find just right?  Okay, time was running out and I still needed to craft the perfect humungous fungus.    Plan C - raid my stash of large sheets of cardboard in the attic, cut an irregular circular base.   Hot glue the fabric to the cardboard, stuffing with the bags.  It even had folds of fabric underneath. The mushroom was coming together, but still needed a stem.  A piece of plastic pvc piping, wrapped in a large sized pool noodle, with strips of fabric hot glued on was the right size, and was sturdy enough.  Then came the question of keeping the top on the base/stem.  I cut out an opening in the center base, and stuffed the stem inside until it supported the top.   In order to ensure the bags could be “fluffed” as necessary to ensure a plump mushroom after transportation, I cut two hand sized holes, one in each side of the top, and then disguised them with colorful spots of card stock.  Additional card stock spots, some embellished with large chunky glitter were applied.   The Mushroom Tale ends with a happy ending - after 7 hours, the humungous fungus fit in well with the other adorable sets on stage.  

Floating Chalk Backgrounds

National Craft Month is "MARCHING" on and it's time for another fairly simple technique previously featured in Cindi's Simple Solutions for When Creativity Knocks.  I learned this years ago when I began rubber stamping and it is great for making custom papers for your paper crafting projects!  

Colorful floating chalk backgrounds are very easy to create!  While you may start with the same colors, no two pieces of this unique paper will ever be identical.  The way the colors blend and swirl is just beautiful. 

Materials:

Colored chalks
X-Acto craft knife
Shallow baking dish
Water
White card stock cut to fit in baking dish 

Instructions:

• Place approximately ½” of water into the baking dish.  Set aside.
• Choose 2-3 shades of complementary colored chalks.  Use X-Acto blade to gently scrape first color of chalk onto the top of the water.  Be careful not to “chunk” it – as the larger pieces will simply sink.  You want a fine powder of chalk floating on the surface of the water.
• Repeat with 2nd and 3rd colors.
• 
• Place cardstock face down onto water and press gently.  Do not push onto the bottom of the baking dish.  Just let the cardstock float on the surface.  Wait about 5 seconds - it will begin to curl back from the water.  Gently lift out of the water and set aside to dry.   To speed up drying time, use a heat tool.  If cardstock is curled, iron on low setting to flatten.
• No fixative is needed.
  Repeat steps 2-3 to create additional pieces of background paper.
• Add a bit of Pearl-Ex powders or use shimmering chalks for a sparkling effect.  Try interference shades of Pearl-Ex powders on dark cardstock for a “galaxy” background.  Layer with coordinating cardstocks, stamp directly over the background, let your creative muse guide you!

Coupon Holder – Outback Style

Today's post is another of my favorite projects for March is National Craft Month!  This first appeared as a Cindi's Simple Solutions project for When Creativity Knocks. This custom made coupon holder was created with a bit of Australian style in mind.    When visiting San Francisco with Ana Araujo, we visited Britex Fabrics – It was a world of inspiration and I was overwhelmed at all the fabric choices.  I just couldn’t resist purchasing some of their faux alligator material – it has a fabulous alligator texture and a beautiful, subtle gold luster over the green.    I have a few more projects in mind for this fabric, but this is the first creation!  As with many of my projects, it also has a touch of “repurposing.”  An old fabric napkin is used as the lining.   I am lucky enough to have a few Echidna quills I received from a fellow designer who lives in Australia as part of a circle journal project several years ago.  I’ve used one as a finishing touch on the front of this “Outback Style” coupon holder. 

Materials: 

• Faux alligator fabric – Britex Fabrics 
• Decorative ribbon trim – Britex Fabrics 
• Fabric napkin in coordinating color
• Thread
• Sewing machine
• Scissors 
• Small button with shank (Blumenthal Lansing)
• Australian Echidna Quill 

Instructions:

• Measure and cut faux alligator fabric to  11 1/2” x 7 1/2”.
• Place alligator rectangle onto fabric napkin, with top edge on stitched edge of napkin.  Trace and cut napkin.
• Place napkin rectangle onto back side of faux alligator and machine stitch approximately ¼” from all edges around all sides.
• Measure and cut two pieces of decorative ribbon trim, approximately 7” long – one to fit along bottom edge of flap and one to fit along top inside edge of pocket.  
• Determine placement of quill or other decorative embellishment.  Cut two small holes approximately ¼” apart, measure over approximately 1 ½” and cut 2 small holes approximately ¼” apart. 
• Place ribbon with holes onto top bottom edge of flap, stitch to first set of holes on left.  Stitch from right edge to 2^nd set of holes (leave space between holes unstitched). 
• Stitch 2^nd piece of trim along bottom edge of leather.  
• Fold bottom edge up 3“ and stitch sides to close.  
• Use scissors to randomly cut along edges of faux leather to create a ragged edge.  
• Cut strip of faux alligator 6 ½” x ¾”.  Use scissors to randomly cut along edges of strip. 
• Place one edge on back of pouch approximately 1”from top edge and hand stitch in place using overlapping X stitch. 
• Bring strip over flap and push beneath ribbon strip on edge. 
• Bring strip down and over bottom edge up to back of pouch.  Mark place where strip ends for button placement. 
• Hand stitch button in place.
• Carefully cut slit in faux alligator strip for button to pass through to hold pouch shut.
• Pass quill through first hole, then out through 2^nd hold, across front and repeat on right side. 
• Add coupons!   To keep organized, create custom tabs for your coupon categories using index cards or card stock.  Jazz them up a bit with patterned paper to coordinate with your coupon holder fabric.  

"Wings" Mixed-Media Pendant & Ring

Sharing another project as part of National Craft Month!  Beautiful image sheets I received from B-Muse inspired this matching pendent and ring set I originally designed for Rubber Road Adventures ezine (http://rubberroadadventures.ning.com/page/wings-pendant-and-ring) .  As I love to “mix things up a bit” as often as possible, I combined portions of images from separate sheets to come up with the unique image on the pendent.   Then I let my mad scientist muse loose to dabble with clay, paints, beads, epoxy.....

Supplies:

B-Muse Butterfly Wings – 2 CS-BW2 image sheet and

Vintage Cat Ads – CS-VCA image sheet 

White Makin’s Clay ®

 and Makin's Clay ® Cutters, square and rectangle 

Krylon Silver Metallic spray paint

JudiKins Soleil Sunlight Curing Epoxy 

Silver findings (unknown brands)

Elmer’s Craft Bond Adhesive 

Darice black glass bugle beads 

We R Memory Keepers Cropodile Punch 

Westcott Titanium Bonded Non-Stick Scissors

Instructions

• Roll out white Makin’s Clay ® to approximately 1/8” thickness.  Use clay cutters to cut one 1 ½” square, and one 1” long rectangle (or cut to appropriate sizes to fit your ring blank, desired pendent size, etc.) Let dry (12-24 hours).  
• Place dry Makin’s Clay ® square and rectangle onto newspaper or scrap paper in well ventilated area.  Spray with Krylon Silver Metallic paint.  Let dry. 
• Select cat image from Vintage Cat Ads sheet and carefully cut out.  Select wings from Butterfly Wings sheet and cut out 3 wings.   Arrange cat and wings as desired on silver clay square and single side of wings onto rectangular silver clay square.  Use a small amount of Elmer’s Craft Bond adhesive to mount.  
• Use adhesive to mount rectangular piece in ring blank.  
• Use adhesive to mount a row of black bugle beads around inside edges of ring and outside top edges of pendent.  Let dry. 
• Arrange ring and pendent on flat surface in sunlight. (Tip:  use a paper or Styrofoam cup with a hole cut in the bottom for the ring – slip the back of the ring through the hole and it will lie flat for the next step).  Fill remaining inside area of ring with Sunlight Curing Epoxy.  Fill area inside bead edge on pendant with Sunlight Curing Epoxy.  Any bubbles can be popped using a pin before epoxy is dry.  Let dry according to manufacturer directions.  
• Use Cropodile punch to punch hole in top of pendent.  Add jewelry findings. 

Tuesday Creativity with Cindi's Simple Solutions & WCK!

It's Tuesday!  Time for the latest edition of the WCK Creative Journal newsletter full of inspiration for you - this week I've shared two Simple Solutions projects -

Faux mulberry paper and rubber stamping with Rit Liquid Dye - find it here

A bonus project features Ana Araujo's I Heart Crafts tattoo pattern - a simple shrink plastic magnet (and introducing the adorable Henry Quinn King - my cousin's new son!)

My book review for this week is Making Connections by Susan Lenart Kazmer - this book is full of some truly UNIQUE artwork!

Ana Araujo shares another fun project made with her tattoo pattern in Ana's Creative Chaos 

And our episode this week is the premiere episode of Creative Nostalgia with Laura Bray!   Laura shares her adorable appliance cozies!

And for a bit more creativity - My artwork is again featured on the Rit Liquid Dye site - this time it's St. Patrick's Day inspired projects.

March is National Craft Month - and I am just exploding with creative ideas I want to share!

Faux "Delft" Technique

As National Craft Month marches on, I am inspired to share many of my favorite techniques and projects with everyone! 
I love old china dishes – especially anything blue and white.   I’m drawn to the beautiful Delft blue patterns found on a variety of pieces ranging from tiles to teacups and have amassed quite a collection over the years.  This was my inspiration for the creation of this “Faux Delft” technique I discovered last year and shared as one of Cindi's Simple Solutions on the When Creativity Knocks site. 

To learn more about the history of Delft Blue china visit: http://www.holland.nl/uk/holland/sights/delftblue-history.html

My version is quite simple – yet it gives you the feeling of Delft china.   It requires just a few products.

White Makin’s Clay®, a blue inkpad (I prefer chalk as they give a softer effect, more like true Delft), a rubber stamp, and EarthSafe Finishes Marine Varnish.  

A Sizzix Scoreboards Teacup Die designed by Eileen Hull serves as the base for my Delft technique project – but it would work on clay sheets, clay mounted onto wood or any other surface.  Makin’s Clay® air dries so you don’t have to worry about discoloration in the baking process, and it is flexible when dry so you could make up sheets of this faux Delft and then mount it to any surface, even a curved surface.

I began by rolling out a small amount of White Makin’s Clay® using the Makin’s Professional® Ultimate Clay Machine set on #5 (very thin).

I then placed the die cut teacup onto the clay sheet and cut around it with an X-Acto craft knife.  A small amount of Elmer's Craft Bond Adhesive tacky glue was placed over the teacup and the clay cut outs were placed onto the mattboard pieces while wet.  The edges were gently smoothed by hand. The stamp was then inked with deep blue chalk ink and stamped onto the wet clay.  The clay was allowed to dry according to manufacturer instructions (a few hours when used this thin), and the teacup die was assembled according to the manufacturer instructions. 

Here’s an original piece of Delft which shows how it is often “blurred” yet still beautiful!

The “cup” and “saucer” portions were varnished with EarthSafe Finishes Marine Varnish using a soft paintbrush.  The varnish caused the chalk ink to “blur” slightly, which resulted in an effect very similar to real Delft china.  

A plastic lunch bag was filled with potting soil and the top portion approximately ½”  above the soil was cut off.  A

flowering annual plant was placed into the bag of soil, which was then placed into the teacup.  

A bit of wide satin blue ribbon tied to the handle of the cup front, and the tag stamped with “We Love You” finished off this special "card" which would be great for Mother's Day, a birthday, to say thank you to a special friend, or to share get well wishes.

Hummingbird Feeder

Have you heard? March is National Craft Month!  Many of the talented artists who are part of the Designer Craft Blog Connection want to share their creative projects with you.  Some are even offering give away opportunities so don't miss your chance for creative inspiration and prizes!  Follow the link on the right to see what each of them is sharing as we add new projects for this first Monday in March! 


Among the reasons I love spring so much are the song of spring peeper frogs in the woods behind our home, the pops of brightly colored daffodils, crocuses, and black raspberry ice cream colored Redbud trees here in NC,  and the reappearance of my tiny feathered friends - HUMMINGBIRDS!


In this episode of When Creativity Knocks shot on site at Maker Faire in San Mateo, CA, Ana Araujo, Megan Araujo and I get get a bit silly as I share a way to repurpose water bottles with a few simple supplies and create a colorful hummingbird reader for your yard.  Having a clean hummingbird feeder is very important to the health of the birds, so this project is designed so the bottles themselves can be removed when they become dirty, making it easy to add a new clean bottle to feed our buzzing feathered friends.    


WCK even has affordable kits available if you decide you'll give this project a try and watch these little flying jewels of nature flock to your yard for refreshment!

http://whencreativityknocks.com/mycraftspace/m/videos/view/Hummingbird-Feeder