Wiggle eye planner clips oh my!

Fun and easy project for you today.

Simply grab your stash of wiggle eyes in a variety of sizes and some paper clips.

Heat up the hot glue gun and attach the wiggle eyes to the single bend end of the paper clip.

These wiggle eye planner clips are so easy you could make a whole bunch and give them out as treats to all your friends.

This project approved by my pompom candy corns.

50 Small Paintings-Done!

My New Year's resolution for 2015 was to do the 50 small paintings in the book Learn to Paint in Acrylics with 50 Small Paintings. It took me a bit longer to finish them all and even a bit longer to photograph them and write this post. But I should also add I built the shelves along the way to display them too!

 And me being me I did them all on recycled plywood I had leftover from a construction project.

I cut and sanded the plywood down to 5 inch squares.

Then I primed all the wood squares to get them ready to do each painting.

This was the first painting. Boy, that seems like forever-ago!

I can't tell you how fun this was to do! The directions are excellent and each painting is such a pleasure to paint.

I would end up working on several at a time as you need to allow the paint to dry in some cases so it's fun to start the next and jump back and forth. I highly recommend this book and this process. As you can see the collection looks great and you learn so much. I have already started to use the techniques I learned by painting these pieces in new original paintings.

How to make pom pom carrot Easter decorations

No matter what new materials come out I still seem to think of ideas to make with pm poms. Today's fun little pom pom creations are carrots that my amineko thinks are just too fun not to snuggle, I know she doesn't look happy but she is :)

All that you need for these little creations are a variety of sizes of orange pom poms, a bit of green yarn and a hot glue gun.  Simply glue the pom poms together from smallest to largest.

To make the carrot top I looped a few wraps of yarn around 3 fingers and tied a knot around them with another piece of yarn. Then I tied a piece of yarn around all the loops. Then I cut the loops open and glued the tied end into the large pom. I made a bunch because quite frankly they were so easy and cute.

Adult coloring page with quote: "We are all searching for someone whose demons play well with ours"

Over at Craftside there is the page from the book 20 Ways to Draw a Cat that features 20 ways to Draw a hedgehog. I used one of the hedgehogs as my guide to draw one as an outline so that I could include it in the adult coloring page that features the quote, "We are all searching for someone whose demons play well with ours."

I had a lot of fun coloring in all the tiny little hearts that form the letters. I did a bunch of different color combos, stripes, random and all the same color family. I colored in the hedgehogs in different color ways as well.

NOTE: I am playing around with file types and settings. Please leave me a comment if you find anything odd about the file when you download it, open it and print it out.  I noticed that my first few had a slight gray haze on them.

If you do, leave a comment with a link to your finished page or tag me on Instagram @StefanieLGirard

More about the book 20 Ways to Draw a Cat:

How to make illuminated Easter eggs

I'm kind of in love with those little battery operated tea lights. I used them to make illuminated large crystal Easter eggs featured over at Craftside. I made this set with smaller plaster Easter eggs that have a glitter surface.

I decorated the base of the tea light with a strip of washi tape.

 I tried several different ways to drill the hole in the bottom of the plastic egg. I cracked a few. The best way I found was to use a cone shaped sanding bit on my Dremel.

I used a bit of hot glue to attache the eggs to the tea lights so they would stand straight up.

How to make a recycled plastic food container Valentine " XO" necklace

Making jewelry and playing with letters and type has got to be the ultimate culmination of getting to do two things at once for me. Today I made this fun "XO" (hug and kiss) Valentine's Day necklace out of a black plastic party to-go tray with inspiration from the book Upcycled Jewelry: Bags, Belts, and More.

I die cut the X and O using a Sizzix die cutter out of the black plastic party tray.

I went through my stash of jewelry chain and parts to find elements to put with my plastic letters.

As it turned out a vintage clip earring worked great to use to link the X to the necklace! Totally random and cool.

If you like making recycled jewelry and working with materials in different ways I bet you will really like the book:



Upcycle to create 35 stunning pieces of jewellery and accessories. Discover how to take something that was destined for the rubbish bin and give it a new purpose, transforming it into something beautiful. Expert crafter Linda Peterson shows you 35 creative ways to upcycle ring pulls from drinks cans, zips, plastic, bike chains, tyre tubes and more. From a stylish ring pull belt to a pretty gold zip bracelet, and from stamped plastic earrings to a chunky bike chain bangle, there's plenty here to inspire you to get crafting. Every project has clear step-by-step photographs to guide you, and a basic techniques section covers all you'll need to know.

How to make a morning dove nest basket from the Audubon Birdhouse Book

Are you a fan of birds? I am and I actually have mourning doves regularly nest in my yard. I actually call them my "squeakie doves". They kind of squeak. I never thought of helping them out in their nest building as they seem to like above my motion sensor lights which they build over every couple of years and a few times in an empty vase on a high shelf in my back yard. But here is a tutorial from the book Audubon Birdhouse Book: Building, Placing, and Maintaining Great Homes for Great Birds on how to build a wire mesh nesting basket if you would like to give them some help in your yard.





Click on these pages from Audubon Birdhouse Book: Building, Placing, and Maintaining Great Homes for Great Birds to enlarge and read the step-by-step tutorial on how to make a mourning dove nesting basket.

More about the Voyager Press book:



Audubon Birdhouse Book:

Building, Placing, and Maintaining Great Homes for Great Birds

by

Margaret A. Barker

Elissa Wolfson

Contribution by:

Chris Willett

Foreword by:

Stephen W. Kress

A visit to almost any home or garden center presents birders with numerous cute and colorful contraptions that are sold as bird homes. But the fact is, many of these products provide anything but a safe refuge for your feathered friends.

Produced in association with the National Audubon Society, Audubon Birdhouse Book explains how to build and place functional DIY bird homes that are safe and appropriate for more than 20 classic North American species, from wrens to raptors. Each of the easy-to-build boxes and shelves within is accompanied by cut lists, specially created line diagrams, and step-by-step photography, making the projects accessible to those with even the most rudimentary woodworking skills. In addition, this practical and beautifully presented guide is packed with color photography and information about the bird species covered—including titmice, chickadees, nuthatches, phoebes, swallows, waterfowl, and even kestrels and owls—to help the reader properly place and maintain the homes to attract birds. And because these projects are the product of years of experience and field-testing, you can be sure you’re getting the best advice regarding proper design, safe construction materials, and correct home placement to mitigate exposure to elements, pests, and predators. Finally, beyond the birdhouses, you’ll find out how you can contribute to the larger birding community and even enhance your birding experience with the aid of new technologies.

NY Giants and New England Patriots Eye Makeup from the book 500 Eye Makeup Designs

Happy Football Finals Season! To "kick off" this sports extravaganza and show my team spirit I thought I'd share 2 of the cool eye make up ideas from the football team section in 500 Eye Makeup Designs: Inspired and Inventive Looks for Mood and Occasion. I am from New England so I always root for my home team The New England Patriots and I will definitely be trying out this awesome red, white and blue eye make up to show my team spirit.

 

More about the new book

500 Eye Makeup Designs:

Inspired and Inventive Looks for Mood and Occasion

by

Kendra Stanton

500 Eye Makeup Designs is a collection of gorgeous eye looks for every occasion! From everyday "work-looks" that never get boring, to fantasy-inspired eye shadow with glitter and rhinestones, this guide provides amazing looks for breaking out of the neutral eye shadow-black mascara rut. Filled with designs for every skill and patience level, you can play up your most important feature with looks from different eras, a perfect smokey eye, theatrical looks, and even wild nature-inspired looks! With 500 Eye Makeup Designs, you'll always have the stunning look. 

Kendra Stanton is a nationally renowned make-up artist and beauty blogger. Her work can be seen on seen on the covers of Fast Company, Los Angeles Magazine, and in the pages of Muse Magazine, Runners World, The New York Times and many others. Kendra now serves as a freelance makeup artist and has worked for companies such as Estee Lauder, Aveda, and Clay de Peau. She serves as a beauty ambassador for Bloom.com and is a regular beauty expert featured on a local Portland morning show. Kendra's blog, CitizensofBeauty.com, is the witty girl's guide to honest beauty. It focuses on reviews and teaches women things about make-up they never heard from their mothers. Her blog is an extension of her passion to empower and educate women to look their best at any age.

Recycled magazine page font Father's Day card

Have you missed me? I know it's been a while. I've been blogging every day at Craftside and Craft Gossip Recycling. But today I'm back to give you a fun Father's Day Card tutorial on how to make recycled magazine (or book catalog) letters used to make a Father's Day card using an idea featured in the book Creative Lettering: Techniques & Tips from Top Artists.

I had an old catalog that I thought would work great for cutting up these little block letters.

What made it so easy was that the books were all about the same size rectangle and this font is very boxy. I cut out each book cover first. I chose book covers for each letter that the title would still be exposed even when I snipped out parts to form the letters. It took a few different tries as I ended up using all white background covers so they would coordinate and stand out against the black background paper

I glued the letters down to the card and added two strips of scrapbook paper to make a "shelf". I also kind of had to giggle in that one of the books is Water Paper Paint and another is 1000 Creative Re-use. Nothing like re-using paper images of the words to make another word!

If you are like me and love type and lettering you will love Creative Lettering: Techniques & Tips from Top Artists.

More about the Lark Crafts book

Creative Lettering: Techniques & Tips from Top Artists
by
Jenny Doh
 
" Hand-lettering techniques are a popular and visually dynamic way to add textual elements to crafts, from journals to mixed-media art. Sixteen accomplished contributors—including calligraphers, painters, collagists, card makers, fiber artists, and graphic designers—give their personal perspectives on lettering. They all offer their favorite tools, how they use them, their signature technique with step-by-step instructions and photos, and an alphabet sampler of their own font. Gorgeous gallery images of each contributor's work are also included.

 

Contributors include:
Andy Ainger   •   Francois Begnez   •   Flora Chang   •   Barbara Close   •   Philippe Debongnie   •  Karyn Denten   •   Aimee Dolich   •   Lisa Engelbrecht   •   Pam Garrison  •   Stine Kaasa   •   Rhianna Lederman   •   Martha Lever   •   Linda Schneider   •   Jessica Swift   •   Madeline Tomkins   •   Lori Vilegen   •  

 

Jenny Doh is the former Editor-in-Chief of Somerset Studio magazine and the President and Founder of crescendoh.com. Jenny serves regularly as keynote speaker across the nation to deliver messages related to creative passion, authentic leadership, effective communication, and focused compassion. For her leadership in publishing and the art and crafting community, Jenny was recognized by Folio magazine as one of the top 40 leaders within the publishing industry. Jenny is the author of several books, including Hand in Hand and We Make Dolls (both Lark). She lives in Santa Ana, CA."

How to make a maple leaf rubber stamp from an eraser

The book Making an Impression: Designing & Creating Artful Stamps is packed full of great ideas, designs and projects that feature the stamps you make. My favorite is the idea for stamping on vintage gum labels of which I happen to have a stash. Go figure. I recently got out some of my fall cookie cutters which included a maple leaf and I thought that a maple leaf image would make a cute rubber stamp.

 So I downloaded an image and sized it.

 Then I cut the image out of the paper. To transfer the image onto the eraser I used a silver Sharpie as my eraser is black.
 I just held the image over the eraser and drew out from the paper onto the eraser.

I trimmed the eraser down to a smaller square around the maple leaf.
Then I simply cut along the shape always working from the inside drawing my cut lines out toward the edge.
Then I cut the eraser depth off of the outside area.

To stamp my images I used a red Brush tip Sharpie. Worked like a charm to give me a vibrant impression that matched the red of the gum labels.


More about the book from the publisher Lark Crafts:

  Making an Impression: Designing & Creating Artful Stamps
by
Geninne Zlatkis

"Popular illustrator and stamper Geninne Zlatkis has a passion for nature and color that distinguishes her work. These 20 beautiful projects--including cards, an embellished journal and tote, and decorative wall pieces--provide the keys to Geninne's creative process and image-making process. In addition to technique-specific primers with step-by-step photos of the essentials, Making an Impression includes 50 motifs showcasing Geninne's signature designs that crafters can copy and use for image transfers, stamp designs, and collages.

Geninne Zlatkis is an illustrator (etsy.com/shop/Geninne) and blogger (geninne.com). She uses a wide variety of techniques (painting, collage, writing, stamping, and more) in her whimsical work. Her illustrated prints and licensed designs have been available through Urban Outfitters, and her designs are featured on an organic cotton fabric line with Cloud 9 Fabrics and a pocket planner from Galison. Geninne's hand-carved stamped-cards project was included in Craft Hope (Lark Fall 2010). She lives outside of Mexico City in Querataro, Mexico."

How to crochet a chain silver lame bracelet

I am a BIG fan of making something that is generally made out of one material out of something completely unconventional and unexpected and that is just the project that I fell in love with from the book Crocheted and Stitched Jewelry.

In Crocheted and Stitched Jewelry there is a crocheted chain necklace. I just had to make some crocheted chain! Off to the stash and I found some Lion Brand Silver Lame Metallic Yarn and I went with a size F hook.

I followed the basic stitch pattern and construction in Crocheted and Stitched Jewelry but I made a bracelet.

Confession: I actually brought this project to a meeting and I whipped this bracelet together in 2 hours!

I love it! I will most definitely be making more of these!

If you like making crocheted and stitched jewelry too then I bet you will love:
Handmade at Home: Crocheted and Stitched Jewelry
by
Emi Iwakiri

"Crocheted and Stitched Jewellery is part of a brand new series of craft titles from CICO. Beautifully packaged as a jacketed paperback and printed on woodfree paper, this series brings you a number of popular crafts at a very affordable price. Using traditional Japanese crochet techniques, Emi Iwakiri shows you how to create these adorable designs that include ribbons, beads, bows and even scraps from your sewing box. There are stunning ideas here to suit every occasion, from a classic cream silk pearl necklace to a vintage-style crocheted flower necklace. Try making a luxurious beaded collar to add a touch of glamour to any outfit, an elegant linen flower to wear in your hair or as a corsage or a fun, multi-coloured pompom bracelet for a modern, striking look. Whether you want to create original jewellery for yourself or to give as presents, you are sure to love Emi’s gorgeous Japanese designs. And once you have mastered her simple basic techniques, you will be able to create your own bespoke pieces in no time."

How to make an origami Easter bunny paper garland

Yes, I know it's not even Valentine's Day yet but when I spotted the origami bunny tutorial in Wild and Wonderful Origami: 35 of Your Favorite Wild Animals to Fold in and Instant I just had to try it out right away! So I did. And then I did some more....and well let's just say I made origami bunnies like bunnies make bunnies!
I used some scrap pink, light blue and light green paper and got so good at these cuties I was walkin' around making them. I decided instead of drawing faces on these guys (the paper that comes with this book is pre-printed with the cute details) but since I made so many...well I thought I'd just draw but then I thought about using a tiny pom pom for the nose.

Well, when I started to play with the placement of the pom pom it looked more like the tail! So these little bunnies are bunnies from the back or front either way I think they are just too darn cute.

To turn them into a garland I threaded a piece of pastel thick thread onto a needle and stitched through each of the ears mixing up the colors of the bunnies.

If you too like to fold your fun then I bet you will love the Cico book:
Wild and Wonderful Origami: 35 of Your Favorite Wild Animals to Fold in and Instant
by
Mari Ono and Roshin Ono

"Make your own origami zoo with Mari and Roshin Ono's collection of amazing animals. Whether you love cute and cuddly animals like the baby bear and the cheeky monkeys, or are friends with the feathered variety, you are sure to go wild for any of the 35 innovative designs. There are four great chapters explaining how to really bring your paper to life. Animal Fun has classic designs like the crane and fox, while Safari takes its inspiration from the Serengeti with projects for zebras, giraffes, lions and more. Next is Sea World, home to ocean dwellers including the dolphin, sea turtle and even a blowfish, and the Forest chapter has ideas to transform your paper into a tree-dwelling owl or squirrel. Every project comes with simple step-by-step instructions and clear photographs, as well as helpful arrows showing you where to fold. Each design has also been given a skill rating, so start with a simple one and once you've mastered that move on to something a bit more challenging. 50 specially designed pieces of origami paper are included with the book, meaning you can start folding right away."

Family hand outlines commemorative aprons

I was with lots of family over the holidays and I wanted to commemorate all that togetherness. I had 2 aprons that were promo items from some trade show and I thought they would make a great surface for everyone to trace their hand on.

I painted in the logo a bit so it wasn't quite as much of an advertising piece but left some showing. I brought a couple of packs of Elmer's Paint Markers for everyone to use. I think they all got a little of their creativity going and had fun.

And here's some more crafty goodness for ya!

Craftside-A behind-the-scenes peek at our crafty world
This week at Craftside there is a bit of Valentine inspiration, tutorials on how to face paint dragon and hydrangea masks, ideas and inspiration from Manga artist Melanie Schober and a recipe for coconut veggie muffins.

Eileen - The Artful Crafter
Eileen shows how to make a lovely flowered bolster pillow to dress up a room.

Mixed Media Artist
Cyndi's marbled fabric quilt is hurling towards completion!

Stefanie Girard's Sweater Surgery
Learn how to make a recycled sheer curtain flower fascinator.

About Family Crafts
Play along with the current craft challenge. Make a craft or two using CD cases and submit them!

Aileen's Musings
Aileen shows you how she repurposed a cardboard drink carrier into something beautiful using her new toy a Sizzix BIGKick.

Crafty Princess Diaries
The Crafty Princess shows what she has in the works on her hooks and needles.

RockPaperInk
Class Valedictorian: Modern Dog; Seattle Washington, USA

How to make a recycled curtain flower fascinator

Light blue is one of my favorite colors and when I received a Whimsey box to find the most beautiful shade of light blue DecoArt SoSoft Fine Glitter Fabric Paint nestled in with all the other goodies I new that was what I needed to play with first. So off to the new book Handmade at Home: Button and Bead Jewelry for a bit of inspiration. This recycled curtain flower fascinator is what I came up with. I think it came out pretty darn purdy!
This pretty chiffon flower necklace featured in the book Handmade at Home was my inspiration. It just so happens to be in the same color as my DecoArt Glitter paint from the Whimsey box! All I needed was some flowers. Easy enough with an old curtain and my Sizzix die cutter.
I painted the fabric flowers rather sparsely and rather haphazardly to give them a dimensional look.
To make then actually dimensional I stitched them together as you can see starting from the back and ending on the front ready for the next layer.

When I had all the flower layers together I stitched the bead onto the top center and secured the bead and layers together with an additional stitch. All that was left to do was a few stitches to the headband.

If making pretty jewelry from buttons, beads and fabric is your style then I bet you will love:
Button and Bead Jewelry: 25 Step-By-Step Projects
by
Deborah Schneebell-Morrell

More about the book from the publisher Cico Books:

"Bring to life the undiscovered treasures of your sewing box. Handmade at Home: Button and Bead Jewelry is an essential guide to creating stunning, fashionable jewelry. Craft author Deborah Schneebeli-Morrell shows you how by using a wide variety of materials, from chiffon and lace to copper and moonstone, as well as scraps from past projects, you can make any number of contemporary, eye-catching pieces, each with your own unique twist. Whatever your standard, the 25 delightful projects and variations - from a ribbon choker with velvet flowers to linen heart brooches - will help you make the most of your sewing box. Whether you want to make practical, fun, everyday items or intricate, stylish designs, there is a range of projects to suit your tastes. Complete with step-by-step photographs, helpful explanations of techniques and a comprehensive list of materials, Button and Bead Jewelry will help you on your way to creating exquisite pieces in no time."

How to crochet a Christmas tree skirt

My Halloween decorations aren't even all packed up yet and back in the rafters of the garage and I am already pulling down the Christmas trees! Oy! That's just the way it goes when you get inspired to make something. Today it's a crocheted Christmas tree skirt. I was savoring the pages of the new book Stashbuster Knits: Tips, Tricks, and 21 Beautiful Projects for Using Your Favorite Leftover Yarn and the page you see above has this cool jacket with a circular back and as the book title states it's made from the almighty stash (of which this fiber fanatic has in abundance!)

And the part of my stash I've been savoring and has been calling to me the loudest to work with is Vickie Howell's Sheepish yarn.
How to crochet this Striped Christmas tree skirt:
Gather your yarn and hook (I used a Boye "H" as the yarn indicated)

Note: I made it this way because I might use it with different little Christmas trees I have and some of them don't have removable legs so I wanted to be able to open it up as far as I needed to.
(This photo is of single crochet thought the back loop)
I did this because I think the stripes looked smoother this way.

-Chain 10 (or as many as you need to fit around the base of the tree you think you plan to use it with).

-Cut the end of the yarn and pull through the last loop.
-Tie a bow with the tail from the end and the tail from the beginning.
-Pick your next color yarn and starting at the beginning again 2 single crochets in the back of the first loop.
-Work single crochets around the chain doing 2 stitches in one stitch every few stitches to increase. (Note I don't count I just go with it to keep it flat by eye)
-Do 2 single crochets in the last loop, cut the yarn and pull through the last loop to secure. Tie a bow with the tails.
-That's pretty much it my crochet peeps! Just keep going until you have the size you want.

If you know what tree you are using and it has removable legs you don't have to tie each row together like I did to keep it able to be opened and adjustable.

Another thing I should note here, yes, this book is a knitting book but it is so pretty and inspirational I just happen to prefer when I am working in the round doing it in crochet.

More about the book from Potter Craft:
Stashbuster Knits: Tips, Tricks, and 21 Beautiful Projects for Using Your Favorite Leftover Yarn
by
Melissa Leapman

"This is the latest title from popular knitting teacher, designer and author Melissa Leapman. It includes 21 creative projects and ideas to utilise every last piece of yarn in the stash. It features basic techniques, special tips, alternate colour suggestions and guidance on storing your yarn collection. Popular knitting teacher, designer and author Melissa Leapman offers quick, easy and imaginative new projects designed to make use of all the yarn odds and ends every knitter has. From a tiny baby sweater to a lovely striped wrap, "Stashbuster Knits" provides 21 creative projects and ideas to utilise every last piece of yarn in your stash. Projects are organised by yarn weight and use a variety of techniques including lace, cables, colour-blocking, stripes and fair-isle to make items for men, women, children and the home. The book also includes basic knitting techniques, special tips, alternate colour suggestions and guidance on storing and organising your yarn collection."

How to make a secret window in a Glitter decoupaged book with a Fiskars Everywhere Punch

You know how I love new tools! Today's new toy is the Fiskars Everywhere punch. This paper punch will make a square anywhere you want!
I decided to try it out by making a secret window in a book. The Fiskars Everywhere punch worked like a dream! I punched about 3 pages at a time and I was done in a flash.
The outside of my secret hiding place book (or I was thinking this would be a fun way to give a small gift item like one of my shotgun shell necklaces) needed some help!

I flipped through the book Encaustic Workshop: Artistic Techniques for Working with Wax and saw this page featuring these leaf skeletons and I happen to have a pack of them.

I know this book is all about encaustic but some of the ideas work for decoupage which is what I did with some Plaid Extreme Glitter Paint.

I used both black and gold. I put down an irregular coat of each first. Then another coat of gold. While the 3rd coat of gold was still wet I pressed the skeleton leaves into it and topped it off with a 4th coat of gold.

I have a few other books that will have a "window of opportunity" soon!

More about the book from North Light Books:
Encaustic Workshop: Artistic Techniques for Working with Wax
by
Patricia B. Seggebruch

Find out what happens when mixed media meets melted medium

In its purest form, encaustic painting is as simple as applying melted beeswax to an absorbent surface. In Encaustic Workshop, it becomes much more: a dynamic medium where anything goes and the possibilities are endless.

Packed with step-by-step techniques, helpful tips and diverse examples of completed works, Encaustic Workshop brings all the accessibility and excitement of a mixed-media workshop to your own workspace. If you're a beginner, you'll find everything you need to know to get started. If you're a more advanced crafter or fine artist, you'll discover things you never knew you could do with encaustic.

Instructions and photos will guide you as you learn to:

• Apply, layer, color and carve wax to create artwork rich with texture and depth.
• Create collages that combine encaustic with papers, fabric, found objects, image transfers and more.
• Experiment with charcoal, inks, watercolors, pastels and other mediums to create unexpected effects in the wax.

Then, complete step-by-step projects and an extensive inspirational gallery will show you how you can combine the techniques you've learned to create more complex works.

Sign your creativity up for this Encaustic Workshop - then just melt, paint and play!

A graduate of the University of Colorado, Patricia Seggebruch has been painting in water media, oil and encaustic for about twelve years. She has been teaching workshops at retreats (such as the enormously popular Artfest) since 1998, and she conducts demonstrations for Daniel Smith in Seattle/Bellevue, for ArtMedia in Portland, and for Ampersand Art Supply in Austin, Texas.