Handmake Christmas 2011 - fingerprint cufflinks

Hi!! I love making gifts for people with my kids. I would love to teach them the art of gift making and gift giving. So each birthday/Mother's day/Father's Day/Christmas we get stuck in to the gift making. Yesterday we made some little fingerprint discs out of polymer clay (PC or fimo here in Australia). I had been planning on making these for a while and attaching them to some cuff link bases that I had bought from Etsy. Well they arrived and so we pulled out the PC and got going. I took a few photos of the process so thought I'd write a quick tutorial in case you'd like to make them with your kids. :) The kids will be giving them to some of the special men in their lives as little Christmas gifts. :)

So... here they are...





So, start by mixing your favourite colour polymer clay (PC) with some white. In the past I have found that if you do not mix it with white then it cracks and loses definition when you bake it. Perhaps that's just that brand I use??? Anyway, I always mix my coloured PC with white. It's pretty tough to start off with, so it'll take some time to make it malleable. When I'm making multiple finger pint discs I start off with a large ball of PC and divide into even portions so that all the discs are the same colour.

Once you've completely mixed the colours together divide evenly into the number of discs you need and roll them into balls.

Now place the balls in between 2 layers of baking paper and use a book to press flat. Using the baking paper and book make sure the disc is even and smooth with none of your fingerprints all over it.
Next step is to get your little one's finger and firmly press it into the PC disc. You will need to use a bit of pressure as the PC is still quite firm.

Now get out your cake skewer and etch your child's name into the PC along with the year. Don't be too picky... the etching can look a bit 'rustic' ;). Next pop them in the oven for the time mentioned on your PC pack. Mine is 130 deg Celsius for 30min.

Now get out you cuff link bases and hot glue gun.

I found the best way was to glue directly onto the back of the disc and then quickly attach it to the cuff link base.

TADA...

Such a cute little gift. Yes the etching is a little rustic but hey... I think they're cute. :)



Have fun!

Kerryn

Mini Gift Buckets with Pennants - Tutorial

I was super excited when I found online (with the help of my little sister) these super cute little tin buckets. They are only about 10cm tall... so cute!! :) As soon as I saw them I knew they'd be perfect for little gifts at Adele's party. So, here's what I did with them...

The theme for Adele's party was pinwheels and pennants so I decided to add some pennants to the buckets.

 Ok, If you want to make some or make something similar then here's a quick tutorial...

Supplies...

- Buckets or similar
- scrap fabric
- craft glue
- disposable lid to put glue on
- white card stock (I used Stampin' Up, whisper white)
- alphabet stamps (I used a Stampin' Up set)
- ink (I used Stampin' Up, Crumb Cake)
- linen thread
- scissors
- hole punch


Supplies

Step 1 - cut out a pennant template and then cut multiple pennants using your fabric scraps. I used 6 pennants per bucket.

 Step 2 - Dip the end of the pennant into the craft glue and slide it under the gap in the top of the bucket.

Step 3 - Now it's time for the tags. Get out your cardstock, ink and stamps. Stamp the name of the recipient onto the cardstock.

Step 4 - Cut around the name leaving room at the end to punch a hole. Now run the edges of the tag through the ink pad. This gives the tag a little extra definition especially if you're using white cardstock on a white bucket like i am.

Step 5 - Punch a hole in the end of your tags.



 Step 6 - Use the linen thread (or similar) to tie the tag to the bucket. You can use a glue dot to secure the bottom edge to the bucket if you don't want the tag swinging around.

TADA!!!

I filled my buckets with chocolates in cellophane bags. :) They were a real hit with the ladies. The men just got the chocolates. I knew they wouldn't appreciate the buckets (and they were a bit girly anyway).

ok, happy creating!!

Kerryn

Tutorial - Pinwheel and glass bottle decorations

Ok, as I mentioned in my last post, I used stacks of pinwheels for Adele's 1st party. If you missed my tutorial on how to make a basic fabric pinwheel then just click here.

Here is one way that I used my stash of pinwheels...

I used these babies as table decorations. Read on to find out how... :)

Supplies...

Pre-made pinwheels
bamboo skewers or wooden dowel
spray paint
polystyrene board
hot glue gun
variety of glass bottles
fabric scraps
sand

Ok... lets go...

Step 1 - stick your bamboo skewers or wooden dowel into the polystyrene board and spray paint. You'll probably need a few coats. Better to do lots of light coats than have one gluggy coat with lots of runs going down the skewer. :)

Step 2 - choose your bottles. I used  maple syrup bottle, Vietnamese dipping sauce bottle & boiled lollie bottles. Remove labels and any sticky residue. I used tea tree oil. Clean the bottles up and give them a spray paint.

Step 3 - tie some scrap fabric round the top to cover the screw top thread. This makes the bottle look less 'homemade'.

Step 4 - use your hot glue gun to glue the bamboo skewers to the back of your pinwheels.



 Step 5 - fill your bottles with sand and poke in your skewers with pinwheels...

Tada...



See you next time for my next pinwheel tutorial... :)

Kerryn

Tutorial - Fabric Pinwheels

Pinwheels... Is there anything more delightful?!?!? I must have made 1000 different type of pinwheels for Adele's party last weekend. I used them for the invitations, decorations, hair clips & cupcake toppers. So I thought I'd write a tutorial for a basic fabric pinwheel. This is my very first tutorial so please let me know if it's helpful. :)

So... here goes...

Supplies...

scrap fabric

fusible webbing

buttons

thread

needle

cardboard

iron

fabric scissors

My fave scraps and roll of fusible webbing

Step 1 - cut out a paper/cardboard square the size you want your pinwheel to be. I used a lot of different sizes so cutout a lot of different sized squares from 4cm by 4cm to 12cm by 12cm.

Step 2 - cutout a square of fusible webbing slightly larger than the size of the cardboard square you have chosen.

Step 3 - Fusible side down iron the webbing onto the wrong side of your fabric.

Step 4 - cut fabric out around the webbing.

Step 5 - peel paper backing off webbing. Webbing should be fully fused to the fabric.



Step 6 - Iron squares, webbing side down, onto wrong side of coordinating fabric.



Step 7 - get out your square pattern pieces and cut your squares.

Step 8 - cut 4 diagonal lines starting from each corner of the square and ending halfway to the middle (doesn't have to be too specific, so don't stress).

Step 9 - get your needle and thread out, it's time to sew. :) Tie a knot in the end of your thread and take your needle through the centre of the pinwheel. Start with one corner of the pinwheel. Take one of the points and sew it to the centre of the pinwheel.

Step 10 - Take your needle up through the centre of the pinwheel again, through the first point (this helps to anchor it down).

Step 11 - Repeat for point 2.

Step 12 - Repeat for point 3 and 4.

Step 13 - Sew your button to the centre.

Tada... a perfect pinwheel. :)

In the next few days I'm going to be putting up some more tutorials that use this basic pinwheel. So if you love these little babies and would like to use them on some sweet projects then pop back and have a look.

Here's a sneak peek...

hair clips

decorations

Pinwheel invites

Ok, I hope this helps. Happy pinwheeling... :)

Kerryn  

Wooden Box Makeover

Recently I was given a wooden storage box to put my sewing stuff in. I nearly threw it out because it was not my taste, but I decided to see if I could give it a new life... and a new purpose.

Here is the box in all it's ugliness...





Here's a quick step by step guide if you're keen to do something similar...

You will need;

ugly box

tools to remove metal findings

sandpaper

2 paint colours

paintbrush

Step 1 - Remove all hinges, screws, chains etc.

Step 2 - Give the whole box a bit of a sand to help the new paint stick.

Step 3 - Choose your 2 paint colours and paint two coats of the undercoat colour.

I chose a really light peachy pink as my undercoat

 Step 4 - paint two coats of the top colour.

Step 5 - Choose a fine sandpaper and get sanding. I started with the corners and edges. Go reasonably slowly so that you don't sand off more than you want.

240 Grit sandpaper

Step 6 - Once you are happy with the look of your box then give it a wipe with a damp cloth to get rid of the fine paint dust that builds up during sanding.
Step 7 - re-attach the hinges, screws, chain etc

And here's the finished project... :)

As mentioned before I will re-purposing my box. So... watch this space. I will be using it in a few months and will post pics of the final product.

Ok... that's all for now... :)

Kerryn