She's pretty cute, no?
Wednesday, February 10, 2010
Ami Elephant
I made this little cutie for a little girl's birthday present. I rarely buy gifts for kids' parties any more, unless it's one of those, "Mom, I've got a party to go to tomorrow" kind of things. My kids friends know that I crochet so there is usually a special request. I found the pattern for Flora The Elephant on ravelry, whipped it up in a couple of days. The downside of making amigurumi - I have a blister on my thumb from working with such a tight crochet.
She's pretty cute, no?
She's pretty cute, no?
Monday, February 8, 2010
Saturday, February 6, 2010
Friday, February 5, 2010
Melted Crayon Wax Technique
I love using melted crayon wax in my projects - it's colorful, adds texture, and is cheap! The bargain brand crayons work just fine, I think I paid about $2.00 for a box of 64. Think about how much 64 bottles of paint or 64 stamp pads would be!
Step 1: Melt The Wax
Chose the crayon you want to use, peel off the paper, and break into small pieces. I use a mini muffin tin lined with foil to hold the wax, for easy clean up. You could also just shape some foil into a little cup.
Use a heat gun to melt the wax. Heat until liquid, but not to the point of smoking. You want to do this in a well ventilated area and avoid breathing in the fumes. You can also melt the wax in a warm (250 degrees) oven, but that takes a bit longer.
The wax doesn't stay liquid very long. If it hardens up while you are working with it, just reheat briefly.
2. Stencil Technique
Place some type of stencil over a piece of cardstock and brush with melted wax.
The finished product. Note that black crayons make a bigger mess than most, and kind of rub off a little bit.
Then, your stencil can be used like a "stamp" by briefly heating the wax left from brushing in the last step and then pressing it onto cardstock.
The result is the reverse image of the stenciled piece above. Cool!
3. Splatter Technique
Super easy. Just dip a q-tip into some melted wax and (carefully) flick it onto your paper.
I love the way the yellow crayon looks like pollen on this card:
4. "Wax Seal" Technique
Pour melted wax into a little puddle on a piece of cardstock.
Choose a small stamp and ink it up with clear embossing ink. This is not absolutely necessary, but it does keep it from sticking.
Press the stamp firmly into the wax and hold for a couple seconds before removing.
Ta-Da! Let the "seal" harden, then carefully peel off the paper and trim the excess wax if you like. If it didn't turn out like you want, just re-melt the wax and start over.
Use a glue dot or other strong adhesive to adhere the embellishment to your project. Of course, this would look cool as an actual seal on an envelope.
5. Wax Paper Sandwich Technique
Using an old cheese grater, grate crayon colors of your choice onto a piece of waxed paper. You could also use a knife to chop it up really small.
Put another piece of waxed paper over the crayon bits and heat with the heat gun until melted. The colors will mix and blur. An iron works well for this job too.
Here, I sewed the waxed paper "sandwich" onto an ATC, trimmed the excess and embellished.
Have fun with it!
Step 1: Melt The Wax
Chose the crayon you want to use, peel off the paper, and break into small pieces. I use a mini muffin tin lined with foil to hold the wax, for easy clean up. You could also just shape some foil into a little cup.
Use a heat gun to melt the wax. Heat until liquid, but not to the point of smoking. You want to do this in a well ventilated area and avoid breathing in the fumes. You can also melt the wax in a warm (250 degrees) oven, but that takes a bit longer.
The wax doesn't stay liquid very long. If it hardens up while you are working with it, just reheat briefly.
2. Stencil Technique
Place some type of stencil over a piece of cardstock and brush with melted wax.
The finished product. Note that black crayons make a bigger mess than most, and kind of rub off a little bit.
Then, your stencil can be used like a "stamp" by briefly heating the wax left from brushing in the last step and then pressing it onto cardstock.
The result is the reverse image of the stenciled piece above. Cool!
3. Splatter Technique
Super easy. Just dip a q-tip into some melted wax and (carefully) flick it onto your paper.
I love the way the yellow crayon looks like pollen on this card:
4. "Wax Seal" Technique
Pour melted wax into a little puddle on a piece of cardstock.
Choose a small stamp and ink it up with clear embossing ink. This is not absolutely necessary, but it does keep it from sticking.
Press the stamp firmly into the wax and hold for a couple seconds before removing.
Ta-Da! Let the "seal" harden, then carefully peel off the paper and trim the excess wax if you like. If it didn't turn out like you want, just re-melt the wax and start over.
Use a glue dot or other strong adhesive to adhere the embellishment to your project. Of course, this would look cool as an actual seal on an envelope.
5. Wax Paper Sandwich Technique
Using an old cheese grater, grate crayon colors of your choice onto a piece of waxed paper. You could also use a knife to chop it up really small.
Put another piece of waxed paper over the crayon bits and heat with the heat gun until melted. The colors will mix and blur. An iron works well for this job too.
Here, I sewed the waxed paper "sandwich" onto an ATC, trimmed the excess and embellished.
Have fun with it!
