Chalk It Up

On a whim, I asked my better half whether it was possible to paint the pantry door with chalkboard paint.  I immediately received a lecture about chalk dust, cleaning, messes, and any other obvious issues associated with having a large surface area receptive to chalk in a key living space.  I acknowledged that, although it was a whim, I had thought of all those things, thank you very much.  Further, I was only asking whether it would work . . . not for permission.  Heh heh heh.

DH picked up chalkboard paint the next day and removed the door off the hinges.  He realized that it was actually a good idea - particularly since we plan to update the kitchen in a few years.  As such, no harm in ruining an interior door that will probably get pitched! Even so - I was grateful for his immediate action!

I spent a whole day working on it - following the instructions to the letter.  I sanded the door with 220 grit paper, washed it and dried thoroughly.  I used a small three-inch roller and it worked great.  I applied 3 coats over the course of 14 or so hours and was very satisfied with the result.

I waited 3 days before priming the surface with white chalk. This weekend, now that it has fully set (7 days), I made a stencil for Halloween using contact paper and my Silhouette.  It turned out great!

The trick with the stencil is to run the chalk over the space and wipe/smudge the color into all the areas.  Then go back over it in a circular motion.  Remove the interior spaces of the stencil first, and the outline last.  These are all SIL designs from the store.

Freezer Paper - Yesss!

The importance of reading and comprehension is limitless.  Since my Handmade manifesto a few years ago, I find myself constantly trolling the internet (mostly Pinterest) to gather ideas.  I've seen the words "freezer paper stencil" several times but completely glazed over how/why DIYers were using it.  I finally stopped and read it carefully.  And understood.  And promptly purchased a roll from Walmart.

Freezer paper + Silhouette machine = Awesome.  Here is a great tutorial.

These are three shirts I made for the kids for a family zoo trip.  Font is Rockbiter from SIL store, and all the images are from the SIL store as well.  All fabric ink I use is Speedball - as far as I'm concerned, there is no comparison!

I need to experiment with and learn more about this process. I'm not convinced that the freezer paper is superior to a screen print (see my earlier posts).  I've primarily noticed that it is difficult to evenly paint - at least for t-shirts - because the fabric stretches as you paint.  

Pointers/Reminders:

• For shirts - always launder the shirt first.  The fabric paint may not 'take' even if set on a new t-shirt.  
• Follow the instructions about layout, shiny side down for cutting, etc.  And double-check it.  
• Come up with a system for the stray bits -- you'll lose them quickly if you aren't paying attention.  
• When ironed down, the paper can still be pulled up inadvertently when painting.  This is particularly troublesome for the 'stray bits'.  I've pulled up a circle or two.  
• I've only used sponge brushes, and tried both a daubing and brushing technique.  The daubing technique has produced more stray-bit-disasters.  So far I don't think either is superior when doing it carefully.  
• I have small boards that I use under the fabric - I spray them with a repositionable adhesive and stretch the shirt best I can, and tape it down to prevent movement.  I use additional tape all over the design to prevent spills or related clumsiness mishaps.  
• Speedball ink that has dried but hasn't set can be washed out (see mishaps comment above).  Ice it to lift and assure you don't heat set it.  Then apply stain remover and wash as usual.  I've been pretty successful using that approach.  
• I've had the most luck (i.e., crispest lines) after waiting for the entire design to dry before taking off the paper.  This also cuts back on the mishaps . . . 

Proxy Handmade.

I've decided that one of the key reasons I cannot get studio quality photos of my 3 year old is because *he is a toddler*.  I have a high quality camera with many wonderful lenses.  I have ideas!  But he doesn't sit still for things and is outrageously independent.  This picture illustrates the point on many levels.

Octo-Saur?

I sent an instructional link to my mom asking her to make a dinosaur tail for my toddler.  She had some leftover fabric and made 4 different tails so Toddler could select one.  Of course, the minute she dropped off these adorable creations - the Toddler was uninterested because, well, he just felt like being uninterested.  Finally he started wearing one and flipped it up and pretended to poop everywhere - like a dinosaur. OK, so that was pretty funny.  I was hoping to get some nice photos of him and he jumped and ran all over, wouldn't stay in the nice lighting, or still, wouldn't look at the camera, and then took off the tail.  He then proceeded to knock things over with the tail in his hand.  

After that, he wanted to put on all 4 tails and run around and twirl.  Again, all these things are very funny and we were all cracking up.  So I wasn't going to try to get another nice photo but decided to enjoy the hilarity instead.  I snapped a few iPhone photos and that was about it.  Because if he knows I want a nice photo, staged, with him smiling and a dinosaur tail on for added cuteness, that ain't happenin' on his watch.  Oh well.  

More importantly, the dino tail was awesome.  Great way to use up some leftover fabric.   Cheers!  

Orange Birthday Fun

Elements, elements.  So many elements!  I had great fun with this one and really don't want to forget all the neat pieces that came together.  The base is an orange stock (Recollections) cut out in A2 and top folded.  There is a repeating stamp in black along the side.  The polka-dot paper is from a pad of paper I found at Michael's - cut in the shape of a balloon with the Silhouette.  The white cardstock is embossed.  The stamp and offset are awesome - this was one of my first successes with the Pixscan on the Silhouette.  I stamped the image on a thick stock and placed it on the Pixscan.  I created the cut area in the software and cut out the stamp.  Then created an offset in the gold/yellow in a self-adhesive stock (which is a kind of linen-y looking paper from DCWV).  And then some washi - that, in hindsight, should have been in dark blue.  Ya can't win 'em all I guess.

Orange, Quack.

This is just too cute! I wanted to find the right balance of whimsical, playful, and masculine in a baby boy arrival card.  Then the orange jumped at me, and I love how it paired with slate and the turquoise.

This is a 5x7 white cardstock base with decorative turquoise and ivory paper.  The orange banner is actually a decorative paper as well - it has some distressing that gives great dimension.  The slate circle is actually shimmery silver, and the stamped message is adhered to a blue vellum.  Interesting note - the blue velum is fairly basic - but when set beside the turquoise color - it appears more turquoise.  I love it.  The stamped message is done in SU Pumpkin Pie.  The adorable duck is stamped in SU Tempting Turquoise (and mounted on SU tempting turquoise cardstock).  I then colored in the duck with SU pens (turquoise and pumpkin).  These stamps are not SU - just some acrylic ones that I have lying around.  On the dimensional adhesives - I used a 'taller' one for the duck and a thinner (yet still dimensional) 3M product for the message.  I like the effect.

I'll definitely be using this layout in the future!

Hexagons in Coral

Can I just say that I love this card?  It is a completely fresh take on a wedding card and it was a stroke of genius on my part.  Ha ha ha - no modesty here!  Ok, so this is SU Calypso Coral cardstock, with the hexagons on a shimmery gold cardstock that I found at Office Depot (true story).  The ink is SU Basic Black.  The hexagon stamps are the Six Sided Sampler set from SU with matching punch.  The Best. Day. Ever. stamp is from the Sale-a-bration set earlier this year (called Best Day Ever).  I used a lot of repositionable scotch tape to align the hexagons and relied heavily on my Stamp-a-ma-jig.

thanks - SU card

I really love how this card turned out.  All materials used are Stampin Up unless otherwise indicated. 

Base is Primrose Petals, the green/white is some cool DSP with a brayered-applied Old Olive ink. The three-step stamp is from the Lotus Blossom Stamp Set.  This is an amazing photo polymer set offered during the 2015 Sale-a-Bration!  I got this effect by using two colors - Primrose Petals and Raspberry Ripple.  I got the three color look by doing the Raspberry Ripple first, Primrose Petals second, and stamping off Primrose for a lighter final layer. The stem is Old Olive. I then used the Decorative Label punch and some twine from an American Crafts set.  The "thanks" stamp in Basic Black from some average acrylic stamp set I grabbed on sale at Michaels.  On the envelope, the "shine" is from that same average set - maybe Hampton?  I can't remember.  It, along with the long stemmed nondescript flower, are in Primrose.  The two stamp punches are Fiskars - the green paper is Gumball Green [which was stupid I should have used Old Olive!]

A Crowd of People Stood and Stared

Egg Casserole for Crowd

I personally prefer an egg casserole that has potatoes as opposed to bread.  In my family, they call a bread-based egg casserole an "egg bake".  Let's just say I'm not a fan and so I sought out something that better suited my palate.  

I wanted an egg casserole (sans bread) that would be easy to make ahead, cook well in a foil pan, be consistent in multiple batches, and keep warm well.  I tried a few iterations and flavors and here is where I landed with excellent results: 

The technique and recipe: 

Hoppy Birthday - Bunny Card

Love this card!  This is an old stamp set that I bought used from an SU demonstrator.  The only stamp not part of the set is the sun in the corner, which is from a newer SU stamp set.  The paper and ink are both 2012-2014 SU in-colors (Primrose Pink and Gumball Green). This is 5x7. Random spots are colored with watercolor color pencils.

Holiday Thank You Cards

I've had so much fun papercrafting around the holidays.  Even more fun was playing with the stamps and paper I picked up at Michaels for the after-holiday sales!!  I ended up with nearly a whole box of stamps - wood block and acrylic that are Christmas themed - probably less than $15.  The 12x12 pads of paper were awesome as well - as low as $3.50.  There was also some Recollections 8.5x11 pads for .99.  What a haul!  Most of the thank you cards I made were A-2 size.

Also, have been playing a lot with stamping and scanning the sheets into the SIL to prescisely cut out the stamped images.  Time consuming, but the effect is great!  It also makes for some amazing offsets.   Who needs a die cutter?!?!  (Ok, in all seriousness I still would like a die cutter, but cannot remotely justify the expense when the SIL can do the same thing).

Here are the cards:

Thank You, Trees and Snowflakes.  There are parts of this I love, but only parts...  I wish the card base didn't have dots - but that is all I had left in that base color.  A-2. Card base is from an inexpensive A-2 value pack from Michaels that I purchased in summer of 2014.  The white cover is a repeating snowflake acrylic stamp from the November 2014 Paper Pumpkin.  The light snowflakes are stamped in Sky Blue (ColorBox PaintBox Pastel Set), then the darker stamps are a mix of Lost Lagoon (StampinUp) and Midnight (ColorBox Petal Point, Aurora set).  The white cover was then cut to size and embossed with a Darice Dots folder. The "Thank You" is an acrylic stamp I've had for some time (maybe Hampton?) cut out on the SIL. The circles are simply cut with an EK Tools circle cutter.  The bottom tree stamps are done in Grey Flannel (Momento) repeating.  The stamps came in a small holiday DIY-wrapping paper kit from Michaels.  The washi tape along the bottom is from the November 2014 Paper Pumpkin, and the little dots in the snowflake center are just pearls from a Recollections set.  The white and teal paper are Recollections and the large blue circle is actually cut out of an extra card from the A-2 value pack to match the underlying card base. All corners rounded with the obverse envelope punch board set. 

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Thank You! Snowflakes.  I really hate that I got lazy on the Thank You! offsets!  A-2. Card base is from an inexpensive A-2 value pack from Michaels that I purchased in summer of 2014.  The white cover is the same as the Thank You, Trees and Snowflakes.  The white cover was then cut to size and embossed with a Sizzix Ampersand folder. The "Thank You!" is a block stamp from Michaels (possibly Hampton brand?) in the Lost Lagoon ink.  It was precisely cut out on the SIL - great lines on that one.  The offsets are hand-cut (poorly!).  The first offset (dark blue) is cut from a scrap from the A-2 value pack to match the underlying card base. The second offset is a red shimmer scrap from a cardstock set. The twine is from the 2014 November Paper Pumpkin set.  All corners rounded with the obverse envelope punch board set.

Thank You, Penguin & Trees.  This is one of my favorites!  It is A-2. Card base is from another inexpensive A-2 value pack from Michaels that I purchased in the fall of 2014.  The white cover is a much like the above cards, but a repeating pattern only in the Sky Blue (ColorBox PaintBox Pastel Set). The white cover was then cut to size and embossed with Sizzix folder from the Sending Christmas Love Set (it's ADORABLE!). The "Thank You" is the same as the Thank You, Trees and Snowflakes card.  It is stamped in Fireberry (ColorBox Dye).  The white paper and ivory are both Recollections stock. The pink accent is washi tape, and there are small pearls on the blue snowflake centers. All corners rounded with the obverse envelope punch board set. 

Thank You! Ornament.  Another A-2 that I think turned out just great.  The card base is white stock.  The kraft paper cover was cut to size and embossed with Diamond Plate (Darice folder).  The Thank You! stamp is an acrylic one from my stock pile - in the same sheet as the above card.  It is stamped in Fireberry, and cut on the SIL.  The ornament is a file from SIL that was a freebie during a christmas giveaway a year ago that I deconstructed.  The red star cardstock is from a Recollections 12x12 christmas pad on sale this past season.  The offset was cut on the SIL from a gold shimmer paper.  The stripe is washi tape with a light green dot pattern.   

Penguin Thank You!  This is a solid "meh".  I realized too late that the penguin on the shimmer paper clashed with the red star paper.  I obviously need an ottlight! A-2. Card base is a white star/kraft paper cardstock from the same Recollections 12x12 pad as the Ornament card, above (You'll note the first offset is the same red star as the ornament as well).  The penguin is a silly little wood block stamp that came in a 3-pack in the after christmas Michaels sale.  He's stamped in Wicked Black (ColorBox Dye that is starting to dry out only 3 months after I bought it!) and expertly cut from white stock on the SIL.  Mr. Penguin was randomly colored in by me (poorly) while watching TNG reruns, and sadly placed on a red shimmer paper that, in the evening, looked nice.  The next day when I took photos I realized it was crap :(  The "Thank You!" is the same as the prior card, in Fireberry.  I cut it out as a dialogue box on the SIL and then made two offsets (red stars and then a gold shimmer).  There is washi tape as an accent (small green dots) and I used an EK Tools punch on the right, cut a matching oval on the left and strung nylon twine from Walmart a few times around.  [I've since purchased an ottlight so my colors don't look like I was drunk when assembling]

Poinsettia Thanks!  Here is my lone 5x7 card for the thank-you season.  I needed to send the recipient something in the envelope that was bigger than an A-2.  This one was a bit of a stamping adventure.  The card base is a pre-fold red 5x7 cardstock (the interior is white). I stamped the card base with a snowflake wood block that came in a 3-stamp set from Michaels this past holiday season.  The snowflakes are done in Grey Flannel (Momento). The Thanks stamp is acrylic and from the same set as the above thank yous (yes, an entire sheet of thanks sentiments!).  It is stamped in Old Olive (StampinUp).  I used some scrap vinyl to cut out a frisket of sorts over the thanks then stamped the poinsettia (a StampinUp set retired this past holiday) over it in Raspberry Ripple.  Using a Stamp-a-ma-jig I positioned the green poinsettia leaves in Gumball Green.  I don't know what possessed me to use two different greens here (blame the lighting).  I used the SIL to cut out the stamped image perfectly!  I cut a circle out of white stock and used Circle Interlock Design emboss folder (Darice).  The little holly are just some leftover stickers.  In hindsight I would have used more background stamp and no holly.  There are parts of this I was pleased with - like the white circle, as I just LOVE that folder.  And the stamped image cut from the SIL was just perfect.  I adhered the stamp cut-out with a raised double-side adhesive so it stands out nicely.

Matching Ornaments. These were a fun afterthought using a scrap on which I was enthusiastically testing some new stamps. I found this acrylic sheet of holiday stamps in during the post-xmas sale at Michaels.  It had a nondescript tree design and a few sentiments.  It was some ridiculously low price like $1.50 so I grabbed it without much thought. When I got home and examined it a little more carefully, I realized it had 5 small, intricate ornaments.  I just bought some new Momento dew drops so for fun I started testing them all on a piece of white stock while watching TNG.  I was mesmerized by the patterns and pleased with how the stamps were coming out.  The cards here are A-2 postcard - the backsideof each has sentiment paper and some red washi tape that I forgot to photograph.  The card base is kraft paper.  The white cover for each are just separate cuts of the test sheet I made with the 5 different ornament stamps.  The ink colors are Wicked Black (ColorBox), Elderberry, Teal Zeal, Nautical Blue and Grey Flannel (Momento Dew Drops, Dye).  I embossed each with some folders that I cannot remember the brand or name.  The top is a repeating parquet-like pattern and the bottom a rounded diamond.  Both are a more subtle, small emboss that I really like. The stamp on the top is from the big "thank you" acrylic set that I've used for most of these cards.  It was stamped in Fireberry and cut on the SIL.  On the bottom card, the "so sweet of you" is from a StampinUp set that was a 2014 hostess edition.  It was stamped in that dang Wicked Black that is drying out already and the offset in a navy craft paper.  Both have a khaki/white bakers twine.

Homemade Christmas - Sets of Cards

A weird idea I got for homemade Christmas was to make a box of cards for people to use. There were days I thought this was going to be a great idea ("handmade stationary for many occasions!"), and other days I thought it was really dumb ("who would want a card that I made to give to someone else?").  I landed on "OK, some people might actually like that" and gave boxes of handmade cards to people.  Who knows they might all end up in the trash without being sent.  LOL. 

Really, I love making cards so much and I don't have enough people or occasions to feed my need.  Ha!   So here we go:

 A-2.  I love this card.  Card stock base is a Recollections prefolded card and envelope in craft paper. "Hello" is red vinyl with a gold shimmer DCWV offset. The background paper is some random script printed paper from a 12x12 book (don't remember the brand).  Washi tape embellish layered with a strip of white vellum.  

A-2.  This was an exercise in patience. The base is a grey linen from a set of pre-folded A-2 cards, and the background is actually another card from the set that I deconstructed because the greys matched. The typewriter is sketch pen on the SIL (the black shimmer pen) and the design was originally from the SIL store. I did this sketch on an off-white cardstock - several of them did not turn out on the SIL because the ink would 'skip' occasionally which is incredibly annoying.  I ended up with only 4 I could use, so it was worth it. The little typewriter design is amazing. The offset is black card stock. 

Small Cards - Several Designs -  Same Paper, some stamps and string!  

These were all inspired by some crazy lined, glitter pattern paper from a 12x12 book I grabbed at Michaels on sale (are we sensing a theme here?). I matched up yellow and pink card stock and  measured and cut out 2x3 folded cards and kept on trucking from there. You'll note on this one I punched out an ampersand and embroidered it in blue. 

 Each card was a little different - I used various sentiments like "hello", "thanks" and "congrats".

 A few of these were embroidered and others were just tied with baking twine. 

I then made envelopes for all of the cards with the WRMK envelope punch board.  My preferred glue for envelopes that are made with card stock is SU fast fuse. It works instantly and holds the extra weight of the 65 lb stock.

What is the good of being crafty if you cannot do nerdy things?  One of my gift recipients and I have a running joke that we exchange David Bowie themed gifts. It has taken some really funny turns.  Here is a card box I made with white vinyl:  

Yes, this was as hard as it looks.  Days on the design and high blood pressure getting the vinyl to cut correctly.  WORTH IT.

And here is an adorable Labyrinth themed card:

A-2.  This is a brown linen-style card stock base. The lettering is black vinyl with a white card stock offset that I created after cutting the vinyl.  The shimmery blue is DCWV and it is embossed with a cool folder received as a gift that is neither Sizzix or Darice (cannot remember the brand!).  The labyrinth worm was printed and cut out with scissors, along with the blue offset. 

Finally, for good measure because I thought the recipient would like some additional nerdiness, a JRRT card centered around JRRT's original Smaug drawing. 5x7 postcard in black.  Smaug in black vinyl with a white card stock offset.  Gold text frame and tea-stained sentiment.

Lessons in Layers

DIY: Custom Wall Art

Yeah, just take that in for a second.  This was an exercise in layers and patience.  In order, it is 2-3 layers of off-white acrylic paint, vinyl "ENGLISH", a thin layer of Modge Podge (matte), then 2-3 layers of tan acrylic paint. After it fully dried, I removed the "ENGLISH" vinyl, then added a healthy layer of Modge Podge.  The Modge Podge makes an excellent base for the final layer of red vinyl, which will not be removed.  The ENGLISH is a modified Garamond font (I think) and the blessing is Channel from DaFonts.

I was really pleased with how this turned out.  I found that Modge Podge helps with adhering vinyl to canvas because it makes the canvas less 'bumpy'.  It made a wonderful custom gift! 

Homemade Christmas - Heat Transfer Vinyl

DIY: Heat Transfer Vinyl

This is pretty straightforward - there are only a few tricky things to keep straight.  First, the design is all that really matters (and remembering to reverse the image before cutting!). I spent most of the time tracing, moving lines, and selecting fonts and sizes.  Another tricky piece is to remember how to load the HTV into the SIL - I get this wrong from time to time.  HTV (even the SIL brand) is fun to work with - it has a removable layer that also acts as a heat-barrier during ironing, it cuts beautifully and weeds really well.

The tigerhawk I always slap down to use up extra space of the HTV. 

This next design took forever!  I don't know much about cars (especially old ones) so looked at several pictures of old Hudson Hornets and picked out design elements that make the car identifiable.  I then found an old time car silhouette and modified it heavily.  The recipients were happy with how it turned out.  They said it was recognizable - so mission accomplished! 

 Heavily stylized Jake the dog in a 'pocket'.  Yellow HTV and black HTV.

Great use of a pocket T from Children's Place.  I thought the dino stored in the pocket was pretty cute. 

The last trick is to apply lots and lots and lots of pressure when ironing the HTV.  Think of it this way, the professionals use similar HTV and rely on a precisely heated press to fuse together the shirt and material. These heat presses have at least two adjustments: heat and pressure (lbs of force placed on the material and shirt).  So, for the home DIY, you have to put a LOT of downward pressure on your iron in order to make it work correctly.  This means getting up high and having a solid surface on which to put the downward force.  I literally take the pad off my ironing board and place it directly on the counter top (linoleum), kneel on my chair, and put as much weight on the iron as I can tolerate.  You don't need to shimmy around the iron much, especially if your design is smaller than the iron surface. Cotton Heat + Maximum Pressure!  That is the mantra. 

Homemade Christmas - Screened T-Shirts

DIY: Screen Print

Exact same process as the dump truck project here.  What I learned this time: Need a bigger screen for adult t-shirts.  I was able to fit entire vinyl project on the screen, but trying to squeegee the top, bottom and side was difficult because it was hard to maintain the angle and pressure.  Also, a cardboard backing under the shirt totally backfired on this - there ended up being paint grooves from where the pressure was uneven due to the corrugation.  I'll use wood or masonite in the future. The t-shirt brand took the paint really well - this is "urban" brand from Kohls.  It was inexpensive and pre-shrunk.  I had a lot of fun designing this one - the font is from DaFonts and I found an image and created basically a vector art outline of the main identifiable components, traced that, then fiddled with it (all in SIL). 

Fixing a Hole in the Ocean

DIY: Etched Glass

Several of my homemade gifts for the holiday were a glass product etched with Armour Etch.  I used normal white contact paper as the vinyl stencil.  All designs were made on the SIL and the images were reversed in the case where it was etched on the back of the product (plate and bowl). I also put rectangles around the designs to help me mark out the areas that would have the vinyl removed.

I cleaned the glass surface and rubbed with alcohol to assure all impurities were removed.  I used transfer tape to place the design on the glass and assured that the vinyl had no bubbles.

I masked the other areas with leftover vinyl and painter's tape.

The method that I've perfected gets a very good, deep etch.  I learned that applying with a multipurpose paint brush works great and gives maximum flexibility.  I brush on the white Armour Etch cream and go over the design in different directions for a few minutes.  I then leave the cream on the design for another few minutes.  The white Armour Etch cream is about the consistency of pudding - it will run, but more or less stays in one place.  Using the brush I return as much of the cream back into the bottle then run a gentle stream of water over the design - always using the brush to carefully and gently wash away the excess cream. The masked down stencil probably won't move, but I don't want to risk accidentally pulling up or wiping up a corner. 

After the design dries, I repeat the process a second time for a very deep etch.  After rinsing the second time, I remove all the tape and vinyl and voila!  It's done.

I found that photographing these are HARD!!

I thought the unicorn silhouette here was funny and oddly majestic (which makes it more funny).  This is on a pilsner pub beer glass.   

Ok, so I explained the process above and admit this was one of my first projects.  It didn't turn out as smooth.  There are a lot of swirls in the open portions.  Had I been more diligent it would have turned out better.   The design is applied to the back of the plate so the eating/serving surface is not disturbed.

This is an old flower vase - a great upcyle project.  "Sure do" is a family saying of ours and we put it on everything!  This ended up being a 'white elephant' gift swap item.  I was relieved to get rid of another vase (why do I have so many vases?!?!?!).

 I made salsa dishes as a gift.  These turned out GREAT.  There is a matching set of "hot" and "less hot" -- because these people do not make mild salsa!!

This is a close up of one of the peppers on the jar. All designs are applied to the 'bottom' or 'outside' of the bowls.  Therefore the food wouldn't be touching the etched portion.  (I don't know if it is safe to have the food touch the etched space - the etch material is long gone - but I just wonder whether it is more difficult to clean - so I've always etched the part that doesn't touch the food). 

 Two more beer glasses.  Totoro and Yoda.

Toe in the Water - Paper Pumpkin

I was encouraged to try Paper Pumpkin when there was a discount offered in the fall of 2014.  It is a subscription program offered by Stampin' Up where you get this adorable box sent once a month and there is a craft to do.  Normally it is themed for the next month's holiday.  It comes with an acrylic set of stamps and an ink spot, and everything you need (even adhesives!) to do the project in the box. It's totally fun. 

Here was the first box - the 2014 September Paper Pumpkin.  The welcome card and packaging were just too cute.  Also, in everyone's "first" paper pumpkin, there is a small acrylic block so you can use the stamps in the set and in later kits. 

Here are the contents of the September Paper Pumpkin (2014).  I didn't unwrap the packaged craft before taking the photo.  This one contained burlap treat bags (pre-stamped with the black lines and dots) and a number of cards and offsets on which to make Halloween themed tags.  It also came with tiny black stickers. The genius of this set is that the acrylic stamps included the shapes of the stickers.  Not to stamp on the stickers, but to use the same theme embellishments after the stickers are gone. I love that added touch - so the sets inspire you for this project, and you can use them forever!  The Ink Dot here is an orange color (Tangelo Tango).  

The October Paper Pumpkin was Thanksgiving theme.  The stamps are great for thanksgiving - but also the "Thankful for You" is obviously applicable year-round!  The Ink Dot is an olive green color.  

The November Paper Pumpkin was a fabulous holiday card and gift tag set, themed with snowflakes.  I had SO much fun with the set that I forgot to even take a photo of the box!! I tore into it immediately.  The Ink Dot was Lost Lagoon - a sort of green-blue color. One thing I learned from the holiday themed set is that a green-blue color stamps beautifully on light blue paper.  Which really encouraged me to start stamping on paper that is not white or cream.  I've been experimenting lately! 

So This is (Homemade) Christmas

 I endeavored to make hand-made gifts for everyone during the 2014 holiday season.

DIY Canvas Art:  This was an early one I finished, testing some canvas painting techniques.  Sorry the photo quality isn't great.

This is done with a method I've heard referred to as "pvpp" or paint, vinyl, paint, peel.  I'll explain how I did it -- because there are some intentional tricks I use to get this to work better and prevent bleeding. 

The concept is simple, but a little boggling until you do it a few times. I still have to really visualize how to get these things completed before I start even designing the canvas.

What is important to keep in mind is the basic difference between a stencil and a mask.  The terms are sometimes used interchangeably - but they are different.  A stencil is a material that has space removed to reveal the design, and the stencil is placed onto another material with the goal of putting paint (spray, sponge, etc.) in the negative area of the stencil.  When the stencil is removed, the paint will only be in the negative space, thus creating a painted design.  A mask is, in some ways, a reverse to a stencil.  A mask is a material that makes up a design and is placed over existing painted material to protect it, then new paint goes over the project including the mask.  The mask, when removed, reveals the protected area of original paint making up the design.

This canvas was created using a mask.  The canvas is 12x12 stretched on a frame.  I designed the birds and words "sure do" in the SIL and cut it out of inexpensive adhesive vinyl material - some awful wood colored ConTact paper.  I weeded out the space that wasn't birds, lines and letters (so a lot of waste, which is why I use cheap ConTact paper).  I then covered the image with transfer material.  Here, I wanted blue birds and letters, so I painted the canvas in the blue color (a few coats).  After it dried fully, I worked on lining up and transferring the vinyl design.  This took a lot of effort and patience for two reasons - first, it needed to be straight and centered.  To help with this, I added dots to the design before cutting by using the SIL software. The dots were placed in the true center of all 4 sides and one in the direct middle of the project.  Mercifully none of the dots interfered with the design.  Using those guides, I measured out the center of the canvas and the center of all 4 12" sides and tried like heck to line everything up.  I kept measurements on blue painters tape affixed to the canvas so I didn't have to worry about covering up marks later.  Once I had it lined up, I used painters tape to tape one strip across the entire vinyl project (underside, vinyl & transfer tape) so I didn't risk it shifting while removing the underside.  I then used a hinge method - pulling up one side of the taped area - to cut away the underside (which would reveal the sticky vinyl and transfer tape).  Then I smoothed that area out and removed the painters tape and took off the underside of the other portion.

At this point there is a fundamental problem that vinyl doesn't like surfaces that aren't smooth.  Canvas fits that category.  Plus, a stretched canvas has an open back.  In order to remove the transfer tape, I had to burnish the heck out of the project.  This took some time and patience.  I burnished everything from the back, vigorously, using the SIL scraper.  I also heated it from the back with a heat gun - having read somewhere that it helps.  I burnished from the front as well, placing a hardback book under the canvas.  Slowly I was able to remove the transfer tape, leaving the bird design on the canvas, 100% bubble free.  I frequently used an x-acto knife to take off pieces of transfer tape that I had already successfully peeled up, so as to avoid those pieces becoming a sticky nuisance.

** A few notes here - the heating does work to some degree.  Also, I've tried putting down a very thin coat of modge podge and that helps smooth out the surface as well, but it is essential to get the modge podge done in a way and finish that is desired, because the mask is covering the "final" painted portion. Truthfully, most people don't use canvas because the vinyl is just finicky on that surface. 

All downhill after that step!!  The next step is that I paint over the entire canvas evenly with modge podge (matte, usually).  For some reason, this helps seal the mask so paint won't creep under it during the final steps.  ** NOTE: This has to dry COMPLETELY before moving ahead. 

I then painted several coats of the off-white color.  I realize in hindsight that a mask method works much better if the light color is the design, covered by a darker color.  The reverse means 4 coats of off-white.  I'm kind of a dummy.  My DH spotted the problem instantly as I was happily mixing and painting the blue color. 

After the whole shebang was nice and dry, I used a craft tweezers to pull up the deisgn.  In an earlier project I used my vinyl hook - but actually poked through the canvas in a few places (d'oh!).  My craft tweezers is sharp enough on the ends to get under the vinyl (that is now covered in several layers of modge and paint).  Normally no further action is required other than just peeling up the vinyl.  However, it helps to have an x-acto on hand in case the paint looks like it wants to come up too.  **This rarely happens - although it definitely did when I thought it would be cute to modge podge over the final coat of paint (rather than wait for the vinyl to come up then modge podge).** I didn't have to touch up anything because no white paint got under the vinyl. 

So there it is - a great, custom piece of artwork for my grandma.  She LOVED it so very much. 

Baby You Can Drive My Dumptruck

DIY Screenprint. 

The possible uses of vinyl are seemingly endless! Here, I used a Speedball starter kit (small screen frame, squeegee, and black paint) to create a TShirt for a toddler. The TShirt brand is Children's Place - pre-washed in a size 2T.

I designed the vinyl stencil in Silhouette Studio. The image and font (Rockbiter) is from the Silhouette store. I reversed the image and cut the file, then weeded and used transfer paper to put the vinyl on the back of the framed screen. This was one of the most difficult parts. Vinyl doesn't stick well to stretched screen, and I had to put a large hardback book under the screen to burnish it without breaking the screen from the frame. After getting the design on the frame, I masked off the blank areas around it with leftover vinyl and painters tape.

To prep the shirt, I took a sturdy piece of cardboard and sprayed it with Krylon repositionable adhesive-tack. The cardboard went into the shirt and I stretched and smoothed it flat over the sticky side of the cardboard. Then I used lots of painters tape and a marker to create a grid and guide lines (on both the shirt and the frame) for where I wanted the screen so the image would be straight. 

I tested the screen on cardboard to get a feel for how much pressure to put on the squeegee. Then I carefully carefully positioned the screen on the shirt. This is the point where if you have a helper, it is much easier  - i.e., have your helper hold down the screen so it won't move as you work. Then I took a small spoon to scoop the ink over the image to 'flood' it (this means put dollops of ink on each area of the design and smear it about with the underside of the spoon). It works best to start from the top of the image when you flood because you will then squeegee by pulling toward the bottom. Then I put the squeegee at the top of the screened image and, holding the squeegee at an angle toward me, put even pressure and pulled the squeegee toward the bottom edge of the frame. 

I left the squeegee in place and gently pulled up the frame. Cleaning the screen was then the most important task because the ink dries fast. I recovered much of the ink by scraping it back into the jar. Then rinsed the screen in warm water, using pink soap to scrub away ink and removed the vinyl. 

I let the shirt dry overnight. I didn't take it off the cardboard until the next morning. The paint must be heat set in order to stay permanent, so I ironed it the next day on a cotton setting for a few minutes.  

Toddler loves the shirt!