Upcycling DIY home decor, woodworking and Crafts
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Before you haul that pile of old clothes off to Goodwill, you may want to check out this collection of 50+ awesome upcycled clothing tutorials! Up the style of your wardrobe with some simple and inexpensive creative ideas to refashion those old clothes. Did we miss your favorite? Let us know. We love a good clothing upcycle!
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I haven’t had my hands on clay for way too long. The new Silkscreen Kit from Premo Clay was the perfect way to jump back into the medium. If you haven’t experimented with polymer clay, stop reading this and go find some. You will be amazed at the gorgeous pieces you can make right off the bat, from jewelry to home decor and more. It is a medium that is very forgiving, versatile, and doesn’t require a bunch of expensive tools and equipment to get started. Today I will show you how I made a lovely necklace, bracelet and pair of earrings that I kinda love a bunch. You can make your own art jewelry with just a few simple supplies. Let’s get started!
Premo Clay and Silkscreen Kit
Jump rings
2 Pairs of flat nose jewelry pliers
Toggle clasp
Earring findings
Necklace chain
Gold paint marker
Cookie cutters in circles and ovals
Bead reamer or toothpicks
Oven
Ceramic tile or flat baking pan dedicated to clay
Rolling pin or smooth bottle or glass
Protective gloves (these are optional but great for keeping clay fingerprint free)
I began by mixing blue clay with pearly white to get my desired color. Just twist the colors together as shown. Continue twisting and kneading clay in your hands to mix the colors and warm/condition the clay. Conditioning is essential when beginning any clay project. It ensures the components of the clay are evenly distributed and the clay is soft and shapable. This clay was super easy to condition. I have worked with clay that is hard and brittle and takes forever to warm up, but this Premo was great! Continue until the clay is the color and shade you want.
I used my Sculpey Clay Conditioning Machine to get a flat even sheet. This costs about $20 and is well worth the investment if you are going to create with clay more than a couple of times. You can also use a smooth glass, rolling pin or bottle to smooth the clay out on a bake-able surface. I like to use tiles I pick up at Habitat Restore for a dime. I have tons of them on hand for just this purpose. Once the clay is rolled out, you don’t want to have to move it, as it will become distorted and uneven until it is baked and therefore hardened. Having it on a surface you can just stick in the oven is super handy.
The kit comes with silver metallic paint, gold metallic paint, 4 reusable screens (totaling 2 large single patterns and 12 mini patterns) and a squeegee. Aren’t the designs so fun?!
I choose my design, placed a thin line of gold paint, and used the squeegee to pull the color across the screen, lightly so as not to indent the clay.
Here is what it looked like after the first try! So easy and pretty.
TIP: Make sure to immediately was the screen and squeegee so the paint doesn’t dry on them. You want to reuse them for as long as possible!
TIP: Spray armor-all onto the cookie cutter inner and outer edge so that the clay won’t stick to it and come up off the surface when you lift the cutter away after cutting.
Choose an area and a cookie cutter and press it into the clay to cut shapes. I used circles large and medium for the pendant an earrings. For the bracelet I used a small oval cutter.
Pull the “scrap clay” away from the cut shapes and set aside. You can recondition it and reuse it, even if it has paint on it. Just mix it in by conditioning it with your hands or pasta machine.
To create holes for jump rings in your pieces, you can use a toothpick while the clay is still raw, or use a bead reamer or drill after baking the clay. Manipulating the clay while raw always carries the risk of distorting it, so I usually wait until it is baked before creating holes. For this project I went ahead and made the holes while the clay was raw since I was going for an organic, imperfect feel.
I baked my pieces at 260 for 45 minutes and let them cool. I painted the edges and back with a gold paint marker and sealed the pieces with Matte Mod Podge after the paint dried.
I used 2o gauge gold wire to create jump rings, earring findings and a toggle clasp for my finished pieces. You can save money and get a unique look to your pieces by making your own findings, or purchase pre made findings.
This new kit from Premo has ignited my clay jewelry flame once again! I have made several more pieces that you will be seeing in the future. I hope you are inspired to try some clay projects. It is so easy, inexpensive and you will be amazed at the gorgeous projects you can make from the get go.
Disclosure: I received product and compensation from Polyform and Blueprint Social in exchange for my campaign. All opinions are honest and mine, as always!
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What is better than a bouquet of fresh hydrangeas? A bouquet of paper hydrangeas that don’t ever wilt! Today I am sharing with you this easy, however time consuming, paper hydrangea tutorial. I am going to be upfront here… this project to me way longer than I expected. That said, it is a perfect way to keep creative while chilling in front of your favorite t.v. series. I used a Sizzix die for my project, but Lia Griffith has a great Paper Hydrangea Printable Template and DIY that I featured at Printable Decor recently.
I used wonderful filter paper that I got from Materials for the Arts in Bloomington. If you are a crafter/artist and don’t have a relationship with your local recycling center, you could be missing out big time!
I die cut the petals with my Sizzix Lilac Die and colored them with distress markers. For a watercolor effect I painted over the marker with a wet paintbrush. You could use watercolor or acrylics too.
I followed Lia’s tutorial linked above to assemble my flowers. Holy ninjas, that took forever. It was totally worth it though.
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Do you love old maps? Well if so, today’s round-up is going to make you dance and celebrate. If not that, you will at least find some inspiration in super cool things to make with old maps. Here is a collection of over 50 of the best projects “on the map”! Enjoy, and as always, if you have a tutorial you would like included in the collection, send me the link for consideration.
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Hello! Colleen here, with a way to decorate a totebag that will make it worthy of gift-giving. You do realize that Mother’s Day is right around the corner, right? I know! With Easter being so late in April, we have to really move fast if we want to give any handmade gifts to the moms in our lives. No worries because this happens to be a fast project. And cute too.
While this tutorial is for a totebag you could also use the markers on almost any fabric. Tee shirts are cute too. However, I made this for my own mother who can always use another totebag.
I’ve provided the Hydrangea in a Teacup pattern for you to download. If you’d like, I have other patterns that are free to download too. Most of them would work fine for this project.
After you print your pattern, place it on top of the cardboard and slide it into the totebag. This prevents the markers from seeping to the backside as well as holds the pattern a little more stable.
You could also iron the pattern onto the shiny side of a piece of freezer paper, then iron that to the tote or tee shirt to prevent slipping. However, make sure you do a test for iron safeness on any shopping bags. The one I used above needed a press cloth between it and the iron.
Now all you need to do is outline the pattern with your choice of colors.
You can mix more than one color too.
This was the finished design after outlining with purple, pink, and a few green dots in the center for the hydrangea buds.
Dampen your paintbrush with a little water and go over the marker lines. The more water you use, the more of the markers will blend. The less water, the more defined the lines will be.
You can do a little of both – leave some outlining and blend other parts. There is no right or wrong way to do this.
You can fill in the pattern completely or leave spaces for the totebag to show thru.
It’s a great kids’ project too. If they’re too young to outline, they would still love to grab a paintbrush and “paint” a present for Mom or Gramma, wouldn’t they?
Isn’t this a great craft for Mother’s Day? Or any other day, actually.
If you use the markers on a shirt, they’re washable after drying 24 hours. To be on the safe side, I think I’d heatset them anyway with an iron, although the instructions don’t mention that.
Have fun with this! I hope you’ll stop by Just Paint It and say hi one of these days. I’m always painting . . . or drawing with markers! You can also find me on Facebook, Google+, Pinterest and Instagram too.
Happy Crafting!
Have you ever wondered what you could do with balsa wood? I mean besides kid school projects? I inherited a stack of the stuff and it has been stowed away for years, waiting for me to be struck with inspiration. I saw these cool, modern DIY jewelry pieces from Infinity Blend and now I can’t wait to get started! You don’t have to have special power tools with this wood, just a craft knife and tiny screw driver you would use on your eyeglasses.
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Click on the image above for the full tutorial, or go HERE:
Be sure and thank Maria for sharing with SBLC!
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This tiny little treasure is easy to make and takes just minutes. I found a new to me product from Tim Holtz called Corked Domes and knew immediately that I would be making a terrarium pendant with them. There is glass drilling required, but do not fear. You can do it, no problem. I will help you and you will be a pro in no time. I am warning you now that I used fake plants to make my terrarium. You can use live plants. It is way hipper if they are alive, but I have a tendency not to water things, so I went plastic. If you are honest and you don’t have a PhD in succulentology, you’ve gotta give me that they look like the real deal.
Rotary tool (I use Bead Landing Rotary Tool
Diamond Drill Bits
Tim Holtz Corked Domes
Small container of water and lint free towel
Hot glue/glue gun or Flora Bond if using live plants
Moss, small stones, mushrooms and whatever you want in your dome
Succulents (live or fake) – I got my fake succulents at Michael’s
20 Gauge copper wire or eye pin
Round Nose jewelry pliers
Flat nose jewelry pliers
Needle nose pliers
Flush wire cutters
Chain or cord for hanging your pendant
First you need to drill a hole in the top of your dome for a place to insert wire for hanging the pendant. Follow the detailed instructions I showed you in this tutorial: Mason Jar Chimes Tutorial and Drilling in Glass.
NOTE: These glass domes are very thin. I tried drilling the hole using my dremel and shattered the first dome I attempted. I like the rotary tool used in the tutorial linked above because it is way fewer RPMs than my dremel and it has adjustable speed. Many people swear by their Dremels for drilling glass. I find my rotary tool way easier and I have success 99% of the time with it.
Either use an eye pin (pictured) or cut a lenght of wire about 4 inches and create a loop in one end with your round nose pliers.
Insert wire through Dome hole so that loop is on inside, then use flat nose pliers to bend wire to 90° about 1/8-1/4 inch above where it exits the top of the dome.
Use round nose pliers to grab the a few mm past the bend. With your free hand, grab the wire end and wrap wire around the pliers to form a loop. (That gunk on the round nose pliers is Tool Magic – it coats your jewelry making tools so they don’t leave scratches and dents in soft wire).
Wrap the remaining wire starting at the base of the loop down to the top of the dome. Trim off excess wire with flush cutters and tuck in the end with needle nose pliers. Now you have your wire bail for hanging your pendant!
Lay out your goodies and start gluing things into place on the cork. Flora Bond works with live plants and won’t kill them! I used hot glue since mine are artificial.
Once you have everything in place, add the dome and string your chain. You are now super cool…
These would be cute as keychains too. If you go crazy and your junk won’t fit in the dome, just tear some off and patch up any glue spots showing with moss. Play around until you are satisfied with how it looks.
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I am cutting the heck out of wine and beer bottles these days as I create recycled bottle art. There are several ways to approach this task. You can score the bottle with one of the many bottle cutting jigs available, or you can go the tile saw route. Today I am going to show you the best wine bottle cutter I have found, and how I separate the glass cleanly after making the score line. You will learn the best way to cut a wine bottle, as well as how I make the rings, then fuse them in my kiln to get the smooth “donut” like the one I made for the pictured necklace.
Creator’s Bottle Cutter
This is the cutter I use. I love it. I have tried several, and this one gives me the best score line with the least hassle.
PROS: It is easy to get an even score line all the way around the bottle since the bottle is supported well and you have both hands free to rotate it. It is great for cutting several rings of the same height from a bottle because you can easily adjust the blade location an even amount using the ruler on the blade guide.
CONS: I wish I could cut the bottle neck with this cutter, but sadly, I can’t. The blade doesn’t reach high enough for that.
This video from Delphi Glass shows you how easy it is to cut with the Creator’s Bottle Cutter. After making the score line, the video shows heat applied to the score line with a candle. I started out that way, but then found a quicker way that produces very clean breaks.
First make all of the score lines for getting several rings from one bottle. I like to make my rings 0.5-0.75 inches tall, so I just move the blade that distance for each line.
Once the score lines are made, I put the bottle back on the roller and heat the bottom score line. I hold the torch in my right hand and spin the bottle on the rollers with my left hand on the neck of the bottle. It is important to keep the bottle moving because applying the torch in one spot for very long will cause the glass to splinter and shatter.
Sometimes a few rotations with the torch on the score line will be enough to separate the glass. After 30 seconds of heat if the glass is still intact, I submerge in a bucket of cold water and that does it. Now the bottom is off of the bottle and I move on to the next score line. When it breaks, I have my first ring.
To get the smooth, flat ring shown in the beer bottle necklace, I put my rings in my kiln (I have a Paragon Fusion 14) and run to full fuse. You could do these one at a time in your a microwave kiln. That is how I started!
I showed you my first microwave kiln project here:
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I have been playing with sea glass that I bought in Florida a couple of years back, and I finally had some success with drilling holes for jewelry. I had to break several pieces with my Dremel before getting the hang of it. You don’t have to have a drill press to do this. I actually find it easier to hold the drill in my hand so I can feel the pressure I am exerting.
This video from Marc Horne describes the technique I used for my pieces pictured.
To wire wrap your pieces like I did, visit this DIY Dichroic Fused Glass Pendant I shared with you previously.
Do you make sea glass jewelry? What is your preferred drilling method?
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Hi there! I’m excited to share this project with you today for a few reasons – a) it’s ‘wearable art’ and what’s more fun than wearing something you created, and b) it’s a great project for Spring.
I don’t think there’s one of us who isn’t ready for Spring, right?
Seriously. What a winter!
These shoes are a paint-in-an-afternoon project too. Which I happen to love. Instant gratification and all that.
optional: Krylon Matte Spray sealer
Start by penciling the shapes onto the shoes. Just randomly, maybe overlapping a few here and there.
There is no right or wrong to this.
If you’re uneasy about freehanding your shapes, you can cut some templates out of a manila file folder.
Then just trace around them.
I chose these ‘guitar pick’ shapes as the outline for some retro dandelions I saw online. But you could certainly paint any shapes you wanted.
Fill in the shapes, starting with one color. Then move on to the second color. This helps spread the colors around evenly, painting one color at a time.
I didn’t prep the shoes in any way, just painted right on top of them and it worked great. You could, however, basecoat the entire shoe first, if you wanted another color besides white.
After painting the blue and green, take the end of your paint brush, dip it into some paint and ‘dot’ randomly around the shoe.
This not only adds some extra interest, it also keeps you busy while the dandelions are drying.
Just for fun, add a third color of dots, like Pink Melon. A sunny yellow or bright orange would be cute too, or any other color that feels like Spring.
Once the paint has dried, it’s time to add some little lines and dots with your fine tip marker.
Just little lines with a little dot on the end to look like funky dandelions.
If there’s room, draw some stems for the dandelions too.
You can also draw a little swirl in the dots.
I just added a few swirls here and there.
The marker will dry very quickly and then you’ll have a fresh new pair of kicks for Spring!
Which, hopefully, will be here very, very soon!
One last thing – you can seal the shoes with Krylon Matte sealer, if you choose. I didn’t because acrylic paint is really pretty durable however the sealer would also make them much easier to clean.
Thanks so much for hanging out with me today. I’ll see you again next month with another fun paint project. In the meantime, please drop by Just Paint It and say hi. You can also find me on Facebook, Google+, Pinterest and Instagram too.
