Monday, May 14, 2012

TEACHER APPRECIATION WEEK


Teacher Appreciation Week is this week in our schools and this past weekend my Niece and I made these cute, quick and easy Apple Pots for her teachers.

  • Paint a terra cotta pot and saucer with Country Red Americana Paint from DecoArt and let dry. 
  • Paint a wooden spool with Chocolate Brown, let dry. 
  • Paint a large "squiggle" in Pistachio Mint, let dry - then paint stripes in Victorian Blue to create your "Worm". 
  • Outline your Worm and draw in his/her face with a Black Sharpie Marker.
  • Lightly letter your saying - Grade A Teacher - in pencil then fill in with the Black Sharpie Marker.
  • Spray entire "Apple" - inside and out with Matte Spray Sealer from DecoArt, let dry.
  • Glue a silk leaf and the painted spool to the top of your terra cotta saucer "lid" with Aleene's Original Tacky Glue from I Love To Create, let dry.
Fill with a sweet snack or maybe a gift card and say THANK YOU to your favorite Teacher this week!

Thanks for stopping by! - Beth

Monday, May 7, 2012

DESIGNER CRAFTS CONNECTION - FIRST MONDAY IN MAY


This month's DCC post is all about quick and easy jewelry projects which fits in great because Mother's Day is this coming Sunday May 13th!

I always like to make handmade gifts with my Nieces and Nephew, so they have something special to give to their family members on special occasions.

I love the Start-Ups line of embellish-able (is that a word?) charms from Buttons Galore and More, they make the perfect blank canvas.  We started with the Large Tags because I thought they were the perfect size for a necklace pendant.  We haven’t used Alcohol Inks in a while, so I pulled those out and we decided on Greens, Blues and Purples.  The Alcohol Inks dry instantly and the ink is heat set in just about a minute, so creating these charm necklaces is a quick and easy process with virtually no mess, which is important when crafting with kids!

The first background we created was a tie dye effect – the alcohol ink has a fluid movement on the Start Ups surface and the kids almost couldn’t stop layering the colors and watching them blend together! We added a chipboard butterfly from K & Company and Making Memories letter stickers to spell the word FLY because Grammy LOVES Butterflies!

For the next background, we dropped Alcohol Ink on the surface of the Start Ups, then blotted off with a paper towel to create a watercolor effect.  We stamped over the background with StazOn Jet Black Ink and set the ink with a Heat Tool.  We added a touch of Starlight Stickles on the dragonfly, the word sticker COURAGE, a flower with gem and a black gingham ribbon compete this necklace for their Mom, because she is starting a new job this week!

The third background was similar to the second, but we sanded the dry alcohol ink to distress the finish.  Then we stamped with musical notes and finished with a large monogram M that was painted black and topped with a thick coat of Glossy Accents for Grandmom because she loves music and her name is Matilda!

We inked around the edge of each of the Start Ups charms with black StazOn ink and then set it with a Heat Tool.  I ALWAYS have the kids print their initials and the date on the back of each of their projects, so they become a treasured keepsake.

Add a jump ring and some ball chain and our Mixed Media Charm Necklaces are ready to give as Mother's Day gifts!

Please use the DESIGNER CRAFTS CONNECTION navigation on the right sidebar to hop around to the other Designers on our web ring and view the creative projects that they have posted for May!

Thanks for stopping by! - Beth