Wrapped

I love to explore creative ways of wrapping gifts, here are a few excerpts:

Eye Craft

I've been working on some ideas for short films. I tend to enjoy the bizarre and am exploring unique make-up and body props. My sister agreed to be the guinea pig for this project.

 I have a bunch of glass gems, since I use them a lot in my jewelery. I used acrylic paint and nail polish on the bottom to make them look like eyes.

Next I used a combination of make-up, lace, silly putty, toilet paper, paint and glue to simulate the effect of it growing out of her wrist. I was fairly pleased with the result.

Pretty Wearables

I'm pretty obsessed with turning paper in to jewelery.

I am a paper hoarder/hound, scouting out and collecting all sort of ephemera from shops, wrappers, book stores, antique-eries, and the ilk.  I've found a great way to use solder and flat bottom glass gems to make some pretty kick-azz necklaces.

 

Supplies :P

I start with selecting an image I like, then covering the bottom of a glass gem with Diamond Glaze and sticking it to the paper. 

 

The image on the left is from an old anatomy book "for nurses" I found at the thrift store, the image from the right is a book of vintage children's books I purchased at an antique store. As you can see, the glass gems come in multiple sizes. This is what they should look like when they're all dry. 

For these pieces I used phrases cut from a dictionary and from an antique book I collected for free at a Library sale...note, Libraries can be great places to find papery treasures for cheap; check and see if they have anything they're getting rid of. The background is wallpaper from an old building downtown from where I live. A shopkeeper was renovating the space and they found this up in the attic. She graciously shared her find with me :)

After the glaze is all dry, cut out around the edges. the tighter you cut the better. Next tape around the edges with copper mosaic tape. This is the second hardest step as the edge are round and the tape is not, but do the best you can. Afterwards smooth the whole edge down with a bone folder. Then

The trickiest part comes next, soldering the edges. There's no real trick to it you've just got to practice. I purchased a soldering kit from the Craft Ware house, it's pretty convenient because it has all the things you need to solder correctly in it and it's specifically made for jewelery crafting.

When you've finished soldering and the glass is cooled down, filled the back in with Diamond Glaze. This smooths out the crack between the solder and the paper and seals it against moisture.

Finally rinse well (you've got to used flux to solder which is toxic), let dry and glue a bail on the back. I used to try to solder jump rings on the top of the piece, but they just never looked very good;  a bail will give you an elegant finish.

Voila!

For this piece I experimented with the backing, using a piece of a necklace I bought in the sale section of Walmart. 

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52 Things

My Coworker told me about the 52 Things I Love About You valentines' project. It's where you take a deck of cards and turn them into a sweet little book letting your loved one know how much they mean to you.

I made my boyfriend this one, and had way too much fun :). 

Love Craft

Hello.

I love to make crafts and my world is way too small and lonely , so blog it be.


Today features features some Valentines I created this February.

This is a little box I made for my family and coworkers made from the cardboard covers that temporary tattoos come in when you buy them from vending machines.  I score them equally (I think it was 1.25 inches) with an exacto knife and a ruler three times width wise and then cut them down the center length wise. Then I tape the sides together from the inside and they made cute little boxes.

Next I spray painted them blue and stuck heart cut outs on the side using a sticker maker (those things are golden!). Then I cut a couple of holes through the lid and the front and strung some hemp string through.

Finally I stuck some bright golden tissue paper inside and added a chocolate.

They were a hit :).