Bzzy Little Bee - Crafting Adventures in Southern California by Carmen Flores Tanis

Birthday Wishes: Pink Candy Foil Elephant

Pink Elephant on Parade

I've had pink elephants on the brain for a while now. See, a few months ago I picked up a plastic toy elephant at the store with the idea of covering it with candy foil - a kooky idea but something that I wanted to try out. I was inspired by circus elephants and their colorful attire and by that scene in "Dumbo" where he hallucinates all kinds of crazy colored elephants. And being as how the theme for this month's Designer Craft Connection blog hop is "Wishes", I decided that it was the perfect time to "put it together and teach it to walk". 

Here's how:

Birthday Wishes: Pink Candy Foil Elephant

Materials:

• Plastic Elephant
• Candy Foil Wrappers 
• Aleene's Collage Pauge Instant Decoupage - Glossy
• Cardboard

Tools

• Paintbrush and Plastic Dish
• Scissors
• Paint Pen - Black
• Colored Markers
• Twine
• Hole Punch

1. Squirt a large dollop of Collage Pauge on the plastic dish. Use the paintbrush to apply a generous amount of Collage Pauge to a small section of the elephant. While the liquid is still wet, press a piece of candy foil onto the elephant and paint with a little more Collage Pauge. Continue until the entire elephant is covered with candy foil. (Tip - use the scissors to cut out any special little designs that you like from the foil.) Give one last coat of Collage Pauge over the entire elephant. Set aside to dry.

2. Cut a banner shape from the cardboard and use the hole punch to punch a hole on each end. Use the markers to write your birthday wishes on the cardboard. 

3. Dot the elephant's eye with the black paint pen and finish up by tying the cardboard banner on with a piece of twine.

That's it! You can personalize this project by using different animals (or dinosaurs!), colors and written signs. How cute would a polka dotted dinosaur or a purple striped alligator be?! Remember to start saving those candy foil wrappers!

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You can see lots more May Craft ideas by following along on the Designer Crafts Connection Blog Hop. Just click on the "hop forward" or "hop back" buttons on the badge to visit the next site. You'll be inspired when you see all that the Designers have created!

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Just A Quick Announcement - Mad Craft Skills is Open!

 

 

Hooray! I just wanted to share with you a new project that I've been working on this past year - Mad Craft Skills!

See I wanted a place to share cool new techniques that are a little more advanced and to offer kits that contain everything you need to do those techniques - thus saving you time and money otherwise spent running around looking for the necessary tools and materials. And every minute saved is a minute that can be spent making things! Yey! So here's the first of what I hope will be a large series of kits - the "Mad Craft Skills Etching Skills Kit" for etching dichroic glass using Printable Resist. It is a very very cool technique and you can learn more about it on the official website here. (Plus there are classes!)

Here's an etched dichroic glass panel I made recently using several different etching techniques including the Printable Resist and Dover clipart! (You can etch any image - really!!!)

I'd love for you to visit the site and to sign up for the Mad Craft Skills newsletter which will be full of tips, tricks and how-to's! (You'll find the signup box at the top of the website.)

Plus I just set up a Mad Craft Skills Facebook page and I'd be ever so happy if you'd like it! This badge will take you there:

Now go make something awesome, you Mad Crafter you!!

Handmade Home Decor: Mid-Century Inspired Retro Satellite Ball Clock

Mid-Century Time Traveller

I love love love mid-century design! And one of my favorite mid-century pieces is the iconic Nelson ball clock - so simple in its design and still such a strong graphic statement when hung on a wall. So I'm delighted to share with you a project I designed for Smoothfoam last month inspired by both the Nelson clock and another element of mid-century design - space travel and Sputnik! 

Here's how:

Mid-Century Inspired Retro Satellite Ball Clock

Materials:

• 6" Smoothfoam disc 
• 2" Smoothfoam balls (12 pack) 
• 6 1/2" wood disc 
• Twelve 3/16" wood dowels 
• Clock movement 
• Apple Barrel acrylic paints: Azure, White 

Tools:

• Sharpie permanent marker: silver
• Aleene's Turbo Tacky Glue
• Paintbrush and plastic dish
• bamboo skewers
• sand paper or sanding stick
• Wire cutter pliers
• craft knife with serrated blade
• pencil sharpener, pencil, ruler
• Drill, 1/4" drill bit, piece scrap wood

1. Place the piece of scrap wood under the wood disc to protect the table while drilling. Drill a hole in the center of the wood disc.

2. Use the pencil to mark the center of the Smoothfoam disc. Then center the clock movement on the Smoothfoam disc and trace around the shape, adding a 1/2" to the outside.

3. Use the craft knife with a serrated blade to cut out the center of the Smoothfoam disc. (You can set aside the cut out pieces for future projects.)

4. Center the Smoothfoam disc on the back of the wood disc and glue it in place. Set a heavy book on top and let dry.

5. For an easy handle, use a bamboo skewer on a Smoothfoam ball. Sand off the center seam from the ball with the sanding stick.

6. Apply 2-3 coats of Azure paint to the ball. Set aside to dry. Repeat for all the remaining balls.

7. Mix a squirt of White paint with a little Azure to make a light blue. Paint onto the front and sides of the wood and Smoothfoam discs. Let dry.

8. Cut the wood dowels to 6". (I like to use the wire cutter pliers they easily crush through the dowels). Use the pencil sharpener to sharpen the cut end. (This will help later when inserting the dowels into the Smoothfoam).

9. Color each dowel with silver Sharpie.

10. Replace the bamboo skewer in a ball with a silver dowel. Then gently push the pointed end of the dowel into the outer edge of the Smoothfoam disc. Repeat with all the remaining balls and dowels, spacing them evenly around the perimeter of the Smoothfoam disc.

Once you have all the balls and dowels in place, you can fine tune the design by removing and shortening the dowels until you are happy with the look. Add a drop of glue to each dowel where it meets the Smoothfoam disc to affix into place.

11. Insert the clock movement into cut out space in back of glued discs. Follow the manufacturer's directions to affix the movement to wood disc. Add the clock hands to the front. Hang on the wall and enjoy you time traveller you!

Buttons Galore And More Challenge and Giveaway: Button-Topped Wedding Favor Boxes Tutorial

A Garden of Flower Boxes

I don't know why but buttons always make me smile! So you can imagine how happy I was to be able to participate in this fun CHA Designer Craft Connection blog hop challenge sponsored by Buttons Galore. Each participating designer was given an assortment of buttons and asked to create something featuring a wedding or spring theme. I decided to make these little favor boxes each topped with die cut cardboard shapes and fun buttons. It's a super easy project. You'll see that the colored buttons really pop when set against the neutral colors of the various pieces of cardboard. You can't help but smile!

*** Be sure to read through to the end because there's a giveaway from Buttons Galore! 

Here's how:

Make A Chalkboard Inspired Flower Pot Bouquet

A Bouquet of Chalk-Like Flowers That Won't Wash Away

"Number twenty-four."

"Pick up number twenty-four!"

I've been thinking alot about chalkboards lately. They seem to be everywhere and in every form imaginable! Near my house, there is a taco place that uses colored chalks on their black board menus. The colored text and doodles seem to almost vibrate and leap forward by being set against the crisp matte black of the chalkboards. I am always entranced by those chalkboards and it takes the cashier two or three yells of my order number before I finally wake up and pick up at the counter.

"ORDER NUMBER TWENTY-FOUR - PICK UP!!!"

So to celebrate both National Craft Month and this month's CHA Designer Craft Connection Blog Hop theme of "Favorite Craft Techniques", I came up with this super easy flower pot bouquet inspired by chalkboards and featuring my all-time favorite crafting technique - die cutting! Plus because it uses black foam core and oil pencils instead of actual chalk, the designs are smudge-proof and will stay vibrant year-round. 

*** Be sure to read through to the end because there's a giveaway from FabScraps!

Here's how: