Showing posts with label Craft. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Craft. Show all posts

Monday, October 10, 2011

Quilled Snowflake Ornament

Here is a spectacularly beautiful handmade Christmas ornament tutorial for you to make this year.  This is from Reese Dixon, and I want to thank her for the instructions.  I cannot wait to try this out.

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Today I have a big fat tutorial to share with you. It looks really really scary and detailed, but it’s not so bad. Trust me. I’ll hold your hand through the whole thing.
Snowflake Ornament on tree
I’ve made a ton of these over the years and they never fail to elicit oohs and aahs. This is a perfect application for quilling. Snowflakes are best when they’re all scroll-y and complicated, and that’s when quilling is at its best too. You just need to remember that it’s only rolled up paper, and break it down to each little piece.
Cut a bunch of 1/4″ strips from a piece of 12 x 12 cardstock. I like using an icy blue color, but a true white looks great too. You can make your strips thicker if you want and it will work just great. They’ll look a little more substantial against the tree or on a package and they’ll be a little more sturdy. I happen to like the lacey look of the thinner strips and find them to be sturdy enough.
From those thin strips, here’s what you need to cut
1 – 6″ strip for the center round
8 – 3″ strips for the arms
4 – 6″ strips for the scrolls
4 – 3″ strips for the teardrop
4 – 2″ strips for the marquis
Quilled Snowflake Ornament
You’ll need some kind of a quilling tool, which you can find at Michael’s in the stamping aisle, or you can just make your own by cutting the top off of a needle with a pair of tin snips or wire cutters.
Insert the paper strip into the notch of the quilling tool, bring the tool to the very end of the paper, and begin rolling.
Quilled Snowflake Ornament
Let’s start with the 6″ center round. Once you master making the round, you can make any other shape. And it’s even easier than it sounds. Roll it all the way up, and then let it go so that it relaxes into a more loosely wound circle.
Quilled Snowflake Ornament
Spread a little glue on the tail end, and glue it down. Typically when you quill, you’d tear the very tip off before you glue down the other end. That feathery torn edge blends into the rest of the shape, where a cut end will form a definite ridge. Here, you won’t notice any ridge so it’s not worth the extra step.
Quilled Snowflake Ornament
The Round shape also provides a basis for the teardrop shape and the marquis.
For the teardrop shape, you’ll take one side of a round made from one of the 3″ strips and pinch it to create a point. Since we haven’t bothered to blend our ends in, I try to line up that ridge with the point at the top of the teardrop to disguise it.
Quilled Snowflake Ornament
The marquis is made the exact same way. Make a Round out of a 2″ strip, glue the end in place, and pinch both ends to create two points.
Quilled Snowflake Ornament
Next let’s make the scrolls. Fold a 6″ strip in half and roll each end up to that halfway point. As is this is a heart shape. Typically a scroll isn’t folded, but it helps to have a measuring point and we’ll be gluing that point down anyway, so it won’t show.
Quilled Snowflake Ornament
Sorry about the blurry pictures. I really needed a macro lens for this project.
The last piece is for the arms, made out of a 3″ strip. On one end of the strip, roll in about twice.
Quilled Snowflake Ornament
On the other end, roll in until the piece measures roughly 1″. Measurements are really loose here. The only thing that matters is that they’re all about the same height. Whether that height is a fraction of an inch taller or shorter doesn’t matter at all.
Quilled Snowflake Ornament
That’s it. You’ve made all your pieces. The rest is just putting it together. Start by taking 2 of the arms and glue them together back to back. With that step complete you should have:
1 Round
4 Teardrops
4 Marquis
4 Scrolls
4 Arm Pieces
Quilled Snowflake Ornament
Start with the Round piece. This will be the center. Next come the arm pieces. Bump the edges of those bottom loops up next to each other, and glue each piece down to the round.
Quilled Snowflake Ornament
Now take a scroll and glue it onto those little loops you bumped together.
Quilled Snowflake Ornament
Gently pull the scroll out until it touches the arms, and glue them together where they meet.
Quilled Snowflake Ornament
Take one of your teardrops and glue it down in the middle of the scroll. Then pull the scrolls over to meet the teardrop, and glue together. Don’t be afraid to unravel the scroll however much you need to. If the arm is bending or it doesn’t want to stick to the teardrop, you just need to give yourself a little more space.
Quilled Snowflake Ornament
Repeat these steps for all sides, and then glue the marquis in the little space between the loops at the top of the arms.
Quilled Snowflake Ornament
For the snowflakes on my tree, I sprayed the finished snowflake with a spray adhesive and doused it in glitter. I tried a liquid glue first, but it tended to make all the loops unwind. Then I threaded a loop of fishing line through one of the marquis to hang the ornament. I liked the idea of using fishing line so it would look like the snowflakes were falling instead of hanging.
Quilled Snowflake Ornament
These couldn’t be cheaper. You can nearly get 10 ornaments out of one sheet of paper, and they’re incredibly easy to make up in big batches. Last year I needed to make ornaments for 35 teenagers, and these were the ones I went for. A definite budget saver, and still super fancy.
In making this tutorial, I ended up making another ornament that needs a home. Leave me a comment for a chance to win it! Blogger sucks for communication, so make sure you have an active profile, a link to your website, or an email address listed in the comment so I can contact you if you win. I’ll draw a winner randomly at 10pm Pacific Time on Friday December 12th. That’s actually Bear’s birthday, so we’ll call this a celebration of him. Good luck!
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Thursday, September 1, 2011

Another Carol Duval Show video! Making Polymer Clay Tree Ornaments

Large Elf OrnamentImage by CraftyGoat via FlickrHere is a wonderful video from the Carol Duval Show (how I miss that show) that has Donna Kato making a beautiful Christmas tree hanging ornament. I bet if you watch this video, you will soon run to get some polymer clay and begin making your own ornaments. I know I will make these, but first I will watch the video about 100 times because I just love Carol and Donna Kato, but I really loved this show.

Enjoy the video!



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Monday, August 1, 2011

Make Hanging Christmas Stars -- Tutorial from The Magic Onions

Here is a wonderful tutorial I found on The Magic Onions that I think you will love.  These are so beautiful and easy to make.  I hope this year to make many of them to hang in the house as Christmas decorations. 
Please visit the original blog to see not only this tutorial, but also many other wonderful ideas.  Let me know if you make these and send me pictures.  My fingers are just itching to get started......

These are just so creative!  I can imagine having these stars everywhere, can't you?
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What you'll need;
Square paper or card (any size will do... if your paper is not square, cut it into a square before you start.)
Scissors
Glue (I find glue dots work the best as there's no drying time)
Ribbon

Start by folding your square paper in half, making a rectangle...
Fold this rectangle in half again, making a square...
Open your folded square up...
Now fold you big square diagonally (corner to corner), making a triangle...
Fold your big triangle in half again, along the middle, making a smaller triangle...
When you open your paper, this is what your folds look like...
Use your scissors to cut along the 4 folds on the straight sides of your paper. Cut a little less than half way up the fold...
Lie your paper flat, upside down. Fold cut paper back, along the diagonals folds (as in photo) making points at the corners of the paper.
These points will be the points of your star.
Fold all cuts into points.
Now for the gluing... put a dab of glue (or a glue dot) onto one side of each point of the star...
Pull the other side of the point over the side with the glue and stick... this makes your 3D star point.
Repeat for each point...
One side of your star is ready.
Repeat all folding, cutting and sticking steps with your second piece of square paper... you will now have the two sides of your square.
Position them, one on top of the other, with the middle points facing outwards and stick them together using a few dabs of glue or glue dots and...

Voila!
Glue your hanging ribbon onto your star.
Your star is ready for hanging!
They really do look lovely anywhere... so bright and colorful!We have some in our window, some hanging from our beams and even more decorating our cabinets.
And they really are easy to make, I promise! Once you make one and get the hang of the folding and cutting, you will be able to churn these pretty stars out in a matter of minutes. They make very sweet holiday gifts for friends and neighbors too... go on, have a go, make some stars!

Blessings and magic!
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Monday, April 11, 2011

Make a 19th-Century-Inspired Ornament

 Here's a really wonderful tutorial for making paper mache ornaments for this holiday season.  I know it's early.  Some would say "too early for Christmas", but I believe that the sooner you begin your preparations, the better the holiday turns out for you.  I love to sit back during November and December and watch everyone else fighting the crowds and buying items that no one really wants just to have something.

I feel the same way about Christmas crafts.  As my current Easter project has proven, sometimes crafting takes way more time than you think.  If making Christmas decorations is your thing, it may pay to start early, even "too early" so you can get it all done.

Below is a great tutorial from Better Homes and Gardens.  Enjoy!
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Modeled after decorations in turn-of-the-19th-century style, these papier-mache ornaments spread good cheer whether they're hung from your tree or positioned around the house.
snowman ornaments
What You Need
  • Cookie sheet
  • Parchment paper
  • Celluclay instant papier-mache
  • White glue
  • 3-inch-diameter green plastic-foam ball (body)
  • Resealable plastic bag
  • Thin palette knife
  • Thin wire
  • Acrylic paints: antique white, brown, black, pink, and silver
  • Brush-on water-base clear finish
  • Mica flakes
  • Crafts glue
  • Silver glass glitter
  • Pink tinsel garland
How to Make It
  1. Cover a cookie sheet with parchment paper.
  2. Mix a few handfuls of instant papier-mache with warm water, following the manufacturer's instructions. It's best to mix small batches of dry papier-mache and keep the mixture in a resealable plastic bag while you work. Knead the mixture with your hands until it's a smooth, workable consistency. Keep a small bowl of water handy to dip your fingers in as you form the snowman on the cookie sheet.
  3. Apply a thin coat of white glue around the foam ball before coating it with the wet mixture. Note: The mixture adheres better if you use the glue.
  4. Apply a generous layer of the mixture over the entire ball for the body, smoothing out bumps and ridges with your hands. The finished ball should be about 3 1/2 inches in diameter.
  5. Place the wet ball on the parchment-lined cookie sheet. Gently press down on the body, creating a flat bottom so the snowman will sit upright.
  6. Complete the paper-mache sculpting as follows: Roll a 1-3/4-inch ball of mixture for the head. Set the ball on the top of the body, gently smoothing the ball into the body at the neck area. Insert a toothpick through the center of the head to secure it to the body.
  7. Roll tiny balls of the mixture for the nose and cheeks. Press the balls onto the face. Use a palette knife to smooth the features and a toothpick to shape the eyebrows, eyes, and mouth.
  8. Shape a small column of the mixture for the hat and attach it to the top of the head. Smooth the edges into the ball. Cut a 3-inch length of wire and fold it in half to create a loop. Twist the ends together. Insert the twisted end into the top of the hat. Smooth the mixture around the base of the loop.
  9. Place the cookie sheet with the snowman bauble in an oven set at a low temperature and bake for at least 2 hours or until hardened. Remove the snowman from the oven and let sit on the sheet until cool. Lightly sand the figure until the surface is smooth.
  10. Paint the head antique white. Paint the cheeks and nose pink. Use antique white and pink to paint stripes around the body and to add words, dotted borders, and stars. Paint the hat and wire loop silver. Use black for the eyebrows, eyes, and mouth. When the paint is dry, create an aged patina by mixing a small amount of brown paint with water; apply this mixture to the figure.
  11. When the paint is completely dry, brush clear finish on the areas that you want to sparkle. Immediately sprinkle mica flakes over the wet finish. Allow to dry and then brush off the excess mica flakes. Apply bands of glue around the snowman's body; immediately sprinkle glass glitter over the glue. Add glass glitter to the hat in the same way. Apply a band of glue around the neck and press a length of tinsel garland into the glue.
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