Homemade Polymer Clay

At different points over the last few years I've played around with different kinds of homemade "clay." My favorite is a polymer clay also known as cold porcelain. Its main ingredients are cornstarch and white PVA or Elmer's glue. I like it because it's smooth and a little bit elastic to work with and dries extremely hard. It's also relatively non-porous so it takes paint really well. And it doesn't degrade over time like baker's clay or salt clay does. I've used it to cover blown-out chicken eggs for Christmas ornaments, as well as to make various and sundry bowls, boxes and pendant blanks, among other things.

But it took awhile to get the recipe right. Most of the ones I found online resulted in a compound that was way too sticky to work with. So I experimented with different proportions of glue and cornstarch and the inclusion/exclusion of various secondary ingredients. What follows is the fruit of my experimentation. Lucky you!

Materials

• 3/4 cup white glue
• 1 cup cornstarch
• 2 tablespoons mineral oil (I used baby oil but reportedly even vaseline will work)
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• Non-stick pot
• Wooden spoon

Steps

Add cornstarch to glue in a nonstick pot. Mix together and then add mineral oil and lemon juice. Blend well.

Cook over low flame stirring pretty much constantly (you can take a quick break or two if your arm gets tired, which it will) until the mixture resembles mashed potatoes.

Remove from heat! Squirt a little additional mineral oil around the top of your mashed potato mass and with your hands, remove it from the pot. Knead until smooth. It's best to do this while it's still as hot as you can handle.

Pull off a bit to work with and put the rest in a re-sealable plastic bag with the top about half-way open until it's cooled down a bit. Then seal the bag (with as little air in it as you can) and store in the fridge.

Let dry about 2-3 days, then paint, or not.

Until next time --

Enjoy!

Linda

Purty Bird

Gelatin Plastic

I first encountered homemade "gelatin plastic" several years ago when I was looking for relatively easy and definitively inexpensive ways of creating art/craft materials for making gifts. Cash and time were extremely tight so shopping for and buying "real" materials (e.g., air-dry clay) was pretty much out of the question. I was limited to what I could concoct from everyday grocery, hardware-store and office-supply items like Elmer's glue, cornstarch, and in this case, gelatin and food coloring. So I found various recipes and how-to's online and adapted them to suit my particular purposes---most of the projects I found were of the "fun rainy-day activities for kids" variety so it was a matter of maximizing the capabilities of the material to make something that an adult could give another adult without anyone being horribly embarrassed. The following modified how-to for gelatin plastic makes for relatively flat, smooth-edged translucent shapes that you can combine into (or use singly as) cheerful sun-catchers.

Materials

• Three envelopes powdered gelatin
• 9 tablespoons water
• Several drops food coloring
• X-acto knife
• Flat-bottomed dish (glass is best)
• Shape templates (optional; not pictured)

Steps

Place the water in a saucepan and sprinkle the gelatin on top. Add food coloring and heat on low flame, stirring pretty much constantly until the gelatin is dissolved. Pour the mixture into a flat-bottomed dish and let set---most recipes say for 45 minutes to an hour, but I prefer at least a few hours. The longer set-time makes for less curling as your cut pieces dry.

Once set, cut the gelatin sheet into various shapes and sizes using cardstock templates (if you like) and an X-acto or similar knife---not scissors, as some recipes suggest. Scissors make for a less even edge. Ditto cookie-cutters. The difference becomes obvious once the pieces dry.

I like to leave my cut shapes in the original dish to dry, rather than remove them as most recipes/how-to's instuct. The original adhesion between the gelatin and the surface of the dish seems to help keep the pieces from curling overly much when they're drying. I also like to lightly tape down the edges of my cut pieces to help keep them flat as they dry. I haven't had any luck with the multiple plastic container lids and paper-towel/cheesecloth contraptions that many recipes/tutorials recommend for this purpose. Gelatin is much stronger-willed than that!

Allow your cut pieces to dry for 2-3 days (or more, depending on their thickness), then drill holes for hanging. Most recipes say to make holes for hanging when the pieces are wet, but I think you get a better result if you wait until they're dry. It's hard to predict how large the hole is going to be once the gelatin dries, and the edges can also come out raggedy. Raggedy edges will not do! Embarrassment will ensue!

Hang the pieces on a suction-cup hook and stick on a window. Use fishing line for a "floating-in-air" effect. Wait for the sun to shine through them; be surprised and intensely gratified at how pretty they are!

Until next time --

Linda

Purty Bird

Tutorial: PVC Tent Weights

This post first appeared in March of 2009. Tent weights are such an important item we are running this post once again.  Thanks Nordea for this great tutorial. ed


There are many must-haves for vending at an outdoor market. A tent is one of them, especially during the uncertain weather that comes in March and April. New Yorkers got such a surprise last week after waking up to snow on the first day of Spring!

Weighing down the tent is so important. Last year, I used various methods to anchor my tent; including gallon jugs filled with water and free weights. These worked ok, but there were plenty of times I had to stand by one of the legs and hold onto the tent in high winds...instead of tending to my customers. Not to mention the tripping hazard that these posed. Last fall, my tent died (R.I.P. my old friend...) after being blown around all year. I just purchased a new tent for 2009, and decided to build some proper weights to protect my investment.

I read about using pvc piping & cement to make tent weights, and figured I would give it a try. There is a way to figure out how much sand/cement is needed to fill up the pvc piping…something to do w/cubic ft & volume. I am the worst when it comes to math, so I’ll just explain what I did….

Materials you will need:

10’- 4” diameter pvc pipe (cut into 4 pieces, 2.5’ long each)
2- 50lb bags of sand
1- 25lb box of quick setting cement
4- end caps for pvc pipe
4- ½” x 8” eye bolt w/nuts
Water
A long spoon or stick to stir the cement (anything you don’t mind throwing away when you are finished.)
Something to scoop sand and cement from the bag (I used an old soup container.)
A hammer

1. Place the cut pipes into the end caps and stand them upright. Make sure they are not crooked and they can stand alone.
2. Scoop out a bit of cement and pour into the bottom of each pipe.
3. Pour a tiny bit of water into each pipe and stir w/spoon until the cement is a thick consistency. Do this one at a time because it sets up fast, so finish mixing water into one pipe before moving onto the next.
4. Wait a few minutes until the cement starts to set up, then fill up pipe #1 with the sand, leaving room to top off the pipe w/cement. You can measure this by holding the eyebolt over the pipe to estimate the amount of cement needed to cover it.



5. Finish filling the pipe by adding cement and water, a little bit at a time, gently mixing until the pipe is full.
6. Have at least 2 nuts on the eyebolt (you want to give the cement something to “grab” on to) and space them apart on the bolt.




7. Stick the eyebolt into the wet cement, using the hammer to gently push the bolt into the pipe.
8. Repeat steps until you have finished filling all 4 pipes.
9. Set the pipes in a secure location (where they won’t get knocked over) so they can completely harden.




The next day I weighed each pipe, and they averaged about 22lbs each. Of course, if you want heavier weights, just cut the pipes longer (but not too long, that they won’t fit in your car!)

I had approx 40lbs of sand left over when I finished. When in doubt, just buy extra so you don’t come up short (wet cement won't wait for you to return from the hardware store!)

I plan to use a bungee cord to hang the weights from the top frame of the tent on each corner (attached to the eyebolt.) Additional bungees can be used to secure the weights to the legs of the tent keeping them out of the way. These weights can be decorated to make them a bit more attractive. Painting stripes, flowers, and other designs on the weights can add to the charm of your entire display.

All materials cost me approx $45, and knowing that I have taken steps to protect my brand new tent is priceless!!

-Nordea
Nordea's Soaperie

What to Do with Scraps of Felt, Part III: Make a Cute Bracelet

This one is super-easy and perfect for Spring (which I trust will arrive any day now). Keep it simple and unrestrained or bump it up a notch with a few extra steps for a more sophisticated look.

Materials

• Scraps of felt cut up into squares, rectangles, triangles, circles, or what-have-you
• Elastic stringing material such as Stretch Magic or Elonga; I used 5 mm but 7 mm would also probably work, depending on the size of your felt bits
• Scissors
• Needle
• Beads (optional)
• Fabric glue (optional)
• Thread (optional)

Steps

Decide whether you want a more or less restrained final piece. If you go the less restrained route, simply thread your needle with about one-and-a-half to two-times the amount of stringing material you need to go around your wist, tie a knot in one end, and begin stringing the bits of felt onto it. When you've got enough to go around your wrist, pull the knotted end of the stringing material away from the felt so that you have enough loose material on either end to make a knot (I used a modified square knot; click on the Elonga link above for a great illustration). Wear it as-is, or trim away some of the shagginess with a scissor.

If you want a slightly more restrained (but no less festive)-looking final product, select bits of felt that are of roughly equal size and alternate their colors. Add some beads at regular intervals for even more variation. I used felted beads in the sample above but most 7-10 mm glass, stone or plastic beads would also work well. Just be sure the hole is large and smooth enough to fit your stringing material without shredding it.

Finally, if you're feeling really ambitious, or if you want an even more polished final product, you can stack your bits of felt in different color combinations and either glue or sew them together to make your own beads. String them alone or with a few accent beads in-between.

Easy-breezy Springtime fun, both to make and to wear!

Until next time -

Enjoy!

Linda

PurtyBird

How-To-Tuesdays: Wine Charms

This is one of the first tutorials that I wrote up for Crafty Daisies:

During one of your recent summer festivities, did you pick up “your” glass and, about to take a sip, discovered that the shade of lipstick on the glass rim didn’t match yours? To avoid such a shocking social faux pas consider spending 10 minutes making some wine charms.

Materials

• 4 inch length of copper wire per wine charm
• Dowel with the same circumference you want the charm to have. I used a broomstick
• Chain-nose pliers
• Wire cutters
• Anything you want to use to embellish the charms (beads, buttons, small hardware)

With the chain-nose pliers, make a P-shaped loop at the end of the wire.

Wrap the wire around the dowel to shape a hoop.

String the embellishments on the wire. These are plastic faceted beads.

Using the pliers, first bend up the P-loop by 90 degrees. If you hold up the hoop, the loop should be parallel to the table top. Then bend the straight end of the wire up to shape a right angle.

Trim the end of the straight wire so you can comfortably close the hoop by pushing the end through the P-loop. The whole thing will look like an earring hoop.

Here are some ideas to decorate the charms. Plunder the hardware store, or your jar of lose bolts and nuts for a more edgy look, or find some cool buttons and string them on wire or thread to attach them to the hoop.

Here I used ink jet shrink film to print and bake different shapes decorated with these digital papers designed by the talented Bobbi-lee. Check out her blog at tomandjasmine.wordpress.com.

Simone
groundsel.etsy.com

How To: Create a Vision Board of your Dreams

Louise with her Vision Board for 2011

Have you created your 2011 Vision Board yet?

If not or you have no idea what a Vision Board is, read this "How To" post to start attracting the life of your dreams. No matter where you are now, using a vision board can help you focus and attract all the right things into your life in a fun creative way! Download this FREE info sheet to find out more.

Materials Needed

• Thick card or poster board of any size. 
• Magazines of all kinds (you never know where your visions will be found)
• Glue – I like to use acrylic medium which is what I use in my mixed media creations – you can also use elmers glue or a regular glue stick.
• White sage (optional)
• Your favorite music – something restful to help your mind be quiet and open.
• You can also do this alone, with family or a group of friends. 

Before You get started: Take part in a grounding ritual

• Put on your favorite restful music 
• Burn some white sage for purification in the air and to create a clear environment. (optional) 
• Close your eyes and ask what you would like to invite into your life. Set the intent for the activity.

Steps to creating your vision board

1. Go through your magazines and start collecting images and words that resonate with you (don’t glue anything yet!).  Take your time, this is a powerful exercise to attract your visions. Spend a good few hours finding your images and words.
   
   
2. Start to go through your images and lay them out on your board. This is a highly intuitive part of the exercise so feel free to move them about, take out ones that no longer feel right, you may see a theme starting to emerge.
   
   
3. Firstly paste a photo of yourself, smiling happily to show the expression when all these things come true in your life.
   
   
4. When you are ready, start to glue your images and words onto the board. You can also draw and add additional words yourself as you build your imagery.
   
   
5. When you feel like you have completed your board, hang it somewhere prominent for you to see everyday.

There’s no right or wrong way here, just go with your instincts and be open – this is the most important thing. You may be surprised with what comes out! There are also different kinds of Vision Boards, so download this FREE info sheet to learn more. 

ADD COMMENTS BELOW: Let's share our Vision Boards! If you have blogged about your vision board or have a photo, why not post a link in the comments below. Also tell us what you think about Vision Boards and how they have helped you follow your dreams if you have used them before.

Thanks
Louise

"Dream, Inspire, Create"