Here is an idea that combines two previous projects: Project #11: Glitter Pumpkins, and Project #8: Decorative Letters. You might recognize my windowsill at work from the “Go State” letters that used to be there (never fear, Spartan fans… they’re still out – just on a shelf now.) I apologize for the grainy look to the photo – I had to do a LOT of edits to get rid of the shadowy backlight effects from the beautiful sunny day we’re having.
A new project will be posted tonight!
Oops… I didn’t quite crop the bottom of that photo well enough. Hopefully, you’re too mesmerized by the AWESOME cards to notice. This week’s project is actually three in one… one card made entirely with my Cricut, and two without.
The supplies for this one are pretty basic. At the very least, you need scrapbook paper, basic stickers, and glue. I like to use pre-cut cards (they come with matching envelopes), but you can make your own with a simple fold. You’ll also need a paper cutter (and/or Exacto Knife), possibly a black stamp pad, and I like the fine-point glue pens for the little pieces. If you have a Cricut, I used the Wrap it Up and Lyrical Letters cartridges.
We’ll start with the witch card. I know you’re super impressed with the clever “Ghouls’ Night Out” saying. But take note! You can only use my cute invitation idea if your costume is discernible from “Whore.” If you put on some lingerie and hooker heels, you’re not a “sexy cat” or a “sexy ladybug.” You’re dressed as a whore. Alright, with that said… let’s make some crafts. This one is done entirely with the Cricut. I used the Wrap it Up cartridge to do the witch… I used black cardstock for the main body, purple glitter cardstock for the accents (I LOVE GLITTER), green cardstock for her arm, leg, and face, and yellow cardstock for the broom and her sock stripes. The letters are 1″ and I used the base font from Lyrical Letters.
Here’s a little tip if you’re working with this many tiny pieces… lay everything out and make sure you know exactly where you want it before you glue. As my Dad would say, “measure twice, cut once.” Except actually, he would measure like 27 times and then use a bunch of non-specific pronouns to say where he wants you to put something until nobody understands him. “No! Not there! Move that here! HERE! Oh my God! HERE!”
Next up is a card using a torn paper technique. This one is pretty easy. Tear three ovals for the pumpkin. It helps if you use a pencil to sketch them first so you have guidelines for the tearing. I also sliced very thin pieces of green cardstock for the tendrils. You can give the tendrils a little curl and texture by wrapping them around a pencil.
The rest of this one is just assembling and gluing. I chose a light green and white patterned paper as an accent. I used the stamp pad to ink the edges of some of the rectangles.
Last but not least, here is a VERY easy Halloween party invitation. The hardest thing you have to do here is cut. It’s cute, but not fancy, and it won’t take long to make. That means you can do many in a short amount of time — an important thing to keep in mind when making party invitations. For this one, I chose a patterned spiderweb paper and two solid colors. Here is a picture of how to ink the edges:
The more times you run the edges along the stamp pad, the thicker the color will be. All that’s left is adding the sticker. This one is by K&Company and has a 3D adhesive so it makes the sticker stand out a little.
Happy Crafting!
Because it’s allllmooost Friday (gotta get down on Friday), here is a Graham Crafter bonus! This is a project I made with the photo transfer technique explained earlier this week in Project #12. This is a music box I made for my sister using one of her favorite wedding photos. I bought a plain box from the craft store, painted, photo transferred, and then had my awesome bro-in-law help me drill a hole and attach the music implement.
You might notice that this photo is a little less “full” than the ones in the wall hanging. That’s because I used a thinner layer of the gel medium for a more rustic-ish look. Rustic is not usually my thing. At all. But I think it works really nicely on this.
If you check out the early days of Graham Crafter, you’ll see that some of the first projects were in preparation for my sister’s wedding. Today’s project was post-wedding… once we had the photos. All of the beautiful photos came from Timeless Elegance Photography. I can’t say enough good things about them.
I was inspired to make this project after watching this succinct but adorable video on wood block photo transfers:
That video pretty much sums it up, but if I left it at that, this wouldn’t be much of a blog post. So we’ll start with supplies. Please note that not all the supplies are pictured. I only photographed the ones I used to make the photo blocks. The other stuff came about later as I worked to assemble one pretty, finished product. You will need: photos printed on regular copy paper (printed in reverse – more on that later), acrylic gel medium (I used Liquitex), wood blocks (I used unfinished wood plaques I found at the Hobby Lobby), craft acrylic paint, the ever-useful cheapo foam brush, Modge Podge, ribbon, and scrapbook paper. You may also want the little decorative touch – I chose a silk orchid because orchids were the main flower at the wedding.
First things first… I painted the edges of the wood plaque (the parts that won’t be the area for the photo transfer.) If you’re using a more rustic piece of wood or going for an unfinished look, you may want to skip the paint.
Start by doing the photo transfer. The very beginning is to print your photos. They work best on a laser printer using regular copy paper. You should have a setting on your printer to print the image in reverse. Because we’ll be laying the photo face down, NOT printing it in reverse will make your people look backwards. Trim away the edges of the photo to make it fit your space. Then cover the space for the photo in gel medium. Gel medium is pretty thick and looks like really heavy glue when you first apply it. The thicker the coverage, the fuller your image transfer will be. So if you want a more rustic look, use a bit thinner coat. But let’s be real – this bride and these bridesmaids will look good no matter what.
Once the gel medium is on, lay the photo face down. Smooth out any wrinkles and bubbles. The photos don’t maybe show this step real well. Check out the video above. After this dried a bit, I touched up the painted edges. Let the entire thing dry overnight.
The next day, your block will look exactly the same, but dry. You now need a bowl of water and a sponge. Using the sponge, get the paper wet and start removing the paper. Once it’s good and soaked, use your fingers to start peeling away the paper. The image will have transferred to the gel medium. It’s MAGIC! If only they made gel medium with glitter. You know what else is magic? That between trimming and peeling away the paper, a photo of bridesmaids turned into a photo of the happy couple.
Scraping away the paper might take a while. You might have to go back and get little bits that stuck around the first time. But once you’re done, let everything dry and brush on some Modge Podge to seal the deal. This is magical Modge Podge – it turned the photo BACK into the bridesmaids!
From here on out, assembling this project looks a lot like Project #10: Halloween Sign. Use a staple gun to attach the ribbon that connects the blocks to each other. I used two strands of thinner ribbon and tied them into a bow at the top. For a bit of added fancy, I used Modge Podge to add scrapbook paper to the back of the photo blocks. This covers up the ribbon and staples, and generally classes up the joint a bit.
At the very end, I used my trusty glue gun to attach the orchid.
When you’re done, give the awesome finished project to your sister and favorite brother-in-law. Then watch your sister try to decide where to hang it. Happy Crafting!
I’m back from Buffalo and to make up for last week, you get a bonus this week… TWO projects! An easy one today, and a lovely-but-more-complicated one tomorrow. So today’s lunchtime blog is to give you a quick tutorial on how to make cute glitter pumpkins without the mess. A lot of the instructions I’ve seen call for glue and actual glitter… and while it’s a well-known fact here at Graham Crafter that I LOVE GLITTER, it’s a freaking mess when you’re working with 3D objects. Instead, I use glitter paint and you get all the sparkle/shine with a fraction of the mess. I tried to go for a nice Halloween-ish look for the photo. Eh, they can’t all be winners.
Let’s start at the beginning with supplies. You’ll need a craft foam pumpkin (often on sale at Michaels, I also found some small ones at the Dollar Tree), craft acrylic paint, glitter acrylic paint, a cheapo foam brush, and – if you like – something small for decoration. I used spider stickers from Jolee’s Botique (also on sale at Michaels.)
From here on out, you’re basically just painting the pumpkin. By the way, the lady who cut my hair when I was little was named Pumpkin. Well, that wasn’t her actual name, but the ladies at Fantastic Sam’s used to get nicknames, and hers was Pumpkin. 25 years later, and I still refer to her as Pumpkin. What a nickname. Anyway, start with your solid color of craft acrylic. You may want to go with a metallic or pearl finish paint… whatever you’d like is fine. Depending on the thickness of your paint, you may have to do a “sponge dab” technique instead of brush strokes. I tried to give you photos that demonstrate what can happen with brush strokes… it works, but you’ll need lots of coats. The dabbing technique will cut down on the number of coats necessary for good color coverage.
Once the solid color is dry, add your glitter paint. This will require several coats, depending on your sparkle preference. I love me some glitter, so I used a LOT of coats in a couple different colors of glitter (a yellowy-green and a kelly-ish green.) Let the coats of glitter dry somewhat in between… as long as it’s not sticky to the touch, you can keep adding.
When you’re done glittering… but who are we kidding? I’ll never REALLY be done glittering… you can add a little decoration if you want. I liked these 3D spiders.
For fun, I attempted a “creepy” photo with my app. Again, they can’t all be winners. But this project is easy and cheap and very non-messy. Probably kid-friendly, too, so long as they don’t paint your walls with purple glitter or something. Unless you live in Studio 54 – then maybe that would be welcomed.
Happy Crafting!
Hey there, craft fans! I am in Buffalo, NY, for work right now, so no new crafts tonight. I will post a new project when I get home. AND I have a couple more great projects to share next week, but they are gifts and I need to give them to the recipient before I share them here. But they’re worth the wait!
Happy Crafting!
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So, it may feel early for Halloween… but as far as I’m concerned, after Labor Day = Fall. And Fall = Halloween. At this moment, fall also = that season when the Tigers can’t score a damn run. So there’s that. Also, this idea can be used for a million different projects, so don’t feel like you need to start an exclusive relationship with Halloween. Originally, I got this project from one of those free sheets at Michaels. But, I made a few tweaks to wind up with my finished product.
As always, we’ll start with supplies. Here’s whatcha need: Small wood blocks (sold in the wood section of any craft store; the 4-inch size are less than a dollar each), scrapbook paper, wide ribbon, craft acrylic paint, a cheapo foam brush, and something called a D-ring (usually they’re in the jewelry-making section or the make-your-own purse section. I’ve never made my own purse. I leave that to the pros at Nine West.) You also need a staple gun.
This one starts easily enough. Paint your blocks. Here’s the part where I tell you that the step-by-step photos depict one sign and the “finished product” photos depict another. I made several of these and took the photos a few days apart. But you get the idea. I did a couple coats of orange and then a couple coats of orange glitter. I LOVE GLITTER. Let the paint dry completely before moving on.
Next comes the scrapbook paper. Cut squares to fit onto the top of your wood plaque. For the 4″ wood squares, I cut 3″ paper squares. No need to measure super carefully, just hold the paper up OH MY GOD THE TIGERS SCORED 2 RUNS! to the plaque and eyeball it. You’ll also need to cut out the letters in contrasting colors. I used my Cricut (thanks, Erin!), but if you don’t have one, cut letters with an exacto knife or use stickers.
Using the Modge Podge, glue the paper square to the top of the plaque. Be sure to press out any wrinkles and let it dry a bit. Then glue a letter to each square. Let everything dry before you slop on the Modge Podge as shellac. Then, slop on the Modge Podge as shellac.
All the messy stuff is done. Let the blocks dry and cut your ribbon long enough to hold the blocks, leaving some space at the ends. Then, using the staple gun, attach the ribbon the the back of the blocks. Staple guns are so handy. I keep mine in the toolbox my Dad got me for Christmas. Yep, you read that right. My Dad got me a toolbox for Christmas. He worked at the Home Depot after retiring. He astutely pointed out that perhaps I’d have preferred he got a job at the Gap.
All that’s left is the D-Ring. Just fold a bit of the ribbon over it and glue. I used a bit of super glue and then Modge Podge to prevent frayed edges.
Here is a fancy photo of the finished sign hanging on my wall. Happy Crafting and Happy Halloween!
So, I like to think this is the perfect tray for breakfast in bed after a Spartan victory. Not that I ever make breakfast in bed… in fact, the Sunday after a college football game, it is unlikely I’m awake before lunch time. Anyway, this is a super cheap project. If you already have craft paint, the whole thing is less than $5. If you have to buy the paint, it’ll be more like $8.
Supplies: This is pretty basic stuff… you need a wooden tray (available at pretty much any craft store – take your pick. I got this one at Hobby Lobby for like 3 bucks), paint, the crackle medium (see photo below), and varnish. You’ll also want a couple of cheapo foam paint brushes. I used a nicer brush to freehand the Spartan head… but if you’re more of a stencil person, the cheapo foam brushes will be good.
Start by painting the the entire tray in the color you want to show through the cracks in the paint. I chose white. This needs a heavy coat, possibly two coats. Let it dry completely (as you can see – it’s still wet in the photo. I took the photo as I was painting, but let it dry overnight.)
Next, apply the crackle medium. Here’s a photo of it and one of how it goes on clear:
It is important that you do not let the crackle medium dry completely. You need to move to the next step when the crackle medium is still tacky – the bottle this says should be about 15-40 minutes. Then, you paint your contrast color on (here, green.) The crackles will start to appear in just a few minutes, and will follow the direction of your brush strokes. The “painting green” photo on the left below is a bit blurry – I had to try and take it with my left hand while painting with my right – it didn’t go well. As you can see in the photo on the right, the cracks start to appear pretty much right away (the paint is still wet.)
Now, it’s time for the extra special decor! Wait until the green coat dries and add a little flair. I did the Spartan head freehand. If you are not artsy, or not feeling brave, you can make yourself a stencil with your printer, cardstock, and an exacto knife. I won’t say this Spartan head is the greatest work of art ever, but I’m generally happy with how it turned out.
Finally, slap a little varnish on it to seal in all the paint. I used inexpensive satin varnish that is the same brand as the craft acrylic paint. Follow the instructions on the bottle to apply. The varnish might look a little cloudy when you apply it (notice the grayish look on the foam brush.) I did two coats. Be sure to allow the varnish to dry completely before using your tray (duh.)
Last but not least, GO GREEN!
Football season is upon us! My beloved Michigan State Spartans kick off the season tonight against Boise State. So, I decided my office needed a little more Spartan spirit (though, I’ll admit, it was already pretty spirited to begin with.) These letters are actually quite easy to make, but the project involves a lot of steps. You could spell out a little girl’s name in cute pink and purple, or “NOEL” in a Christmas design. Be creative, have fun! But don’t use my idea to make any damn Wolverine stuff.
Whatcha Need: Materials for this one are relatively cheap. I say relatively becuase if you’re crafty, you already have some of them. You’ll need the paper maiche letters (I bought mine at Hobby Lobby for about $2.50 each… which is why my windowsill now says Go State instead of Go Spartans,) scrapbook paper of your choice, a stamp ink pad, an exacto knife, craft acrylic paint in your choice of color, a cheap foam brush, and modge podge.
First, paint the letters using the acrylic and foam brush. This is just so the original brown doesn’t show when they’re displayed. No need to be Rembrandt here… just apply a medium coat using even strokes. Make sure you get the top and sides of each letter. Once it is painted and dried (should dry quickly), cut a piece of the scrabpbook paper to slightly larger than the width of your letter. Feel free to protect your $99 dining room table with the ads you never look at and would otherwise just throw away.
Next, using the Modge Podge, glue the BACK side of the paper to the FRONT of your letter. Most of my letters looked the same from front and back, but that E sure would have looked weird backwards. Unless you’re a big Eminiem fan… then maybe a backwards E is cool. Make sure the modge podge dries completely before you move onto the next step.
The next step is probably the hardest one, and it’s not even that hard. Using an exacto knife, cut around the edges of your letter to trim the paper to the proper shape. Don’t worry about it being completely perfect – we’re going to fancy up the edges a little later. Crafty Tip: the sharper the blade on your exacto, the better. Also, try to use a lot of T’s in your project because they’re super easy to cut. The S and G, not so much.
Your finished cutout should look something like this:
As you can see, the edges aren’t perfect. But, as promised, it’s time to make them fancy! Run your stamp ink pad along the edges to give them a finished/distressed look. You may need to use an inky finger to get to some of the curves and inside edges. I made these last night and there are still traces of ink on my index finger. Looks sweet.
Your distressed edges should look something like this:
Last but not least, modge podge the hell out of the front to seal and add shine. I used 5 coats – letting each coat try for about 15 minutes. Follow the instructions on the modge podge bottle. It’s not hard. Just be sure to use even brushstrokes, because they will show a little bit up close.
You’re Done! Perch your letters in your office window so everyone knows just who you’re cheering for this college football season!
grahamcrafter 