Make Messes
  • Home
  • Projects
  • Monster Mash
  • Prompts and Encouragements
  • Coloring Pages

Groovy Flower Packing Tape Bookmark

9/20/2020

0 Comments

 
A bookmark with a flower made out of different colored paper dots rests on top of a book
A cute little bookmark for you to make! The materials are mostly just office supplies, and the most important skill is a bit of patience! First the video version, or scroll down a bit for the still pictures and words version. Have fun!

Video


How-To!

A picture of supplies: a fan of colored index cards, packing tape, a hole punch, scissors, tweezers, and embroidery thread
You will need:
Card stock weight colored paper (I just used index cards)
Packing Tape
Hole Punch
Scissors
Tweezers
Embroidery floss or ribbon (if desired)
A few different pieces of paper in different colors with many punch holes in them, a small silver tin with many different colored paper dots, and a silver hole punch
Grab your paper and punch a bunch of holes! It's easiest if you have a little container to catch the dots.
A roll of packing tape, a piece of the packing tape on the work surface, and a container of colorful paper dots
Tear or cut a piece of packing tape, a little longer than about six inches. Or so. It's your bookmark, you can make it as long or short as you want! Place it on your work surface, sticky side up. Fold a bit of the sticky side down to secure it.
A pair of tweezers and container of colorful paper dots on both sides. In the center on the tape, a wavy line of green dots is placed on tape.
Using the tweezers, place the paper dots on the tape to make the grass and stem.
A container of colorful paper dots, by packing tape with a green paper dot stem and yellow, pink, and orange paper dots in concentric circes making the beginning of a flower
Now start making the flower! Start with the center, and then place the dots in circles around it
Same as last picture, but more dots have been added around the flower
Continue adding dots in alternating colors.
The flower bookmark now with leaves on the stem, it has been finished with another piece of packing tape and trimmed. There are nonstick scissors in the picture as well.
Use green dots to add leaves. Cut another piece of packing tape and press it down on your flower and smooth it out. (I find it works best if you cut it a little bit longer than your base piece, and then try to match up the sides as close as you can manage. Pull up from your work surface and trim the top and bottom.
Picture
Punch a hole in the top and add a ribbon or other cord with a lark's head knot. All finished! Now go find a good book to read so you can use your new bookmark! My current favorites are the Newsflesh Trilogy by Mira Grant, The Hollow Ones by T. Kingfisher, Space Opera by Cat Valente, and the Brothers Sinister series by Courtney Milan. I've also revisited Mind of my Mind by Octavia Butler recently, and am planning to start in on Parable of the Sower soon!

If you enjoyed this tutorial, please feel free to toss a coin to your crafter!
0 Comments

Teapot Bead

7/17/2020

0 Comments

 
A blue teapot bad with a pink flower on a wire. The words
     I'm a little teapot, short and stout! A cute little bead or pendant for the tea lovers! If you learn best via video, you can watch below, or scroll down to get the text and pictures tutorial. Or you can utilize both! Yay different modes of learning! (The video had to be sped up in places so it wouldn't be super long, so there is some motion blur happening - just something to be aware of if that is going to bother you! ) This assumes a beginner-to-intermediate knowledge of working with polymer clay.

SUPPLIES
Three small blobs of clay, a needle tool, combination clay shaper and embossing tool, wallpaper scraper blade, scalpel, and bottle of liquid clay on a speckled grey background

YOU WILL NEED:

Three colors of polymer clay
(One will be the body of the teapot, one will be the petals of the flower, and one will be the center of the flower.)
Needle Tool
Clay Shaper
Embossing Tool
Sharp Blade (I use a wallpaper scraping blade)
Sharp Knife (I use a scalpel, but a craft knife would also work)
Liquid Polymer Clay
ALSO (not pictured)
Acrylic Paint
Index Card
Wire
Paint Brush
Aluminum Foil
Baking tray and parchment paper
INSTRUCTIONS
Six pieces of blue clay in graduated sizes above a silver ruler
      Thoroughly knead and roll your clay to condition it. Roll into a snake and cut six pieces from your main/background color. One large, and two medium(ish) pieces for the teapot body, three smaller pieces for the lid, in decreasing sizes.
     
     (This picture is just to give you a very general idea of size. Ruler is in inches. You may have to adjust the amount of each clay piece as you go - as with all things, it gets easier with practice! And hey, it's clay - if you don't like how it looks you can squish it all up and start again before you bake it!
Three pieces of blue clay laid out on a grey speckled background. One is curved into a S shape with spirals, one is a flattened square with rounded corners, and one is a teapot spout shape
A blue polymer clay teapot made from the three pieces in previous picture.
     Roll and shape 3 of the pieces into a teapot body, handle, and spout. (Sorry there's no magic formula here, ya just gotta squish the clay around until you are happy with how it looks.     
    
     The handle and spout both start as a snake and then get shaped, the teapot body starts as a sphere that you then flatten and shape a bit.)
    
     Using liquid clay to reinforce the joins, attach the handle and spout to the teapot body. Smooth with clay shaper tool.
Three pieces of polymer clay: Two rounded rectangular ones and a round one
The tree pieces of clay in previous picture put together to form a lid
     Shape the remaining three pieces of clay into a lid, and then using the liquid clay to reinforce the attachment, put it on the teapot:
A blue polymer clay teapot (miniature/bead sized) on grey speckled background
(I find it also helps to put a little bit of texture on the top of the teapot with the needle tool before attaching the lid.)
One hand holds a blue teapot bead, the other inserts a needle tool through the lid
A hand gently holds a teapot bead while a needle tool is inserted from bottom to top
     Pierce a hole in your teapot, so it can be a bead! Now, in my early bead making days I remember searching high and low for "The Trick" to making good bead holes. "The Trick" is that there is no trick. Only practice. Sorry. However, that being said, I can give you this advice:

- Use a drilling motion, don't try to just ram your needle tool through.
- Start on one side, go halfway, start from the other side and try to meet up with that hole and go out where you started. (This is  a bit tricky at first, but is helpful to master to get a nice straight hole)
- Use a clay shaper tool to tidy up the entrance/exit points a bit.
IT'S BAKING TIME!
     Here's a secret (it's not really a secret:) You can bake polymer clay more than once. So if you, say, wanted to make a teapot bead with a pretty applique flower on it you could bake the base first, and then go back and add the flower. It's much easier that way, and you don't have to worry about inadvertently squishing things you did not mean to squish!

     I put a piece of parchment paper on my baking tray and cover it with aluminum foil, and then bake at 300F for an hour. This is what I've found works best for me over many years, you may want to check the instructions on your clay packaging. (In general, baking it for longer than the recommended time is fine, getting much above the recommended temperatures can burn your clay and release nasty fumes.

     (Burnt clay fumes are BAD. If it should happen: turn off oven, turn on fans, move tray somewhere outside, move yourself away from fumes until they have dissipated. If you're careful, it won't happen often, but I have had it happen a time or three.) Oven thermometers are your friend. So is good ventilation.  I bake enough clay in a year that I have a dedicated convection oven out in our converted garage studio. For occasional use, your home oven is fine.)
A snake of brown clay and pink clay being cut into very small pieces. The blue teapot bead is in the corner.
A blue teapot bead on a grey speckled background with a pink flower with a brown center added to it.
     Rub a thin layer of liquid clay onto the teapot body to help with adhesion of your flower. Cut 1 small piece of clay from the flower center color (I like to use a tan or brown color) And 8 pieces of the flower petal color. Roll the flower center into a little ball and press onto the center of the teapot.

     Roll the flower petal color clay into a small rounded triangle shapes and press around the flower center. (For me it's easiest to do the top, bottom, and sides first, and then go back and add the ones in between.)
One hand holds the teapot bead while the other uses an embossing tool to press small circles into the flower center.
One hand holds the teapot bead while the other presses a needle tool in the middle of one of the pink flower petals. The rest of the flower petals have also been textured in this way.
Texture the center of the flower with the embossing tool. Texture the flower petals with the needle tool.
BAKE! (Again)
A blue teapot bead with pink flower is in one corner. In the other corner a fluted metal tin holds diluted acrylic paint. At the bottom there is a stiff bristled paintbrush.
A white piece of paper is folded into a long M shape
WE ARE ALMOST DONE! Hurrah!

     Antique the bead if desired. (Brush diluted acrylic paint in brown or black all over bead, making sure to get into the cracks and crevices. Using a somewhat stiff brush is best. Then wipe off most of the paint except for, you guessed it, the paint in the cracks and crevices.)
     Fold an index card (or other stiff piece of paper- about card stock weight) in an accordion fold to hold the bead. Put the bead on a small piece of wire, use a soft brush to give it a coat of liquid clay, and then prop it on the baking cradle with the wire. (The wire will touch the index card on both the "peaks" of the paper. The bead won't touch the paper and will hang in the "valley." It's at about 6:45 in the video if you need to see to get a good visual.)
and now...
WE BAKE!
(Yes, again. It's the last time. I promise. Because when it comes out of the oven, it is...
ALL DONE!
(Well except for putting it on a chain or a cord or using it in whatever awesome piece of jewelry you are going to make!)

Toss a coin to your crafter:
https://www.paypal.me/creativemovesus
Venmo: @CreativeMoves
A blue teapot bad with a pink flower on a wire
0 Comments

No-Sew Fashion Doll Tutu

2/1/2020

0 Comments

 
A Picture of a green skinned fashion doll with pink and green hair. she is holding her arms in a ballet like pose and wearing a tutu made of white tulle. Text across the tutu reads
How to make a fun tutu for your fashion dolls! You can easily adjust it to the doll, so this will work for different types and sizes! If you learn best by watching a video, scroll to the bottom of the post for a video how-to!

Materials

A pile of white tulle in a kind of spiral shape on a black background
Tulle! Exactly how much will depend on the size of the doll you are making a tutu for, and how floofy you want it to be.
A green skinned fashion doll with pink and green hair on a white background. Her hands are on her hips and she is wearing chunky black boots.
A doll! You will be tying the elastic around the waist to get the sizing right and trim it to the right length.
A picture of pink handled scissors, with a bottle of fray check and a bundle of black elastic cord on top on a black background
Scissors, thin elastic cord (I use beading cord) and Fray Check. (The Fray Check is for dotting on the elastic knot to secure it, so you could also use clear nail polish if that's what you've got on hand!)

Steps

Step One: Cut a piece of elastic and tie it around the doll's waist in a loop with a square knot. Make sure it fits the doll snugly, but you can still take it off and put it on the doll. Put a dot of Fray Check or clear nail polish on the knot to secure it.
Step Two: Cut a bunch of strips of the tulle, about one inch wide. The length will depend on the length of the tutu you want and also the height of the doll. You want them about the right length for the tutu when folded in half. The amount of strips you need will also depend on the size of the doll, and how floofy you want the tutu to be! These do not have to be uniform in size, making them a bit different adds interest and texture to the tutu! (And you will be trimming them up in the last step, so it's better to make them a bit too long and then cut them shorter.)
A picture of three strips of white tulle on a black background. Two of them are folded in half
Step Three: Tie the tulle strips to the elastic waist band using a lark's head knot.
A piece of white tulle is folded in half with a black elastic band encircling it a fe inches down.
Fold tulle strip in half, and push it partway through elastic band.
A piece of white till wrapped around a black elastic band, partway through the process of tying a lark's head knot. The two loose ends of the tulle are pulled through the loop made by folding the strip in half.
Take ends of strip, pulling them around elastic and pull them through loop that folded end of the tulle strip has made.
A piece of white tulle attached to a black elastic band rests diagonally on a black background
Gently finish pulling  them through and tighten, pushing the knot secure against the elastic.
Step Four: Continue tying tulle strips around elastic band until it is covered.
Multiple pieces of tulle attached to a black elastic band
Multiple pieces of white tulle attached to a black elastic band. About 1/3 the band is covered.
Multiple pieces of white tulle are attached to a black elastic band. IT is about halfway covered.
Multiple pieces of white tulle are attached to a black elastic band. The band is covered about seventy five percent.
A picture of multiple tulle pieces attached to a black elastic band, covering the band completely leaving a circle of black and fanning out from it
Step Five: Put tutu on the doll, trim and scrunch it until you are happy with the shape!
A green skinned fashion doll with pink and green hair lies on a black background with her arms reaching towards her head. She is wearing a black and pink one armed dress and a white tutu at her waist.
A green skinned fashion doll with pink and one curving in front of her torso. She wears a pink, green, and black one shouldered dress and a fluffy white tutu with chunky black boots with pink soles.
If you enjoyed this tutorial or found it useful,
a small tip is always appreciated!
0 Comments

Squishy Sand

12/12/2019

0 Comments

 
(A.k.a. "Homemade Kinetic Sand")
A dark pink star made up of granular sand like material, tilted slightly to the left on a white background.
A white bowl filled with teal and red measuring cups, a green tablespoon, and a silver spoon, a popsickle stick, and a red spatula.
Tools: Bowl, measuring cups and spoon, spoon or something to stir with.
a translucent plastic bowl holding dark pink granular sand
1 Cup Sand
(this was craft sand that came in pretty colors, play sand should also work, you could experiment with food coloring to make it colorful.)
a red measuring cup holding a mound of flour, a small plastic cup holding cooking oil.
1/4 Cup flour
3 Tablespoons oil
(I used vegetable oil from the kitchen, but you could experiment with different kinds.)
How-To: Dump ingredients in bowl, stir until well mixed. Add more oil a little bit at a time if needed. This recipe can easily scaled up or down if you want more or less, it's basically one part flour to four parts sand,  add oil a little at a time until you are happy with the texture and how much it holds together. Happy squishing!
0 Comments

Craft Foam Printmaking

11/22/2019

0 Comments

 
0 Comments

Bang that Drum!

9/25/2014

0 Comments

 
Because who doesn't want to make a little noise? A project using recycled potato chip canisters and duct tape. LOTS of duct tape.(And of course I also used groovy patterned duct tape!) If you need a drum mallet, click here to check out this project!
Picture
And here's the drum in action!
0 Comments

Polymer Clay Flowers Video Tutorial

2/6/2013

0 Comments

 
Picture
A video tutorial for making sweet little polymer clay flowers!  
One plain version, and one version with a cork base using a straight pin as the stem.
0 Comments

FOURTH OF JULY FUN!

7/3/2012

0 Comments

 

Simple Volcanoes

Picture
This is our quick baking soda and vinegar volcano!  We made these for the Fourth of the July (Independence Day) in the US, since it has been very dry, we've had a really bad fire, and there is currently a fireworks ban in effect in our town.  

You will need:
-Paper Plates (We used the sturdier ones so we could get more than one use out of our volcanoes)
-Scissors
-Duct Tape (we used some with a cool tie-dye print.  You can get it in lots of cool colors now!)
-All-purpose permanent adhesive (we used "Quick Grip" by Beacon.)
-Small plastic condiment cups
-Baking soda
-Vinegar
-Food Coloring
-Dish Soap (optional)

Click "Read More" to go to the instructions!

Read More
0 Comments

VIDEO - MACRAME BASICS

6/22/2012

0 Comments

 

MAcrame BAsics For Jewelry Making

Learn how to tie Square Knots, Half-Knots, and add beads for making jewelry with macrame! 
0 Comments

COSTUMES AND DISGUISES

6/14/2012

0 Comments

 

Monocles and Mustaches

Picture
A couple of classy gents!
In need of a clever disguise?  QUICK!  grab some
-Clear plastic spoons and cake/pie servers from the dollar store
-Permanent markers
-Glitter Glue

Now make these monocle and mustache disguises!
Click "read more" to go to the instructions!


Read More
0 Comments
<<Previous

    By Julie 

    Creativity is fun, so let's start making messes!

    We'Re MOVING!

    An upgraded website means I can host ad-free videos!

    DIY content will now be posted at:
    ​http://creativemovescreations.weebly.com/make-messes 
    ​
    This is where the MakeMesses Dot Com address now goes! New content will be posted there, but all the older projects will still be here
    (MakeMesses Dot Weebly Dot Com)
    as I slowly do some improving, updating, and posting them at the new website section! 

    RSS Feed

    Julie's Tip Jar

    Buy your crafter a
    cup of coffee or some new art supplies! ;)
    Cash App
    Paypal Me
    Venmo@CreativeMoves

    Project List

    All
    Baking Cup Flowers
    Baking Soda/Vinegar Volcano
    Clay Butterflies
    Clay Ladybugs (version 1)
    Clay Ladybugs (version 2)
    Costumes & Dress Up
    Costumes & Dress-Up
    Craft Foam Prints
    Fashion Doll Tutu
    Felt Finger Puppet
    Fireworks Polymer Clay Cane
    Found Puppets
    Kitty Ears Headband
    Macrame Basics Video
    Mini Snowglobe Tutorial
    Monocles & Mustaches
    Percussion Mallet
    Perler Bead Pendant
    Polymer Clay Flowers
    Polymer Clay Itty-bitty Bunting
    Potato Chip Can Drums
    Ribbon Butterfly Bobby Pins
    Ribbon Wands (interchangeable)
    Shamrock Garland
    Snake Pendant Video Tutorial
    Snowman Ornaments
    Squishy Sand
    Stamps From Kids Drawings
    Teapot Bead
    Video Tutorials
    Wooden Spool Beads
    Yarn Beads
    Yarn Doll



Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.
  • Home
  • Projects
  • Monster Mash
  • Prompts and Encouragements
  • Coloring Pages