Making Stuff!

Castle Tower

2017-03-29T13:12:00.001+11:00

I made this little wall hanging turret from polyurethane resin, which was cast from a mould made with silicone rubber, (from an original polymer clay sculpt).

Original sculpt, made with polymer clay

de-molding

the resin cast. painted

some faux moss bits glued on

put a bird on it

2017-03-21T18:55:00.002+11:00

I made a bunch of resin feathers, in assorted colours.

For all those occasions when you really really need to put feathers on your stuff #putabirdonit

Full tutorial available HERE

a while between drinks

2017-03-21T18:46:00.001+11:00

sculpting cat head from Polymer clay
.

sculpting frame (polymer clay)

casting in silicone rubber

de-mould (or de-mold depending on your location)

painted resin cat and frame

a few available here
.

No Sew Skirt from Shirt

2012-06-15T19:15:00.003+10:00

This is the lazy persons guide to making a quick simple skirt. All you need is a t-shirt, scissors and a string (from an old hoodie or pyjama bottoms or a long shoe-lace)

Get a shirt that is a bit loose.

Cut it straight across under the arm-pits. (can make it ever shorter later if you're that way inclined).

Turn the piece you've cut upside down.

cut two holes in the hem (big enough for the string to pass through).

Thread the string through one hole out the other (with the help of a safety pin)

The hem that was the bottom of the shirt is now the top of the skirt.

This will hold the skirt up, once tied.

et voila! This took all of about 5 minutes.

You may need to stretch out the bottom slightly if you don't like it too clingy. Use a printed

shirt for more interest, but the print will be upside down, be warned! Or you can sew a hem on the

other end, if you can be bothered getting the machine out and threading it and such...

...Or just make yourself some tea.

my 8-bit heart

2012-02-02T11:27:00.002+11:00

Plush Pixel Heart DIY

Stuff you'll need: felt. scissors. thread. stuffing (sewing machine optional).

you could use any fabric, I used felt because it doesn't fray. If you want something washable..don't use felt..

.step 1: plan your pixels. You could use a computer if you want to get fancy.

step 2: cut out all your felt into uniform squares. (this is important otherwise they won't fit), remember to cut two times the squares for the front and back, and one times for the side.

step 3: start sewing squares together, keep them laid out so you know what goes where, it can get confusing.

I hand-sewed the squares because they were small and fiddly, this part could go much faster on a sewing machine. I used 3x3 (centimetre) squares the total heart turned out about 22cm's (8.7 inches).

.still step 3...

still....step 3....

yep... step 3

(once you have both faces sewn up, join them together inside out, leaving a small 2-3 square opening unsewn)

it will look something like this.

step 4: turn it inside out...and stuff it.
Then sew up the remaining gap in your neatest most invisible stitch.

step 5: Ta-daaa... have a break and admire your hard work.

Checkered

2011-06-02T18:42:00.002+10:00

Simple paint DIY for simple canvas

paint the canvas (I chose three colours, black, blue and green)

paint a liberal layer of crackle medium (the one-step variety)

Using cut up strips of masking tape, make some lines.

paint in alternating squares of the 1st colour. The crackle medium should show up straight away.

paint the second colour.

Peel off the tape.

Seal with a coat of Mod Podge or PVA glue or whatever dries clear.

Ta-Daaa
(you could add some lines through the diamonds for an 'argyle' effect, see first photo)

Green Lantern

2010-10-06T13:07:00.003+11:00

Small square vase covered with custom cut mosaic glass. Tools required: glass cutter, ruler, 2 part epoxy glue, grout.

the above picture is all the tiles stuck on minus the grout.

with grout, externally lit.

Finished lantern internally illuminated by candle light.
.

octopod

2010-06-03T20:33:00.001+10:00

needle felted

octopus

boxy-but-good part III: cruise control

2010-05-05T14:12:00.000+10:00

Yet another Ikea Fira chest...(first here, and second here)

I stained the whole thing a dark, dark cherry almost black (not using actual stain but water mixed with acrylic paints), then drew outlines using black pencil, the pattern is an old wallpaper fragment I found, then painted in the white bits, then laquered the whole thing with a shiny water-based sealer. This is not a DIY so much as just painting a box. But there was a lot of sanding involved.

Pro's and Cons

2010-01-12T13:54:00.003+11:00

Japanese wave inspired custom painted chucks. These are really simple all you need is a black sharpie and white watered down acrylic or fabric paint (and a small paint brush would possibly help). Find an image you like and one that matches the colour of the shoe, do not, under any circumstance use images from Twilight. You will have to paint the same image four times, so choose something relatively simple.

Draw the outline with the black marker, no point using a pencil unless your sneakers are white.

paint it!

I painted several layers, building up the white to get the gradient effect. I used Liquitex acrylic paint, any good quality acrylic paint will do the job (I added a bit of water added to thin it out to get the layers, could also use pouring medium for diluting), or fabric paint if you have it. Repeat on all sides until you see waves when you close your eyes.

voila!

Skeleton earrings DIY

2009-10-12T23:50:00.003+11:00

So these came about when I was after some skeleton earrings but couldn't find any. I wanted ones where the legs and arms moved independently, I didn't want one solid thing just hanging there, like a stiff ( yes.. yes!) it had to have movement and look a little animated...I guess these would come in handy for Halloween as well...if you must...

(click to embiggen)

These are the 26 pieces you will need, 22 if you just stick the feet onto the lower legs like I did immediatley after this picture was taken. (I used black sculpey because I didn't have white, spoiler alert: I painted it white!..in hindsight black looks a bit neater but Im a traditionalist not a goth)

Shape all the bits to resemble bones, pelvises, ribcages and skulls... make the rib and skull markings on both sides because the earrings will turn and sway so both sides will be visible.

Important: don't forget to make the holes BEFORE you bake it

(looks a bit like Ötzi the Iceman here)

Attach the ball chain firmly into the skull, making sure the clay envelops the chain so it won't fall out after it's baked. 1, Make a groove in the ribcage put the chain in. 2. Put a little clay over it. 3.Do the same with the pelvis. 4. Cover the chain and cut off remaining bits with pliers. 5. Add the earring hook thingy to the skull (also important).

Make holes in your bones, or the clay ones...totally your call

I skewered my bones just to ensure the holes didn't close up with man-handling and such.

grill 'em!

(remembering that these bones are quite thin and will only require like 10-15 minutes in the oven)

Then paint them if you were lazy like me and didnt use white sculpey.

Seal with mod-podge, sealer or pva glue, if they're painted, if not painted, no need really, unless you like them shiny.

Wait till they're completely dry.

Link up all the limbs with the 'o' rings. Not too tight so they still dangly.

ta daa!

trick or treeeeeaat!

Embellished

2009-09-11T23:11:00.005+10:00

(check out my awesome coffee mug!)

I gots me a couple of plain old tube singlets from the underwear section. they're usually way too long so I cut off a few inches off the bottom and use that to make the ruffles. I don't have an overlocker, so I just strech the strips of fabric as I go and use a tightly spaced zig zag stitch down one side. This creates those wavy looking bits.

then I just sew each ruffle on to the top! probably best to use zig zag for sewing the ruffles to the top too as the singlet needs to stretch over the chest, so the stitch will need to stretch as well.

so I added a little black bow-tie cos I thought it needed something extra, then I added that faux laced look by just cutting little rectangles from a black ribbon (you'll need to burn the ends with a lighter or fire of some sort so it doesn't fray)

ta daaa!

I'm a Lady! I Do Not Have Tenticlée!

2009-09-07T12:36:00.004+10:00

I made a birthday card for my parents' joint birthdays.

Its a bit pretty at the front...

then you lift up her skirt and... omg.. wtf..?!

and the inside...ta daaa...(thats meant to be octopus ink on the left there because she got a bit miffed when you lifted up her skirt btw)

big letter DIY

2009-08-30T21:09:00.014+10:00

draw a big letter on a piece of paper, cut it out, trace it onto a piece of stiff cardboard, flip over the paper trace a mirror image on to another piece or stiff cardboard. cut out both.

find some bendable cardboard for the middle section.

tape it in between the stiffer cardboard cutouts, if you are doing curves or 'O's or 'S's the cardboard will need to bend around the curves.

Tear up small strips of newspaper and mix up some paste. You can use regular store-bought paste for the papier mache part or just mix some flour, water and salt (I use the latter with a bit of PVA glue mixed in). Dip a small newspaper strip in the paste and apply.

cover the entire cardboard contraption with at least two layers of papier mache, letting each coat dry thoroughly before applying the next one. for a smoother effect you can do the final layer with tissue paper

let it dry completely.

optional coat of texture paste or modelling compound (helps smooth things out)

then give it a light sanding with fine sand paper.

paint it!

try to use matte paint as anything too glossy will only accentuate all the lumps that you can't really avoid with paper mache.

VOILA!

hang it up or put it on a shelf!

This is a big "M" I made in 2004, no round bits, much easier. Still going strong.

bound for glory

2009-08-19T19:54:00.008+10:00

regular copy-paper, folded, sewn and bound

nifty endpapers

hand-bound notebook using cardboard, glue, thread, white laser paper, wadding and felt for the cover

cage + paper + 30 minutes

2009-08-19T19:37:00.003+10:00

I hacked a candle-holder cage into a bedside lamp using an ikea light-fitting from a broken lamp.

first I cut a hole big enough to fit the light fitting in the bottom of the cage, removing the bit that holds the candle.

then I put in the light fitting, securing it to the base with wire. Then lined the inside with thick printed paper (scrapbooking stuff works good because its sturdy and comes in nice colours/prints). then plug it in and... voila!

boxy but good

2007-05-31T14:18:00.002+10:00

box project. I took a storage box from Ikea and stained and painted it with an initial and some embellishments on it. this is the "Before" picture.

(albeit I did have to build it, with a little hair-pulling and some hammer-throwing)

this is the "After"

I was thinking about painting the whole thing a solid colour or cover it in some nice patterned paper, but in the end I wanted to keep the nice wood-grain, because otherwise I could have just bought a plastic or MDF box.

The whole thing was stained with water-based floor stain, "W" painted with acrylic gold paint, the leafy scrolls with oil paints, then the whole thing varnished with water based glue/varnishy stuff.