Bzzy Little Bee - Crafting Adventures in Southern California by Carmen Flores Tanis

Home Decor Crafts: Etched Glass Sweetheart Tree

2013-06-14T22:00:00-07:00

Me & You Honeybunch!

Ah, etching cream.... you sit on the shelf so quietly, so calmly but once the jar is open - POW! You are the genie in a bottle that can transform a piece of plain glass into a glamourous beauty! Etching is a big part of my crafty toolkit so I was delighted to participate in this month's Designer Craft Connection Blog Hop challenge which was sponsored by my beloved Etchall® Etching Cream.

For my project, I etched tree branches and squiggly lines on a tall slender vase and etched initials on a heart mirror to create a bouquet arrangement reminiscent of a carved heart on a tree trunk. The way etching cream works is you can draw with it directly on glass or you can use a resist to protect whatever areas you don't want to etch. I wanted a very organic free-form look for the tree vase,so I used Etchall® Resist Gel to draw my design. But since I wanted very crisp letters and shapes on the mirror heart, I used an adhesive shelf vinyl as my resist which I then cut with a kraft knife. (FYI - die cut machines like a Silhouette work great for cutting more intricate designs on vinyl!)

Because I made this for my husband (the “B” of the mirror heart) I chose “masculine” colors for the decorative “tree branches” but I just might have to recreate it for myself using branches with pink silk cherry blossoms. If you've never tried Etchall® Etching Cream, you will be delighted at what you can make with it!

Here's how:

Etched Sweetheart Tree Vase

Materials:

Tall smooth sided glass vase or jar
Mirror heart
Etchall® Etching Cream (You'll find some in my Etsy shop!)
Etchall® Resist Gel
Ribbon
Sheet of kraft paper
Decorative floral branches
Glass pebbles

Tools

Glass cleaner and paper towels
Adhesive shelf vinyl
Permanent marker
Kraft knife
Brush
Rubber gloves and safety glasses

Etching the mirror heart

1. Clean the mirror heart carefully with the glass cleaner and paper towels. Cut a small piece of adhesive shelf vinyl and remove the backing paper to adhere it to the heart. Smooth the vinyl down well.

2. Draw your design on the vinyl with the permanent marker. I drew two letters in the center and dashed line “stitches” around the outside.

3. Use the kraft knife to cut the vinyl and to remove the areas which you'd like to etch.

4. Wearing gloves and safety glasses, brush a thick layer of Etchall® Etching Cream on the mirror heart and let it sit for 10 minutes. (Although Etchall® Etching Cream is very safe, it's always good practice to wear gloves and safety glasses whenever you work with chemicals.)

5. After 10 minutes, brush the excess etching cream from the mirror and back into the jar. (Etchall® Etching Cream can be reused multiple times so no need to waste it!) Wash the mirror in the sink with lots of running water. (*****PLEASE BE AWARE - etching creme will etch porcelain and ceramic sinks and counters. Etchall® recommends that when disposing of the etching cream that you flush with plenty of water neutralized with baking soda.This way it will not harm the plumbing. I always throw a few handfuls of baking soda down the sink as I rinse my pieces.)

6. Peel the vinyl off the mirror and rinse the mirror one last time. Pat dry with paper towels. (You can throw away the vinyl.)

Etching the vase

7. Clean the vase carefully with the glass cleaner and paper towels.

8. The Etchall® Resist Gel has a nice fine tip on the bottle which will allow you to easily draw your design on the glass vase. Squeeze the bottle gently as you draw branches and a "tree barky" texture. When finished, set the vase aside to dry until the resist gel turns clear. Depending on how thickly you applied the gel, it may take from 10 - 60 minutes.

9. Just as you etched the mirror heart above, brush on etching cream, let set 10 minutes, remove the excess etching cream and wash the vase under running water. Rub the resist gel under the water to remove it. Pat dry with paper towels.

Assembling the Sweetheart Tree

10. Cut the sheet of kraft paper to fit inside the vase. Stand the floral branches in the vase and fill with glass pebbles to keep the branches in place.

11. As a final touch, tie the etched mirror heart onto the vase with ribbon.

This is a sweet way to tell your darling how much he or she means to you. And you can completely change the look by using different floral branches. Try using red and white berry branches for Winter. And once you try etching, you will never look at a piece of glass or mirror again without imagining how you could add an etched design to it!

P.S. If you'd like to see some advanced etching techniques - take a look over at my other website Mad Craft Skills where you'll see what happens when you combine Etchall with dichroic glass. Way Cool!!

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You can see lots more Etchall etching ideas by following along on the Designer Crafts Connection Blog Hop. Just click on the "hop forward" or "hop back" buttons on the badge to visit the next site. You'll be inspired when you see all that the Designers have created!

Designer Craft Connection
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Happiness Crafts: Carved Sunshiney Sign

2013-06-02T22:59:00-07:00

What do you create that makes you happy? Well, that's the theme for this month's Designer Craft Connection Blog Hop: "Happiness is...". For me bright colorful projects make me happy and this project had me smiling all the while I was making it. It's a carved sign that I made a few weeks ago for the Smoothfoam blog and it's very easy to make. I was inspired by the colorful labels on the stacks of fruit crates at the grocery store all so bright and happy and full of juicy promise.

You can easily customize this project using different words and colors to suit your occasion. How's about a "Happy" sign in pink polka dots for a girl's birthday with a tiny flower or a "Congrats" in sparkly blue with a little graduation cap for your favorite grad? So many crafty possibilities - now that makes me happy!

You can find complete directions at the Smoothfoam blog here: Carve a Sunshine Sign

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You can see lots more June Craft ideas by following along on the Designer Crafts Connection Blog Hop. Just click on the "hop forward" or "hop back" buttons on the badge to visit the next site. You'll be inspired when you see all that the Designers have created!

Designer Craft Connection
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Birthday Wishes: Pink Candy Foil Elephant

2013-05-06T01:50:42-07:00

Pink Elephant on Parade

I've had pink elephants on the brain for a while now. See, a few months ago I picked up a plastic toy elephant at the store with the idea of covering it with candy foil - a kooky idea but something that I wanted to try out. I was inspired by circus elephants and their colorful attire and by that scene in "Dumbo" where he hallucinates all kinds of crazy colored elephants. And being as how the theme for this month's Designer Craft Connection blog hop is "Wishes", I decided that it was the perfect time to "put it together and teach it to walk".

Here's how:

Birthday Wishes: Pink Candy Foil Elephant

Materials:

Plastic Elephant
Candy Foil Wrappers
Aleene's Collage Pauge Instant Decoupage - Glossy
Cardboard

Tools

Paintbrush and Plastic Dish
Scissors
Paint Pen - Black
Colored Markers
Twine
Hole Punch

1. Squirt a large dollop of Collage Pauge on the plastic dish. Use the paintbrush to apply a generous amount of Collage Pauge to a small section of the elephant. While the liquid is still wet, press a piece of candy foil onto the elephant and paint with a little more Collage Pauge. Continue until the entire elephant is covered with candy foil. (Tip - use the scissors to cut out any special little designs that you like from the foil.) Give one last coat of Collage Pauge over the entire elephant. Set aside to dry.

2. Cut a banner shape from the cardboard and use the hole punch to punch a hole on each end. Use the markers to write your birthday wishes on the cardboard.

3. Dot the elephant's eye with the black paint pen and finish up by tying the cardboard banner on with a piece of twine.

That's it! You can personalize this project by using different animals (or dinosaurs!), colors and written signs. How cute would a polka dotted dinosaur or a purple striped alligator be?! Remember to start saving those candy foil wrappers!

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You can see lots more May Craft ideas by following along on the Designer Crafts Connection Blog Hop. Just click on the "hop forward" or "hop back" buttons on the badge to visit the next site. You'll be inspired when you see all that the Designers have created!

Designer Craft Connection
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Just A Quick Announcement - Mad Craft Skills is Open!

2013-05-04T02:14:27-07:00

Hooray! I just wanted to share with you a new project that I've been working on this past year - Mad Craft Skills!

See I wanted a place to share cool new techniques that are a little more advanced and to offer kits that contain everything you need to do those techniques - thus saving you time and money otherwise spent running around looking for the necessary tools and materials. And every minute saved is a minute that can be spent making things! Yey! So here's the first of what I hope will be a large series of kits - the "Mad Craft Skills Etching Skills Kit" for etching dichroic glass using Printable Resist. It is a very very cool technique and you can learn more about it on the official website here. (Plus there are classes!)

Here's an etched dichroic glass panel I made recently using several different etching techniques including the Printable Resist and Dover clipart! (You can etch any image - really!!!)

I'd love for you to visit the site and to sign up for the Mad Craft Skills newsletter which will be full of tips, tricks and how-to's! (You'll find the signup box at the top of the website.)

Plus I just set up a Mad Craft Skills Facebook page and I'd be ever so happy if you'd like it! This badge will take you there:

Now go make something awesome, you Mad Crafter you!!

Handmade Home Decor: Mid-Century Inspired Retro Satellite Ball Clock

2013-04-27T23:14:58-07:00

Mid-Century Time Traveller

I love love love mid-century design! And one of my favorite mid-century pieces is the iconic Nelson ball clock - so simple in its design and still such a strong graphic statement when hung on a wall. So I'm delighted to share with you a project I designed for Smoothfoam last month inspired by both the Nelson clock and another element of mid-century design - space travel and Sputnik!

Here's how:

Mid-Century Inspired Retro Satellite Ball Clock

Materials:

6" Smoothfoam disc
2" Smoothfoam balls (12 pack)
6 1/2" wood disc
Twelve 3/16" wood dowels
Clock movement
Apple Barrel acrylic paints: Azure, White

Tools:

Sharpie permanent marker: silver
Aleene's Turbo Tacky Glue
Paintbrush and plastic dish
bamboo skewers
sand paper or sanding stick
Wire cutter pliers
craft knife with serrated blade
pencil sharpener, pencil, ruler
Drill, 1/4" drill bit, piece scrap wood

1. Place the piece of scrap wood under the wood disc to protect the table while drilling. Drill a hole in the center of the wood disc.

2. Use the pencil to mark the center of the Smoothfoam disc. Then center the clock movement on the Smoothfoam disc and trace around the shape, adding a 1/2" to the outside.

3. Use the craft knife with a serrated blade to cut out the center of the Smoothfoam disc. (You can set aside the cut out pieces for future projects.)

4. Center the Smoothfoam disc on the back of the wood disc and glue it in place. Set a heavy book on top and let dry.

5. For an easy handle, use a bamboo skewer on a Smoothfoam ball. Sand off the center seam from the ball with the sanding stick.

6. Apply 2-3 coats of Azure paint to the ball. Set aside to dry. Repeat for all the remaining balls.

7. Mix a squirt of White paint with a little Azure to make a light blue. Paint onto the front and sides of the wood and Smoothfoam discs. Let dry.

8. Cut the wood dowels to 6". (I like to use the wire cutter pliers they easily crush through the dowels). Use the pencil sharpener to sharpen the cut end. (This will help later when inserting the dowels into the Smoothfoam).

9. Color each dowel with silver Sharpie.

10. Replace the bamboo skewer in a ball with a silver dowel. Then gently push the pointed end of the dowel into the outer edge of the Smoothfoam disc. Repeat with all the remaining balls and dowels, spacing them evenly around the perimeter of the Smoothfoam disc.

Once you have all the balls and dowels in place, you can fine tune the design by removing and shortening the dowels until you are happy with the look. Add a drop of glue to each dowel where it meets the Smoothfoam disc to affix into place.

11. Insert the clock movement into cut out space in back of glued discs. Follow the manufacturer's directions to affix the movement to wood disc. Add the clock hands to the front. Hang on the wall and enjoy you time traveller you!