A New Flag To Fly

Prayer flags have been a tradition in Tibet and India for thousands of years.  I decided to put a little Ticklish Moose spin on convention and make a few of my own. 

 Traditionally, prayer flags are used to promote peace, compassion, strength, and wisdom. The flags do not carry prayers to gods, a common misconception; rather, the Tibetans believe the prayers and mantras will be blown by the wind to spread the good will and compassion into all pervading space. Therefore, prayer flags are thought to bring benefit to all.

Given the recent events in Aurora, CO I thought this idea I have had floating around in my head was apropos, but these can be used in so many ways- as a banner in a sick friends room, for good wishes to be written at weddings or birthdays, a project for kids to decorate at VBS.....the possibilities are endless.

 I did my project with simple machine sewing, but this could be a hand sewn or no-sew project just as easily. For no-sew just use steam-a-seam type products in place of the sewn areas. 

You will need:
Basic sewing supplies
 2 sheets plain cardstock 
Temporary adhesive spray like Easy-Tack
Laser or inkjet printer
Iron to heat set images
11 feet or longer rope, twine etc.
Fabric as detailed below 

 Woodcut Printables Freebie (click on links)

Prayer Flags Page 1  

Prayer Flags Page 2 

 This could also be old sheeting, broadcloth, lightweight cotton

 I upcycled mens shirts for this because the oxford cloth is pretty on both sides. 

Use whatever lightweight cotton fabric you have on hand. Also- I threw my shirting pieces into the washer and dryer after cutting to get a 'softer' frayed edge look- totally not necessary.

Spray the cardstock with adhesive spray and smooth your muslin onto the tacky side of the cardstock. Trim off the excess with scissors or rotary cutter.

 Print the Prayer Flag images onto your muslin, remove from the cardstock and heat set (press from back side!) and use a press cloth so the ink doesn't transfer to your iron and ironing board cover.  I use a teflon sheet for this purpose.....LOVE it!


Cut each image sheet into 4 equal individual images.

While your iron is hot, fold over 1 long side of the flag pieces by 1", press and pin.

I used a decorative zig-zag stitch to make the pocket for the rope/twine- here is where you can also hand sew or use a thin strip of steam-a-seam to create the pocket for the twine if you choose.

Select one of your images and center (mostly) on the face of the flag. Sew or use steam-a-seam to keep it in place.

Now the fun part- hand them out to family members or guests and have them add their prayers/wishes/hopes and dreams to the Prayer Flag with a Sharpie or other permanent marker.  String them onto your rope/twine and let them fly!

 

And help us, this and every day, to live more nearly as we pray.  ~John Keble 

If you make this craft, please let me know- I would love to post a picture of your project!  

Linking Here:

  An Original Belle
Serendipity and Spice 
Mad In Crafts 

Opportunity Can Ring My Bell

I have a confession.  An ugly one.  This was my doorbell.

Please be clear....I have tried and tried to do better.  I just haven't been able to find something that was 'me'.

Some options I have explored:

Or possibly???

NO!!!!

But you can see my dilemma.  

Then you know how sometimes two things can just somehow come together in your mind?  Boom! A tutorial was born!!

Simple, pretty and quick.

And we get to play with electricity!

 

Here is all you will need 

An unfinished wooden switchplate

Mod Podge (I used outdoor)

A lovely paper napkin 

Gesso or primer

180 grit sandpaper

Sponge applicator

Screwdriver and/or cordless drill

I also bought a new dark brown cheapo doorbell,

but you could repaint the one you already have if need be

 Lightly sand and gesso or prime the wooden switchplate

I made sure my screw holes lined up correctly (bonus- they did!) and lightly traced where the doorbell housing would go so I could estimate the amount of space I would have left for the design of the napkin to show.  I picked up these lovely spring napkins at Tuesday Morning for $1.70

Once you figure out what part of the napkin you want to use spread a thin coat of Mod Podge on the switchplate.  You are going to get one shot at sticking down the napkin, so hold your breath and bite your upper lip.  Separate the layers of the napkin and just stick the pretty part on.

Smooth it out and tear or cut off the excess.  Add a layer of Mod Podge to the top.  Let dry a few hours and top coat again.  Now the hard part.....walk away for 72 hrs to let it completely cure.  Use a craft knife to cut paper away from the holes in the backplate.

When the wait is over the fun part starts- playing with live wires!

Remove the screws holding the doorbell.  There should be 2 wires connecting it.  Loosen the little screws on the back that hold the wires and carefully remove each one, being sure they do not come in contact with each other.

 Pull the wires through the middle hole of the switchplate, making sure the ends do not touch each other!  Use a screw or find a third hand to hold the plate on the wall while you pick up your doorbell.

 Reconnect the wires to the (new) doorbell and screw it back onto the wall.

I plan to do a different 'theme' for each season, but for now I am just happy to have this to greet my guests!

Happy Spring!!

Mannequin Tag Freebie + A Few Other Goodies + A Tutorial!

I've been busy!  Scanning. Sorting. Spring cleaning.  I saw this cute organizer idea in GreenCraft Spring 2012 issue

The tutorial is also blogged by Cynthia here:

tin-can-caddy-tutorial 

Not only was I reorganizing all of my sewing and craft supplies, I just so happen to have some cans, a Lazy Susan, and I opted for using decorative paper instead of fabric but I am very pleased with my results!

 

Thanks Cynthia!!

I have been working really hard on scanning (copyright free) images to use for the collage and mixed media work I am just beginning to get into.  I have been obsessed with image transfer and hope to not only share some work here, but free images as well.  Here are a few to get you started:

And here is a set of mannequin tag freebies you can download, print and cut out to use in your journaling, as a base for collage, price tags, gift tags or anything else you want to use them for other than selling them on your site.  I have a firm belief in sharing on the web  :D   Click on the picture and use "original size" and these should end up fitting an 8 x 10 piece of paper.

Enjoy!!

Grammatically Different Plates- Fresh Ideas Tutorial

Imagination is everything. It is the preview of life's coming attractions.

Albert Einstein

'Live-Laugh-Love'

'I Hope You Dance'

'Believe'

OMG! I am LOL because it has all just gotten so ridiculous, IMHO....

Is that what life has become- someone else's catch phrase?  Does it really reflect your thoughts and wishes for the day?  I am thinking "we can do better than this".  

By now you know I love quotes and Bible verses.  I find great inspiration and comfort in many of them.  I think words hold great meaning.  You probably know someone that has a favorite verse as well.  So wouldn't it be great to give someone (or yourself!) the gift of a word phrase that actually has some deeper meaning?  I'm going to show you how with just an inkjet printer and a few inexpensive supplies.

For this project you will need:

• A few ceramic plates (or tiles)

I pick them up all over.  You may have a few lying around, but each of these were purchased for anywhere from .49-$2.00 ea.

• Denatured Alcohol* (find it @ the hardware store)

*flammable- please use in well ventilated area away from flame

  

• Lazertran Inkjet

(click on above link to see where to buy)

 Lazertran has a TON of applications, but for this project we are applying it to a ceramic surface.  I used black type, but you can print colored images if you choose. Don't worry- We'll have more fun with it another day.

•  Spray Polyurethane* (gloss or satin/matte)

* note: MUST be a urethane- acrylics will not dissolve film! 

• a few cotton balls
• a pan of water about 1" deep large enough to hold transfer
• inkjet printer

There are basic instructions that come with the Lazertran, but believe me- it is nothing compared to the voice of experience here.  A few things to consider:

Choose a plate with a specific rim/edge detail to ease the transition from the Lazertran to the edge.  You can see a faint line of the transfer on some types of plates more than others, especially with a curved inner edge.

 Try to make your image a large enough size to come close to the transition line.  It just looks neater.

I thought the gloss urethane gave a better result on my ceramic plates, but consider the original sheen of your item to give it a authentic look.

If you need to sand out any imperfections in your urethane finish- be sure it is fully cured and use a scotchbrite style sanding pad (fine grit) and lightly sand the surface without putting any real pressure on the pad.  Then apply a light final coat. You may also need a sharp pin/needle to prick air bubbles in the transfer.  

Measure your plate ahead of time to determine the size of your phrase.  I like to use Publisher because it has a handy ruler on the side of the page, but use whichever program you are familiar with.  You do not need to "mirror" or flip your image!  Also, I do at least one 'test' sheet on regular paper to be sure I have things the correct size before I print on the Lazertran sheet.  I would much rather waste a cheap piece of copy paper getting things right.

When you have things the way you want it- print on the white side of the Lazertran.  I'm cheap, so I try to get 2 or more projects per sheet.  Allow it to fully dry- 30 mins or so.  If you are impatient you can try a heat gun, but no promises- OK?

I like to find a circle 'template' to use to get the size/centering correct.  You may have a circle cutter.  I do.....somewhere!  If your plate is square, measure twice, cut once ;-)

Use a pencil to mark your cutting line- then cut just inside the line.

Gather your materials on a covered surface

It's good to check the back of the plate so if there is a logo you get it orientated correctly with what will be your finished product.

Bad Blogger is Back With a New 'Old' Lamp Project!

What can I say?  It's been a busy past few months!!  My son returned to High School and so we had to get back into the 'school routine', my Rheumatologist had me try a new medication which did not agree with me at all.  As a matter of fact, lets just say short of my anaphylactic reaction to a few other medications I have had in the past, it ranked right up there on the 'bad experience' scale.

I also got a new great-niece!  After 40 hours of labor (yes- you read that right!)  beautiful (and not just because she is 'ours') baby Arwen was born!

Then I went on an 'antiquing' trip to MI, got some fabulous things, got sick from being stuck in that sardine can they call flying coach, and just barely had time to whip up a fall project!   I tend to decorate for fall, not Halloween.  I don't have any small children and the fall theme takes me through Thanksgiving.

Lately it seems, I have had a 'thing' for lamps.  I don't know why.  Possibly because they are plentiful and inexpensive.  One thing for sure- I will never pay full price for a lamp or shade again!

So here is my 'latest' new 'old' lamp project:

But- as usual- we gotta get there, right?  

I recently bought the barley-twist lamp in the photo at our neighborhood garage sale for $3.  I switched out the shade for a narrower one I had on hand from a different lamp I was not currently using so I could group the lamps together.  I think it makes for a kinda neat display  :)

The 'project' lamp is an old, sad 8" tall (minus the shade) glass lamp I got at the local thrift for $4.49.  You know the kind- popular in the 1980's.  Depending on your age, you may already have one around the house  ;-)

.

Be sure to look at the bottom to see that it is easily taken apart by undoing the wing-nut that holds the threaded rod that goes up the middle.  Just undo it, loosen the cord up through the lamp and you are ready for spray paint.

 I used black satin spray paint and put a little blue tape around the cord to keep the paint off.  Paint the base, and the brass-colored threaded rod that goes in the center.  Of course, you can use whatever color suits you and your project.  Clean the glass and get ready to fill it up!  You could use pine cones, acorns, candy corn.....I chose these cute mini pumpkins and threw in a few small pine cones from my stash.

Ribbon Storage Idea- A 1 Hour Craft

Do you ever spend way too much time looking for something to fulfill a storage or space requirement and then think "duh.....I can just MAKE that!" ?

I have had this idea for vertical ribbon storage for some time now.  I kept thinking about possibly modifying a paper towel holder but the bases are typically too large.  Then the other day I was clearing out some stuff from a shelf in the shed and realized I had everything I already needed!  Booyah!

This is what it looks like completed

 

This is the pile of junk supplies that started the process

I also used some wood glue, a little 220 grit sandpaper, black spray paint, and ended up using a wooden spool on the top.  My husband was nice enough to put together a cute little power tool kit just for me..........guess he got tired of the endless 'honey-do's' and looking for his tools  :)   So I got to use my awesome new cordless drill on this project!  

The 2 inch diameter wooden disc is a cedar block that had lost it's scent.  Any size piece of wood would work as long as it is larger than the wheel.  The hole in the wheel was not quite large enough to push the dowel into, so I used my handy drill to make the hole the correct size, added a little glue to the bottom edge of the dowel and stuck them together.

Then I just glued the disc to the top of the candlestick, and the wheel with dowel attached to the disc.  I let the whole thing dry about an hour.

Dyed to Match Buttons- Who Knew??

Evidently, dye is not just for fabric!!  I wanted to share a tutorial I ran across yesterday that really opened my eyes to some new possibilities.

 This tutorial comes to us from Rit dye, but of course you could probably experiment with some products you had around the house as well.

And- if it dyes plastic and nylon......well, just think of the things that could use a facelift!! 

 

Dyed Buttons

Whether you are a crafter or a sewing fashionista, you will enjoy dyeing buttons. It’s fun and easy to do. Most white buttons are made out of nylon or some type of plastic. Rit is one of the few dyes that will color these materials. That means you can transform ordinary buttons into colorful accents that match or coordinate with whatever you are making.

Assorted White Buttons before dyeing

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Muffin pan doubles as a button organizer when working on craft projects

Rit Dye colors shown:

• Top: Fuchsia, Lemon Yellow, Violet
• Bottom: Sunshine Orange, Evening Blue, Scarlet

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Buttons add a colorful accent to flower arrangements!

Rit Dye colors shown:

• Lemon Yellow, Golden Yellow, Sunshine, Orange, Apple Green

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 Ready to get started??