Putzing around with putz houses

There are some crafts that just require the right tools for success.

You know this kind of project. It's the project you may have been feverish to start and while falling short rummaging for a glue gun -  you settled for a small ball of masking tape, or when tiny knitting needles where used because you only packed one set and wanted to start on the project immediately.

I find in these crafting scenarios usually the end result can suffice - I mean it is a craft after all - let's not take this shit too seriously. However, you never quite get that sense of crafting satisfaction when the masking tape inevitably falls off or the toque you made for your handsome significant other ends up on the head of a reluctant toddler.

So from that long winded description, back to my first point - sometimes you just need the right tools for the job - and for the following project I was in the rare crafter's sweet spot where I happened to have all of them.

For this project you will need:

1 sheet of white poster paper (thickest I could find - made about 3 houses with some scrap)
1 cutting mat
1 small crafting knife (with extra blades)
1 ruler, pencil, eraser, small paint brush
Glue (school glue worked fine for me)
Paint ( I used a rose gold acrylic)


These little houses were a joy to make! They were very simple but I really see the possibilities being endless with additional painting, glitter and other details. As the subject suggests, this project was first inspired by the traditional 'putz' houses and all of their sweetness.

I didn't take any pictures of the templates but here is a rough sketch of what I sketched onto the poster board.

For the roof I just eye balled it - cut a piece I thought would fit the house folded in half and then trimmed it till I thought the eaves looked about right. The windows and doors are where the crafting knife was used and then you just fold along the lines to create a standing structure. I finished them with a bit of paint around the windows and door and a dab of glue to adhere the roof (hold till the glue takes). A battery powered tea light or string of lights behind the house lit them up for pure viewing enjoyment.

Happy crafting.

Three year Craft hiatus

Oh hi there! Did you miss me? Does anyone even read this thing? It appears my last post was almost three years to the day. Time flies when your having fun making babies.

To be clear, over the last three years the crafting wasn't really on 'hiatus' although the amount of time directed to crafting and (obviously) blogging has diminished.

Since I have been gone, Pinterest has kind of exploded and as a DIY craft enthusiast it is both a major source of inspiration and (like all social media) provides users with that sinking feeling that one is not quite performing at full capacity - as there are endless examples of others doing things way better than you.

So let's start this reboot by checking our egos and expectations at the proverbial 'crafter's door' ( imagine what a crafter's door would look like? - I am envisioning a lot of ribbon and glitter - I digress) and have some fun making some things together. To start, as I have a constant and wonderful crafting companion now I wanted to share something fun you can make with your favourite small people.



Ms. F and I got going on our Christmas ornament making this year in preparation for our tree arriving any day. We made these lovely salt dough ornaments and then painted and decorated them. The salt dough was lots of fun to play with and is a great medium for acrylic paint, glitter and a gloss as a final coat if you want a smoother and brighter finish.

To make the salt dough
2 cups flour
1 cup salt
3/4-1 cup of warm water (add water slowly)

Work into a dough, roll and use cookie cutters to make your preferred shapes. After I used a straw to poke a hole in each ornament and then placed them on parchment paper and baked at 180 degrees until they dried out (these took about two hours). I also flipped them on the pan and let the backs bake for an additional time - just to even things out.

Once they have cooled - paint, glitter, sharpie - decorating options are fairly endless. You could also experiment with stamps on the dough prior to baking.

Now all they need is a coat of clear gloss (modge podge or equivalent) and a ribbon for hanging on the tree. Depending on the kiddo and age they may want to take part in making the dough, painting adding glitter beads etc. or just making a funny mess in the kitchen.

Happy crafting!

Craft Serenity

Sometimes crafts are not just for fun they are actually really good for you.

Feeling stressed? Life thrown you a lemon?
Turn down that internal chatter channel and grab some knitting needles.

No, not for eye-gouging, although sometimes that may be your first instinct. Instead go find some great yarn (or cheap yarn to make mistakes with) and get started.The soothing quality of knitting combined with the end result of something cozy for you or someone you like - is pure crafting serenity. 

If you haven't knit before, find yourself a friend that does and ask for a lesson. Don't get discouraged if you forget everything they taught you as soon as they leave your house. With YouTube all that was learned can be learned again. I recommend the Good Knit Kisses.  channel for the slow and wide yarn instruction.

I first started knitting circle scarfs by simply knitting a scarf and then attaching the ends with a darning needle. I am now looking into transitioning into toques. We will see how that goes, but to be quite honest I am still not tired of knitting the same scarf pattern. The results look great and my tension keeps getting better. A slow and steady improvement that has been gained from lots of repetition while curled up in my chair.

PS.

For my loyal readers in Vegas working on the 'craft of gamble'. I would like for nostalgia a moneyline Oilers bet placed in my name ($10) and from my research on ESPN FC and my winning intuition - I would like some kind of a parlay (bookie's choice) with some or all of the following - the Saints (who are going to murder), the Panthers, the Buccaneers, and the usual Go Hawks!

Luck be a lady!

Name your Herbs

Here is a little craft I have been meaning to post. This was my second experiment with polymer clay (Sculpey brand). They were such fun to make and quite a few of these little guys have been gifted to date.

These were made after reading the excellent tutorial found on Wit and Whistle. As the clay heats up quickly in your hands, the worse your circulation the better your results! After baking the clay and letting them cool, I filled in the stamp indentations with permanent marker. Happy Crafting:).

Sisters and Terrariums

Shrooms in a Jar

My sister Kelsey has been really interested in making terrariums for the past year and we finally made this dream a reality. Full disclosure, we have no idea how to ensure succulents stay alive, but after watching videos of experienced gardeners ripping these plants apart and shoving them into the soil - we suspect they are hardy.

The process of creating these fun little worlds was actually really simple, but requires a few supplies;

• Glass container you like
• Charcoal
• Potting soil mixed with sand
• Plants
• Figurines ( not optional - without them your terrarium is just a plant steaming up a glass container)
• Moss (Optional)

Kelsey's Rhino and Rock Cacti Terrarium

After layering the sand charcoal and potting soil (mixed with sand) we were ready to plant these cacti. Finally we added the pièce de résistance these gorgeous litte mushrooms which we created with FIMO baked and then painted. If we make them again (and we will) we would make the mushroom stems a bit longer to ensure they sit above the soil.
 

Pysanky

All things worth celebrating deserve at least one craft. Spring is no exception. In fact it deserves more than one craft but let's not get ahead of ourselves.

I recently had a lovely evening with Rebecca, Katherine and Paul. The event was titled "Pysanky and Polenta". After chowing down on dinner (polenta attempt number one was a success) we got out the Pysanky supplies and got to work. To be clear, this was nobody's maiden voyage. The group gathered were all experienced in the art of Pysanky. A tradition that we didnt fully understand the importance of until Katherine's 2012 Wikipedia search.

To repeat, "The Hutsuls––Ukrainians who live in the Carpathian Mountains of western Ukraine––believe that the fate of the world depends upon the pysanka. As long as the egg decorating custom continues, the world will exist. If, for any reason, this custom is abandoned, evil––in the shape of a horrible serpent who is forever chained to a cliff–– will overrun the world. Each year the serpent sends out his minions to see how many pysanky have been created. If the number is low the serpent's chains are loosened and he is free to wander the earth causing havoc and destruction. If, on the other hand, the number of pysanky has increased, the chains are tightened and good triumphs over evil for yet another year."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pysanka

Needless to say, this craft is serious business. To begin a Pysanky adventure of your own we recommend Baba's Beeswax - great dyes and kits to get you started.  
http://www.babasbeeswax.com/

Hearts

Both literally and figuratively, hearts are great.

From a crafty perspective, the heart shape provides the advantages of symmetry (ease of replication), and nicely incorporates both curves and lines. Also hearts look like hugs. I have always loved the heart shape and have some really fond memories of hearts as crafts and edibles.

To name a few; Maria Adamic's personalized (with our names) heart cookies that were cherished and then devoured at Paula's birthday parties, a heart ceramic necklace I made for my mom in kindergarten that she still wears on V-Day, Purdy's chocolates around the house from Dad before boyfriends, placing two cinnamon hearts into each valentines day card - for both the kids I liked and the kids I didn't like. All of these things fill my heart with feelings of hearts.

The Valentines Day craft shown here is a simple one, just a few rustic looking heart felt ornaments stitched with a blanket stitch and some simple embroidery. Once complete, they were  hung on my very dried out berry branch left over from a Christmas flower arrangement - the best $3.00 ever spent.

XOXO