Alcohol Ink and Gold Leaf Hanukkah Candles

 

Sharing some Hanukkah candles I made for friends. While I'm not Jewish, the Hanukkah story resonates with me as one of perseverance against the odds and a reminder to never give up. Always thrilled when recipients of things I make are happy with them!

Supplies: 

• Plain Tall Jar Candles (Dollar Tree)
• Alcohol Inks
• Gold Leaf and Adhesive
• Gold Adhesive Foil (Cricut)
• Digital Cutting Machine ( I used my Cricut Explore Air 2)
• Mod Podge Matte
• Vinyl Gloves

I ordered a box of alcohol inks from Amazon and selected two shades of blue. Remove the stickers from the candles and clean with alcohol to remove any residue. 

NOTE: Make sure and protect your work surface. I used an empty box. 

This was my first time using alcohol inks so I just winged it. I turned the candles upside down and then started dripping the inks down the candle, alternating the two blues. The ink dries quickly, but just to ensure it was really set, I let them sit for a couple of days after I was all done. 

I decided to seal them so went over them with a coat of Mod Podge Matte. Once that was dry, I applied gold leaf adhesive (Mona Lisa) around the top, then applied gold leaf using a stiff bristled stencil brush. 

Gold leafing is MESSY so I used the same box to catch the excess. 

In Cricut Design Space, I chose a font I liked and sized the word "Hanukkah" to fit the length of the candle, then cut it out using a gold adhesive foil. Then applied to each candle. 

I also made some gift tags for the recipients to use for their own Hanukkah gifts. I love using scraps to make gift tags, so I grabbed coordinating colors along with some sequins and washi tape to embellish. I cut out some dreidels and stars from some of the scraps. 

I cut out the tag bases from blue cardstock, then just went about decorating them. 

Happy Hanukkah to all those celebrating! 

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Easy DIY Ice Skating Sign

 

Something you may not know about me is that I was a figure skater for about 10 years. The Olympics were never going to be a thing (although I did skate at the same rink as someone who DID go on to medal and one of my coaches was also an Olympic medalist) but as a result, I love everything to do with ice skating except being at the point now where I'm likely to break a hip! 

I've had a pair of skates as part of my decor for years and this year, decided to put them outside on the bench by our front door. 

Supplies:

• Wood Art Panel 11x14. These are available at art supply stores as well as Michaels, JoAnn etc.
• White and Black Acrylic Paints
• Black Vinyl (I used Cricut Glossy Black) and Transfer Tape
• Ice Skating Themed Cut File (I found this one at Creative Fabrica)
• Digital Cutting Machines (I used my Cricut Explore Air 2)

The intent of these boards is to use the flat side but I wanted a framed look so I used the underside. Painted it with a couple of coats of white and let dry while I sized and cut the vinyl.

I downloaded this file from Creative Fabrica where I'm a subscriber, and uploaded into Cricut Design Space and sized to fit within my sign. Cut and weeded, then applied the transfer tape. 

I set that aside and painted the edges of the board with black acrylic paint. I wanted to match the "old fashioned" look of the sign so a few worn spots here and there where the white shows through. 

Then I laid the vinyl where it looked about right, burnished it with my Cricut burnishing tool, and done! 

The outside bench is covered so even if we do get some rain it's safe enough so I didn't seal it. 

We found this cool wreath last year at an art fair. It's made from the wire bristles used to clean chimneys! I also made this giant Santa Mailbox a few years ago that shares the bench. 

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Halloween: Crackled and Jeweled Floral Sugar Skull Wall Art

 

I FINALLY got back to my craft room to make something last week! After the Summer from H*LL, the near septic abscess that tried to kill me followed by weeks of recovery, a move, and then surgery to remove the abscess host ovary and more weeks of recovery, it hasn't exactly been a productive Summer. But doctors know things and it was almost like clockwork when my energy level finally started coming back around week 5 post-op. 

Supplies: 

• Wood Art Board (Target Clearance but available at Art Supply Stores)
• Acrylic Paints (Folk Art and Craftsmart)
• White School Glue (Elmers but store brand will work too) 
• White Vinyl, Transfer Tape (Cricut)
• Jewels (Art Minds, Michaels)
• Dimensional Glue ( Glossy Accents, Ranger)

Before all of this started, I'd stumbled on these fabulous Art Boards at Target which screamed "buy me" especially since they were on clearance for something like $3 so of course I bought all the ones they had! Seven of them for what two cost at regular price. 

I had this mega pack of purple jewels from a previous project so it became the inspiration for my color choice of Purple, Black and White which will fit right into my primarily Black and White Halloween decor.

 

I painted the board with a coat of Folk Art Violet Pansy. I didn't care about a perfect finish because that's not my thing and besides, I knew I was going to add black with the purple showing through the crackle. 

My go to process for achieving a crackle finish is good old white school glue. I stock up on it during school supply season! Apply it straight from the bottle and then spread it trying to use complete strokes in one direction. 

You want a medium coverage of the glue. Too thin and it won't crackle. Too thick and you won't have a smooth surface. Let this coat dry to tacky. I use my handy craft tool...an old blow dryer set on cool, to speed up the process. You don't want the glue completely dry. Go over the glue layer with the black paint, using the same one direction brush strokes as the glue layer. If you're patient, you can let this air dry. If you're me, grab the blow dryer again, this time set on warm to help the crackling process. 

Q: "Can I use my heat gun?"

A: NO! It's too hot and everything will bubble and peel which might give you a cool effect but it won't be THIS effect. 

Don't worry if the glue shows through. Once dry, it dries clear. Even though I help the drying process with the blow dryer, set it aside to dry completely which gives you time to work on the vinyl piece. I found this image on Creative Fabrica ( Disclosure: I am an Affiliate so if you use this link to purchse, I do receive credit to their store).

Download your image  then bring it into the Cricut Design Space Software ( these files work with all of the different cutting machines but I used my Cricut) and size accordingly. I cut this from white Cricut Vinyl, using my Explore Air 2. 

Weed your vinyl (if you're new to vinyl, weeding is the process of removing the vinyl from the negtive spaces to reveal your image) and then apply the Transfer Tape (this is clear tape, I used the Cricut brand, that allows you to position and apply the vinyl to your surface). 

Position your transfer tape lightly on your surface until satisfied then use a scraping tool ( I use the one that came w/ my first ever Cricut or they sell them at craft stores and you can also use an old credit card etc. ) to apply your vinyl to your surface. Peel off the transfer tape.  I do this slowly vs ripping off like a bandaid in case there are spots the vinyl isn't sticking. It allows you to maintain the positioning and fix any issues. 

Then it was time for the jewels! I used a strong glue (Glossy Accents by Ranger) to adhere these and just randomly placed using the different sizes and shades. 

Et, voila! 

I haven't hung it up yet because I haven't started my Halloween decorating yet but I absolutely LOVE how it turned out and I have some other projects planned using this color scheme! Happy Haunting Season! 

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Holiday 2020: Official Santa Delivery Station Ornament and Card

 

As I mentioned in my Giving Locally post, I had a few more ornaments and cards to make for local places I want to thank this holiday season. One of those is our Post Office, which for people like me who live in small towns, is a LIFELINE! 

We don't get mail delivery at home so the joke with friends and family is that a few times a week we hitch up the mules and go into town. We're not that rural...we drive...in a car! 

FedEx and UPS are hit or miss. Amazon is consistent in their deliveries. But out of an abundance of caution, we just have everything shipped to the Post Office and they have received everything from Chewy boxes to vacuums and sewing machines! So naturally I wanted to include them in my small expressions of gratitude. 

I created this cut file in Cricut Design Space but I'm not fancy and have to learn how to create an SVG file which is going to wait until 2021! 

Then cut using my Explore Air2 using glossy black Cricut Vinyl. Then, following the steps I showed in my Using Creativity To Give Back post, used it to make another tile ornament. 

After weeding the vinyl, I didn't want to waste the negative image left behind, so I used it to make the card! 

I applied it to a white scrap panel, trimmed, and then mounted on a peppermint stripe panel, then a black panel. Where the inside of the letters was gone, I used black rhinestones. Bloop! 

Can you tell I'm having so much fun with these?! 

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Our Hopeful Home 

My Girlish Whims

Being A Wordsmith

It's A Sign! Actually Two And The Story of Craft Fail to Fab

 

Yes, I took a break from Quilling! Well sort of as you'll see in this post. I did some stash busting this weekend but you know us makers...rarely throw stuff out and re-purpose things!

I made two fun signs this weekend. The one above, using a picture frame that previously held a collage that had seen better days, and this one using up a plain wood sign I picked up after Halloween last year at Michaels for 70-80% off and had been sitting in my craft closet. 

Supplies: 

• SVG "Strong" File ( I think this was from a Creative Fabrica freebie)
• Cricut Black Glossy Vinyl
• Old Frame w/Glass
• Wood Sign
• Acrylic Paint
• Adhesive Rhinestones

For the "Strong" Sign, I imported the SVG file into my Silhouettte Design Studio software, traced and cut it on my Cameo 3. Here's the fail I mentioned in the title. I thought I'd traced the inside of the letters so they'd cut ( eg Os, Gs, etc.) and I was not in the mood to cut it again. I got the idea to use rhinestones to simulate what I'd flubbed, turning frustration and a craft fail into what I'm now thrilled with as FABULOUS! 

I had some rhinestones in my stash that were circles so I used those for the "Os" and then regular ones everywhere else. This fit my style of adding a little bling to things and I really love it against the back drop of my industrial "cement"  accent wall. 

 

What do you think? 

The other sign is now above the entrance to my office since Quilling is forever going to be part of my life. I chose the name because I'm not a traditional Quiller but more of a Whimsical one. 

For this one, I used the plain wood sign I found at Michaels last year for around $5. 

I painted it white and then painted the edges black.  Then I selected a mix of fonts and cut out again using Cricut glossy vinyl. To finish I added painted polka dots to the edge and some of the letters. 

And yes, I intentionally offset some of the letters!

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