Resin pouring projects (such as my water-splash resin sculptures) often results in excess resin left over after my primary project is complete. I love experimenting with this leftover resin and one of these side-project-experiments recently resulted in a method for creating the geode-like metallic blooms, shown below. Developed to create a shiny and ultra durable…
How to DIY your Own Cement Dye
DIY dying cement is a tough job. Cement is often a dark media (my favorite crafting variety, Rockite, however, is already light, making dying easier) and the chemical processes and heating that take place during the curing process seem to destroy most pigments. In my initial attempts, I used a professional grade high pigment fluid…
How To Create the Texture and Movement of Water with Resin Sculptures
In 2015 I was commissioned to create 5 sculptures riffing off of the themes in Henri Matisse’s painting “La Danse.” I knew I wanted to represent moving water in my interpretation, and the months that ensued between being commissioned and delivering the sculptures were filled with a maddening course of experimentation with materials, resin casting,…
DIY: How to Make Your Own Sea Glass at Home
I’ve always been enamored by sea glass. When I was eleven, growing up in Kansas, I vividly remember opening an envelope from a pen pal on the coast that contained the beautiful soft frosted glass pearls she said were known as “mermaid tears” in her family. As I’ve become, in my professional life, a person…
Felt Food Waffle: Video Tutorial & Free Pattern
I’ve chosen to make this pdf pattern and full instructions free. If you find it helpful, a donation in any amount is appreciated. Contributions help fund future felt food free-pattern-making adventures. This post features a video showing the full waffle making process, a list of supplies to gather, a printable pattern, and finally a…
How to Build a Faux Campfire Party Prop that’s Realistic and Child Safe
Here’s a quick way to decorate for your next camp themed event or just add the cozy touch of a campfire without any of the mess, maintenance, or headache. This faux campfire is pretty darn convincing copy of a campfire burning low with reddish orange embers, but you won’t have to worry about any…
Quick Tip Tuesday – Create an Easy-Clean Paint Palette with Press ‘N Seal
A quick tip Tuesday for crafters, moms, and anyone who’s wrestled with wet paint pallets or the mess of throwing away a pallette with wet paint only to find paint dripping through your trash: A few years ago, while frantically searching for a plastic plate to use as a paint pallette for a burst of…
How to Convert a Vintage Cosmetic Suitcase into an Organized Art Supply Storage
I’m almost as excited to share this project with my readers as I was to complete this project for myself! Creating this vintage train case turned marker holder has been my goal for a while, but it’s taken some patience to find the perfect train case and marker holder that fit without wasting a lot…
Using Magnets with Polymer Clay to Create Interactive Art
Sometimes I love working with Polymer Clay. It’s versatility and the possibility to combine it with other materials for mixed media projects (something harder to do with traditional clay that has to be fired) makes it my media of choice for some projects. In 2011 I worked on a project that represented various emotions using…
How to Create Metallic Elements for your Felt Quiet Book
I made my first felt quiet book as I was preparing to return to school for my masters degree in Psychology. I’d recently began reading up on sensory development and sensory stimulation for children. Turns out, I learned, that children’s books that include textures and sounds and interactive elements aren’t just for entertainment. Along with…
Felt Quiet Book: Ideas & Instructions for Handmade Gift
Last Updated: I adore felt crafts. I’m working on a project of felt fruit presently, but when my niece was 18 months old I made a quiet book using the letters of her name as inspiration for each page. A combination of craft glue and hand stitching created an interactive book of activities and textures.…
How To: DIY Custom Horse Brushes
A few years ago I purchased a case of wood-backed horse brushes on clearance and enjoyed using the opportunity to experiment with horse brush “upgrades”. After some trial and error I’d produced an assortment of colorful and unique horse brushes. Here’s my how-to and tips for 3 different methods of painting or decorating your own…
Favorite Things – Late Winter 2015
I always seem to end up at the end of each year with images on my phone that I’d love to share, but that don’t go with any particular theme I’ve blogged on lately. To that end, I decided to do a quarterly roundup of “favorite things”. This time: 1. Snowy blankets on snowy…
Vintage Notepads & Stationary – Free Download
A few weeks ago I added a tutorial on recovering a new journal with a vintage notebook cover, and promised I’d scan and upload high quality copies of a few of the notebooks in my collection. I finally got around to scanning the papers in over the weekend and am thrilled to be able to…
How to Add a Vintage Cover to a New Notebook or Journal
Poking through a small flea market about a 1,000 miles off the beaten path last week, I stumbled across a cache of stationary, pens, and notepads from the 1930’s and 1940’s. Each priced at nearly nothing, I scooped up the whole pile and started making plans. The timing was perfect, I was just a few…
How to Make a Christmas Wreath from an Antique Horse Harness Collar
Last Updated: Last fall a friend purchased a fantastic property with an old 19th century stone barn still standing. When I remarked on the old horse collars resting under a thick layer of dust in the old tack room, she immediately gifted me both. I knew right away I’d make wreaths with them, and thanked…