Make Messes!

MOVING!

2011-12-31T13:40:00.000-08:00

I have moved to my own domain name!

Head to: MakeMesses.com for more projects, tutorials, and fun!

Baking Cup Flowers

2011-03-22T17:30:00.000-07:00

YAY! It's officially spring! Okay, I woke up to a blanket of snow covering the ground, but that's Idaho for you!

But there's nothing like longing for a little spring color, warmth, and cheeriness to inspire a flower project, right?

YOU WILL NEED: *Baking cups in pretty colors (the regular and "mini" sizes)

*Pop-sickle/craft sticks

*Beads

*Fishing line

*Needle (with a big enough eye for the fishing line)

*Scissors

*Glue (glue stick and all-purpose craft glue)

OPTIONAL: Small clay flower pots and floral foam

You'll want to use the pretty colored side of the baking cups, so you'll have to...

Flatten them out!

Cut triangles in one of the baking cups

All the way around.

Glue Stick time! Just in the center.

Layer the baking cup with cut-out triangles on top

Glue a small size baking cup to the center

Thread a length of fishing line up from the bottom of your flower and through a bead (If you are careful, then the paper will not rip)

Sew back down through the cups to finish attaching the bead.

Add a dab of craft glue to the back of your flower and attach a pop-sickle stick.

Secure the fishing line to the pop-sickle stick with a double knot, and another dab of glue.

Trim the fishing line.

TAH-DAH!! Flower! If you would like, you can display your flower in a small terra-cotta pot. Just cut a little square of floral foam, smoosh it down in the pot, and push the pop-sickle stick into the foam.

Random Giraffe approves!

So does the dinosaur!

Shamrock Garland

2011-03-12T21:14:00.000-08:00

I'm a St. Patty's Day baby, so I rather enjoy decking the entire house in green and shamrocks!

This was a super-simple little garland to make

You will need craft foam shamrock shapes, embroidery floss or craft thread, and a needle.

Thread the needle and take a small stitch in each of the shamrock shapes, spreading them evenly along the thread.

Continue until the garland is as long as you would like it to be

Hang your garland up!

How to Make a Simple Felt Finger Puppet

2011-02-15T06:00:00.000-08:00

Hello! I'm a friendly monster finger puppet!

How-to make an easy finger puppet out of craft felt!

YOU WILL NEED: *A sheet of craft felt (in your favorite color!) *A contrasting color of embroidery floss or craft thread *Needle *Scissors *Marker *Glue *Googly Eye (or eyeS. You only have to make a cyclops if you want to. )

Fold one end of the sheet of felt down slightly shorter than the length of your finger. (This was about 2 1/2 inches for me) Place your finger on the felt and draw lines with the marker approximately 1/2 inch away from your finger on either side.

Pin the two sides of the felt together.

Cut out the piece of felt down each side and along the bottom, leaving the top connected

You should now have a piece of felt that looks like this.

Fold the felt in half. Cut a length of embroidery floss or craft thread. Tie a knot in the end. Bring the needle up from what will become the inside of your finger puppet so the knot will be hidden inside.

Sew up one side of the puppet. I used the split stitch, it's very simple - Down through the fabric and then back up halfway through the stitch you just made. HERE is a good tutorial for it along with several other embroidery stitches.

When you get to the top, simply loop the thread around and around and around the top all the way across. You can vary the length of stitches to give it the look of fur or hair.

Continue all the way across

Sew back down the other side, knot the end and trim the thread.

Now stitch a cute smiling mouth! This is simply two long stitches, slightly overlapped at the bottom corner. Be careful to only stitch on one side of your puppet so you don't accidentally stitch one side to the other where your finger is supposed to go.

Glue on a googly eye! Or two googly eyes! It's your puppet, you decide!

Pretty cute, huh? Now go make your own and put on a puppet show!

Polymer Clay Bugs Tutorial: Butterflies!

2011-02-10T07:00:00.000-08:00

Butterflies!

For the last in the series on making making polymer clay bugs with heart shaped cookie cutters: butterflies!

SUPPLIES and TOOLS: *Heart shaped cookie cutter (I used the smaller one for these butterflies) *Polymer clay in black and red (or whatever colors you would like your butterflies to be) *Needle tool *Rolling tool (pasta machine, acrylic roller, rolling pin, fondant roller) *work surface and oven

Roll out the clay to the thickest setting on the pasta machine, or about 1/8" thick. Cut out hearts with the heart shaped cutter. Cut out four hearts for two butterflies.

Place the corner of one heart over the corner of the other heart and gently press down to adhere the clay together.

Gently smooth the seam with a roller (I used the end of a paintbrush)

Roll a small snake of the opposite color and press it down onto the middle of the hearts for the body.

Use a needle tool to incise a line in the middle of each heart for wings.

Roll out small balls of the opposite color and press them down on the wings.

Use a needle tool to gently press segments into the body.

Bake according to the clay manufacturer's directions!

Now you can add magnets, pin backs, or hair clips to your ladybugs and butterflies!

Making Polymer Clay Bugs Tutorial: Ladybugs Version 2

2011-02-08T06:52:00.000-08:00

As promised, another version of the heart ladybugs!

SUPPLIES: *Polymer clay in black and red *Heart shaped cookie cutters *Needle Tool *Blade to cut clay with (X-acto knife, wall paper craping blade, tissue blade, polymer clay blade, etc) *Something to roll clay out with (Pasta machine, rolling pin, acrylic roller, fondant roller, etc.) *Work surface and an oven to bake clay in.

Roll out clay to the thickest setting on the pasta machine or about 1/8" thick. Use the heart cookie cutter to cut out heart shapes. You will need one heart of each color for one bug, it is just as easy to cut out four hearts and make two different bugs.

Cut off the bottom corner of two of the hearts

This one is easier to show than to explain! Cut a thin triangle out of the top part of the heart. The two parts that are left will be the wings.

Place the wings on the opposite colored heart and press down to secure them.

Roll out small balls of the opposite color and place them on the wings, pushing them down with your fingers to secure them. Bake your ladybugs according to the clay manufacturer's instructions.

Beginner Button Class at Polka Dot Cottage

2011-02-07T08:00:00.000-08:00

Check it out! Lisa Clarke is offering a free button making class for polymer clay beginners at her blog!

A great way to try out working with polymer clay, and perfect for any knitters or crocheters who are would like to add special buttons to their projects!

Ladybugs, ladybugs! Making ladybugs with heart shaped cookie cutters

2011-02-06T10:06:00.000-08:00

Ladybugs!

Valentine's Day is just around the corner! Instead of the usual Valentines, this week I'm going to share how to make some cute polymer clay bugs with heart shaped cookie cutters. They can be made into magnets, pins, hair clips, or as a part of a bigger project. (They would be very cute glued to a picture frame, for example!) We'll start off with some shiny metallic ladybugs!

Supplies!

You will need: *Polymer Clay (just black will be enough for this version of the project) *Mica Powder (I used Pearl-Ex brand in Super Russet) *Heart shaped cookie cutters *Needle Tool *Small paintbrush

A surface to work on (I use a marble tile I got at the hardware store for about 5 bucks) Something to roll out the clay with (I have a pasta machine that works well and makes it easy, but you can also use a rolling pin, acrylic roller, or fondant roller) And an oven to bake the clay in.

Condition and roll out your clay. I used the thickest setting on my pasta machine, or about 1/8" thick. Cut out a heart shape with your cookie cutter.

Use your needle tool to incise a line across the bottom corner of the heart, and two lines down the middle. These now become the head and the wings of the ladybug.

Use a small, soft paintbrush to brush your mica powder onto the wings.

Using the needle tool, push into the clay to create spots. (Just poke far enough to create the appearance of spots, do not poke the needle tool all the way through the clay.)

Bake the ladybugs according to the clay manufacturer's directions. Brush on a clay compatible glaze if desired or if you are going to use them for something that will receive a lot of handling. I will often use liquid polymer clay (which will require another baking) or water-based Varathane by Rust-o-leum.

Now you can glue on a magnet, pin back, or hair clip, or use them in some other wonderful project you dream up!

Click HERE for a different version of the ladybugs!

Perler Bead and Paper Stamped Pendant

2011-01-16T23:02:00.000-08:00

Make a cute and fun little pendant with perler beads, paper, and stamps!

MATERIALS: Perler Beads, Stamps (I used ones that I carved myself,) ink, craft glue, card stock paper, high gloss finish, jump rings

TOOLS: Hand drill, iron, ironing paper (parchment paper should work as well,) Hexagonal Perler Bead base

Start laying out beads in a hexagonal pattern. You can use all one color, use different shades of one color, make a pattern, or just place them randomly depending upon the effect you want.

Continue placing beads in a circular pattern until you have three rows around the center bead. Add a bead at the top to serve as the bail.

Cover your pendant with the ironing paper and gently fuse it with the iron - 20 or 30 seconds should do it.

Once it has cooled, pull it off of the base, turn it over, cover it with the ironing paper and repeat the process to fuse the back side together.

Now create a hexagon that is four beads wide on each side with nothing in the center, and add a bead at the top.

Fuse the second piece on both sides. Now you have two pieces that look like this, a "backing" piece and a "frame" piece. Use the hand drill to re-open the holes in the top beads if fusing has melted them shut or they are too small to put a jump ring through.

Trace the inside of your hexagon "frame" piece on to card stock

Stamp and decorate your paper and then cut it out just inside the lines from the previous step. I added glitter glue, because I'm fancy like that.

Glue your paper to the center of your "backing" hexagon piece.

Glue the "frame" piece on top, seal the paper with a high gloss finish of your choice, let dry and add a jump ring.

All Done!

Silly Bandz Prints

2011-01-12T17:41:00.000-08:00

If you have kids or spend a lot of time with kids, you are probably aware of the phenomenon that is "Silly Bandz" That is, shaped rubber bands. They come in many shapes and a lot of kids like to wear a big stack of them around their wrist. Here's a little project using them to make prints!

Supplies: Shaped rubber bands, ink pads, paper

On a scrap piece of paper, cover one side of the bands in ink by tapping the ink pads on them. You can use one color, or use several different pads to color the band for a multi-color effect.

On the paper you are making the print on, carefully lay the bands on the paper, ink side down. Tap them gently on the paper, trying to keep them in one place as much as possible.

Pull the rubber bands up carefully. You can rinse the ink off of the bands in cool water.

Now you can use the ink pads and colored pencils to color your print!

Monster MASH! Free Art Activity and Game

2011-01-09T17:11:00.000-08:00

Need a fun art activity for those long cold and grey winter days?

Click Here for a PDF with instructions and templates for playing "Monster Mash!"

Interchangeable Ribbon Wands

2010-12-31T16:06:00.000-08:00

A fun little project for New Year's Eve! Interchangeable Ribbon Wands. You can make several different streamers and change them out to fit your mood.

MATERIALS: Wooden Dowels, Paint, Eye Hooks, Lanyard Hooks, Various Ribbon

TOOLS: Scissors, Hand Drill or Rotary Tool

Paint the wooden dowel. Drill a small pilot hole in the end of the dowel with either a hand drill or rotary tool. Screw in an eye hook.

Cut 2 lengths of ribbon for every streamer you want to make. I used 2 yards (6 feet) for these, but you can shorten or lengthen them as desired. You can put a little fray check on the ends to prevent fraying.

Fold the 2 lengths of ribbon in half and thread them through the lanyard hook. Tie a knot to secure them to the hook. Tie several half knots with the ribbon if desired. (Click on MACRAME BASICS at the top of the page for instructions)

Clip the streamer of your choice onto the eye hook.

Tah Dah! You now have a ribbon wand that you can change the streamers on!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

I need Guinea Pigs!

2010-12-28T13:35:00.000-08:00

I need guinea pigs! I know, I know, the proper term would be "beta testers" or something like that. But I'm just old school that way, I guess. And I really like guinea pigs. :)

So I have this game/art activity that started as a way to keep my children and a couple of my nephews happy when we were all visiting grandma and it was simply too hot for them to run around outside and play one afternoon. It then grew and morphed when I had an assignment around the theme of games in one of my classes. It's part collaborative art, part "exquisite corpse," part chance operations, part I don't know, "Mother May I?" perhaps? There's no goal or "winning" other than the fun of creating.

Our class had a lot of fun playing it, and now I have created a PDF of instructions and "rules." I'm looking for some people willing to download the PDF and take a look, try playing it, and then give me some feedback. Are the instructions clear? Confusing in any way? What worked? What didn't work? Did my PDF file work and look decent? etc. It probably needs at least three people, four would be better; we had a group of nine people and it seemed to work well.

If you are interested, send me an email at makemesses@gmail.com with the subject "Monster Mash Game" I will send the PDF out Dec. 30 at noon (mountain time.) So drop me a line before then if you are a willing guinea pig!

Messy Hands...again

2010-08-16T22:19:00.001-07:00

As you can see, I am pretty much incapable of keeping my hands nice and tidy while working on a project!

Wooden Spool Beads

2010-08-11T07:39:00.000-07:00

A long, long time ago (well in Internet terms, anyway) I had a tutorial up for these beads. I'm putting together a "quickie" tutorial for them here. This pre-supposes a basic knowledge of working with polymer clay, for which there is a LOT of information on the internet, so without further ado:

Supplies!

You'll Need:

Polymer clay, a roller or pasta machine, cutting blade (a wall paper scraping blade works well for larger cuts, a craft knife is handing for finer trimming,) wooden spools, and acrylic paint

Paint your wooden spools with the acrylic paint.

This is my oh-so-fancy palette. Ahem.

Condition your clay, roll it out into sheets, and decorate it (Stamping, swirled colors, canework, etc.) however you choose. I rolled it out on the third thickest setting on my pasta machine. The top one is colors swirled together, the second one is covered with canes, and the third one is stamped. Trim the clay with your blade so it will fit in the middle of the spool.

Wrap the clay around the spool, and trim it so the edges meet. You can smooth the seam if it's canework or swirled colors, you'll want to avoid pressing and fussing too much if it's stamped or textured. You might need to trim a little clay off at the top or bottom. Bake according to the manufacturer's directions.

All Done!

Do as I say....

2010-08-10T09:42:00.000-07:00

So, you know how I posted that Itty-bitty Polymer Clay bunting tutorial? Remember how I said you should wear gloves when applying alcohol inks and paints if you didn't want purple fingers?

Half the fun is being messy, right?

Itty Bitty Bunting!

2010-08-09T18:47:00.000-07:00

Wee little bunting in polymer clay!

To make your own, you'll need:

Polymer clay, roller or pasta machine, cutting blade, wooden dowels or toothpicks, scissors, twine or embroidery thread, beads.

I also used Alcohol Inks and some fabric paint because I used scrap clay. You could also just use different colors of clay, or use white clay and paint the flags.

Smush your clay together and start rolling it out into a sheet.

Condition the clay until it is nice and pliable. Roll it out with an acrylic roller, or on the pasta machine. I used the third thickest setting on my pasta machine.

I dabbed alcohol inks all over the clay. If you don't want to have purple and green fingers, wear gloves!

If you want your flags to all be the same size, you can cut a template out of card stock and then use it as a guide to cut your clay into triangles.

I wasn't really that picky, and I wanted some flags of different sizes, so I just eyeballed it. I also dabbed some of the metallic fabric paint on at this point, because what can I say? I like shiny things!

Wrap the top part of the triangle (the wide part) around a wooden dowel, or toothpick, or barbecue skewer. Make sure the clay sticks to itself, and that the dowel or toothpick will slide out.

Now bake your flags according to the manufacturer's instructions.

String them on your cord along with a couple of beads between each of the flags.

Tah Dah! Itty-Bitty Bunting!

Eye of Newt Bottle

2009-10-04T20:01:00.000-07:00

October means we can officially start the countdown to Halloween! I found some great jars at the thrift store that got my creepy creative ideas flowing, and this is my first project!

You will need:
*Empty glass bottle (cheap to pick up at the thrift store)
*"Aqua Gems" Found these in the floral section at the craft store, they start out tiny and increase in size to small marbles as the absorb water.
*Paper and a marker
*Ink pad (for "aging" the paper")
*Wavy edge scissors
*Adhesive (I was going for a quick and easy project here, so I used my Xyron sticker maker, but you can use your glue of choice.)
*DiHydrogenMonoxide! :) (Also known as H20, agua, and water)
*A cork that fits your bottle's lid

Put the Aqua Gems in the bottle (I used black, purple, orange, and green) and add water. You really don't need many of the gems, and can always add more later. Fill the bottle (most of the way) with water.

Write "Newt's Eyes" or "Eye of Newt" or whatever creepy ingredient you can think of on card stock. Use an ink pad to color the paper around your writing (this will be the "aged" edge of the label.) I used green.

Cut the label out with your wavy edge, or other decorative scissors of your choice. You could also use regular scissors, or tear the paper.

Glue the label on to the jar, insert a cork in the top, and wait several hours for the Aqua Gems to expand. Voila! Squishy creepy stuff smooshed in a jar to sit on your shelf for Halloween!

Sidewalk Chalk

2009-08-14T20:40:00.001-07:00

After posting that we had tested our homemade sidewalk chalk and it was "kid-approved," several people asked me how we had made it, so I promised a blog post about the process, and here it is!

You will need:
*Plaster of Paris
*Tempera Paint
*a mixing bucket/bowl and spoon
*a measuring cup (you obviously can't use these for food afterwards, so pick up some cheap ones!)
*Toilet paper tubes or foil shapes to use as molds
*cooking spray (to use as mold release)
*duct tape
*I also recommend wearing gloves.

And also, some water. It's a good idea to have a container of water nearby as you're doing this so you can have it handy if you need to add more. And you will probably have to add some more.

Get your molds ready first. Close of one end of the cardboard tubes with some duct tape, and then spray the molds with the cooking spray.

Use your measuring cup to measure out 1 part water and 2 parts plaster. Put the water in the bowl first, and then add the plaster. I used 1 cup of water, 2 cups of plaster, and that worked out well.

Mix it up until it's smooth(ish.) Squirt some of the Tempera Paint into the mix. You can tell that I use very precise measurements on this. *grin* ADDNEDUM: If you can find powdered Tempera, instead of the liquid stuff, the chalk sets up much slower and gives you more time - I recommend using it!

Now you have to work fast, because the paint makes the plaster start thickening quickly. Mix the paint into the plaster; you may have to add some more water at this point to keep it workable. Scoop the mixture into your molds. I had to re-shape the foil star and heart a little bit. I should have shoved the plaster into the cardboard tubes a bit more firmly as they didn't get completely filled and the chalk was a bit misshapen but, eh, they still work as chalk.

Let the chalk set up for about thirty minutes. Pull (rip, tear, cut shred, y'know - whatever works) the molds off of your chalk, put it on a rack and let it dry for about 24 hours. Tah Dah! Now you can make a masterpiece on the sidewalk!

Silliness! "Found" Puppets.

2009-08-03T11:47:00.001-07:00

Hello! I'm the Green Guy! Want to hear the story of my creation? Read on!

It all started at the dollar store. I found the silicone basting brush, which was practically begging to be made into a puppet. I was then in "creature making mode," and found a chenille scrub brush and duster that also wanted a new and exciting life as puppets.

In addition to the "found" items, I also used glue, wiggle eyes, and permanent marker.

This one is so very easy! I glued the wiggle eyes on, let them dry, and used permanent marker to add details like mouths and eyelashes.

TAH-DAH! Quick-n-easy puppets! (Much thanks to my kids for providing the puppetry and backdrop!)

P.S.: We used a barrette to hold the feather duster's "hair" back, because otherwise it fell in front of her eye! We just used a boring one, but I will probably hunt down a cuter one (either one I make or one of the plastic ones little girls wear) to use in the future.

Fireworks Polymer Clay Cane Tutorial

2009-07-31T11:32:00.000-07:00

Fire Works! I love watching fireworks, whether it's the pull out all the stops show put on for Independence Day at our local fairgrounds, or the simple fountains we set off in the backyard during a Fourth of July BBQ. This is a cane inspired by those colorful explosions!

This tutorial assumes a basic knowledge of working with polymer clay. The Polymer Clay FAQ at Polymer Clay Central is a good place to start if you are a novice at polymer clay.

You need:
*work surface. I like to use a 12X12 marble tile I picked up at the hardware store.
*Sharp cutting blade. You can order specialty blades, but I prefer using a wallpaper scraping blade. this might be in part because there is a paint store across the street from me, and I can walk over and grab a new box whenever I need fresh, sharp blades!
*Black clay (Or a deep, dark purple could also look very cool)
*Glow-in-the-dark clay. I used the classic "white" glow-in-the-dark, but you can also get different colors of glow-in-the-dark. Or you could just go with a bright or fluorescent orange, blue, purple, yellow, etc.
*Your HANDS! The most important tool.

Condition the clay. Roll the black clay into a log. It will make it much easier if your log is sort of short and squat. (Remember you can reduce it to whatever size you want when you are done!)

Set the log on one end and slice it in half from top to bottom.

Cut a rectangle of glow-in-the-dark clay. I rolled it out to about the third thickest setting on my pasta machine before cutting the rectangle. Make the width slightly less than the diameter of the black log so the black clay will meet around the edges. Place it between the two halves, and press the cane back together.

Cut the cane in half from the top down the other way so you bisect the line of glow-in-the-dark clay

Insert a rectangle of glow-in-the-dark clay and press the cane back together

Cut in half...

Insert a rectangle of glow-in-the-dark clay and press the cane back together.

Cut it in half...

You know the drill by now, right? Cut a small rectangle of polymer clay, insert between the two halves, squeeze cane back together.

Slice down through the cane between two of the glow-in-the-dark lines, press it gently open so it looks a bit like Pac-Man.

Insert a small rectangle of glow-in-the-dark clay in the slot you just created, placing the long edge against the inside corner, then close the black clay back around it.

Repeat the previous step all the way around the cane, until it looks like this:

Tah Dah! Now your cane is ready to be reduced, sliced, and made into wonderful creations!

Make your own Percussion Mallet!

2009-07-28T10:31:00.000-07:00

So, I had a fabulous although slightly weird thrift store find the other day. It was a large cardboard barrel that I think was originally used for some sort of bulk food storage. But sitting forlornly among abandoned curling irons, toasters, and ugly couches, It begged me to take it home, paint it up, and make it into a drum for dance classes. That project is still a work in progress (there will hopefully be photos later on this week,) but I anticipated a need for a mallet to bang, bang, bang on the drum! And of course, I thought I should share, so without further ado, let's Make a Mess, and Make this:

You will need:
* A bouncy ball (A largish sized one. You could probably do this with a smaller super bounce ball and a thinner dowel, but drilling would be tricky.)
* A wooden dowel. (Mine has a 5/16" diameter, and is 12 inches long.)
* A rotary tool or drill of some kind.
* Gorilla Glue (Or other water-activated expanding strong glue)
* water
* Yarn (Optional)

Using your rotary tool, drill a hole in the bouncy ball. The hole only needs to go about 1/4-1/2 way through the ball, not all the way through. Be careful, this can be a little tricky! The hole needs to have a wide enough diameter that the dowel can fit into it snugly.

Dip the end of the dowel in water (it just needs to be damp for the glue to activate,) and then smear the glue on it. (Just about the last two inches)

Push the glue covered dowel into the hole in the bouncy ball. (Some of the glue will probably smoosh out, but don't worry, you can cover that by wrapping it with some yarn.) Make sure to push the dowel down as far as you can; I found it was easiest to put the ball on my desk and push the dowel down from above.

Now, smear some glue on the stick and wrap some yarn around the stick if you want to make it extra pretty. (And of course you want to make it extra pretty, right?) Let it dry for about an hour. Now, Tah-Dah! You have your very own percussion mallet!

Using my mallet, on my oh-so-fancy drum! (A.k.a. an empty coffee container. And no laughing at the not-really-a-musician girl, alright? :))

Woohoo! New Look, New Items!

2009-05-26T13:55:00.000-07:00

ArtFire rolled out their "Fusion Studios" over the long weekend, which means more customization options:

Visit the Make Messes ArtFire Shop!

I also did some work over the weekend, and got several new items listed:

MakeMesses

Buy Handmade

Bagalope from the Spotted Sparrow!

2009-05-18T11:05:00.000-07:00

I ran across this tutorial for making a little gift bag from a sealed envelope on the Spotted Sparrow's blog today. Incredibly cute, and very simple!

It's here....

2009-01-08T10:56:00.000-08:00

The very first "Make Messes" mini zine! I had been toying around with the idea of putting together a zine, but hadn't yet sat down to pull it together. Yesterday. the kids and I used this tutorial to make little booklets (out of one sheet of paper:)
http://www.flickr.com/photos/elizabethgenco/sets/72157594276405114/
Zorro made a comic, and I put this together! It's only five pages long, but it was really fun to put together.

A linky-dink to share!

2009-01-05T12:58:00.000-08:00

I just watched this little video on Suze Blu's blog - and I am totally in love with the idea of doing an art journal for every month of the year.

http://suziblu.typepad.com/a_lovely_dream/2009/01/2009-its-all-happening.html

Cute and Easy Snowman Ornament! How-To

2008-12-20T22:44:00.001-08:00

Still have a few bare spots on that tree? Or just looking for a fun and easy holiday project to do as the year winds down? These cute little snowmen made from metal rim tags from the office supply store fit the bill perfectly.

WHAT YOU NEED:
-Metal rim tags
-Yarn or Ribbon (small pieces are all you will need, this is an excellent way to use up bits and scraps left over from another project. Or use some of the scraps of ribbon from wrapping presents!)
-Wiggly eyes (Not strictly necessary, you can draw the eyes on instead, but wiggly eyes are always a fun addition.)
-Scissors
-Glue
-Markers

Glue the two tags together, placing them so that the hole on the bottom tag is covered, and the hole on the top tag is located at the top. Let them dry. (I like to clamp them together with a binder clip or clothes pin.)

Glue on the wiggly eyes, draw on a carrot nose, a smile, and a couple of coal black buttons. You could also draw eyes.

Cut a piece of black paper in the shape of a top hat, and glue it to your snowman's head. Make sure to tilt it to the side so it does not cover up the hole in your top tag. (And also, it gives your snowman a rakish air!)

Wrap a piece of yarn or ribbon around your snowman's neck, securing it underneath the bow with a dot of glue. Tie a loop of ribbon through the hole on the top.

Now you have a cute little snowman, waiting to be hung on the tree or attached to a package for a extra holiday cheer!

Inspiration: Froggie!

2008-12-04T14:56:00.003-08:00

Saw this little guy at the museum over Thanskgiving Break - dontcha just love his bright bold color?

Writing Messes!

2008-11-05T13:00:00.000-08:00

For the fifth year, I am participating in the wonderful, glorious, goofy, and completely insane month long adventure that is National Novel Writing Month:
NaNoWriMo.Org

I'm serving as the Municipal Liason for our area, and I decided we need a mascot this year.

Introducing...Ploticus Octavius!

I also carved a stamp of the guy to use on notebooks for goodie bags:

Button, button, who's got the button?

2008-11-03T10:51:00.001-08:00

I do! I've got the button! Or actually, buttons
Handmade buttons are now being listed in the Make Messes etsy shop.

Make It Monday! Recycled Box!

2008-10-20T08:30:00.000-07:00

Yay! A recycling project today! Using packaging that would otherwise get tossed in the rubbish, you can make a cute little box to hold odds and ends.

What you need:
A ruler, a marker, scissors, and a bone folder. (That last isn't strictly necessary, but it makes making creases so much easier.)

A single-layer cardboard box, like the ones crackers, cereal, etc. come in.

Glue! (this stuff is quickly becoming my favorite general purpose craft glue)

What you do:
Cut a five inch by six inch piece of cardboard.

Measure and mark a line one inch in from the long side, and two inches in from the short side.

Measure and mark a line one inch from the short side.

Now, using the bone folder or another folding tool, fold and crease all of the measurement lines.

Make a cut two inches from the side, one inch toward the center.

Cut off the outer four corners. (This is a one inch square that you cut)

Fold the long sides up, and fold the flaps in. Pull up the flap from the short side and glue them down.

Glue the two flaps on the long side of the box down

Clamp the sides and let the glue dry. (Notice my oh-so-fancy paperclip clamps.) :)

The completed project:

Now you can use it as is, or go nuts decorating it!

MONDAY DIY! Yarn Beads

2008-09-22T10:10:00.000-07:00

This week at Make Messes, we bring you a fun DIY Yarn bead project, make some lovely beads out of some very humble materials! What the finished project will look like:

Here's What You'll Need:
Drinking Straws:

A wooden dowel or skewer - skinny enough that the drinking straw can fit over it.

Yarn! We're partial to the small balls of cotton yarn around here, but you can really use any kind you like.

Scissors! I use my fabric scissors for cutting the yarn and my paper pair for cutting the straws

Glue Applicators (I use the eyeshadow applicators you can get in a pack of twenty or so)

Here's What You Do:
Cut the drinking straws into short lengths. (Mine were all around 1 -1 1/4 inch)

Slide a cut piece of straw onto the dowel or wooden skewer:

Coat the piece of straw with glue:

Cut a piece of yarn and wrap it around the straw:

Let the glue dry:

Trim the ends:

A handful of colorful beads!

String them on a piece of yarn and tie in back with a simple bow for a fun and casual necklace!

DIY Fun! Make stamps from your kids' drawings!

2008-09-15T10:04:00.000-07:00

This is a fun project for adults and kids to collaborate on - they get to do the designing, you, well, you get to do the work. :)

Here's what you'll need:
Craft foam, cut into squares

Some thick craft foam (I just bought a pack of the doorknob hangers, because it was more economical than buying the thick sheets individually.)

A pair of sharp scissors - I like ones that have a nice, small, pointy tip

An exacto style knife

A pencil!

Here's What You Do:
Have the kids draw pictures on the craft foam squares. Some of these may work better than others for this project, so let them have a blast drawing lots of different designs.

When they are done with the drawing, cut around the outside of the shapes.

Now, take the exacto knife, and gently trace over the inside pencil lines. Don't cut all the way through, just score the lines, making a shallow cut.

Glue the cut-out and traced stamps onto squares of the thicker foam and let dry.

Now you can ink up your stamps (I find it works best to tap the stamp pad on top of the stamp until it's covered with ink, rather than smooshing the stamp into an ink pad) and test them out! Pretty cool, huh? Let me know if you try it, I'd love to see pictures!

New Items Listed!

2008-09-13T11:56:00.000-07:00

Taaa-Daaa!

New supplies listed in the Make Messes Shop!

Etsy Shop - Coming soon!

2008-05-24T09:55:00.000-07:00

A new etsy shop featuring fun supplies and kits for, well, making messes, is coming soon!

Living a messy, messy life!

2007-09-19T21:03:00.000-07:00

Living a joyous, creative, messy life!