Halloween Handout Fun

Posted on October 30, 2013 by Cheryl @ Artzzle

Well, tomorrow is Halloween! Whether you’re in the “can’t wait” or the “can’t wait till it’s over” category, it’s almost here. For anyone needing something last minute, try this low to no stress, quick and cost-effective project.

I purchased some plain, brown paper, lunch bags at Wal-Mart; $1 for a package of 50 bags (so you’ll probably be seeing more projects with these).

Using some of the FREE HALLOWEEN PRINTABLES
that I’ve shared lately, I just cutout a few and hot glued them to each side of the bag. They don’t have to be double sided, so just use any fun paper you have. I always use funky designs for the spiders and bugs!

I wanted to have some depth and movement, so instead of just gluing them flat onto the bag, I made a gentle fold down the center of the piece, then applied a strip of hot-glue just along the back side of the fold and attached it to the bag. The bats and the bugs are the best, because they flap around.

Where we live, handout bags are fine because we don’t get many trick or treaters. Our house is in the country, sitting at the back of a 5 acre parcel. True, there’s a county road at the front, but with only seven houses in our development, we just don’t have a lot of people stop in.

So, I decided to make individual bags for each of the seven young kids in our little community, and I’m actually going to fill them and deliver them personally … this evening. Then just close up tomorrow night. The dogs won’t be as noisy that way, but we’ll still have fun for the kids.

However you and yours spend the evening, have a happy … and safe Halloween.

Later – Cheryl

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Easy Make Halloween Mobile

Posted on October 24, 2013 by Cheryl @ Artzzle

Hi All.

Hope you’re having fun with the FREE HALLOWEEN PRINTABLES I sent you last time.

Here’s the mobile I made using mine.

Could this be any easier? And all you need besides papers for your cutouts, is a nice open branch, a cuphook ( a hook with a screw top) and some light weight, clear fishline (I used 8 LB line). Seriously, the hardest part of this project for me was … tieing the stupid fishline, as I’m all thumbs with fine work!

I put this in our family room and it looks great out there in it’s own little corner of my world.

These are the cutouts I showed last post … FREE HALLOWEEN PRINTABLES

Have fun with these and as always, don’t stress about it, just start!

Later – Cheryl

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Copyright © 2013 Artzzle All Rights Reserved

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A Wreath for All Seasons

Posted on October 19, 2013 by Cheryl @ Artzzle

At my age, I’ve done too many crafts, DIY and decor projects to ever remember them all. As I searched through HOMETALK the other day, I was reminded of a wonderful rag wreath project we did as kids. This really is one of the best crafts out there, because almost any age can do this, and the beautiful results are foolproof. Supplies are things we all have around the house, or items easily found at any Big Box store. All you need is fabric, a wire frame and scissors, and any decorations or ribblon you want to add. That’s it!

Above is my version of a rag wreath. You can use almost any fabric. As kids we used to experiment with all types of fabrics, including tulle and netting. Today’s project is a Make-Do for me as I’ve had this pretty material around for many moons. I saw it at a garage sale and knew there would be some use for it! And I’m using a wreath form that was on hand (couldn’t come up with a hanger). My form is multi-leveled so I made a double wreath, which is the same process as Claire’s HOMETALK project, with a few alterations.

Cut your fabric into strips that are approximately 6 inches long and 1 – 1 1/2 inches wide. You don’t have to be exact here so don’t worry if some are a bit bigger than that. Now all you do is tie the strips to your form. It’s best to work from the top (front) of you wreath form. On a hanger you won’t have to worry about that.

I’m using the first inside circle and the second ring from the top.

Just slip your fabric strip under the wire and then tie. You don’t need to knot it, just tie once and pull tightly. Do your next and slide it over, and so on.

Remember to have your wreath form face up (back side down) as you work.

Above we’re in progress and this is a top view.
Below shows what the back side of the wreath looks like, on the almost completed wreath.

Finally, we see again the completed wreath, sans decoration.

If you have a few random longer pieces, just give them a quick haircut.

I added some silk accents and burlap ribbon. As you can see flower stem was only $1 at my local Family Dollar store. I’ve had the ribbon for ages so can’t tell you price there. But you know I’m a frugal spender so it couldn’t have been much. You can use whatevery ribbon or trims you like.

And here is the finished product. I think it turned out quite nicely, don’t you!

I didn’t glue my decorations to the wreath. They are wired and I just slipped them through and bent the wire on the back to hold them in place.

I called this a “Wreath for All Seasons” because if you use a neutral or metallic color fabric, you can just change out your decorations for each season.

On her HOMETALK board, Claire featured a “rag wreath”. Hers is made from a different type of fabric, so you get two examples of what can be done. She’s using an old wire coat hanger for a frame. The wire hanger is a hint to how long this cute project has been around, because these days, those are hard to find! If you don’t have one, wire will work too.

Time for my project was a partial afternoon, and one evening in front of the TV. And for a one- tiered wreath, it’s even faster!

This makes a wonderful gift for a hostess, a co-worker or friend, AND kids can make them for grandparents and teachers! Finally, an easy, inexpensive teacher’s present!

Hope you liked this post. I’ll be sharing it on my HOMETALK board too.

I’m LINKING UP with Angie over at KNICK OF TIME

And I shared this with Linda over at COASTAL CHARM. Check out her place!

Thanks so much for visiting. Until next time, remember, don’t stress – just start something.

Later
-Cheryl

This original article “A Wreath for All Seasons” appeared first on Artzzle.com.
Copyright © 2013 Artzzle All Rights Reserved

No included content or photography can be used elsewhere without specific permission from said originators.

A Quick, E-Z, Make-Do Art Project

Posted on September 18, 2013 by Cheryl @ Artzzle

A granddaughter’s stay on a recent rainy day, gave us time for a fun, Make-Do project. Our make-do’s are spur-of-the-moment ideas, where we shop the house, garage, shed and workshop for materials and supplies for an art project; there’s no trip to the store for anything. See other Make-Do fun HERE, HERE and HERE. Posing here is my granddaughter Ashley. A basketball and soccer junky with both comedic and artistic talents, she keeps us all entertained.

Today, in the recycle bin, we found some cardboard and styrofoam packing materials in in cool shapes and sizes. In the craft closet there were some dollar-store canvases in different sizes. Some were white cloth, and others were just paper with an image already printed on them. Finally, in the crawl space, we found several colors of latex wall paint.

I always have several sizes of old or “throw-away” paint brushes on hand. These are wall painting brushes, in sizes from 1 – 4 inch widths. You’ll find these in any big-box paint department in bags of mixed sizes but you can get individuals in a specific size too.

First we covered our work table, then laid out all of our supplies. Each paint container had its’ own brush, so that colors didn’t get mixed together in the cans. We had two sizes of canvases, so first we picked two colors and painted our backgrounds. DON’T FORGET to paint the edges of your canvas as well as just the front.

Next we added a little texture to the surface, dabbing our neutral colors onto the canvas with cloth rags.

Then we broke apart the cardboard and styrofoam, into fun shapes. Putting paint on the shapes, we then pressed them onto scrap paper, to experiment and see how we liked the patterns. Now we used the pieces we liked, and pressed designs onto our canvases.

Finally, we decided our work was still lacking, so after practicing some dribbles and splatters, we added a few of those free-hand and there you have it.

TIPS:
1. This is a MESSY project. Either work in an area where paint splatters don’t matter, or be sure to cover table and area surfaces with protective clothes.
2. Assign each color its own brush. Don’t intermix paint colors in their containers.
3. To keep them from drying out, brushes can be loosely wrapped in dampened paper towels between uses.
4. When painting your background, don’t forget to paint the edges of the canvas. This way you won’t have to frame your finished art … unless you want to.
5. Keep a bucket of water and lots of spare rags handy for mishaps.
6. Have one jar of water to put all brushes in when you are finished.

We hung some of our work at my house, and Ashley took some home for her room as well.

Don’t stress about a project, just have fun and start one!

Later – Cheryl

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Cards for Mother’s Day

Posted on May 9, 2013 by Cheryl @ Artzzle

Sunday is Mother’s Day. As a floral designer, I know it is a big, busy day for that industry and reason for card companies to celebrate! As a Mother and Grandmother, I love the anticipated arrival of either cards, flowers, or better yet both! What fun.

A card is always appreciated, but is even more special with a personal touch. I enjoy making and sending hand-crafted greeting cards, and am sharing these latest projects with you. This is a Make-Do project for me; no need for outside shopping or spending because over time, I’ve amassed an abundant supply of papers, scrap, notions and envelopes.

Cards can be as basic as paper and envelope, with simple decoration and a hand-written message (and a little help from parents for pre-schoolers!). A standard size and weight piece of paper folded in half then in half again, gives you the typical card form and fits into what’s called an “invitation” envelope; both very affordable and found at any craft or office supply store. This is mailed with a normal stamp.

Card-stock, stationery weight and light chipboard are my standard starter papers. These are sturdy enough to support dots and glued cut-outs on just a one-fold design. Pre-cut, padded, double-sided, decorative card-stock was used here. The sheets even featured rounded corners which dresses up the project.

Supplies are pictured. Two sheets of paper for each card; the less bold pattern was used inside so the written (or here, printed) message would stand out on the design. The second sheet is used for the decorative cut-outs you’ll use to raise, layer and decorate your design. Self-adhesive dots were used to lift my pattern. The glue wheel was for the flat pieces I layered, and the inside decorative cut-outs.

TIP 1: Double sided paper allows you to do an adjusted fold for added pizzaz. This is simply where you don’t fold the paper exactly in half, but leave a margin at the edge of your card, which shows the inside design for accent.

TIP 2: Have extra scrap paper or card board off to the side of your work area, to use when you apply your wheel glue strips to your cut-out pieces. A pair of small tweezers is sometimes helpful to pick up and position your glued cut-outs.

TIP 3: When making and mailing larger, raised cards you’ll want an envelope big enough to allow for the extra bulk, and you’ll also need extra postage. You can either just add one more regular stamp, or have the Post Office weigh your card for exact postage needs. NOTE: My cards were made on 11.75″ x 5.75″ sized stock, and required a larger envelope AND extra postage.

Everyone have a nice Mother’s Day. Remember mom’s, grandma’s and the wonderful friends who fill in, if those special women are no longer with you.

And remember, with any project . . . don’t stress, just start.

Until next time – Cheryl

Pretty Gift Box, E-Z Make-do Project

Posted on May 6, 2013 by Cheryl @ Artzzle

A bit of ambition and inspiration struck yesterday, so I decided to take on a quick, make-do project. Remember, my make-do ideas are strictly no spending, no store trips. The only shopping done is shopping my house to see what I can come up with.

After making some note cards as a gift for a friend, I needed something to put them in, so the search was on. There were two decent white board boxes, but one was too small and while the perfect size, the lid on the second box was yellowed and had some small dents; not good gift material! All the available decorative bags were winter themed and that was definately out. Any gift paper found was too heavy to wrap the small box lid smoothly. I have lots of wrapping tissue, so chose three bright colors for a collage effect for the box lid.

Adults and kids alike find this a fun, easy application with beautiful results, that can be used in many ways.

The supply list is simple.

Colored tissue wrapping paper, water based glue and plain water. That’s all you need. I use either Elmer’s white glue or as in this case, Tacky glue. Both work well, but Elmer’s is a bit thinner consistency and will dry a little quicker, which is nice for this project, but not a must. Tacky was in my cabinet so that’s what I used here. If you have a flat, synthetic craft brush, it comes in handy, but plain old fingers work fine too (they’re just a little messier 🙂 ).

1. Tear your tissue into pieces sized for easy work with your object. Here we’re covering the lid of a small box so don’t want very big pieces.

2. Squeeze some glue over a section of your object, then smooth the glue over that portion, adding just a drop or two of water to make a damp glaze.

3. Lay on a piece of paper, then gently pinch at the paper to create wrinkled texture.

4. Continue until the top is well covered, then wet a side of the lid and adhere smaller sized pieces. Work them into the wet top. Leave a dry edge hanging down at the bottom of the box’s sides. DON’T wrap glue and paper into the inside of the lid.

5. Repeat until you get desired look and texture. Let dry, then carefully trim off dry edges.

TIP 1: Tear your tissue rather than cut. Jagged, natural edges are more interesting in this application.
TIP 2: Don’t use a natural bristle brush as glue is difficult to remove completely. Even with synthetic, keep your brush wet when not in use, so that glue isn’t able to dry and damage brush. Wash up with warm water and ordinary dish liquid.
TIP 3: After completed project dries, add one final coating of glue over entire surface, to give a nice sheen to your finished piece.

Finally, I lined the box with tissue, then put the envelopes, more tissue and lastly the cards. This was a set of eight note cards and I always include two extra envelopes.
An inexpensive, quick and easy project that any age will enjoy making OR receiving.

My friend Linda loved her gift!

As always, don’t stress, just start.
Later – Cheryl

An easy “Inside Day” Project

Posted on April 24, 2013 by Cheryl @ Artzzle

Recently I promised you an “inside day” idea so here you go. I needed a “Make Do” project. That’s a – no store shopping, no spending, make do with what’s available – project. My office/studio could use a new bulletin board. So I shopped my house to see what materials I had on hand.

My foam core supply was limited to a couple small sheets but my vision was a much larger board. No more cork rolls either, but in Hubs’ shop I found a huge section of cardboard … poof … a backer board! Nothing big enough in my fabric pieces box, but the remnants bin gave me two pretty options for the cover. And that old, faded quilt I had saved for some reason, was plenty big enough for the lining.

The rest is easy, but just involves several steps

Measure the wall space and decide what size I want for the finished piece
Cut my cardboard to those measurements
My liner must be SMALLER than the backer so I subtract two inches from my measurements, EXAMPLE: My back board is 20″ x 40″ so I cut my liner material at 18″ x 38″.
Centering the liner on the cardboard; I have an inch of cardboard showing on each edge
Next begin taping the liner to a long side of the board

Once that edge is taped, pull it back and put glue all over the CARDBOARD surface
Pull the liner back over the glued cardboard and smooth it out

Now TAKE A BREAK and let that dry for a bit. You can put a few heavy books on top to help press it down onto the glue.

Next finish taping the remaining three sides to the cardboard
Now measure the covering material and it needs to be BIGGER than the cardboard
I added four inches to give myself plenty of extra material to work with EXAMPLE: With our 20 x 40 example, we would cut our cover fabric at 24″ x 44″ (and trim later if desired)
I ironed my fabric, then spread it face down (the side you want to see on the finished piece)
Place your cardboard piece on top of this, so you’re now looking at the raw cardboard back, the liner is in between the finish fabric and your backer, and you see a border of extra front fabric around the edges.

Now begin the final steps, wrapping and taping the raw fabric edges to the exposed cardboard
I like to complete a long edge first, then put just a few pieces on each short side to help position and tighten the fabric
Flip it a few times to see how the front is progressing. You don’t want it too loose on the front, but don’t pul and stretch too tightly either
When you like how it looks, finish taping the short sides and then the final long one