A Paper Star for Christmas: How To

Star Shine

Hey ya'll....(you know how I like to whip the ya'll out once in awhile even though I'm not from the South).  Happy Wednesday. 

We had a nice night over at my parents celebrating Garrett's birthday. It was low key, there was big honkin' shrimp involved and of course the obligatory photos by Mom The Photographer. 

Today we're back into holiday mode around here. I'm in the midst of reposting some of the tutorials that I've featured and Kristen, over on Milo and Molly is doing the same. So pop on over there, check out her digs and tell her I sent you.

This is one of my favorite tutorials and I'm still making new paper stars with paper I've designed myself.

They're always a big hit. In fact I have some Christmas orders for several that I need to get crackin' on. 

So, without further ado, here's my original post from over a year ago with the paper star tutorial.

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I have to thank Cari-Jane from HyrbridHandmade for pinning an awesome paper star tutorial on pinterest. I love it and it looked so do-able, I tried it right away.  Here's my own take on the tutorial that Cari-Jane pinned. 

You'll need:

two pieces of square paper- you could use origami paper

(I used a 32 lb. printer paper)

scissors

glue

ruler

string, ribbon or twine

I printed off one of my illustration designs to use for my paper.

Then I trimmed it to 6 x 6 like the original tutorial, but you could use any square size.

Fold your paper in half.

Then fold in half the other way, so you now have folds on your paper like this.

Next step is to fold corner to corner.

Again, now fold from other corner to corner so you fold lines now look like this.

On lines coming from sides (not corners), make a just shy of halfway. On my 6 x 6 square, I marked at 1.25. 

Continue until each side is marked, like this.

Cut along line to each mark.

Once lines are cut, fold over to line coming from corner. 



Do this all the way around until your paper looks like this.

Now glue one flap at each 'star' point, and pull other flap over and hold until glue is set.

Choose one point to insert twine in before completing all sides.

Complete rest of points.

You now should have a 3 dimesional star that looks like this on one side.........

........and this on the other.

Repeat this process, except for the twine, to make another star. Once you have two stars you are going to glue together. Place glue like this.

Gently press two stars together and hold in place until glue sets.

Wait 10 minutes before hanging to be sure glue is set enough.

Decorate with your new star as you see fit. 

Hang a lone star or...................

.......hang in a grouping. 

I think this is the perfect craft with the holidays coming up. I've adjusted my Chinese Lantern pattern an 8x8 size so most people can easily print it out on 8.5 x 11 paper to use for this project.  I would have tried the 8x8, but was trying to follow original tutorial.  I did use a little bit heaver 32 lb. paper, but you could certainly try it with regular copy pape. I think by the time the stars are folded and glued, it would have enough stability. 

Click below and right click to save to your computer or copy and paste into a document.

I would have tried the 8x8 paper design, but was doing my best to follow original tutorial to a T.  FYI- I did use a little bit heavier 32 lb. printer paper, but you could certainly try it with regular printer paper. I think by the time the stars are folded and glued, it would have enough stability.

What are you waiting for? Give it a try!

Ciao for now,

PS- Have you entered the December Giveaway yet? Just so you know, you could win over $215 worth of prizes from my awesome sponsors. As usual though.... you have to enter! So, go enter!

Tutorial: Clipboard Art & Giveaway Winner

Make A Clipboard Its Own Work Of Art

Hey there peeps. Happy Monday. I hope this finds you well.

If you read yesterday's post, you know I was dabbling in a little paint this weekend. It being a perfectly rainy weekend for crafting, I started with started with some of my driftwood sticks and then moved on to another blank canvas so to speak.  A clipboard. This one was a mini clipboard, but I have larger ones I'll be doing jazzing up (oh man, did I just say jazzing up? now all I can think of is jazz hands!) much in the same way.

What you'll need:

clipboard of any size
smaller craft paint brushes
painters tape
acrylic craft paint in various colors

Now for the easy as pie steps:

Keep in mind that I went over each area a couple of times to get more opaque colors.

Oh yeah, I just said snazzy too. Shazaam!

At this point I added some hand painted embellishments, like dots and dashes wherever I saw fit.

Viola!

Pick out something to feature on your clipboard.....a photo, a piece of art, a souvenir, or what have you, and hang on wall.

Painted clipboard = love.

This was a very easy project and perfect for a Sunday afternoon. I will be doing it again and I see other possibilities for this project.  I'll share when I've had a chance to try them out.

Winner!

Wow. The response for the September Giveaway was overwhelming. I thank all of you who entered and a huge round of applause for those of you who facebooked, tweeted, and pinned away. Many thanks for also taking the time to visit my sponsors shops. 

I hope you're sitting down Io Sophia, because you are the winner of $180+ in handmade and vintage prizes. I've contacted you via email so keep an eye out!

Thanks again to my sponsors. They're simply the best.

Dream Pillows

Pillows created by Matthew James with beautiful fabrics.

Papyrusaurus

Providing you with fun and sometimes awkwardly hillarious papergoods, from art for your walls to handmade stationery, and whimsical ornaments.  Like the Papyrusaurus facebook page for upcoming craft show appearances, shop updates, coupons and giveaways.

Starlight Woods

Eco friendly handmade Jewelry, Key chains, pendant necklaces, chunky rings, stud earrings and hand painted ornaments made from storm damaged trees and fallen branches that we re-purpose into unique and one of a kind pieces. Lisa's creations were recently featured in the August issue of Real Simple Magazine and she is currently a finalist in Martha Stewart's American Made Contest (you can vote for her here).  You will also find Starlight Woods on Facebook and Twitter.

Storytellers Vintage

"Every item has a story to tell.  What is here today, may be starting a new story tomorrow."  You will also find Storytellers Vintage on Facebook.

Lia Artisan Concrete Designs

"From the Earth, Cast In Stone". You will find Lia Artisan Concrete Designs website here, wholesale orders are welcome. They are available retail on Bates Mercantile Co.

Hazel Brown Designs 

Hazel Brown designs happy, fresh, unique clothing and other goodies, inspired by the fun-loving, carefree personalities of her 5 children.  You'll also find Hazel Brown Designs on Facebook.

fAveritte Creations

"Infecting the world with color and honest joy, one unique creation at a time."  You will find Amy blogging, on Facebook, on Twitter, and on Pinterest.

Bleu Oiseau Photography

Beautiful Home Decor: Fine Art, Landscapes, Nature, Still Lifes, Wood Blocks, Recycled Cards.  You will find Ashleigh blogging here and on Facebook, on Twitter.

Bates Mercantile Co.

That's us! Me and Garrett that is. You'll find Bates Mercantile Co. on Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest. And as you probably know, you'll find me blogging right here, on Mercantile Muse. 

 

Just in case any of you are wondering, YES, there is another giveaway in the works and it will be announced as soon as I've got the details pinned down. Needless to say, I think you're going to love it.

 

Have a super day,

 

Lacey Neclace Project....Did you Catch It?

Clay and Lace

I first posted this project back in March. Since then, whenever I've worn my neclace I get comments. I also gave one to my niece of her birthday and she's alays geting comments, including....'where did you get that? we could sell those here!' at a local store she was at. All things considered, I thought it was worth posting this tutorial again. 

The possibilities are endless.....here's the orginal post from 3/13.

I worked with Sculpey clay for the first time this weekend. For a first go, I was pretty happy with the results. I made few pendants and a couple of small dishes that can hold jewelry or such.

First of all, I broke of a chunk of clay and worked it until it was a little softer and could form a ball.

Then, depending on whether I was making a pendant or a dish, I rolled it out to desired size and thickeness. I have to say, if it was too thin, it didn't work as well as if it was a bit thicker. Could have been me though since it was my first time working with it.

Then I'd lay my vintage doiley over the top and roll that into the surface to make an imprint.

If you're making a pendant, make sure you poke some holes in the piece prior to baking to accomodate a chain, wax cotton or leather cord, or ribbon for wearing.

I put each piece in a glass dish and baked in the oven at 375f. The directions said 15 minutes per 1/4 inch- I'd say a bit more. However, my oven is gas and I think the fluctuation in temperature due to that had something to do with needing extra time. Now, perhaps some of you have worked with sculpey and can give me some feedback here.......I thought it would be hard upon baking for this time. It really wasn't though. It most certainly harder than when I put it it, but it could still be bent to some extent. I took each piece and and let sit overnight and everything was much better. Also, it seemed that pieces that were 1/4" thick or more came out of the oven harder. Anything thinner never seemd to harden completely. 

I love that you can press anything into the sculpey and get pretty texture. I even used starfish and shells on one.

I wore the first pendant I made to my grand-niece's birthday and my family made fun of me.  My mother said, "I like your necklace, where'd you get that?" and I told them I'd made it that morning. The reply was a little joking sarcasm from my niece...."What'd you do this morning? Oh nothing much....made myself a necklace." My mother wouldn't even believe me that I'd made it so I guess it came out pretty good.

I just strung it on some pretty gray ribbon and viola. I haven't sealed it with anything yet. Just left it plain. I'd be a bit afraid to get it wet, but I don't see that being a problem.

I like the ribbon too, because I can adjust the length depending on the neckline of what I'm wearing and that's nice to be able to do.

This project was not high on the difficulty scale. I was happy with the results and will be trying more.

Let me know if you've worked with it before and your results, and if my issues sounded unusual. If you have any tips for working with sculpey, I'd love to hear them.

Good News

The lovely ladies over on adorningschemes where nice enough to feature me yesterday!!! There are just so many nice people in blogland. Thank you so much Llora and Rachel. Hey guys, if you get a chance, stop over and show these two young ladies some blog love and tell them I sent you! 

Have a great Tuesday,

Be Our Guest: Transfer to Vintage Tray

Be Our Guest

Hi everyone. I'm really excited because this is the second of our Be Our Guest tutorial posts. I'd like to thank Daena from Bad Rabbit Vintage for putting together this week's tutorial, which I know you're going to love. This technique is too cool! I'm so excited to learn it, now I just have to find the right 'project' to try it on.

First, a little about Daena.  Daena is a fellow etsy shop owner living in Southern Oregon. She is also a graphic designer and artist who has fallen in love with painting furniture. The great thing about Daena's passion for painting furniture is that she has used it as therapy and it has helped her fight a rare and aggressive cancer, and she hopes that she can inspire others as she continues on her journey.

Daena lives a happy, creative life on a small farm with her awesome hubby, a dog, a cat, 3 mini horses and a burro (a burro........can you stand it? too cute! as if the mini horses hadn't already upped the cute factor), plus whatever deer, turkeys, bears or coyotes that wander by.

  

Daena also blogs about all of this furniture painting-as-art-therapy, living with cancer, and shopping. Nix that. And 'junking'.

And now, Daena and her transfer/vintage tray tutorial. This is a must try!

I am so excited to be invited to Mercantile Muse to share a tutorial. This is my first tutorial feature, as well as the first tutorial I've ever done, so bare with me if the photos are a little "beginnerish". 

When I first read about ink jet transfers I was way too excited. I wanted to put a transfer on everything. It's an easy way to get a vintage look on wood, fabric and (so they say) glass. The ink jet-to-glass thing hasn't been a success for me, but I keep trying. For now, let's stick to wood.

PART ONE.  What you'll need: REVERSED print-out from an ink jet printer on transfer film, (laser prints won't work), gel medium, brush (I use sponge brushes), burnishing tool, paint and a surface to transfer onto. I chose a small wooden tray and an old advertising graphic. 

First, I painted the tray to compliment the graphic and let it dry thoroughly.

Don't forget to print your image reversed! For this first example I used transfer film.

Trim your print-out for easier handling.

Spread the medium onto your surface with a light, even touch, as you would spread mayonnaise on bread. Make sure to cover evenly. (Below I'll show you what happens when you have uneven coverage.)

Carefully place your print onto your surface, then burnish firmly with a steady hand, not allowing the image to slide. If you don't have a burnishing tool, the back of a large spoon works, too.

When your image has been burnished onto your surface, carefully peel back a corner of film. If the image is not transferring lay the corner back down and burnish some more. As you can see, not all of my image transferred over. In those spots the medium was either too thick or too thin (this highlights the importance of even application). This is not exact science, this is art. The nature of an ink jet transfer is to look rustic and worn. That is part of the appeal and little hiccups on the transfer are to be expected.

I had a large and very distracting missing area in my transfer. I felt it detracted from, rather than complimented, the design. I decided to paint the missing area back in. I left the smaller spots to add character. It is a vintage ad, after all, but I cleaned up the Louis Vuitton logo since it explains the image.

I added some crackle glaze in the corners and distressed the tray with a bit of sanding.

I used a spray sealer for added protection and the tray was finished! It looks old, weathered and torn. Just as I wanted.

PART TWO: A paper transfer

I forgot to take pictures until I had the image pressed onto my tray. Oops. But the instructions are the same as above, EXCEPT, when you burnish your (reversed) image on to your surface, you leave it to dry overnight. When it is dry you will be able to see a ghost of the image.

Carefully dampen the paper with a sponge, paper towel or your fingers. Then rub carefully in circles until you see balls of wet paper come off and your image gets more clear.

Continue to carefully rub the paper off the transferred ink. Dampen the paper as needed. As the paper dries it will turn white where you haven't removed enough paper. Don't worry about rubbing off part of the image. It's a rustic look we're after.

When you have rubbed off as much paper as you want you can further "distress" your project by adding paint to the image. I used light tan and ivory acrylic paint to create an aged poster look.

When you are satisfied with the image, let it dry overnight. When your project is completely dry I suggest applying at least 3 coats of water-based polyurethane to protect the surface.

When the finish is dry you can sit back and admire your work! Have fun!

Wow! I just think that entire process is so neat. I'm linking this cute video I found on YouTube by chance that shows the second part of Daena's tutorial. This video actually uses a picture printed on laser pictures, so I guess this is a try and see what you get kind of project! It's quick and fun and you can see Daena's tutorial put into action.

Have a super Tuesday. Take time to breathe and be grateful for all the good stuff in your life. I'm thankful for you being here today. 

Be sure to stop by tomorrow, it's the start of our next giveaway! Wahooli! Someone's gonna be a lucky winner.

Peace out