Luck of the Irish Napkin Rings & Cloth Napkins

To go with my St. Patty's Day dinner plans and appropriate-themed table setting, I need green cloth napkins and some gold napkin rings to with them.

For the napkins: I cut eight squares, 18 inch by 18 inch, out of a green cotton material and hemmed about 3/4 inch from the edge, leaving the outer edge raw to be fringed.

For the napkin rings: I made a dough using 1/2c. salt with 1 c. flour, enough water to make a dough. I also add just a touch of vegetable oil to help make smooth. I made sure it was mixed and kneaded well, then formed into the desired shape around a discarded paper towel tube covered in foil. (I made ball of dough and divided it into eight pieces, with a little bit leftover.) The rings then went into a 200 degree oven until thoroughly dry & hardened. (This took a couple hours and I turned then after the top side was dried well.)

From the oven, I let them cool, then using a gold metallic spray paint, painted them. (When using spray paint I often place the item(s) to paint inside a large box to keep the over spray contained.) I turned then a few times to get everything covered.

Once dry, they are ready for the table. (I personally like that chunky, gold nugget-like appearance.)

Bring on the leprechauns!

St. Patty's Day Place mats

In honor of St. Patrick's Day, I have planned a St. Patrick's Day dinner for my family, complete with an appropriately-themed dinner table. I need a few things for this, starting with white place mats with Irish Blessings, backed in green.

I cut eight rectangles of each color (white muslin fronts and green backs) all the same size that would later be sewn together. (Eight may seem like a lot, but we have a big dining room table that comfortably seats eight, and big family, and I'm not sure who all will be at dinner that night so I'd rather have extra than not enough.)

Using a word program on my computer I printed off sheets that included 8 Irish Blessings & Toasts with some clip art on the t-shirt print setting (this prints everything backward for ironing onto the fabric). I've used these transfer sheets before and just followed the instructions that came with them. (You could also use store bought iron-ons, fabric crayons, fabric markers, or fabric paint, or embroidery for decoration.)

Following the manufactures instructions, I ironed each white front with a different blessing/toast, letting cool completely before gently pulling away the paper.

I chose to use a straight seam all the way around the place mats, right sounds out, about 3/4 inch from the edge. Instead of a regular finished hem, I left the raw edge to be fringed out by pulling the loose strings.

This proved to be a rather inexpensive project. (I love those!) The white fabric was fairly inexpensive, then I used s coupon from Joann Fabric's Store. I bought three yards for around 5 dollars, having enough for the 8 St. Patty's Day Place Mats, a table runner and 6 other place mats for another project, and some left over. The green fabric used on the back was something I already had and used for both the 8 place mats as well as for 8 cloth napkins to match. The Iron On sheets were also something I already had, simply printing off what I needed for this project.

Boxes

Painted pressed paper box

Sometimes you just need someplace to put your trinkets, treasures, jewelry, gifts, or other little bits. They come in all shapes and sizes, can be made from all sorts of materials, and can be decorated in a variety of ways.

I painted a fire-inspired marbling effect on the round pressed paper box that can be found at most craft stores. I accented it with the black swirls and sealed it with an acrylic spray sealer to keep the paint nice and to give it a nice shine. It's just the right size to hole loose chance emptied from a pocket, rings, bracelets, a necklace, worry dolls, little notes, a set of keys, or other little bits.

The pressed paper boxes are available in different sizes and shapes and can be used in all sorts of ways. I have a few that are small, dollhouse size.

The heart shaped box is made from fuseable beads and a heart shaped form. Using the heart shaped form I made two full hearts, one for the bottom of the box and one for the lid, fusing them per the directions with the special iron paper and an iron. Then I made three hearts that were just the outline of the heart to form the walls. Using a needle and thread I attached the bottom and the three side pieces to form a box. For the one pictured, I used a few stitches to attach the lid and make it flip up.

Fuse Bead Box

 There are a lot of things you can do with the fuse beads, available in kits the include the pegboards, special paper, and special fusing beads or beads and boards separately. We used the beads at one camp and I have used them with kids I have watched around home to make boxes, coasters, sun catches, dice, magnets, and other little things to hang and decorate with. (Check Out these pegboard forms) (Oriental Trading Co. Supplies) (Perler Bead Supplies)

The folded paper box is another nice little box that is versatile, easy to make, and a nice touch for certain things. They are a nice added touch for gift giving that can be made to preferred size. I use them for all sorts of  little things and gift giving.

Create. Inspire. Express. Love.

 

CREATE. Create a Rebellion in your own right. Just create something... an idea, a token, a gift, anything. With creation is life as we were meant to create.

INSPIRE. I think it's important to inspire someone -anyone- even of that someone is yourself. Sometimes you are the one that needs the most inspiration and maybe by inspiring yourself you hold the power to inspire someone else.

EXPRESS. Express yourself. Life, to me, is about finding ways to express yourself and everyone expresses themselves differently. I don't think people should worry about what people think it, it's only about expressing yourself and finding a way to get the stuff inside out. It helps our balance. It helps us understand ourselves. It helps us make peace with our emotions and our feelings.

LOVE. Everything is about love, or the lack of love, in one way or another. By expressing ourselves, inspiring others, and creating something we are a part of love, or the searching of love, or the loss of it we may feel. Love yourself and share that love with the world around you. The very act of love is a rebellion of sorts in a world with so much negativity & hostility. 

      Think about the kids who gave and received friendship bracelets and other trinkets - it was a way to express a type of love and friendship through sharing something special - basic acknowledgement for existence. It could be a friendship bracelet or something else, but just let it be a part of something.

Create Love.

Inspire Love.

Express Love.

Love can be a Positive Rebellion in this world.

Camp Crafts - Part 3

Sand Art

Yes, there are still more camp crafts to share. (Multiple summers at more than one location it's bound to happen.) Hopefully you will find inspiration or memories with at least one of these.

The tiger is a sand painting that used pre-stuck templates that were peeled off one by one then covered with colored sand, color by color, until everything was filled. You can also use a paint brush and glue for the same effect with coloring book pictures or your own design. If working with younger kids you can find much simpler designs, but I love tigers and grew up with posters and pictures of them on my walls (much to my younger sister's dismay at times).

The teddy bear picture frame in the picture was decoupaged using torn pieces of tissue paper and Mod Podge with a piece of lace as a hanger. I had a stash of these that ended up painted and decorated in all sorts of ways. There are a few that hang on my mom's Christmas tree painted and with pictures of us kids. Some got ribbon or lace hangers while others had magnets attached to the back. (It still amazes how often the projects of young kids end up looking at lot a show girl to the adult eye, with feathers and glitter and splashes of color.)

Teddy Bear Picture Frame

The paper box is a simple little thing that can be made from pretty much anything. It was another one of those things I learned years ago, but shared with a lot of kids to keep trinkets, treasures, or to put gifts in. It involved two pieces of square paper, one piece slightly larger than the other for the lid, a pair of scissors to make a couple slits, and the no how to fold them. Over the years I have made them in all sorts of sizes and using various paper to make them.

The peace sign medallion was made using a woodburner to burn the letters into the slice of tree, then stained. Wood burning was a popular thing for a lot of the kids to do, but took a lot of care in making sure everyone was safe. There is something strange about basically handing a bunch of nine to 14 years old branding irons and pieces of wood and saying, "Have fun!" Yet somehow, they with careful instruction they went home unmamed and unbranded (at least from the Craft Hall). I'm a stickler for safety and wouldn't tolerate any less from my campers or the counselors that I worked with everyday. The peace medallion was probably inspired by one of the many theme weeks or a themed dance one of the camps had. ("Hey man, give peace a chance. Won't ya?")

Sushi Fish

I love finding unusual and fun things to make and to use as gifts for friends. When I found this pattern for a felt fish that turns from a fish to sushi and back. I knew I had to try it. (See Original Sushi Fish Pattern here.) Armed with a few different colors of felt, needle, thread, and the pattern printed from online I went to work. I ended up with enough for a whole sushi platter worth. (Some puns you just can't resist.)

With the aid of some mini Chinese Carry-Out style boxes from the wedding favor section of the craft department they made great gifts with an added touch of humor. I've been playing with some ideas on making some that look like clown fish per a dark inspiration from an upbeat fish cartoon and a friend who nicknamed her boyfriend after the title character (I think it would be an especially fitting gift since their break up).

http://www.cutoutandkeep.net/projects/fish_to_sushi_plushie/versions/34

'Rocky Horror Picture Show' Collage Purse

For anyone who has ever gone to see a production of Rocky Horror Picture Show (RHPS) in a theater AND dressed up (or dressed down as the case may be), you know it can be hard to find a place to put essentials like money and ID and whatever else you need. As I result I found an idea posted on cutout + keep for a collage handbag. I ended up making two of them (one for me and an extra for 'just in case' or for a friend). (RHPS Collage Bag.)

I started with an interior sheet of my own doodles and movie references with a couple of my own lipstick prints. (Hey, it is Rocky Horror after all. I wanted it to stick to the theme all the way.) On the opposite side I made a collage of from old advertising and hand outs from shows I had attended from Rocky Horror with Mod Podge to give a nice glossy surface. I was able to create something fun and fitting to go along any of the things I've been known to wear to showings.

Using old page protectors (I had a couple with torn holes) to cover the collage decorated sheets, I sewed up the edges with black and red thread to form an envelope style purse. To add a little flash I added glitter inside the clear page protectors, secured inside after sewing. With bits of Velcro as closures, the clutches were completed and ready for any Rocky Horror outing. (Frankenfurter, where are you?)

I believe that sometimes if you can't find the perfect accessory, you might just have to make it yourself.