The Impatient Crafter

iLoveToCreate Teen Crafts Flower Power Frame

Flower Power Shadowbox Frame by Margot Potter for iLoveToCreate

(click on images to view close-up)

iLoveToCreate Flower Power Frame
Margot Potter
Teen Crafts
‘Mom crafted, kid approved.’

I’ve lately become obsessed with crafting flowers, as you may be able to tell from my projects for iLoveToCreate. This shadowbox frame showcases a funky fiber flower made on a loom. I’ve created a collaged image to go inside, you can place anything you like in the frame including 3-D elements because it's a shadowbox. I love the irony of a Snow Day image in a warm and flowery setting. If you wander down the scrapbook aisles you’ll find lots of great coordinating paper collections that make fun collages, just size and print a photo and add glue and glitter accents and some Tulip Glam it Up crystals. Avalon is excited to put this pic on her desk in her new office.

(Don't forget to head on over to iLoveToCreate and vote for your favorites in their Dress Up Your Pet Contest!)

Materials
Wooden Shadowbox Style Frame (I got mine at JoAnn Fabrics)
Crafty Chica Little Paint Pack (red and white mixed to create fuchsia)
Traci Bautista’s Collage Pauge Sparkle
Textured multi-colored yarn
Thread to attach bead or button
Large matching bead or button accent
Liquid Fusion glue

Tools
Boye Bloom Loom™ Flower Making Loom
Paint brush
Foam brush for decoupage medium
Sewing needle to attach bead or button
Scissors
Sand Paper

1. Sand and paint frame with a 2/3 to 1/3 mix of red and pink paint to create a fuchsia color.

2. Follow instructions on the loom to create a fiber flower.

3. Attach a coordinating bead or button to flower with thread.

4. When paint dries, add a coat of Sparkle Collage Pauge to seal it.

5. Use a bead of liquid fusion to attach yarn to the indentation of your frame. I used two rows of yarn.

6. Attach the flower to the top left or right corner using Liquid Fusion.

7. Create a fun coordinating paper collage to go inside of the frame. This will be a great way for teens to personalize this idea. I glued the elements down with a glue stick and adhered the collage to the back of the frame with a thin bead of Aleene’s Tacky Glue around the edge.

Free Mixed Media Jewelry Project: Sweetheart Foam Necklace

I bought a huge bin of heart shaped foam stickers recently and I immediately thought of this idea. I figured if I didn't want to stick them to something, I could easily stick glitter to them. Plus I'd avoid the dry time associated with glue. Thankfully, it worked out for me. I recommend using ultra fine glitter. You could also stick patterened paper on them and seal with decoupage medium...and well there are a zillion other things we might do with them with a little crafty ingenuity. It's easy to remove the sticky stuff with a little soap and water if you want to just feature the foam. I honestly think these foam stickers are usually pretty cheesy, but I've managed to make two projects with them this week that I really do like. They're lightweight and soft and easy to stamp and punch...so I'm thinking maybe I'm on to something here.

This was my snowy day in Amish country project and it kept me from staring out my window with my mouth agape as the snow piled up at a rapid and disturbing pace. Yes, it was that snowy. So with love, from me to you gentle reader, here is the Sweetheart Necklace.

xoxo,
Madge

Sweetheart Necklace
Free Mixed Media Jewelry Project
All Rights Reserved Copyright Margot Potter

Materials
Foam Heart Stickers (I got mine at WalMart) You'll need 3 small white and 3 small red hearts and 2 red and 2 white scalloped open center hearts. You can adapt this idea to suit your stickers.
Art Institute Art Glitter Caribbean Mix
20 gauge Artistic Wire
Elongated cable chain
5 10mm sp jump rings
6 6mm sp jump rings
Scrap paper to catch glitter
Micron Pen

Tools
Crop-A-Dile
2 pairs chain nose pliers
Round nose pliers
Chasing hammer
Mini anvil

1. Pour a small pile of red glitter on your sheet of paper. Dip the sticker side of your red hearts in the glitter, covering the entire surface. Tap off excess. Fold paper and pour glitter back into jar. Repeat using ab white glitter and white hearts.

2. Mark hole placement with a Micron Pen.

3. Use Crop-A-Dile to punch small holes in marked spots.

4. Connect large hearts with 10mm jump rings. Attach small hearts with 6mm jump rings. Attach earring hearts with 10mm jump rings.

5. Create a wrapped and hammered hook using 20 gauge Artistic Wire, a chasing hammer and a mini anvil or steel block. I have step by step instructions for this in most of my books.

6. Attach hook to chain with a 10mm jump ring (my necklace is a 16" finished length and you may adjust to suit your tastes.)

7. Attach open end of chain to left side of the pendant section of your necklace with a 10mm jump ring.

8. Make a matching pair of earrings as in the photo. Connect them with 10mm jump rings and attach a French wire earring finding to the top jump ring in each small heart using a 6mm jump ring. If you need to turn the loop on the ear wire so the earrings hang forward, use your round nose pliers.

DESIGN NOTE:
After wearing this I wasn't happy with the way the hearts in the center of the scalloped frames were hanging, so I marked and punched more holes and connected the bottom centers to the bottom center of the frames. Much, much better! See picture below...

Designer Note: Chain, wire and findings courtesy of Beadalon. All other elements were purchased at retail.

iLoveToCreate 'I Heart U' Valentine's Day Pin Card for Mom and Grandmom

iLoveToCreate I Heart U Valentine’s Day Pin Card
Margot Potter for iLoveToCreate Teen Crafts
“Mom crafted, kid approved.”

Moms and Grandmoms really love getting handcrafted gifts and what better way to say, “I heart u” than these retrofabulous foam heart pins. These are quick and easy to make and you can opt to use photos instead of vintage images if you prefer. Attach them to a card and it’s a two for one combo that will make them smile every time they wear these adorable pins. Yup, I’ve got you covered...so let’s get crafty!

Materials
Romantic Vintage Post Card Images (or photos)
3 Open Center Foam Hearts and Smaller Foam Accent Hearts (I each of pink, red and white) (I got mine at WalMart)
3 Small Vintage or New Buttons (1 each of pink, red and white)
Coordinating Scrapbook Paper (I used K&Company Carolyn Gavin Designer Paper)
Ranger Archival Ink in Jet Black
Stampendous Foliage Quad Cube TC51
Hero Arts Italian Poetry Background Stamp S1832
Aleene’s Foamtastic Glue
Aleene’s Fast Grab Tacky Glue
Pen or Pencil for tracing and marking
(Optional Collage Pauge Matte to seal images before framing)

Tools
Scissors
Bone Folder
Crop-A-Dile Big Bite

1. Select images to use inside of your foam heart frames. Here is a sheet of permission free images you may print for use with this project, these are not intended for resale. I am sharing cards from my personal ephemera collection.

2. Print image sheet.

3. Stamp heart frames with writing stamp and archival ink. Stamp small hearts with foliage stamp and archival ink. Allow ink to dry.

4. Mark the window placement. Trace around edges of heart, cut a straight edge heart using scissors inside of the scalloped edge you just traced. (If you want, you can seal the images with Collage Pauge at this step before cutting them out so they’re water resistant.)

5. Stick images inside of frames and use a plain scalloped edge heart to sandwich the image, take time to make sure the scallop edges line up.

6. Adhere small heart and buttons to edge of each frame with Foamtastic Glue. Allow to dry.

7. Fold a sheet of patterned scrapbook paper over to make a wide card. The sheet I used was 7.5”x8.5”.

Use a bone folder to make a sharp creased edge.

8. Cut a coordinating decorative strip and adhere it to the bottom edge of the card with Aleene’s Fast Grab Glue, add a thin dotted ribbon accent to top edge of strip using Fast Grab Glue. Allow to dry.

9. Mark placement of pins on card, one in the center and one on either side towards the edge.

10. Use Crop-A-Dile Big Bite to punch small holes at marked spots on card.

11. Attach the pins to the holes.

iLoveToCreate Teen Crafts Romantic Wristlet Ribbon Corsage

(Click on images to view details)

iLoveToCreate Romantic Wristlet
Mixed Media Ribbon Corsage
Margot Potter
Teen Crafts
"Mom crafted, kid approved."

I have a deep and abiding love of all things vintage and romantic. When I saw this lovely wired damask ribbon I simply had to have it because I knew it would make the most charming ribbon flowers that would be delightful for Valentine's Day. A little sewing, a little Liquid Fusion, a little Aleene’s Fast Grab Tacky glue and you’ve got a lovely ribbon corsage or hair clip, pin, card embellishment... Make a whole bouquet of these on hard wire stems and give them to a sweetheart or glue a variety of these around the edges of a frame. The thinner the ribbon, the flatter your flowers will be. I doubled up two flowers to make a ribbon rose and added some vintage button accents and attached it to a ribbon wristlet for a simply stunning corsage. This would be perfect for a Valentine’s Day dance.

If your teen is a girlie girl, she’ll adore these flowers and they’re so fun and easy to make I guarantee you’ll be searching for ribbon to make more! These aren’t just for teens, they’d be perfect for bridesmaids too! Heck I'd sport this wristlet myself. I can't wait to surprise Avalon with this on her birthday this Thursday!

Materials
Ribbon (I used 2.5” thick damask print ribbon with wired edges)
Vintage buttons
Thread
Magnetic purse snap
Liquid Fusion Glue
Aleene's Fast Grab Tacky Glue

Tools
Chain nose pliers
Sewing needle
Scissors

1. Cut an 11” length of red damask ribbon. Fold the edge on one end.

2. Use a simple basting stitch to sew the bottom edge of the ribbon.

3. Gently remove wire from top of ribbon.

4. When you get almost to the end of the ribbon, fold the end and sew the two ends together.

5. Gently pull the thread to create a flower.

6. Sew the edges together and finish. Cut off excess thread. Fold top edge over to create the first layer of your rose.

7. Repeat making a 9” flower.

8. Sew the two flowers together, nesting the smaller flower in the center of the larger flower. Fold edge over as before.

9. Glue a smaller white button into the center of a larger red button. While still wet, glue these to the center of the smaller flower. Use thread to tack the buttons down. Cut off excess thread. Allow glue to dry.

10. Fold a 5.5” section of black and white damask ribbon over itself to create one half of a bow shape. You should have a 2.75” bow end. Repeat on the other side, leaving the ribbon end attached to the spool.

11. Wrap the ribbon around itself and gently tug to create a bow. The bow should be 5.5” wide. Cut off excess ribbon.

12. Use the thread to secure your ribbon together and sew it to the bottom of your ribbon rose.

13. Measure and cut a length of ribbon to fit your wrist, leaving a 1” overlap on each end. Remove wire from both sides of ribbon. Fold end over 1/2" thick, mark center placement of magnetic snap.

14. Cut slits for snap to thread into, thread snap into ribbon and bracket and fold over ends with chain nose pliers.

15. Tack a button over the exposed snap end on one side with thread, secure with Liquid Fusion glue and allow to dry.

16. Tack flower to center of wristlet with thread and secure with Aleene’s Fast Grab Tacky Glue. Allow to dry. You can remove your ribbon flower and attach to a hair clip when the wristlet gets dirty.

Steampunk Style Design Reveal!

Click on images to view details

I finally got a chance to thumb through a copy of Jean Campbell's incredible new book Steampunk Style. I am so honored to have two designs featured in the book along side pieces from some of my favorite jewelry artists and am hoping to get my own copy to fully savor in the near future. You'll recognize my favorite enigmatic Victorian lady as the focal image on the pendant I created for the first design I called The Anachronist. That piece has a combination of artisan beads from Green Girl Studios and Earthenwood Studio, milagros, Tim Holtz for Advantus components and mixed media charms I created from chipboard, glass, acrylic, metal and wooden elements. The second design has three interchangeable pendants featuring Green Girl and Earthenwood charms or the core necklace can be worn sans pendants for a more simple look.

I'll write up a real review when I get my copy of the book, but from what I saw it will rock your ever lovin' socks off.

xoxo
Madge