Showing posts with label crafting tutorial. Show all posts
Showing posts with label crafting tutorial. Show all posts

Cuckoo Redo


Call me cuckoo, but I wanted to try painting and distressing a cuckoo clock. They are funny little clocks. I like their cuckoo, but I wanted to see how they would look in another color other than their standard red/brown. I found a little antique cuckoo and painted it using two colors of Annie Sloan chalk paint. If you like shabby chic accessories, than why not try painting your own little cuckoo.

For this project you will need:

Cuckoo Clock

Annie Sloan paint in Old White & Duck Egg Blue

Paint brushes- 1 standard, and one small 

Sand Paper Block ( med grit) or sand paper

Annie Sloan wax in Clear, and Dark


Remove the weights, pendulum, and back door of clock.

Start by painting your clock with one coat of old white. Use a small brush to get in the cracks and corners. Be careful when lifting the clock to handle it delicately. Do not paint the dial mechanisms, but do paint the hands of the clock. 


Paint a second coat of Duck Egg blue.

Take a slightly damp cloth and wipe away some areas of the duck egg blue to expose the old white.

Take a small brush to paint the chains and weights duck egg blue. You will need to paint the rest of the chain hidden in the clock last. Take a paper towel and run it along the chain to make sure there is no paint inside the chain links.

Let Dry.

Take sand paper and rub away on the corners and raised areas to expose the brown wood in small areas. Do the same to the pendulum exposing some brown metal.

Apply clear wax and use cheesecloth to rub. See this post for the how to on waxing: http://craftingrebellion.blogspot.com/2012/03/antiqued-and-distressed-bench.html

Next apply the Dark wax and make sure to get it into all the carved detail. Rub again with cheesecloth. 

Here is the top of the clock that came off during painting. You can see where the dark wax got into the crevices. 



Let dry 24 hours and buff. Once the clock is running take a small paint brush to paint the chain that was inside the clock after it has dropped down. Again make sure there is no paint inside the links. 




I link up at these parties:


Check back soon for our next tutorial!

XOX,

The Rebel Crafter

Rockin' Wine Glasses

You can really create some fabulous, and unique wine glasses using dollar store glasses and acrylic gems. I chose to add cabochons to this project to give the glass some extra character. You can find plastic cabochons in the scrapbook aisle of the craft store. They also sell theme packs of buttons with the shanks removed that work great for this project. Use cabochons, or all gems, either way you will have one rockin' wine glass. Create a set of 4 for a great gift. They are quick and easy to make.




For This Project You will Need:

Wine Glass ( $1 at The Dollar Tree)

Acrylic Gems ( $1 a Pack at The Dollar Tree, or find them at craft stores like Michael's)

Cabochons (Plastic buttons without the shank, scrapbook stickers with the adhesive removed, jewelry etc.)

E 6000 Adhesive (or other jewelry type glue that bonds to glass)

Gem Pick Up Tool or Wax Pencil



Start by gluing down your cabochons. Arrange them on the glass base and either carefully apply a dab of glue, or use a toothpick to pick up the glue and smear onto the back of the cabochon.



Let your cabochons dry for a few minutes and then start filling in the base with the small acrylic gems. 

Take a toothpick and smear some of the glue in a 1" area. Work in small areas so the glue does not dry too quickly. 


Use your gem pick up tool to pick up the small gems and set them into the glue area. The gems will slide around a little so just move them in place and they will set in a few minutes. 


Continue working around the glass base filling in small areas with the gems until the whole area is filled to your liking. I used mostly clear gems, but added some red and black ones for contrast. 


When your base is all filled in check that the gems are all staying on the glass base and not sliding off by running your finger around the edge making sure that all the gems line up. If one is slightly off just lightly push the gem back in place.

Stem:If you want to apply gems to the stem as well you need to work slowly up the stem. Do one row around the stem and let the gems dry slightly before you start the next row above. When you get about half way up the stem turn the glass over and continue from top down.

Let your glass dry for 24 hours.

Once completely dried apply windex to a paper towel and run it around the glass base. This will clean up any wax pencil marks, and glue strings. Also if you have a gem that wasn't adhered well it will pop off and you can glue it. These glasses will need to be hand washed.




I link up at these parties:

Check back soon for our next tutorial!

XOX,


The Rebel Crafter

Silk Tie Easter Eggs




Friday night was my monthly scrapbooking club night. Our founder Jodie brought in her Silk Tie Easter Eggs to show us and to demonstrate how to make them. You need 100% silk ties that you can find at Goodwill, garage sales, or maybe old ones in your Husbands closet. I took my egg home and my Daughter was definitely interested in trying this technique so I thought I would share how we made them. 

You will need:

Eggs

100% Silk Tie

Vinegar

Stainless steel or aluminum pot (use one you do not care about as the dye may stain the pot. I used a pot I only make soap with).

Duct Tape, Pipe Cleaners, or rubber bands.


Cut your tie apart.

Cut a piece of fabric that fits around the egg. 

Get the fabric good and tight around the egg.

Secure the back with a small piece of duct tape.

Twist the ends and again secure with a small piece of duct tape. Make sure the duct tape is covering just a little of the egg. 

You can also tie with string, pipe cleaners, or rubber bands. I just found the duct tape to be fast and easy. Make sure the fabric is snug on the egg.



Place in a stainless or enamel pot with enough water to cover the eggs. 

Add a few tablespoons of vinegar.

Simmer for 20 to 25 minutes.


Let cool and unwrap your egg.

Shine your egg with a little vegetable oil. These eggs are for display only, I would not eat.



I link up at these parties:

Check back soon for our next tutorial!

XOX,

The Rebel Crafter

Egg Topiary


I am continuing the egg theme from the last post with an egg topiary. My inspiration comes from an egg topiary featured in the Williams and Sonoma Spring catalog. I really liked the look of the topiary and wanted to create my own version of it. I found the faux eggs at Hobby Lobby, however they only came in a pastel mix so I painted them blue. This is a step you can easily skip if you would rather have a pastel egg topiary. If you can find faux natural or blue eggs even better so you do not have to bother painting. You can easily create this topiary and have it out all Spring to enjoy.

For this project you will need:


Styrofoam Florists Cone (mine is from Michael's sized 98mmx301mm)


Faux Eggs-small and regular sized eggs (I purchased mine from Hobby Lobby, I used 2 small packs of regular sized eggs, and 2 small bags of small eggs)


Moss (I picked up my bag at Dollar Tee)


Hot Glue Gun


Container or flower pot for the topiary


If you would like to paint your eggs you will need:


Acrylic paint in Light Blue/aqua (I used Folk Art brand Sky Blue) 


Acrylic paint in Brown.


Paint brush (small and regular)






To start decide if you would like your eggs the color they are, or if you would like to paint them blue. 


If you would like them blue like mine, lay them on one side or prop in a container and paint one side at a time with the blue paint and regular sized brush.




Let Dry before flipping and painting the other side.




To create the speckles mix some brown acrylic paint with water so the paint is thin a drippy. 


Dab some brown paint onto your small paint brush. Make sure you are working outside or an area where paint can splatter (or cover the area well with paper towels). Holding the brush about a foot and a half over the eggs take your free hand and firmly tap on your hand holding the paint brush to create a spray of speckles onto the eggs.


If you get too big of a brown paint blob just paint over it in blue when dry.




Create the Topiary:


Start by removing approximately 2" of the top of the florist cone so that it isn't so pointy. You can use a knife to slice the tip off.




Hot glue one of the regular sized eggs onto the top of the cone. The glue takes a minute to set so hold onto the egg until it stays put.


Then start hot gluing a couple rows of the smaller eggs near the top of the topiary. Place them randomly with space in between them. 




Continue attaching eggs down the topiary again randomly gluing regular sized ones with some small ones in between. 


Don't glue the eggs too tightly together as we will be filling the gaps with moss.


Once completed gluing all your eggs on the topiary start to fill the gaps with moss.


Make sure you put your topiary on a piece of newspaper or paper towel as the moss is messy.


Fill in a gap between the eggs with hot glue.


Immediately push a small clump of moss into the hot glue and use the back of a paint brush or a stick to press the moss firmly into the hot glue.




Fill in all the gaps with moss and put your topiary into a pot of your choice. If you see any brown paint spots you don't like just touch them up with blue paint.





I link up at these parties:


Check back soon for our next tutorial!

XOX,

The Rebel Crafter

Valentine's Day Crazy Clips




Yesterday was my monthly scrapbook club crop and we have such a great bunch of talented and awesome women that come to it! One of them is Rhiannon Metzger (super sweet). Yesterday she was making Valentine's Crazy Clips during the crop and I was so in love with them! I asked her if I could share them with you since they are a fast project that could still be made by Tuesday. Rhiannon made our Holiday Crazy Clips and her family loved them so much they asked her to make Valentine's ones to give as gifts. She used the Michael's glitter tape and found the puffy felt stickers on sale there as well. There definitely is still time to whip up these adorable little gifts. Just follow our Crazy Clips project for the how to.


Click here for directions: http://craftingrebellion.blogspot.com/2011/10/crazy-clips.html



Check back soon for our next tutorial!

XOX,

The Rebel Crafter

$5 Designer Look Curtains


I recently saw a pair of designer curtains with hand sewn crystals and I loved how glamorous they appeared. They were beyond expensive. I knew I wanted to try an inexpensive version of this technique. I was recently at Hobby Lobby and a long strand of faux crystal wedding garland caught my eye. At $5 (half off that week) I decided I would give this project a try. One strand will cover at least one regular curtain panel. How many crystals you use is up to you. Since the crystals are big I actually think I could have used less and spread them out more. I had some crystals left over on my long length 95" panel. Now I am not a big fan of hand sewing, but if I can do this project I think anyone can. It just requires a little patience. It took me one evening (while watching TV) to complete one panel. I have no idea how these curtains will do when they need dry cleaning. I seriously change my decor before my curtains usually need cleaning! But at an investment of $5 (not including the curtains) I wasn't too concerned. I really like this idea for a couture baby room, but really any room you want some bling in could work. This pair will be going into my spare bedroom, but I think I will be keeping my eye out for interesting crystal garland to make another pair for my dining room. This project is a really inexpensive way to change the look of regular store bought curtains into something special.


For this project you will need :


Curtains


Wedding Crystal Garland (I got mine for $5 at Hobby Lobby but you can google wedding garland and you will find lots of choices. Just make sure the crystals are tied on (not glued) to the line so you can remove them.


Scissors


Needle and Thread




Start by removing the crystals from the line. A small pair of scissors in helpful.




Lay out your curtain panel and place the crystals where you like them.




I staggered my crystals so four were on one row, three the next.


Mark the desired area with either a pin or a pen mark.




Sew on the crystals like sewing on a button. I started by locking my thread, then secured the top of the crystal. Then I ran the thread behind the crystal and secured the bottom. It will take a few hours to hand sew a large panel.  This is a good TV or movie project.






Enjoy your new designer curtains!


XOX,

The Rebel Crafter

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