DYI Doll/ Lego House /Playroom Scene

I had the privilege of teaching some Art Camps this Summer, and I asked one of my students what they would like to make and she said a Doll House. Well, we weren't going to have time for that in the camp, so I suggested a Doll House Scene. I wanted it to be able to be folded and put away, so here is what we came up with.

Materials:

•  4 Hinges 1-2 inches tall (they come in packs of 2) you don't want the screws longer than .5"
• Paint, brushes, water, palate, etc.
• Paper and pencil to sketch designs
• Modge Podge Matte
• Drill

• Wooden Board, I used the pretty kind of wood about $13- $14, lol      2' x 4' piece

- Ask the very pleasant Lowes or Home Depot People to cut your board like this:





Step 1: Lay out your boards with the 2' wide sandwiched between 1' wide boards (all are 1.5' tall)

 Step 2: Screw 2 hinges to one of the 1.5' x 1' boards (I did use a drill), about 2" from the top and bottom
 Step 3: Place something straight under the board you have just "hinged" and the 2" middle board to make sure they will be level and then screw in the other side of the hinges.
Step 4: Add hinges to the other 1' board and other side of the 2' board with same method, make sure bottom is even across.
Step 5: Stand up and admire your wooden fold-able masterpiece and get inspired. Have your kids sketch out designs to paint on the insides and outsides of your scene.
Step 6: Paint. Let dry fully. Have fun!
Step 7: Seal with Modge Podge Matte (Unless you want the glossy look)

 Lola had the idea to paint a TV in the Playroom scene so she could paint different pictures and tape it on her Scene. Then change them out as she wanted to, very clever young lady=)

Don't forget to do a scene on the back and outsides too!

Hope ya'll have fun with this, I know we did. If you decide to venture out and make it happen, please send me a link to your picture!!! Hope you have an awesome summer! Thanks for reading.

Mixed Media Owl Journals

Inspired by all the owls we decided to do some Mixed Media Art Journals!

I recently inherited a lightbox my Grandy had made for my Nana's Watercolor Hobby and decided to put it to some good use! It makes this project easier but not essential.

Items Needed:

• Composition Books
• Modge Podge (or elmers school glue with a little water)
• Scrapbook paper (variety)
• scissors
• pencils
• template (we did owls, but try horses or dolphins or bears!!)
• lightbox (optional- you can also use a glass table with a light underneath)

• acrylic paint (with a small brush) or sharpies for accents

Owl Template

STEP 1:
Make a template with basic shapes. You don't want to get too complicated here=)
Here is an owl I did in Paint... 

STEP 2:
Decide a color scheme with your paper. Encourage students to layer complimentary colors so each part is visible.












STEP 3:

Place Template on light box and one at a time place scrapbook paper upside and on top and trace the part applying to that paper. For example: I want pink polka dots for the wings so I place my pink polka dot paper upside down and trace out 2 wings from the template.





STEP 4:
Cut out your traced pieces. Organize next to your journal.

STEP 5:

Mixed Media Owl Journal

Glue- start with the background first and then to the big pieces to the smallest.

STEP 6:
Add a layer of glue on top to seal. (Be careful not to glue the journal pages together, opening the books would help)

STEP 7:
Add any final touches you like! Voila! Be free to do this on wood or canvas too!

I did this with ages 5-13. (More help to the 5 year old of course, but they did great!)

Polymer Clay Mosaics

Polymer Clay Mosaic

This was a project we did at United Artisans Shop and Studio in downtown Fort Mill, SC during our Summer Art Camps with the 10-16 year old group. I think it would be fun to do at home or school, but it would be hard without a bunch of pasta machines=)

Necessary Tools:

• Polymer Clay - varying colors - Any
• Pasta Machine (To only be used for Polymer)
• Dull Knife
• Grout and Adhesive
• Surface to put the mosaic on
• non-food spoon
• gloves
• 2 Tiles (the size you want to make your design on) or Clean workspace and 1 Large Tile

Would be nice:

• Cookie Cutters (To only be used for Polymer or crafts)
• A pretty Frame and Backing to Seal it

To start have a clean workspace and tile, cleaned pasta machine


Make sure your hands are clean and warm up the clay in small increments and run through the pasta machine on "9". Ball up and run through again on "9".

Put your flattened sections on your workspace. Cut out squares, triangles, circles, etc...with your dull knife. If you have craft cookie cutters, those work great.

Carefully arrange the Clay cuts on your large tile, and Repeat steps for different colors. (It will be important to keep a paper towel on hand to wipe the pasta machine in between colors.)

Student keeps arranging until they are satisfied leaving about 2-3mm or 1/8" in between. Make sure they gently press the edges down so that the appearance is like flat tiles, don't press too hard to make it smash.
Note: In the design below some of her "tiles" were too close and did not fit into the final design... Make sure to leave space in between the clay pieces.

Rachel's finished design before grout=) 

 

Rachel's Finished Polymer Mosaic

Bake the Polymer Clay on the large tile in a normal oven what the directions tell you. It will vary in the type of Polymer you get. I like Sculpey premo myself. Do not over bake !!! Toxins released= bad times! Trust me!!!=) Make sure you have the right temperature too! =)

Let the hot clay sit for a half hour and cool.

Choose a surface: a pot, wood, glass- whatever the grout and adhesive will stick to=)
Get a spoon and gloves and spread across the surface.
Remove your gloves and place the Polymer Tiles( on the large tile) you have created on your surface=) Fun fun fun!

If you do this please, please please post pictures so I can see the beautiful things you have made!!!! Have a blast creating!

Also, if you have any suggestions or questions, don't hesitate to ask=) Thanks for reading!

Crocheted Guitar Pick Holders

After many inquiries I am writing down one way to make the guitar pick holders;)

You will need:

• yarn - I like Hobby Lobby's I Love this Yarn
• Crochet Hook between E/4 and G/6

Ch 5, then sl st in original ch to make a loop
Rnd 1: Ch 3, dc 14 into the middle of the loop (not inside the chain, but the hole), sl st in top of ch -3 to  close (it will be slightly concave)
Rnd 2: Ch 2, sc in next st (front loop only), and all the way around (front loops only), end with a sl st into the top of your ch st          
Rnd 3: Ch 2, *(sc in next st (front loop only), fbftog next 2 front loops)* Repeat * to * around til you get to the beg, then sl st in ch to close
Tail: Ch 20, sl st in the base of the starting ch

To finish: ch 1 and pull, cut the strand and weave the extra yarn back in and glue=)
Voila!
Makes a great gift for the guitar lover that can't keep track of their picks, lol! You can fold it into itself to put on the neck of the guitar or make the last chain longer to attach to the strap. You can even attach it as a key chain! Great sentimental, thoughtful, handmade gift.

If you don't want to figure out how to make them, but would like them as party favors, or a Birthday Gift, you can order them today and we will make and ship them within 3 days.
Click here to order.

Revamping the Rear

Started by blocking with a colored pencil ;
natural sponge with 3 colors;
synthetic sponge damp to wipe...

We are working on revamping our rear store front and this is our fun process.

I went on youtube and found a cool Polish fellow that does amazing murals. I watched his one for stone and got the inspiration.
I then prayed fervently for an airbrush gun, and then last Saturday a gentleman listened to Holy Spirit and bought me an airbrush gun. So this past week my friend B.R. and I went to work...
This is our first mural so give us some grace, I didn't find exactly the colors Mr. Polish man listed on his video so I did some compromising.  But I like the result anyhow. And with grace and practice we'll get better and better.

What fun! So here is what we did.

Rubbed Hard on the top of the stone and the right
side to give them some 3 D look to it and blocked out space for windows.

Airbrushed blue into the sky because, it was my first time using an
airbrush, so I wanted to get used to it.
Then we airbrushed lines a light cream color for highlights...

Airbrushed dark shadows and used a jagged
cardboard piece to accent in the stone.

I added some white with  a hint of yellow with the airbrush for the clouds.

Do Over thoughts...

• Use some sort of tool to make my lines straight... Lol I'm sure you can see the giant blocks verses the small. I also thought of using a rectangular cardboard piece to trace with colored pencil.
• Some say to never use black in the way of art, so one can use raw umber or some dark brown color instead. I see be free=) But know what look you want to go for. 
• I wish I had one of those laser tools that tell you where things are level for the windows too... They aren't exactly symmetrical, but its good enough for jazz...

Well I enjoyed myself, and I'm pretty sure B.R. did too! She is an amazing helper and I am so grateful... Because of her help this 10' x 17' wall was done in 6 hours.

So come on over to United Artisans of America and book your next meeting or party in Fort Mill in front of the wall;)