Project 12: Camoflauge

Rather than make something that fades into the background, I decided to make something with some actual military camo. I picked up some fabric and bias tape from Jo-Ann's yesterday, and cranked these babies out in a couple of hours this afternoon. 

I could have done them in a half hour if it weren't for the pockets. Pockets. Pockets. I hate pockets. Well, I hate sewing them--- I love having them though! Hand-sewn clothing with pockets are awesome.

I drafted my own pattern based on a pair of ratty old shorts I got from Goodwill for $4 ages ago, though those didn't have any pockets at all. I made up the pattern to include hipfront pockets (also known as inset pockets), which are about medium difficulty on the sewing-is-a-pain-in-the-butt scale. Also, I really need a new sewing machine. (Oh mom! I used my serger to make sure these shorts won't fray to pieces the first time I wash them. I love my serger, thank you soooo much!)

Project 12

Camouflage.  Create or alter something so that it disappears into the background. 

 I have been wanting to try this since I saw it posted on Pintrest.  I did a really messy job, the middle finger is smudged and in the close up photos the nails are painted horribly.  Basically all you do is paint your nails a base coat with nail polish.  Since the background of my map is white, I painted them white.  I never like how white come out on nails anyway.  Let them dry.  Trim paper that you have printed on with a LASER printer to the size of your nails.  Dip your nail in alcohol, place the paper printed size down on your nail firmily for about thirty seconds.  If any paper remains on the nail but it off under warm water.  I only did one hand because I wanted to get this post up but think I will try again later.

Project 11

Use your opposite hand

This was actually pretty easy for me... Being a lefty I have had to compromise with right handed things my whole life... bowling, scissors, etc...   I also used to spend hours doodling and writing with my right hand. 

I had purchased this stamp at the Scrapbook Expo in May.  It reminded me of my girlfriends.  I did  a pretty good job coloring with my Copics and only went out of the lines a few times.   Don't ya love Brenda's tan!!

Project 11

Use your other hand!

For this project, my mom and I are going to be opposites. I'll be using my left hand, and she'll be using her right one. 

I wound up drawing one of Taylor's favorite things---- cars. I'm seeing a theme with my projects. They all consist of food or sports cars. Oh well, because I really like this Lotus!

Project #10

For this project, I had to use water as my medium or inspiration. I found an awesome project on Pinterest that I decided to copy. May I present: The Water Blob.

I bought a 9'x12' piece of 2 mil plastic from Home Depot for about four dollars. I folded it in half, and taped the three edges together leaving about a three inch gap to insert a hose. After placing it on some cushy blankets to keep random sticks from popping it, we filled it with water and taped the little gap shut.

The girls had an absolute blast splashing around on the Water Blob. It seemed to be a mixture of waterbed/slip&slide. Laying down on the Blog was pretty weird---- cool, soft, and comfy though. Here's a video of the kids splashing around:

They loved their bellyflop competition and enjoyed playing ring-around-the-rosie. I joined in for a couple of rounds, and falling down onto a giant water bed sure beats throwing yourself down on the grass.

We sprayed the top with water and blew bubbles everywhere, which made the surface satisfyingly slippery.

One small word of caution---- if you attempt this project, be sure to do this on a flat surface. I didn't even notice the gradual slope of the yard when I first began assembling The Blob. Big mistake. Once we starting filling it up it slowly began to roll. Down the hill. Thankfully Mrs. Joy held it in place while I scrambled to find some more blankets to level out the ground, effectively solving our problem. It didn't look pretty, but it worked well.

We love The Blob!!!

Day 10

Use water as your median or inspiration today..

I decided to try homemade gummi fish.  I used one box of sugar free lemon jello mixed with  1/4 cup of boiling water.  I mixed it very well.

 Added it to my ice cube mold.  I did add a bit a blue dye hoping to turn them blue.. but what does yellow and blue make...GREEN!!!!  Next off to the freezer for 10 minutes.

They turned out pretty good but not quite like gummy fish.  Next time I will add the extra plain geletan that some of the online recipes call for.  The lemon flavor was great, very tangy!

Day 9

Make something with your breakfast before you eat it

This was a hard one for me!  I was going to make Micky Mouse pancakes at first then got this brilliant idea!

I took a yogurt and filled up my flower ice cube tray, then froze it. 

 After about two hours in the freezer they were done.

They taste great and the best part is that I can't eat my breakfast in a 1 minute.  I have to take my time!  Yummy, it's almost like eating ice cream for breakfast!

Project #9

For this project, I was supposed to make something with my breakfast before I ate it. I kind of took the project in a different direction, and made a cool breakfast in general: home-made pop tarts!

I started with two pieces of pie crust stacked on top of each other, and then sliced them into equal pieces with a pizza cutter. I then filled them with one of two fillings---- a brown sugar and cinnamon mixture, or a teaspoon of Mrs. Joy's home-made strawberry jam. I sealed them with brushed egg, poked a hole in the top, and baked them for a little over ten minutes.

I then finished them off with a drizzle of icing---- cinnamon, and plain. They were absolutely delicious, and disappeared quickly. Way better than the stale, much-too-sweet store-bought variety.

 Project 8

Transform an old book into something new by cutting, folding, gluing and so on....

I made some similar books at Halloween from an old book and this time made one into a purse.  I love how it came out!  Only I have to wait until Oct to use it!!!  I got the directions for the design from this blog

 http://lifeartcollide.blogspot.com/

First I seperated the pages from the outside cover.  I used an old atlas at first but the cover was glossy and I had a hard time getting my spider to stick, even with hot glue.  I then picked out another book with a non glossy cover.

I glued the bookplate and spider down them made the web with my hot glue gun. Net I covered it with watered down glue and a thin napkin.

 I then let it dry, then painted with black acrylic paint.  When it dried I went over the spider with copper paing and the web with an champagne silver. 

To make the inside check out this link.  Instead of using the E600 glue I just used my hot glue gun.  http://www.instructables.com/id/How-to-make-a-purseclutch-from-a-Book/?ALLSTEPS

 I covered the inside with black lining.  I really like how it came out!

These are the two I made at Halloween.

Project 8

Mrs. Joy recently donated a huge pile of books to the local library, but before she dropped them off I made sure to snag one. I decided to make one of those hidden box books, which turned out to be much, much trickier than I had anticipated. 

First I painted the book a tan color. Then I carefully cut out a shape from some leftover cardboard and glued it to the cover. Then I took a few sheets of paper towel and modge-podged it over the entire thing. This was pretty tricky---- the dampness warped the cover, and I accidentally glued some of the paper towel to the edge of the pages. Whoops!

I then brushed some watered-down acrylic paint over the damp paper towel, and let the whole thing dry.

Then I opened the book and glued the edges of the pages together into one giant chunk. After that dried, I traced out a rectangle, and began slicing through it with an exacto blade. This was super messy. There were little shreds of paper everywhere, and the corners tore, rather than pulling clean out.

Not my favorite project, but I probably did put more effort into this one than any of the others. Oh well. 

Project 7

  Make a stencil and use it in your work.  I made this stencil in a program and cut it out with a KNK cutter.  It did not cut all the way through this plastic packaging (recycling!) so I had to manually go and poke each piece out.    I was originally going to make it out of paper but thought I would be able to reuse the plastic one.  Plus I love gears! 

  I used some Tattered Angles Glimmer Spray on Kraft paper.

 I picked up this chipboard album at the Scrapbook Expo yesterday and thought I would use this paper inside when I make it.  Their sample is the pink one. I love it.  It is masculine made girly!

 

Project #7

This project has been a while in the making. After pulling a picture of one of Taylor's favorite cars--- the Bugatti Veyron--- into photoshop, I wound up with this pretty awesome stencil.

I went to Hobby Lobby and bought thin acrylic sheets with the intention of cutting it out and having a reusable stencil. The instructions on the package were simple---- trace your pattern and use an exacto blade to cut out the shapes. Easier said than done. The sheet cracked, the knife wouldn't cut all the way through, and making rounded edges were about near impossible. I gave up out of frustration until this morning, when I finally printed my pattern out onto a piece of cardstock. 

This time the knife slid through like butter. The only tricky part was the wheels---- cutting them out without ripping them away from the paper. The teeny tiny shapes on the rim weren't a piece of cake either.

Regardless, the stencil came out awesome, and will be really need printed onto a shirt or some other item for Taylor.