Category: Random Craft

(Painting) Shoes Shoes Shoes

As a woman, there is some stereotypes in our culture about women loving shoes. I like shoes. I don’t think I like shoes an inordinate amount for any old human being. That said, I’ve been obsessed with shoes lately.

OBSESSED.

Not just wearing them (I like the wearing) but really, I love painting them. Making fun shoes up. Wearing silly shoes that make my feel look like zombies because… well, because I can.

So here are a few shoes I’ve painted lately. Some for me, some for gifts, some for three giggly kiddos who really wanted silly painted shoes.

My cousin wanted Peruvian shoes for her birthday because, well, she’s Peruvian 🙂

Painting Shoes | OneCraftyThing.com

I saw some zombie feet on Pinterest and then later found out that even Vans had Zombie feet kids’ shoes so I took an old pair of shoes and painted them into turquoise zombies. Right now, these are my favorite to wear!
Painting Shoes | OneCraftyThing.com

Another cousin just had a baby and she has an older little kiddo as well so I made matching kid shoes and a matching tote for mom 🙂 I briefly considered keeping the tote for myself and making another for her… but finally just mailed them off before I started using it.
Painting Shoes | OneCraftyThing.com

 

My littlest kiddo decided he wanted dinosaur feet… so dino feet it was.
Painting Shoes | OneCraftyThing.com

This set of shoes I painted for my eldest kiddo who dislikes skulls and zombies and crazy feet, etc. and is a gentler soul prone to loving flowers:

Painting Shoes | OneCraftyThing.com

I’ve made a couple more as well but failed to photograph them well and now they are… let’s just say they’ve been worn a lot and loved a lot!

So I have two other pairs of blank shoes (one me-sized and one middle kiddo sized) so I’ll probably be painting more.

Spiderman Leg Cast

I have three kiddos… I was just waiting for someone to break something. And the little guy complied. He slipped on a blanket running in our living room and fractured his foot 🙁 He did well in the walking boot but ultimately couldn’t put much weight on that boot, so in order to convince him that he was getting the most awesome thing ever (AKA a cast) we told him he was getting a super-boot, like superheroes wear. So when we found out he needed a cast, we knew we would paint it and set off to figure out what superhero.

It was a short search. Spiderman it was. And he wanted him hanging from a web. So I complied with a Mini Marvel Spiderman. Ultimately it only took about 15 minutes and some acrylic paint and being patient through the wiggles of a three year old.

Here it is, the Spidey-cast:

Spiderman Leg Cast | OneCraftyThing.com

Today I used:

Crazy Hair Day Mermaid

Crazy Hair Day at School: The Little Mermaid | OneCraftyThing.com
I’m not sure who made up crazy hair day at school but I’m wondering if that person was thinking that crazy really refers to how it makes parents crazy the night before. The request this time was: “Can I have a mermaid for crazy hair day?” I always try to pick crazy hair themes that are easy to dismantle so that the wearer can get comfortable after wearing it at school so long. So the kindergarten kiddo and I looked on the crafty mom bible, AKA Pinterest, and we found some fishtail braids made into mermaids for crazy hair day. We saw this one and thought about how to make it happen.

But last night, I was without Cricut to cut out the mermaid and without time to freehand one. So after a few more crazy hair day searches, I saw someone had used a cut-out of the Little Mermaid as the body. So off I went with an obviously easier solution. The pin above uses a fishtail braid, but I am not great with braids, so I went with a simple, plain braid, tied with a simple green hair tie. I put some hair wax on the ends to make the fins and some lime green hair chalk to “dye” it green. I printed Ariel on some photo paper (which was nice and heavy-ish and stood up well) and taped it to a long bobby pin which I then stuck in the braid. I then sprayed it with hairspray and sprinkled it with glitter. Yay for a successful crazy hair day and a happy kindergarten kiddo.

Today I used:

Pride and Prejudice Snowflakes (and Templates!)

‘Tis the season for busy days! So not as much time to really put time into involved crafts but one day we took a few minutes to sit down and do some paper crafts. I did some intricate snowflakes while the kids colored.

After getting warmed up with a Disney-themed snowflake (no template, unfortunately, it was free-hand and a warm up), I remembered that it is around this time of the year that I re-read my most favorite book of all time: Pride and Prejudice. I absolutely adore Jane Austen and read everything she’s written and especially Elizabeth Bennet and (who doesn’t?) love Darcy as well, so I decided to do some fun experiments and came up with these Pride and Prejudice themed snowflakes. I loved them so much that I thought that it would be a little Christmas gift to all the equally Austen enraptured enthusiasts out there 🙂 So for your enjoyment, some fun snowflakes to be had!

Elizabeth Bennet | OneCraftyThing.com
Elizabeth Bennet is one of my most favorite heroines of literature. And though she is not a great reader, I was inspired by the scene at Netherfield Park where her reading becomes scrutinized by the sisters of the house. (Don’t get the reference, you should really read the book, it’s amazing!) Download the Elizabeth Bennet snowflake here.

Mr Darcy Snowflake | OneCraftyThing.com
Fitzwilliam Darcy, despite being aristocratic and “of breeding” is a complete and utter jerk at the beginning of the novel but works at his jerkiness throughout the novel. I won’t say more but it’s not the typical love story, let’s say. Anyhow, download Fitzwilliam Darcy’s snowflake here.

Hope you like it!


Today I used the best book in literature:

A (Quick, Inexpensive, Adorable) Winter Wreath

$12 and a Half Hour to make a (Quick, Inexpensive, Adorable)  Winter Wreath | OneCraftyThing.com

Every once in a while, I take a little bento hiatus. I take a break so that I can come up with new and fresh ideas. However, I still have to craft… one crafty thing! So this week, I checked out some wreaths on Pinterest and I made a new wreath for my door. Something simple, something that took less than a half hour and less that $12! Can you say instant (and cheap) gratification?

For this wreath, I used:

  • A ready-made grapevine wreath. $4 at Trader Joe’s
  • Basil-colored Spanish moss. $4.50 (40% off at my local craft store, or buy it online).
  • 7 white “snow” flocked trees in a pack. $2.99 (40% off at my local craft store)
  • (Optional) Green acrylic paint in case your moss isn’t as green as you would like. (99 cents)

$12 and a Half Hour to make a (Quick, Inexpensive, Adorable)  Winter Wreath | OneCraftyThing.com

15 minutes: I originally had the idea to hot glue the moss onto the wreath, but instead, I ended up tucking it into the branches. It held pretty well without the glue. I especially tried to tuck it under the largest branches.

$12 and a Half Hour to make a (Quick, Inexpensive, Adorable)  Winter Wreath | OneCraftyThing.com

Lots of mess, but easily swept away. It might not seem that way but this moss held pretty well like this.

$12 and a Half Hour to make a (Quick, Inexpensive, Adorable)  Winter Wreath | OneCraftyThing.com

10 minutes: I took my time hot gluing the trees into the wreath (partially because I was watching TV, but partially because I was trying to lay them out before I glued for sure). They each have a little wood base so I hot glued the base to where I wanted and then flexed the tree “trunks” (made of wire) to make them straight, even though gluing them on a curve meant that the bases didn’t go in straight. I tried to not line them up but instead have some in front, some in back so that I could create a bit of depth.

$12 and a Half Hour to make a (Quick, Inexpensive, Adorable)  Winter Wreath | OneCraftyThing.com

2 minutes: I had a bit of trouble figuring out how to hang this up but then thought of using a split key ring on the back and then hung it up.

And that was it 🙂 It took 3 extra minutes to clean up. It was fun and cute and looks good on my door. I didn’t end up using the paint as I liked the color of the moss, but using a sponge brush to lightly add green might give the moss more depth.

Today I used (Following cost may not reflect the discounts that I found for my materials):

More Easter Eggs and Tips for a Watermelon Rose Success

After a fairly sick Easter weekend, I managed to get the egg dyeing activity done for the kids but had to wait until night time to work on my own eggs. I had big plans for wax-resist, pysanka-type eggs but I just couldn’t work it. Oh well, such is life (and the mantra of the site! Get what you can/want done!) So instead I spent a little time blowing out some eggs and using the food coloring in a watercolor-like way (putting drops on top and dripping water on top which results in a cool effect) and then drawing on top of them. And here they are, what I could do in an episode of Scandal and an episode of Call the Midwife 😉

The first egg I dyed was this neon green that reminded me of the same color as luna moths… so it kind of themed itself 🙂 The second egg was a turquoisey blue and I really wanted to do a botanical print. I drew them first with a pencil and then with a Sharpie pen and a Sharpie Marker.

eggs2015

Another part of Easter this year was a small BBQ at my mother’s with all our family. It was low-key and nice and after the kiddos’ Easter egg hunt, we had a potluck. I brought watermelon, as I do, and since I hadn’t spent a lot of time planning it out, I decided to practice my watermelon rose:

Watermelon Fruit Platter | OneCraftyThing.com

This rose was actually one of the best ones I’ve done. I still have a bit to learn, but I think I have a good enough start to give out some tips on watermelon rose carving tips, right?

Watermelon Fruit Platter | OneCraftyThing.com

Tips for a Watermelon Rose Success

  • I watched a million (ok maybe four or five a million times) YouTube videos to learn watermelon roses and the one that I found most helpful was this one.  She’s amazing and her roses are exquisite.
  • A sharp paring knife with a curved tip is a good instrument to start with.
  • I use a cheese plane to peel the part of the watermelon that I’m carving.
  • The way you hold the paring knife is important. Look carefully to see where the lady in the video above holds her knife. It makes a difference.
  • When carving the middle, I had a tendency to cut at an angle toward the middle of the rose. DO NOT DO THIS. Try to keep your knife straight going into the watermelon, otherwise you will learn that you’ll start cutting petals off accidentally (I learned this the very hard way).
  • When I first started roses, I made thin petals and cut out thin strips behind them for definition. Thin petals are a yes, but the melon that you cut out for definition should be nice, thick pieces (refer to the video).
  • When you accidentally cut off a petal or you swish right when you should’ve stopped and chopped off part of the melon that you needed, fake it. YES, FAKE IT! I usually have a couple of toothpicks handy to tuck into the flower, under the petals in case of mistakes. Hey, I’m still learning! And it ends up looking good.

Hope those tips were helpful for anyone attempting this craziness hobby! It’s definitely a fun one though.

Gingerbread House 2014: Arendelle is in Deep Deep Deep Deep Snow

Sometimes it feels like I’m living in a perpetual winter. We are on year 2 of the snow queen’s domination over both Arendelle and my home. What can I say? The movie is beloved here… watched all the time. As an artist, I often take inspiration from my surroundings and as many of my followers can attest to, Frozen is in my surroundings A LOT! Also, I thought my kiddos would get a kick out of this next project.

Every year some friends and I plan a get-together to make gingerbread houses. Everyone brings tons of candy (and leaves their kids at home for some much-needed mom’s night in). Each year, I try to use the opportunity to learn a new skill. Last year, it was to practice piping 🙂 This year, I wanted to sculpt and work gumpaste. So my gingerbread house was the setting I used for the snow queen.

Upfront, I’ll mention that I always use a gingerbread house kit. We don’t eat ours and I find that I’d rather spend my time on decorating rather than baking. Since I wanted a house with an Arendelle look/feel to the whole thing (long tall roof was a necessity), I chose Trader Joe’s Hexen House kit. (I realize that the Hexen House is actually German and not Scandinavian, but it was the closest I could find without actually making my own).

I pretty much just used some white candies and piping do the front. The front took a few minutes. I wanted the roof to look laden in snow so I used some mini-marshmallows cut diagonally and laid on top of one another. This part was TEDIOUS. It took me more than an hour to hand set these tiny tiles, but it was while talking with my friends and constantly laughing so it wasn’t so bad 😉 I then piped icicles coming down from the roof. As you can see, I had tiny little pieces of frosting speckling the house, and I decided that it was an authentic representation of snow rather than the breaking off/smudging of the frosting. Perspective. It’s all about perspective:

Elsa and Arendelle Gingerbread House | OneCraftyThing.com

It was rather difficult to pipe with the house all set up, so if I were to do this again, I would probably pipe the pieces flat and then put the house together to do the roof.

Sorry that I don’t have many process picture but it was hard to hold the camera in one hand and my sangria in the other… perspective and priorities, of course.

I do have a pretty decent aerial shot though, that shows one of my favorite parts of the scene, the “expanding” ice ring, made with melted blue candy (Ring Pops!), rock candy “crystallizing” the edges of the pool and then the blue (and white, which are a bit hard to see) Sixlets that I used to try to give the idea of expansion:

Elsa and Arendelle Gingerbread House | OneCraftyThing.com

And now onto Elsa.

I created the gumpaste Elsa after the party because she herself took quite a bit of time. It was a fun challenge because it was a different kind of 3D work than I’m used to. I looked at a few tutorials and some fondant Elsas on Pinterest for reference and all of it was hand sculpted (although molds might have been easier, especially for the body which is pretty standard). Here she is right-side beauty shot:

Elsa and Arendelle Gingerbread House | OneCraftyThing.com

And here is her left side: Elsa and Arendelle Gingerbread House | OneCraftyThing.com

All in all, I’d say the gumpaste was a little different than working with fondant in that it hardens quickly (which is good in this case). A few tips for making the Elsa figure:

  1. The best tutorial I found (and the one I referenced the most) was this one: Yungjung Cake, although my Elsa was a mix of many different ones that I found, this had some good directions.
  2. Make the body in parts. Lower half, torso, and then head. I tried to make the body all one piece and it wasn’t working at all.
  3. I used a toothpick for the body structure. It went through the whole body and up through the neck and gave the head a secure spot to sit.
  4. Use what you have on-hand. I was going to make custom snowflakes, but used some snowflake sprinkles instead to put in her hair.

All in all, I’m happy with the way it came out. It’s so fun to see it come together and hanging out with my friends and crafting is always fun. Can’t wait for next year’s get-together 🙂


Today I used:

The Elsa Coupe

Every year, my playgroup gets together in a herculean effort to raise money for Relay For Life (an event for the American Cancer Society). We are super into the relay’s dress-up races, funny costumes and general silliness. And we’re a really competitive bunch, too, so we do all kinds of fundraisers and parties and such things getting ready for the event. My amazing friend, Alisa from Sweet Party Treats, is multi-talented and makes over Cozy Coupes to raise money for the event. This year, we are shamelessly riding the Frozen wave and thus was born the Elsa Coupe. Alisa painted the base color of the coupe and prepped it completely for me, and I spent a fun day at her house just painting, chatting, and generally being happy that Kiddo 3 adores my friend, so that I could paint in peace. This is how it came out. Sorry for the phone pictures; I didn’t think to take my camera with me… I strictly had painting on my mind.

The front:

elsa3

The side (it wasn’t completely done at this point, the steering wheel and the gas cap were being painted to match): elsa5

The Queen of Arendelle herself: Elsa4

And a fun detail we added: A curtain in the back of the coupe, that kind of looks like the bottom half of her dress. Elsa1

Hopefully this Cozy Coupe will go to an adoring Frozen fan and raise some money for a great cause. Hope they like it!

Superbowl Sunday

football

Ahh Superbowl Sunday. A day I will never, ever understand. I have very little idea of what goes on in football and really, barely know who’s playing. However, some friends are having a Superbowl party (with bouncy house!) and you say potluck and helmet, well, gee, I gotta think watermelon fruit tray. So here is my one big tribute to Superbowl Sunday… a watermelon helmet.

Note: This watermelon helmet is nowhere near the size it would be in the summer. It’s probably the size of a (ironically) soccer ball, which is as big as watermelons get around here, apparently, in the winter. Fortunately, though, it was pretty sweet still.

Update: An awesome video tutorial by the National Watermelon Board, right here! Written instructions here.

Happy Holidays, Teachers!

Ahhh, teacher’s gifts. Every single year I’m stumped as to what to get our awesome teachers for Christmas. I used to bring in a bagel platter into our preschool until I found out the director was gluten-free, and I didn’t want to exclude her. With food allergies and different diets, etc. I decided it was best just to leave the whole food thing alone. So I decided to get our preschool teachers (the 8 of them and our 1st grade teacher) a little compilation of my favorite things 🙂 So I included a tiny frame, an iPad stand (that really could be used for standing anything up), a Starbucks card, and a fancy hand sanitizer (lavender). Those are just a few things that I like to use and I thought I’d share it with my favorite teachers. I actually really like this idea because it could change every year, it’s fun and (hopefully), it’s stuff they use/will like — like a swag bag. I’m posting this for other poor, forlorn parents out there that have no idea what to give the teachers in their lives.

In order to pull the theme together of a bunch of little random things that I like, I put them in brown paper packages tied up with string and called it a bag of my favorite things!

Here are a few variations of the tags I made:

teachers1

And here is what was in the bag. Pretty simple, but cute and unusual, I think:

teachers2

The tag says:

Brown paper packages tied up with string, 
These are a few of my 

Favorite
Things

iPad stand & Tiny frame
Hand Sanitizer & Starbucks

Silly me, the one thing I did forget was to put our names on it, so I just wrote it on the back. Hope they like it!