Leprechaun Gnome

       Guess what! It's almost March! Whether it comes in like a lion or a lamb, it'll be here before we know it! We'll be springing forward, cleaning out flower beds, planting spring flowers,  pruning rose bushes and, if you're like me, you'll be ready to get your green on and celebrate St. Patrick's day!  

       Before we start thinking corned beef and green beer,  let's put together a few Leprechaun gnomes and decorate! After all it isn't St. Patrick's day unless we have a few shamrocks,  gold coins and Leprechauns (even if they do look like gnomes).... 😜 

You'll need:

• Gwen Studios* 3/8" single face satin ribbon - Green
• Gwen Studios* 3/8" Polka Dot grosgrain ribbon - Green
• Kunin® Presto Felt - Green
• Double stick 1/4" tape
• Smoothfoam® 1" ball
• Small wood bead
• Orange/Red yarn
• LoTemp glue
• Scissors 

Instructions:

1.  Cut a 6" circle from the felt, then cut into quarters. You'll need one quarter for each hat.

2. Remove the backing from one piece of felt then cover the adhesive with alternating strips of solid and polka dot ribbon. Place the first strip along one straight edge allowing about half the width of the ribbon to overlap the edge.  Flip over and trim the ends even with the felt.

 

3. To make the beard wrap the yarn around a ruler.  Wrapped yarn should be long enough to go along the curved edge of the felt piece.  Place a piece of double stick tape along the wrapped yarn.  Remove the backing.  TIP: Extend one end of the tape past the end of the yarn to make it easier to remove the backing paper.  Cut the yarn along one edge of the adhesive strip then attach to the bottom edge of the felt.

 

   

4.  With the beard on the inside, fold the felt into a cone shape overlapping the ribbon edge as shown. Glue in place with lo-temp glue.

 

5.  Flip the hat upside down, allowing the yarn to fall away from the inside, then push the foam ball into the hat. 

6. Cut a 1" x 4" piece of felt then remove about 1" of the backing from one end. Fold 10"-12" of grosgrain ribbon in half then press onto the end of the felt.  Roll up the strip of felt with the ribbon at the center and the adhesive to the inside. This will be the body and "legs". Glue the top of the roll to the base of the ball inside the hat. Tie a knot at the end of each ribbon leg then glue the small wood bead to the front for a nose to finish.  

 

        Much like an an elf, these little Irish gnomes can be found anywhere around the house; hiding in the center of a decorative shamrock, chilling on the mantel, or hanging from a wreath.  You can even attach one to your sweatshirt or jacket when you head out on the seventeenth so you don't get "pinched"..... 

  

 

 

May the road rise up to meet you

 

May the wind always be at your back

 

May the sun shine warm upon your face

 

and rains fall soft upon your fields... 

 

And, until we meet again

 

May God hold you in the palm of His hand

☘☘☘☘☘

Enjoy!

Yours truly,

Julie 💝

KEEP CALM AND CARRY ON CRAFTING! 

*Ribbon used in these projects was provided by Gwen Studios and can be found at your local Walmart and online at Walmart.com

Look for more ribbon crafts featuring Gwen Studios ribbon here:

 

Bible Journaling with SRM Faith Stamps

Designer Crafts Connection members are hopping with SRM this week.  Each of us received complimentary product to see what we would create.  Some designers received product to use in Planners and I received a stamp for bible journaling.

 

It's pretty obvious that I didn't use the stamp for bible journaling.....  I guess  I'm just old fashioned that way.  I make notes in my bible, but I can't bring myself to decorate the already beautiful verses.  I love the faith based stamps though and decided to use them for a decorative accent in my guest, half bath where they can speak to anyone who stops by.  If you'd like to give it a try, here's what I used  and what I did.

You will need:

SRM Faith clear stamp
5"x7" Frame
StazOn® White Opaque Ink
Clear acrylic block
Rinea® paper foil - Gold

    

1. Remove the glass from the frame then wash with hot water and a little dish soap.  Rinse and dry thoroughly with a soft cloth.

2. This step is optional.  You can use the glass as is, of course, but I love to create outside the box and thought it would be cool to give the glass a mottled effect as shown below:

   

3.  For this step you will need a small jar of etchall® etching créme. Don't let the idea of glass etching prevent you from trying this - it is SO easy.  Barbee at etchall sent me product to work with over 20 years ago and I've been etching ever since.  Place the glass on a work surface then put a plastic spoonful of the créme onto a disposable plate. Using a sea sponge (because it's nice an airy), dab the créme onto the surface of the glass.  Leave for 15 minutes.

NOTE:  etchall créme is reusable, so normally you would scrape the créme back into the container after 15 minutes, but this method uses so little just wash it off under running water over a NON-porcelain sink, or rinse off in bucket.  This is an etching product and will remove the glaze from porcelain, china, granite, etc. even slate.   When you first receive an unopened bottle of cream, it will be white, but after a while, and many uses, it will turn brown as you can see in my photo. The color does not affect how it works.

4.  Wash and dry the etched glass so we can start stamping.   Remove the carrier sheet with the line art and place it on a work mat facing upwards as shown.

 

5.  With the wording centered, place the glass with the etched side face down on top of the carrier sheet. 

6.  If you have a large acrylic block, it is possible to stamp all the words at once, but the ink dries very quickly, so I chose to do this part one phrase/word at a time using the carrier sheet under the glass as a guide for placement.  

 

7.  I purchased white ink for this project because I knew that it works on glass, but - remember I said I like to think outside the box?  If you know me at all, or have watched me on TV, you'll know that I love to try different things - it's all part of being creative.....  so let me share this.  I painted the frame around a bathroom mirror yesterday with white chalk paint.  I'm sure you've heard that chalk paint sticks to everything so can you guess where I'm going with this?  Yep I did some experimenting and chalk paint worked great for stamping!  I dipped a sponge brush into the paint, then dabbed it on some wax paper to spread the paint evenly on the brush, then dabbed paint onto the stamp.  I haven't got to the part of cleaning the stamp yet, but chalk paint cleans up with water so, as long as you don't leave it on too long, I would think it will be okay.   BTW, if you mess up with the stamping,  StazOn can be removed from the glass with rubbing alcohol. Not sure if it should be used to clean the stamps, but really don't see why not. Okay, I've digressed enough, let's move on to the next step.

8.  After you've finished stamping, place the glass in the frame.  Cut a piece of gold paper foil to size (I used gold, but there are other colors to choose from) then place behind the glass. Add the frame back, secure and you're done.

Now it's time to head over to the DCC blog to see what the other designers have done.  Enjoy!  Y'all come back now..... 

Yours truly,

Julie :)

KEEP CALM AND CARRY ON CRAFTING!

Picnic Party Mason Jars

Memorial Day, Independence Day and Labor Day are all good times for family BBQs and picnics. Celebrate your patriotism in style with etched mason jars for perfect party table decorations!

You will need: etchall® dip’n etcH • etchall® etchmask • etchall® Pik Tool • etchall® Squeegee 

PLUS 

Mason Jars, Quart (with smooth sides)

Star Punch, Small

Baker’s twine

Empty soda bottle

Craft Knife

Ruler

1.  Cut the top off the soda bottle and set aside to use as a funnel. Rinse the bottle thoroughly.

2.  Wash the outside of each mason jar with hot, soapy water. Rinse with vinegar to remove any remaining residue.

3.  To create the star border, use a lever punch to punch stars at equal intervals along the bottom edge of a sheet of etchmask. Punch upside down so you can see the guidelines on the back of the etchmask. NOTE: Do not discard the punched stars. You can use these on another jar.

4. Use a paper trimmer, or craft knife and ruler, to cut the strip from the sheet, making sure that the star opening is centered between the top and bottom edges. Cut 3 strips plus additional strips as needed to go all the way around the jar.

5. To determine how much dip’n etch you will need, fill the mason jar with glass pebbles, or heavy items (so it won’t float) then place the jar inside the soda bottle. Fill the soda bottle with water up to the rim of the mason jar.

  

6. Remove the mason jar and the water level will sink. Place a piece of masking tape on the outside of the soda bottle then mark the water level. Empty the water then dry the inside of the soda bottle and the outside of the mason jar thoroughly. 

       

7. Remove the backing from the strips of etchmask then, starting about 1½” from the bottom of the jar, place around the outside of the mason jar. If the strips are too short, add additional strips as needed. Place a rolled piece of lined paper inside the jar as a positioning guide, or tape a ¾” wide strip of paper around the jar above each strip as a spacer.  Make sure the etchmask strips are pressed firmly onto the glass, especially around the star openings otherwise the dip will leak underneath.

8. Fill the soda bottle with dip’n etch up to the water level mark then gently place the mason jar into the liquid. The dip’n etch will rise to the rim of the jar.

9. Let stand for 15 minutes then carefully remove the jar. Rinse the mason jar thoroughly under warm, running water, or in a plastic bucket then remove the strips of etchmask.  

DO NOT rinse over a porcelain sink!   

This is etching liquid and it will permanently remove the glaze from porcelain! Please read all cautions and directions on the dip’n etch container.

10. Dry the outside of the jar and remove the glass pebbles to reveal the etched design.

11. If you would like to etch additional designs, adhere the stars to a second jar and ½” wide strips of etchmask to a third for a perfect patriotic trio. Simply place each one in the same dip’n etch (one at a time) and follow the directions above. etchall dip’n etch is reusable, so there is no need to replace it after each use.

12. When you have finished etching all your jars, use the top of the soda bottle as a funnel to return the dip’n etch to its original container to be used for more projects!

Etching is a quick and easy way to upcycle and personalize a wide variety of glass pieces! Try it once and you’ll be itching to etch some more in no time at all….  Enjoy!  Y'all come back now........

Yours truly,
Julie :)

 KEEP CALM AND CARRY ON CRAFTING! 

etchall products were provided by B&B Products 

Can Do-over....

We don't eat a lot of canned food these days, but whenever we do, I save the cans and give them a "do over"!  Here's a couple of fun and easy ways to use them for both indoor and outdoor floral decorations.

  

It all starts with a can, an empty bottle of water, a brown paper grocery sack, jute and assorted rolls of  wide ribbon. You'll also need scissors, a tape runner and, of course, some flowers, artificial or fresh..

 

1.  Remove the paper from the cans and rinse thoroughly.  Save the tabs from the top of the cans.  If you want a tight bunch of flowers in your vase, place an empty water bottle in the can and place the flower stems in the neck to hold them together. You can use mini water bottles as is, but you'll need to cut the larger bottles in half, so the top of the bottle is about 1/2" lower than the top of the can.  Flowers can also be held in place by placing shreds inside the can.

  

2.   Cut a piece of brown paper to fit around the can.  Overlap the ends and secure with adhesive.  Option:  Glue a border of corrugated brown paper around the top and the bottom of the can. The ribbon will cover the center.  

 

TIP: If you have to use a can opener to open the can, insert a mason jar ring in the top for a cleaner, more finished look around the rim.  You can also use the ring to trap the tab against the side of the can for a hanger.

3.  Cut a piece of ribbon long enough to wrap around the can, plus 1/2".  Secure the overlapped end with adhesive.  Wrap jute around the center and tie at the front in a bow, or overhand knot, depending on the look you want. 

   

  

There are so many types of ribbon to choose from you can upcycle empty cans to use for any occasion, season,  holiday, or to simply to fill an empty spot that needs a little home dec.  Use the tab to hang from a tree in your yard, or on the porch.....  Just think of all the things you "can" do....   Enjoy!  

Y'all come back now.........

Yours truly,
Julie :)

KEEP CALM AND CARRY ON CRAFTING!