BOO! & Meow Too! - Etchall® Etched Dessert Stand

Even though it's only August, Autumn is popping up in all the retail stores and it's the perfect time to begin creating decorative projects for Fall, and for my favorite holiday of all - Halloween!!

I'm not sure what it is that makes me love Halloween so much - perhaps it just goes hand in hand with my love of scary movies & Stephen King books, my love of creating home made costumes, or the fact that when you dress up as something scary, or even silly, it gives you a chance to step outside yourself just a bit even for a short time.  Join the fun, be silly, have fun - act like a kid again no matter what your age!  And yes.... eat lots of chocolate too!

I created this etched dessert stand to hold Halloween sugar cookies I'll soon be baking, but it would also be perfect for creepy cupcakes, or even to display a round cake with some fun, spooky decorations.   By masking out the black cats and lettering, the shiny black surface of the plate makes them stand out against the etched, matte background.

Since I admit I'm a bit of a creative "mad scientist", I decided to try etching this project in an unexpected way - rather than use etchall® creme - I used etchall® dip n' etch, which is normally not used for etching things like plates....   cue the bubbling beakers & test tubes and creepy music......

Materials: 

• etchall® dip n' etch  OR etchall® etching creme
• etchall® etchmask Stencil ComboPak
• etchall® Swivel Knife or craft knife
• Black ceramic plate & bowl - Dollar Tree 
• Electronic die cutting machine to cut spooky cats (or you can use any Halloween themed stencils, or you can trace a printed image and cut it out from etchmask)
• BOO! Stencil (or you can use the electronic die cutting machine to cut your lettering, or you can trace a printed image and cut it out from etchmask)
• Beacon Power-Tac™ Adhesive
• Paper towels 
• Large round plastic container or bowl - large enough to hold the plate over when finished etching.... 
• Protective gloves 

Instructions:

If using an electronic die cutting machine, find desired copyright free clip art images from the internet and resize to about 2" x 2".  I used two different spooky cat images.   Cut 3 of each cat from sheet of etchmask.  

Remove cats from backing and mount to outer edges of surface of the plate - alternating between cats, and spacing as equally as possible.  (You could measure with a ruler to ensure they are evenly spaced.... but we mad scientists prefer to "eyeball" things....) 

Place the BOO! stencil onto a scrap piece of etchmask.  Trace lettering.  Use swivel knife (or craft knife..... my awesome swivel knife seems to be lost in the laboratory right now....) to carefully cut around lettering, leaving the backing in place.   Remove etchmask from around the lettering. 

Place transfer sheet over the lettering and press to adhere.  Lift lettering from backing paper, place onto center of plate and press to transfer to plate.  Using the transfer paper ensures your lettering remains perfectly aligned.  

Now is when things got a bit weird...... I could have applied etching creme to the surface of the plate. but, I wanted to try an experiment.  If you want to go the less messy, easier to do route - and still have great results, use the etchall® creme! 

Do the next step over something you don't care gets messed up just in case - I use a well worn cutting mat for things like this....  Put on protective gloves.   Place a layer of paper towels over the protective surface.   Place the plate in the center of the paper towels.   CAREFULLY and SLOWLY pour the dip n' etch into the plate all the way to the top rim.   Let set 15 minutes. 

Wearing the protective gloves, and still working over the protective surface, CAREFULLY lift up the plate and pour the dip n' etch into the wide plastic bowl.  It is easier to do this over a bowl larger than the plate, in case of drips and potential spillage.   It also made it easier to return the dip n' etch to the bottle itself as the plastic was more pliable and had deeper sides.   Dip n' etch can be re-used, so don't skip this step...

Rinse the plate to clean thoroughly.  Remove etchmask.  

To create the raised dessert stand, apply Beacon Power-Tac adhesive around the bottom rim of the bowl. I left my bowl shiny to accent the shiny black cats and lettering on the plate. Place the etched plate centered over the bowl and let dry.    

Rocks Full of Happiness

By now almost everyone has heard of the growing popularity of painting rocks and leaving them for others in random places to find and brighten their day.  People of all ages, and all skill levels are participating.  Some choose to keep their found treasure, others re-hide them for others to have the fun of finding. Even well known artists are sharing videos and tutorials - like this one from Mark Montano.  People are creating rocks labled with their home town and leaving them around the country when they travel.   But, the most fun of all is when you see the effect of those rocks first hand.   In our “weekend” community, Lake Royale, Beth Styers recently started a Facebook group for rock sharing called LR Rocks.  It has exploded!  So many people are sharing the rocks they create, the rocks they find left by the “Rock Fairy”, sharing photos of happy kids who have found a special rock, etc.   They are having rock painting parties.  One community member even put a large container of unpainted rocks by her home for the painters to re-stock their supplies!   

Today, as I was finishing this article, our youngest son called me to ask if I’d heard of the painted rocks trend here in the town we live in, and said he had found a "Rosewood Rock" today at work!   He said it’s the second one that had been left there.  There was a recent article in the Raleigh newspaper about the Raleigh Rocks initiative.  So I can say with certainty that here in NC, this is one positive trend that is spreading

It is truly inspiring to see how something as simple as a colorful rock can bring such joy to people of ALL ages, and bring a community together.   It’s nice to see that in a time of chaos in our world, people can still find some happiness in the little things!   

 

Ana Araujo recently shared a quick When Creativity Knocks video showing a very simple way to dot paint rocks.  You can find her video here.

My mind is whirling with places where these simple, basically free, acts of creative kindness could really bloom to their full potential and brighten the days of those who may really need it, like elderly care facilities, children's hospitals, etc.

But most of all, I encourage you to join in and just have fun with it - there is no wrong or right way to paint your rocks - just do what you like and share them to make someone smile today.  

Here are just a few examples of some of the creative rocks being shared in our community! 

Faux Aged Pewter Seashell Necklace - Polymer Clay Universe Magazine

I've got a project tutorial featured in the August issue of Polymer Clay Universe digital magazine.  This is an easy to re-create necklace made with Sculpey® Premo! polymer clay and Makin's® tools.   There are so many amazing things in this month's issue!   

Join the Universe and learn something new today!

Faux Weathered Beach Wood Frame DIY Video

In this episode of my series Behind These Eyes on When Creativity Knocks, I'm sharing an easy technique to create the effect of faux weathered beach wood using Activa® Activ*Clay™ and DecoArt® Americana® Acrylic paints.

Find the complete materials list below. 

Activa® Activ*Clay™

Canvas (or chipboard or wood) frame 

DecoArt® Americana® Acrylics - Baby Blue, Zinc, Snow White, Salmon, Blue Harbor 

DecoArt® Metallic Lustre™ - Iced Expresso

JudiKins™ Seahorse Rubber Stamp

Beacon Mixed Media Glue®

Makin's® Clay Roller

Makin's Professional® Clay Tools - Texture (wire brush) tip 

Coarse paintbrushes

Kraft knife

Clay blades 

Ruler

Parchment paper, paper towels

Easy Neon Beads for Kids

I recently needed a quick summer project to create with a small group of kids.   Neon Makin's Clay® seemed like the perfect choice!   This is a very easy project, suitable for even younger children and I think they will have a lot of fun!

Materials:

Makin's Clay® - Neon MultiPack
Makin's®

• Sun Clay Cutters 
• Clay Tools

Makin's Professional®

• Ultimate Clay Machine®
• Cutting Mat

Plastic wrap

Toothpick 

Stretch cord or thin nylon cording

Instructions:

Roll out each color of Neon clay to setting #2.  

 

Stack the rolled clay pieces.   Cut the stack in half, then stack one half on top of the other.

Place plastic wrap over the stacked clay, use smallest sun clay cutter to cut out several beads. 

Gently mix together remaining clay to create marbled clay, roll out to about 1/2" and cut more small sun shapes.   

You will have two varieties of neon shapes to make beads.  Some will show the colored layers on the sides, and some will be marbled.  Let clay begin to dry, for about an hour. Then gently press toothpick through the center of each bead to make a hole for the stretch cord or satin cording (either side to side, or top to bottom - your choice!)

Let dry for 24 hours, then let the kids string onto stretch cord or nylon cording to make bracelets.

Shaded Clay Fish Necklace

Skinner Blends are a popular way to create beautiful shading with polymer clay. The teardrop blend is a somewhat simpler option with similar results.  By using acrylic paint to custom color the clay before beginning the blend, I was able to perfectly match the necklace to the top I created it to wear with. This necklace features blended clay shades on one side, and the opposite side has a lightly marbled effect using the same shades of clay.   Both are equally appealing! 

Materials:

Makin’s Clay® - White 

Makin’s Professional® Cutting Mat

Makin’s® 

• Clay Tools 
• Texture Sheet Set D - Scale
• Fish Clay Cutters 

DecoArt® Americana® Multi-Surface Satin™ - Soft Jade, Inch Worm, Coastal Waters

DecoArt® Metallic Lustre - White Frost

Beacon 3-in-1 Adhesive™

Pearl beads

Jewelry wire

Silvertone eye pins, jump rings, crimps, closures 

Jewelry pliers

Instructions:

To custom color the clay, thoroughly mix a portion of white clay with each color of paint.  How much paint you add will depend upon how much clay you begin with.  Add more paint to darken tone as desired.  When clay and paint are thoroughly mixed, paint will be completely incorporated into clay and clay will return to original consistency (will not be sticky).

To blend the three shades of clay using the “teardrop blend” technique:

• Create a teardrop shape with a same size portion of each color of clay.  (Store remaining colored clay in a ziplock bag with a damp paper towel for later use).  By using smaller portions of clay, you will achieve more actual "blended" shades rather than large sections of each of the outer shades of clay.
• Align one teardrop of each color one with point up, one down, then the third up as shown.

• Roll clay to about 1/8” thick.
• Fold in half with “stripes” of colors vertical.
• Roll again.   Continue folding and rolling until the clay achieves a subtle blend of shades. 

Place scale texture sheet onto blended clay sheet with pattern so scales will be extending from clay.  Gently rub texture sheet with clay roller to transfer texture.

Cut 1 large fish, 1 medium and 1 small from a section of textured clay that includes all 3 shades.   

Gently mix remaining clay to lightly marble colors.  Roll and texture.    Cut 1 large fish, 1 medium and 1 small. 

Apply 3-in-1 Adhesive to back of 1 large fish, place eye pin centered horizontally, place second large fish over first. Repeat with medium and small fish.  Let dry 24 hours. 

Trim eye pin ends and create small loop.  Beginning with large fish, use jump ring to attach medium, then small fish.  

Cut enough jewelry wire to create necklace of desired length.  Attach wire to large fish and small fish.  

String pearl beads onto wire.  Add closure.

Use fingertip to apply a light touch of White Frost Metallic Lustre to both sides of each fish.