A shout out to the locals! Looking for something to do this weekend?

Check out this live tribute to Frank Zappa at the Curious Theater. It will be an amazing performance by the Portland School of Rock. What's even more amazing is that all the performers are under the age of 18. It will blow your mind how good they are. **Be sure to check out the stellar keyboardist!**

Advance tickets $10.00. At the door, $15.00.

Art from Recycled Plastic Bottles

Oooh la la! Check out this newly released and absolutely amazing craft book from Lark books. Below is just a small sampling of the artwork David Edgar makes from recycled plastic containers.  My jaw hit the floor as I leafed through this book. Hold onto your britches and get prepared to be stunned!

Bluetailed Reef Cruiser (above) a wall hanging

A jelly fish lamp (below)

This wall hanging is called a Shimmering Red Runner (above),

And here is another jelly fish lamp (below).

Can you even believe such beauty could be made from everyday items we put into our trash? In this book, David and Robin share several beautifully photographed projects they have made, discuss tools they use and give tutorials and templates for items to make. They also travel to give demonstrations and teach classes on how to make some of their items.  I am completely inspired and simply cannot wait to try some of the projects David and Robin share in this book. To obtain a copy of this book for yourself, click here.

Fantastic Recycled Plastic by David Edgar and Robin A. Edgar Discover the artistic potential of using recyclable plastics such as detergent bottles and yogurt containers. Filled with imaginative projects for all ages and occasions, this unique book offers 30 projects and a gallery of over 40 examples of international artworks made with recycled plastic to inspire you to be creative and go green at the same time. New from Lark Books A Division of Sterling Publishing Co, Inc. New York/London $19.95 retail, 144-page trade paperback on recycled paper with agri-based inks ISBN 978-1-60059-342-0

Paper Scale Necklace

I was at an exhibit of student work recently and saw this incredibly creative necklace by Bryn Swain of Mt. View Highschool, Washington.

Bryn constructed this fashion accessory from paper scales of scrap magazine paper, then hand stitched them onto a braided rope.

Bryn used black and white paper for the top half of the design then finished with colorful pieces.
It's nicely balanced and constructed completely by hand.

What an ingenious way to make a colorful fashion statement from recycled materials. Way to go Bryn!

Milk carton wallet

Now here's a very cool idea. A wallet made from a milk carton!

You know how I love crafts made from recycled items.
I first saw this idea posted on Connect the Dot's fun blog .

They wrote a complete tutorial for how to make one. I'm not going to give the details of how to do it away, but I am going to give you a little teaser.

It begins like this with an empty milk carton:

Next, it develops into this;

And gradually it will end up like this;

It's magic! It's amazing! It's a fantastic idea and one I wish I had seen before Christmas. Talk about a cool hand-made green gift idea. For a complete tutorial on how to make a milk carton purse,
click here and to go to "Connect the Dots" blog site.

Winter Snowflakes

Winter officially started in the Northern Hemisphere on December 21st and will end on March 29th. In Portland Oregon, where I live, Winter brings lots of dark rainy days. We wish for snow, but we're often disappointed. Last week we were thrilled to get a couple of inches.  It lasted only one day, but that was long enough to build a proper snowman and watch our one year old pup romp with delight in the powdery white fluff. To top it off, most people still had Christmas lights on their homes so when nightfall came, the sparkle of colored lights reflecting on the snow was simply magical. My neighborhood looked like a Hallmark picture postcard or a painting by Thomas Kinkade.


To prolong the wintery magic, every time it snows my kids make a snowball and stick it inside a ziploc bag. We carefully write the date on the outside of the bag and place it into our freezer. I don't know why we do this really - maybe it will bring good luck? Maybe it will bring another snowstorm a little sooner? Who knows?


Cutting paper snowflakes is also a tradition of ours and something my 10 year old son and I can get quite competitive about. You know - who can cut the prettiest one? After we cut our paper flakes, we spritz them with fabric stiffener and give them a liberal dusting of ultra-fine white glitter. When winter is over, we preserve them between the pages of a heavy book. Our collection is growing bigger and it's fun to see how our skills improve from year to year.

Did you know that in nature no two snowflakes are exactly alike? It's also true with hand-cut snowflakes too. Each one is unique and a true piece of art.


A favorite website is Snowdays by Popularfront.com Click Here. This site allows you to make virtual snowflakes and post them into an online snowstorm. It's an addictive form of entertainment but also a useful one because it allows you to see how various snips with scissors can make beautiful snowflake design.


Below is an excerpt taken from Martha Stewart's website (Click Here) demonstrating the proper way to fold paper so that your snowflakes have a more realistic shape. Square-shaped paper snowflakes is the sign of a true amateur snowflake cutter!

Kids' Instructions: How to Make Paper Snowflakes
A few quick snips with the tip of your scissors is all it takes to create a beautiful, six-pointed snowflake. Start with a square piece of paper -- if you don't know how to make one, ask a grownup to help you.

 

Step 1: Fold the paper in half diagonally to make a triangle.

Step 2: Now, fold the triangle in half so the pointy corners meet.

 

Steps 3 and 4: Fold your triangle in thirds. You may need to adjust these folds a little to get the sides to match up, so don't crease the paper until the folds are just right.

  

Step 5: Cut across the bottom of your paper so it is straight.

This weekend as I'm taking down our Christmas decorations I'm starting to rethink my haste to put things away. There are glittery snowflakes, crystal icicles, and an antique "Wish Angel" perched on my fireplace mantle. Maybe if I leave things out just a little longer we'll get another snowstorm!

Bottle Cap Necklace

For many years I have taught classes on how to make bottle cap jewelry to children and young adults. It's always a hit - especially when the jewelry features their initials as the main focal point.

These days, bottle cap jewelry has become quite common. The thrill of creating it however never seems to wear out. Last night, my daughter and I tuned into the Disney channel and caught the movie " Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen"with Lindsay Lohan. Playing the character Lola Stepp, Lindsay wore a bottle- cap necklace throughout the entire show made from chains and Coca-cola caps. Below is a replica of what she wore (made by SERP designs).

It reminded me of this fresh orange necklace I made many years ago as a sample for one of my classes.
The original design was from a book by Suzanne McNeill.

Below is a necklace made by one of my young students. Isn't it charming? I loved how her shirt had rhinestones and she chose to put rhinestones into her jewelry. A glittery girl after my own heart.

These necklaces were made using uncrimped bottle caps (flattened with a rubber mallet), and paper.  They were filled with resin. Simple jewelry componants were added for extra sparkle and shimmer.

When working with children, I prefer using a non-toxic resin like Judikins Diamond Glaze or DG3 Gel. Both are easily found in scrapbook supply stores. You can also go to their web page to find a dealer near you.

For a more professional quality I prefer a two-part resin such as Colores Doming Resin or Enviortex brands. They dry very clear and hard, making the jewelry waterproof, durable and with stunning results. The downside of using this type of two-part expoxy resin is the toxic nature prior to being cured.

You can find unsed bottle caps on the web, (Ebay) or sometimes at craft stores. I've even seen books and kits by Klutz, complete with directions, bottle caps, stickers and non-toxic resin. Last but not least, you can always find used/crimped bottle caps for free at just about any place that sells bottled soda drinks – restaurants, pizza parlours and the like.


I've created a free working template to create this necklace: click here to download.
If you like this template, and want to make a donation, please click the button below. Any amount is acceptable. Thankyou!