Salaric

I make fimo vases by covering glasses in the stuff! I always check new types of glass by giving them a dummy run in the oven with no fimo, just in case they crack.

For valentine’s day I made this heart vase:

I started off by mixing up blue and pink fimo; I do this by rolling each colour into a sausage. I then put them next to each other and roll them into one sausage – now half blue and half pink in cross section. I then folded the sausage in half, rolling it in my hands so it smooths into a nice sausage. I repeated this two times to get the desired interlacing of blue and pink fimo.

I then cut slices from the sausage – I try to go for 1-2mm, but it doesn’t need to be that accurate if you do not want a regular pattern. I then place all the ‘discs’ of fimo next to each other in a very distorted square; then I use my fingertips to squidge the discs together. A hi-ball glass then serves as a rolling pin and I made sure I rolled in different directions to try to get the pressure even across the glass. Otherwise you end up with a wedge of fimo – thick at one end and thin at the other.

I also picked the sheet of fimo up and turned it over regularly, otherwise it sticks to the surface it is being rolled on. I sometimes have to use a modelling tool to help me lift up these sheets. A thin, flatish blade is best. I use the rule of thumb that if the sheet starts to distort when lifted, then rolling it any thinner will make it too thin and useless.

I then selected one of my heart cookie cutters (metal), and I chose the wider of the two for purely stylistic reasons – ie I was going to use a tumbler glass which is short and wide, so I thought the shorter wider heart would look better! The heart is approximately 8cm wide.

I cut a heart out of the blue and pink fimo sheet and then gently laid it on a glass. Making sure I was happy with the position I gently pressed it onto the glass – checking that as few as possible air bubbles remained between heart and the glass (you can see this by looking on the inside of the glass) by gently pressing it on. Be careful not to press too hard or you will distort the heart’s shape!

I then baked the glass – 130 degrees C for 30 mins (1/2 hr).

I then got some grey granite mix fimo with glittery flecks in it; I squidged it about first to make it soft enough to handle. I did the same with same yellow/gold glittery fimo. I then rolled them into sausages and cut discs off them. So I now had grey stone fimo discs and yellow fimo discs.

I pressed the grey granite discs in around the heart to give it a nice border and I then decided that it would be better to have a mix of the yellow and granite. So I scrunched all the yellow up again to make a sausage, which I mixed with a grey granite sausage. I only folded it about four times to get the effect I wanted. I cut it into discs and then put it on the vase around the pre-existing grey layer, blending it into the fimo already on the glass.

I then thought that two verticial strips either side of the heart would be nice, so I mixed up some sausages of metallic gold fimo and dark blue, folded them together and cut it up into the little discs. Making sure I had the glass so that the strips would be the exact opposite of each other on the glass, and be nicely positioned either side of the glass, I laid the discs on the glass and pushed them down so they stayed on.

It was only once I had done this and looked at the effect I decided that it looked completely wrong. I took my penknife and cut down the side where the blue and gold pattern had fused with the grey granite and yellow. I then scraped all the unwanted fimo off and later made beads and things with it.

For the remainder of the vase I used alternate layers of grey granite and the yellow granite mix. I continued the strips underneath the base of the glass and also made sure there was an overlap of fimo along the rim of the glass.

Once the vase was completely covered, I signed the bottom by slashing marks into it lightly so that they didn’t go all the way through. Then using a long, flexible angled plastic blade from my sculpture tools, I removed the excess fimo from the inside of the vase by running it along the rim.

Then just to smooth the fingerprints out, I rolled the hi-ball glass around the outside to smooth it. I then put it on a baking tray and baked it in the oven for 30 minutes at 130 degrees C.

I ended up having to work out a craft project for our Cubs for Chinese New Year. However, I could not find anything on how to make the lanterns I had initially envisioned them making – so I cast my mind back in time.

I have a vague memory of doing a play called something like ‘Ching Ching and the Dragon’ in junior school. We made dragons for the puppet show in the play. I vaguely remembered a technique for folding paper so started experimenting.

My first attempt I decided was good enough.

I cut some strips of coloured card about 1.5cm in width; the pieces of card I had, however, were A3 size and too big for the paper guillotine, so I had to chop a bit from the bottom first.

I chose what I consider to be dragon colours, so they were red, green, yellow and blue. For my prototype, I chose blue and yellow, and placing the ends of the card strips one over the other at a 90 degree angle, I then folded one piece over the other. You fold the coloured card alternately going around the ‘square’ so blue, yellow, blue, yellow and so on.

Because the card strips I had weren’t quite long enough, I had to overlap the ends of the card strips with a second strip of the same colours, so in some places there is a double thickness of cardboard.

The head and tail were a bit tricky; I sort of imagined very square features so that I could work out a sort of box that could be stuck on. I also added lots of curves as I think they look a bit like flames and very dragony.

I drew the rough outlines and then scored along the bits that would need folding (this makes folding easier and gets a nice neat line). I folded the head and tail into shape and then stuck them onto the body using sellotape (I made a loop of sellotape with the sticky side out, but double-sided tape would be better.) I then cut out some fins for the tail and stuck them on with the sellotape.

This done, I took two plastic drinking straws and cut the bendy ends off. I then stuck these to the body of the dragon inside the ‘pleats’ with sellotape. This all worked a lot better then I had expected!

I then drew out the designs for the head and tail, including fins, in fine-liner pen, including dotted lines for where the children would need to fold the cardboard. I then scanned them and tidied up the digital image a bit (ie correcting the mistake of a solid line that was supposed to a dashed line for folding), using a programme called the Gimp. I put two copies of it on to an A4 sheet and printed them onto brightly coloured paper (we had run out of card).

I also did a ‘proper’ set of easily understood instructions for the kids – the kids did really well with this. Here is one of their dragons: 🙂

This project got nicked by an art teatcher for her secondary school kids so I was quiet chuffed. 🙂 I still have my digital copy of the head and tail.

Here are the instructions:

Needed:

3 strips of one coloured card

3 strips of a different coloured card

1 dragon sheet with shape out lines on

Scissors

Sellotape

Pens and things for decorating

2 drinking straws

Method

Take two strips of card, preferably different colours, place the ends of the strips together so that they overlap and make a right angle. Fold the bottom colour over the top of the top colour – alternate.

So it should be blue, red, blue, red. You should end up with a squared shape of folded card. When you are near the end of the first two strips, lay the next two over the top and continue folding as before – make sure there is lots of overlap. Once you get to the end of these strips, do the same with the next two.

You now have the dragon’s body. You may have to cut excess card off the finishing end. Double-sided sellotape or single-sided sellotape looped back on itself should be used to secure the very ends of the body to prevent unravelling.

Cut out the dragon’s head and draw eyes and nostrils on it. Fold along the dashed lines and sellotape the tabs on the jaw to the sides of the head. Using double-sided tape, attach to one end of the body.

Cut out the tail and back fin. Again, fold along the dashed lines. Stick the fins on the tail and, using the sellotape, stick the tail on the other end of the body.

Take two drinking straws and cut off the tops just before the bendy bit. Attach these to the underside of the body, one under the head and one under the tail.

Spell check coming soon, along with colour ref for the fimo and links.

Click on the photo to see a bigger version.

We used this sort of thing at our wedding and I have made a mix with stars etc… for my cousin’s 18th birthday.

These are flat polymer clay (fimo) hearts approximatly 1cm across. I mixed the colours and textures I wanted, then rolled out a flat sheet of fimo. This can be done either with a rolling pin, preferably glass, or by using a pasta machine. I tend to just use a glass tumbler or some such as I’m too lazy to set the machine up.

I then use the heart aspic cutters (mini cookie cutters) I got from Almond Art who predominantly cater for sugar crafts. With the cutters, I cut out as many hearts as possible. Sometimes, one of the more flexible plastic sculpting tools I have, has to be used to tease the shape from the cutter or from the surface it has adhered to, ie sometimes they get stuck inside the aspic cutter and sometimes on the chopping board I use. The chopping board should ideally be untextured glass, though mine’s a beaten up old wooden one – warning, fimo stains such surfaces.

I then laid these hearts on a baking tray. When I have sufficent things for baking (at least 2 trays as I hate using the oven inefficiently) I pre-heat the oven to 130 degrees C. Whist the oven was heating I scrunched up any excess fimo, rolled it into a ball and rolled it flat to cut a few more shapes out.

I then baked them for 30 minutes. Warning, when the fimo comes out of the oven it is hot and is also still soft and malleable, so don’t go prodding it! Wait for it to cool. Also you may have to use the sculpting tool to help you ‘ping’ some of the hearts off the baking tray!

I have a tendency to use these hearts for many other craft projects as well, and have even sold them as craft materials!

I made these about three years ago, so apologies for them looking a bit battered! I thought people might find how I made them useful, even if I do not have step by step photographs. 🙁

The Christmas Wreath

This is currently hanging on our front door!

What I did was use a piece of metal wire I found at my uncle’s car garage/workshop place. It was basically a perfect circle and I knew instantly what it would be useful for – however, I doubt this would happen if you were looking!

So its probably best to bend a wire coathanger into a circle, or if you are feeling adventurous, use some willow whipping canes! You can also buy twig circles and stuff for this sort of thing from lots of haberdashery shops and craft shops, not to mention flower arranging places (both sick flowers and floristry).

I had two nice bunches of silk flower poinsettias, which I had picked up in a pound shop along with some nice gold and glitter acorns and twirly bits and flowers (plastic) picked up in Romford market.

I had also picked up some pine cones earlier in the year (they may even have been from the year before!) which I attached some floristry wire to.

I then took four of the poinsettias and, envisioning a square inside the circle of wire, positioned them at what would be the four corners. I twisted their wire stalks around the wire circle, then discovering I had no florestry tape, I raided our electronics book and selected the red electrical insulating tape. This I found worked really well, though only if you aren’t going to be seeing the result! I wrapped it round the wire and stalks, fixing them in place.

I then raided my mum’s leftover materials box and found some red satin back material. It had some frayed edges which I folded behind it and stuck down with more electrical tape (mum was not impressed, but then I don’t do sewing. I would advise that if you have the time and skill that you do sew it, as it will last longer!).

This was for the banner across the middle. I laid it out flat, and making sure that there was plenty of room at each end, painted ‘MERRY CHRISTMAS’ onto it. I used a gold, glittery fabric paint that I had picked up in WH Smith’s of all places!

This had to dry – it took forever!

I got impatient though and put it on the wreath – hence one of the letters is smudged! I placed the piece of material so that it was cutting the square in half, then I folded the ends over and secured them with a mix of stitching and yet more electrical tape.

I then got two of the golden glittery things with acorns and attached them either side of the banner in a similair fashion to the poinsettias. Then I attatched the pine cones in the spaces – not all of these have survived! Place them where you think it will look good. I had two between the bottom poinsettias, one between the poinsettia and golden arrangement, each side etc…

One I had all of this on, I wrapped green and red tinsel around it all and was quite chuffed with the result. I originally had a piece of wire wrapped round the top for hanging it up, but unfortunately this rusted through and it’s now just tied up on a mangy old piece of string.

The Matching Centrepiece

We have a gold pillar candle in a gold dish type of candle holder and I decided to make it Christmasy when I realised that I hadn’t even touched the second bunch of poinsettias. These ones had gold petals in the middle.

First of all, I made a metal hoop – I think this was out of some wire I pinched from the electronics bench. I bent it into shape using pliers, making sure it would fit over the candle. The making of this was pretty similiar to the wreath. I just wrapped four poinsettia flowers onto it – though I did have to trim the stalks a bit! The old electrical tape came into play!

Then between two of the flowers I put the gold acorn arrangement and then some pine cones in the other gaps. Then I wrapped silver tinsel around it.

I did find, however, that I needed to alter the postion of some of the pine cones slightly – mainly becuase they were lifting the candle holder and candle off the flate surface – never good when you think of a lighted candle!

These were quite rushed and I’m sure that time and care could make this sort of thing look professional!

I’m posting these becuase a) I’m a proud parent and b) I think some of the ideas are cool and plan to nick them for the Beavers and Cubs next year!

My baby is called Jean and is almost 16 months, so I think that she was heavily helped with these projects!

Photo rotation and spelling correction soon to follow!

This is shiny green card with Jean’s footprint as the reindeer’s face, which then has a red, glittery bobble on, stuck on as the nose, and two goggly eyes. The antlers are Jean’s handprints in gold metallic paint (I assume non-toxic!) attached with metallic, green pipe cleaners and liberal use of sellotape!

This appears to be two foam sheets cut into a bauble shape and stuck together around the green ribbon. They then stuck lots of glitter and smaller Christmas foam shapes on it – on one side an artist’s use of milk bottle tops has been made!

This is a snowman card shape with a hole punched hole and a bit of cotton that she has splashed some white and green paint on to. I think the green was an accident but you never know!

Snowflake shape cut from paper – then covered in glue and glitter.

Card bauble shape covered in glue then glitter.

Not entirely sure this Jean Angel doesn’t freak me out! It’s a cone of orange card (you make these generally by cutting out a circle and cutting a radial line, ie a cut that if a line was drawn would be the radius). Then you can slide one bit of the circle under another bit of it – fix with glue, tape or staple and you have a cone. The wings are again handprints in gold paint that are stuck on, and then a little photo of her face has been cut out to be the head. It’s sort of cut and sort of freaky – it would scare me but as I am her mother I have to think it’s sweet!

I thought up this project for the Cub pack my husband runs!

Corrected spelling soon to follow!

Needed:

1) At least one loo roll innard (you know the cardboard tube bit) per child, uncrushed or falling to bits etc…

2) Some A4 sheets of coloured paper – we used paper that was closer to sugar paper (the stuff schools use for mounting artwork and poems!) than printing or drawing paper. Again you will need at least one sheet per child.

3) Christmas stickers, ie the type for labelling presents – we got a big sheet of these from our local pound shop!

4) PVA glue

5) Paint brushes/glue applicators

6) Old yoghurt pots or equivalent for the glue – we use empty mini trifle pots

7) Ribbon or coloured cord – we used metallic parcel string from Tesco’s that I bought years ago

8) Scissors – preferably crinkle cut or the like

9) Sellotape

10) Decorations – we got some Christmas table sprinkles which included nice metallic Christmas trees and snowflakes, and I used some of the paper shapes I had punched myself!

11) Cracker pulls (not sure what the correct term is – these can be tricky to get when it’s not December but I will try and list a supplier at some point for you all). We didn’t use these as I didnt have time to go to the shops – some parents can also be a bit iffy about their little darlings being near explosives etc…. The kids made the crackers as a present/decoration instead of as functioning cracker.

For inside the cracker:

We made some bead bracelets with them but we were planning to print some jokes, and if there had been time we would have got them to make hats etc… The scope is endless!

Step 1:

Get things ready – we poured the glue into its pots and had a conveyor belt type system for the kids with separate tables for bracelet-making and paper cutting and gluing etc…

Cut a template piece of ribbon or cord – make sure that it will be long enough for little fingers to be able to tie a bow in!

Step 2:

Get the child to choose which colour they want – then to cut some sort of fancy border on the short sides of the paper, ie if it was in portrait then the top and bottom of the sheet of paper should be cut. We did wavy, zigzag or they can just use crinkle cut scissors!

Step 3:

Lay the loo roll on the sheet of paper with the long axis aligned to the long axis of the paper, ie lay the paper lengthways/landscape with the loo roll running lengthways on it. Cut a piece of sellotape and wrap it back on itself, making a sticky loop. Alternatively, just buy some double-sided tape.

Roll the loo roll innard up in the paper sheet and secure the sheet with the tape. You do this by putting the tape loop onto the underside of the bit of the paper that ends up on top.

You should now (if you can follow my dodgy instructions!) have a loo roll innard inside of a larger tube made of the coloured paper.

Step 4:

Put a Christmas sticker on the join and make sure the loo roll innard is in the centre of the cracker. If you are putting a snapper in, this is when to do it! Cut two lengths of ribbon, then gather the overhanging paper at one end of the loo roll innard and tie ribbon or cord around it. You can now put the goodies such as jokes etc… in the cracker!

Step 5:

Gather the remaining end up and tie ribbon or cord around it.

Step 6:

Release the children with the glue and glitter and other decorations! Make sure you leave adequate time for the glue to dry before they have to take them anywhere!

I realise that this is not the clearest set of instructions ever – but I will at some point in the future get around to creating a set of laminated instruction cards (hopefully before next year!).