Marvelously Messy : tin can

Sunday, June 27, 2010

4th of July Craft Collection

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I've been busy as a bee making some 4th of July Crafts, wanna see??

Rag Wreath and Ra Ra

Tin Can Craft

Iris Folding Star Craft

Here's a simple Betsy Ross-ish flag ( I made 12 stars instead of the traditional 13). For this craft all you need is:

Small rectangular piece of wood

red, white, umber, and blue paint

paintbrush

I just found a good picture of a Betsy Ross flag and went to town. I sketched it briefly with a pencil and then painted the stripes area all white and the stars area all blue, letting the areas dry before adding any more. Then, I added red stripes and white stars. I did this on all sides of the wood block for some consistency. When everything was dry, I did mixed some raw umber and water and did a light wash over the whole piece to give it some aging. I let is dry and Voila!! All done.

Just today I made a little 3d star garland. Simple and easy. HERE is the link for the 5 point star pattern. It's really basic and if you have the time I am sure you can do something A LOT better than what I did. Still, it's fun!!

Last but not least is a fun one for kiddo's. I currently host a craft time at my local library and this was our most recent project (that we'll finish this week). What you need to make it is:

Crayons

Card Stock

Black Paint

Color a piece of card stock with as much crayon color as you can like this:

You want every bit of paper showing through covered with crayon. Once finished, paint it entirely with black paint and let it dry. Once it is completely dry, use something pointy to scratch your design on the surface. I went for fireworks to go with the 4th of July theme. The trick to this craft is that the paint cannot adhere to the wax from the crayons, so it is easily etched away. Fun, eh??

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Disclosure: I receive payments for people referred (and you will too if you use Social Spark!)

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Saturday, June 12, 2010

Tin Can 4th Craft

Disclosure: I receive payments for referrals to Social Spark and you can too if you sign up! See below!

With summer just about here, I am finding it hard to get to bed at an early time.... there's too many crafts to do!! I am especially excited about the 4th of July. I did a little twist on the usual tin can hole art and I added some paper on the inside to give it some color. It was so simple and fun!!

You need:

Tin can

White paint

Red, Blue Vellum Paper

Nails of different sizes

Hammer

Wood Punch

Floral wire

~ Clean the can and fill it with water and put it in the freezer. Allow to freeze fully. This will prevent the can from denting when you punch holes in it.

~Make your design by sketching or freehanding it. I used different sized nails and a wooden punch to make the holes for the star. Add two holes on opposite sides of each other for the floral wire handle.

~Paint it white (I had a nice antique white I used) and let it dry. I gave it two coats 'cause the first one just didn't cover it all.

~ Use something pointy, like a needle, to clear out the dried paint from the holes.

~ Cut your vellum in the shape of the object you want to cover.

~Place the vellum on the inside and press it against the punctured metal (be CAREFUL, it is sharp!!) and it will hold the paper in place.

~For the star, I use two different colors. One larger blue star shape for the outside and a red star shape for the inside.

~Take the floral wire and thread it through the two holes on opposite sides of each other.

~Wrap the ends of the wire around a light bulb that is cool and has been off for a while and it should hold just fine. With the light shining down on it, the vellum truly stands out!!

This next picture was taken with a flashlight shining down on tin can. I tried some different ways of lighting it up....little battery lights, flashlights, and finally suspending it below a light bulb. The only thing you should not do is put a candle in it....that paper would catch on fire quickly and it would not be safe.

Here it is in the daytime under a light bulb....I was too impatient to wait for night time to finish this post. :-)
I'm going to be a review for CSN stores soon too. So keep an eye out and I'll let you know when and what it will be.

I also wanted to tell you about the awesomest blog advertising company out there:

Social Spark is great.

I totally recommend it!

Disclosure: I receive payments for people referred (and you will too if you use Social Spark!)