Designing a quote bracelet with Cricut Explore

Recently I got a Cricut Explore to review and wow- I love this machine. What I like about it is how easy it is to use with my own graphics. I'm not limited by cartridges, and you don't have to use a vector program to design your own projects. Work in whatever program you're most comfortable in then create your project in the cloud based Design Space application.

The Cricut Explore will make very fine cuts easily. There is a huge library of shapes so if you don't want to draw your own, you can create projects using the shapes available. An inexpensive monthly membership gives you access to a lot of it, but I haven't really looked yet because yay! It cuts my own art easily.

So to make a bracelet using the Cricut, you will need a few things-

• the inner diameter measurement of a bangle bracelet that you like the fit of- in my case, I prefer larger, looser bangles that slide partway down my hand. 
• graphics program
• 3 sheets of 12x12 card stock with at least 1 in high contrast
• cutting mat
• glue
• Mod Podge
• Cricut Explore!
• Internet connection to use Design Space

So if you have those things, you'll open your graphics program and start putting together your quote bracelet.

Start by drawing a circle that's the same size as you want the inner diameter of your bangle, then decide how thick you want your bracelet to be. Double that number and add it to the inner diameter to figure out the outer diameter. 

Then you're going to start placing your letters for the bracelet. I chose a short quote " We're made of star-stuff" with Carl Sagan's name at the bottom edge. You'll notice my guide lines in blue for centering the letters. 

The little islands are going to be eliminated because it just adds to the cutting time and they won't be in the final project. I also added some stars. 

So now it's time to create the rest of the pieces. The outside pieces are the ones with the quote, the rest are solid. So this is what my final layout looks like. It's a transparent PNG with pixel clean lines. 

So then you upload it to Design Space, get it sized on the canvas, and cut it out of 3 sheets of card stock (and wind up with lots of circles that can be used in other projects)- Cricut has a bunch of YouTube videos that show exactly how to use Design Space. 

After it's all cut out, you start gluing it together. This is what my final edge looks like with all the stacked layers. Use thin layers of glue to prevent warping!

After the glue is dry, cover it in Mod Podge and let the Mod Podge dry completely. 

I'm having entirely too much fun with my Cricut Explore. Remember that wand and wizard hat mandala that I posted the other day? I used the components to make a decal for my husband's laptop.

Review item provided at no cost, this is my honest experience and opinion.

Easy Quick Fabric Clock Project

I love clocks that tick. It's soothing, especially when I'm going to sleep. I'm less fond of chiming clocks but you could do this with a battery operated chiming movement as well.

You will need:

• 8 x 8 inch square of fabric with pinked edges 
• 6 x 6 x 5/8 inch canvas (I got mine here)
• Quartz clock movement (I got mine here)
• Hands that are less than 2.5 inches long
• staple gun (there's a link to the one I use at the bottom of the project)
• ruler
• pencil
• Mod Podge matte
• Foam Brush
• button for 12 o'clock spot
• thread and needle
• Scissors or craft knife

The first part is super easy and makes a great way to showcase Spoonflower swatches as well (oh! Or use a Spoonflower swatch to make a clock!)- You're going to wrap the canvas with the fabric stapling it in place on the back of the stretcher bars. Fold the corners in for nice neat corners. Which turned out less than perfect on my clock, so if you have fabric that wants to get bulky or balky, trim the corners a bit before folding the corners in.

You need to mark the center for the shaft of your clock movement. To do that, use a pencil on the back of the canvas. Using a straight edge, draw a line from one corner diagonal to the other corner, repeat with the other two corners. Then you'll line the ruler up square with the middle which is where the diagonal lines meet, and draw lines vertically and horizontally.

Do you see the bit of thread peeking on the right hand side? That's the 12 o'clock mark. Center your button over the vertical line on the front of the canvas, on the inside edge of the stretcher bar, and stitch into place. I found the easiest way to make that knot tight was leave a long tail, and then tie the tails in a square knot using  2 strands of embroidery floss to stitch the button in place.

(please ignore the hole, I took the photos AFTER this step)

Using the foam brush and a firm touch to really work the Mod Podge into the fabric, paint Mod Podge over the front and sides of the canvas. Let that dry for an hour, then put Mod Podge on the back of the canvas. Let both sides dry completely. This step makes it easier to clean and it seals the fabric so the hole you cut for the movement won't cause fraying.

Cut a hole using the guidelines on the back that's big enough for your clock movement shaft. 

The movement will come with instructions, so follow the instructions to install the movement. If you click on this image, you'll see the shaft of the movement I used poking up from the center of the fabric.

Put a battery in the movement, hang and enjoy!

You can also staple Spoonflower 8x8 swatches to 6x6 canvases for quick art work. The two shown are from my fabric collections at Spoonflower. 

The clock movement I got from Klockit is the #10043, there are price breaks for quantity. The size fits in the space between the stretcher bars of the canvas very well and the profile is the same depth as the canvas. Klockit does use SmartPost for standard shipping so if you're in someplace like Alaska, you could wind up waiting very impatiently and wishing very much you expedited shipping. They do have a great selection of movements, hands and second hands!

DIY Glitter Photo Pendant

This little pendant is kind of like a locket, except it doesn't lock, and it's pretty quick to make except for curing time. Mine has photos of my kids in it.

You will need:

• Wood shapes- I used hearts!
• drill with a 1/8 inch drill bit and something safe to drill on
• 220 grit sandpaper
• optional- painter's tape
• paint
• fine glitter
• decoupage medium
• foam brushes
• Photos or pictures for the inside
• 1/8 inch hole punch
• scissors
• ribbon
• large jump ring- either handmade or commercial

Quick notes- I used my Fiskars Craft Drill, it's hand powered, quiet and easy to use. The glitter is Martha Stewart -Garnet, and the jump ring is made from 18 gauge copper using a knitting needle as a mandrel. The hearts were from a mixed bag of heart wood shapes.

You'll need two shapes the same size and shape, so if you have a bag of shapes, sort through and pick out 2 the size you want to make the pendant.

Then it's time to drill them. I used painter's tape to wrap them securely together. That let me drill both pieces at once to have the holes in the right place, plus wrapping them in tape helped keep the soft wood from splitting. You can also drill one, then use it to mark the other one to drill it.

Now take them apart if you've taped them together, and sand both hearts smooth. Then you'll paint them. They need to be painted and glittered in mirror image to each other so there is a front and back. Let the paint dry, then put on a coat of decoupage medium and GLITTER!

After the decoupage glue has dried, add another coat to seal the glitter so the finished pendant isn't leaving glitter everywhere. Let dry.

Then it's time to start with the photos. Measure your hearts to resize photos to fit, or draw little pictures on paper or cut images from a magazine. It's your choice, it's your necklace. Trace the hearts on the image, paying attention to where the holes will be so you don't accidentally wind up with a hole in the wrong place. Cut out just inside the outlines using the scissors. Place the heart over the image, and mark where the hole is to punch it. Repeat for the other image remembering they need to be mirror images for hole placement.

Decoupage the unglittered sides of the heart with the images.  Make sure the holes are clear using some sort of needle type tool.

Let the hearts cure,  Over night should do it.

Then you just need to connect them with the jump ring and hang from a ribbon!

You aren't limited to just hearts of course, stars will work. If you wanted, you could make a mini book by cutting pages to fit, punching holes and using a bigger jump ring. 

The cups in the photos are made by Silverbear Sundries. 

Decoupaged Mini Comp Books

My family goes through a lot of composition style notebooks. Both my kids prefer them for the games and stories they are working on, and to keep notes in. I use the mini ones to keep notes in and for shopping lists and reminders. They cost a lot less than blank books and have nice smooth lined paper. We also decorate them in different ways which makes less likely we will grab someone else's book.

They are also great blank canvases for personalizing.

The miniature composition books are 4.5 inches tall by 3.5 inches wide and have 80 pages, or 160 if you use the front and back of them. For my purse, I prefer a way to close them, and a bookmark to find the page I'm on quickly.

For this project you will need:

• Miniature composition notebook
• Mod Podge- I like Mod Podge Matte for these
• Pretty paper in 2 colors- heavy enough the black won't show through- I used scrapbook paper
• scissors- I used both plain and decorative edgers
• scoring tool- bone folder or even a knitting needle
• 1/8 inch hole punch
• 1 brad- also known as brass fasteners
• 1/4 inch wide elastic
• embroidery floss
• a small charm
• foam brush to apply Mod Podge
• Plate or scrap of paper to put Mod Podge on to use

Work with small puddles of Mod Podge. Only as much as you'll use for each step.

Start by tracing the notebook on the back of your main color of paper. Then draw a second line a half inch away from it on 3 sides- 1 long and 2 short. Cut it out, then use that piece as a pattern for the second piece. Use the Mod Podge to affix the paper to the outside of each cover. Diagram shows how it looks on the inside.

Trim the corners at a 45 degree angle, then lightly score the paper as close to the edge of the notebook as possible.

Fold in edges, and glue down with Mod Podge.

Let it dry for 20 minutes, then cover one side with Mod Podge. Let that dry for 20 minutes, then cover the other side with Mod Podge. Let it dry for 20 minutes.

Now you'll attach the elastic. Punch a hole in the back cover, centered vertically and about an inch from the outside edge of the notebook.

Cut 6 inches of elastic, seal the ends with just a dab of Mod Podge, other glues will work, but the Mod Podge is right there! Then make a small cut a half in from each end.

Make a loop with the elastic, and slide the brad into both slits, then through the hole in the cover. Open the "legs" to affix it in place. It will slide over the notebook to keep it closed like below. But for the next part you need to be able to open the book, so slide the elastic off the front cover again.

Cut 2 sheets of the contrast paper to fit the inside covers and glue them into place.

Now you'll need to make the book mark. Take a piece of floss about 16 inches long, and thread the charm on it, match up the ends, then tie a small overhand knot above the charm in the middle of the strand.

Cut a piece of contrast paper that's 3 inches wide by 4.5 inches tall. This is a good place for decorative scissors for the long edges.

Put the bookmark in so the charm hangs out just a bit from the bottom, fold the top part of the floss over the spine, and glue it down.

Now glue the contrast paper over the spine.

Let it dry for 20 minutes, then go over the cover with more Mod Podge, let that dry for 20 minutes, and put on another coat of Mod Podge. Work around the brad and elastic on the back cover.

Let it dry completely, slip the elastic over the cover, and it's ready to go!

These make wonderful little gifts too. Other than drying time, they are very quick and simple to make. You can further personalize them using photos, stickers, and paper cutouts on the covers.

Plaid sent me the Mod Podge Starter Pack at no cost to use for projects on Don't Eat the Paste. Be sure to like them on Facebook for lots of links and ideas.

The starter pack has 2 ounces bottles of Mod Podge Sparkle, Mod Podge Matte, Mod Podge Gloss,  Mod Podge Outdoors and Mod Podge Paper.

Mod Podge Comic Book Bracelets

I love Mod Podge® in a big, crafty fangirl kind of way. So when Plaid sent me one of their starter packs with 5 2 ounce bottles- just YAY!

ModPodge also works on metal! You can get a variety of cuff blanks here. The size above is 1.5 inches wide by 6 inches long, and that's the size template I made.

You will need:

• comic book*
• bracelet blank
• ModPodge- I used Sparkle because I'm a magpie.
• Foam brush
• Paper plate
• scissors
• printable cutting templates
• rubbing alcohol

*Comic books- Please don't use older comics without checking them in Overstreet Comic Book Price Guide first.  My local comic book shop has a box of 25¢ comics which aren't valuable, plus I have a collection of damaged comics. There are also frequently "introductory" comics that are released for 25¢-1.00 each.

Wash your hands and use rubbing alcohol to remove any oils from your fingerprints on the bracelet blank. It's a good habit to be in whenever you are using adhesives with metal. Set the bracelet blank aside.

You'll need two pieces from your comic book, one for the outside, one for the inside. The outside piece is cut a bit larger than the bracelet blank. Print this template. (click the image for the larger version, print at 8x10 inches or to fit page) on card stock, cut it in half on the dotted line. For the top half, pierce the center of the rectangle with your scissors and cut it out to leave a window. For the bottom half, cut the outline of the large rectangle. The top part is your window for picking the page you want to use for the outside of the bracelet and the template for cutting the inside. The bottom is the pattern for cutting the outside bracelet piece.

Use the window piece to frame pages of the comic book until you find the image you want. You can angle it anyway you want. When you decide which image you want to cut out, lay the pattern from the bottom over the image, trace it, then cut it out. Cut the corner notches off and fringe the top and bottom 1/4 inch deep and approximately 1/4 inch apart.

Put a small puddle of Mod Podge on the plate to work with, always use just a bit at a time adding more as you need it.

Use the foam brush to spread Mod Podge on your bracelet blank, then starting from the center of you image, apply the image to the outside of the bracelet. Then apply Mod Podge to the inner edges of the bracelet blank. Fold in the sides first to the inside, then fold down the fringes. The reason you fringe it is because the inner diameter is a bit smaller than the outer diameter, the cuts will help it lie smoothly. Let it dry for 20 minutes, then coat the image with Mod Podge.
After the outside has dried for 20 minutes, apply another coat of ModPodge.

Let that dry, then use the window again to find the inside image. This time, you'll trace the window on the page, and cut it out. Apply Mod Podge inside the bracelet, then put the image in, starting from the middle and smoothing out. Allow to dry for 20 minutes, then coat with Mod Podge.

After the inside has dried for 20 minutes, apply another coat of Mod Podge.

For more durability you can spray on a coat of acrylic clear sealer after it's cured.

I also used the Mod Podge to apply tiny aluminum stars on the outside. They were cut using a star punch from an aluminum can. I added 3 coats of Mod Podge over them  to make sure they were well adhered.

A note: A least one a month, someone tells me about recipes for homemade Mod Podge. I've never tried it, and the reason is because I KNOW Mod Podge works. There are pieces my mom made 35 years ago that are still in great shape, and things I did 20 years ago that still look good. No peeling, no yellowing, and they wipe clean with a swipe of a damp rag.

Easy French Memo Board

Notice that one of the postcards looks like it's nearly falling out. My fault. I slipped them in before hanging this and didn't adjust it before taking the photo.

This postcard French memo type display is super easy to make. You'll need:
12 inch diameter Styrofoam™ disk
Mod Podge® (I used Gloss Lutre)
Foam brush
12x12 scrapbook papers or gift wrap- mine is from my stash- 3 sheets of scrapbook paper
straight pins
thumb tacks (20- I used plain brass tacks)
ribbon (6.5 feet total)
needle
thread
buttons
scissors for paper and ribbon
Pen or pencil

Start by getting your disk decorated. Outline the disk on the back of 2 sheets of the paper. Then cut out the circles just inside your lines. Cut 4 one inch strips from the other sheet and set the remainder aside for other projects.
Coat one side of the disk with ModPodge and let dry until tacky. This will help create a better surface for applying the paper. Then paint the disk with Mod Podge and put the paper on it, smooth it carefully with a dry sponge as you apply it. Let it dry a few minutes, then cover the paper with a smooth coat of Mod Podge, going slightly over the edges to the side of the disk.
Let that dry, and repeat on the other side.
Then paint the edges of the disk with Mod Podge, let it dry until tacky, then put on more and working in sections, wrap the strips around the edge. Cover the edges with Mod Podge. Let dry.

You may discover you like the look of one side better than the other, that one side just turned out a bit smoother or more evenly cut. That's your front.

After it's all dry, it's time to start putting on the ribbons. Cut 4 pieces of ribbon 18 inches long. Wrap them around the disk pinning lightly. Then slide a pin through all 4 layers where they intersect in the middle.

Unpin the outer edges and carefully lift the spoked ribbon shape off the disk. With your needle and thread and buttons, sew through all 4 layers to join them with the button (or stacked buttons. I love stacked buttons!). Sew securely.

Put the ribbons on the disk. Because of the nature of the foam,I found using 2 tacks for each ribbon end was the most secure. I tacked them on the back, then again on the edges.

The last 6 inch piece of the ribbon was folded in half, and tacked to the back of the disk to make a hanger.

So easy!! And those postcards are out of the box they've been stored in and on display.

Comic book rings- tutorial

These are so much fun and so fast. A great project to do with kids or tweens.

You'll need:

Adjustable ring blanks- the ones I used are the white adjustable ring blanks from Rings and Things

Small wood shapes- I have a bag of "woodsies" from the craft store

3/4 inch circle punch 

paint or markers

glitter

Mod Podge

E-6000 glue

a comic book or fan magazine- something with pictures!

I buy extra copies of cheap promo comics and comics from the 25¢ bin at my local comic book shop specifically for crafting. Before you cut it up, make sure it's not valuable! 

I chose circles for my rings, and the bag of wooden shapes has a bunch of these smaller circle shapes.

Base paint the wood shape or color it with markers. 

Mix up some Mod Podge and glitter then paint the shape with that. I used a cheap foam brush.

Then you should let it dry completely. I didn't which is why there are specks of glitter on my images.

Find an image that will fit well in the 3/4 punch. The best way to do this is to take a piece of scrap paper and punch out a circle on it. Then use the punched paper with the circle cut out to frame images until you find one you like. Because of the diminutive size of the circle, you could do something that looks out-sized very easily. Like one eye of a cover model. Ads for dvds, cds and such often have very small pictures that work well in the punch. The images above were from an ad for Buffy coffee cups!

Punch out your image, then put Mod Podge on the wood shape and put the picture down on it. Cover the whole thing in Mod Podge, let dry.

After it's dry, glue the wood shape to the ring blank with a dollop of E-6000.

If you're working with younger children, you may want to use a chunkier glitter and you'll want to be the one who uses the E-6000. But they can do the rest and will enjoy picking just the right image for their rings. If you've managed to get on Disney's mailing list, you probably get regular snail mail ads for DVDs that have perfect sized images for Disney themed rings.

The rings are very adjustable, and the glue on pad is slightly textured to grab the glue better. 

Bat Cane- art and instructions

This is my spare cane. I picked up an inexpensive walnut cane from the grocery store to have as a back up, and couldn't resist decoupaging it. 

First I measured the circumference of the cane, which was right about 3 inches. Then I created the design. 5 inches long sounded about right to me. Click on the image to download the full sized 300 ppi version.

I printed that on a decorative paper. My choice was a coffee leaf paper that TerraCycle used to make and that I've been hoarding for special projects. A mottled, marbled, or other light colored design looks good for this. After printing, spray the design with a sealer.

Pull out the glossy Mod Podge. Cut out the design and check to make sure it wraps with the ends just meeting or just barely overlapping. Cover the back of the image with Mod Podge and glue it in place on the cane.

Then I cut strips from some of the remaining decorative paper, and glued them on to decorate, and to finish the edges. 

Cover the whole thing with a light coat of Mod Podge, going beyond the edges a bit to seal the edges. Let dry for a bit, repeat, repeat.

Let the Mod Podge cure for 24 hours, then I added an extra coat of sealer to make it very durable. I used a polyurethane spray because the color of the paper means some yellowing won't mess up the design. I sprayed it, let it dry for 10 minutes, sprayed it again,, let it dry for 10 minutes, sprayed it again. Using a high gloss polyurethane, it's very shiny! Let the polyurethane cure for 24 hours.

End result is a Halloween cane for about 10 dollars. If you don't have polyurethane or Mod Podge, it may cost a little bit more initially, but you'll be able to use them on canes for other holidays or canes to match dressy outfits. 

Other recent projects include this tassel necklace. You can find instructions on Beadwork at BellaOnline.

And these copper projects. The ankhs I made last week. The beaded messy necklace I made last night. They are made in copper and darkened with liver of sulfur. I wiped off the excess with a 3m synthetic steel wool pad. First time I used one, if you click on the image you might be able to see a couple bits of fluff I missed, but compared to regular steel wool on wire projects like this, there was very little shred. The size is a nice one for jewelry projects as well. Tiny little rectangle shaped pads!

Paper punch pins

When I first envisioned this, I was working on an easy way for my daughter to make pins based for her fandoms that didn't involve me pulling out my button machine and trying to figure out where the cutter to go with it is. After testing the idea with a safety pin, a scrap of card stock from an empty cereal box and a piece of a crossword.. I got inspired to make a few using some of my other punches.

Any circle tag design would work as well. Including the name tags I posted a couple days ago.

Just print out the design, use a 2 inch circle punch to cut them out, and glue to a second 2 inch circle cut from card stock. Great use for using cereal boxes! Then tape a safety pin to the back. If you need to write on the front or color them, do that, then cover with Mod Podge. The crossword puzzle pin was made using this method and a 1 inch circle punch with a tiny size 0 safety pin. 

For the punched pins, I got a little fancier. Using regular pin backs and gluing them in place with a strip of paper. 

Cut two circles of decorative card stock, then punch your design on the color you choose for the top circle. For the apple design, I coated the bottom layer with glue then put on some red glitter. The leaf is cut from a separate piece of green card stock and covered with green glitter and glued into place. The top pink piece has the dots and the apple punched out to show the glitter coated card stock under it. Glue everything into place, put on the pin back, then cover with a couple coats of Mod Podge. The other 2 pins have punched appliqués. The blue and pink one has a second circle cut out of the pink with a 1 inch circle punch, then that has a heart and more dots punched. Put the whole thing together, cover with Mod Podge. The witch pin has the black top layer with a 1 inch circle punch to make the full moon, then I punched the witch from the black and put her in flying across the moon. I put a light sprinkle of silver glitter on the first coat of Mod Podge, then sealed over that when it was dry.

 

Super easy!!! Almost anything you'd do as a circle gift tag can also be done as a pin, or you could even make the pin the gift tag and write a note on the back and sign it then attach it to a gift.