Recycled CD landscape brooch

Yes, you can wear a little landscape right on your lapel in the form of a brooch.  The base is a tiny landscape painted onto a wooden rectangle. To finish, all you do is use a wood-burning tool to cut out a shape from a discarded CD. This time, though, you are using a stamp pad design.  Think horses, butterflies, birds or any small design would work well.
See:  http://makeiteasycrafts.blogspot.com/2012/05/recycled-cd-earrings.html  Don't stop with just a brooch though, you can use these little motifs in oodles of crafty ways!

You will need:

2 ½’ x 1 ½” wooden rectangle

Discarded CD

Wood-burning tool

Acrylic paint, blue, white green

Small paintbrush

Paper plate

Acrylic gloss finish

Tacky Craft glue (or glue gun and glue sticks)

1 ½” pin back

Stamp in desired small shape (horse, butterfly, dog, etc.)

Black inkpad

Glass from and old frame

1.     Plug in the wood-burning tool and allow to heat up.  Ink up your stamp with black ink.  Press the stamp onto the non-shiny side of the CD.  This is your pattern.  Put the piece of glass on your work surface to protect it and use the wood-burning tool to slowly trace around your image.  When you have finished the motif should pop out.

2.     Paint the landscape.  Add some white, blue and green acrylic paint on a paper plate.  Brush some blue paint across the top half of the wooden rectangle.  Let dry. Continue by brushing some green paint across the bottom half, meeting the top blue paint. Dab some white on the blue painted area to form clouds.  (See photo) Let dry.

3.     Add some glue on the back of the motif you cut from the CD and attach to the front center of the painted rectangle. 

4.     Glue on a 1 ½” pin back to the back.

Have you made it easy?  If you would like your original craft featured  on Make it Easy Crafts, send an email and I will post a link.  
Nsi Woodburning KitNsi Woodburning Kit

Quick and easy stick man…chenille stem cat pins

Calico Cat

Remember the post on how to make quick and easy stick man pins? Stick Man Chenille Pins Well, we’ve just added a cat to the mix.  These pins are so quick you can easily make a whole bunch in no time at all.  It’s fun to vary the chenille stems to match the colors of your cat.  Chenille stems come in a myriad of colors and even prints!

You will need:

Chenille stems in desired colors

5mm wiggle eyes

Tiny brown pom-pom

Ruler

Scissors

Needle nosed pliers

Tacky craft glue

1-inch pin backs

Tiny bit of black sewing thread

1.     Measure three lengths of chenille stems. Cut one stem 6 inches, one stem 5 inches, and one stem 4 inches. (You can vary the colors for a calico look or go all solid)

From top...4-inch, 5-inch, 6-inch

2.     Line the stems up as follows:  Lay the 6-inch stem lengthwise.  Place the 5-inch stem above with 1 inch overlapping at the far right end.  Lay the 4-inch stem above the 5-inch stem lining up the end on the left.  (See photo)

3.     Measure approx. 1 ½” from the shortest top two stems and grasping all three stems twist together.

4.     Pull down the two short ends (Front legs) and pull up the longer end. (Head)

5.     Starting at the twisted section braid the three stems together to measure one inch. (Body)

6.     Pull down the two shorter ends and using the needle nosed pliers bend to form the feet. (Back Legs) and pull up the longer end and curl upwards. (Tail)

7.     Going back to the longest end on the front begin curling till you have formed a circle.  Working on top of the head, use the needle nosed pliers to pinch into a small point to form an ear, move to the other side and do the same.  Ears made. 

8.     Glue two 5mm wiggle eyes.  Cut 2 small pieces of black sewing thread and glue under the eyes. (Whiskers)  Attach a tiny brown pom-pom on top of whiskers.  Let dry.

9.     Using the Tacky Glue attach a 1 inch pin back to the back body of the cat.

Chenille Kraft Regular 12 x4mm Stems - 1000/Pk - Art Supplies &

Recycled waste—wastebasket

I know you’ve got them.  The stack sits in the corner waiting.  What can it be?  It’s a pile of junk mail, flyers and advertising media.  So instead of tossing them IN a wastebasket why not toss them ON the wastebasket?  The colors remind me of a quilt.  Don’t worry if the strips wrinkle a bit.  It adds texture and completes the quilt-like look.

You will need:

A small round wastebasket, any color

A pile of junk mail, flyers or advertising media

Tacky craft glue

Scissors or paper cutter

Mod Podge decoupage glue

Paintbrush

1.     Cut the junk mail into strips.  Vary the thickness but a good start is ¼”.  It is easier if you stack them together and cut the strips with a paper cutter but you can use scissors.  You can even use a shredder.

2.     Spread some tacky glue around the edge of the wastebasket.  Begin adding strips around.  Overlap and connect each strip.  Continue adding glue and strips working your way down the wastebasket.  If a strip doesn’t meet connect with smaller strips.  Being perfect doesn’t matter and you can’t do it wrong.  Let dry.  You may notice that the strips may wrinkle slightly; this is desirable since it adds texture to the wastebasket.  You can smooth the wrinkles down with your fingers if desired.

If strips don't meet cut smaller pieces to connect

3.     When the wastebasket has dried use the paint brush to spread some Gloss Modpodge over the entire surface and let dry.

Scotch Quick-Drying Tacky Glue, 4-oz - Glue & Adhesives

Mini First Aid kit for Dad...Easy Kid's Craft

So the kids want to make something special for dad this father’s day.  He’s got enough mugs and T-shirts, so how about making something that dad can use around the house.  I found this mini-first aid kit in the travel section of a discount department store for only 99 cents.  It had everything needed for a minor mishap in the garage or workshop.  For just a few pennies kids can easily personalize it for Dad’s day.

You will need:

Mini first aid kit  (mine was 3” x 4”)

Pieces of brown embossed felt

Precut felt or foam letters

Tacky Glue

Scissors, pencil

1.     Measure the top of the box and cut out a piece of felt to fit.  Trim if necessary.  It looks nice if there is a tiny margin around the edges.

2.     Spread a generous amount of glue onto the top of the box and attach the piece of felt.

3.     Glue the letters of your choice on top.  Here is where you can get creative.  If your letters are small enough and don’t interfere with the box closing you can even attach letters along the sides.

Hint:  If you have teeny, tiny band-aids lying around that are always too small to use for anything, they look cool glued to the top of the box.  

Polymer Clay Monogrammed Tie Tack

What do you buy a Dad for Father's Day?  You can always go with the old standby--a tie, but add a personal touch If you do. Why not make him a monogrammed Tie Tack?  It’s easy to make with polymer clay and if you like you can add an extra bit of flash with some scrap gold or silver leaf.  Why stop here, though, after you have made Dad a tie tack why not make some earrings for yourself as well???  To make earrings simple follow the instructions to make two more clay designs using your initials and glue on earring backs.

You will need:

Small amount of Black Polymer clay

Bits of scrap gold or silver leaf  (optional)

Rolling pin or pasta maker designated for polymer clay use only

Waxed paper to cover work surface

Sculpey Gloss finish for polymer clay

Small paintbrush

Small letter beads (available in craft stores)

Tiny oval clay cutter (available in the clay dept. of the craft store)

Tie tack finding

If you are making earrings too, you will need earring back findings for stud earrings

E6000 Glue

1.     Condition the clay by kneading with your hands. If you are adding the gold or silver leaf break up some pieces of the leaf and add to the clay and continue to knead mixing into the clay.  If you are not using the silver or gold leaf just continue to the next step.

2.      Roll the conditioned clay onto the waxed paper to 1/4” inch thickness.

3.     Use the tiny oval clay cutter to cut out an oval shape from the clay. 

4.     Center a small letter bead of choice in the middle of the oval shape and press to set. 

5.     Cover a baking pan with aluminum foil and bake in your home oven at 250 degrees for 20 minutes.  Cool.

6.     When your design has cooled, brush on some gloss finish and let dry.

7.     When the finish has dried glue on the tie tack finding to the back with the E6000 glue and let dry.

Alvin S3301 Sculpey Clay Sampler Set-30

Recycled CD Mosaic Flower Pot

We all have those old useless CD’s still lying around.  They may be the ones that ISP’s used to send out by the boatload, or maybe some old playlists from our pre-iPod days.  It’s hard to toss them so why not use them for crafting?  And seriously now, old Cd’s are craft supply perfection.  They are free, and they are flashy. 

You will need:

About 3 old CDs

Scissors or tin snips (I used an old pair of scissors)

Tacky glue (I used Fast Tack Tacky glue)

Plastic 6 inch terra cotta color flower pot

Black slick dimensional fabric paint

(It’s a good idea to wear eye protection while cutting the CD in case any of the pieces fly up)

1.     Cut the CD up into pieces.  Vary the sizes and the shapes. Working in small sections, squeeze some glue under the edge of the top lip.  Start adding the CD pieces one at a time and place in the glue.  Keep applying CD pieces in this way making sure you leave some space between each piece. Continue working all around until the pot is covered with the CD pieces.  Let dry.  You are adding the CD pieces in the center of the pot only. (See Photo)  If you like you may add CD pieces onto the whole pot, if you do however, you will need more CDs.

2.     Squeeze some dimensional fabric paint onto a scrap of paper to make sure that there are no bubbles and it comes out even. 

3.     Fill in the areas between the glued on CD bits with the fabric glue. Try and keep your lines even.  It is easiest to put one hand in the pot to hold it as you add the fabric glue.  As you work around filling in the open areas be careful not to smear your previous lines.  When you have filled in all the open areas, let dry.

When the light hits your planter pot all sorts of colors will be reflected from the CD pieces!