12 Days of DIY - Day 3 - A Golden Snitch Ornament

The moment  I saw this awesomeness online, I knew I had to try. I've seen all the movies and have only recently started reading the books, but it looked so cool! I have come to learn that my projects will never end up like those that I model them after, but you live and let live.

I originally painted an ornament with a colour called "antique gold" but it didn't look right so I had to go get proper looking gold paint. It still isn't as metalic-y or bronzey as I would like but I don't really want to work on it any more. The wings took forever to get one. A mixture of contact cement and painter's tape was used in end.

I think it kind of looks more like a golden bat than a golden snitch but just picture it whizzing around in the air then it's all good.

Happy Monday!!

A Painted Television? Why Not!

A while ago I decided that I wanted to paint my T.V., because I have this unfortunate habit of not leaving things as they are. My first step (about four months ago) was to tape up the TV with painter's tape. I have no artistic talent when it comes to painting so I usually just stick finger painting or abstract art becuase it sounds legit.

Before

I used basic acrylic paints and did multiple layers. Originally I had wanted to paint in bright or neon colours, but I never really thought about it before I started paint and didn't feel like heading out to the store. It looked like a retro 70s pattern before I took the tape off.

And volia!!

the left side

the top

the right side

If you look closely, you can see that a lot of the edges aren't straight, that some painted seeped underneath. Also, I used this really ugly neon orange that looked horrendous, so I painted grey over it. But the original orange is still visible. I'm happy with the way it turned out though. I'm probably going to seal it with a spray to make it glossy and clean the edges up, but it looks pretty good to me :)

Fave Posts: Crafting Brilliance

Over the years I have perused many crafting sites looking for tutorials and inspirations for my fleeting brushes with the artistic world. And after some searching and wandering around the web, soaking in people's creativity, I've come up with some of my favourite posts on crafting blogs and sites in recent years. These have either served as inspiration for some fanciful idea or provided the template for some random thing I have or want to create. Enjoy :)

Source

1) Twister Rain Coat - Craftster.org: When I saw this post on the site , I was amazed. I never would have thought to create a coat using a Twister Mat. I really want to try this now. P.S. Craftster.org is perhaps one of my favourite crafting sites. It is well organized, has a large database and you can find almost anything there, if you know how to look.

Source

2) Fish to Sushi Plushie - Cut Out and Keep: I saw this, tried it, and it came out awesome!!! You can see my version here. This site is good to post and find all sorts of tutorials as well as your own versions of things you have tried.

Source

3) Melted Crayon Art - found on Craftgawker.org: I only found this piece of art today on the blog Unsimple Living through the fantastically awesome site, Craftgawker. The site is constantly updated with the most popular or most recent crafts and tutorials from all around the web compiled into easy browse through and beautifully designed website. I have a strong desire to do this crayon project as well.

Source

4) Teesha Moore Fabric Journals - YouTube: This isn't a blog/forum post so much as a video I saw on YouTube. I was led there by a forgotten post but I was glad I did. These fantastic journals, created by crafter Teesha Moore are very easy to do and can be made with a wide range of materials. I've seen people turn them into bags and pillows and various other creative creations. I made a journal for my friend based on this video (pictures here).

Source

5) Party Animal Necklace - Flamingo Toes: Aren't these awesome!! They are so cool and unique. One thing I love about Flamingo Toes are all the Anthropology jewelry knock off tutorials as well the Crush of the Week posts - a list complied of crafting inspirations and how-tos from various places.

Source

6) DIY Wrap Bracelet - Honestly WTF: This not only inspired me, but countless other crafters on the web. I keep seeing these bracelets as well as variations everywhere. I've tried it myself and they have come out pretty well. The site is not crafting so much as fashion ideas and lemmings.

Source

7) DIY Links - Chic Steals: I couldn't decided on one I really liked specifically so I decided to pick my favourite overall thing. Every so often, Carly, who started and runs the site, posts some links to new inspirations, DIYs and ideas. I really like the site because of the variety of topics (relating to fashion and DIY) and hearing stories about Carly's travels to Japan.

Hope y'all get creative! :)

Note: I claim no rights to the photos. They are taken from the sites where I found them. The sources are linked in the photo's caption.

A Crafty Disposition

*Warning: Lots of pictures* I really enjoy making things, sewing, creating collages, etc. My friend's dad says I have a knack for making random junk into cool junk. So I thought I would share some of the more recent, and not so recent, things I have made. Around Christmas time, I decided to do a "12 Days of Crafting" thing on Facebook, though I only made it up to 8. It was a good experience though. There are explanations with the photos. Hope you like them :) Links to some of the tutorials I used or my inspirations, are below.

Part of a calendar I had to make in my gr 11 World Religions class. We were supposed to draw, but since I can't I used magazines to create images depicting the religion. This one is Aboriginal Spirituality.

Hinduism

Shinto

Redecorated bangles

T-shirt Necklace

12 Days: A paper clip and bead necklace

12 Days: Collage clock. Made with magazines and googly eyes

12 Days: The Life Cycle of a Fish

From fish...

...to sushi! yumm (I'm working on a shark version)

12 Days: Glitter Shoes

I glued on a bunch of rhinestones to the heels

Then BAM! I glitterized!

12 Days: Funky Snowflake

12 Days: Some cushions

12 Days: Chocolate Mice

A failed attempt

They were a present for my friend's family. I used Almond slices for the ears, icing for the face, Hershey's kisses for the head and a Maraschino cherry for the bottom.

Links:

- Fish to Sushi Plushie

- Chocolate Mice

- T-shirt Necklace

- Snowflake Ornament

I hope to hop back on the crafting bandwagon, probably with some jewelry and clothes, once my last exam is over on wednesday. Also, there are about 5 April birthdays between me and my friends, and we plan on having a get together b-day bash, so I'll post the presents I made/possibly buy for them.

♥ Turtles

Public Expressions

About a month ago, my friend introduced me to the website StumbleUpon, and since then, I have been "stumbling" onto various websites, images and videos that are interesting, informative and imaginative. One of these is the website of Candy Chang. She is a "a public installation artist, designer, and urban planner" in New Orleans who creates many really awesome things. She seems to concentrate on things that improve neighbourhood communication and address social problems. Her work is very cool, visual, and thought provoking at the same time.

The first project I saw is called "Before I Die...", where she sprayed painted a giant stencil onto the side of an abandoned house. There is a blank space and some chalk, so that the people of the community can express themselves and share their values.

I think one reason I felt like posting this is because I love public art and art installations. There is something about art in a public place, where everyone can enjoy it, interact with it and hold their own views and opinions that I love. It always makes a place feel more connected somehow. I admire artists and designers who do things like that.


Candy Chang's website is here, linked to her projects page. I hope you check it out :)

♥ Turtles

Challenges

Because it's cute

Lately I've been thinking about ways to motivate myself into doing what needs to be done, or what I would like to do. Like right now, I supposed to be preparing a five minute oral Spanish presentation for tomorrow for which I have no research or desire to do. The guy I'm doing (José Martí), was someone I studied in gr 11 English and because of my hoarding habits, I still have my report, sources and PowerPoint. I'm procrastinating and will probably just translate everything. But see, that's my problem, no motivation. Oh, and I get distracted by television very very very very very very very very very often.

But in terms of things I would like to do, I have decided to set some goals for myself. After spending copious hours on YourPants, I came across three challenges I'm going to attempt.

#1) 50 Book Challenge

I love to read but I never seem to finish books. I would start them, get half way through, start another and so on and so on. And if I remember the plot well enough, I don't go back until I forgot what exactly has happened. For example, the excellently written book, A Telling of Stars, by Caitlin Sweet, is one I have started about 5 times. Each time I get a bit further, and although this is one of the few books I own and one that has quite fantastic, I have yet to finish it. So that's why I'm doing this. 50 books in one year. It's doable.



#2) 30 Day Drawing/Art Challenge

The "/Art" part was really needed cuz I'm a crap drawer. I'm good at "turning junk into cool junk" as one of my friend's dad said, but drawing is a weakness. Each day there is a new theme that I shall attempt to tackle. I've never taken a class or had any natural ability, but hey. What the heck.

#3) Project 365

I don't know how well this one will turn out or even if it will be sucessful, but I'll try. It's basically taking a picture everyday. There is already one obstacle seeing as I am not currently in possesion of a decent camera, but I guess that will just force me to be creative :)

I won't post updates daily cuz it's really not that interesting and I'm trying to limit my computer time, so weekly I guess (although the book thing will probably be less since a book a week is NOT happening at this time).

These should be quite the interesting challenges... anywho, back to Spanish -_-

♥ Turtles

F.Y.I. If you have 3 quarters, 4 dimes, and 4 pennies, you have $1.19. You also have the largest amount of money in coins without being able to make change for a dollar.
 
Edit!!!

 No longer am I doing the art challenge, but a poem challenge where I write a poem everyday for as long as I can. More here :)