Polymer Clay Christmas Earrings - Polymer Clay Cane Technique

My wife liked a pair of earrings she saw on someone and I told her that I could make those.  They looked like a chewy candy we used to have as kids.  They were rather easy to make out of Scupley polymer clay.  You can also use Fimo, if you prefer.  

I made a video showing how I did it.  The video shows the basic techniques to make a polymer clay "cane," and these techniques can be used to make other designs.   The cane technique allows you to start with a larger image and roll the clay down to make it smaller.  My wife had been wearing these for a few days now and people look at them in awe and wonder how they were made.  They ask, "Did you paint that on there?"  Take a look at my video; it shows everything you need and how to make these earrings.

There is so much you can make with Scupley or Fimo.  Make these earrings or get creative and make your own design.  It's a lot of fun.

Merry Christmas!

I'll see you next year.

Thank You

Christmas Cards (Last Minute Homemade)

This will be a quick post.  I went to the craft store today and they had Christmas stuff at 50% off.  I saw some cool Christmas stamps and decided to make some Christmas cards to give out with some last minute gifts.  If you don't need any more cards for this year, then keep it in mind for next year.  

All you need is the stamps, ink, and some card stock.

Here's what I got:

I stamped the words on the inside of the card.

Merry Christmas!!

Christmas Ornaments With the Scroll Saw and How to Keep the Cats Away from the Christmas Tree

A book on Amazon called "Compound Christmas Ornaments for the Scroll Saw" by Diana L. Thompson caught my eye and I had to try making some of the ornaments in the book.  You do need a scroll saw for this, but if you don't have one, maybe making something like this will inspire you to get into wood working.  You can make a lot more than just Christmas ornaments with a scroll saw.  Just search the web for ideas on what you can make with this versatile tool.  If you need basic instruction for the scroll saw, or want to know more about it, there are tons of books on the subject and many videos on YouTube.


I've made a video that shows how I made the ornaments and everything you need to do it.  Here it is below:

I hope you have fun making these. Anyone who I've shown these to are amazed that I made them.  They look hard to make, but are really easy.  They make great gifts too.

While we're on the subject of Christmas ornaments, I wanted to share how I finally figured out how to keep the cats from taking the ornaments off the tree.  Check it out:

Sorry the picture is blurry, but I wanted to show what I used around the tree.  On the bottom right I have something called SSSCAT Cat Training Aid.  It's a can of compressed air with a motion detector on it, so when the cat goes near it, it shoot out a burst of air and scares him away.  It's very effective.  So I have one of those under the tree.  On the left side, the grey egg on the chair is basically the same thing as the SSSCAT, but it's made by Sunbeam and just looks different.

  I couldn't get one of these devices to sit right on the couch (to the right of the tree) to keep the cats off without setting it off every time I walked by.  So I put a Scat Mat (the plastic thing) on the arm.  It runs on 9-volt battery and gives the cat a small shock if they step on it.  It's just like a static shock.  The vet actually recommended it to me.  It only takes once for the cat to learn not to step on it.  

Don't worry, the cats aren't harmed.  In past years the cats broke so many ornaments, or they'd scale the tree and mess it up.  But this year, not one ornament on the floor.  

THANKS A LOT FOR READING.

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Merry Xmas Sign With License Plates

Christmas is coming up so I made a Merry Christmas sign using letters cut from license plates.  It's pretty easy and you don't need any fancy tools.  

The first thing to do is to find the license plates with the right letters for the sign.  Flea markets or antique shops are a good place to look.  E-bay also has tons of license plates for sale.  I've e-mailed several of the people who sell a lot of plates and they were happy to make a special lot of plates that had all of the letters I needed.  The sign may have been better with only red and green letters, but it depends on what you can get.  Just look around to find what you need to give your sign the look you want.

For the wood part: I used pallet wood for my sign. Cut two pieces big enough to fit the letters.  Then cut two small pieces to use on the back to hold them together                  









Use screws to put it together.  It's a good idea to drill some pilot holes first so you don't crack the wood. Wood glue should do the trick too, you just have to wait for it to dry.

I then used Briwax and steel wool to give the wood a good antique look.  You can find this on Amazon.  The light brown color is good for pallet wood.  I've also seen it at woodworking shops, but not at Home Depot or Lowes.  It gives a great patina if used on old, weathered wood.

                                                                                

Now for the plates.

 I used a jig saw with a sheet metal blade to cut the license plates to get the right letters.

Then use a pair of tin snips to trim down the letters.  I cut some off of the top and bottom of the pieces that I cut from the license plates to make them fit on the wood better.  I also rounded the corners slightly.

Use a nail and hammer to punch two holes in each piece, one at the top, and one at the bottom.  

Then use small screw and a drill with a phillips bit to attach the letters to the front of the sign, using two screws fro each piece.  I suppose you could use some small nails or tacks for this instead.

I thought it looked better to not have the letters perfectly straight.  But arrange them however you want.

I placed the sign on my front porch leaning against a pot of poinsettias,  but you can attach some wire to the sign and hang it on your door, or even put it on a post.

Thanks for reading.