Think Crafts Blog - Craft Ideas and Projects - CreateForLess

Welcome Gust Blogger, Barbara Matthessen, for Earth Safe Finishes.

Belt Bracelets

Recycle thrift store or old belts into fun and funky bracelets.  You can make 3, 4 or even 5 bracelets from a single belt and give them all different personalities with earth friendly paints, chains and beads.  Why not make a batch of these for gifts or to coordinate with every outfit you own?

Materials:

Leather or leather like belt

Opaque Shimmers from Earth Safe Finishes in your choice of colors 

Toggle or hook clasp

1″ chain or 22 GA wire to match clasp

Jump Rings

Strong scissors or leather shears

Leather/belt hole punch

Paint brushes, liner for details

Jewelry making tools, pliers and wire cutters

Optional extras:

Additional chain

Beads

Metal tags

Kevlar thread or wire to attach the above

Instructions:

1. Cut your belt 1″-1 ½” shorter than your normal bracelet size depending on how loose or tight you like to wear them.  (Don’t worry about the existing belt holes you can either ignore them or bead through them later.)  Trim corners round, on a diagonal or leave straight.

2. Punch holes on both ends about 1/8″ inch.

3. Paint your belt using Shimmers with your choice of colors.  Some are a random splash of colors, some use the existing embossed pattern and some are freeform patterns. You may also choose to use a stencil or rubber stamp to create your image.  Allow the paint to dry.

4. Attach your closure with jump rings or a combination of chain, jump rings or wire. If you are using a toggle make sure to add in a small chain on the bar end to make it easier to attach the bracelet.

5. Embellish more if you like! Stitch on beads, charms, buttons or trinkets using Kevlar thread.  Knot on the back then dot each knot with a dab of glue when you are done.

More Fun: Wire on tags by using a flat bead with a head pin run through it on the underside.  Wrap the ends of the head pins around holes in the tag, secure with more wraps then trim the ends. Add sections of chain by attaching chain ends to jump rings on each end. There are a million and one ways to make this bracelet so try it out today!

Learn more about Earth Safe Finishes HERE.

At the recent Craft and Hobby Association’s Winter 2009 trade show I discovered a very cool and very green company that I wanted to share with you.  Please welcome guest blogger Barbara Matthiessen.

Many companies boast about being green these days but few take it to the level of Earth Safe Finishes. Earth Safe Finishes not only has non-toxic, environmentally friendly products, recycled packaging but a total commitment to keeping artists healthy and the earth clean. For more info on the product line and company please go to Earth Safe Finishes.

As an artist I want to share my experience with the product line and what makes it unique. First the quality is amazing, true one coat coverage with Perfect Paint and the Shimmers are beyond any other metallic paint I have ever used. (I have used almost every paint line on the market over the years, good, bad, cheap and pricey.)
 

I love only needing one set of paints to use on all surfaces from metal and glass to fabric and paper. The only prepping I’ve had to do is make sure the surface was clean, dry and oil free and that includes my kitchen countertops. No heat setting is needed which saves power and allows more creative freedom.

All the products work together, mix and match. I can use the Colorants to custom mix any color paint, varnish, texture, glaze I want. With a few paints, Colorants, and mediums I am able to work on any surface using any technique and get great, durable results. Compared to my old ways of having well over 300 bottles of paint and countless mediums I now can do even more with 2 shoeboxes full of product!

LOVE the Colorants! I can instantly dye all sorts of materials with these gems, use it as an ink or tint any other medium. I was even able to match and fill a small tear in my car interior using Perfect Paint and 2 Colorants. The more I work with this stuff the more uses I find for it and the more money I save. No stinky smells, need I say more? I so enjoy not gagging to work on a project or worrying about preserving my brain cells.

Recently at the CHA show in Anaheim I had the pleasure of spending some time in the Earth Safe Finishes booth with Nancy and Jessica, mom and daughter owners of ESF. Yes, the booth itself was recycled and everything in it including sample projects and literature were repurposed, reused or recycled. Demos were done on dumpster dive, thrift store and had on hand items from old shoes, paper towels, glass and metal trays, to jackets. Now that is how to make art beautiful and green!

Barbara and fellow designers at CHA Winter 2009 trade show.

Check back soon and you’ll find the instructions to make these cool bracelets!

I wanted to share some of the wonderful Chinese Brush Painting art I saw while in China last year.  Most of these paintings are the simple painting technique with a few examples of the more detailed paintings at the end.  Please excuse my sometimes fuzzy photography and choppy cropping! Enjoy!

I have been fascinated with Chinese Brush Painting since the first time I saw a painting.  There are two styles of Chinese Brush Painting: one is very detailed and the other is simple strokes that let your imagination fill in the details.  Artists spend years learning this art and begin by copying their Masters.  Unlike many of us, the Chinese consider duplicating or imitating the work of others to be an honor and the way to learn.  It’s an interesting philosophy.  I’d like to share my knowledge of the tools of Chinese Brush Painting.

This is one of the best books I've found on Chinese Brush Painting published by Sterling Publishing.

This is a sample stroke used in Chinese Brush Painting (from the book shown above).

These are the types of brushes used for painting, the round tips hold a lot of ink.

Black is the traditional color of ink used in this type of painting; to the left of the ink stick is the ink stone. You add a little water to the well of the ink stone and grind the ink stick against the stone to make the ink!

These are colored ink sticks I got while in China, most ink sticks are highly decorated to celebrate creativity. The inks come in pretty boxes with glass fronts.

To the left is a chop, usually the name of the artist is carved on the bottom of the chop. The chop is used as a seal, the last thing the artist does is smear some cinnabar ink (to the right of the chop) onto the bottom of the seal, then stamp it on the finished painting.

Here is a seal carved two ways.

 What do you think?  Anyone else doing some Chinese Brush Painting?

For many years I worked as a silk painting demonstrator for Rupert, Gibbon, & Spider, the company that makes Jacquard Products. I loved demonstrating silk painting mainly because it’s a really easy technique that gives brilliant results. During our recent trip to Turks & Caicos I found some silk painting that really caught my eye. I think the pieces fascinated me so much because it wasn’t your typical scarf or tie, but a very up scaled craft application for gift tags and bookmarks!

I am always amazed at the creativity I find as I travel. I’m inspired when artists and crafters think outside the box and match their creative skills to what the consumer is willing to buy.  I might not immediately buy a $200 silk painted scarf, but I did buy $30 worth of gift tags and bookmarks!  The local silk painting artist in Turks & Caicos knew that her consumer was the tourist seeking souvenirs and keepsakes to take back home.  While one or two of the day’s tourists might buy more expensive items, she didn’t lose a potential customer like me by including some less expensive options, yet still kept her designs fresh, innovative, and charming!

We can all learn from that savvy artist down in the islands of Turks & Caicos.  If you want to make a living from your art or craft you must take the time to learn and understand your customer.  High ticket items will sell, but mid to lower ticket items will sell faster in most markets.  Take a look at what I purchased.

Bright brilliant colors make silk painting an eye catching technique! I got the ladybug gift tags for a friend and the fish gift tags for myself. The silk painting is sandwiched between the paper bookmark within a window making it look like stained glass.

Quick Tip!

Round paint brushes are usually the best for silk painting when you need to paint into small places or paint in details.  Flat brushes are best for broad areas that need to be painted.  A quality brush will do most of the work for you!

Earlier this week I posted about dimensional paint and thought I’d show off some great Halloween projects I found at Duncan’s Website.  Dimensional paint can be used to outline, add depth, add sparkle, and even adhere!  It’s a product that you should spend a little time practicing with before you start using it on your crafting surfaces, but it’s time well spent.  Feel free to share you dimensional paint projects and your Halloween crafts!

You can find the instructions for all these fun projects at Duncan’s Website!

Dimensional Paint is formulated to keep it’s thickness and shape providing a 3-D effect, rather than acting like a typical paint that is flat and follows the form of the surface, it is brushed or sprayed on or behaves like markers and pens.  You can draw, outline, write and embellish with dimensional paint.  Bottle tips do vary, but dimensional paint comes in a bottle that can be held like a pencil in your hand.

Step by Step With Dimensional Paint

1. Always practice on scrap paper or surface you are going to add the dimensional paint to, so you can get a feel of how the tip and surface work together.

2. Don’t shake the bottle.  You don’t want to add any air bubbles to the paint.  Tap paint down to tip gently.

3. Hold bottle upright with tip down just as you would a pen or pencil.  Allow tip to lightly touch the surface to be painted.  Gently squeeze and begin to draw or write onto the surface.

4. Lift tip away from surface before letting go of your hold.  If you stop squeezing, you may let air bubbles into the tip and bottle. You may want to wipe tip clean between drawing lines.

5. Paint should be allowed to dry for 12-24 hours to completely set. 

Did You Know?

Dimensional paint can be used as an adhesive.  Apply a dot of paint to adhere buttons, paper roses and other embellishments.

A fine metal tip is available to get a very fine line of paint.  The metal tip is placed onto the bottle’s plastic tip and pressed firmly onto it. 

Dimensional paints vary from manufacturer to manufacturer.  Some dimensional paints dry tacky while others dry hard.  Experiment to see which is best for your projects.

Dimensional paints bond to many surfaces including paper, fabric, and wood.  Always read packaging and labeling to see what the dimensional paint will bond to and if it needs to be heat set.

A wide variety of colors and effects are available.  Some paints are ultra glossy while others are metallic.  Check out the variety available.

Always securely cap your bottle of paint after each use and clean any additional tips you may have used.  If some paint does dry in the tip use a fine needle to unclog.

For thicker lines of paint, hold the bottle at a slight angle to the surface, this allows more paint to flow and the result is a thicker line.