Paint a quick Iris with me!

Hi friends! I am just getting back from vacation, unpacking and settling in. I will have the winner of the Plasty-Craft giveaway as well as pics of artwork I creating on vacation for you tomorrow so please check back! But for now let’s paint an Iris!

Video!

Thanks for stopping by and til next time happy crafting!

Happy Birthday to me! {A little shopping!}

Hi friends! Today is my birthday so I thought I would share a little haul, it is nice to treat ourselves to a bit of crafty goodness now and again (thank goodness I don’t get another year older each time I treat my self to craft supplies LOL!) I just picked this stuff up the other day so you should be able to get the stuff I did if you want it.

If I had known the Impress Art stampers were 50% off I would have bought the other designs too, I will wait for them to go on sale again and get a couple more because I have lots of soft metal charms to use these with. Let me know in the comments if there is anything you want to see demoed:) Happy crafting!

Bird of Paradise Quick Watercolor Tutorial!

Hi friends! I love painting small quick warm up watercolor paintings. I cut down a bunch of paper to 3.5″x5″ to fit some frames I had. Here is a quick painting that size. Try to find time to paint each day! Let’s paint together!

Video!

I hope you enjoyed this fun and fast lesson, thanks for stopping by and til next time ahppy crafting!

Stamp School #3: Using Markers to Stamp

Hi friends! Today we are going to use our water-based markers to stamp. You can use any water-based (watercolor) markers you have, even the kids crayolas but you will get better results with a stampers brush tipped marker but use what you have! Today’s video is sponsored by, and features stamps from ArtNeko (formally About Art Accents) they specialize with Asian themed stamps, papers and embellishments and their designs have a timeless elegance that never goes out of style. ArtNeko has a special for Stamp School attendees, 10% off ANY order or free shipping on orders over $50, which ever is greater, they will refund you the discount if you mention The Frugal Crafter when you order.The stamps I am using today are from the Marine 1 set.

All you need is white cardstock, markers and adhesive. You might want to try stamping on glossy photo paper if you have any and you also might want a small paintbrush and water if you need to fix any stamped areas. Let’s get on to this weeks lesson on Using markers to stamp!

Video!

Here is a look at the difference between stamping on the glossy photo paper and the plain cardstock. The photo paper is on the bottom. Be careful using clear stamps on photo paper, do not leave the stamp on the paper long or the paper might stick to the stamp for good!

I hope you enjoyed this weeks Stamp School Class! Make sure to join us next week when we will do some coloring with our watercolor markers. You will want a “line work” type stamp with plenty of room to color. If you missed the first two Stamp School classes they can be found here. Thanks for stopping by and til next week Happy crafting!

Watercolor Waterfall! {Long Painting Lesson!}

Hi friends! I couldn’t go on vacation without giving you a nice long watercolor tutorial to paint along with. This was requested by several viewers and I hope you enjoy it!

Feel free to pause the video or take a break when you need to but the pace is easy on this one and I bet you can paint along with me. You can find the reference photo by Robin Lovelock here.

Video!

Don’t you just love peeling the masking tape off at the end, it is such a satisfying feeling:) thanks for painting along with me today and til next time happy crafting! Oh, and if you liked this tutorial please share it on Pinterest, Facebook and Twitter! There are handy “share” button at the bottom of each blog post:) sharing is caring! I really appreciate it and it keeps me inspired to create more long free painting lessons!

Art Marketing Monday-Keep good records now, be glad at tax-time!

Hi friends! In today’s Art Marketing Monday I’ll explain the importance of keeping good records and hiring a tax professional because you never know when your hobby might suddenly become a business!

Keeping those records and receipts is a good idea, even as a hobbyist, because you might decided that you want to “do a couple craft fairs” and then find yourself with a budding business. Or maybe you want to clearly see whet you spent during the year (it can be kinda scary LOL) so you can set a realistic budget for next year. In any event it never hurts to know the truth about your finances. Have a great day and til next time happy crafting!

Thin Die & Stamp Storage! Cheap and Cheaper!

Hi friends! After the stamp show and a gifted box of thin dies (Thank you Sherlock Hoka!) I had 2 baskets of dies on my shelf. I needed to consolidate and come up with a simple system that would let me access my dies quickly and also store the few sets of stamp/die combos. Here is my solution:

I used up all 50 of the Avery Elle die storage pockets I bought and I wish I had more. I searched on Amazon for a bulk package of pockets like this and found CD pockets. A reviewer posted that they were the same as the Avery Elle ones so I cheerfully paid $18 for a box of 500. I am now having Déjà vu, Deli paper anyone? Well as I promised in the first video I would show you how they compare:

Honestly, I think I would have been better off spending the $18 on 2-3 packs of 25 of the Avery Elle pockets because it is unlikely that I will have 500 dies to store…then again I do like a challenge! But on the other hand it is 75 vs 500 pockets. Well, at least you can make an informed decision if the larger size and sturdier side seams make the Avery Elle pockets the best bet of if you would do better with the smaller cheaper pockets. They seem to both be made of the same plastic material and thickness. I hope you found this helpful and as always happy crafting!

3 Patriotic Crafts for kids!

Hi friends! I hope you are having a great 4th of July! Here are a few crafts my daughters came up with to help celebrate the 4th of July! If you enjoy these crafts you can check out their new YouTube channel called CraftyTwins with craft projects for kids designed by kids. They are doing everything from developing the projects to shooting/editing the videos. I wonder how long before I can hire them to edit my videos…. 🙂

First up is Lila with a festive 4th of July Hat, feel free to change-up the colors for whatever you need!

And Maizy’s rainbow-colored 4th of July card with lots of cool crafting tips!

And grab the glue gun for Lila’s 4th of July Flag! Warning, there is a lot of hot glue in this one so kids, get your parent’s help with this one (don’t burn your hands off!)

I am so glad my girls love to craft, it is a wonderful hobby that’s not only fun, but builds self-esteem and develops both sides of the brain. If you are afraid of your kids using up all of your supplies collect a box of items you don’t mind them using up and put it in an accessible spot for them. I hope you have a fun and safe 4th of July and as always happy crafting!

Vintage Style Box DIY & Super Fun Giveaway!

Hi Friends! I love trying new techniques and old techniques using new products. This week I got to play with a moldable plastic product called Plasty-Craft. I made all the embellishments in this box with it. Hey, do you want a chance to win a jar of Plasty-Craft? Let me know what you would use it for in the comments below!

The thing I was really excited about is that I can get the look and durability of polymer clay without having to bake it. You simply heat the plastic pellets in hot water for 2 minutes (it will turn from milky white pellets to a clear looking clay like substance) and you are ready to use it in any molds you have or you can freehand sculpt things! I bet you could flatten some on a craft mat and stamp on it too, the possibilities are endless. My daughters really had fun playing with Plasty-Craft too, they made gobs of embellishments and then painted them for use in future jewelry projects. Watch the video to see how I made this box including a full tutorial with the Plasty-Craft.

Video!

The Plasty-Craft embellishments are hard and rigid when cool. They take acrylic paint beautifully. If you decide you don’t want any of the things you made you can remelt it and try again. For that reason I would not paint my embellishments until I was sure I wanted to keep them. If you have any unused Plasty-Craft left after a crafting session (it is unlikely, this stuff is crazy addictive to play with!) simple flatten it out so it will melt quickly next time and put it back in the jar. Speaking of the jar, you get a whopping 17.6 oz pail of the stuff and if you don’t have crafty twin daughters it might last you a long time LOL! Plasty-Craft is offering an extra 10% off discount to my readers with the coupon code: TKTMI48N you will want this for the “Mom, I’m bored!” moments of your summer vacation as well as for your own artwork. Make sure you leave a comment for a chance to win a jar or Plasty-Craft, just let me know what you would use Plasty-Craft for in the comments below and you are entered. That’s easy huh? I will pick a winner on July 12th when I return from vacation.

Tips and Tricks:

• I am not sure if my thermometer was off (I was using a meat thermometer because that was all I had-ironic huh- to measure the temperature of the water) but I had more success with hotter water. Using hotter water (200 degrees F) did not harm the plastic but if you are using this with kids make sure it is cool enough for them to handle so no-one gets burned.
• The Plasty-Craft worked in all of the molds I tried. Flexible molds were easier to use because you can flex the mold to pop out the embellishment. Since the Plasty-Craft is rigid it is more difficult to remove from ceramic, hard plastic or handmade scrap polymer clay molds but it did work with them just fine. I used a pin to get between the mold and the Plasty-Craft and it popped right out.
• There is no waste, simply flatten out unused Plasty-Craft and put it back in the jar. I was concerned that reheating the Plasty-Craft would make it tough and unworkable but it did not, the girls kept making stuff, melting it back down and making more stuff. They had a ball and we reheated the plastic at least 6 times.
• If you need to rework an area of your design you can submerge that part of the piece in hot water to only soften that part too although I did not play with sculpting too much.
• You can also use Plasty-Craft for repairing household items or making comfortable handles for tools, I know some ladies who use it to make crochet hook handles,

My only concern using Plasty-Craft was if it might melt on accident but after working with it and seeing that you need to submerge it in really hot water for 2 minutes I think it is unlikely. I would not leave it in a hot car or on top of a heat register though-I rarely do with my artwork LOL! I hope you give this a try, it is super fun and not very expensive (cheaper than other brands of mold-able plastic out there) and with an extra 10% off (with coupon code: TKTMI48N) even better and of course you might just be the lucky winner of a jar! Thanks so much for stopping by and til next time happy crafting!

Sponsored by Plasty-Craft, Imagination Creations, LLC