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Dia de los Muertos Shrine for Conan

October 31, 2012 By Leave a Comment
Candace 31 Days Conan's Shrine

Conans Shrine Dia de los Muertos Shrine for Conan

Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) is a wonderful holiday that celebrates the lives of loved ones who have passed.  One of the symbols of the holiday is the sugar skull, usually decorated in bright colors.   I wanted to use the sugar skull icon in a shrine for our dog that we lost early in the year, but I did not want them to be the focus.  I punched out skulls from colorful card stock and glittered them in monotones.

I started the shrine by covering  Conan’s bowls with handmade tiles, beads, baubles and all kinds of things that have meaning for our family.  It’s not a traditional mosaic process.  I glued everything on with hot glue and did not grout.

I made a polymer clay sugar skull to add as a finishing touch.  Let’s start with that tutorial and go from there.

Materials:

Polymer clay
Mark making tools – needle tool, pencil, craft knife
Glitter in several colors
Glue
Black felt pen
Card stick in several bright colors
Skull shaped punch – I used Martha Stewart’s
Glitter glue in the colors of your card stock
Silk flowers in bright colors
Hot glue

Sugar Skull 1 300x175 Dia de los Muertos Shrine for Conan I was so happy to find Martha Stewart’s Halloween glitter kit!.

The little glue bottle has a tiny nozzle – perfect for delicate work.

To make the polymer clay skull – use my shape as a guide.

Shape it on your work surface to keep the back flat.  Bake as directed.

Color in the eyes, nose and teeth with the felt pen.
Sugar Skull 2 300x291 Dia de los Muertos Shrine for Conan Add tiny dots of glue where you want one color of glitter.
Sugar Skull 3 300x243 Dia de los Muertos Shrine for Conan Sprinkle glitter.  Tap off excess glitter.  Repeat for each color.

Allow to dry.
Dia de los Muertos Border 1 268x300 Dia de los Muertos Shrine for Conan Now for the Dia de los Muertos border:

Punch out the skulls.

Outline and make designs with glitter glue the same color as the paper.

Allow to dry.
Dia de los Muertos Border 2 300x234 Dia de los Muertos Shrine for Conan Here are the mosaiced bowls in a dimensional frame.  Due to the heavyness of the bowls, I glued and screwed them on the backing.
Dia de los Muertos Border 3 300x186 Dia de los Muertos Shrine for Conan Alternate silk flowers and skulls all the way around the inside edge.

Dia de los Muertos Border 4 Dia de los Muertos Shrine for Conan

 

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Glittery Pumpkin Buttons by Candace Jedrowicz

October 30, 2012 By Leave a Comment
Candace 31 Days Pumpkin Buttons

Pumpkin Buttons Glittery Pumpkin Buttons by Candace Jedrowicz

Making your own buttons is a hoot!  These simple pumpkin buttons began as a piece of polymer clay that I shaped, baked and made a mold of. But, you don’t even have to make an original piece to begin with, you can make a mold of ANYTHING!  Just think of the possibilities!

Materials:

Polymer clay – Orange and scrap clay
Mold making medium
Crochet needle
Wire
Round nose pliers
Chan nose pliers
Wire Cutters
Needle tool or toothpick
Glue
Glitter

Pumpkin Buttons 1 300x192 Glittery Pumpkin Buttons by Candace Jedrowicz Make a small, flat backed pumpkin shape.Use a crochet needle to mark the sections of the pumpkin.

You can use scrap clay for this, because this will be the piece you make a mold of.

Bake according to directions.  Allow to cool.
Pumpkin Buttons 2 300x168 Glittery Pumpkin Buttons by Candace Jedrowicz You will need a mold making medium.  THis is a Sculpey product that I like.You’ll also need powder and a brush to spread it.
Pumpkin Buttons 3 300x183 Glittery Pumpkin Buttons by Candace Jedrowicz Brush and dab the powder on the original piece.
Pumpkin Buttons 4 300x239 Glittery Pumpkin Buttons by Candace Jedrowicz Push the powdered piece into a ball of mold medium.Turn it over and push a little bit to even the surface.
Pumpkin Buttons 5 300x204 Glittery Pumpkin Buttons by Candace Jedrowicz Very gently pull the mold medium away from the baked piece ever so slightly and push a tiny bit on the back side of the mold medium to release the piece.Bake the mold as directed and allow to cool.
Pumpkin Buttons 6 300x250 Glittery Pumpkin Buttons by Candace Jedrowicz To make the button and shank you’ll need orange clay, the baked mold, a water spritzer, 20 gauge wire, round nose pliers and chain nose pliers.
Pumpkin Buttons 7 300x235 Glittery Pumpkin Buttons by Candace Jedrowicz Cut a 1″ piece of wire and bend it around the round nose pliers.
Pumpkin Buttons 8 300x254 Glittery Pumpkin Buttons by Candace Jedrowicz Bend both ends out to the side with the chain nose pliers.
Pumpkin Buttons 10 300x201 Glittery Pumpkin Buttons by Candace Jedrowicz Put a bend in both ends keeping the ends level.
Pumpkin Buttons 11 300x224 Glittery Pumpkin Buttons by Candace Jedrowicz Push a small amount of clay into the mold.  You may need to adjust the amount of clay.  You don’t want it to extend beyond the edge and have it be sloppy.
Pumpkin Buttons 12 300x234 Glittery Pumpkin Buttons by Candace Jedrowicz Place the wire on the clay.Press down slightly.
Pumpkin Buttons 13 300x254 Glittery Pumpkin Buttons by Candace Jedrowicz Put a dot of clay over the wire ends.
Pumpkin Buttons 14 300x259 Glittery Pumpkin Buttons by Candace Jedrowicz Smooth the dots the best you can.Turn the mold over and gently push the back to release the clay.
Pumpkin Buttons 15 300x216 Glittery Pumpkin Buttons by Candace Jedrowicz Bake as directed and allow to cool.
Pumpkin Buttons 16 300x247 Glittery Pumpkin Buttons by Candace Jedrowicz Paint the pumpkins with glue and pour glitter on.  I held the button with pliers while I glittered.  It worked well.Pull through the wet glue in the creases for more depth.

Allow to dry.
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Edible Zombie Morsels by Candace Jedrowicz

October 27, 2012 By 2 Comments
Candace 31 Days Zombie Candy

Edible Zombie Morsels Edible Zombie Morsels by Candace Jedrowicz

Now will come the making of the zombie candy!  Muhuhuahahahhhh!  No baking required, but you do need clean hands, warm pockets and fruit flavored Tootsie Rolls!

Materials:

Tootsie Roll Fruit Flavors – make sure the mix includes vanilla

Candy 1 300x206 Edible Zombie Morsels by Candace Jedrowicz Tootsie Rolls take a little time and moderate strength to condition, so the first rule of Tootsie Roll Sculpting is:Put the wrapped candies in your pockets for at least half and hour before conditioning it.

Rule 2:

The Tootsie Roll will pretend it doesn’t want to stick to itself at first.  After a moment, you won’t be able to separate it!

Condition them as you would polymer clay – smooshing and rolling them in your hands until they are soft enough to shape.
Candy 2 300x239 Edible Zombie Morsels by Candace Jedrowicz For a toe, you will need 2 green, A tiny piece of white, purple and pink.
Candy 3 Edible Zombie Morsels by Candace Jedrowicz Combine the 2 green and shape into a cylinder.Flatten and widen one end.

Roll the purple and fatten it into a circle, place it on the toe and tear the end away to make a gross toenail.
Candy 5 300x234 Edible Zombie Morsels by Candace Jedrowicz Make a button shape with the white and push it in the back of the toe.Roll a tiny piece of the pink and lay it around the white.  You can put some pink under the toenail if you like.
Candy 4 300x287 Edible Zombie Morsels by Candace Jedrowicz For an eyeball, you will need 2 White, 1 pink and a tiny bit of blue.Combine the 2 white pieces and roll into a ball.
Zombie Morsels Candy Box 7 300x281 Edible Zombie Morsels by Candace Jedrowicz Twist all but a little of the pink to make the root and then roll small strings to to make veins.Mix a tiny bit of white and blue together to make a hazy looking iris.
Candy 6 300x236 Edible Zombie Morsels by Candace Jedrowicz For the teeth I used 1 white mixed with 1/2 a yellow for the piece of bone, yellow for the teeth and a bit of pink for the little bit of gums.The brain bit is a blue and white combined. Make a random lump and roll the rest into a long string to wind back and forth all over the lump.
Candy 7 300x270 Edible Zombie Morsels by Candace Jedrowicz And there you have it!  Zombie Morsels!  Oh, and the slogan is:

Zombie Morsels

When you care enough to send the very beast
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Zombie Candy Box by Candace Jedrowicz

October 26, 2012 By Leave a Comment
Candace 31 Days Zombie Candy Box

Zombie Candy Box Zombie Candy Box by Candace Jedrowicz

Don’t tell me you’ve never wondered what zombies taste like!  Okay, they’re gross, but what if they weren’t?  What if they tasted fruity?  Wait, I’m getting ahead of myself.  Today’s project is a zombie candy box that makes a pristine space for the universe to fill with tasty…dead things.  Wait!  Wait! Wait!  Don’t run away!  It will be fun!  I promise!

Materials:

A small box – I used a 4 piece candy box
An image for the box top – I made a digital piece with a hand drawn cemetery background, a photo of my Gravestone ATC border from Altered Art Supplies and die cut text frame
White card stock – to print your image on
Decorative Paper
Aleene’s Tacky Glue Pen
Border – I used some gold German borders
Black Glitter

Zombie Morsels Candy Box 1 300x264 Zombie Candy Box by Candace Jedrowicz For the top of the box, I created an image in Photoshop with the elements you see here.

So here’s where you begin – size the image to match the box size including a 2″ border to fold to the inside of the box.

After gluing the image to the box, fill in the tombstones with the glue pen and sprinkle with glitter.

Allow to dry.
Zombie Morsels Candy Box 2 300x243 Zombie Candy Box by Candace Jedrowicz If you will be using the box for display only, you can add any embellishments at all, but if you want to use it for an actual box, put as little paper as you can on the inside sides of the top or the outside side of the bottom so the box will open and close easily.

Measure the paper for the bottom the same as the top.
Zombie Morsels Candy Box 3 300x193 Zombie Candy Box by Candace Jedrowicz Glue the bottom to the back side of the decorative paper.

Make cuts in the paper to miter the corners.
Zombie Morsels Candy Box 4 300x178 Zombie Candy Box by Candace Jedrowicz Add glue to the flaps and fold them to the inside of the box.
Zombie Morsels Candy Box 5 300x210 Zombie Candy Box by Candace Jedrowicz Add gold trim to fancy it up a bit.  Allow the glue to dry
Zombie Morsels Candy Box 300x209 Zombie Candy Box by Candace Jedrowicz You’ll want to have chocolate cups for the inside, so go get some chocolates and eat them!
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Wicked Wire Wrapping for a Pendant

October 25, 2012 By Leave a Comment
Candace 31 Days Wicked Wire Wrapping #2

Wicked Wire Wrapping 2 Wicked Wire Wrapping for a Pendant

Making jewelry findings can be lots of fun and way easier than you think!  In this tutorial, I’ll show you how to make a bail for a pendant.  It can be used on anything that has a front to back hole that you want to string on a chain.

See how the pendant was made

Watch Candace’s Wire Wrapping video tutorial

Materials:

20 Gauge wire – 6″
Accent bead
Round nose pliers
Chain nose pliers
Wire Cutters

1. Measuring 1 1/2″ from one end of the wire, bend the wire around something large enough for your pendant piece.  I used a jump ring sizer, but you could use anything.  Crimp the wrapped wire just below where they meet.

2. You just made the loop to go through the hole on your pendant piece.  Slide the pendant piece on the loop.

3. Grasp the loop on the outside of the pendant piece using the round nose pliers.   Bend the short wire tail to the side and wrap it around the long wire tail.

4. Slide on and accent bead.  In the video, I didn’t wrap the short tail before adding the bead.  I chose a bead with a hole large enough to fit over both wire tails and wrapped the short tail above the bead.  Either way is fine.

5. Starting just above the bead, wrap the long tail around a pencil (or anything you have handy) twice.  At the end of the second wrap, cross the wire over to the other side of the first wrap and wrap the tail around between the double loop and the bead.

It won’t look manufactured, but I happen to like the wabi-sabi style.  Imperfect is charming to me!

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Polymer Clay Skull Bead by Candace Jedrowicz

October 23, 2012 By Leave a Comment
9-24-12-Candace-Skull Bead

Skull Bead Polymer Clay Skull Bead by Candace Jedrowicz

Polymer clay is such a versatile medium!  I love making small beads in all kinds of shapes, but funny little skulls just tickle me.  That being said, skull beads are easy and anyone can do it!

Watch Candace’s Polymer Clay Skull Bead video tutorial

Materials:

Polymer clay – white
Black slick paint
Craft knife
Needle tool or toothpick
Paper towel

1. Roll the clay into a small ball

2. Pinch the bottom into an upper and lower jaw area

3. Use the blade of the craft knife to cut teeth with vertical lines

4. Use the blade again to cut across the middle of the teeth, opening the mouth

5. Use the end of the needle tool to make eyes

6. Use the craft knife blade turned sideways to make the nose holes

7. Use the needle tool or toothpick to make a hole down the center

8.  Bake according to directions

9. Apply the slick paint directly from the tube into the mouth, eyes and nose

10. Wipe off excess paint with a paper towel

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Return of the Birthday Zombie

October 13, 2012 By Leave a Comment
Candace 31 Days Birthday Zombie

Return of the Birthday Zombie Promo copy Return of the Birthday Zombie

This is a polymer clay zombie that I made for my dear friend, Beth.  She and her family love zombie movies, so I came up with an idea to make the gift as cheesy as a great zombie flick.Zombies+001 Return of the Birthday Zombie [Originally published in October of 2009 - spiritclay.blogspot.com]  I made the zombie using polymer clay.  I made him one half of an Origami box to stand in, but you could use any box. I used some Photoshop techniques on a photo I’d taken of a graveyard for the background. I tore the edges and browned them up with a sienna stamp pad and glued the pieces to the back and sides of the box.

Next I composed the following letter to go with it. If you’re a zombie aficionado you’ll see where this is going. If you’re not, I’ll say this: George Romero made the first zombie classic Night of the Living Dead – It takes place in a small town in western Pennsylvania – If you’re bitten by a zombie, you become one (some consider this the Zombie Virus) – Where ever zombies go there is mayhem – The most famous line from the movie is “They’re coming to get you, Barbara”.

Here’s the letter:

Dearest Beth,

I was looking on line and found this killer cake decorator, Barbara, who makes these fabulous cakes. She works at a place called Romero’s, in a small town in western Pennsylvania. I called her up and told her about you and the kind of things you like. I was so excited! She said she’d make something spectacular for you. So, yesterday I got this strange email from the owner of the bakery:

Dear Candace,

You should know there’s been a terrible virus going around our town. None of my staff showed up at all today. Barbara started your cake, but couldn’t make it in either. There are several fires in town and things are a mess. I called my delivery guys, who said they could go pick her up. I called her and said “They’re coming to get you, Barbara”, and she screamed and hung up. She never showed and I can’t get hold of the delivery guys, either. I’ve finished the cake myself and will deliver it personally. I hope it will meet your approval.

Sincerely,

George

So, in the process of moving to Utah and, yes, that’s my excuse – I missed Beth’s birthday. As I was putting together ideas for Alexa Westerfield’s Terrorific Tuesdays, I printed photos of the birthday zombie and made them into earrings. See the SugarSkull Bracelet & Bats in the Belfry Necklace, and Candy Corn Riot Earrings blog entries, if you want to use this idea. They have all the directions you might need for shrink plastic and earring making. With one exception – to make your earrings from a photo, you’ll need the inkjet printable shrink plastic.

Beth%27s+Earrings Return of the Birthday ZombieI figured I’d send along a note set up like a movie poster and title it:

RETURN OF THE BIRTHDAY ZOMBIE.

Now, I was looking around the house for a box to send the earrings in and then it hit me – I had some old DVD cases that I’d been saving for some scathingly brilliant idea, and finally I had one!

Here’s what I ended up with…

Zombie+DVD+Cover Return of the Birthday ZombieThe front cover says:

Return of the Birthday Zombie
Send in the Clones
The movie that no one wanted to see made
Has been Made!
See the zombie clones arrive late for Beth’s Birthday!
Well, they had a really long way to walk and zombies are slow anyway!
You laugh! you’ll Cry! You’ll hurl!

The back cover says:

This film has not yet been rated
Void where prohibited by law
Do not put on these earrings while driving
No zombies were harmed in the making of these earrings

Do not wear these earrings while squeezing your head through your stair rails as they are large and might sustain damageZombie+DVD+Cover Return of the Birthday Zombie Zombie+DVD+Back+Cover+and+Spine Return of the Birthday ZombieZombie+DVD+Inside Return of the Birthday ZombieHere’s what you’ll need to make your Zombie (or any kind of) Movie Gift Box.

A DVD case
A DVD
Photos that you can size appropriately
A heavy duty hole punch
Glue
Double sided craft tape
A scrap of card stock, any color
Scissors

 

If you don’t have a printer at home, make copies at the library or neighborhood copy store. Make extras for good measure. Speaking of measuring, you’ll need the measurements of the DVD case. This can be done easily by taking the paper out of the DVD cover and measuring it. Easy peasy!
I did mine with Photoshop, but I could just as easily done it as a collage. Just make sure that the collage will easily fold to slip into the DVD case, if you choose this option.
For the DVD, place a disc on your extra copy and trace around it. Cut the copy giving a bit of extra margin to trim. Now smear a thin coat of Aleene’s Quick Dry Tacky Glue on the disc and put your cut image on it. Trim the edges with a craft knife and cut out the center hole.
Punch two holes to put the earrings through (if you’re doing that) and tape the backs, so the earrings won’t slide out. Ohh, I just had an idea! Since the center of my DVD that got cut out was a cake, I decided to add it back.

Zombies+010 Return of the Birthday ZombieI got another copy of the photo and cut loosely around the cake. Next I used a double sided craft tape to stick the cake to a piece of card stock. Then I cut the cake out and used a sticky craft dot to attach the cake to the image just below the hole. Since the earrings are taped on the back of the disc, I want Beth to be able to take the disc out of the case. She’ll press on the cake to release the disc!

Now, go! Go make your DVD case gift box! You’re welcome to use the zombie letter and figure ideas, if you like!

I will post a zombie tutorial tomorrow!

 

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Fall Pumpkins by Candace Jedrowicz

October 7, 2012 By 2 Comments
Fall Wood Pumpkins by Candace Jedrowicz 300x150

10 8 2012 Fun Fall Pumpkins Hero Fall Pumpkins by Candace Jedrowicz

Fall is the best time of year to Candace Jedrowicz!  The colors, smells and cool days of fall invigorates and inspires Candace into creative movement!  These wooden pumpkins are quick, easy and fun to make!  Featured on Cool2Craft TV.

Watch Candace’s Fall Pumpkin YouTube video tutorial!

Materials:

Aleene’s Decoupage – matte
Wooden pumpkin shapes in various sizes, sanded smooth – Hubby cut them from 3/4″ planks
Decorative papers
Acrylic paint – in a color you like
Paint brush
Fall Pumpkin Template

1. Water down your acrylic paint – I mixed mountain green, lime green and bronze to get the color I used.
2. Paint the pumpkins on all sides and allow to dry.
3. Trace around the shapes on the decorative paper and cut 1/4″ in from the outline, leave out the stem.  Add small curved cuts as shown in the template to imply the sections of the pumpkins.
4. Brush the front of each pumpkin and the back of the papers with Aleene’s Decoupage, position the papers on  the pumpkins and immediately brush the front of the papers.

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Funky Felt Crow by Candace Jedrowicz

September 23, 2012 By Leave a Comment
Funky Felt Crow by Candace Jedrowicz 300x150

9 24 2012 Funky Felt Crows by Candace Jedrowicz Funky Felt Crow by Candace Jedrowicz

Candace  Jedrowicz found a super cute felt chick tutorial on MyrtleandEunice.com and went mad for it!  The tiny chicks with wire feet were dancing in Riverdance style, doing the Can Can and, yes, even doing Michael Jackson’s Thriller dance.  The Funky Felt Crows were aching to born so they could join in the fun!  Candace obliged and here they are!  Featured on Cool2Craft TV.

Watch Candace’s fun and fabulous Felt Crow YouTube video tutorial

Materials:

Pattern from Myrtle and Eunice – The link is directly below the Can Can chicks
Felt – black and gold
Black thread
Sewing scissors
Polyester fiber stuffing
Beads – 2 black for the eyes
Narrow needle
Seed beads – optional
Wire for the feet – the size depends on the size bird you make.

1. Print out the pattern – enlarge if desired.

2. Cut the felt pattern pieces.

3. Begin sewing the two body pieces together just below where the face will be( as indicated on the pattern) and blanket stitch toward the tail (I demonstrate the blanket stitch in the video).

4. Just below the tail (where indicated on the pattern), add the gusset between the body pieces sewing down one side and and then the other and leave the tail open.

5. Stuff the body until the seams flatten out and the bird is plump.

6. Sew the tail closed.

7. Tack the wings and beak on with a few stitches.

8. Add the eye beads and stitch in place.

9. To add feet, cut as long a wire as you can and thread the wire though one seam and out the other side seam.

10. Bend the wire down and make oblong loops for the talons – one toward the back and 2 or 3 toward the front.

11. Trim off the excess wire.

12. Add bead embroidery if desired – using a beading needle, pick up 6 beads at a time. Anchor them by pulling needle and thread through the fabric and come up behind the last three beads. Thread the needle through those 3 beads and pick up 6 more.  It’s like a back stitch with beads.

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See Through Spa Mosaic by Candace Jedrowicz

September 16, 2012 By Leave a Comment
9-17-12 Candace Spa Mosiac 300x150

5 7 12 Hexagon Explosion Box2 See Through Spa Mosaic by Candace Jedrowicz

Candace Jedrowicz just loves the beauty of sunlight shining through colored glass!  Stained glass is one option, but what if you could make something lovely that would give you a similar effect at a fraction of the price?  Featured on Cool2Craft TV.

Watch Candace’s See Through Spa Mosaic YouTube video tutorial

Materials:

Dimensional frame – I used an 8″ x 8″
Colored glass pebbles
Eye screws – 4
Chain for hanging
Aleene’s Glass and Bead Glue
Metal letters for a message
Charms in complementary bead colors
Small glass tiles
Drill

Remove the inner frame that holds the glass in.

Remove glass from the frame.

Tape off 1/4″ on all four edges of the glass.

Arrange the glass pebbles until you get the look that you want.

Glue the pebbles in place.  Allow to dry.

Drill two starter holes on the top and bottom of the frame.  I measured 2″ in from the edges.

Glue and screw the eye screws in place.

Add chain to both eye screws on the top.

Add a 6″ chain from one eye screw to the other on the bottom.

Add charms.

Glue small tiles on the the inside corners of the frame.  I used 1/2″ square tiles.

Place the glass back in the frame.

Glue more tiles inside the frame on the other side of the glass.  Allow to dry.

Hang in a window and enjoy!

 

 

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