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Zombie Candy Box by Candace Jedrowicz

October 26, 2012 By cjedrowicz Leave a Comment

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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

	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.

	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.

	Glue the bottom to the back side of the decorative paper. Make cuts in the paper to miter the corners.

	Add glue to the flaps and fold them to the inside of the box.

	Add gold trim to fancy it up a bit. Allow the glue to dry

	You’ll want to have chocolate cups for the inside, so go get some chocolates and eat them!

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Filed Under: Candace Jedrowicz, In the Spotlight Tagged With: Aleene's Tacky Glue Pen, Candace Jedrowicz, candy box, craft, craft how to, learn to craft, Paper, Photoshop, recycle craft, tutorial

Halloween Chocolate Box on Day 12 of 31 Days of Halloween

October 12, 2012 By cjedrowicz 1 Comment

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It’s no secret that I love chocolate. I love looking at it as much as eating it! So I have a series of polymer clay chocolate boxes in many themes. This one might be my favorite! It’s Halloween themed, of course!

Here a few tutorials on polymer clay chocolate boxes:

The Tempered Empress Chocolate Box

The Mike and Candy Show Chocolate Box

The Joy Chocolate Box

The Wedding Chocolate Box

Materials for the chocolates:

Polymer clay – dark brown, white and a touch of orange
Aluminum foil
Crochet needle for smoothing the clay
Clay stamps for the pumpkin faces

	Each chocolate begins as a compacted foil lump – ball, square, rectangle – slightly smaller than your finished size will be. Condition a ball of clay that is about half the size as the foil.

	Flatten and form the clay around the foil. Smooth the clay by rolling it gently on a smooth surface. Take a small piece of clay flatten the bottom and pull out several points for the stem. Add it to the top of the pumpkin.

	Use your crochet needle create the sections on the pumpkin. Lay the needle on the clay and roll it from top to bottom.

	This is a close up of the angry eye stamp.

	Here is a wide eye that can be turned to make the pumpkin look in any direction.

	The triangle eyes are super easy to make. The mouth stamp is a wiggly smile. Bake the clay as directed. The stamps must be baked before using. I normally use paper to decorate the box, but I wanted to try one that is all chocolate.

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Filed Under: Candace Jedrowicz, In the Spotlight Tagged With: Candace Jedrowicz, chocolate box art, Cool2Craft, Cool2Craft TV, craft, diy, halloween craft, learn to craft, polymer clay, polymer clay chocolate, recycle craft, tutorial

Halloween Doughnut Beads by Candace Jedrowicz

October 11, 2012 By cjedrowicz Leave a Comment

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Hubby and I have a deal for the month of October – We don’t go out to eat unless it has something to do with Halloween. It’s a good plan, we’ve both lost weight already! The first Halloween food trip was to Krispy Kreme for doughnuts! Oh how I love Halloween doughnuts! Anyway, here’s a quick project made with polymer clay and Halloween love!

Materials:

Polymer clay – orange and a mix of white, gold, brown, yellow and orange to make the “dough” (I use this for cookie dough, too.
Glossy sealer
Micro beads in green, purple and copper
Needle tool or tooth pick
Crochet needle or other smoothing tool

	Start by conditioning the clay. Roll it in your hands until it’s easy to shape. Flatten slightly.

	Use your smoothing tool to to make holes and roll it around in there to make the hole a size you like.

	Roll balls of the orange clay and flatten as much as you can and keep it as round as possible. Use the crochet needle to push through the “icing” to reestablish the hole.

	Use your needle tool or tooth pick to make holes through both sides. Bake clay according to the directions.

	When the beads are cool, brush glossy sealer on the icing and sprinkle micro beads on the wet sealer.

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Filed Under: Candace Jedrowicz, In the Spotlight Tagged With: Beads, Candace Jedrowicz, Cool2Craft, craft, glossy sealer, halloween doughnuts, jewelry craft, learn to craft, micro beads, polymer clay, tutorial

It’s a Halloween Muse Carnival!

September 30, 2012 By cjedrowicz 2 Comments

31 Days of Halloween Cake Mail by Candace Jedrowicz

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Happy October! Are you ready for some spooky delicious fun? Candace Jedrowicz has 31 days of Halloween themed projects for your creative brains! Mmmmm. Brains. First up: Halloween cake mail!

The first video shows how to cut a sponge to make the cake base, paint it and attach the post card ~ Enjoy

Part 2 shows how to frost your cake mail with caulk and give it Halloween bling ~ Sweet

Materials:

Aleene’s Super Thick Tacky Glue
Large sponge
Painter’s caulk
Card stock
Acrylic paint
Paint brush
Craft knife
Plastic disposable pastry bags – sandwich bags are not strong enough for this
Embellishments

1. Cut sponge into wedges/cake slice shapes.

2. Cut a slot down the center of one side, horizontally and cut away the sponge in the slot.

3. Paint the sponge and allow to dry.

4. Cut card stock to the size of one side of the cake and glue on.

5. Squeeze caulk into a disposable pastry bag, tie the end off with a baggie tie and snip off the tip.

6. Squeeze the caulk into the slot on the side and all over the top and back of the cake.

7. Add embellishments to the icing.

8. Allow to dry until the caulk is hard. That may take a few days.

Come back tomorrow for another Halloween treat!

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Filed Under: Candace Jedrowicz, In the Spotlight Tagged With: Aleene's Tacky Glue, cake mail, Candace Jedrowicz, caulk, Cool2Craft TV, craft, Halloween crafts, Halloween Muse Carnival, learn to craft, Paper, sponge, video tutorial

Fossilized Shark Tooth Pendant by Candace Jedrowicz

June 11, 2012 By cjedrowicz Leave a Comment

Fossilazed Shark Tooth Pendant by Candace Jedrowicz

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With a little polymer clay you can make anything into a pendant! Candace Jedrowicz likes to put that theory to the test…a lot! Candace bought a bag of fossilized shark teeth a hundred years ago and has finally settled on her latest make-anything-into-a-pendant adventure. Featured on Cool2Craft TV.

Watch Candace’s fun and fabulous Shark Tooth Pendant YouTube video tutorial!

Materials:

Polymer clay – any color
Shark tooth – or anything at all
Wood skewer
Crochet needle for smoothing and mark making
Acrylic paint for antiquing

	Select an interesting shape to use for the base of your pendant. I liked this tooth because it had 2 tiny teeth off to one side. Very cool.

	Flatten a small piece of clay just big enough to fold over the top of your base.

	Make sure that the clay covers/reveals exactly what you want. The less time you take working on this part, the better. As you work the clay gets softer and thinner and it will not hold.

	Roll out a 3″ piece of clay. Fold it in half and smooth the fold to the back of your pendant.

	Lay a skewer across the top of the pendant and fold the ends of the roll toward the front.

	Here I’m wrapping the ends around the skewer for effect. You could choose to make curlicues on the pendant with the ends.

	Choose a focal bead. Press it in slightly. Make another smaller roll to trap the bead and curl the ends into a design.

	Finish adding details like swirls and dots.Texturize the clay with the end of the crochet needle. The more texture the better for the antiquing.Bake the clay according to package directions.Cover small areas with paint and rub off the excess. Repeat until you like the look.

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Filed Under: Candace Jedrowicz, Feature on homepage, Idea Gallery Tagged With: beach craft, Candace Jedrowicz, Cool2Craft TV, craft how to, diy, fossil craft, jewelry craft, learn to craft, polymer clay, polymer clay shark pendant, shark tooth craft, video tutorial

Dad’s BBQ Rib Rub by Candace Jedrowicz

June 4, 2012 By cjedrowicz 2 Comments

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Joe Jedrowicz is Candace’s hubby and her favorite cook! The two of them concocted a yummy Father’s Day gift that the whole family can help make and everyone will enjoy tasting! Featured on Cool2Craft TV.

Watch Candace’s fun and delicious Dad’s BBQ Rib Rub YouTube video tutorial!

Materials:

Aleene’s Collage Pauge – matte
Aleene’s Turbo Tacky Glue
8 oz jar
Decorative paper
Brown permanent marker
Raffia
Small spoon or scoop
Paper alphabet letters
Button(s) for top
Recipe:
2 Tbsp sugar
6 Tbsp brown sugar
1 Tbsp granulated garlic
1 Tsp ground red pepper
2 Tsp chili powder
1/2 Tsp smoked paprika
1/2 Tsp black pepper
1/2 Tsp salt
1/4 Tsp ground ginger

	Choose a jar that is smooth and rounded.

	Cut or tear paper for a label. Play with your letters until you like how they look. Glue them in place.

	Brush Collage Pauge over a large enough space on the jar to place your label. Coat the back of your label with Collage Pauge. Place the label on the jar.

	Coat the front of the label. Allow to dry.

	If you want to change the appearance of the lid you can color it with a marker, or whatever you like.

	Cover the top of the lid with your decorative paper. Glue on the button(s). Tie on your spoon with raffia.

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Filed Under: Candace Jedrowicz, Feature on homepage, Idea Gallery Tagged With: BBQ craft, BBQ rib rub recipe, Candace Jedrowicz, Cool2Craft TV, craft diy, craft how to, Father's Day, father's day craft, learn to craft, video tutorial

Bottlecap Birdcage by Linda Peterson

May 28, 2012 By Tiffany Windsor 1 Comment

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Upcycling junk that you would normally throw away is not only fun, it’s great for the environment too, keeping loads of unwanted objects out of landfills. In this episode, Linda Peterson shows you how to create a mini-birdhouse from a bottle cap! Featured on Cool2Craft TV.

Watch Linda’s super cool Bottlecap Birdcage YouTube video tutorial!

Materials:

Bottlecaps
20 gauge annealed steel wire (from hardware store)
26 gauge wire black
Wooden block
Permanent marker – black
Needle tool or nail
Hammer
Wire cutters

Optional:

Moss
Flowers
Miscellaneous beads and broken jewelry bits
Bird charm
Duct tape
Glitter glue

	Color bottlecap black with permanent marker.Punch eight holes with a hammer and needle tool, evenly spaced into bottle cap. Start with 12 o’clock position, then punch a hole directly opposite at 6, 3 and 9 then 2, 4, 8 and 10. Use a wooden block to protect your work surfaces.

	Cut 4 pieces of annealed wire approximately 2-½” to 3” long. Bend into a U shape.

	At the 12 o’clock position insert the end of the wire. Bend end of wire under bottle cap. Place opposite end into the 6 o’clock position and bend wire to secure. Repeat this with remaining wires.

	Cut a piece of 26 gauge black wire to 4”. Wrap around top, securing the wires at the top. Add floral moss and flower, beads, charms and additional wire embellishments as desired.

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Filed Under: Feature on homepage, Idea Gallery, Linda Peterson Tagged With: bottlecap birdcage, bottlecap craft, Cool2Craft TV, craft how to, eco craft, Glitter your garbage craft, learn to craft, Linda Peterson, video tutorial

Charming T-Shirt Necklace by Candace Jedrowicz

May 28, 2012 By cjedrowicz Leave a Comment

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A comfy t-shirt is a joy forever. Even after snags and stains and holes, a cherished t-shirt can be made into many things! Candace Jedrowicz shares a twist on the popular t-shirt necklace. Featured on Cool2Craft TV.

Watch Candace’s fun and fabulous T-Shirt Necklace YouTube video tutorial!

Materials:

Aleene’s Super Fabric Glue
T-shirt
Scissors
Findings – I used large double rings and a silver tassel charm

	Cut off the bottom hem of the t-shirt. Cut five 1″ wide strips of t-shirt, cutting straight across.This will give you 5 loops of material.

	Stretch each loop until it curls up.

	Add as many rings and charms as you like to each loop.

	Slide the rings closer to one side than the other. In my case, the t-shirt had side seams. Glue all the seams on one side.

	Repeat on the other side then glue both stacks together.

	Cut one more strip of t-shirt, cut the loop open. Wrap the new strip around the seams to cover them. If your shirt has no seams, just double the loops and wrap the strip around it. Glue the beginning and end of this strip.

	Pull all the strands to line up the charms.

	This is how the necklace is meant to be worn, but play with it and see what you like best.

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Filed Under: Candace Jedrowicz, Feature on homepage, Idea Gallery Tagged With: Candace Jedrowicz, Cool2Craft TV, craft how to, fabric craft, jewelry craft, learn to craft, t-shirt necklace, Upcycle, video tutorial

Hand Hammered Copper Chimes by Candace Jedrowicz

May 21, 2012 By cjedrowicz Leave a Comment

Make Your Own Chimes by Candace Jedrowicz

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Candace Jedrowicz has a special place in her heart for the sweet sound of chimes. In fact, if you could see the ceiling of her studio, you’d see all of the chimes she’s ever collected, but there is one kind of chimes missing – hand made! Join Candace in an experiment of sight and sound! Featured on Cool2Craft TV.

Watch Candace’s sweet Hand Hammered Copper Chime YouTube video tutorial!

Materials:

Refrigerator ice maker kit or 3/8″ copper pipe
Jewelery saw or pipe cutter
Jeweler’s block or concrete floor
Chasing hammer or any hammer with a rounded side
Drill with 1/16″ drill bit
Wooden skewer
Nylon filament
24 gauge wire
Electrical wire or metal ring for hanging
Hanging frame – I used a bracelet

	I chose copper pipe because the metal is soft and easy to manipulate. Cut as many lengths as you want. I started at 2 1/2″ and cut 11 lengths at 1/4″ increments. A jewelry saw is a small hack saw with very thin blades. I had no trouble at all cutting the pipe.

	This handy dandy gizmo came with the ice maker kit. You can use it to start each hole. You put the pipe in and crank the handle until the tip makes an indentation. Complete by drilling straight through the pipe sections.

	Insert the wood skewer into each pipe before you begin texturing. This will keep the pipe’s shape. Turn the pipe as you tap it to make sure you don’t flatten one side.

	I chose a bracelet to use as my frame. It was the right size and I love all the color. Before you choose, decide whether your chimes will hang outside or inside.

	I made a sort of skeleton out of 20 gauge wire with 11 loops to go inside the bottom of the bracelet. I used this to string up the chime pieces. This balances the profile of the chimes. In other words, the bracelet will be the widest part. I used 24 gauge to “sew” the wire piece into the bracelet.

	I had a pieces of electrical wire that I’d been shaping for something else and decided to use it like a crown for the chimes. I used the 24 gauge wire to attach this as well.

	I made this curly que to use as my hanger. Think outside the box when you’re looking for parts!

	I used one long piece of filament to string the top to the hanger. I started with one end tied to the hanger and wove the filament in and around the top, looping on the hanger between each “stitch”. Tie the other end of the filament to the hanger. You can make adjustments easily by tugging here and there.

	The chime pieces should be strung the same way – with one long piece of filament – but it will be easiest if you hang the frame up to work with it. Tie of the string and tug the chimes to adjust the pieces. I’d LOVE to see you chimes if you try this!Email me: candace@cool2craft.com

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Softly Chiming Earrings by Candace Jedrowicz

May 21, 2012 By cjedrowicz Leave a Comment

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Not everyone can handle constant noise. Some folks thrive on noise! Candace Jedrowicz thrives on lovely chiming sounds, but she’s respectful of others who might not want to hear it. If you’re like Candace, you’re in luck! She has designed some hand made, personal-space-sensitive chiming earrings just for you! Featured on Cool2Craft TV.

Watch Candace’s fun and fabulous Softly Chiming Hammered Copper Earring YouTube video tutorial!

Materials:

Electrical wire or 14 gauge or larger copper wire
20 gauge wire
Beads
Round nose pliers
Wire cutters
Chain nose pliers

	Cut 6 lengths of electrical wire – 2 each of graduating lengths. For instance:2) 1 1/2″, 2) 1 3/4″ and 2) 2″ pieces. Hammer all the pieces, flattening both ends of each piece.

	Use round nose pliers to roll one end back into a loop.

	Cut a 3″ piece of 20 gauge wire. Grasp it in the middle with chain nose pliers. Bend both ends up, crossing them at the top.

	Slide 3 hammered pieces on in any order you like.

	Make sure to compare the earrings for size and shape after each step.

	Right above the crossed wires, roll the ends inward to form a heart shape.

	Hammer the top of the heart to flatten slightly.

	Cut another 3″ piece of 20 gauge wire. Grasp the wire in the middle with round nose pliers. Bend the ends together and crimp with chain nose pliers.

	Slide a bead over both ends of the wire and right up under the loop. Bend both ends slightly forward and slide them through the loops at the top of the heart.

	Cross the ends to the opposite sides.

	Roll the ends downward to make 2 more loops. Hammer the loops to flatten slightly.

	I hope you’re inspired to try something like it! If you do, I hope you’ll share it!Email me candace@cool2craft.com with your high resolution photos and stories so I can post them on our Creative Community blog.