Colorful Baseball Cap!

See how I made this colorful baseball cap here!

Sharpie Dyed Back 2 School Pencil Pouch

When it comes to Back-2-School shopping around here, we like to find items that are eye catching and cheap to make! I like to join in on the fun and decorate pouches for my own art supplies too!
To make this back 2 school pouch, you will need the following:

1.  A clean canvas pouch. I got this at a Japanese store near me called Daiso. But you can also find these at dollar stores too!

 2... Assorted sharpie permanent markers in a variety of colors and tips. I found that the fluorescent colors were the most eye catching in the final outcome.

 4. 91% Isoprophyl (Rubbing) alcohol - found in the pharmacy section of Walmart or any other convenience store.
5. Travel sized spray bottle.

 6. Plastic bin.
7. Wire rack or baking sheet.

 *Begin by drawing a basic repetitive pattern on both sides of the pouch.
Make sure you are in a well ventilated room or have a fan blowing on you as the pens do stink.

 * Scribble with the colors.

 * Go crazy and add lots of color, have fun with this!

 *Fill in any empty spots with the brighter colors.

 * Once you have colored both sides, go outside and place the pouch on top of the rack in the bin.
* Starting in one section spray with the rubbing alcohol.
* You will see results instantly.
* When you have fully saturated and blended both sides, leave the pouch outside to air out and 'set' in the heat of the sun.
* If you have no sun, you can toss pouch in the dryer or iron to set the dye. Place pouch in a old pillow case to protect dryer and use a sheet of parchment paper when ironing to protect the iron.

Fill with your favorite School or Crafting supplies and have fun!
See more Back-2-School ideas here!

Faux Chocolate Easter Eggs

Looking for a fun way to fool a friend or add to your Easter decor?
How about Foil wrapped Easter eggs?
Check out the full tutorial here... :)

Embossed Oly-Fun Bookmarks!

I'm so excited to share with you this new Metallic Oly-Fun Fabric from Fairfield!
 I have used their colorful fabrics in many projects and just love the ease of it's use.

Whats great is that the Metallic Oly*Fun™ is a Multi-Purpose Craft Material.
To add shimmer, sparkle, and shine. Easy to cut and sew.  Does not fray.
Can be sewn, glued, stapled, tied, knitted, crocheted and more!
 Great for indoor and outdoor decor!

To make bookmarks like these, you will need the following:

• Metallic Oly-Fun fabric
• Scissors and or paper trimmer
• Any die cutting machine
• Die cutting platform and plates
• Any embossing folders
• Brightly colored permanent markers
• Wide double stick tape or spray adhesive
• Cereal box cardboard

1. Trim your cereal boxes to the actual size of the embossing folders.
2. Glue the metallic fabric to each cardboard with the tape or adhesive.

3. Get creative with small squares and strips.

4. Following directions on the platform, place the covered cardstock in your folders and run through the machine. Play around with how you want the embossed design to be, raised or depressed.
5. Color the embossed designs with your markers.
6. Use your scissors or paper trimmer to cut the bookmarks.

 I absolutely love anything metallic and I use a lot of it in my Mexican Folk Art projects!

 

 Please visit The Designers Craft Connection page to see the rest of the designers idea's and to enter for your chance to win a bolt in the metallic color of your choice!

Are you on Face Book? Like my page for more great idea's like this!

Owl Stamped Treat Bags

I'm really excited to show you these treat bags I created using my new  Hoot Owl rubber stamp line from Sin City Stamps!

 These treat bags are perfect for notes, gift cards and ...treats!

 First I stamped the owls onto assorted patterned paper with black ink.

Then I used both regular and iridescent watercolors to add some color without taking away from the patterned paper.

 When the owls were dry, I used a fine tip sharpie pen to give the owls some detail.

For the treat bags, I used pages from a vintage dictionary. I folded them in half and glued the sides and bottom. Then I used pinking shears for the decorative edge on top of the bag.
I painted banners right onto the treat bags with the watercolors.

 I accented the bag with some iridescent water colors. I finished the bags with fine tip black pen for decorative detail.

 I trimmed my owls out and adhered them to the front of each bag.
Now I have the perfect party treat bag for any occasion or just to say thanks.

Thanks for coming by, I hope you like my owls. You can see the rest of the set here plus more of my designs.

I hope you'll come back to see me on July 13th-20th.
There will be 20 or more of us creating inspiring projects for you using Burlap sponsored by BurlapFabric.com.  By visiting the blogs and leaving a comment, you'll be entered to win a fabulous prize package valued at $100! There will be several ways to enter and increase your chances to win, so be sure to mark your calendar so you don't miss the fun!

Barrel Cactus in Bloom by Michelle Frae Cummings

To take a break from my normal crafting, I thought it would be fun to show you a mixed media painting I did for this months theme- "Flowers".
I'm currently in Borrego Springs, Ca visiting my Mother. They had some rain a couple of days ago so most of the desert floor is still green and the flowers are still in the budding stage, not ready  to open up.
When I created  this barrel cactus cluster, I painted them in anticipation of what they will look like in a few weeks!

 I started first by painting the cactus base shapes with green watercolor. Then I added shades of bright yellow, yellow green and dark green watercolor. When the paint was dry, I added some definite detail with gold, dark green and pink pearlescent  watercolors by Yasutomo.

Next I used my finger to add some shades of Inka-Gold.
Lavared for the blooms with some Champagne in the center. Oldgold and Champagne for the cactus sharp spines. The nice thing about Inka-Gold is that once it set, it will not smear and your art work can be enjoyed with no hassle.
Lastly I used a fine tip black Sharpie to bring the Barrel Cactus cluster to life!

Thank you for visiting. I hope you have enjoyed the "change of scenery" from my normal crafting. :)
~Michelle

Please use the "hop forward" button to the right of this post -  for The Designer Craft Connection group to see what else is "blooming" on their blogs too!

Painted Shoes- Summer Crafts!

Around here during the sumnmer, some of our favorte crafts are to decorate our T-shirts and canvas shoes.
The top shirt I made for Dyllan to wear on the 4th of July and the shoes below, I made for my self to wear anytime!

This Month the theme is Summer Crafts and below you can learn how I made both the shirt and the shoes.

To start, I used a plain white under shirt in Dyllan's size. Then I put a piece of wax paper inside the T-shirt. Next I put the bottom part of my largest loom inside the T-shirt, under the wax paper and attached the top part of the loom on the top of the T-shirt, tightning and stretching until I had a taut canvas.

Then I used the red and blue of Sharpie Stained Markers to make my design. What I love about these markers is their paint like fluid. Still I had to work slowly on the shirt as the fabric was thin and still stretched a bit as I worked. Putting a thin paper back book under the loom helped make a better work surface. I used a bit of Sharpie Turqouise to add some detail.

I can't wait to take photos of Dyllan wearing this on the 4th!

As you can see, the Sharpie Stained markers also come in a wide assortments of colors. But before I decorated the shoes I carefully untied the elastic holding the shoes together and discarded the the hanger. I cut the elastic cord in half and made two bracelets withese beads I found at a gargae sale for .50
They fit perfectly on Dyllan's hand for the 4th!

The only place you can find blank canvas shoes these days is Walmart and they usually are about $10.
But before you are ready to decorate your shoes, it's best to snip off with scissors any stray threads and maybe cover the white rubber around the base of the shoes with painters tape. The stained markers don't color it well. That way you'll have a clean finish to keep plain or decorate in design later with a standard sharpie.

If you have never done this before, draw up a mock shoe on paper and shetch out a design.
Or you can just go with the flow. Keep it simple and inbetween designs, do the same to the other shoe. This gives the paint a chance to dry. I found that if I did not let the Red dry completly, the black pen bled right into it.

For this shoe, I used a Red and Black Stained Sharpie and a Turquoise Sharpie.
In the inside of the shoe, the "tongue" I accented some of the stars with a Blue Sharpie.
You can find these markers just about any where. Target, Walmart, Office supply stores and Craft stores.
I like using the stained markers because you get a better flow of ink onto the canvas and right on the pen you can see the ink level.

Thanks for coming by, I hope you like my Summer Crafts creations! If you make any yourself...a T-shirt or shoes, please post here,  a link to your site so I can see your creativity! :)

How to Tie Dye with Sharpie Markers!

I recently saw this idea on Pinterest and thought I'd like to try it my self.
So I went to the Sharpie blog to get the details and just went with it.
Here is the original link.
To get started you'll need the following:

• Plain white T-shirts, undershirts are great since thinner material seems to work best.
• Fresh brightly colored sharpies
• Rubbing (isopropyl) alcohol. 70-90% (I used 90%)
• Eye dropper
• Plastic dish
• Disposable plastic drink cups
• Rubber bands
• Access to a dryer
• A piece of cracker box or such, cut to the shape and size of a quarter.

This is a great craft to include your child's help, just be sure they are near a open window when using the markers.

Start by inserting the cup into the shirt and stretching the front piece over the cup, securing with a rubber band.
Then use the quarter shape card board as a starter template. The trick is to color good sized dots in a circle, expanding outwards from the center. Designs can be added with other marker colors.
Be sure to pull the shirt tight to ensure a taut coloring surface.

The circle on the right has the correct amount of dots, the one on the left, not so much.

When you have colored in all your cup surfaces, You'll want to take the shirt, with cups still attached, alcohol and eye dropper outside.
Drip a few drops of alcohol in the white center of the circle. Instantly you'll see the alcohol work its magic, spreading outwards taking the ink with it.
As the dry T-shirt absorbs the alcohol, it blends the ink. And depending on the your markers, some colors will blend better than others.


Because you are outside, the alcohol will evaporate quicker than it has time to spread the ink.
So you'll need to add more drops to ensure even flowing until you are satisfied with the color spread. Try to refrain from adding alcohol where the flow has not started, or the color will not spread correctly as the shirt needs to bone dry for any of the magic to happen.


Here I have completed 6 designs.
Now I leave them be out side for a few minutes to dry, taking the alcohol scent with the wind.
Then I undo the cups and rubber bands and replace the cups in the shirt where I have not colored. Overlapping some color is A-OK. :)

I also love how the color bleeds under the rubber bands.

When you are absolutely done and the shirt is dry to touch from being out side,take out the cups and rubber bands, then throw it in the dryer for 15-20 minutes.
This will set the colors and you'll be able to wash and wear like regular clothes.
(although I'd recommend to wash cold and hang dry)

This particular design reminds me of Jelly fish :)
Thanks for coming by, I hope to have once again inspired you.
Happy creating and comments Welcome!