A Windchime

So I spent an hour cutting out copper buttterflies one night. I spent time stringing them together and making a windchime. I'm so proud of it!

Fairy Wings Tutorial

Supplies:
-12g-14g wire. preferrably galvanized steel, but some aluminum ones will work too



Assuming you read this blog on a regular basis, you'll remember that i had a problem on my first pair of wings with the aluminum wire being too soft. I made the second pair of wings out of a different brand of aluminum wire (pictured) which is harder and holds its shape better than the other brand i had.

 -Fabric (for the purpose of this tutorial, i use sheer woven synthetics)
-Tacky Glue
-A Lighter (preferrably the kind you use for candles, not the kind that burn your fingers if you hold them too long)
-Glitter paint

How to:

Step 1- Choose your design. It helps to make a paper or cardboard pattern

This is a pattern for some kid's wings

Step 2- Form your wire frames for each wing segment

Step 3-coat both sides of the wire frames in tacky glue

Step 4- Lay the glue covered frame on fabric, and fold it over so it's sandwiched and sticking

Step 5- Cut out the wing segments

Step 6- Use a lighter to melt the extra fabric around the frame

Step 7-Paint glittery patterns and melt any holes you'd like to add.

My holes aren't great on the purple set because i used a high-powered grill lighter and it wasn't cooperating. You may want to use a match for the internal holes. It helps to cut them out, stick the lighter up through and then carefully melt.

Step 8-Attach tops to bottoms and then the two halves. I like clear electrical tape for this


In this picture, I had the bottom halves upside down. Whoops!

Step 9- Add a sturdy u-shape loop of wire to the center joint and wrap sharp edges with electrical tape(like the white wings at the top of the page). This will keep the wings from flopping if you want straps, and add something to shove down the back of a corset if you don't want straps.

Step 10- Wrap the center joint with ribbon, or conceal by gluing flowers. Position wings. Add ribbon straps if desired.

Cascarones (confetti eggs) Tutorial

In the clearance section after Halloween 2010 I found cartons of halloween painted eggs filled with confetti for throwing and I loved them. There is no better way to egg a house (My guests and I egged my own house at my Halloween party). I've never seen the eggs for sale before, but they're so much fun that I've made them several times for fun (I crunched one over a friend's head at his going away party). Each egg holds 1-2 tablespoons of confetti and is great for exploding on awnings, headsmashing, or crunching down the collar of a shirt.

You need:

•  eggs
• glue (i like mod podge for this)
•  tissue paper
• confetti (i like the cheap foil kind they sell at party city)
• A sharp knife (i like a pointy little paring knife)
• A paint brush





Step 1: Dye your eggs





Step 2: Stab into the bottom of your egg and make a quarter sized hole in the shell



Step 3: Dump out the inside of the egg (yum breakfast) and rinse the inside. Leave the eggs hole-side-down to dry overnight



Step 4: Fill with confetti (This process is messy)

 

Step 5: Paint glue around the edges of the hole. At a square of tissue paper and paint the edge down with glue to seal the confetti inside

 Step 6: Have an egg fight!!!

Logos and re-design

The look for my logo keeps changing and evolving, and while I love the steampunk flair you see in the banner, it doesn't translate as well to logos and labeling, so I changed it up a bit!

I'm really quite proud of it and bought stickers to label stuff with, use it as my avatar on webpages, and used it to customize some magnets (which fyi I've been throwing in as a freebie with every order) What do you think? Is it me?

Redneck Wineglasses

I know I haven't been updating this much since "The Big Move". I've sold some wineglasses, some hairflowers, and still manage to sell a copper pen every 1-2 weeks (to tell the truth I'm starting to get downright sick of making that copper pen. lol). My sister asked me to make some redneck wineglasses for picnicking, and they really are cute:

I know they're kitschy, and a little different from what I normally do, but I've found I really do enjoy them. They're pretty and feel special without the breakable-worries that go along with your good crystal. My sister wanted them because mason jar lids are water-tight which means they're great for picknicking. These are really easy to make and are available on my etsy store if you're interested in your own set!