Flour Power: Two Part Tutorial - DIY Re-purpose Food Jars and Label them to Store Food Stuffs, Crafting Supplies... The Possibilities are Endless!!

I'm a fan of re-purposing cans.  I will collect them when my jams, sauces and honeys finish.  I wash the jar, take off the label and will fill with flour, dried herbs and sometimes jewelry.

This is the final product:

But first, to remove the label:

I fill a pot with kettle heated water.  Enough to immerse the jar label in.  Rub soap into the label.  Let it sit in the shallow water with the pot top on.  Let the steam and water melt the label glue.

After about 15-25 minutes, I rub and peel off the label, and for the remaining glue, I scratch it off with the edge of the jar cap.  Some areas are harder to remove.  For the tough spots, I use "elbow grease" and will intermittently scratch off the label and put it back in the water to sit for longer.  While I work on one jar, the others sit.  The longer you leave it in the hot water, the more easily the labels come off.

Here the jars are sitting to dry.  Which brings me to part 2 - Repurposing:

I filled one of the jars with flour.

I wanted to know what was in the jar at a glance, so I decided to label it.  You can look online for a writing style you like.  This writing style was inspired by a "decal" I saw on pinterest ( http://www.5dollardinners.com/diy-canisters-kitchen-inspiration/ ), but this one I did in sharpie, which is low-tech but efficient and does the job:

I first make out the outline and then fill it in with the sharpie.  I keep glancing at my inspiration lettering.

And there you have it!  I love sharpie because it's permanent, bold and allows you to style things to your own liking with minimal materials!

Enjoy!!  

LJR, Kraft Queen

DIY Easter Egg Stamp Effect Card

 I made this Easter card in about 20 minutes: 

My materials:  2.5 ' x 2.5 ' piece of styrofoam, scissors, markers (colors matching those of desired egg colors), black sharpie, thin white cardboard at desired card size (approximately 5.5 ' x 10 ').

Instructions:

To create the egg "stamp", draw egg shape (below) out of thin styrofoam piece and cut out this shape.  Use marker with cap approximately the size of the circumference of the tip of your pinkie.  Push into egg surface to create circle pattern all over egg cutout surface.  With scissor tip, trace groove around these circles.

Color the egg cutout with desired color.  Here, I used purple, then blue, then some yellow.  

Place the egg on the cardboard without moving.  Roll over with flat length of marker as with rolling pin to set marker ink onto the card.

Repeat for eggs of same color.  When you want to switch colors, reuse the egg but wipe with tissue to remove excess color.  It's better to start with light colors and progress to darker colors to avoid staining your markers with darker colors and to have visible darker marks staining lighter colored stamps.  Note: the egg stamp compresses the more you use it and the design on the egg will become less visible so it's best to make a new stamp for each card you make.  Alternatively, a more sturdy styrofoam that is still thin enough to cut the desired design may not flatten out and may be reusable.

Now it's time to personalize the card and write your well wishes.  I write first in pencil and when I am pleased with the spacing and look of the letters, I trace over in sharpie.  After 10 minutes when sharpie is set, I erase the pencil.  Be careful when erasing over the egg stamp so as to not erase this.  Be gentle!

Now, you can add in other designs in sharpie (pencil first).  This creates dimension.
Here, I added a bow...

... And hearts on either side.  For both the letters and design, I traced two overlapping lines for the outline.  This gives the card a more finished look: 

You can make similar cards, creating these one time use stamps and drawing/ writing with sharpie.  Et voila!  The card is complete :).

Please comment with any questions or comments you may have.  Enjoy!

LJR.  Kraft Queen

DIY Tinkerbell Styrofoam Puppet

I made this Tinkerbell puppet for a little tyke who likes puppets:

This cutout was my inspiration:

My tools:

Thin white styrofoam box, led pencil, markers, scissors, plastic stick for support.

Similarly to my other puppets...

I drew the fairy in the styrofoam, looking at the picture for guidance.  My drawing wasn't perfect.  I redrew as I went, trying to make it more and more like the picture.  You can only draw and redraw so many times, because the grooves made by the led pencil (no pencil marks, just grooves) start to become noticeable after too many times, so draw carefully!

It's a little hard to see, but I traced grooves with the led pencil, and over that, you draw over with black sharpie.  I prefer permanent black marker because otherwise the color rubs off.

You can then color in in marker in colors matching those of my inspiration picture:

Now, it's time to cut out the fairy, carefully, leaving the section between her hair bun and below her arm uncut:

Try to cut precisely.  I made larger cuts, then cut closer to the fairy.

I made a support stick cutting out a strip of plastic from a hard plastic that came in the packaging of a box that contained electronics.  I shaved off the edges using a scissors blade and tapered it down at the end to stick into the puppet.   You can use any sturdy plastic that comes from packaging or a similar hard plastic to shape the stick, or simply tape a popsicle stick to the back, leaving a section hanging down over the bottom.

I threaded the stick through Tinkerbell like so:

I made small slits in the styrofoam to accomodate the plastic and then pushed the stick, expanding the styrofoam with it and threading it through.  At the very top, the slit was made between the bun and wing, close to the top of her head.  I made a very small slit here.  I placed the stick behind the fairy before cutting, lining my cuts up with the styrofoam and then making the slit over where the plastic was placed.

... And, this is the final result!

The same puppet can be made based on any other image with a simple google search!  Better to start off with something simple if you're not comfortable with drawing.  Alternatively, rather than drawing grooves with pencil, non-permanent marker can be used (check to make sure you can rub it off with cloth on the styrofoam before proceeding) to first draw the image and this can be erased without making grooves (this way, you allow yourself more room for errors.

Enjoy !!  Let me know if you have any questions or comments :).

LJR, Kraft Queen

Olaf Finger Puppet DIY

After making the jumbo finger puppet in my last post, I went ahead and did a google search to find another character to bring to the puppet-verse.  I picked "Olaf", the much loved snowman from the "Frozen" Disney movie.  I chose him because he's a favorite with the younguns and it would be a simple enough puppet to draw, without needing to color too much on the white cardboard that would serve as my base (this time from a white cardboard box cover), since he's made of snow.

This was my inspiration:

Again, I looked at the picture, drew in pencil using short strokes, and then went over in sharpie pen with single lines, drawing carefully and then erasing the pencil:

 If you're not comfortable drawing with pencil, you can print out a picture of Olaf, trace over the cardboard either a) with a marker that will leak through the paper onto the cardboard or b) with a pen that has run out of ink, with a heavy hand, pressing hard into the cardboard beneath, to make grooves which you can then draw over directly on the cardboard, with sharpie.  



Then color buttons and eyes in black sharpie or marker, arms and hair in brown marker. 

... cut out around the black outline.  Be careful not to bend the cardboard.  Try to cut parallel to the cardboard without bending, cutting closer and closer to the black outline.  Press your second and fourth finger to the feet and trace in pencil, then cut out these holes as well, making a smaller hole, fitting your fingers into them, and cutting wider, to accommodate your fingers.  Outline the inside of the holes with black sharpie:

Now, it's time for the final touch!  The carrot nose :).  A few swipes with an orange marker and you're good to go!  Olaf is complete!  It's not the tale of Frosty the snowman, but as far as bringing snowmen to life I think this one comes close!  


Here's the finished product:

Enjoy!!

LJR, Kraft Queen

Jumbo Finger Puppet DIY

I made this jumbo-sized finger puppet for a toddler:

This was my inspiration from http://brightappleblossom.blogspot.ca/2013/02/animal-finger-puppet-valentines.html :

I drew an image looking at this picture for guidance, first in pencil, drawing short pencil strokes and re-tracing where I wanted to get it to look more like the original.  I then traced over with sharpie pen, erased the pencil, and colored with either sharpie or crayon based on the colors shown in the original finger puppet.  I used cardboard:  the white inside of a chocolate box!

So, first, draw (pencil is forgiving and allows you to draw and redraw on the same surface until you get it right!) and trace (with sharpie):

...then erase (pencil marks):

... color:

... Cut (I can color over the outer edges because this will be cut off anyway.  I smudged black crayon with a crumpled piece of paper to make this black more uniform.  Alternatively a sharpie can be used for the spots as well):

The udder portion of this step is optional.  I drew in an udder to surround the points where my fingers would go.  I placed my fingers at the base of the cardboard, cut "Cs" around my fingers and cut holes loosely around these "Cs".  I kept cutting and re-shaping until I could fit the last (furthest from my palm) joint of each of my fingers (and thumb) through the holes comfortably.  I then drew an udder, first loosely in pencil, and then tracing over with sharpie as before.  You can cut the holes as you like, no udder required, but I think it adds a nice touch!

This is how the puppet will look:

Here's a glimpse of the chocolate box!  I stick to the inner, non-glossy side.  If you like, you can cover this back, drawing over with sharpie, or placing paper over, tracing the edges (cutting a little bit inside the edge so that it does not show from the front and cover the edge with sharpie) and glue this to the back.  You can also draw on this back once the paper is glued on, either a cow's back, or another animal altogether for a two in one puppet!:

And here is the finished product!  No drawing experience required.  Just be sure to draw single lines with the sharpie to keep the drawing looking clean.  Don't draw with sharpie until you are pleased with your pencil drawing.

This is a simple way to make a cute puppet that will wow the child (/children) in your life!  Make more puppets based on the other drawings in the linked blog, or looking for your creature of choice via a good old google search.  Skip the jumbo puppet and go miniature if you like!  Let me know if you have any questions / comments!

LJR, Kraft Queen

Mirror Mirror...

How I Removed a Spray Paint Design from an Ornamental Mirror.  Can Be Used to Remove Unfortunate Nail Polish, and Possibly, Paint Stains on Glass and Mirrors.  

The "BEFORE"

I bought a mirror today on clearance for cheap.  I normally wouldn't have looked twice at it, but after reading testimonials on Pinterest (I love Pinterest!) about the miracles of nail polish remover for removing things other than nail polish, an idea started to form in my head.  

This is the mirror I bought:

This was a "Nicole Miller" mirror I got from Winners valued at approximately 50$ on clearance.  It was good quality, had a mirrored border, was quite heavy, but with the unfortunate distinction of being solely a "Christmas Decoration".

My tools

A piece of material (cotton swab will do as well), acetone nail polish remover and, not pictured here, a Q-tip and extra rag for removing the paint from hard to reach inside edges and cleaning the mirror when finished):

The rest is simple.  I wet the cloth with nail polish remover (repeat as needed) and with some rubbing and a little bit of elbow grease, like the passing holidays, the christmas moose began to fade away, until he and his gold-spray-painted accompaniment had disappeared for good!

Here's the "BEFORE" ...

and "AFTER"...

Now I have a lovely, good quality mirror for my room.  Sometimes it's worth looking at something twice to see the diamond in the rough!  The key to this project was starting with a high quality product and identifying a simple modification that could be made to elevate the product.  I love reinvention!  Stay tuned for more projects that are cheap, easy and effective!!

LJR, Kraft Queen