Hearthstone Keychains

This is a pretty sweet and easy project for a snowy afternoon!

 You'll need black, blue, and white craft paint, a paper clip, and some air dry clay. I used a clay recipe out of a Kid Concoctions book I had when I was little. You'll need a cup of cornstarch, 2 cups of baking soda, and 1 and 1/4 cup of cold water. Basically, you combine all the ingredients and set them over medium heat for five minutes. It should thicken and turn to dough. It's a good dough because it's easy and safe for small children, but when it dries, it sometimes cracks. You could use it for this, but it's not my first choice. If you let them dry flat, only the backs will crack, and you can just fill the crack in with white glue.

 

 Grab a piece of clay that is the size of the stone you want to make. Remember- the bigger the stone, the longer it takes to dry. Add a little paint to the dough and kneed it in.

The colors will dry a little bit lighter than this.

 Flatten out your clay to make the stone. Put the paper clip in the top for the key chain.

 I used a tooth pick to outline how I wanted the swirl.

Roll the blue dough into a snake and create a swirl on top.

I let my stones dry for two days. I used a water based satin varnish to finish them. Apart from the drying time, this project takes maybe twenty minutes. I really like how they turned out! :3

Simple Felt Applique

I always enjoy adding my favorite characters to my work, but I am often intimidated by the fear of not getting my design to look just like the actual character. This method is quick and makes it easier to get a design that looks like the original.

You’ll need felt, sewing scissors, and a cloth marking tool.

Find a picture and print it to the size you want your appliqué.

Cut out the parts by color.

Trace them on the felt and cut them out.

Attach them to your project.

Easy as pie!

"Bento" Snack Containers

Wow- it’s been a while since I posted. Sorry about that! Life kind of caught up with me. It was a busy week, but I really didn’t do much. Just a lot of practicing music!

Today, I thought we'd take a look at a recycling project.

Milk Jug Containers!

When I first saw these, I knew I had to make one because they remind me of bento boxes.

(Photo Credit to Adventures in Bento Making- it's a great site, check it out! Link)

Basically, a bento box is a Japanese lunch box. To make our “mock” bento box, you’ll need a cleaned milk jug, Velcro, hot glue gun, scissors, and a permanent marker. You may also want paper towel and bug spray.

Using the permanent marker and the pictures as a guide, mark where you will cut on the milk jug. The milk jug has four seams along the edges, and one seam along the bottom. It helps to use those seams as a guide for cutting.

Carefully cut along the lines. It helps to cut the handle off first.

If there is any permanent marker left- a paper towel, some bug spray, and a little bit of elbow grease will take it right off.

Glue on Velcro to hold the lid shut. Make sure to firmly hold the Velcro while the hot glue is drying, so the hot glue will better adhere to the jug.

Then, decorate the lid any way you want! I’ll do a little tutorial on how I did my design another day!

Fill with food and enjoy!

No, a traditional Japanese boxed lunch does not include Captain Crunch, but that’s all we had in the kitchen. XD

This is another idea from FamilyFun magazine. Link

Ollie the Ugly Octopus

I made this super ugly-cute octopus (pentapus?... Oh, that doesn't sound right.) today. It took less than an hour and it was really easy! XD

What you need:
1 Glove (I suggest using an adult size glove.)
15-20 Random Buttons, 2 Matching Buttons
A Scrap of Felt
6-8 Plastic Grocery Bags
1 Rubber Band
Scissors
Hot Glue Gun

Pick out some buttons and glue them to the fingers of the glove

Fold a plastic bag in half four times.

Twist the bag.

Stuff the glove with the bags. I used one bag per finger, then a bag in the palm. It should look like a lumpy hand when you're done. XD

Glue the base of the pinky and the thumb together. You may want to use a rubber band to hold this is place while the hot glue dries.

Fold the cuff of the glove down, inside the creature.

Glue the cuff down, using a rubber band to hold it in place.

Cut a mouth out of the felt scrap. Then glue the mouth and the matching buttons to the body. And you're done!

This is based off an idea out of FamilyFun magazine: [link]

Dice Pouch Tutorial

This is my first tutorial, so please bear with me! I decided to do something simple to start- dice pouches! The necessity (and accessory) for every role-playing gamer!

The more I look at this, the more it looks like a bad 70s how-to book. I’m always open to criticism and ideas for improvement! Also, if you have any suggests for tutorials, I’d love to hear them!

Please check out my DeviantArt page: http://nintendani.deviantart.com/