Craftwell Blog: adapters

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February 2, 2017

DIY Shrink Plastic Accessories: Use for Super Bowl LI or Valentine's!

'Ello everyone!

This month is all about the Super Bowl & Valentine's Day! I wanted to make some fun, cute & easy accessories using themes inspired by both concepts. One with pennants can be used as name tags or food decor and another inspired by the yummy candies that come with Valentine's (chocolates, sweethearts, more chocolates...).

Even though these accessories are geared toward February events, you can apply this to anything! Halloween, Christmas, birthdays or celebrations in general! The best part is that these are really about making a statement piece perfect for any #OOTD post without having to buy the designer brand accessories at designer brand prices.

YOU WILL NEED:

+ Fine point Sharpies, any color
+ paint markers (optional)

+ eBrush Kit

+ Sharpie Marker Adapter

+ Cut'n'Boss
+ pennant shaped cutting die, at least 4" in length (Super Bowl LI)

+ heart shaped cutting die, at least 4" in width (Valentine's Day)

+ white or frosted shrink plastic film
+ 200~400 grit sandpaper
+ embossing heat gun or pre-heated oven
+ clear varnish or clear acrylic sealer
+ hole punch, for keychains & charms
+ jump rings, for keychains & charms
+ pin backs, for brooches
+ super glue or E6000, for brooches

PROCESS:

1. Prep your stuff!

I know, it's a weird step, but this way you can move through all
the proceeding steps with ease!

Sand your shrink film on only ONE side with your sandpaper and have a setup for your eBrush.

Make sure the area you are working in has paper put down & there is good ventilation; airbrushing & sanding projects need ventilation!

2. Use your Cut'n'Boss to cut the out the heart shapes from the shrink plastic film to make as many
accessories as you would like! The platform combination to use is the same as the one in the manual (top to bottom):

Platform A
Platform B
Platform A
Shrink Film
Heart Cutting Die/Pennant Cutting Die
Platform D

The cutting die has to be at least 4" wide in order for the accessories to turn out just under 2". Any smaller, the details may be too difficult to read from a distance.

3A. Color & decorate your hearts on the SMOOTH side of the die cuts!

I chose to use the pastel colors from Sharpie's many assorted colors. The trick is to make the colors 50% lighter than what comes out. If you have used shrink film before, then you'll recall that the plastic shrinks along with the color intensifying..!

To prevent a pastel pink from turning red or a green from turning dark green, I used one color Sharpie at a time to spray from a distance of about 6" or more from the surface & get an even mist on however many hearts/pennants I want. Let the pieces dry.

3B. Now if you're doing conversation hearts for Valentine's, you can use the red Sharpie to write your personal saying or a classic conversation heart saying. My favorite is "FAX ME". For the Super Bowl LI charms, you can personalize drink tags with people's name in the style of old university sports' teams.

For the conversation hearts, I also took a Sharpie color a shade darker than the heart to make an outline. Let dry again.

4. Now you can choose whether or not to make these hearts a charm or a pin.

To make a keychain or charm, grab your hole punch & strategically punch a hole into the heart. To make a pin, just skip to the next step. (:

5. The fun part: it's time to shrink the hearts! Use your oven or a heat gun as per instruction.

If you're using a heat gun like me, then even distribution of heat is key! I quickly press down on the finished piece to make sure it will cool flat.

6. Use your bottle of varnish to make a nice protective coat over your work. You can do both sides, but just the front is fine. Let dry for a few hours or overnight.

7. Attach your pieces to jump rings or use super glue to attach the pin back to the piece.

TADA! Your very own unique & handmade accessories, perfect to impress your party, significant other or just to impress yourself! (: Here is an example of using paint markers & clear shrink film:

Hope you enjoyed this tutorial! Have a fun February~

-Judith

August 13, 2016

INTRODUCING OUR LATEST DEALS: Watch Out For FLASH SALES!

Bet you didn't guess THIS would be our BIGGEST ANNOUNCEMENT!

You amazing crafters have been anxious to see great deals all year 'round.

And since you asked & we listened.

Introducing our latest, one-time deals that will SURPRISE you.

Literally!

Announcing FLASH SALES, the offers that will have new bargains for you each time!

If you are subscribed to our newsletter, follow our Twitter, Instagram or Facebook page, then you'll be notified of the FLASH SALE for that week until limited supplies last.

And whenever you participate in the flash sale, show us your craft haul by using #CRAFTWELLHAUL. We want to see all the latest editions to your craft room!

So just keep an eye out for the "FLASH SALE!" emblem over the image we post on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram to get a chance to cash in on the deal! And stay tuned for the OUTRAGEOUS sales coming soon.

Team Craftwell

March 23, 2016

Spring Blooms

Ebrush Design Team: Jan Hunter Week 11 Cycle 3

Hi everyone. Jan here. Not too long ago, my mom and I were having a conversation about some of our favorite spring flowers -- sadly, none of our favorites have roots in our yard and won't as long as we are renting unless they can live in pots. So in the meantime, we decided some paper blooms might bring us a little joy.

You'll need:
Peony petal pattern - Lia Griffin
Rose Creation Dies
Darice Crepe Paper - 1 full package - sheets
alcohol markers
wire (24 gauge, 18 gauge)
wire cuters
wood skewers (optional)
eBrush, marker adapters, siphon adapter
Vase SVG file (Hugs N Kisses Valentines Vase, Dreaming Tree)
Cut n Boss (standard sandwich for dies)
Designer paper - Graphic 45 - Secret Garden
Medallion Doily die or SVG file
Oval and scalloped oval dies or SVG file
glue
hot glue gun
foam adhesive dots
double sided tape
Gold Pearl Ex
brads
scissors
floral tape
floral foam
moss or shredds

Let's get started:

Cut all of your petals for the flowers from the crepe paper. *Tip: Crepe paper has a grain. Be sure to follow the directions on the patterns when cutting. I cut 4 sets of petals for the peonies by hand and 10 sets of petals from the Rose Creation Dies using the Cut n Boss. Add several additional leaves as you'll be doubling the leaves since they will be wired. *Tip: You can cut multiple layers at a time using the scissors and pattern and with the Cut n Boss which definitely cuts down on some of the prep time.

Get your markers and eBrush ready and spray all of the peony petals. I used a yellow at the base of each of the petals and a light pink across the middle of each petal, leaving the top edges of the petals white. Repeat for the other side of the petals.

Color the stamens the same shade of yellow. Glue the 3 layers together. Set aside to dry. Cut a piece of crepe paper 3in x 1.5 inches. Spray with a light golden brown on both sides. Cut this piece into 2 pieces, 1.5 x 1.5. Scrunch one piece into a ball about the size of a pea; the second piece, cut in a similar fashion as the stamens, then cross cut into small pieces. These will be the pollen. With the hot glue gun, attach the pea sized ball to the end of a piece of 18 gauge wire. Glue the stamens around the base of the ball. Let dry before moving to the next step. When dry, place a dollop of glue on your craft sheet or a plate. Carefully pounce the stamens into the glue and then into the "pollen" Let dry and repeat for the remainder of your peonies.

While you're waiting for the stamens to dry again, shape the petals. You can do that with your fingers, pulling slightly to create a cupped shape OR you can lightly mist with water and lay across the back of a bowl and let them dry. The ink from the markers didn't bleed, and the petals dried relatively fast and were ready to use as soon as they were lifted off of the bowls. Glue the smallest group of petals to the bottom of the stamens or to the wire. Let each row dry before adding the next. Continue to add petals until you've used them all. Once your glue has dried, wrap the stem with floral wire.

It's time to put the other flowers together. You'll need a brad for each flower. Do not bend the prongs. Use a drop of hot glue to secure the brad and another drop of glue to attach the wire to the prongs. Create 21 flowers out of the layers of petals. Cut some 24 gauge wire and glue in a sandwich of 2 leaves. Use floral tape to cover the wire. Do not add the leaves to the stems yet. Get your eBrush ready and color these flowers and the leaves. Be sure to color both sides of the flowers, spraying lightly. I chose to use the same yellow and pink markers I used on the peonies. You can group into stems or as single blooms. Leaves can be added to the stems using additional floral tape. Set the blooms aside while you construct the vase.

Cut all the pieces for the vase using your electronic die cutting machine. Cut a scalloped oval and fussy cut the image from the Graphic 45 paper.

I did not use any of the hearts in the file and changed the decorative square for the base to a rounded square and removed the hearts in each of the corners. Lightly edge the square, the vase and the trim pieces with a light brown. It adds a little more vintage look to the piece. I also sprayed the ovals along the edges. Construction tips for the vase can be found in this video.

Change to the siphon and lightly spray with some pearl ex mixed with water. It's a great way to add a little more to the front of the vase -- especially the embellishments which are mounted on foam dots for more interest. You can also spray the stamens on each of your peonies for a little more texture. Let dry.

Trim the floral foam to fit in the vase. Add the moss or shredds and arrange the flowers in the vase. I added skewers to my stems for a little more stability since my wire wasn't a heavy enough gauge. The finished size of the vase is 7" w x 8" h. Makes a delightful gift for Easter or a Spring birthday!

Have a wonderful crafty and creative day! More ideas and fun can be found on my blog.