Falling Into Place by Sherri Reehil-Welser

One of the great things about creating is finding unique uses for things that might very well be thrown away! Kids love puzzles but how many times do puzzles come up  with missing  pieces and then they are hard to use again as a complete puzzle. The kids loved the idea of this project (I think some of the kids wanted an excuse to use the pieces from complete puzzles to make their jewelry!!) This is a very easy project for ages 5 on up and half the fun is finding  the” best” pieces to design with!

I have put a small list of supplies together below :

~Art Glitter: Ultrafine Glitter, Dazzlers
~Puzzle Pieces
~Designer Dries Clear Adhesive poured into a plastic container
~Earring Hooks- Silver or gold toned
~Jump rings- 3mm or larger
~Paint brushes for applying the Designer Dries Clear
~ Metal hole punch pliers ( 1.25 mm)

1) After choosing your puzzle pieces (1 or 2  puzzle pieces per side) stamp a hole with the metal hole punch at the very top (while still maintaining a solid hole) where the jump ring and earring hook will attach.

2)  Use the paint brushes to coat the backs of the pieces with the Designer Dries Clear and let dry. 1-2 coats should work well.

3) After the backs are completely dried turn over the pieces to work on the front.

4) Paint Designer Dries Clear to the fronts and immediately apply the pieces with Art Glitter, have fun and find new ways to apply the glitter to the pieces, (dipping corners, sprinkling on top, only doing half of the pieces etc...). Backs can be done too!  Another creative idea one of the girls had was to make” dangling” puzzle piece earrings by fitting 2 pieces diagonally together and gluing in place. You then would design it as the others.

5) Before the top dries another addition can be Glass Micro Beads or seed beads sprinkled on to further enhance your design!

6) When completely dry it is time to assemble to earrings: open one jump ring for each earring (open by sliding side to side not by pulling apart) and place the jump ring through the top of the hole in the puzzle piece. Next attach the earring hook to the jump ring and  slide from side to side to close the jump ring back up.

~ You now have a very fun and funky pair of earrings to wear and you will never look at puzzles the same way again ~

Enjoy and get creative!

Valentine's Treat n Sparkle Bag by Candy Spiegel

Everybody loves to receive valentines. The best ones have a little sparkle and come with a little treat.

I created this one to be simple enough that you could easily make enough for an entire class (or let the kids make them) — but interactive enough to make it stand out.

I started with a little white bag that I’ve been carrying around for years. I don’t remember where I got it from originally.

I added a piece of Bo Bunny paper to the front and then used my Big Shot to cut out a heart and foldable strip from QuicKutz/Lifestyle Crafts.

I used Close To My Heart alphabet stamps to stamp the sentiment on the inside and another stamp from CTMH to stamp the Happy. (It was part of a Happy Birthday stamp, but I only inked the happy portion).

For the heart, I spread a bit of Designer Dries Clear Adhesive with my finger and then covered it in Ultrafine Transparent Glitter #147 Pink Azalea. When dry, I adhered it to the front of the folded strip. Then, using Designer Dries Clear Adhesive again, I attached the strip and the string (from My Mind’s Eye) to the bag. Tying the string into a small bow keeps the strip closed and invites people to untie it and read the sentiment inside.

I tucked three Smarties into the bag, but you could put in a sucker, a few Hershey’s Kisses, or any wrapped candy.

Glitter Lace Card Class for Kids at Art Glitter

Just wanted to share with you these great photos from a Glitter Lace Card Class for Kids held at Art Glitter this past week. This is a great lace pattern we found with puppies on it. You can see what a fun project this is for children, they loved it!

Materials:

Art Glitter Ultrafine Opaque Glitter: #173 Ripe Plum
Art Glitter Ultrafine Transparent Glitter: #91 Orange Crush, #197 Flax, #141 Magnolia, #270 Chesapeake, #94 Key Lime, #284 French Lilac
Art Glitter Dazzlers: Hexis #D13 Spanish Gold
Art Glitter Designer Dries Clear with metal tip attached
Art Glitter Sticky Paper
Polyester Lace Swatch
Card Stock

We started with a simple two-color lace card, just like the one Barbara Trombley demonstrates here:



We used Ripe Plum for the background and Orange Crush for the lighter forefront.


Then the children were instructed to go for it for the rest of the colors and boy did they!


Adding details with Designer Dries Clear adhesive gave the cards a three-dimensional look that really makes the card special.


They also added some details with Dazzlers. They really liked the Dazzlers!


Keller here is a master of color, what an excellent card! Who said glitter was for girls only!

Sadly, this is all we have left of this doggy lace pattern. If you find some more let us know! When looking for lace, make sure it is polyester, cotton will not come off the sticky paper – it is really sticky!

Hope this inspires you to try this project with your children/grandchildren. They really excel at it!