Loving is Listening ReCraft-Along: Part 2

Hey, how are ya? Well, I hope!

Have you been following along with the Loving is Listening ReCraft-Along? If you've missed any of it, here are links to previous posts: Introduction and Part 1 (which includes a list of tools and materials). These should catch you up nicely. By this point, you should have a lovely box decorated with a set of branches.

Today we'll be biting off the next morsel... We'll be focussing on lettering and birds. Let's get started!

Loving is Listening ReCraft-Along: Part 2

Prepare the Lettering

Step 1:   Print off copies of the Love is Listening Lettering and the Loving is Listening Bird and Detail Templates. Use the carbon paper to transfer the words "Loving is" onto a dark-shaded cereal or cracker box.
Step 2:  Cut out the letters using a craft knife or pair of scissors. Remember the big secret I shared in Part 1?... That secret comes in quite handy at this point. It makes the cutting of letters possible with scissors. SO much easier, in my opinion. If you prefer to use a craft knife, remember to protect your work surface with a cutting mat or old phone book. And once you've cut out the word "is", you can apply a light coat of paint to it. I'm using my son's cake paints for the painty bits of this project. Use what you have available!

Step 3: Take out the remaining bit of the scrunched paper bag.
Step 4: Transfer the word "Listening" from the template to the paper bag using that carbon paper of yours.
Step 5: With your trusty pair of scissors, slowly cut out the word "Listening". Don't forget to cut out the dots for the "i"s.

Step 6 Optional: I reinforced my "Listening" by glueing it onto the remaining piece of paper bag and cutting the word out a second time. This makes the word doubly sturdy, and much easier to work with. Note that it's a lot easier to cut out the innards of letters like s, e and g using a craft knife.

Step 7: Glue the words onto the base according to the Full Template. Once all letters and words are in place, I like to, very carefully, place a light book on top to make sure everything lies flat while the glue dries.

Heep! It's coming along none too shabbily now, eh?

Hatch Some Birds

Step 8: Use the Loving is Listening Bird and Detail Template and the carbon paper to transfer the mama bird details onto a medium-shaded cereal or cracker box. Remember the secret? I used it here too. Cut out all the pieces. Use a regular hole punch to punch the bird's eye out. Be nice though!
Step 9: Use the cake paint (or whatever paint you have around) to paint the mama bird bits. I used the colour mauve with varying amounts of water to achieve different shades on pieces 1, 2, and 4. Similarly, I used the colour grey with varying amounts of water on pieces 5 and 6. I left piece 3 as is.

Step 10: Use a marker or bit of black paint to colour in the mama bird's eye on piece 5. Make sure that your eye aligns nicely with piece 6.
Step 11: Gather the mama bird pieces and layer them as you would if you were glueing them together. Do NOT glue them yet. Make sure they stack nicely and look good. Make small adjustments now by trimming with scissors if necessary. Once you're pleased with the look of your bird, glue all pieces together. Place a book on top to ensure the bird dries nice and flat.

Step 12: Use the Loving is Listening Bird and Detail Template and the carbon paper to transfer the baby bird details onto two different shades of cereal or cracker box. Cut out both pieces. Repeat this step for a second and even third chick if you like!
Step 13: Stack the pieces and glue them together.
Step 14: Add the little chick's eye dot with a black marker.

Set aside the mama bird and chickies for now... And remember if you have any questions, don't hesitate to let me know in the comments.

Next up: The Loving is Listening ReCraft-Along nest-building-flower decorating big finish!

♥M

All other "Loving Is Listening ReCraft-Along" posts: Introduction, Part 1, and Part 3 (finish)!

Loving Is Listening ReCraft-Along: Part 1

Happy happy Tuesday!


In case you missed it, on Saturday I introduced the "Loving is Listening ReCraft-Along". That intro is here for your perusal, btw. Now that the idea is out there, I'm most anxious to hit the ground running. If you have any questions big or small, do leave them in the comments okay? And remember that I will be answering recraft-along questions in the comments so readers can share them equally.

So today we will (1) list the tools and materials you'll need for the recraft-along, (2) prepare the base, and (3) create the branch element. You ready? Let's do this!

Loving Is Listening ReCraft-Along: Part 1

First things first. Here is the complete list of stuff you'll need for the recraft-along.

Tools and Materials

• A few cracker boxes or cereal boxes in various shades (In other words, try to find boxes with a variety of neutral colours on the insides.)
• If you'll be decorating a large cereal box, as I am, you'll need a large cereal box for the base. I'm using a 525 g box of Cheerios.
• Medium size brown paper bag
• Iron
• Carbon paper (for transferring the design)
• Child's set of cake paints or watercolours
• Paintbrush
• Newspaper or something to cover your work surface
• Craft knife or utility knife
• Pair of scissors
• Regular hole punch
• Pencil and eraser
• Ruler
• PVA (white) glue
• Masking tape (for clamping)
• Black marker (I use the Sharpie brand)
• Cutting surface
• Yarn needle (or wooden skewer)
• The templates: Loving is Listening Full Template, Loving is Listening Birds and Details Template, Loving is Listening Branches Template, Loving is Listening Lettering Template
• a printer to print the templates

Note: The "Loving is Listening" Design is for personal use only. Please do not make items for sale from this design. Thanks!

In Saturday's post I suggested a few ways in which to use the "Loving Is Listening" design. For the purposes of this recraft-along I will be focussing on decorating a cereal box. But do feel free to frame your finished piece, or make a gift box, or whatever tickles your little fancy!

Prepare The Base

For my base, I'll be using a large family size cereal box. If it helps, this one contained 525g (~18oz) of cereal. Let's start by removing the top edge of the box and turning the whole thing inside out.

Step 1: With your fingers, carefully pry open the box at the seam and flatten it out. With a ruler and pencil, mark a line 5 cm (2 inches) from the top of the box. Cut off the top of the box at the line with a utility knife.
Step 2: Now simply re-fold the box so that the lovely neutral inner surface is now on the outside. I apply glue to the narrow side flap and bottom flaps. At this point, I use a few pieces of masking tape to clamp the gluey flaps temporarily in place until the glue dries. Note that I don't fully flatten out the bits of masking tape. I leave the corners of the tape curling up so that it's easy to take off again. Once the glue is set, I remove the masking tape slowly to avoid lifting and marring the surface of the cardboard.

We'll now take out a paper bag and use it to finish the top inner surface of the box.

Step 3: Grab your paper bag. Cut off the bag bottom and cut it open along the seam.
Step 4: Scrunch up the bag several times. Do this carefully so as not to rip it. Scrunch and re-scrunch until it is evenly wrinkled throughout.
Step 5: Press your paper flat with a dry iron.

Step 6: Cut out a few wide strips from your paper. My strips are 3 inches wide but you could go wider if you like. You'll need enough length to go around the inner top edge of the box.
Step 7: Apply glue to the entire outer edge of the paper strip. 
Step 8: Place the gluey strip flush with the inner top edge of your box. Flatten and pinch the strip in place along the edge making sure it is adhering nicely all the way around. Beauty.

The box is now ready to decorate! 

Note: If you happen to be turning this into a gift box, HERE is a post that suggests some creative ideas for nifty handles. Now would be the optimal time to install handles, by the way.

Make The Branches

Step 9: Use the link provided in the "tools and materials" list to download a copy of the Branches Template. Print it out. Use a sheet of carbon paper to transfer the branch design to the inside of one of your larger cereal boxes.
Step 10: Cut out the branch. I used both a utility knife and pair of scissors to cut my branch out. Fine details are more easily handled with a utility or craft knife.
Step 11: Paint the branch. I used The Boy's black cake paint on my branch. Yes, I asked permission. Allow the paint to dry. If your branch curls, place it under a heavy book for a while to flatten it out again.

Now I'm about to share ONE OF MY BIG SECRETS for using cereal and cracker box CARDBOARD in my crafts. Ya ready? Y'excited? Okay here goes...

You know that shiny layer of paper that covers every cereal and cracker box? I sometimes (though not always) peel it off. Especially if I want to get amazing adhesion between cardboard layers. What I do is I just stick my fingernail between that top layer of shiny paper and the rest of the cardboard and peel the dang thing off. I throw the peelings back into the recycling bin whence they came, and I'm left with a supremely glueable surface!!!... (Okay, maybe it's not that exciting, but still.)

So for example, once I've cut out the branch...

Step 12: I peel off most of that silly layer of shiny paper and then I apply the glue to my branch. See?
Step 13: And finally (for today), I attach the branch to the box and stick a light book on top to make sure it is super-glued on there. Nope, that baby ain't goin' nowhere.

Oh and by the way, if you happen to take any process photos, feel free to share them in the dedicated "Loving is Listening Flickr Group", yes sir. And lastly there's new "Loving is Listening Button" down in the sidebar there for ya, in case you're joining along!

Next up:  Taking a break for an extremely lovely "You Guest It" on Thursday. I'll be back on Saturday with the next installment of the "Loving is Listening ReCraft-Along". Until then, you have a great week!

♥M

All other posts from the "Loving is Listening ReCraft-Along": Introduction, Part 2 and Part 3 (Finish)

Grandma Stop Reading This NOW!

I'm serious Grandma, avert your eyes!

Okay... The coast is clear.

I am SO proud of the boy's gift for his grandparents, I just had to show you!

He got the basic idea from an Art Attack episode, his single favourite television show EVER which is still re-running on TVO Kids here in Canada thank goodness! I couldn't find the link to the exact craft, but the idea is to make a framed, 3-dimensional outline of your country. It's wall art, you see.

So he and his Dad started working on it sometime last week. (Don't you LOVE IT when that happens?) Together they made the cut-out of Canada, the background and frame out of a chunk of corrugated cardboard box. Then they covered the whole thing with a papier-maché layer made of PVA glue and "loo roll" paper. We don't actually call it "loo roll" here. We call it toilet paper, but since he discovered Art Attack, the boy tends to call it loo roll in some Neil Buchanan-esque British accent. So great.

They let the whole thing dry for a few days if I recall. Lo weighed it down with a bench so the cardboard wouldn't curl while drying. Overkill perhaps, but it worked. Then the boy painted it.

We thought it was pretty much finished at this point, but the boy wanted to do some custom detailing. Here's what he did:

1. He reproduced the Canadian flag from a small paper flag he keeps in his toy cabinet.
2. He drew out and coloured the word "Canada" which I helped him cut out and attach with Mod Podge.
3. I also happen to have a star compass stamp so he used it to create a compass for his map.
4. He made a set of 3 arrows which can be moved hither, thither and yon. One arrow for Grandma, one for Grandpa (Grandpa travels a lot) and another for both of them together. I helped him laminate the arrows with packing tape. They are held in place with sticky tack which also allows them to be moved easily.
5. He created a detailed set of instructions on how to use the map. We glued that to the back.

Here's a translation of the note on the back and the instructions, which he wrote by himself. He's 6 years old, by the way:

(not in the photo) Merry Christmas to you. Love, The Boy

13 December 2010

Place the arrows where you are.

Look, where you are.

Look at the flag, where you are.

Look at the country where you are.

Make sure to look at your compass.

Look at the red arrow for girls.

And look at the green arrow for boys.

The big arrow is for everyone.

The End

He's fond of commas, but who isn't? Finally, we brushed Mod Podge over the entire thing to make it last forever, and added a hanger. Here is the final result:

The GPS or GRANDPARENTS Positioning System! The ideal Christmas gift for today's busy grandparents. Tee hee.

I think they'll adore their new low-tech-made-with-love GPS, don't you?

Well you have yourself a fine fine evening, and I'll see you soon!

The Boy's Advent Clock Calendar

If you remember yesterday's post, you'll know that the boy (who's 6 years old) and I were busy busy working on our little Advent Calendar. This is our very first handmade Advent Calendar! I know, crazy. Before this year, we've always bought them, tisk tisk. It was never on my radar before... But with the "advent" of the blog (chortle), I've been inspired by so many amazing crafters and their amazing Advent concoctions! So I thought I'd get the boy involved and create one of our very own design and making.

I sketched 3 different possibilities and passed them by the boy. He, being president of Everything, chose the final design: the Advent Clock Calendar. Here you see it partially made, most of the components ready for assembly.

It is made out of a large cardboard box, frozen concentrated juice containers and their metal lids, some ribbon, a piece of newsprint, a few bits of used giftwrap, some regular white paper, paint and Mod Podge.

The boy is a snowflake expert (he was making snowflakes back in the womb) so he helped with the lid embellishment including the cutting of circles of paper and of all those little snowflakes that you see on the tops of the juice lids. He also penned all the numbers which I then cut out. I'm darn fond of The Boy Font, and use it whenever possible. It's got character, ya know?

We got Lo involved by forcing him to poke holes in things and by sending him out to get the goodies for the little snowflake cups.

Today I put it all together and spent some time gathering Christmas jokes to add to every cup. The boy loves a good joke. Whenever he tells a joke, he always asks: "Do you get it?" and proceeds to explain the ins and outs of the joke, and exactly why you should be laughing.

After school, he excitedly threw off his coat, hat and boots, like a flash raced to the Calendar, and swiftly found the goodies and the joke that were waiting for him. Then he begged me to let him do tomorrow's today to which I said: "No way, José!"

Pretty sure he likes his Advent Calendar! Yay!

Now you go have yourself a lovely evening!

House of Card...Board Boxes

This is a little house made of cardboard boxes. I made it 4 years ago as a Christmas gift for my little one and I'm always surprised at how well it's holding up and how long it's been kicking around.

I remember being quite proud of the little Victorian house design (and I still am!) and the fact that I used only stuff from around the house to build it. I chose not to put a door on it for safety's sake (he was two when I built it) and also because I didn't want to deal with hinges. Lazy...

My main construction material: a couple of large cardboard boxes of course. And I recall using LOADS of my husband's good carpenter's glue as an adhesive. I worked in steps over the course of a week, taking my time with all the measurements. Whenever I glued on pieces, I clamped them together with painter's masking tape - you know the kind that's not too sticky - to let the glue set and then removed the "clamps" once the glue was dry.

I used old house paint with an eggshell finish to paint the thing so I can actually wash the walls which is pretty neat. And yes, I've actually washed the walls.

To make the house sturdy I did a couple of things. One: I glued "mouldings" at every joint (even in the attic). And two: I faced both the outside and the inside of the window frames with a window cut-out.

I used a thrifted piece of aqua-coloured vinyl for the floor. The leftover pieces of vinyl I cut into curlicues and glued to the walls for a decorative touch.

I used craft paper (you know the brown stuff used for covering packages), rolled it up into thin rolls and then flattened out the rolls to make a thin moulding for the outer edge of the roof peak.

The boy doesn't play in it anymore but it still resides in his room. He now uses it as a lovely place to store his beloved stuffed animals.

I think the animals are happy in their colourful little home. It's a nice place they've got there!

If anyone is interested in a printable plan for the little house, let me know, and I'll see what I can scrounge up.

Edited to Add: I'm sorry, I will not be providing a free printable for this little house as I seem to have misplaced my original construction notes. 

Now you have yourself a lovely day!

P.S. In the meantime if you just can't wait to make a house, here is a link with plans for an alternative cardboard house at Make Baby Stuff.