ILoveToCreate Teen Crafts Have Your Cake Jewelry Box

ILoveToCreate
Teen CraftsHave Your Cake Jewelry Box
Margot and Avalon Potter

It's been hotter than h e double hockey sticks around these parts so most of the activities that don't include a swimming pool have been indoors. Avalon has been helping me in the studio with the new book and my various and sundry design project deadlines. Yesterday we put our heads together on a decorative decoupaged box. She had mentioned needing a place to keep her jewelry and this is a pretty solution to that dilemma. Since we all know how much she loves the Cake Boss and decorated cakes, this box fit the bill for a faux cake project!

Avalon selected the tissue paper from a pile I keep around for craft projects and gifts. She did the decoupage and after it dried I added the coordinating floral embellishments. I am loving these felt buttons from Blumenthal Lansing, you can use them for so many crafty projects! Aleene's Tacky Glue makes quick work of stacking them up and Traci Bautista's Collage Pauge in 'Sparkle' was simple and safe for Avalon to use without my supervision. There are all sorts of shapes you can buy and decorate with decoupage, this is a great way for teens to personalize their decor.


Materials
Paper box
Decorative tissue paper (save this up from gifts for crafting!)
Coordinated Favorite Findings felt floral buttons
Craft flower with wired double stem
Traci Bautista's Collage Pauge in Sparkle
Aleene's Fast Grab Tacky Glue

Tools
Foam brush
Non-stick craft sheet
Wire cutters
Pointed tool (I used a clay tool)

1. Shorten the stems on your wired flower to about 3" using wire cutters.

2. Tear sections of tissue paper. Apply decoupage medium to the section of the box you're decorating and apply paper, then put a thin layer of decoupage over the top. Don't oversaturate everything.

3. Keep building layers of tissue paper until the box bottom and top are completely covered. We used two different papers, you can do the same or use all one paper or combine papers. You can also, if you like, decoupage the interior of the box. Allow decoupage medium to dry.

4. Use Aleene's Fast Grab glue to adhere each layer of the the stacked felt flower buttons around the edge of the box lid. Allow to dry.

5. Use a pointed object to poke two holes in the top center of the box lid, these need to be spaced to accommodate the flower stems.

6. Slide the flower stems into the hole and twist underneath to secure.

ILoveToCreate Teen Crafts Trashionista Mixed Media Purse

ILoveToCreate Teen Crafts
Trashionista Mixed Media Purse
Margot Potter
"Mom crafted, kid approved."
Copyright Margot Potter All Rights Reserved

I have an ever bursting at the seams pile of fashion mags that sit by my bed and on the kitchen table. I peruse them at night before I go to sleep and while I’m noshing to trend spot. The problem is that they start to take over my house if I’m not careful! What I don’t recycle, I love to use to make accessories. The words and images on this purse are all made of recycled paper. This is all about layers of paper, inks and paints and every purse will turn out differently. I love that! 

Teaching our teens about the many ways they can recraft, reuse and repurpose is crucial. Plus this project will be a lot of fun for them to personalize. You can do this with old cigar boxes and get hardware and a handle to retrofit. Avalon loved this one and I’m hoping we can whip up some more soon together.

Materials
Wooden purse blank
Aleene’s Traci Bautista Collage Pauge Matte
Crafty Chica Little Chica Paints Red
Fashion Graffiti Paint Cannon Fabric Paint White
Fashion Graffiti Big Phat Fabric Marker Black
Fashion Magazines
Vintage book pages or newspaper
Inkadinkado Animal Print Clear Stamps
Fiskars Clear Stamp Block
Sizzix Big Shot Flower Die

Tools
Sizzix Big Shot
Mini-screwdriver
Paintbrush
Foam Brush
Old toothbrush
Scissors

1. Remove hardware from purse. Sand, clean and coat purse with a layer of racy red paint inside and out. Allow to dry.

2. Use Big Shot and die to cut three vintage book page or newspaper flowers.

3. Select words and images.  Decoupage flowers and cut and torn magazine words and images to the purse front using Collage Pauge matte and a foam brush. Allow to dry. If bubbles form under the images, wet your finger with water and work them out from center. Don’t fret about bubbles, they’ll go away once the medium is dry.  (I had to remove and replace a word at the top of this purse...which you can do while everything is still wet.) 

4. Use the Big Phat marker to put a layer of ink on your stamps and randomly stamp the leopard and tiger prints around edge of purse. Allow ink to dry.

5. Use marker to make angled stripes on thinner edge of purse. Allow ink to dry.

6. Dip an old toothbrush into the white paint and flick it across purse front. Repeat using red paint. Allow to dry.

7. Reassemble purse.

iLoveToCreate Mod Girl Chipboard Necklace

Mod Girl Chipboard Necklace
Margot Potter for iLoveToCreate Teen Crafts
“Mom crafted, kid approved.”

Yesterday I posted about my long time love affair with chipboard for jewelry making. This necklace combines a 60s vibe mixed with 80s details. I’ve used chipboard flowers painted with Tulip soft fabric paint and drizzled with Tulip dimensional fabric paint in vibrant pastels. It’s all connected into a simple bib style necklace. Just don’t wear this in the shower or the swimming pool...because it’s made of paper! Whip up some earrings to match!

Avalon is really into neon colors and 80s style, so this is right up her alley. Since I was in my twenties during the 80s, it kinda freaks me out that stuff from the 80s is vintage! Dang...how the heck did that happen?! Does that make me vintage? Egads!

Materials
5 Bazzill Basics Chipboard Hawaiin Flowers
Tulip Slick dimensional fabric paint Poppin’ Purple, Blazin’ Blue and Coral
Tulip Metallics dimensional fabric paint Yellow
Tulip Matte soft fabric paint Olive, Azalea, Turquoise
Traci Bautista’s Collage Pauge glossy
10mm SP jump rings
2 6mm SP jump rings
SP Beadalon rolo chain
SP Beadalon swivel lobster clasp

Tools
2 foam brushes
Crop-a-dile or other hole punch
2 pairs chain nose pliers

1. Paint a layer of turquoise blue fabric paint on two of your larger flowers, a layer of azalea on two larger flowers and the green on the two smaller flowers using a foam brush. Allow to dry.

2. Seal dried shapes with a layer of Collage Pauge on the front and the back. Allow to dry.

3. Drizzle dimensional paints across the shapes. I found if I started the paint and moved it over the shape I got the best results. Use the colors as you desire and add as much or as little as you like. Allow to dry.

4. Lay out the bib shape and mark areas for punched holes to connect shapes with jump rings. See picture for guide.  Punch holes.

5. Use 10mm jump rings to connect shapes. Add chain to the outer edge of each of the turquoise flowers using 10mm jump rings.

6. Attach a 6mm jump ring to the open end of each chain using two pairs of chain nose pliers.

7. Attach your lobster clasp to one end.