Let's finish up that house...

I took an extra day off to make my weekend even longer... gotta love a four day weekend!  I thought it would be a great time to finish up that house I started the other day...

First off... I changed the color scheme... ever so slightly. The pink I used dried somewhat less than the salmon I had expected... it goes that way sometimes.  So I went over it with a brick red.

Much, much better, don't ya think?  Now, I need to create a base, to do that I cut a piece of corrugated cardboard that is larger than the house... AND, I cut a slice of the same cardboard that fit snugly inside the bottom of the house.  I glued the piece of cardboard that would be on the inside of the house to the larger base.

 

Once that was set, I temporarily set the house on the base and drew a "path" from the door to the edge of the base.  With those lines on the base, I set the house aside and mixed a bit of grey paint, and painted the path.

Now that is set aside to dry, and I'm going to add the glitter to the house.  For the house itself I am using ultra-fine glitter... a white for the body and a red for the door and shutters.  When I'm using the ultra-fine glitter I water Elmer's glue (usually half and half) or the glue seems somehow to over power the glitter.  I glued on the white glitter, and let it dry... VERY important here, if your glue isn't dry the next color of glitter may adhere, and then it just gets messy.

I want the roof to be a bit different than the body of the house, so I am going to use a bigger glitter on it.  I know that I want "snow" on the roof as well as the base, so I apply the larger clear glitter to the inner area of the roof.  For this I use Elmer's glue as it comes out of the bottle, I need that extra bit of thickness to catch and adhere the glitter.

 

Now, I am going to add some snow to the roof... the edges, the area where the points of the roof meet... wherever snow might fall.  And while that snow is still wet, I sprinkle it with the larger glitter.

Now that the house is all glittered up, it's almost ready to glue onto the base.  First though, wanted to put something on the windows so that you couldn't see complete I used a velum paper glued to the inside of the house.  It's tricky, getting that velum to go way up there inside the house, it is a two story after all... but I did get it there.  Tacky glue works best for that part, Elmer's doesn't seem to work as well.

It's time to attach the house to the base now.  Using the same tacky glue I run a relatively thick bead around that small part I glued to the larger base.  The fit is really pretty close to perfect, so lots of it is going to ooze out... that's ok, it makes the house stick to the base very securely.  I should let it dry a bit right here, but y'all know I won't.

The base has to be covered in snow... of course...

 

And lots and lots and lots and lots of glitter... the bigger sort as I was using on the rest of the snow.

And then, I leave it to dry... right under that star I made some time ago, that's still hanging where I left it to dry.   There is a hole in the back of the house so I can insert a small Christmas light... I think I may do a village of these things to sit amongst the pine and holly and lights on the mantle for the holiday.  We'll see how that goes...

Every so often...

I follow Donna over at Funky Junk Interiors.  Her work is lovely, how can you not adore someone who takes junk and turns it into beauty?  Her blog is wildly popular, she's not only very talented... but she is so very "real".  She shares not only her talents, but her life, so you feel as though she is a friend.

A couple of weeks ago (August 18th to be exact) I noticed that she had written a post about her niece-in-law, Cindy.  She'd been diagnosed with choriocarcinoma.  The overall success fate for that cancer is good, but Cindy had some complications and Donna was asking that her followers send their prayers.

The prayers worked and the doctors were able to begin the chemo therapy.

Yesterday, as I was reading through the blogs I follow, Donna had written a post that brought me to tears.  Cindy passed away.   It obviously was completely unexpected.  Why did it bring me to tears?  Cindy leaves behind two young children. 

My greatest fear as a young mother was that I would die while my children were young.  Her baby girl is only 14 months old.  Things like that hit far too close to home... and anyone who is a mother understands that.

Donna has created a site... in her own words she says:

"Right after Cindy left us, I needed to punch through the feeling of defeat and built a website.  It's not fancy, it's just a blog, but it's a place to call home for now for those that would like to stay in touch with the family's story, to read up on Cindy and to help support their new journey through comments, prayer and donations. Because Cindy didn't have life insurance.

She made mention of it when in the hospital but it was too late to do anything about it. She thought she was going in for a checkup and 2 weeks later never came home. Luckily, Brad is employed, however his job also takes him on the road on occasion. Cindy was a stay at home mom. 

Your continued good thoughts and prayers would be so much appreciated for this family. And if you feel so inclined to make even a small donation to help, that would be beyond amazing. Thank-you!"

Every so often a story touches you.  Sometimes even when you don't know the people involved personally, it still resonates with you.  This has for me.  On so very many levels.  I want to pass it on to you because it just feels "right" to do that.

If you feel so inclined, Donna has added a link to that site that will accept donations for the family Cindy has left behind.

And now... with book pages...

So... book pages.  Sounds like a great plan for a little glittery house, doesn't it?  Well, let's all see...

I used a pattern from Victoria Magazine that you can find here.  This particular experiment is called the "orange house".  First I traced an outline of the pattern onto 140 lb watercolour paper, then cut it out.  The only alteration I made is that I added tabs at the top of the house... after the last ones I realized that the roof must sit on something that is substantial enough to actually glue it to.

Next step... I used the back of my x-acto knife to score all the lines, and then used the sharp side of the blade to actually cut out the windows as well.

I lied to you a second ago... I also cut a hole in the back of the house (it isn't on the pattern) so that I can insert a light into it should I want to later.

The next logical step to me would seem to be to glue the book pages to the template.  I'm using pages from a book of Mark Twain stories.  Seemed appropriate since this could turn out to be quite the laughing matter.

Once dried (ok, it was sorta dry... I'd let it dry for at least 10 minutes) it was time to cut all of the excess paper away and open those windows and such again.  I also decided to white wash it... seemed appropriate when I thought of Tom Sawyer...

I painted the roof, the window panes (which I now regret.. the window panes, not the roof... at least at this point), the door, and the shutters... which, by the way, I will make a shade longer next time.

Then the fun starts... using tacky glue I first re-folded all the scored lines and glued the front of the house and the back of the house together, and attached the porch.

Next... the roofs and doors... I took this one just for that handsome boy in the photo...

And this one just to show how really handsome he is... even if he is still ticked off at me and won't get any closer than this to me right now.

And, finally, here it is so far... everything glued in place, and ready to dry thoroughly.  I love the shape of the house... and I very much like the paper on the house... but overall, I really am just not thrilled with it at this point.  Nothing to really worry about there though, I find I am often not really excited about something in the middle of creating it, but end up loving it when it is finished...

Next I plan to create the base and get to the glittering.  And, at some point, I'm going to check around to see if I can find some wee bottle brush trees, I mean heck, it's almost September, the Christmas stuff should be out everywhere... right?

What I did with my weekend...

You know how some people enjoy a lazy, sleep in, do nothing sort of day every now and again on their weekend?  I want to be one of them...

This weekend I woke early (that means before 5 am), walked the dog, did my grocery shopping, spent a morning cutting up all the veggies and pre-preparing stuff for making meals this week (I find I eat lots healthier when I've done all the work ahead of time), had lunch with Dad both days, did the laundry, removed everything from my living room, dusted, swept, vacuumed, washed the cushion covers (don't do that by the way), mopped, and rearranged... and liked it so much, I did the dining area as well.  Cleaned the kitchen, and bath... washed the dog (he hasn't spoken to me since about 4:00 yesterday afternoon)... and, AND... worked on that secret for all of the followers of the blog (which I'll be sharing with you come December)... and then, tried my hand at glitter houses.

You know all that cleaning I did... should have waited until after I'd done the glitter houses...

These guys are just the first run... sort of a trial to see what needs to be changed, converted, etc., and there is a lot to be changed... bases to be made, vellum to be added for the windows, holiday decorations, more glitter...and so on... but, it's a beginning.

What did you do this weekend?

Oh my goodness...

Would you just look at the abundance of craftiness!  

Carmi has made mini resin necklaces from scrapbook layouts... AND, if their cuteness isn't enough... she's got a give away going on too!

Carmi's Art/Life World
Carmi has a free give-a-way for software she used to make miniature scrapbook layouts in resin. 

 Cherie is in a fall mood... check out her pumpkins...

Crocheted Pumpkins
Cherie takes a break from making glass sculptures to create these fun little crocheted pumpkins instead.

Aileen has a freebie for you!

Aileen's Musings
Aileen offers you a freebie word sheet for you to download and use in your art!  

Did you know that September is National Sewing Month?  Check out Eileen's post...

Eileen - The Artful Crafter
Start your sewing machines, ladies. September is National Sewing Month.

How about some last of summer fun... check out Cyndi's post about sidewalk chalk...

 

Mixed Media Artist
Did you know you can make sidewalk chalk for your kids...or for yourself? Easy peasy! 

Visit CraftFoxes to check out some very cool instructions for making your own crochet food...

CraftFoxes
Learn how to crochet food, from pancakes to a sandwich with lettuce and tomato. These crochet food patterns are great for making play food for kids (or adults)! 

And,what's going on over at Craftside... so very many things, come check it out!

 

Craftside-A behind-the-scenes peek at our crafty world
This week at Craftside there is a knit wrap pattern, 4 different times of day cloud color combos, drawing style inspirations and the archetypes of fermentation from the new book Real Food Fermentation 

Check out the new yarn Tammy is talking about over on  the Crafty Princess Diaries...

Crafty Princess Diaries
The Crafty Princess shows off some of her latest fiber stash-related enhancements.  

My offering this time?  The star... 

ACreativeDream
June is seeing stars, and making them... and now she's sharing her pattern so you can too

I don't know about you, but I can't wait to see what's coming next week!!!  

Speaking of the stars...

Y'all have heard we have a new vehicle on Mars... right?  Our "Curiosity" has the best of us, and we're exploring the planet Mars.  Y'all... LIVE pictures streaming from the red planet.  LIVE.  Folks, my grandmother was born in a time where the horse and buggy was the main form of transportation... I remember the first landing on the moon... and now... Mars.  

Cool. Very, very, VERY cool.

Did you miss the landing?  Seriously?  Well, then see it here.

And, just to show that even geeks have a sense of humor (or is that sarcasm... or both)... check this out.  It's set to LMFAO's I'm Sexy and I Know It... (and if you haven't seen that one, check it out here, BUT be warned... it's absolutely, hysterically, over the top funny, in my opinion... but very, very, inappropriate.  And, many thanks to my Little One for introducing me to that particular video.)

You didn't think I'd leave you hanging...

Did ya?  I mean, after all this effort I put into making this silly pattern work out, you didn't think I wouldn't share it... did ya?

 

Heck, I even made notes on the pattern... just so you can make your own.

  

This pattern is created on a US standard 8.5" x 11" sheet of paper.  If you right click on it, you should be able to copy it, toss it into a word processing program and enlarge it to that dimension (in case it doesn't enlarge itself).  If that doesn't work, you can always email me for the pattern in a .pdf format... my email is over in the left sidebar.

As always... you are free to use this pattern for personal use... you are NOT allowed to make bunches and bunches of these and sell them to make profit from my efforts... that would be just rude, and karma would be pissed... and you know how karma can be.

And, if you make some... send pictures... I love to see what y'all do!

Edit.... there are other folks out there who are into this star thing too... just in case you want to check out a few other methods (because, if I had done this, I wouldn't have bothered working through it on my own)... I thought I'd add some of the ones I found really interesting...

Enchantink
 
Enchanted Learning

Ink Stains

Smile Like You Mean It

Craftideas  (eight pointed star)

Crafting Creatures (this one features a tree topper)

Notes From the Paper Palace  (used the same one cut method as Betsy)

Lost Button Studio

Origami-Make (no cutting, just folding, and LOTS of different styles)

Fave Crafts (totally different, but still three dimensional)

Oh, Betsy, Betsy... Betsy...

You know, if it hadn't been for the story about Betsy delftly cutting a five point star from a single piece of paper, I might have let this go... but there's something about all that history that has made me want to get this right.  Of course, that little doubting voice in my head tends to spur me on too... I do so love proving it wrong.  So wrong...

So... first attempt... what was involved?  The desire to make some gorgeous paper stars to dress Charlie, the Christmas tree, in this holiday season, a story about how Betsy Ross convinced George Washington that a five point star, rather than a six pointer, would be better to use for our flag, some cardstock... and maybe a couple of glasses of wine.

It worked.  Sort of.  The front didn't exactly match the back, those pesky folds really just changed the size more than I expected... but, due to my desire to make it work, I did.  Eventually just trimming the back where it didn't fit.  Success... kinda.

Sometimes kinda, sorta works for me.  Sometimes... not so much.  This was one of the not so much times.  I went to bed thinking about that silly star... and whilst I was drifting off, as it so often happens, another theory came to me.

Remember... theory and practical application... in my world, sometimes distant cousins.  Twice removed.

It dawns on me... these stars would be so much prettier if both sides were folded... that would solve the issue about the base star not fitting the top star exactly, and, as an added bonus, I'd have prettier stars... great idea!  In theory.

Practical application... well.....

Several attempts at a pattern later, I think I have it.  Nothing else I can do but give it a shot.  I used more of the scrapbook paper, and cut two stars out.  And, here's something interesting... I discovered (trial and error, mostly error) that, just because the star has five points and was cut from one piece of paper, it doesn't mean that ALL of the points are exactly even... go figure.  I end up marking the "up" direction 

Both of them look just like this... see where I've added the fold lines, but didn't draw in the score lines...

I'm going to score from point to inner edge using a ruler... and I'm going to score the outer edges as well, this time the back of an x-acto knife (I swear I am going to find my embossing tool this weekend!).

When I get everything scored, I'm going to fold each of the lines, ALL of them, just to get the bending going.  Then I am going to fold the tabs to the back, and glue them together where they meet at the tip of the point. 

Whilst gluing, I added a hanger made of brass wire to one of the stars.

After all the tips were glued, I glued the two halves together... took a bit of effort, and realized a tacky glue would be much better for this than a thinner glue.

And, suddenly... I have this wonderful little star... just perfect to grace Charlie this holiday season... maybe even hang from windows... toss in a bowl on a table... or hang from the mantle...

Ahhhhhh... persistence... or maybe stubbornness... either way... I got what I wanted, and in the end, that's what counts!

More stars...

So, in a perfect world, I'd come up with a theory, and it would be followed by a seamless application of said theory, and a perfectly wonderful creation would be made.  In my real world theory and practical application are very distant cousins.  Very distant.  Often twice removed even.

In my quest to make a few different sort of paper stars I thought a five pointed star would be a great addition.  Did you know you can cut a "perfect" five point star from a single sheet of paper and just few folds?  Sure enough... you can.  Theory has it that is what Betsy Ross did to convince George Washington that she should use a five versus a six point star on our flag.  You can read about that, AND find the instructions for cutting a five point star right here .  What easier way to begin the process of making a perfect star for myself, right?

Theory... I want to create a pattern for a naval style star to use to create ornaments for my Christmas tree.  I should be able to make a star, and fold it on the same lines that are created in folding it to cut it, then make a smaller star that the larger one could be glued to once it's folded... and voila!  A gorgeous star.

Practical application... well, it didn't quite match the theory.

I used the directions to fold, and cut a star.  It was too large, so I re-folded, and re-cut to make it smaller.  Keeping in mind that I was going to make a smaller base to glue this to, it still was too big.  Then I folded it again, cut it one more time, and finally got it to the size I wanted. At that point the little voice in my head said, "You know, this is going to be tougher than you think".

I ignored it.

In the past I have often found that, whenever I work at making a pattern, I need to make a copy of the original pattern.  Whilst working on changes, it seems I tend to screw up and need to go back to the original, thus... I need a back up.  Once I had the outer star done, I measured 1/4th inch inside it, and made an outline for a smaller star.  This would be my base... you know, what I'd glue the outer star to after I had made the folds.  Then I made a copy of it... just in case I'd need to go back to the original.  But really, what are the chances this could go wrong?  Little voice pops up again with... "I'd say pretty good."

I ignored it... again.

Before committing this to book pages, I was going to do a test on cardstock.  Of course, even if on cardstock, I'm going to use a Christmas theme... because when it turned out so perfectly I'd already have my first star.  Fortunately, I have some double sided cardstock that happened to be lovely.  Perfect.

I drew the larger star onto the cardstock, and as I was about to cut it out realized that I needed to add tabs that I'd be able to glue down to the base.  Luckily, I hadn't started cutting the shape out, so had ample opportunity to add the tabs.  First challenge already overcome!

Again I had misplaced my embossing tool, and along with it my seam ripper that I had so successfully used last time, so I decided to use the not so sharp edge of the x-acto knife.  It worked pretty well actually.  I scored the tabs, then scored the folds that would be needed, and then I folded the star.

Wow, it worked!  

And then I tried to attach it to the smaller, the base star.  Well crap.  Doesn't fit.  Little voice pops up at this point with "I told you so."  Stupid voice.

After lots of trying, I realize there is no hope of bending it to my will and forcing it to fit on the base star I had cut.  I had a glass of wine to think this over.  I might have had two.

I decided that the best way to deal with this was to take my perfectly formed folded star and draw a pattern from it.  I did, and, while it was a much better fit, it still didn't match up perfectly.  How the heck can I draw a pattern from the star and it not fit?  (By the way, I was so intent on drawing that pattern, I didn't take photos.)  Takes serious talent... 

Sure 'nough... doesn't fit.  Arghhhhh....

So... I guess I have to go back to the drawing board and try this again.  Re-draw the bottom star... make it work, right?  Heck no.  Y'all know me better than that.  It's close... very close... so instead of doing it all over again, I cheat.  Yup... I trim the edges and no one but you and I will ever know.

It lacked something, so I mixed some ultra fine glitter into glue thinned a bit with water and painted on it.  Sparkly things are always far more festive after all!

Now I have this perfectly lovely star.  I'm going to give it another shot and see if I can't take what I've learned and make a pattern that is consistent enough to share with everyone... until then... no one ever has to know how far apart theory and practical application were... right???