Animal earrings in polymer clay DIY

Ever experienced the thrill of wearing something you made with your hands? It could be a dress, a cap, a necklace, a pair of earrings, anything...

Learning to make and appreciate the value of labour is the need of the hour in today's consumerist world. My friend and the ever-dynamic Sankgetha Sripathy who runs Smudgy Trove, has shared a tutorial of making cute animal earrings with clay.  She has used polymer clay to make the stud earrings that you can easily learn and keep aside for a toddler, teen or wear yourself to show off at a party. 

These simple pieces are conversation starters.

What you need:

-- polymer clay black, and white

-- super glue or multi-surface glue 

-- knife

-- jump rings

-- cutting plier (jewellery tool)

-- nose plier

-- black stud with screw

-- headpin (jewellery finding)

-- and of course a must for these projects, an OTG oven

It's best to share one that a friend has bought if you do not have one yet and do not want to buy right away.

Roll two tiny round balls from the black polymer clay, using your palms and fingers. Press one ball between your palms and flatten it slightly. Repeat with the other ball.

Roll two tiny white balls and fix on the flattened clay to form an animal's eyes. You can add a super tiny ball to fix near the eyes, for effect.

For the eyes, use another set of black polymer clay dots and fix to form animal expressions.

Poke using a headpin to form its mouth, a little below the eyes and between them.

Use another little mound of the clay to roll a cone.

Repeat for other earring. Flatten the cones a little to form your animal's ear.

Fix the ears on top of the animal head that has come to shape.

Now insert the headpins through another cone that you roll, bigger than those weeny bit ears and the face, to form the creature's body.

Roll tiny balls and fix below this body-cone, to form legs.

Go back to the head or face now. Roll two tiny balls and place under the head.

Bake these two pieces that are ready, separately in the OTG oven for about 15 minutes. Allow them to cool down

Time to take the stud, glue it using the super glue on to the rear of the face.

Repeat for the other earring too. Move over now, to the body pieces, where the headpin is protruding from the body. Use a nose plier and bend the piece that is jutting out, into a loop, towards the body. And then insert the stud through this. Use a stud screw to fasten to your ears.

The earrings are ready for use. You can experiment, and make them with animals of your choice, in different colours.

These earrings make for great personal gifts. They can be worn by teens and adults alike. And make for perfect gifts.

PICTURES COURTESY: Sankgetha Sripathy of Smudgy Trove

Content by  Sankgetha Sripathy and Radhika M B

Travel tic tac toe case from Jewellery box DIY

What do you generally do with the jewellery cases from stores? I have forever been fascinated by the size and sturdiness of the jewel boxes that would find their way to mom's large cupboard made of iron, and get hidden away from prying eyes.

A box of that size can be put to umpteen uses after its original purpose gets served. I decided to embellish it, but not much. I love, love and love tic tac toe games.I love making tic tac toe boards. And the jewel box obviously came in handy. I have seen this game get used in umpteen spaces.

What I used for the piece:

-- a jewel box

-- cardstock to match or contrast it

-- optional is a thick felt sheet

-- a pair of scissors

-- hot glue gun loaded with a glue stick

-- embellishments are optional

-- paint pen (I chose metallic silver) to match the jewel box

In the jewellery case that I had at home, the velvet piece covering the hood of the box on its inside was missing. The other half it was half stuck on the inside. The first step, was to glue hanging pieces towards the cardboard.

I cut out a piece of cardboard from the cardstock I had. You get cardstock the width of large bookmarks. It is about trimming it to fit into the box. Insert it on the surface. I did not want to glue away everything. Just inserting worked.

Once you have adjusted them, use a paint pen to mark out the lines for tic tac toe game.

I used a popsicle stick, or an ice cream stick to mark out the straight lines.

For a tic tac toe box of this size, we would need small items to make it for the game. So the best bet for me was buttons.

You can also use beads.

If you noticed, there was an ugly sticker on the box. I just cut out another piece from the cardstock and stuck it on top of the jewel box. And your on-the-go tic tac toe case is ready. Tuck it into your bag or slide it into your pocket with the wallet, and indulge yourself with a fellow player on that plane, train or automobile.

Pictures and content: Radhika M B

Marker pens art piece fridge magnet DIY

If you have a fridge that can hold a ton of magnets, it is the best thing to rev up your dull day. Imagine thinking of that stew you want to prepare in the kitchen and drag yourself to the fridge, and a bright piece of art or travel souvenir magnet pops up on your face at the fridge door!

I discovered on the internet that you can actually make artistic fridge magnets rather easily. All you need is a bunch of marker pens that write or colour thick.

Here is a quick look at my experiment. I would give it a 6 on 10 rating for my first attempt. But I learnt a few things that would help you on the adventure:)

You will need:

- art canvas 5 inches by 5 inches

-- self adhesive magnet strips not more than five inches

-- a protective sheet to place underneath your working canvas

-- some cotton balls, or ear buds, paint brushes, rag cloth

-- a bunch of marker pens, of your choice. I used the Sharpie brand mostly

-- Rubbing alcohol..you get it in pharmacies

Optional is a glue gun or multi-surface glue

Start by scribbling the canvas away to your heart's content. Remember to fill all corners, and the edges where the canvas bends. Use more strokes if your marker is not too thick. I was more satisfied with my opaque colour marker.

Now is when your work with rubbing alcohol begins. Use an ink-filler or the cap of the alcohol bottle to drop a few drops on the canvas. Remember that you may take longer than you anticipate at this. Allow the drops to spread on the colours. Since it is canvas, it will dry or get absorbed more than it runs. Use a paint brush to blend the colours in.

You could tilt it at times to let the drops run. Or use a paint brush to blend the colours in, with circular strokes. Whatever you do, make sure that neither the paint brush nor the cotton take away colour from the canvas. You can gently squeeze the colour back on to blend areas on the canvas. Let the first round dry. And work on it again after it dries. Use your markers to dab, not with strokes, on white areas. Your choice if you want to leave the white gaps to show.

This is a process that took me about an hour. So if you left something on the stove thinking this is a quickie project, run and turn that thing off.

Once your art piece has reached a certain level of blending and you want to stop, leave the piece to dry for about 15 minutes. And fix the self adhesive magnetic strips to its rear. If the adhesive does not hold well, you can stick it with multi-surface glue or a glue gun.

Next step: Very important. Fix it on your fridge door! Or gift it to one special friend...

DIY Buntings or doorstep Thoranam

It's festival time. A bunch of Indian States' people celebrate their New Year according to the Lunar Calendar. We in the South call it Ugadi. It's that time of the year when I rejoice in the visual treat of tendrils on trees. I adore the fresh green colour of mango leaves, and the Ugadi pachadi (chutney), a special for the festival. 

I love the sight of mango leaf thoranam or thoran to welcome visitors on people's door-step tops. As kids we would stitch the leaves up using their stalk and create thoranam using a twine. That's a luxury I long for where I live in USA. 

But it's officially spring time out here, and stores are bursting with spring-summer colours for clothing, accessories and more. I decided to give the doorstep garland a twist. 

This one is a super quick tutorial that does not require much time. If your child is not too young, it's a project you can assign one of the holidays.

It's popularly called a paper bunting. I see these extensively used for party decor out here. 

What you need:

-- a pair of scissors

-- patterned paper of your choice

(I chose paisely designed one from my stash, with cool colours instead of warm. You can use old gift wraps, or cupcake holder cups.)

-- tacky glue or craft glue

-- satin ribbon (about one centimeter wide, or less)

-- marking pen or pencil

-- a stencil to draw out circles (a small plate or compass) ..I used an old ribbon spool

Reverse the patterned paper and draw out circles using your stencil. Depending on the thickness of the paper you can fold it to cut more than one circle at a time.

I made more than 10 circles from the single sheet. You will notice some brand printing on some circles, which is fine because you can fold it to the rear and it will not be visible. Also, the number of circles depends on the size you cut out, so if one sheet is not enough, keep a couple more. You do not need the same print. Related patterns or colours would do just fine.

Fold all these circles in half.

Place the satin ribbon on the crease of the fold.

Glue the inside of the bottom half in such a way that you leave a little gap for the ribbon to move.

Fix them all in a row. You can fix large beads between each half circle if you wish.

You may apply a little glue to the cut edges of the satin ribbon for it to stay stiff instead of threading out. Use this bunting or thoran to decorate your doorstep, a bare wall, or a table edge.

You can also embellish a plain circle with stickers. Enjoy the festival, and the new beginnings that come forth.

Content and pics: Radhika M B

Write to: radiscrbie@gmail.com