(to see a bigger version of any photo, just click on it)
This is the finished version -- as finished as it's gonna get. Time is of the essence and she's probably going to destroy it anyway.
Here's how it happened:
You need a wooden plate (a red Frisbee would be fine), small wooden circles, about 3" diameter, craft sticks, foam sheets in red, blue and white (or yellow or a piece of yellow legal pad paper), yellow foam paint or small yellow circles (4), foam adhesive, acrylic paint in bright red, purple and blue and a stapler.
Paint the wooden plate red (shown above). Go ahead and attach two or three craft sticks to each other for the mast. When the glue is dry, paint it purple.
Trace the disks on the blue foam 8 times. Paint the wooden circles blue at least on the edges. When dry, cut them out and use foam glue to attach them to the blue-edged circles, one on each side. Using the foam on the inside of the wheel gives the glue more to hang on to.
Adding the wheels is tricky but if I can do it, anyone can. You need to set up a sturdy axel system. If you're using a Frisbee, you don't have as much weight and can probably use something simpler.
I glued a craft stick to the middle of the plate. Then I laid two craft sticks on each side of it and glued a third in place. I removed the non-glued ones that kept my axles equidistant. I saw I needed more stability on the outside so I created a "box" by attaching layers of craft sticks to the axles. I also added layers of sticks to the original axels. Each layer was about three sticks.
I glued the wheels at the axle and where they touched the body of the Flyboat. I pushed a phone book up against the wheels to make sure they were straight (see photo). Some of the side axle will show. You can paint it red or wrap it in scrap red foam, like I did.
Paint yellow circle in the center of each wheel (or glue a circle of yellow foam if you have it).
The rigging for the sail was difficult. If you have a jigsaw, you could probably cut a slit down the center of the plate and slide the mast through it, glue it and be done. I did this: I made the mast and added a brace to it, forming a triangle. Then I set it between two craft sticks on their sides. Then I took a small jewelry box and used it to support this rigging. Everything was glued to the plate and left to dry.
Then I wrapped a bit of red foam around this, just to hide it. I tried gluing all that closed but it didn't take. It took on the sides (where you see it clamped) but not when I tried to close it up. So, time being short, I stapled it shut. I added the sail with staples and used a Wonderpets badge (available at Nick Jr -- see Wonderpets printables) to finish it off. Now, it looks like a Flyboat.
One of the two original decorations I'm making for my daughter's third birthday party: the tin can phone from "The Wonderpets"
I used two small Bush's cans, some red foam sheets, foam glue and a scrap of twine. I also needed scissors, thick rubber bands, plastic bags and clothespins.
To make the phone, trace the cans twice so you have four circles. One interior bottom, one exterior bottom of each can. Put a small slit in the center of two of the circles to feed the twine through. Knot the twine twice and glue it to the foam for each end. Set aside.
Glue the other two circles to the inside of the can bottoms.
Cut two sheets of foam that just overlap if you wrap them around the cans longways. When you fold the foam over the edge of the can, the length should go about 2/3-3/4 of the way into the can. If you make it longer, it will bunch and the exterior will lift up and not keep a smooth appearance.
Glue these foam sheets to the cans. Use the clothespins at the seam especially. If you have more clothespins, pinch the edge of the can to secure the foam while the glue dries. Put your rubber bands around the cans to hold the foam on while the glue dries. You can also shove plastic bags down inside the can to push the interior foam against the can walls.
Cut a strip to finish covering the interior of the can. Use plastic blags to hold the glued foam against the walls of the can.
Glue the twine-joined bottoms to the cans. You can use a glass or something to hold down the foam circles if you like. I also added an extra bead of glue around the exterior edge of the bottoms, knowing the string will be a handle for my daughter to carry the phone around.
You can embellish the foam tin cans with foam bits or stickers. Wonderpets stickers are available for printout at the Nick Jr website.
I chose to coat the cans with foam rather than just paint them b/c of the sharp edges. You could probably make tin can phone out of foam w/o using cans, which was my original plan. Using cans makes a sturdier phone though.
I'm also making a Flyboat and will blog that once it's finished. I have more process photos at Flickr. You can also see the progress on the Flyboat.
Here's my process, with photos. I added a laced side to the T b/c it was so big and b/c of where the printing fell, I had big gaps under the arms. Still not 100% done but close.
I made Zosie a Toddler kitchen play apron over about a week. It would have been easy to make in a day or two if I'd worked steadily. Also I had no pattern or anything.
The details are in the hyperlink. Here's a photo of the finished apron (except for the straps):
I ordered The World's Most Hideous Lamp from Delia's. Looks kinda cute in the photo, no? Here's how it really looks:
It's not a sweet dull gold; it's brassy. And there's a raised paint line where they painted half of this brassy assy lamp pink. And the shade is sheer, as you can see.
On the plus side, it only cost $10 and the pink does match where I want to use the lamp.
I'm thinking of spraying over the brassy part with maybe a brown or spring green and using contact paper to make some kind of stencil for the pink side, to include the green. I also may bead or embroider (!) on the shade.
It's on a plain white large bandana, quite transparent as you can see. Around the pearl and on the ears of the one mermaid, I sewed on little pearlescent beads. Like an idiot, I put waves at the bottom but oh well. They're quirky mermaids.
So this piece has been sitting around doing nothing all this time. I thought about framing it but I'd rather use it for some practical purpose, like a bag or a pillow. I'd like do to something less obvious but the trick to that is that unless it's obvious, I'm not going to figure anything out. I love it and hate to see it just sit.
So the other night I cleaned up, or as we say in western PA "redd up," my scrapping and crafting area. Once I blew all the dust off, I found that I could eliminate one of the large plastic drawers completely and still have plenty of room in the remaining drawer. The desk itself is empty, as we've been planning to get rid of it. We may also need to use it as a pseudo-dining table is we stage the house to sell it this summer.
I got the green & blue organizational stuff at Target last spring. They have similar stuff in bolder colors this year. I have a few more of these leather-covered (could be pleather) accessories at the computer desk.
I haven't had time to sit and do any real crafting except knitting for several months now. I've only been able to do a small amount of knitting since the baby came; I used to knit while Zoe had her quiet time in her room at the end of teh day, which is why I have knitting stuff up there. Below are two examples of my scrapbooking:
I did these last summer or fall. I don't like to spend too much time overthinking my scrapbooking. As you can see, I scrap visually and don't do much journaling. I do like quotes and such.
That "bald is beautiful" double page is my favorite so far. I love that paper & want to get more. It's two-sided.
A blogfriend made this cool wreath. No one seems to like it except me (one person said she liked the Little People but maybe not on a grapevine). I was hoping that the excellent, sometimes offbeat tastes of the Get Crafty folk would appreciate it. Any and all opinions welcome; I'll pass them along:
I moved my recipes, embroidery projects, etc. to my knitting blog. It's much easier to update a blog than to update a webpage. W/ the baby coming a week from today, time is of the essence.
So now it's a kind of crafty blog in general. Most of the old info is posted in the archives from last December.
