Archive for the ‘friendly plastic home decor’ Category

Friendly Plastic Frame -Friendly Plastic Tutorial by Lucy Edmondson of True Colors

Wednesday, April 14th, 2010
Friendly Plastic Frame
by Lucy Edmondson
True Colors

This project is surprisingly easy. You will need Silver Friendly Plastic, strong double side tape such as Red Line, a suitable stamp (I have used one of my favourite Harlequin stamps from the Artistic Stamper, Glossy Accents, and Metallic Rub Ons, No 1. The image is from Crafty Individuals Flowers and Butterflies image book.

1. Take a 5 cm square piece of chipboard, mountboard, or strong card, and neatly edge it with narrow Red Line double sided tape (I have left the red backing on so it shows in the photo but remove this now).




2. Cut four narrow strips of silver Friendly Plastic to fit exactly onto the tape and adhere, so that the strips touch each other.


 

4.    It should look like this now.



5. Holding your heat gun about 15 cms away, on the lower setting if you have one, heat the edges evenly until they soften slightly into each other and there is a crazed appearance evenly across the surface as shown. This will take about 30 seconds or more, depending on the heat of your heat gun. Don’t over-melt and cause it to lose its shape.







6. Ink up the Harlequin Stamp with Versmark and stamp right across the whole frame, and leave to cool before removing.

7. Choose image and adhere to centre of frame.







8. Apply Green rub-on to the frame with your finger:-





9. Add a gem to the butterfly and apply Glossy Accents to centre of frame, to cover image. Leave overnight to dry and keep elbows away!

This is the final frame:-





This is a selection of art moulds made with Friendly Plastic, to whet your appetite for Part 2



More of Lucy's work can be seen on her blog so check it out:  http://www.lucystruecolors.blogspot.com/
Linda Peterson is compensated and endorsed by AMACO. The guests features may or may not have any affiliation with AMACO.
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Posted in Altered Art, Friendly Plastic tutorial, Plastic Industry News, frames, friendly plastic home decor, lucy edmonson, rubberstamping, stamped friendly plastic, tutorial friendly plastic frame | No Comments »

Elegant Napkin Rings in Friendly Plastic by Mylene Hillam

Friday, March 26th, 2010
Mylene Hillam shares a very innovative and unique technique to create these beautiful napkin rings:

I'm on a mission at the moment to come up with a number of different Friendly Plastic tutorials which are all aimed at the complete novice. It's a challenge to come up with very simple projects that have real impact, but this project is even more of a challenge because it also has to be translated into French. The projects can also only be made using items you most likely have at home in your kitchen already (so no craft tools permitted) and I can only use the oven method for softening the plastic. OK, this is definitely a challenge but it has certainly made me more resourceful.


The projects are coming together quite nicely but along the way I also created a project that was just a little bit too difficult for the complete beginner so I want to share it with you. This idea seemed so simple at first but by the time I actually started doing it, it became quite apparent that it was too difficult for a first timer. But for those of you more advanced Friendly Plastic addicts, this is for you. Just follow the instructions below to create your own nifty little napkin ring using items you most likely have at home already.
Firstly, gather together everything you need:
  • a spice jar - mine is from Master Foods. If you don't have a spice jar try something the same size as the cylinder inside kitchen wrap;
  • aluminium foil;
  • oven preheated to 120°C (250°F);
  • oven tray;
  • alphabet pasta - in Australia you can get this in the Italian food aisle, in the US try the Mexican food aisle. For those of you in Europe, I'm sorry but I don't know which aisle to suggest;
  • cooking oil and a pastry brush;
  • small rolling pin;
  • container of cold water;
  • Stanley knife and ruler;
  • and the most important item of all, a 7" stick of Gold/Black Friendly Plastic
  1. Measure the circumference of the spice jar and cut the Friendly Plastic approximately 1.5cm (9/16") less than this measurement.
  2. Brush the aluminium foil with a light coating of cooking oil. This will prevent the Friendly Plastic from sticking. Place the Friendly Plastic on the foil and place the tray into the oven for approximately 5 minutes.
  3. Whilst the Friendly Plastic is softening in the oven, lightly oil another piece of aluminium foil and place it on a firm surface. Spread the alphabet pasta out over an area that is wider and longer than the stick of Friendly Plastic.
  4. Once the Friendly Plastic has softened remove the tray from the oven and place it on a heatproof surface. Pick up the foil from the tray, turn it over and place it face down on top of the alphabet pasta. Gently roll over the foil with the rolling pin to press the alphabet letters into the Friendly Plastic.
  5. Wrap the two pieces of foil around the spice jar, trying to align the edges so they will be straight. You might crinkle the foil a bit in the step but it will add to the texture of the piece. Plunge the foil and bottle into cold water to cool for about a minute or so.
  6. Unwrap the foil and gently peel away the outer layer.
  7. Gently pull the foil away from the inside trying not to leave any bits inside.
  8. And here's the finished napkin ring ready for you to coordinate with your table setting.
I've pressed my letters in so that they're flush with the Friendly Plastic but if your letters are not quite as deep as mine, you might be able to carefully prise them out....... that's a really cool look too! You can seal the napkin ring with resin to make it more durable if you like but that was not permitted in my challenge.


I hope you've enjoyed this fun little project and that you'll take the challenge to get resourceful and create something using only what you have on hand.


Have a happy crafty weekend everyone.
Myléne
For more of Mylene's projects visit her website at:  www.milllanestudio.blogspot.com
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Posted in Mylene Hillam, Plastic Industry News, friendly plastic home decor, friendly plastic projects | No Comments »

Friendly Plastic and textiles by Liz Welch

Friday, December 4th, 2009
Typically when we showcase Friendly Plastic here on the blog it's with reference to creating jewelry. But, there's sooooo much more to this medium than just that!



Liz Welch brilliantly showcases how she uses friendly plastic, mixed media and even a sewing machine to create this beautifully decorated bowl



Why not get out of the box....and make a bowl???

For Liz's DVD's visit her website at: http://www.rarebird.ltd.uk/

Linda Peterson is a compensated blogger and is sponsored by AMACO., Inc. Artists who are featured as guests on this blog may or may not have been compensated by AMACO.

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Posted in Friendly Plastic textile, Liz Welch, Plastic Industry News, friendly plastic home decor | No Comments »

A little Kindess goes a long way – Friendly Plastic Blog

Wednesday, October 28th, 2009

Im such a visual person....and sometimes we all need to be reminded "in words" that kindess matters! So with that thought in mind.......and from a little tip by Jana Ewy using patina solution on Friendly Plastic I created this little ornament to give me a Friendly reminder that "kindness" really does matter.
The collaged image is sandwiched between glass. The outside was "soldered" with strips of matte gold sticks, melted with a heat gun. Then I stamped a texture into it, added a little bit of gold leaf and then patina solution.
For the roses, I mixed embossing powders into pellets and hand formed them, similiar to the way that I would if I had used polymer clay. I used the water method to melt the pellets. A quick daub of the heat gun to the surface of the ornament softens the plastic so that the roses can be set in place. The leaves were formed the same way. I attached a chain to the back and glued some beaded dangles...and viola....KINDNESS MATTERS!
A friendly KIND reminder to PLEASE PLEASE get your entries for the design challenge in! Deadline is November 6th.
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