A couple of days ago I wrote about Zentangle. Have you heard about it? It's the latest and greatest rage sweeping the arts and crafts industry. ANYONE and I mean ANYONE can create amazing art just by drawing a line, circle or any geometric shape and combining them in a repeating manner.
Taking that concept, this video will show you how to create beautiful artbeads. I hope you enjoy getting entangled in ZENTANGLE.
Linda Peterson is compensated and endorsed by AMACO. The guests features may or may not have any affiliation with AMACO.
One of the most frequently asked questions is how to cut strips of friendly plastic evenly. Jen Lowe has developed a method that will make cutting thin strips a snap....and save your wrists too!!
Thanks JEN for sharing the video with us!
I've come up with a great way to cut your Friendly Plastic into strips - both 1/4" and 1/8" with very little effort. Using a Logan Mat cutting system.
this system will run you about $30 - when it's half off at Hobby Lobby. But....I've made a modification that I'll try to share in the next few days that will get you TWO systems! And I like my modified cutting system even better! Sure beats using a knife and a ruler!
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.
You know I couldnt resist pinching this off Jen's blog!!!!
Thanks Jen for sharing with us!
I really do have the most wonderful hardware store in the world! McGuckins. It's in Boulder, Colorado. You can spend days inside this store. Not to mention when they put up the giant tent and have a sidewalk sale!
And....they carry Friendly Plastic pellets. Now, why on earth would a hardware store sell pellets? Well, take a look at my video and you will see!
I showed this to Kerry, who has been playing with micro electronics this week. He proceeded to melt some pellets and form a ball on top of some mini lights. When he plugs it into his circuit board, the plastic ball lights up! LOL!
When he gets it "perfected" - I'll video that. But you know guys - do they ever get anything "perfect"? I imagine he will be playing with pellets for some time to come. I may have to put them under lock and key!!!
The Fracture and Fusion technique of fusing strips together on a griddle is one of the best Friendly Plastic Techniques developed. In this video Jen shows you just how easy it is to begin working with Friendly Plastic.
Well, I did promise a bunch of 5 minute videos! If you have something else you want to see how it's done, just let me know!
This video is going to show you several things. It will show you how to fuse strips using the griddle method. I'll show you how I use finger cots because my fingers just can't handle the heat. I show you how to tap strips together. And then I show you how to eliminate bubbles.
So, just watch this 3 or 4 times and you should be able to fuse your own Friendly Plastic strips together. What fun!!!
This is the second video in the Heating Method series by Liz Welch. These two videos are a MUST SEE if you have never worked with Friendly Plastic. Heating to the appropriate temperature and getting used to the differences in softening the plastic is crucial. After you learn that...well...then its a piece of cake.
Well...Jen beat me to it!...getting her video up before I taped mine for the month...but actually this is perfect timing because I will be showing how to use Friendly Plastic Pellets in molds.
However, before my video goes live, check out this Quickie Video by Jen Lowe Designs. Great basic information on working with pellets. Then on Saturday, I'll take this a step further with a video on using the colored pellets in molds....so....lots to look forward to...
Well...Jen beat me to it!...getting her video up before I taped mine for the month...but actually this is perfect timing because I will be showing how to use Friendly Plastic Pellets in molds.
However, before my video goes live, check out this Quickie Video by Jen Lowe Designs. Great basic information on working with pellets. Then on Saturday, I'll take this a step further with a video on using the colored pellets in molds....so....lots to look forward to...
I believe this is one of the most frequently asked questions that I receive. In the US, friendly plastic can be easily heated on a griddle. However, for those of you who live outside of the country, griddles are hard to find and expensive.
I believe that Liz Welch brilliantly shows you her methods of heating plastic ....and most importantly WHY she uses a certain method over another.
Liz offers a wonderful DVD called BEND IT SHAPE IT that I would highly recommend!
For more tips and tricks on using friendly plastic - visit the Friendly Plastic Technique bible written by Jana Ewy located on the right side bar - its chucked full of information!
To kick off the Winter CHA OPEN design challenge, I thought it would be a good idea to give you a little inspiration. As you go thru the video be thinking of different materials you can mix in to create your butterflies. So enjoy this video and hopefully it will give you a little creative nudge.
I taped the opening and closing of the video outside....little did I realize that the bugs and frogs wanted to be part of the video and sing to the top of their lungs...thus the background noise...but hey..it's nature right???
Carter, young 15 year old inspiring artist on our Facebook Fan Page suggested something that would be more sculptural in the next video. So here's to you Carter and I hope you and everyone else enjoy!
Let me just say this...sculpting is easy...that is, easy once you understand the 6 Simple Shapes and how they play a part in creating complex shapes.
The Simple shapes are: ball, log, tapered log, rounded triangle, teardrop and cube. By combining these shapes in various sizes and blending away the seam you create more complex shapes.
This video uses simple balls, logs and tapered logs to create the Sea Turtle. And here's a little hint. After he's finished....make a mold of him and make more and more, because the pellets work perfect in molds!
