Creativity Camp: Faux Agate Sun Catcher

I have had so much fun doing projects with my family and sharing with you all Summer! I can't believe we only have two weeks left. This week we made a magical little sun catcher out of glue, food coloring, and glitter. I have to say, the finished product looks much more sophisticated than the $5 I put into this. Chances are, you already have the supplies around your house, too. Gather your school glue (clear for more transparency, but white will work too), food coloring, glitter, wax paper, skewers, small plastic cups, dental floss or thin string, a stick, and twine. Read on for the tutorial!

Lay out your wax paper, and draw the outline of some organic blobs with your glue. 

Sprinkle on your glitter, and move the bits that fell in the center towards the edge. 

Mix some food coloring and glue in your plastic cups. Stir with a skewer. 

Squirt or pour your colored glues inside the blob, alternating colors. You can reuse an old bottle, or an old nose bulb like we did. (Lol) Careful not to fill the center higher than the edge, or the glue will leak over.

Allow your slices to dry 24 hours or more, then slowly peel them from the wax paper.  They will look hard, but still feel flexible.

Lay out your pieces in the way you would like to hang them, and poke holes in the top and bottom as needed.

Cut your floss to the proper lengths leaving enough room to tie onto the stick at the top.

String the floss through the holes being careful to maintain the correct distance as you tie.

Tie the floss to the stick. Knot a piece of twine at both ends of the stick to create a hanger, and find a sunny window to enjoy your colorful creation!

Be sure to tag us on Instagram @etsydallas #EDCreativityCamp if you give this project a try. We would love to see! 

Creativity Camp: Jolly Rancher Lollipops

I have a super easy and fun treat for you all today! This was a five star project as rated by my five year old. There is smashing, and sprinkling, and candy licking! You will need foil, skewers (halved) or lollipop sticks, a stapler, Jolly Ranchers, sprinkles, plastic baggies, and a hammer. Gather your supplies, and read on for the tutorial!

Sort your candies by color/flavor, and preheat your oven to 275°F.

Smash them with a hammer inside a plastic bag. 

Roll out several squares of aluminum foil to make the molds, and line a pan with another sheet of foil.

Fold your foil up by half inches all the way up to make a sturdy, pliable mold.

Staple the ends together, being careful to line up the bottom edge of the foil. 

Round the foil molds and fill them with the smashed candies.  Put them in the oven for 5-7 minutes. Pull them out once all the candy has melted. Add sprinkles if you would like them inside your lollipop.

While the candy is still hot, slip the sticks under the foil and twist it into the candy to coat both sides. 

Once the candy has cooled and hardened, break apart the foil mold where you stapled it and peel it off around the sides of the lollipop. Then peel the foil off the bottom.  If you would like to add sprinkles to the outside, dampen the lollipop with water to make it sticky, add sprinkles, and allow it to dry again.

Gift or enjoy! Get creative, and share with us on Instagram @etsydallas #EDCreativityCamp! 

Creativity Camp: Basic Shibori Dyeing

Welcome back! This week, we are making over some old white cotton shirts with shibori, a Japanese folding technique to create dyed patterns in fabric. You can use this folding method with any type of modern dye, or the beautiful, traditional indigo vat. For simplicity's sake, we are using Rit Dye on the stove top this time.

Gather your supplies, and keep reading for the tutorial. We need a bottle of dye, half a cup of salt, a squirt of dish soap, a gallon of water in a large pot, tongs, fabric or clothing, and rubber bands/clips/pipe cleaners/popcicle sticks.

First, let's do an accordion fold on your item of clothing. Fold your item in half. Then fold the top half back to line up with the edge. Flip over your item and fold the other side back and match the edge again. Now fold the sleeves back. The goal is to make all the edges line up evenly for the next step. (You can stop here, And move on to rubber bands or keep on like the photo.) Now, fold one bottom corner to the edge to make a triangle. Flip the item over, and fold the triangle up along the edge. Flip and fold, flip and fold triangles all the way to the end. 

Use rubber bands, bottle caps, clips, pipe cleaners, and popsicle sticks to create resist patterns. Now let's prepare the dye.

This part is for adults or older kids. Be careful! Turn your stove on high to boil, and add the salt. Once dissolved, add the dye and a small squirt of dish soap. (We are using black on small items for saturated colors, so we only used half the recommended water.) Reduce your stove to medium heat, and dye your items for 30 minutes.

Use your tongs to remove your folds, allowing the dye water to drain as much as possible.

Rinse your items in the sink until the water runs mostly clear, then remove your rubber bands and clips.  (Don't use dye in porcelain or porous sinks, it will absolutely stain! You can take them straight to the washer, but your whites may not be as white.)

Wash your items on cold with detergent, and dry them. From left, the patterns are the square accordion fold with popsicle stick resist, the pipe cleaner resist, the triangle accordion fold with bottle cap resist, and the binder clips resist.

I hope you enjoyed this project! Now you can make tea towels, napkins, pillow cases, wall hangings, and all sorts of good stuff! Be sure to tag us @etsydallas #EDCreativityCamp if you try it! 

P.S. Use gloves! Lol! 

Creativity Camp: Chalk Pastel Fireworks

Happy Monday, folks! We have an explosive 4th of July inspired project today, and an introduction to drawing with pastels. You are going to need a set of chalk pastels, some black paper, and a reference photo of some fireworks. Google a good one, and meet me back here for instructions.

Now that you are ready, pick a color and make a smoky haze by lightly rubbing the side of the pastel in a circular pattern on the paper. This is a great time to map out your composition. Chalk pastels are highly pigmented, so they seem to glow against dark backgrounds. 

Use your finger to rub the pastel into smoke. 

Find the center of your circle, and work your way around it with short organic lines.

Choose another color, and draw more lines. Be aware of the direction you drew your original lines and try to match the angles.  

Keep going and alternating colors and building lines until the explosion looks full. A little imperfection in the lines makes it look more realistic, so allow your lines to be different lengths.

Begin and build your other fireworks the same way. 

Use lighter colors on top of darker colors to connect areas and create highlights.

It gets really fun when the lines start overlapping! 

To finish, use your finger to smudge some of the ends of the lines as though you were continuing the lines. This will soften the edges and create areas of focus in your composition. 

That's it! Happy Independence Day! We wish you all a safe and exciting 4th with your loved ones! Be sure to tag us @etsydallas #EDCreativityCamp, we would love to see! 

Creativity Camp: Marbled Clay Monogram Charms

Today's project is a gateway technique, you've been warned. You can make anything with polymer clay! Until you get the hang of it, start small with simple, rewarding projects like coasters or beads. There are tons of videos on YouTube for inspiration. Google "polymer clay cane tutorial" and prepare to be amazed. For this project, you'll need some Sculpey in a few different colors, a fine tipped metallic paint pen or metallic acrylic paint, an x-acto knife, toothpicks, a nickel, a nail file, and a necklace chain with a jump ring or string.

First, make three "snakes" with your different colored clays. 

Then, twist your snakes together.

Fold, break, and smash the clay. 

Keep going until everything is mixed, but not so far that the white disappears.

This looks like a good place to stop. Now, smash with a book or roll it flat with a rolling pin.

Pick out a section you like, and set your nickel on top. Use your x-acto knife to cut around the nickel.

Spin a toothpick in the top to make the hole for the jump loop. 

Carefully lift your polymer clay "coins" and place them on a lined baking sheet. 

Use your x-acto knife or toothpick to press in a letter. You could also use a rubber stamp.  Bake your pendants at 275°F for 15 minutes.

Once they have finished cooking, sand off the rough bits with a nail file, and use your metallic paint pen inside the letter and around the edges. 

Let the paint dry and you're almost done! Use nice string or a jump loop and chain to turn this into a little necklace. Seal your pendant with varnish or polyurethane to make it more durable. Attach your jump loop,  string it on your chain, and voila! Your handmade marbled clay monogram necklace is finished. We made several to share with some friends.

Thanks for joining us again this week, we hope you are having fun! Remember to tag us @etsydallas #EDCreativityCamp if you give this project a try!

Creativity Camp: Faux Watercolor Painting

Hello! Welcome back to our Creativity Camp. I hope you are enjoying this series, and that you and your kiddos are feeling inspired! Today, we are beating the rainy day blues with some colorful faux watercolor paintings. All you need is some watercolor paper (or heavy paper), tissue paper, tape, washable markers, and a water spritzer. Follow along!

Wrap your watercolor paper with the tissue paper, and tape on the back. 

Use the markers and tape to draw circles in all different colors around the paper. Leave a little bit of white space for a more interesting composition.

Once you have finished, it is time for some color theory magic! Use the water spritzer to lightly spray the colored tissue paper.  Watch the colors merge and change!

Try not to over-wet the paper, or it will muddy the vibrancy of the colors. Tap it down, and allow your piece to dry. 

Once the water has dried, you get to unwrap your painting like a present.

Surprise! Check out your abstract watercolor painting! The areas where the tissue paper was lifting off the paper remained white. 

This is an easy technique for such sophisticated results. You can frame it as is, use it as a background for drawing, or use shaped punches to make scrapbooking or card making elements. I decided to frame mine, after she signed of course. Pretty good for a five year old!

If you give this project a try, be sure to share with us @etsydallas #EDCreativityCamp. See you next week!