Monday 4 March 2013

Fimo Feathers and Paper Straws Tutorials

Good Day! Sorry this tutorials post was a bit delayed, but I went away this weekend to a crop (more details about that on another post this week), and I didn't manage to get this post finished before I left. So here it is now...

Here are the handmade embellishments that are part of my March Counterfeit Kit:


The 'stickers' and the little birds were quite easy, so I haven't got a tutorial for those - I'll just talk you through them at the end of this post. But first I have got two other tutorials for you - one for the feathers, made of Fimo modelling Clay, and a video tutorial for the paper straws!

Fimo Feathers:

Step 1: Soften a lump of white modelling clay (I used Fimo):


Step 2: Squeeze one end to be more pointed, and flatten the other end, so you have a shape a bit like a guitar:


Step 3: Elongate the flattened end, and pinch the pointy end together more. the pointy end should be about a quarter of the overall shape in length:


Step 4: Flatten the pointy end down too, so it now looks really pointy like a pencil. Shape the other end to have a soft point at the tip:


Step 5: Finish shaping and smoothing the clay until it looks like a feather:


Step 6: Bake or leave to dry according to manufacturer's instructions. Then use a fine paintbrush and some acrylic paint to paint a feathery blue line all around your feather:


Step 7: When the outline is dry, paint a line up the middle - you can add a 'hole' somewhere along the line to make it look a bit thicker:


Step 8: When the centre line is dry, you can then paint diagonal lines going from the centre to the edges of the feather, all the way along. If you make any of the lines too thick, you can leave it to dry and then paint back over them a little with white acrylic paint:


Step 9: When the paint is all dry use some strong, dries-clear glue to add a gem and a sequin to the bottom of the feather:


Done! My feathers are approx 3.5" long and ⅛" thick, and they weigh 6 grams. You could maybe make them a little thinner, but Fimo will get more brittle the thinner it gets, so don't make them too thin or they will snap. And make sure you attach them to your projects with strong glue!

Paper Straws:



I did a video tutorial for this one - it's only a minute long. The steps are:

Step 1: Take a square piece of paper and roll it from one corner to the opposite corner (with no adhesive).
Step 2: Unroll it and add adhesive to the two sides of the square that you were rolling towards.
Step 3: Roll it back up, and then snip off the two pointed ends.


Here's the video (you can view it HERE in You Tube to see it larger):


Quick and easy! Use a strong adhesive - I used removeable tape at first and the corner unrolled a little, so I tucked a bit of strong gluestick underneath and it's fine now. A permanent adhesive works better!

Happy Stickers:


For these I used a variety of stamps and inks. I chose images and words that matched the kit and then stamped them onto shapes, or stamped them onto paper and cut them out. The tag and label shapes were cut using my Slice design cutter.

For some of them I inked the edge, some I doodled a border on, and the tree I backed with card. Then I just stuck them all onto a piece of white card using blu-tack, so I can take them off and add adhesive when I want to use them!

Shrinkles Birdies:


These were simple too - I just coloured in a bird stamp using ProMarkers, and stamped it onto frosted Shinkles. Then I cut them out and shrunk them in the oven - they shrunk to about half the original size, so these little birds are just under an inch wide. They are so cute!

There we go! I hope one of my handmade embellishments has inspired you to add a little something handmade to your next project. Check back through the month to see how I'm using these on my layouts and cards!

x

20 comments:

Fay aka Beautifullily said...

Shrinkles, that's a good idea for embellies. The fimo clay feather - are they quite thin ann light?

Really enjoyed your company this weekend, I hope your journey home was quicker x

Lou said...

these are lovely Jennifer and i enjoyed the video. What are you going to use the paper straws on? Fimo Feathers are next on my list to try out - roll over washi tape feathers lol! xx hope your journey home was a safe one too - really good to meet you x

scrappyjacky said...

Love the fimo feathers....great idea.

Lisa-Jane said...

Loving the Shrinkles idea!

Mel said...

Great ideas - thanks for sharing!

Sandie said...

Lovely to see you this weekend, Jennifer. Thanks for these tutorials, all good but especially love the straws. They look very colourful and I am thinking of ways of using them!

Anonymous said...

Love the paper straws - simple and great way to use scraps or add a touch of colour!

Fleursbydesign said...

The paper straws and fimo feather are awesome :)

Lesley G said...

Great ideas, thanks for sharing :)

Margareta Carlsson said...

So pretty! Thank you for the tutorial!

Marilize said...

Aw - what a great post - thanks :)

I've been wanting to play with clay for a while now, so this came just in time.

The straw tut is a great little project to do some stash busting with.

Julie J said...

Nice to meet you this weekend. Some lovely ideas for embellishments.

Maria Ontiveros said...

Great tutorials! I love shrink plastic, too.
Thanks for sharing,
Rinda

Alison said...

You really ARE full of good ideas Jennifer...thanks for these...and for the pop-up tutorials you shared vat the weekend- it was great to meet you!
Alison xx

Becky said...

So cool!!! Love the feathers :)

Patricia said...

Well, I'm just loving the idea of those paper straws! thanks for sharing your ideas!

Mary Jo said...

What cool embellishments!!!
TFS!

Julene Matthews said...

Paper straws are such a cool idea.Simple yet effective idea!

alexa said...

There is so much creativity in this one post that I am amazed you have time to sleep! I especially like those very cute straws.

Najla Alliya said...

Hm, nice .. i like it

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