Can-tastic Christmas wrapping- FaveCrafts Blog hop

Ok time for finished on the fifteenth, Favecrafts.com monthly Blog hop.
I do want the glass cutter, so if you could please go there and vote for me I would be so grateful. All you have to do is like my Can-tasic blog post on their site.

Click on the Button right here and it will take you there

Ok this one is pure genius. I learned it from my uber-talented paper buddy Jodi.
She says she learned it from someone else.
Who-ever came up with this, is brilliant, and I am having a blast giving presents wrapped this way.
The look of pure puzzlement when you give this to some one is totally worth it.
Then after they open it they are still trying to figure out how it got in there.
You can even package the gift with wrapped candies, M and M's, Beans, gummy candies, and anything else that will give it a little weight and make a noise when it shaken, because they will shake it. LOL turn it upside down and look at it like they have never seen a can before in their lives.
Of course you can always use tissue paper.

You will need:
Christmas paper or scrapbook paper for whatever holiday you are giving this for
Scissors or paper cutter
Double sided film tape
Tags
Bows and ribbon
gift that fits in the can
Pop top can (You cut the bottom off of the can)
Side cutting can opener
Packaging stuffing (suggestions above)
E-6000 glue
Ruler
Cloth Measuring tape

Cut open the bottom of the can, save the pop top side for the fun.

Empty out contents and wash and dry can thoroughly.
If you can let it dry completely for a while after wiping out.

Measure the side of the can from the bottom of the ridge where the can starts and to the bottom where the can ends.
With a cloth measuring tape measure around the center of the can for the circumference and add 1" to the measured length.
The measurement on my can is about 12 1/2".
I used scrap book paper and it is only 12" by 12" so I had to piece another strip of paper in there.







Cut the paper to the height of your can.

Add tape to can, press on and take off paper.

Add a couple of more strips about an inch apart, do not peel off paper from those

Add paper and peel off strips of paper as you go.

Cover with paper all the way around.

On the end of the paper place a strip of tape and press to the can.

Press paper to can. There is about a 1/2" left there.

Place tape on strip and place on can to cover the blank area on the can.

Like so.

Make sure your gift fits with room on the top and bottom.

Place filling in the top of the can. Remember we are working from the bottom.

Wrap ornament in a sheet of tissue and place hook side down in the can, when the person opens the can the ornament will be right side
up.

Place filling on the bottom of the ornament and gently in around the sides.
Tuck in the filling away from the edge of the can.

Glue the lid right around the edge where I am pointing with E-6000.

Place bottom on can. Turn the can over and place something heavy on top of the can till it is dry.

Wrap with ribbon and give away.
I used the paper I covered the can with to make a tag.
There you go Can-tastic wrapping.

Finished on the 15th- the Fave Crafts Blog Hop

www.favecraftsblog.com/finished-on-the-fifteenth-favecrafts-blog-hop-for-september/

Welcome all you Fave Craft Blog hoppers. My name is Marie Segal and I am a craftaholic, no no I am a polymerholic, no, I am just a holic.
I love working with my hands and this is my brain on crafts and arts. I can not help my self, I must play with Clay, beads, wire, paper, paint, pearl-ex, air dry clay, clay, clay, and clay, card stock, gel mediums (all of them), glass, recycled goods, found objects, cameras, computers, punches, stamps, gold leaf, foils, eyelets and brads, scissors, paper cutters, words, gardening, food, cakes, fondant, book making, scrap books, albums, canvas, score pads... I think you are probably starting to get the idea.
Nothing is off-limits and everything is fair game and fodder for my mind, my heart and hands.
I have been doing this craziness for 45+ years now as much as I can and as long as I can and with as many products as I can.
I do love clay though and it is probably the thing I do most often and the longest. You will find much of that and all of the above and even the stuff I forgot in this space, with little tales from my life, opinions, and pictures, with circles and arrows ;-D.
So get your self some refreshments, and stay for a spell while I incite a riot in your mind. After all I need some company in this journey. ;-P
We will laugh and cry, but mostly laugh. I mean it couldn't hurt, right? It is just about the only thing I trust in this day and age and it does help me stay out of trouble... mostly.
This thing I do has brought me through so many trying times and it has also helped me find solutions in life and friends along the way. It keeps me sane when I am stressed (well.. it keeps me out of trouble, mostly).
I am on a life long process of building skills.
You can click on the blog hop button above and go back to Fave Crafts blog to see other artists and their things that they have finished this month.


Here are some of the things I have finished from the last 15th to this 15th.

Last 15th I did a tutorial on making Millefiori canes influenced by Atomic age designs.
Here is the last one
http://mariesegal.blogspot.com/2011/08/fave-crafts-blog-hop-black-and-white.html

I finished this with all of those canes I made.

The tutorial for it is here
http://mariesegal.blogspot.com/2011/08/atomic-age-influence-votive-holder.html
 

I made a book.

Here is another book
http://mariesegal.blogspot.com/2011/08/my-coptic-bound-book.html
And here is the one above
http://mariesegal.blogspot.com/2011/08/ok-it-is-official.html


I made this tiny book

You can find it here
http://mariesegal.blogspot.com/2011/09/hi-immmmmmmmmmmmm-back.html

I made this book with clay covers.

I made this skeleton key. It is in my Etsy store
www.mariesegal.etsy.com

I made this Coptic bound photo Album for a wedding.

You can see all of those items above here
http://mariesegal.blogspot.com/2011/09/monday-updates-091211.html


And lastly but not leastly.
I made this Tin Can Box from a recycled 4 ounce Ortega green chili can

You can see it here
http://mariesegal.blogspot.com/2011/09/tin-can-box.html

Thank you for stopping by and spending some of your precious time with me. I am so honored to have you here.
Come back again.
Be well!

Finished on the 15th- Fave Crafts Blog Hop- a little hope

Well, another 15th of the month and a Fave Crafts Blog hop is here. Welcome to all of you new to my blog, I hope you enjoy your visit and come back again sometime.
To all of you that visit here regular like, HI!!
http://www.favecraftsblog.com/finished-on-the-fifteenth-favecrafts-blog-hop-for-june/

Can you believe that it is the 15th of June? The year is half way over and the second half will be here soon.
Is it that my life is so full of stuff, that things are moving so fast?
How about you? Do you feel as if time is whizzing by?

Just a reminder for all of you that make your Christmas presents, START NOW!

Well, the thing that I got finished this month is a flower cane with and with out background and the instructions on how to make a Bottle of Hope.
Here are the links, there are 4 parts to this:

http://mariesegal.blogspot.com/2011/06/flower-cane-and-bottle-of-hope-part-1.html

http://mariesegal.blogspot.com/2011/06/flower-cane-and-bottle-of-hope-part-2.html

http://mariesegal.blogspot.com/2011/06/flower-cane-and-bottle-of-hope-part-3.html

http://mariesegal.blogspot.com/2011/06/flower-cane-and-bottle-of-hope-part-4.html

Bottles of Hope http://www.bottlesofhope.org/ were thought up by a wonderful woman name Diane Gregoire who was going through breast cancer treatments in the late '90's.
She would take the bottles used in hers and others treatments and place polymer clay around them, then she would return for more treatments and pass them out to the people who were there for treatments too.
I met Diane in 1999 and fell in love with her attitude and lust for life and thriving through one of the most horrific diagnoses one can receive in life. Her large lovely grace gifted my life and I went out and taught about the program and talked to others about Diane and her bottles. I was travelling all over the world at the time and it was fun to spread the word.
Little did I know how much it would mean to me later in life when my mother and Sister in law were diagnosed with this dreaded disease.
I made 300+ bottles for my sister-in-law while she was going through treatments and before she died. I would get a call every week when I sent them, from her saying "oh I am keeping this one" or "I have a special person to give this one too". I loved it. It gave me some thing to do. I felt like I was helping somehow.
My guild and I have been making bottles of hope ever since and have been closely affiliated with Moore's cancer center and Dr. Casden over the years, we even have Bottles of Hope Clay Days. Yay Team!
It has been most rewarding and fulfilling  even in the tragedy of it.
Isn't that what life is about, finding something of value and light in the dark parts?
It is for me!!
Go out and find some light!!!
Go out and make the light!!!
Go out and spread some light!!!
Go out and be the light!!!

Fave Crafts Blog Hop-Finished on the 15th, May

May already?
Seems like I have been saying that every month when the 15th of the month rolls around.
Ready or not here it is!
Welcome all to the Fave Crafts Blog Hop, Finished on the 15th, May!

Hop on over to the Fave Crafts or click on the blog hop button!
http://www.favecraftsblog.com/finished-on-the-fifteenth-favecrafts-blog-hop-for-may/

I am excited to share this technique. I have been playing with it for a couple of years and love what I get out of it.

See that textured burgundy shiny stuff in the middle of this brooch?
It is aluminum foil. I used Pinata Ink to color it.
I have tons of tools and I like to find other uses for them besides just for clay.

You will need:
Clay machine
Makin's Texture plates
Sheet wrap foam for packaging (it is very thin, not bubble wrap)
Aluminum foil
Golden Gel Medium heavy gel
Popsicle stick
Pinata Ink 6015 Sangria
3/4' or 1/2" flat soft brush

This background is the textured foil on a board. Covers like paper, nice!
I have used Lumiere Copper metallic paint on this textured foil to color it.

Here is what I use for the brooch. Once that foil "paper" is dry it can be cut with scissors.
And then it can be colored with Pinatas or Alcohol ink.
I use a piece of felt to apply the ink to the texture foil.

I blanked out the label because I have ancient bottles of the inks and that label has changed. It is good to know that as long as that cap is tight, they will last a very long time, years!

These are different textures that I have made. Some of the plates work better than others.

Here is the back of the foil, the dull part. You can use both sides of the foil and the dull one might be nice for some projects.

Another example.

Cut the foam to the width of your clay machine or a little smaller.
Place the foil over it.
Place the texture sheet on top.
How you place the foil in depends on how the texture turns out too.
Shiny side close to the foam will give me a great beehive print when I press the texture plate in to the dull side.
For this texture plate I ran it through the machine on the 3rd thickest setting. Each texture plate demands a different setting on the clay machine. You want to put it through tightly with out breaking or smashing the design in the texture plate.

This is a better shot so you can see the texture plate.

This is run through the clay machine.
I turned the foil over to the dull side and I gently brush on some of the gel medium. I am generous with the gel medium. Go slow and gently, you can take out the design if you are too aggressive.
Let that dry over night.
I make several sheets and dry them over night.
Then when it is dry you pile up some gel medium on one side of the sheet and gently use the Popsicle stick to squeegee it over the surface again, like spreading grout or cheese ;-D.


Do all of the sheets and let them dry over night.
Till dry.
You can attach this to boxes, paper mache, cardboard, raw polymer clay, frames, and shrines, and I bet a ton more things too, with a coat of gel medium on the surface of the object you are covering.

I really love this one, the texture and the color, I used Baja Blue Pinata.