Craft Tutorial - Mixed Media Popstick Puzzle

I love discovering different ways to use mixed media techniques to make pretty gift ideas. This one is especially for children...

Puzzles can be a wonderful learning tool to help children remember concepts, use their fine motor skills and help with spatial awareness. Making your own puzzle does not require expensive materials... in fact, most of these materials can be found around the house. This puzzle also requires popsticks, which are inexpensive and are readily available.  

I decided to make a puzzle that will help in recognizing numbers 1-5, but this puzzle could easily be extended up to 10 or further simply by adding more popsticks. Rather than numbers, a child's name could be used in order to help the child to recognise and spell their own name.

Materials:

* Popsticks - I used 10 popsticks in my puzzle, but any number could be used.

* Masking Tape - to hold the sticks together in the process of creation.

* Paints - White and other colours that you want to use. I used acrylic paint and chose a blue and yellow colour theme.

*Scissors

*Decoupage Glue (or you could possibly use PVA glue, thinned with water)

*Brush for the glue (a cotton bud could possibly work)

*Something to mix paint on (a plastic lid or plate would suffice)

* A permanent pen

*Paper - only need to be scrap paper. I used old book pages.

*Pencil

* Kitchen sponge and bubble wrap (optional) 

* Computer/printer or lettering stencil
*Craft knife and cutting mat

Step 1 - Line up the popsticks.

Step 2 - Place two lengths of masking tape over all the popsticks, one piece at the top and one piece on the bottom. This will stop the popsticks from moving when making the puzzle.

Step 3 - Turn the puzzle over (so that the tape is facing down) and paint the side facing up with white paint.

Step 4 - Once the white paint is dry, mix up a light hue of the main colour with some white and paint over the top. I chose blue.

Step 5 - Add a little more main colour to the light hue (to make it darker) and place a small amount on a kitchen sponge.

Step 6 - Sponge over the top of the popsticks, making sure some of the lightest hue is still showing. If you don't have a spare kitchen sponge, use a brush, cotton wool ball or even your fingers.

Step 7 - Add more main colour to the mixed paint (to make it a little darker still) and place a small amount on the bumpy part of bubble wrap.

Step 8 - Print it over the popsticks, ensuring that the lightest hue and some of the kitchen sponging is still showing.

Step 9 - Using a computer or lettering stencil, create the main image that is desired on the puzzle. In my case, I needed large numbers from 1-5 and small number words.

Step 10 - Cut out the numbers (or letters) with the scissors.

Step 11 - Turn the numbers (or letters) over so that they look back to front and glue them onto the scrap paper using the decoupage glue. Paint a thin layer of decoupage glue over the top of the numbers as well. They will need to be back to front as the other side will be showing, the printed numbers will act like a stencil.

Step 12 - Once dry, carefully cut around the numbers or letters with the scissors...

... so when they are turned over, they look like this.

Step 13 - Position the numbers or letters on the popsticks and arrange accordingly. Once happy with their positioning, adhere the numbers or letters to the popsticks with the decoupage glue. Paint a thin layer of glue over the top of the numbers or letters.

Step 14 - Once dry, paint over the letters or numbers with a layer of white paint, being careful to keep the white paint on the numbers/letters and not on the popstick background.

Step 15 - Once dry, paint over the numbers or letters with your chosen colour. I decided to add a little brightness, so I painted my numbers in yellow.

Step 16 - This is rather an optional step, however, I wanted to add the number 'words' to the puzzle. I typed up the words that I wanted on a computer and printed them out. I cut out the words with scissors and glued them down on the popsticks with the decoupage glue. I also placed a thin layer of decoupage glue on top of the words. You could do the same with any chosen words according to your puzzle theme.

Step 17 - Once dry, outline the numbers or letters and words with the permanent marker.

Step 18 - I needed to tie in the yellow that I used for the numbers with the popstick background, so I placed a little bit of yellow on my finger and smudged it in a few places on the popstick background. If a very different colour is used for the letters or numbers, you may wish to do the same.

Step 18 - Turn over the puzzle so that the plain wooden background is facing up. Take off  the masking tape and carefully move the craft knife between the popsticks to cut them apart. Turn each popstick over so that the painted side is facing up. For durability, paint a thin layer of decoupage glue over each individual popstick.
 

Once dry, the puzzle is all set to be put back together again.

These popstick puzzles would be an ideal gift as a stocking stuffer or to place in a handbag for a toy that could be pulled out to entertain a child when out and about.

I would love to see your popstick puzzle design and final product. Feel free to let me know!

~Jen.

Make your own party decorations - DIY Cupcake Topper Craft Tutorial

Special celebrations call for special surprises. Sometimes, special celebrations call for personalisation of decorations to match the person, their interests or their celebration. At times, purchasing decorations and celebratory items can get costly.

If you are looking for a simple decoration to pop on top of cupcakes or sweets, that will reflect the event or the special person, and will cost next to nothing (besides a little of your time), then this tutorial could be for you!

Items that you will need:

• Water paints - borrow a water paint set from the children or add some water to acrylic paint to create your own water colour.
• paint brush or cotton bud
• scissors
• pencil 
• permanent marker
• paper - I used an old book page, but anything that will allow water paint to be applied will suffice.
• a coin - the size of the finished item or a circle hole punch (I used a 20c coin)
• toothpicks or popsticks (if you want 12 cupcake toppers, you will need 12 toothpicks/popsticks
• glue/glue stick (non-toxic as it will be near your cupcakes!)

Trace around the coin with the pencil. Repeat until you have the required amount. Keep space between them (at least the same size as the circle). I have left the space to the left of the circle. Alternatively, punch out twice the amount of circles from the paper (ie. if you wish to have 12 cupcake toppers, punch out 24).

Cut between the circles to separate them. Fold the spare space underneath the circle.

Holding the folded paper together, cut around the circle, hence creating two circles at once.

There should now be two paper circles for each finished cupcake topper.

Flip over the circles to make sure that any pencil is not seen. Using the paint brush or cotton bud and the water colour paints, paint over each circle your chosen colour(s), keeping in mind that two circles will be required for each topper, hence if you wish to have a green background for a topper, paint two circles green. Allow to dry.

Next, draw a chosen design in the middle of each circle with the permanent marker (try out your design on scrap paper first to ensure that you are happy with the look). I chose a simple leafy plant motif to be displayed on my cake toppers, but you could choose anything! Some suggestions include: a love heart, a number (the age of the special person if it is a birthday celebration, eg. '40' for a 40th birthday), a letter (the initial of the special person), a star, a happy face, etc.

To create the same leafy plant motif, begin by drawing an ascending, wavy line.

Next, draw two little loops down the bottom of the wavy line. Draw each loop opposite each other, with the wavy line down the middle, separating them.

Keep drawing the pairs of little loops, ascending the wavy line...

... until there is no more wavy line and the top reached.

Now to assemble the toppers...

Carefully place glue on the back of two matching circles. Place the toothpick/pop stick in the middle of one of the gluey circles and place the other gluey circle on top, ensuring the motifs are facing up the right way. 

With your finger, rub the edge of the toothpick, pushing the paper gently against the edge of the toothpick to ensure that it is firmly in place and not wobbly. Allow to dry.

NOTE: As the bottom part of the topper will be poked into the food, try to keep it clear of glue and gluey fingers.

Finished! Something fairly quick and easy to make to add a special, persoanl touch to party food (with the bonus of being inexpensive).

Have fun creating!

~ Jen.

P.S - To see more craft tutorials, visit our Pinterest folder. Click here to see what is pinned.

A bookmark for Mum - Mother's Day gift craft tutorial

If you are like me, special days seem to sneak up on me. I like to make handmade items, but sometimes I leave creating until the last minute. By then, I don't have enough time and a frantic trip to the shops is in order.

This little craft project is made up in no time and it uses a lot of materials that are found around the house. The bonus in all this, is that even though this gift looks lovely, it involves minimal cost. This project is simple enough that children could even make up their own version to give to Mum!

Materials:

• paper - I used an old book page, but any paper would suffice.
• paints - a main colour and white to lighten it. I also used some watered down black paint for highlighting
• scissors - normal scissors (I also used some fancy edging scissors, but this is optional)
• brush - nothing fancy - anything to get paint down (a cotton wool ball would do)
• something to mix paint on
• decoupage glue - watered down PVA glue could work (test first)
• scrap coloured paper to match your main colour - a used some pink and black in a picture on a magazine page.
• ruler
• pencil
• black permanent pen
• access to computer and printer (or use words out of a magazine) 
• cotton bud
• rub ons (optional)
• hole punch and ribbon (optional)

Measure and cut out a rectangle of paper, slightly smaller than the size of your desired bookmark (mine was 14cm x 5.5cm).

Mix up two shades of your chosen colour - one darker (or straight out of the tube) and one lighter (mixed with some white). I chose pink and a light pink. Mix each colour with a small amount of water to make the paint thinner (about the same consistency as milk). I did this to get a 'watercolour' type of effect. If you desire the paint to be thicker, skip mixing with water.

Paint the lighter colour all over the paper with the brush or cotton wool ball, leaving about a 0.5cm border around the edge (no need to be too precise). Let dry a little (a hairdryer would help this process) and then paint splodges of the darker colour on top. Let dry.

Whilst the paint is drying, fold the scrap of coloured paper in half and cut out half a 'heart' shape, beginning at the fold (see above photo). This allows for a perfectly symmetrical heart when opened up. Repeat this process until you have 3-5 hearts (odd number amounts look better).

Arrange the hearts on the paper and once you are pleased with the layout, adhere with decoupage glue. Paint decoupage glue on the top of the hearts. Let dry.

Draw in some little hearts around the glued down hearts with the permanent marker (I used a fine marker). I also added a wandering line of dots. Outline the glued down hearts.

Using a computer, I typed out the sentiment 'I love you Mum' and printed it out (I like using a basic typewriter font). Cut up the words and glue them down with the decoupage glue (paint over the top as well). If you don't have access to a computer, cut out words/letters from newspapers/magazines. I added some rub ons, but this is optional.

Water down a tiny bit of black paint and apply it around the edge of the paper. I used a cotton bud for this. I added a little bit more watery black paint in the corners. Draw around the edge of the words with the permanent marker.

Adhere the bookmark onto the cardboard with the decoupage glue and apply a thin layer over the top. Let dry. Trim around the edge with some scissors (I used some fancy edging scissors).

If so desired, add a hole down the bottom of the bookmark with the hole punch and tie through some ribbon. I used three different types of pink ribbon.

Your bookmark is now finished!
You could possibly laminate the bookmark before adding the hole and ribbon to give the bookmark a little more strength.

I hope that this provides you with an inexpensive but unique gift option. You could team this bookmark with a book that Mum has been wanting to purchase or a gift voucher from a bookstore for the ultimate Mother's Day gift.

Have fun creating!