The last few weeks have past in a delirious, craftastic blur. I've been nose to grindstone in the secret lair prepping demo materials for this weekend's Urban Folk Art Show at the Washington County Fair Complex. I'm pretty excited since this will be my first chance to give sneak peeks of projects in the upcoming book. Deciding what to bring was a fun challenge- I wanted to include a couple crafts, flashy fun things which come together quickly and really highlight the maudlin and nefarious humor of the book. I've settled on three projects; Pulp Fiction Pendants, Making and using Invisible Ink, and Mexican Wrestler Masks from a burglar's disguise.
The Pulp Fiction Pendants are my criminal spin on the ever-so-popular Scrabble tile necklaces. Rather than using clip art or decorative paper, I've selected some of my favorite novels as source material for the designs. The retro look and ironic titles are charming when miniaturized, giving your outfit a smokin noir kick. In my book I suggest using a pre-fab pendant base which is recessed and can be filled with resin. I like the finished look of these necklaces with a lovely silver border, but it is a bit tricky reducing book images precisely to fit the frame area. Stumped for an idea for better backing material, I wandered over to SCRAP for some artistic inspiration. Bang, POW!
Of course they had something I could appropriate for my pendants, and a host of other goodies too. I'm stoked to be including reused materials in my demo and thrilled that this method turned out less expensive and easier to make.
I'll also be doing a demo of my
. A perennial favorite of eight-year-olds and
, invisible ink is a delightful way to share secret messages between friends. Working successfully with these solutions can be a bit tricky so my demo will focus on good penmanship techniques, and safety precautions for volatile writing.
With Halloween coming up soon, I thought it would also be fun to include one great costume idea. My luchador design utilizes a black, full face ski balaclava, know in the trade as "robber mask" combining it with glitter, sequins and felt. As any good bank heist movie will tell you, the art of distraction is the best disguise. No one is going to remember your ugly mug when it's sitting pretty under a pound of bling, making that perp walk, a cake walk.
So if you're free on Sunday the 9th, and up for a little bad behavior and shopping, drop in and see Probation Officer Honeyman and I at the show. Looks like there'll be
; a host of great booths, live music, food, and thank the stars Provincial Vineyards will have some wine on hand! Criminal Crafts demo times are 11:30 and 1:30.