Styrofoam Jewelry Tutorial

I know that the image that styrofoam brings to mind and jewelry in that medium doesn’t sound very attractive, but really this is a fun recycling project that you can do with your older children.  I remember doing this with my Mom and when I noticed these pink and black trays waiting to be recycled I was reminded of this simple project. You will need styrofoam meat trays, scissors, a hole punch, a needle, thread, some coordinating beads, a pendant (optional) and some jewelry findings if you want to add a clasp to your finished pieces. Start by cutting the curved edges off the meat trays.  You’ll want to have a nice flat piece of styrofoam.  Using the hole punch, punch holes all around the edge of your tray.  Save the dots and cut off the punched part of the tray and punch around the edge again.  You will need a large collection of dots to make your necklace/bracelet. Select some matching beads, I used some large seed beads and thread you needle.  I like to use fishing line for this project, it has a little stretch and doesn’t knot or tangle when you’re using it.  Start stringing your dots, I like to use a repeating pattern, but randomness works too.  Add a few beads in with the holes for some sparkle.  The styrofoam is really light weight and the beads help the necklace hang better, adding a pendant is great too.  Knot the ends together (or use bead caps with jump rings and clasps) and there you have a new necklace or bracelet.  These are great fun to make and go great with paper beads, home made shrinky dinks, and plastic bottle beads. I know this tutorial seems a bit rushed, but today is a no school day (and the start of a four day weekend) and my little helper was getting impatient to go and do other things.

Have a super crafty weekend, see you next week!

Homemade Water Colors – Success!!!

It took a couple of days for the paints to dry and some of them were still a little wet. The colors are a little softer than store bought paints and the ones that were still damp were easier to paint with. I would say that adding a full tablespoon of water and then letting them set for 24 hours would make them the perfect consistency. I would also advise adding a couple drops of water to completely dried paint before starting a painting session. My kids were super excited to paint with these since they found them sitting out drying. They didn’t have any problems using this paint and it does dry faster than store bought colors, there is also a baking soda residue that is left when the paint is applied thickly. I like this new texture, it’s kind of like suede. This project was definitely a success! The kids were delighted to have specially made paints and when they get a little bit older they will be able to help make their own paints.

I have several other crafty art supply recipes to try out this summer so stay tuned!