Meanwhile in Indiana....

My super creative sister in law and I are putting together our own little craft show called the Handmade Hoedown. This will happen in a couple of weeks and it has really pushed me to get on some ideas that have been on the back burner.

I love creating items in just one sitting. To just let the creativity flow and it is what it is at the end. That is why I thought gift wrapping, gift bag, and card making kits would be fun to put together.
Here is what I have so far:

These are hand stamped rolls of wrapping paper. There are hand punched tags, hand stamped cards, tags, stickers and a pen included in them.

These are the gift kits. They include small bags, hand stamped and punched tags, small cards and fun stickers. These are fun because you can decorate them however you like!

Here is a card making kit that includes various hand punched circles, hand stamped stickers, button stickers and pretty ribbon. Use your creativity on these!

There is so much more where those came from! These are so fun and exciting to make! I will keep you updated on the latest Funky Chicken Creations!

Upcycled Bottle Caps

I have seen upcycled bottle caps everywhere on the internet. They have been on my mind for awhile now and with a little persuading from a 40% off coupon for Hobby Lobby, I got the project started.

Here are some that caught my eye and got me inspired on Pinterest.

Via: raegunwear.blogspot.ca

Via: dollarstorecrafts.com

Via: marthastewart.com

They look really easy right? Well, they kind of were. I mean collecting bottle caps is no biggie. But if you do not drink beer to collect bottle caps, they do sell really cute ones at Hobby Lobby.

The next thing that is essential to this project is a round hole punch. If you do not have one, your pretty little fingers will get cramped up from cutting all the circles. I mean it is definitely doable, but you may hate this project afterwards. I purchased an ever trustworthy Martha Stewart Hole Punch from Jo-Ann Fabrics. To which I am now obsessed with!

via: amazon.com

The first tricky part for me was finding the resin to put on the inside of the bottle caps to give them that cool clear top. There were a few different items that were suggested online. Diamond Clear Resin (which I couldn't find in any craft store in my area), Mod Podg It left a lot of bubbles, didn't dry that clear and I had to use a lot of it. It isn't super expensive. But I don't want to use a whole bottle on one craft session. So that was out too. 

The other one (which I did purchase with my 40% off coupon) was a Clear Epoxy Resin. 

This was a bit intimidating at first because it looks like a science project. You have to mix the two chemicals together, stir for awhile, then pour it into the bottle caps. It really wasn't that hard and it didn't smell at all! I just am a messy crafter sometimes and well, I had some cleaning up to do afterwards. 

* Side-note: I did almost purchase a syringe looking resin because it had two sides and there would be no mixing on my end. They just combine before coming out the tip. I think I will get this next time. 

I just used pictures from old magazines I had. I punched them out oh so easily with my hole punch, then I put a bit of Tacky craft glue on the back and let them dry for a bit. I would say this was my last problem. I wish I would have read a little bit more into some of the other blogs because they suggested that is your picture isn't printed using an inkjet printer, to use mod podge to adhere the picture to the bottle cap. Then using more mod podge on top of the picture before pouring on resin. Which I will do next time because some of my pictures ended up floating to the top after pouring in the resin. Also, after drying they looked like they had grease on them. Odd, I know. They mod podge would have just added that extra coating on it.

Now they are not THAT bad. Just my crafters perfectionism will just allow them to be done differently next time!

I know you are dying to see the final results!!

Here they are drying in the sun (on a paper plate because I learned from my above mentioned mistake to put something underneath them). And yes, I do like Newcastle Beer :).

Here are some of them up close. The ones on the right shows the magnets I used on the back. I used my ever favorite E6000 glue which is strong as an ox!

I think they turned out good for  my first time. I am already saving up more bottle caps. If you would like to join me and contribute to my "bottle cap collecting" you are always more than welcome :). 

Have you ever used resin for anything else or even made bottle caps into something else? Let me know! I would love to hear about it.

Upcycled Playing Cards

Everyone has a junk drawers somewhere in their house (if you do not, you are not a normal American and you need to start one now!).

I happen to have quite a few of them, but the one I am talking about today is in my Kitchen.

It contains, but not limited to, such things as scissors, tape, bobby pins, matches,

 playing cards, pens, pencils, etc.

As I was rummaging through the drawer yesterday I found these random playing cards.

Definitely not a deck, but I thought "Could these be worthy of something more?"

That is when I went to trusty 'ol Pinterest.com for some inspiration. Here is what I found:

  

 

(The last ones were made into gift tags)

~~~

I have a large bag of stickers, paint, paint pens, collage photos, and much more to craft with. I busted that out and started my own altered playing cards.

First, I took a few cards out and lightly painted them. Then I started to go through my bag of craft goodies and added little things one by one.

Here is how they turned out.

The only adhering agent I used was the magnificent Mod Podge.

I used it all up so I need to get a new bottle today!

Some up-close views

Backs of the cards.

I then added card stock paper to the back and then sprayed the front of the cards with acrylic laminate spray so they will stay nice and shiny.

I added a magnetic strip to the back of the top left card in the above picture and plan to do that to the rest. It is now on my fridge for my viewing pleasure!

I really enjoyed doing this and will be making more of them. I also really liked how they were turned into gift tags and may do that too.

Got any playing card upcycling ideas? Let me know them!