Make a Lacy Flag out of a Vinly Place Mat

I was looking for something to match my Lace Ribbon Flag that I have hanging on my front door.  While that is outside it is under an awning.  I wanted something for my windows and I wanted it to go with the lace flag on my door.    I didn't think the lace would hold up so I started trying to come up with something lacy and weather resistant.

That's when I thought about the vinyl and went in search of lacy place mats.  I forgot to take a picture of the plain place mat before I started working on it, but I think we all know what they look like. 

I looked several places and finally found some I liked on Amazon, see link:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B008EN4BNM?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00

I am not trying to promote anyplace, just thought you might like to know where I bought mine.  I think they came in an order of 6 and that is exactly how many I needed.  

You might be able to find them some place else.

What you will need for this project:

White Vinyl Lace Place mat or mats depending on how many you want to make.  

Painter's tape, I think the the one I used was about an inch and a half wide.

Small Paint Brush

Folk Art Multi Surface acrylic paint in a red  and blue of your choice(once again not pushing any product this is just what I used.)

Parchment paper

Paper plate or something similar to put paint in

Tape measure

Small Dowel rod for hanging

String or Ribbon for hanging

E6000 Glue

How your mat will look when taped

The kind of paint I used

How it will look after adding red paint and removing tape

Back of mat, to show gluing of dowel rod

Instructions

1.  Place a piece of parchment paper down, make it large enough so you can paint without making a mess.  Then lay your place mat on that.  On my mat it seemed one side was a little prettier than the other, so I painted on that side.

2.  Next, start taping.  I decided to start with a white stripe so starting on the right side I lined the tape up with the edge and pressed it down.  I made the tape longer than the mat so it could help hold the mat down while painting. The 1st stripe on the right side of the mat is white.  

3.  The width of the tape and the width of the mat didn't quite work out, so I used my tape measure to make the un-taped red stripe about 1 1/4 inches wide.  I just measured out from the edge of my 1st strip of blue tape and placed the next strip of blue tape 1 1/4 inches from the edge of the 1st strip.  You may have to work with this a little but these measurements kinda worked for me.  All my stripes are not the same width, but they are close enough that you can't tell.

4.  I also went ahead and taped off where the blue section would be.  I just let my 3rd white stripe be the edge of the blue.  This means I just laid a full strip of blue tape down as if I were making a full white stripe.  Then I used my tape measure to measure down 6 inches and placed a piece of tape INSIDE this measurement, going the opposite of the red and white stripes.   This looked right for my mat.  

5.  Then continue placing blue tape to make red and white stripes.   I just started tape on the blue tape that I was using as the edge/mask of the rectangle to be painted blue.  Remember this white rectangle you have is going to be painted blue, just not yet.  Leave it white and don't put any tape or paint in this rectangle.   The outside edge of the 2 pieces of blue tape that form your rectangle is going to be the outside edge of your blue painted rectangle.  I went along the edges of the tape with my finger just to push it down so none of the paint would go under it. 

6.  After all is taped, squirt some of the red paint in your plate and use paint brush to fill in white spaces, other than the white rectangle you will be painting blue.  I let it dry for about 5 or 10 minutes and then took the tape off.  Be careful not to smear your paint.  If any of the red paint gets on the white stripes, use a wet paper towel to try and wipe it off.  Read the directions on your paint to make sure it cures correctly.  I used the multi surface paint because it is supposed to stick to plastic.  This isn't rigid plastic, so I am hoping it will hold up for a few years.  But time will tell. 

7.  I let the paint dry for a few hours, then came back with the blue tape and put it over the 2nd red stripe from the right.  I tried to get it right on the edge.  Then I placed a piece of tape along the edge of where I want the bottom of my blue section to be.  Over the red and white stripes, being careful to get it right on the edge of the white rectangle and the edges of the red and white stripes.   Go over the edge with your finger to make sure it is pressed down well. 

8.  Put some blue paint on your plate and use paint brush to cover rectangle.  Let dry for 5 or 10 minutes and remove tape.  Be careful not to get any of the paint on any other part of the flag.  Allow to dry thoroughly.  Read your paint instructions and let paint cure.  Just leave the flag on the parchment paper.  I found this worked best.

9.   Once it is cured, peal flag off of parchment paper, flip it over on its other side and lay it back on the parchment paper.  I cut my dowel rod to a length that gave me about an inch on each side of the flag.  Squirt a bead of E6000 glue down one side of the dowel and lay that side down on the top edge of the top of your flag.  Press it down a little and allow to dry.  

10.  Once glue is dry and flag is secured to dowel, cut a lenght of string or ribbon or whatever you are using as a hanger.  I just tied each end of the string to one of the ends of the dowel.  You may want to add a dab of glue to hold it in place.  Your flag is ready to hang. 

My dog watching me take a picture

Pretty White Button Mosaic Swan Christmas Ornament Craft

I hope you love this swan, I sure do.  

My obsession with Christmas ornaments continues.  I have made hundreds of shrinky ornaments and now I am just trying to find new ways to use it.  

I am unsure if they have stoped making the Shrinky Dinks brand or what, but I can't find them.  You may have to use another brand like Grafix.  I have not used this brand, but I am sure it works fine.  From what I have read it doesn't shrink as much as Shrinky, but you will have to play with it.  I will probably switch to it if I can't find Shrinky. 

I am not uploading a pattern on this one.   I am sure you can find a drawing that is better than what I drew.  My drawings always have lots of corrections.  So just look around I am sure you will find one. 

I picked a simple form as I thought it would be easier to fill in with buttons(they only make them so small).  Then I decided to use seed beads, gems and small beads.  You could also use glitter.   So, after doing a few of these I suppose you could do any form that you can cut out of the shrink plastic.

That is the nice thing about the shrink plastic.  I can make any form I want.  The plastic is strong so it holds up. 

This is a picture of the back, just so you can see how I colored it.

This is a picture of some of the many of the items I use.  I used Shrinky Dink brand, but I am not sure if they have stopped making this or not.  You can also use Grafix brand.  I have never used this brand, but may have to try it if I can't get more Shrinky.  From what I have read, the Grafix doesn't get as small while baking, so you have to play with the size of my pattern to get it the size you want. 

A list of what I used for this project:

Shrinky Dink Ruff and Ready, 1 sheet

Hole Punch or small drill bit, I usually don't use a hole punch for the hanging hole.  I use          the smallest drill bit I can find and drill after I have finished the ornament.

Orange Pencil

White Pencil

E6000 glue or something similar 

Tooth Picks

Black Sharpie for tracing and coloring

Parchment Paper

Tile or some other heavy, smooth flat item

Flat Spatula

Cutting board or some other surface on which to drill

White Buttons of all sizes

Flat Back gems in White colors - just an assortment of things in White

Rose Beads with Flat Backs - Bought mine at Michael's in the strung bead section, backs      were a little rounded but with enough glue they stuck

Orange Seed beads(or glitter)

White Seed Beads(or glitter)

Black Seed Beads(or glitter)

Flat Back Black Gem

White sequins

White Boa - the small size

How I made this.

1. I traced it onto shrink plastic by laying my drawing  underneath the sheet of shrink plastic with the frosted side up.   I used the sharpie.

2.  I used the sharpie to color in the face and  the orange pencil to color the  beak.  I colored the rest of it white.  I colored it just because I thought some of the plastic might show through.  I wasn't particularly neat when I did it. Just filled it in. 

3.  Cut shape out.

4.  Bake according to directions given by the manufacturer of the product you are using.  When I bake these I put parchment paper on the pan and place the plastic on that, then I put another layer of parchment paper on top of the ornament.  I have a small aluminum pan that came with my toaster over that I put on top of that. This seems to keep the plastic from curling on itself and sticking together.  I use my regular oven for baking these but I know some people use their toaster oven, but since I am using the pan from that oven to put on top of the items being baked that wouldn't work for me. 

5. Now, these things warp sometimes.  I don't know why one does it and one doesn't, even when I am doing the exact same shape.  If this happens I put it back in the oven for 5 minutes and then you can work with it a little to get it in the shape I want.  I don't put the parchment paper or pan on it the 2nd time as it doesn't seem to curl up so much at this point.  But remember, these will sometimes warp and it may never get to the exact shape you want.  Just consider it as having a handmade look and move on. 

6.  I also have a fairly heavy floor tile that I put on top of these when I take them off the pan from baking.  I put it on top and wait a few minutes for it to cool. Anything smooth, heavy and flat should work.   This helps it get flat.

7.  Once baked, use a flat spatula to remove to counter and cover with the heavy object you are using to flatten, like the floor tile I use.  Allow to cool for a few minutes 

8.  After cooling completely I move it to another piece of parchment paper because I know I am going to be sealing and gluing and lots of other things that make a mess.

9.  I used a tooth pick to spread the E6000 glue where ever I was putting a button or gem. I squirted out a glob of glue on the parchment paper to begin and used the tooth pick to dab it on.   I started with the eye, just use the tooth pick to put a dab of glue where you want the eye and affix the black gem.  I then started in the middle and adhered the larger buttons or gems by applying glue to the shrink plastic and placing the items down.  I worked my way out to the edges and up the neck.   Don't worry, you will fill in any blank spaces with the seed beads, glitter, small beads or whatever you have decided to use.  Use the orange and black seed beads to fill in the face and beak.   I would stop and let things dry, so they wouldn't move around and then go back and fill in some more until it was filled in the way I wanted it. 

10.  I just smeared the glue on the spots that were blank and poured the seed beads on, pressed them in with my finger and poured off any excess.  You will have to play with what works best for you. 

11.  You may want to leave 2 blank spaces for the hanging string.  If you do it this way, remember to use a hole punch to make the holes before you bake it.  Or you can drill through those spaces.   I just drilled right through buttons and the shrink plastic, but I did it slowly, so I wouldn't loosen what was glued down.   If I did loosen it, I just  re glued it.  You  just have to plan how you will handle this.  But I managed so I'm sure you will too.   Remember to put something under the swan so you don't drill through your counter. 

12.  Make sure all is dry and firm, I rubbed my finger over everything to make sure it was firmly affixed.  If it felt loose, I used a tooth pick to add more glue. 

13.  To add the boa, put swan on it's front.  Cut about a 3 inch piece of boa.  Add E6000 glue along edge of tail.  Press boa onto back of swan.   I tore a small piece of parchment paper and place it over the glued down boa.  I then place a small heavy bottle over this and allowed the glue to dry. 

15.   Put a string through the hole in the top, tie a knot and you are done.   I actually made 2 holes on the body of the flamingo for hanging.  I just thought it would hang better.