A 'charming' little gift for mom made out of a surprise material...

Hello friends - I hope you're all having a good week. 

I'm glad to report I'm - as my Nana Diana would say - 'getting my mojo back'.  She suggested I was just feeling blue due to the gloomy weather and that I should take some time to recharge and she was right.  This week I have been working on some Mother's Day ideas to share with you which I'm hopeful you will like.

 I made this pretty collection of charms.

I have been in love with feather earrings for a while now, but most recently I am in love with those feathered hair extensions you see Steven Tyler wearing....so Boho.

I was inspired by this picture and the desire to surprise my cousin with the little dragon fly (it's her favourite animal).  Bea - this is a true test of your love for my blog.  If you read this (without being prompted by anyone else), then you may claim your prize (while not a follower of mine, she claims to read my blog all the time).

OK, even if you don't see this post you may have it.

May I show you how easy it was to recreate?

Here is what you will need:

pop (soda) can

permanent marker

paint

fine paint brush

small scissors

pliers

varnish

tack

jump ring

gloves (for safety)

1. Start by carefully cutting the top and bottom of a pop (soda) can.
2. Cut can through the middle to form a sheet and with a permanent marker, draw desired shape (try to keep shapes and designs simple).

3. Cut around the shape with small sharp scissors.
4. Turn figure over and with a ball point pen, draw around the shape. Add details if desired.
Note: I recommend the use of gloves, although the tin is not very sharp and I personally opted not to. But I do not want any law suits.

5. The pressure of the pen will emboss the tin . The harder you press, the more you will see the design.
6. For this particular design, I decided to fold the edges of the tin with pliers.  In retrospect, I did not have to do this.
7. With a fine paint brush, paint if desired. You could also use colored sharpies.
8. If you used paint, you can gently scrape any additional details with your scissors or tack.

9. Gently pierce a hole with a tack, making sure the hole is not too close to the edge.
10. If you use a sharpie marker, you can skip this step unless you would like a nice sheen on your design.You will need to use varnish in order to prevent the paint from peeling off.  You can use any kind of varnish, but I used Varathane for wood. This is the same varnish I use to seal and add shine to my polymer clay creations.
11. Carefully brush varnish onto design being careful not to plug hole. You can use your tack to stop varnish from going into the hole.
12. Allow varnish to dry completely. Insert a jump ring.

 Here is the same process for the feather charm.
1. Design, cut and emboss.
2. With black paint, completely cover the feather.
3. Gently rub off paint with a paper towel or rag. You might need to repeat process until you get desired look.
4. Paint the bottom of the feather with black paint if you desire this particular look.

 Using the same technique, I made various charms.

Note: I painted the back of the charms to completely cover the color of the can. You will have to varnish both sides of the charm to prevent paint from peeling off.

And that's all she created wrote. I think these little charms look...'charming' :)

This particular craft is not geared towards children but on Thursday I will show you a technique that is safe and yields very similar results (pictured below).

Would this not be a sweet gift for Grandma on Mother's day?

I hope you enjoyed this little tutorial.  It really is very simple and the results are, in my humble, yet obviously biased opinion, fantastic.  I can't wait to hear any thoughts you might have - they serve as encouragement to keep creating.

Have a charming day!

much love,
Lucy

please go here to see the children's version