Glittering Ambiguity
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Glittering Ambiguity

A blog about simplification, and sparkle.

Quick and Easy Candle Holders

6/22/2015

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I went over to dinner at my sister's house and it smelled lovely. I stood in her kitchen and inhaled the lovely aroma before inspecting the candle nearby (though the food smelled lovely too), pumpkin pie scent as it turned out. So on my next jaunt to Target I made a point to stop at the candle isle and deliberate. One candle? Two candles? Big small? And what will I set them on? I wanted a pretty candle holder, but  decided I'd rather have two candles and make holders, than have one candle with a pre-made holder.
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So I came home with my two lovely candles (and all the other things that willed their way into my cart) and began to search. Jars? Too small. Box of junk? Nothing. Finally after many trips to and fro around the house I remembered the saved-for-no-reason-but-I'm-sure-I-can-make-something tin cans. Sure enough one fit, and a near by saved jam jar's lid fit as well. Perfect.
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For the lid I decided to simply spray paint it gold. I headed to the garage, ripped out another phone book page, and sprayed one side. (I came back in between working on the can to spray the other.)
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The water chestnut can needed a little more work. First I used Goo Gone to remove the label residue, and then I gently hammered a pokey bit of metal.  I tried to hammer holes in a pattern using a nail, but I only managed to get 2 holes in before realizing the metal was too soft. It was deforming instead of becoming beautiful. So I quickly moved on to plan B, tribal sharpie designs. I repeated the same columns of shapes in a pattern, but colored in different areas of the shapes for variety.
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It only took me thirty minutes to sharpie the can, which was the most time consuming part of the project (besides hunting for recyclables). 

What have you DIY-ed lately? Anything I can use glass bottles or jars for? 
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Fairy Rings

2/19/2015

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I spent too long on pinterest the other day. Sometimes that saps all my creativity and leaves me sad I spent hours looking at projects, instead of doing them. So I decided I HAD to do one of the projects. I chose this fairly simple one, and I had almost everything at hand.

All you need is:
Thin wire
Wire clippers (or scissors, the wire is thin enough)
A pencil
Tacky glue
Nail Polish
Patience (not very much) 
loop wire around pencil.
clip to remove excess
twist 2 or 3 times. then loop over pencil again.
slip off first loop, then twist 2 or 3 more times (tip: hold wire, twist pencil)
keep going like this until you have 5 petals (loops).
Take the wire and twist it with the 1st petal you made to make a closed circle.
all connected.
Wrap a close circle, over a petal base, under the next all the way around 2 or 3 times.
now wrap the wire across the circle, and wrapping under, from several different angles.
this made a very cute, daisy-esque center.
Now cut the length of wire you want for the stem.
done with shaping, ready for glue.
The glue fills in the petals, with a suspended thin film.
squeese the glue and take the tip back and forth trying to stretch the glue across.
eventually you will get it across, and add more to fill in any hole/gaps
ready to dry
loop stem, to hang dry.
I dried mine over night, the glue turns clear when dry
Tip: place a paper or something under your flower as it dries, the glue drips.
When I made the rings, I wasn't taking pictures. So I made the above to show you. I did not do the center pictured when I made the rings, but I like it better. To make the rings, all I did was loop the wire around my finger 3 or 4 times, and the wrap the wire around the flower and ring loops (center of flower), and wrap again at the base of the ring (under where you finger will go) to keep all the wire loops together. I also slightly squished the petals of the rings, using my fingers. 
dry and ready to paint
this is a good shot of the ring structure
Choose you nail polish petal color
paint petals front and back
I only needed one coat, and then hung to dry again.
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I also made this larger ring, with thicker wire. However I don't recommend it. It was harder to form, and much harder to get the glue to stretch across. I thought it would make a more durable ring, but the cons aren't worth it to me. If you care about durability, thicker wire is do-able, but more challenging. 

So there you go, fairy rings, or just adorable flowers.
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(re)Making Crayons

2/13/2015

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Crayons made using Ikea Ice Cube Trays
At Goodwill this week I found a pack of four Ikea ice cube trays for two dollars, and I thought immediately of the crayons left over from our wedding that I still hadn't used up (last year I tried melting them double boiler style, but that did not turn out pretty, check my Tumblr and scroll down to see that mini-tutorial).
Crayons organized by color
So I read up on the task at hand, pulled out all my crayons. 
And broke them into the molds (ice cube trays). 
As recommended my another blogger, I grouped the colors by warm and cool, and monochromes.
As I was prepping for this project, I read various accounts of the trays melting, and not melting. The deciding factor I settled on was oven temperature. At 250 the trays do not melt (mine did not even come close to melting), however at 350 they very well might (according to the internet rumors). Also, there is text on the trays that reads "for water only". A discussion I read here suggests perhaps the rubber is porous and Ikea is avoiding possible lawsuits. In any case I decided to take the "risks".
Ikea Ice Cube trays filled with crayons ready to go in the oven
This is the only baking sheet I have that was big enough to hold all four at once. I only put my Silpat down to help if they melted.
With my oven warmed to 250 (NOT 350). I put the crayons in. Scared by the melting trays rumor, I hovered near the oven. 
Owl timer set to 5 minutes
I set a timer for 5 minutes, and checked every one to two minutes, looking for melting trays. My trays did not melt. They did not weaken, they did not lean. It took about 10 minutes for my crayons to melt (all ovens are different), however I was so nervous I pulled them out before every crayon was Completely melted, my crayons are still fine, but wait to pull yours out until all you see is a puddle of wax, no crayon shaped lumps.  
Melted Crayons in Ikea ice cube tray
Liquid is good, lumps are there to stay.
Once out I popped them into the freezer and continued with my day. I have a shoebox lid I use to support a more wobbly mold on its way into the ice cube area of my freezer, but that was overkill for these ice cube trays obviously made to support liquid. 
In the freezer to harden.
Ready to pop out.
The trays are thicker than my silicon bakeware, but still fully reversible.
Finished and ready to give away. There are a few more, these just fit nicely into a design.
I did not fill my trays with enough crayon bits. If I make them again I will overfill slightly and break the crayons into smaller bits, so they don't come out as shallow as these ones. The hearts and flowers are the most structurally sound. I got about half of my fish out with tails, and none of the starbursts came out with all arms intact, although a couple were very close. They will still make nice presents for the kids I work with.
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Spinning yarn

2/2/2015

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I am not a football person. I maybe watch the superbowl if we have to attend a social gathering for the event. Yesterday I was at said social gathering, with not much to do. The host of our lovely gathering happens to keep sheep, and had mentioned before having a drop spindle. 

Trapped with nothing else to do I took her up on her offer to teach me. I sort of got the idea, but I also read this instructable and found it very helpful. I am quite excited about my new hobby (come on I've done it for a total of an hour, it counts as a hobby). I wasn't able to spin through the whole super bowl, because I accidentally started watching the game and it was very interesting (also, you know, I had to talk to people). But I am still in possession of the spindle.

I am spinning my yarn too tight, but I will work on that with the next batch of fluff. 

It fills me with joy to try new arts and play with them. Have you tried anything new lately?
This is the yarn I have spun.
I am using a "bottom whorl" spindle.
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DIY ipod facelift

1/26/2015

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My current ipod isn't pretty. It is an inherited gen 3 (I think). Incompatible with modern apps, but still works fine for living in my car plugged in to the stereo all day. Here is how I prettied it up in under an hour. Scroll over the photos below for details.

You will need:
- a hard ipod case
- new screen protector 
- spray paint
- Optional: sand paper, a sticker or stencil
Lets get started, undress the ipod.
Step 1: remove that nasty screen protector.
Step 2: wipe off accumulated crud.
all clean!
Find a new scree protector, I used one intended for an iphone 5c.
I used the ipod and the old screen protector to measure for trimming, and then Step 3: apply screen protector.
Optional Step 4: make/select a stencil or sticker.
Cut out your sticker to make sure there is no excess white space.
Apply sticker (or tape down stencil) and we are ready to spray paint.
Remember to spray paint outside, and cover your work space!
* I did not sand down my case with sand paper, and there are some rough spots, decide if you care*
Spray!
And here is the finished result.
The case I have has been previously spray painted, sand paper might have helped with the rough spots.
Some textured running on this side, I kind of like it.
Honesty: I missed a spot up here.
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Over all I really like my "new" gold case. The apple is a nice touch, and I don't mind the flaws in the paint job. I wasn't going for perfect, but it certainly is shinier.
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    Hello!

    I'm Sara. I live in Portland, Oregon. I have chickens. I love coffee AND tea, I make stained glass pendants in my basement, and I love adventures and new ways to live. I have an Etsy store as well.

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