Roly-Poly Penguin with Smoothfoam™

Hi Crafters!

Today I'm part of a blog hop highlighting Smoothfoam™ - The Crafter's Foam.  I've created a little penguin using Smoothfoam™ balls, paint, tacky glue, craft foam, felt and wiggle eyes.  He's easy to make.  He'll like hanging out on your tree or in a winter snow scene on your mantel or table.

Roly-Poly Penguin with Smoothfoam™
Design by Terry Ricioli

Here's how to make this cute (if I do say so!) Roly-Poly Penguin:

Materials:

2 Smoothfoam™ balls: 1 1/2" and 2"

Black and white acrylic paint

Scraps of black, orange and pink craft foam

8" x 1/2" strip of red felt

Wiggle eyes

Tools:

Small teardrop wood piece for pattern

Tacky glue

Serrated knife

Hole punch

Scissors

Pen or pencil

1.  Saw off a small circle of foam on the top and bottom of the large ball. Slice off a small circle of foam from the bottom of the small ball. Glue the flat side of the small ball to a flat side of the larger ball.

2.  Paint the tummy and the face of the penguin white. Paint the rest black shaping the face with a point in the center.

3.  Use the teardrop wood piece to trace and cut two wings from black foam. Use the end of the teardrop to trace a small half circle from orange foam for the mouth. Cut a smaller half circle to fit underneath that piece. Shape the flat sides of the half circles to fit the round surface of the face. Use the teardrop wood shape to trace and cut feet from the orange foam. Use the hole punch to cut two circles of pink foam for the cheeks.

4.  Glue the wings, mouth, wiggle eyes and feet to the penguin.

5.  Cut fringe in the ends of the felt strip and tie it around the penguin's neck.

6.  If you want the penguin to hang on your tree, poke a small hole in the top of the head with a toothpick and glue the ends of a loop of thread in the hole.

Smoothfoam™ is having a great giveaway as part of this blog hop.  You can enter to win this Snowman kit and more by leaving a comment on your favorite Smoothfoam™ project saying what you would make with Smoothfoam™.  So, hop around the Designer Crafts Connection blogs by clicking on the big blue button on the left side of this entry.  I can't wait to see what everyone has been crafting!

Happy Crafting with Smoothfoam™!

Terry

Thanks a Bunch!

Hi Crafters!
This month the designers in our Designer Craft Connection blog hop want to say "Thank you"!  So, we've designed some ways that you'll be able to do that while having some crafting fun! 

Thanks a Bunch! Card
Design by Terry Ricioli

Cards are always a great way to say "thank you"!  Here's my take on a thank you card using some recycled materials, paper, a little paint and some tacky glue.

I love the corrugated sleeves that you wrap around your hot drink.  They are a great source of crafting material.  I cut the grapes from one of those.  You can see that they are cut in all directions and of no particular size, so don't worry about it!

The leaf and stem are made from pieces of a brown paper grocery bag - also a great source of craft material.

Cut two small pieces of bag.

Add tacky glue.

Press the paper squares together.

Trace a leaf on the paper bag squares.  Use a natural leaf as a guide or make your own pattern.

Cut out the leaf.

Wrinkle the leaf by folding and scrunching it.  Let it dry.

Roll up a small rectangle of paper bag.  Twist and bend it into a stem.

Paint and arrange the leaf, stem and grapes on a torn rectangle of colored paper.  I painted these with some metallic powder but you can brush it with any color or kind of paint you like.  I like to leave some of the brown showing through the paint.

Glue the pieces onto the colored paper and glue that piece to a card in a contrasting color.

Print out "Thanks a bunch!" using your computer and printer and tear around the lettering.  Glue it at the bottom right or inside the card. 

Thanks a bunch for stopping by!  Stop in again on November 10th for some Christmas crafts using Smoothfoam(TM).

Happy Crafting!
Terry

 

French Knitter - The Craftier Side

Hi Crafters!
Some months ago, I mentioned that I found a new gadget to use in my crafting.  It's a French Knitter, and I found it fascinating.  I don't know why I never ran across it before, but, after a little research, I found that it appears to have been around forever and is a favorite of kids because it is so easy to use.  Being a kid at heart, I took to it right away. 

The manufacturerof this particular French Knitter, Clover, asked me to come up with some designs for them.  I had a great time designing with it and came up with a few new twists on some easy designs that are geared toward tweens and teens.  These designs incorporate beads and buttons as you work the knitting, so, in most cases, the beads or buttons are strung on the thread first.  Then, it's a simple process to knit the cord.  Instructions in the project sheet show how to finish the pieces.  I used a variety of cords like hemp twine, cotton cord and yarn so the pieces work up quickly.

Here are some of the projects in the group:

This is a bracelet using pink cotton cord, lime green E beads and a bright pink button.

And, here's the necklace to go with it!

This bracelet and key ring are made with hemp cord.  You can personalize it with letter beads.

And, just in time to wear for the football and basketball games, here's a fun necklace and tag to cheer on your team.

Here is a free copy of the instructions for the projects shown here and a few more.  Instructions are in English and Spanish.

I hope you'll try these fun projects.  Stop in again Monday for our Designer Craft Connection blog round.
Happy Crafting,
Terry