Craft from the Past!

Ten years ago this month, this is one of the craft projects I made: a holder for a bison horn.

I had bought this horn at a Native American trading post because I thought it would be a nice thing to have to remind me of how our Native peoples of the plains lived and survived. The bison was everything to them and it was a part of every aspect of their lives. When they killed a bison, every part of the animal was used for something. No part of it went to waste. (Not even their poop, which the Natives used to fuel their fires.) Not only did the bison give them meat, but the Natives used their hides to make all types of clothing, as well as tipi coverings, blankets, bags & pouches, belts, and many other things. They used their hooves to make glue, their sinew to make thread and bow strings, their bones to make knives & spears, tools, toys, ceremonial objects and more. Bison brains were used to tan their hides. The horns were used as ladles, spoons, and cups. The bison not only provided for them physically, but it was also an integral part of their spiritual life as well.

Okay, now back to the bison horn holder I made. As I said, I bought this bison horn, but when I got it home, I was like, “Now how am I going to display this?”. So this holder is what I came up with. Basically, I just wrapped a small metal ring with suede lace for the horn to rest in and then I made a sort of netting around the horn with the suede lace and some pony beads. At the top, I gathered together the ends of the lace, attached some feathers, and wrapped it with a piece of suede, then attached another piece of lace to make the hanger. I added leather tassels and feathers to hang down from the ring. And that’s it! It was very quick and simple to do.

I’m not posting this because I think a lot of people will want to know how to make a hanger to display a bison horn, but rather I’m just using it to show that where there’s a will, there’s a craft.

Harvest Tri-fold Watercolor Card

Harvest Tri-fold Watercolor Card

Here's a card I did with my class in September. It's a Harvest Tri-fold Watercolor Card using the "Harvest" Try-fold stamp set from Art Impressions. I used it to give the ladies a mini-lesson on watercoloring using watercolor pencils. It was a pretty simple card to do.

Card with left flap open

Card with both flaps open

Close-up of center panel art

Harvest Tri-fold Watercolor Card

Techniques Explored:
1)   Making a tri-fold card
2)   Watercoloring with watercolor pencils

Supplies:
Cardstock& Paper:
-  Whisper White: 5¼” x 11”, scored 3⅝” from each end
Ink Pads:
-  StazOn Jet Black
Stamps:
-  Harvest “Try-Fold” (Art Impressions)
-  Miscellaneous Fall & Thanksgiving stamp sets (for sentiments)
Other Supplies:
-  Watercolor Pencils
-  Aqua Painters (aka water brushes)
-  Bone Folder 
-  Paper Snips (aka scissors)
-  Pencil Sharpener
-  6” Ruler
-  Pencil w/eraser
-  Paper towels
-  Clear Blocks

Instructions:
1)   Do not fold the paper yet. Stamp & watercolor it first, as it is easier to do when the paper is left flat.
2)   First, using black StazOn ink, stamp the barn image in the center section of the card, about ½” from the top of the paper. You need to use a solvent or alcohol-based ink, such as StazOn, when watercoloring. The StazOn ink will not bleed or run when water is applied to it, unlike dye ink which is water-based.
3)   Turn the card over (make sure the barn is still upright on the other side)& stamp the fence& barrel image on the right panel next to the score line, about 1½” from the top.
4)   Stamp the wagon image on the left panel next to the score line, about 2” from the top.
5)   Next, watercolor the images using watercolor pencils.
How to watercolor using watercolor pencils:
Watercoloring is FAST& easy to do!
     a)    First, QUICKLY color in ALL of the images with the watercolor pencils. You do not need to color the images in completely or neatly; watercoloring is not meant to look neat & perfect. Just broadly color within the lines, but do not color right up to or over the lines. Watercolors have some white spaces here & there. Also, do not color evenly. Color using varying amounts of pressure on the pencils, leaving some areas darker & other areas lighter. Think about what the image would look like in real life with light shining on it. Color darker where you think there would be more shadow & color lighter in areas where you think the light would shine on them the brightest. Watercolors have a blotchy look to them. The varying shades of color give the images more life by adding dimension & shading. Color in the sky VERY lightly or your sky will come out too dark.
     b)    I used Stampin’ Up!’s watercolor pencils. The colors I used are:
         1.    Early Espresso: Barn roof, barn doors, path, fences, tree branches, wagon spokes, hitch, & trim
         2.    Old Olive: grass, pumpkin leaves & stems, grape leaves, leaves on front tree by barrel
         3.    Pumpkin Pie: pumpkins
         4.    Rich Razzleberry: grapes
         5.    Real Red: wagon
         6.    Early Espresso mixed with some Pumpkin Pie & Daffodil Delight: barrel
         7.    Daffodil Delight: barrel ring
         8.    Pumpkin Pie mixed with some Daffodil Delight & Real Red: leaves on trees by barn
         9.     Basic Grey: barn sides
         10.     Basic Black: wagon wheel hubs
         11.    Pacific Point: sky
     c)    Get a crumpled paper towel & keep it in your hand at all times to soak up any extra water& to wipe your brush clean.
     d)   Now QUICKLY apply water to the colored images. We are using regular cardstock, instead of watercolor paper,& cardstock is not as absorbent, so you will need to apply the water LIGHTLY. Do not saturate the paper or it will start to pill & possibly rip through.
     e)    If you are using an aqua painter style water brush, fill it with water and then lightly squeeze the barrel until water begins to flow to the bristles. Then squeeze the bristles together on the paper towel to soak up any excess water. You want the bristles to always be DAMP, not wet. This should be the ONLY time you will need to squeeze the barrel other than to clean the bristles. The water should slowly flow to the bristles on its own to keep the bristles moist. If at any point you have too much water on the paper, lightly DAB the paper towel (do not rub) on that part of your image to soak up the excess water. Then squeeze the water off the bristles into the paper towel so they are not so wet. You may need to do this often depending on how much water is flowing through the brush. If you are unsure of how much water is on your brush, wipe the brush against the back of your hand. The brush should feel damp& there should be hardly any water coming out of it. If the brush is leaving a trail of water on your hand, it is too wet.
     f)    Paint one side of the paper completely before turning your paper over to paint the other side. When doing so, you may wish to put a paper towel underneath the painted side of the paper to absorb some water & to prevent the paper from getting anything on it.
     g)    When painting, choose a color & then paint in ALL areas having that color before switching to another color. When switching colors, make sure to wipe your brush clean. You can press on the barrel a little bit so you have some water to help clean the bristles, but be sure to squeeze off any excess water from your brush before you begin painting again.
     h)   While painting, do not paint right up to, or over, the stamped lines. You do not want two different colors to touch each other or the colors will run together & turn into a yucky poopy color, & I’m sure you don’t want that. To prevent some of that from happening, don’t apply any water to the smallest areas, such as tree branches, wagon trim, wheels & hubs, pumpkin stems & leaves, grape leaves, & the small fences in the background.
6)   It should not take very long for your paper to dry. To lessen the drying time, you can wave your paper in the air or quickly wave a heat gun over it. It is not unusual for the paper to warp a little as it dries.
7)   Now for the cutting. Beginning about 1½” up from the BOTTOM of the card, cut towards the fence. When you reach the fence, cut along the outside edge of the image up to the fold line. Then cut along the fold line to the top of the card.
8)   Do the same for the other end of the card. Start cutting about 1¾” up from the bottom of the card towards the wagon. When you get to the wagon, cut all along the outside of the image up to the fold line, then cut on the fold line up to the top of the card.
9)   Fold the two side panels on the score lines so that they cover the center panel. Fold the wagon panel in first so that it is below the barn, then fold the fence & barrel panel over the wagon panel.
10) To finish, open your card up. Choose a sentiment & stamp it with StazOn ink towards the bottom of the center panel. Make sure that the sentiment is low enough so that it is not visible when the two flaps are folded over it.

I hope you'll give this card a try (using any of the Try-fold stamp sets from Art Impressions. If you do, let me know how it turned out and what you thought of it.

Also, if you have any other comments, questions, etc., let me know those too!

Enjoy your day!