Crapty Friday- Faux metal magnets made with glue, aluminum, and cardboard

I can't believe it's Friday already.  Time is really whizzing by!  We're still doing some last minute Halloween preparations over here.  I just finished sewing Baby Chuck's super simple costume.  We're also planning on picking out and carving pumpkins this weekend.  Hopefully we aren't too late and there are still good pumpkins to be found.  Eek!   

This week I crapted two kitty magnets.  I was inspired to try out this crapt after seeing this awesome  post.  My kitty magnets were made out of aluminum foil, cereal boxes, and old magnets that I saved from  a magnetic notepad.  (After finishing the last page of the magnetic notepad, I saved the magnets and used them again.)  

Here are the materials that I used:
- magnets  <-- crap
- cereal boxes
- pencil
- Sharpie
- glue
- glue stick
- aluminum foil
- Q-tip
- paper towel
- scissors
- black craft paint (the original set of directions used shoe polish, but we didn't have any so I improvised)
- hot glue gun

Directions:
Step 1:  I cut out two rectangles from the cereal boxes.  These became the base of my magnets.  I doodled images on both and then traced my doodle with glue.  I let the glue dry overnight.  (Note:  I made very simple designs because glue lines are pretty thick.  Later I used a pencil to add details.)

Step 2:  I cut out two pieces of aluminum foil that were bigger than my rectangles.  I glued the aluminum foil onto each rectangle.  Then, I carefully rubbed the aluminum foil to reveal the raised cat shape underneath. (Note: I placed a paper towel between my fingers and the aluminum foil to make sure that I wouldn't rip or scratch the foil.)

Step 3:  I used a Q-tip to rub around the glue.  This made the raised glue bits further stand out.

Step 4:  I trimmed the aluminum foil and glued the excess bits onto the back.

Step 5:  I used a pencil to create texture by drawing different patterns and finer details.

 Step 6:  Using my Q-tip and paper towel, I dabbed craft paint onto small portions of the magnet.  Then I quickly wiped off some of the paint.  The black paint helped the patterns and raised bits to further stand out.  It also made the aluminum foil look less shiny. 

I repeated this dab and wipe off procedure until I got a look that I liked.  To further emphasize the details, I lightly traced portions of my design with the Sharpie marker. 

Step 7:  I glued the magnets onto the back of my cat images and voila, two finished magnets.

This was a pretty fun process.  I felt like I was making some counterfeit antique items.  Don't the finished products look a lot more substantial and expensive than they really are? 

Thanks for joining me on another crapting adventure.
Hope you have a great weekend! 

DIY Halloween window clings

I made these window clings on a whim because I still had left over black glue from my  DIY faux stained glass project. 

I doodled Halloween images onto a piece of paper.  Then, I traced the images in glue on a  piece of wax paper. Afterwards, I let them dry about 24 hours. (Yah, I was surprised it took that long for the glue to dry too!)

Just realized now that my bat looks like a black golden snitch with eyes

Tada!  Spooky!

As you can see, these clings aren't quite as nice as the ones from the store.  They are kind of bumpy and don't completely stick to the window.  But, they're one of a kind and fun to make.

Because I lay down the black and white glue at the same time, they mixed together as they dried.  (Now my ghosts a bit spookier than I intended.  Eek!)  When I make window clings again, I'm going to outline my images in black (or whatever color) first. Once that dries, I'll fill the images in with my other glue. 

Also, the clings didn't initially stick to the windows.  I had to wet the back of the cling with a bit of water and then stick it to the window.  (Tip learned here.) Somehow the water helps the clings to stick.  Water also dripped down the window as I stuck them up.  But not to worry! Once they were sufficiently stuck, I just wiped the smudges and dribbles up.

I think the Halloween decorations are helping Baby Chuck to get into the Halloween spirit.  He's so cute.  He keeps pointing to the clings and and pumpkin garland and growling. 

What did you fail at today?

When I was in elementary and middle school, I was deathly afraid of getting bad grades.  Once I got a B (which my mind translated to F) on a test and I cried and cried and cried.

When I got to high school, the stakes became higher. I learned about the triad of dreaded acronymns- GPA, PSAT, and SAT. 

*Shudder shudder shudder* 

I wore them like heavy chains around my heart.  I became even more afraid of failing.  On the outside I showed a smiley faced demeanor and acted like I didn't care too much.  But inside I was fiercely competitive.  School was the one thing that I was always good at.  I studied hard and wasn't happy unless every grade was some sort of A.  I put a lot of pressure on myself because I didn't want to be labeled the dreaded F word: Failure.

*Shiver*

This September, for the first time in twenty-seven years, I'm no longer a student.  I'm no longer working for a grade and dreading what someone will label me.   (If you're interested in my decision to drop out of the PhD program, you'll have to wait a big longer.  I'm still reflecting on that whole journey.  That'll be for another post, for another day, for another blog...)


Now that I'm no longer being graded, I feel a loosening of the weights around my heart.  Gone are the scary nightmares where I'm back in school and *gasp* asked to take a ridiculous math exam that I didn't study for.

Now that I'm not being graded anymore, I'm giving myself a free pass.  I'm giving myself permission to fail.

Wait, strike that.  I'm encouraging myself to fail... every day.

Surprised?

Last spring I heard an interview of Sara Blakely, the inventor of Spanx.  (According to Forbes magazine, she's the world's youngest self-made billionaire.)  When I listened to her journey, I was struck by a story she shared about her father.  Every night he would ask his children to name one thing that they failed at that day.  Faced with this question night after night, Sara was encouraged to try to do new things every day. 

She learned not to be afraid of failing.  She also learned that failure didn't happen when things didn't work out.  Failure meant not pushing yourself to try new things, not pushing yourself to do and be more than the day before.

That story planted itself into my heart.

I'm going to fail at something every day.  This way I can stop being afraid of things and grow.