Thank A Teacher - Gift Ideas

Hi everybody! Kim here from My Kraft Kloset sharing with you a few unique projects to say "thank you" to some very special teachers using these beautiful products from Craft Fantastic. To honor and celebrate our teachers for National Teachers Appreciation Week/Month.

As the school year is winding down you still have plenty of time to order these amazing products and make several handmade gifts for all the special teachers in your kids life. I've been told by some teachers, who are my friends, that they get TONS of gifts at the end of the school year. So I wanted to do something different and unique and this is what I came up with...a gift card holder that holds flower seed packets and a special handmade necklace she couldn't buy in any store.

To make the Flower Seed Holders:

1.  I started with an empty paper towel holder,  cut in half to give me two pieces for my flower seed holders, and press down flat. I like to recycle or upcycle, but you could use cardstock with this free printable template to cut out your own box that measures about 4 x 5.5" or 6 x 4." Or if you have a pillow box die cut or SVG that will do too.

2.  I used a whole sheet of *NEW* Seed Packets images, which measures 4 x 11" and cut in half at 4 x 5.5" makes two perfect patterned paper panels to match my project. Great for two teachers. Wrap the sheet around the paper towel holder and adhere the panel with Super Sticky Dots, because you want your project to hold together and these work great. 

3.  Then I used various paper scraps to create a "band" to wrap around the box for interest and decoration. Adhere with Super Sticky Dots, add a "thanks" sentiment with stickers, and decorate as shown in the picture above and below. Add flower seed packets to complete. Don't you just love these images? So brightly detailed for teachers, Mother's Day this Sunday, May 13th,  or the gardeners in your life.

Next how to make the necklaces:

1.  I started with an APPLE PENDANT KIT  that includes both an antique brass and silver apple trays, two apple jewelers glass, and silver and brass necklace chains. And also used a couple of  SMALL SQUARE PENDANT TRAYS in silver and SMALL GLASS SQUARES to match.

 

2.  Next choose from hundreds of Craft Fantastic images, which is always the hardest part. I really love them all! Or make your own and mix them up. I choose a teachers printable sheet from the internet and printed it on plain white copy paper at home.

3.  Cut out the apple image and added a couple drops of Fantastic Glaze & Glue and adhered it on top of a script image from the *NEW* Seed Packets images, as shown below, to create a unique collage. Allow to dry before adding glass. 

4.  Once dry. Add a few drops of Fantastic Glaze & Glue on the back of a Glass Apple piece, press gently for a few minutes, and hold until set. Wipe off any excess glue around the edges with a Q-tip.

5.  Once dry, cut around the glass and cut out the image. Adhere a Fantastic Super Sticky Dot to the apple tray, remove the red backing, and place glass image into the tray and a chain to complete. Aren't these apples precious?  I just love them! Don't you???

Repeat the steps above to make the square pendants.

Voila! There you have several uniquely designed gifts wrapped in their own handmade packaging to show your appreciation of a teachers great work with our kids or for having a fabulous school year. "Thank You, Teachers"

Be sure to check out our *NEW* Designer Kits-of-the Month and get started designing special gifts or keep a few for yourself, because they are stunning! The possibilities are truly endless with these super fantastic products! Thanks for stopping by!

Kim Klinkovsky @mykraftkloset

Printing Photos and Images at Home

I get questions each week regarding the Craft Fantastic line of products and how to use them with various mediums, but the one that pops up more than any other is the topic of this week's blogpost...

"How do I print images at home to use with the Craft Fantastic glass, trays and findings?"

(The Short Answer - If you read through this post and continue to have trouble printing images at home, the issue is most likely your printer. Your best bet, in this case, is to have the images printed by a professional printer such as FedEx.)

Back to my blogpost... Sure, it's phrased in different ways, but it's the one question that's in the forefront of everyone's creative brain when they first discover how easy and fun the Craft Fantastic products are to use.  

Maybe you want to scan some family photos and create some personalized pieces for special members of your family. Perhaps grandma would love a pendant featuring a picture of the grandchildren. Or maybe you want to make a Christmas ornament using a photo of the house you grew up in as a child to give to each of your siblings. Or maybe you want to scan a picture of some of your own artwork and reduce it down to use on a bracelet. Whatever the case may be, I'm going to try and answer your most common questions about using computer printed photos and images.

I'm going to break this topic down into a series of smaller questions. 

Let's get started...

Can I use real photos or original artwork?

A. NEVER use original photos or artwork. Most photos have a glossy coating which will not work with the Glaze & Glue and the application of the glue might even cause the photo colors to run. Preserve your original photos and artwork by making copies or scanning them into your computer. That way you can make as many copies as your crafty heart desires and still have the originals tucked away in a photo album for all to enjoy years later.  

Is it best to use a laser printer or an ink jet printer to print images?

A. Laser printers produce the best copies, picking up minute details and replicating a vast array of colors, however, ink jet printers have come a long way, baby, and produce pretty good looking copies, as well. Some ink jet printer ink will smear when used in conjunction with the Glaze & Glue, but over the years this seems to happen less and less. I think vast improvements have been made to the production of ink jet printers, so print some images and give your ink jet printer a whirl to see if it will work. I've not had any problems with my home printer (its' an HP and certainly nothing fancy), but if you do run into an issue with smearing, you can always take your photos to a professional printer such as Fed Ex and have them print some inexpensive laser printer copies for you.

What type of paper should I use?

A. I know that there is the natural inclination to go fancy and expensive with paper, but in this case, fancy schmancy paper is the enemy. The best paper for this process is a standard 20 lb text weight copy paper found reasonably priced at Walmart or any of the office supply stores. Steer clear of glossy photo paper or any other coated papers as these will not allow the glue to bond the paper and the glass cab together. In fact, the Glaze & Glue will not cure properly and will most likely cause the image to eventually smear. Also, don't go too heavy. Cardstocks usually consist of layers of paper and when the Glaze & Glue is applied it can sometimes cause those layers to separate and may even cause your bead to fall out of the tray. So, in the case of paper, a cheap, standard, text weight paper is the best.

What type of paper are the Craft Fantastic Art Images printed on?
A. The Craft Fantastic Art Image Sheets are printed on brochure paper. It almost feels like a heavier magazine type paper. At first you might think this looks like a coated paper, but it is actually quite porous and therefore it works well with the Glaze & Glue.

UPDATE (June 16, 2016) - I want to also add that our Art Image Sheets are printed by a professional printing company. We don't have access to information regarding the brand of paper used or the exact process. The sheets are printed to our specifications using brochure paper. We cannot be sure that the brochure paper available in big box office supply stores is comparable to the paper used by our printer. When printing at home, we always recommend using a standard 20lb text weight copy paper.  

How do I resize my images?

A. Once you have selected the image you want to print, you can resize the image in your printer settings by reducing the scale from 100% to whatever size you want. You may have to print a few test copies to get it just right, but thankfully we're using inexpensive text weight copy paper so the loss is minimal.

What if my image smears?

A. Not all printers are created equal. We still occasionally encounter a printer that will smear the image when the Glaze & Glue is applied. This is rare nowadays, but if you run into this problem have them copied at a professional printer such as Fed Ex. 

What if I absolutely hate the way my jewelry piece turned out? Do I have to throw everything away and start over?

A. NO! Never throw a Craft Fantastic project away. If you have already affixed the glass cab into the tray, gently pry the tray out with a craft knife. Continue to scrape the tray until you have completely removed the Jeweler's Dot. Soak the piece of glass for a few minutes in very hot/boiling water. When it's cooled enough to touch, use your thumbnail to scrape the softened glue and image away from the glass. Continue to scrape until the glass bead is completely clean and ready to use again. Then take that piece of glass and tray and create something wonderful!