Playing with Alcohol Inks

Many people these days are painting with alcohol inks and playing with alcohol inks. I myself use them to normally color the gourds that I'm working with but recently I decided to just play with them on a gourd I was making.

Materials used in this project: 

1 Med/Large Cannonball Gourd
A variety of alcohol inks that go together
Proxxon Jig Saw STS 12/E
Proxxon Micromot Rotary Tool 50/E
White Spray Paint
Kamar Varnish (if you use this the ink won't move again)

To begin with I marked a circle where I wanted to cut my hole. After a little trial and error I now know what size to make it. I then drilled a hole inside the hole with my Proxxon Micromot Rotary Tool 50/E to start my blade in. Next I cut the hole with my Proxxon Jig Saw STS 12/E

 I sprayed the gourd with the white paint to give it a uniform surface to drop the ink on, plus gourds have a lot of yellow in their shell and some colors like blue do not keep their true colors.

 Once the white paint was dry, I dropped several colors of the alcohol inks onto the gourd and once that was dry I sealed the colors with the Kamar Varnish. This is the final result:

  Having the Proxxon Small Tools really helps me in so many ways when I'm working on a gourd. I have arthritis in my hands and their small, compactness makes them easier to handle. Check out these great tools at www.proxxon.com .



Barbara

~REVAMPING~ "Whats Old Becomes New Again" Proxxon DT Project by Sherri Welser

~REVAMPING~

"Whats Old Becomes New Again"

As many of you know who follow my projects, I LOVE to find old objects and make them "new" again. I was at my local ReStore and found this old Bakers Rack and thought it would make a great potting bench outside my new art studio! Before I started "ReVamping" it it was white, rusty and the wood block on top was stained and gross! Below you see it halfway through the process and then I take it to the finished project with a couple of supplies and a little TLC!

~Supplies~

Proxxon Delta Sander OZI/E

Coarse Sanding Pad

Minwax Stain/Polyurethane

Gloves

Staining rag 

Spray Paint (I used an Olive color)

Time To Have Some Fun!

  

I began the project by spray painting the top area 

I then used the Proxxon Sander to sand off the wood base on the top.

Once it was all sanded down ( I didnt want to sand too much as it isnt a very thick  piece of wood. I also didnt do a finer  finish sanding as I wanted more of a rustic look to the overall piece.

 I then finished spray painting the rest of the piece.

  I applied stain using the rag to  the wood top and also on the painted parts to give it  "vintage" look and feel.

 In the end as you can see it now has a rustic beautiful look about it! It didnt take up alot of time or materials but what a difference it made! I am so happy how this piece came out and now it will have another life as a potting bench! Using the Proxxon Delta Sander made it so quick and easy to get the top sanded to a wonderful finish! 

I think we all should RePurpose & "ReVamp" and find ways to make whats old become new and vibrate again! Happy Creating and ReVamping!

Baby Shoes Wreath

Hi everyone Steph Ackerman here today and I'm working with the Complete Model Building and Engraving Set from Proxxon Tools.  This tool set includes a large selection of bits, grinding wheels and cutting discs and is the perfect set for working with small items.

If you've ever had small items that need tiny holes but find that drills are too strong and they split your work, that trying to punch a hole with a nail breaks your items, then this is the tool to use.   I needed to create tiny holes in hard plastic baby shoes and I found the Complete Model Building and Engraving Set was perfect.  I was able to control the speed of the tool and select different bits that would create the perfect tiny holes I needed.

Using the included bits, I first created a tiny hole, then moved to a larger bit to make the hole large enough to insert ribbon. 

I was able to create perfect holes in all 6 shoes in a matter of minutes - no slipping, no cracking, no breaking.  Then all I needed to do was add the ribbon.

 

I wrapped an assortment of ribbons around a Smoothfoam Ruled Wreath in keeping with the baby theme, then hung the shoes from the center.  A coordinating bow was created to finish off the wreath.

 

Next time you need to work on a miniature scale, select the Complete Model Building and Engraving Set from Proxxon Tools.

 

Thanks for stopping by today.

 

 

Father's Day Personalized Engraved Pilsner Glass Tutorial Featuring The Proxxon Glass Engraving Kit

 Hi everyone and thanks for stopping by the Proxxon Tools blog today. Tammy here with a fun Father's Day project and review of the Proxxon Glass Engraving Tool. 

 When I received the glass engraving tool, it was packaged in a sturdy carrying case and had easy to follow directions. It also came with a practice glass to perfect my skills before making my Father's Day project. 

 The tool was so easy to use! I was able to create this cute bud vase on my very first attempt with the practice glass. 

I like it so much, I keep it on my desk!

After I was comfortable using the tool, I had my daughter draw this note to her dad for Father's Day and I etched it onto a pilsner glass with the Glass Engraving Tool.

How I did it:
1. My daughter used a Sharpie marker to write a note on a piece of copy paper. 
2. I placed the paper face side out on the inside of the glass and taped it to the glass.
3. I was able to easily trace the fine details of the drawing with the glass engraving tool, so it looks like she drew it on herself!

This would be a great gift for any dad that enjoys a cold beverage every once in a while, and you can easily trace any image with the tool so the possibilities are endless! I hope this gives you some ideas on how to use the Proxxon Glass Engraving Tool. It is becoming my new favorite tool for sure!

Supplies I used:

Proxxon Glass Engraving tool

Pilsner glass from The Dollar Store

Paper

Sharpie marker

Tape

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Wind Chimes Repair

I love how handy my Proxxon Micromot power tools are. They make creating—and repairing—easy. This winter was hard on my wind chimes. In mid-February the wooden support for the chimes cracked, broke, and sent the chimes crashing down.

So, my son and I cut a new support. Well, truth be told, he did the work because he loves these tools as much as I do!! First, we measured the old piece and traced a circle the same size onto a piece of 1/2" wood. Then, he used the Proxxon scroll saw to cut out the circle.

Next, he routed the edges with the hand-held router.

Then, we used the Delta sander to smooth the edges.

The piece was sprayed with a sealant to protect it from the weather. When it was dry, the wind chimes were ready to be restrung. 

I'm so glad that with the help of my Proxxon tools (and my son) I was able to repair these beautiful wind chimes rather than having them end up in the trash heap.

The wind was whipping around today, playing with the wind chimes. Listen to the beautiful music that  they make. 

Carole

A Beautiful Dream Catcher

I've been working on some new pieces lately for an Artist's Tour of Studios that I've been juried into that's called "The Art Odyssey". It happens to be next week and I did a Dream Catcher as one of the pieces that I will have on display.

  "Native Americans believe that the night air is filled with dreams both good and bad. The dream catcher when hung over or near your bed catches the dreams as they flow by. The good dreams pass through the outer holes and slide down the soft feathers so gently that at times the sleeper does not know that he/she is dreaming. The bad dreams not knowing the way get tangled in the dream catcher and perish with the first light of the new day."

The items needed for this project are: 

Waxed linen thread (2 or 3 coordinating colors)
A few beads that coordinate with the thread but large enough to not go through the holes that you have drilled.
A special piece to hang from the thread in the center.
Inks for coloring the gourd
A base for the gourd
A Proxxon Jig Saw STS 12/E
AProxxon Micromot Rotary Tool 50/E
A Proxxon Delta Sander OZI/E

It doesn't take a lot of supplies to make a beautiful dreamcatcher. To start with you need to clean the outside of your gourd and to cut a hole in the gourd with your Proxxon Jig Saw STS 12/E  and clean out the insides.

Once you have completed that dirty job you then need to sand the edges of your gourd with the Proxxon Delta Sander OZI/E to smooth them a bit before weaving. This helps to keep your gourd from cutting into the thread that you are using and break your thread.                                                                                                             

Then you need to color your gourd with whatever colors of ink that you have chosen, seal your gourd with a good sealer. Then drill holes around your gourd to start your weaving with the Proxxon Micromot Rotary Tool 50/E

Once you have drilled your holes you will use a weaving pattern and weave your threads around until you finish your design and have a dreamcatcher with a wonderful little embellishment attached! Set this beauty somewhere in your house to catch those "bad" dreams. Enjoy

Barbara

~Vintage Embellishing Part 2~ Proxxon Tools Design Team Project by Sherri Welser

~Vintage Embellishing Part 2~

Welcome back to the second part of my vintage embellishment table project!! The reason why it is called "vintage" is because I wanted a project where I incorporated small old jewelry trinkets and charms and then that grew into adding inspirational messages and basically anything that held meaning to me. The other piece I made before this was actually 

 an old church window and it did have a very Vintage feeling to it!

Here you see the table after all the pieces were glued down.. it's now ready to grout!

~Supplies~

*Mosaic grout~ I bought the  grout that is for glass and glass tiles as it doesn't scratch the more delicate glass objects. I found it at Michaels and you will need at least a 12 oz for a 3 ft table.

* Rubber Gloves

* Damp Towel

* Grout Sealer

  Here you see the difference between the grouted area and the non grouted area. I just used rubber gloves to apply

  When Applying make sure you push the grout down in all the empty spaces  with your rubber gloves on and wipe off any excess 

( this is a messy job!)

Here you see the finished table and the last step is  to seal with a grout sealer/protective layer. You can either use a spray sealer or a brush on. I decided I wanted another decorative element so also added these metal tiles on the bottom shelf. This is a beautiful piece that will add a special decorative and sentimental element to any room! And it all starts with great tools! I love Proxxon Tools for all of my projects, they are very versatile easy to use and the craftsmanship is wonderful!

Hope you have enjoyed this fun embellishing project and see you next time! I will be offering an online workshop for creating these beautiful pieces in June! Visit my website for more details www.indigoearth.artfire.com. 

Workshop listed soon!