Using the Thermocut to Make a Self-watering Planter from a Water Bottle

With Easter and Mother's Day right around the corner, this self-watering planter makes a great gift. And, since it recycles a plastic water bottle, it helps keep trash out of landfills—a gift to our environment.

Supplies and Equipemnt for the Self-watering Planter

• Plastic water bottle with a tapered neck
• 10" length of cotton kitchen twine
• FolkArt Painted Finishes by Plaid Enterprises
• Hot glue and glue gun
• Proxxon Thermocut
• Ribbons and tulle for the bow. (See the full tutorial on making the bow on the Bowdabra blog.)

Instructions for Making the Planter

1. Cut the neck from the water bottle.

1. Cut the cap from the water bottle.

1. Paint both sections with your choice of FolkArt Painted Finishes. It comes in rust, moss, concrete, and barnwood. I selected the Concrete Painted Finishes.
   
2. When the paint is dry, use low temp hot glue to attach the kitchen twine to the inside of the neck section. This will serve as a wick to draw water from the lower reservoir section to the plant in the upper section.
   
3. Add a bow to the bottom (water reservoir) section of the planter. (See the full tutorial on making the bow on the Bowdabra blog.)
   
4. Plant herbs or flowers in the top (neck) section of the bottle. 
5. Fill the bottom with water and place the top section into the bottom.

Fall Ribbon Wreath

 

Hi everyone, Tammy here from the Proxxon Tiny Tool Design Team with a tutorial on how to use the Proxxon Hot Wire Cutter to cut and heat seal ribbon.

 I made this cute Harvest Ribbon Wreath using just a few supplies:

Proxxon Thermocut Hot Wire Cutter

Wire wreath form

Ribbon

Fall decorations from the Dollar Store 

LED light strand from the dollar Store

  

 First I cut the ribbon into 8 inch pieces using the Proxxon Thermocut Hot Wire Cutter, and then I tied each piece to the wreath form as shown in this short video...

 

I used a LED strand of lights to make a lighted garland by tying the additional ribbon pieces to the strand of lights as shown in this short video.

 

I added some Fall decorations to the wreath for additional interest.

 

I love how the wreath and garland turned out, I think it looks cute with some of the other projects I've created this month. Cutting and heat sealing the ribbon was so easy with the Proxxon Hot Wire Cutter.

I love to see your projects! Tag me on Instagram @TammySmithSantana

xoxo Tammy

Falling Leaves Candle Holders

Good morning everyone, Steph Ackerman here with my first post as a member of the Proxxon Tiny Tool Design Team.  I am thrilled to be working with Proxxon's tools and decided to create some Fall candle holders.

Supplies:
Proxxon Tools:  Hotwire Cutter Thermocut 115/E
Foam:  Smoothfoam
Inks:  ColorBox
Tea Light Candles

I must say that I have never used a styrofoam cutter before so I was intrigued to see the Proxxon Hotwire Cutter in action.  The Hotwire Cutter has a base of approximately 15"x11", was compactly packaged and fairly easy to assemble.  The wire heats up quickly and there is a learning curve for determining the correct temperature setting which is easily controlled by the dials on the base.

I began by outlining maple leaf images directly onto a sheet of Smoothfoam, drawing around them with a black marker (so I could see where I was cutting).

Using the Hotwire Cutter, I cut the Smoothfoam sheet in half so I could work on one leaf at a time.  Then I carefully cut around the leaves.  As the Hotwire Cutter is new to me, I worked small areas at a time, testing the heat settings as I went to find the setting that was appropriate for my project.

 

 

 And this is the result.  While the cuts may not be perfect, I believe they reflect how fall leaves look.  And since I intended to ink over the Smoothfoam, I didn't care that the black marker showed in some spots.

 

 

Using an assortment of ColorBox inks, I inked the leaves, overlapping the colors to get the desired effect.

 

 

These leaves are the perfect base for holding candles.  And they look lovely for this time of  year.

Thanks for stopping by today. 

Steph



Thanksgiving Turkey Framed Decor

Hi everyone! Tammy Santana here from the creative lifestyle blog, www.TammySantana.com, with my take on a fun home decor project that is perfect for a gift or just to showcase on an entry table or mantle.

Supplies I used:

Proxxon Hot Wire Cutter

Smoothfoam 

Metallic copper and gold paint

Ribbon

Zip Dry adhesive

Dollar Store Frame

Straight Pin

Red glitter cardstock

Needle and thread

How I made it:

 

Cut your turkey shape out of the Smoothfoam and freehand the squiggle cuts inside the shape. Separate the pieces a little bit to create the raised effect.

 

 Add a little Zip Dry adhesive to the back of the piece to keep the pieces separated and paint metallic copper. Drybrush some metallic gold on the top of the piece sticking out. Add pieces of red glitter cardstock and a black straight pin head for the eye.

 Cut and heat seal the ribbon with the Proxxon Hot Wire Cutter and glue to the back of the turkey body.

 Add some fabric adhesive tape to the ribbon

 Adhere the finished turkey to the outside of the frame. Add some glitter cardstock to the inside of the frame and attach the back onto the frame.

 And that's it...easy peezy!

xoxo Tammy