Sarah Jane's Craft Blog

I started out this alcohol ink project trying to have both stamped inking and blown inking in the same project. It didn't work out exactly how I had planned, but it was really fun to compare the two techniques. This post is image heavy as it walks you through every color combination so you can see how the colors mix and react to the two techniques. You'll need: Alcohol Ink (I used 6 colors of Ranger Ink from two sets for this project: Summit View and Dockside Picnic) Ceramic Tiles A work surface (like a craft mat ) painters tape alcohol ink applicator and felt canned air The first thing I did was cut a thin strip of painters tape and ran it diagonally across two 4 inch ceramic tiles. I decided to do the stamping side of my tile first. I started with Purple Twilight (from the Summit View Set) I dripped a bunch of tiny dots onto my felt to stamp my tiles. The drips were pretty small, and didn't get too much ink onto the felt, so s

I thought I'd share a quick bonus craft this week. Travel Iowa released a Family Fun Guide to promote county parks in Iowa that had a map of all 99 counties in Iowa for a license plate game. When we drive long distances, we often like to keep track of license plates to pass the time. Since Iowa posts its counties on the license plate, it can add a level of difficulty to your search to keep track of county plates in addition to the states. A quick google search located a Map of the U.S. to put on the other side of my Iowa Map from the  Raising Whasions  blog. If you're not from Iowa or planning to travel in Iowa, you could put a map of your state to keep track of where you've visited or a Canadian map to keep track of province plates as you see them. I printed out my two maps on some lightweight (60lb) card stock and slipped it into a laminating pouch  with the back sides of each map towards each other and the map sides facing out. The pouches come in 8

I've been going through some of the oldest posts on this blog to update them a bit (make sure the links work, etc...) and after updating my post on Glitter Magnets , I knew I needed to try it out again. It was only the second craft I did for the blog over 7 years ago, so I thought I'd give it a revisit this week. You'll need: Glass Gems /Flat Marbles Mod Podge and a foam brush glitter of your choice a work surface (a paper plate works well to contain the glitter) magnets and glue to attach (I used e6000 ) I grabbed some glass gems from my craft stash and a bunch of old glitter and put the gems flat side up on a paper plate. Then I painted all of the gems with a layer of mod podge. Then I started covering them in glitter. After the gems all had a layer of glitter on them, I let them dry for about an hour before coming back and repeating the process. This time I poured some mod podge into the cap to paint onto the gems and started with t

Last week I posted about creating more pages of spray paint marbled paper . So this week, I decided to make some coasters out of the paper. I used the same method I've used in the past with scrapbook paper . All you need: Patterned Paper or Card Stock (I used my marbled paper) A cutting tool (you could use scissors or a paper cutter, but I had my rotary cutter and mat out) Ruler 4 inch Ceramic Tiles Glossy Mod Podge  A Foam Brush Paper plate or sheet of Parchment (to protect your work surface) Sheet of Craft Felt Tacky Glue (or a hot glue gun to glue on the felt) As mentioned in the supply list, I used my rotary cutter and cutting mat to cut the paper and felt for this project. You'll also need a straight edge of some kind. I measured my ceramic tiles at about 4 1/4 inches (they have a slight bevel or slant along the edge). I went through my stacks of marbled paper and chose two sheets that had similar colors and cut four squares (at 4

One of my absolute favorite projects that I've done on the blog is to marble paper with spray paint. It's fast, easy, and incredibly satisfying. Since it's my favorite, it's one that I've revisited a couple times. The first time, I had a ton of fun , but didn't wear gloves (and regretted it). The second time I tried spray paint marbling , I tried to make combs to stir the paint (it didn't work). And the most recent time I marbled , I made red and green paper for the holidays. This time, I got my husband to help. It's a project that you have to work quickly to complete before the paint starts to dry, so having a second set of hands allowed me to take more pictures of the process (and to avoid getting paint on my camera). Also, I think he had a good time. It's a great project to try with folks who think they aren't terribly crafty or artistic. You'll need: A plastic tub or bin that you don't mind getting paint on (a plastic  dish