Big-Ass Book of Crafts 2: Book Page-Covered Wiffle Balls

" I can't resist playing with decorative balls if I see them sitting in a bowl on top of a coffee table," (Montano 150). This wiffle ball craft is time consuming and messy but the end product looks really cool. The thing I love about this art project is the significance behind it. You can use you favorite book and you have a constant reminder of it, in a decorative way. Or if you hate reading you can use a book you already read in class and take revenge on lost hours. Honestly, I wanted to do that on a book called Lovely Bones that chose to read in class last year. But since I annotated right in the book, I couldn't. So instead I chose a book called Bad Connection by Melody Carlson. It was just laying in my closet and I never had a n interest to read it so I am using it for this project.

I actually like reading a lot and whenever I have the time I try to do it. That is why I chose this art project, so that I can blend two fun things into one.The materials I used was pages from a book, scissors, wiffle ball, Elmer's glue, cup of water, 1-inch paint brush, and protective finish (Montano 150).

Steps:
1. Cuts book pages into stripes about 1/2 inch thick by 4 inches long.
2. Water down your glue a tiny bit, so that it can spread better.
3. Glue the strips into the ball (slightly overlapping), and continue doing so until the ball is covered.
4. When the glue is dry put on the clear coat for the glaze.

Question: What is the worst book that you have ever read? Why?

 Montano, Mark. The Big-ass Book of Crafts 2. New York: Gallery, 2011. Print.

Big-Ass Book of Crafts 2: License Plate Bling

I am at the age where getting a  driver's license is a huge thing. But even better than a drivers license is your own car, that you can personalize and make it your self. Some people get a new paint job, others personalize their car by putting bumper stickers it. This craft is cheaper than a paint job (by a lot) and it is more fun and creative than a bumper sticker. Montano said "I have always wanted a personalized license plate, but I'm just too lazy to figure out how to get one," (Montano 122). I, as well hate going through a long process just to express myself, so decided to take this experiment head on.

This is a really easy project, but not as easy as my nail polish demonstration I did in the previous blog post. All you need is enough magnet letters to make your statement, license plate frame, E-6000 glue, gold spray paint. (Montano 122).

Steps:
1. Decide what to spell out, then arrange it on your frame.
2.use E-6000, glue the letters onto the licence plate
3. Spray the frame with the gold spray paint.
4. Spray on two more coats.
5. Screw your new frame onto your car.

When I made this I changed a few steps. I couldn't find magnetic letters anywhere I looked, so I bought foam letters and used that instead. Then the license plate had in huge letters "Honda".
So I painted the frame a blueish-grey with spray paint. Then I painted by hand the foam letters. Finally I glued it down. This was a really cool project and you can spruce it up by added things like rhinestones

Question: What is something that you want no matter what? Why?

Montano, Mark. The Big-ass Book of Crafts 2. New York: Gallery, 2011. Print 

Big-Ass Book of Crafts 2: Magnet Vine

"[A] fridge ended up covered in ugly magnets,"(Montano 126). A fridge with ugly magnets is one of the worst things to happen in a kitchen. Personally I hate going to the kitchen and looking at the unorganized fridge as I get a snack. There is nothing particularly interesting at looking at a plain fridge. So I decided to choose this craft so that I can spruce up my boring fridge and make it something worth looking at. "Now, every time I go to sneak a spoonful of Cool Whip, I smile," (Montano 126).

While I was doing this craft I couldn't find plain round magnets, weird, right? So I broke some magnetic clip and used then. The thing about this art project is that it is really simple and you can make it your own. Just take the flowers out and replace it with your own design and voila! You have a unique magnetic vine that personalizes your fridge to your own liking.

The materials are 12 faux flowers and faux leaves, 6 plain round magnets, hot glue guns ans glue sticks, and one yard of green satin corn or ribbon.

The steps are:

1. Glue a flower and a couple of leaves to each magnet with your hot glue gun.

2. Apply glue to the other side of the magnet and attach the flower magnet to the satin cord.

3. Add a few more flowers and leaves along the cord to make it look like a vine.

Question: What is your favorite equipment or art supplies to make crafts out of?

Montano, Mark. The Big-ass Book of Crafts 2. New York: Gallery, 2011. Print.

Big-Ass book of Crafts 2: Glitter Nail Polish

I love putting on nail polish but I could never find enough glitter in the polish. This would frustrate me all the time because I hated how my nails looked from the lack of glitter. So because of that I went directly to the section in the book on nail polish and decided to do this "art" project. Others like Montano's friend Kelly also felt the lack of glitter was an injustice and there should be something done about it (Montano 127).

This is an incredibly easy project. I personally love glitter. That is until I spill it everywhere and try to clean it up. It is so easy and I could find all the materials in the house. After I finished the project I did realize that the glitter stuck to the bottom of the nail polish container. This was mildly irritating, but after a few quick shakes it looks just like the sparkly nail polish you find in the stores. My sister is really into perfecting her nail and with her innate artistic abilities she can make amazing designs. So I did this project with my sister in mind and her passion for nail designs.

The materials were a small piece of paper, a bottle of clear nail polish, and loose glitter. 

"Step 1: Roll the piece of paper into a cone-shaped funnel

Step 2: Take the top off your nail polish, place the funnel in the mouth of the bottle, and pour in as much glitter as you can.

Step 3: Shake the nail polish bottle."(Montano 127)

What frustrates you so much that you wish you could change?

Montano, Mark. The Big-ass Book of Crafts 2. New York: Gallery, 2011. Print.

Big-A** Book of Crafts 2: Fishbowl Latern

"A little messy...a piece of cake... and totally worth the cleanup," (Montano 62). Those were the exact words I muttered to myself when I did this craft. I love making things and using my hands. When I realized that I could create something using only glass chips, a tiny fish bowl, grout, and a hot glue gun I got right to it (Montano 62). Once I got all my materials, I got to work. I glue using precise positioning, then I placed grout all over the bowl. This was the best project for me because I love getting my hands dirty, while messing around to make something unique. I chose blue glass chips to add a bit of "me" in the project, since blue is one of my favorite colors. After I finished cleaning off the excess grout I was extremely happy with my craft and I was glad I did it.

 Steps:
1.  I took glass chips and I hot glued it to the fish bowl.
2. I mixed the grout with water and made it the same consistency as tooth paste.
3. I slabbed the grout mixture onto the fish bowl.
4. I wiped off the excess grout with a sponge.
5. Then I waited 8 hours for the grout to dry.
6. Lastly I went over the bowl once again with a sponge.

Question: What is a project that you have done that you feel has a little bit of "yourself" in it? Why did you do that project?

Montano, Mark. The Big-ass Book of Crafts 2. New York: Gallery, 2011. Print.

The Big-A** Book of Crafts 2

My activity is basically arts and crafts. My book is called The Big-Ass Book of Crafts 2 by Mark Montano. I am reading this book so that I can make things with my hands. At first I wanted to make my room more interesting by putting my creations in it. Then I learned I am bad at making crafts so I decided to make crafts just for the pure fun of it and not for anything else.



Montano, Mark. The Big-ass Book of Crafts 2. New York: Gallery, 2011. Print.