It's Deco Time!

Hi Everyone!

This is a first for me, so bear with me, okay? At Hilo Ben Franklin, for the past few months we've been having most (not all) of our employees share their Craft Pick of the Month as a demo. It's been going really well and the projects have all been great! 

I really like the project that I shared this month, so I decided to share it with all of the blog visitors too. 

This is the project:

They're decorated containers! Super cute, yah? Also super simple, if not slightly messy, to make! 

Here's what you'll need:

* A surface to decorate. (I used the round plastic containers that we sell at Ben Franklin, but you can use any flat surface:  the lid of a jar, a pencil case, I've even seen someone decorate a binder using the same technique!)

* Buttons, acrylic gems, cabochons, anything you want to decorate with. It's okay if the shank is still on the back of the button. It gives it a little lift and dimension.

* Glitter (You can't really see it in the picture, but I used a little bit of glitter to make it sparkle. But you don't have to use it if you don't want to.)

* Modeling Paste (or, if you're more handy than crafty, if you have a nice tube of silicone caulk, that works too) and a piping bag or a ziploc bag and a popsicle stick

* Paper towel and newspaper

* A little bit of creativity

So here's what you do:

1. Spread some newspaper on the table. Just in case. :)

2. Take the modeling paste and stir it a little with a popsicle stick...or a plastic butter knife works too.
3. Put some of the paste into the piping bag or ziplock bag and snip off the corner. You may need to squeeze and manipulate the bag a little to get it to go into the corner, so try to get it as far into one corner or as close to the tip as possible when you're putting the paste into the bag.

4. Just like if you were piping icing onto a cake, squeeze the modeling paste onto your flat surface. It doesn't have to be neat, but it does have to be a little thick if you're using buttons with the shank still on them. You don't even have to cover the entire surface.
5. Sprinkle a little glitter onto the paste (optional, but it does make it sparkly. :D)
6. Start sticking things on. You don't need to have a plan before you go in, but once you place something somewhere, I probably wouldn't suggest you move it. The modeling paste is pretty sticky. I think I got more on my hands at this point trying to move things around and then needing to fix the paste than I did when I was piping the paste on. There's no right or wrong with this. That's why it's a great project for kids.

And Ta-Da! You have a totally, absolutely, one of a kind decorated container. Yay! But caution:  let the modeling paste dry completely, at least 24-hours, before you touch it or use the container.

That's it! Easy, yah? The caulk is definitely easier to pipe on because it already comes in a tube, but crafty people can easily use the modeling paste. Either way, do this project in a well-ventilated area since both products to smell a little. 

Here's a couple more examples of the project:

The pink container is just from the Dollar Section at Target and yes, that's a cell phone case next to it. We have those at Ben Franklin too! I just wish we had ones that fit my phone....

Anyway, if you have any questions about this project, please let me know. 

Have a great day and I'll see you again soon!

~Jen at Hilo Ben Franklin