Every month Kathy Cano-Murillo, a.k.a. The Crafty Chica, dishes crafty tips and tricks in La Vida Crafty on Jackalope Ranch.
This year marks the 10th anniversary of The Phoenix Fridas, a local Latina art collective I started as a fun way to get together and craft. Our group has grown into so much more! Part of what we do is celebrate the life and art of Mexican painter, Frida Kahlo. Our annual exhibit is up and running -- it's called "Expressively Frida" and you can see it all this month at the Burton Barr Central Library.
To kick off the event, we held a huge birthday party last Sunday. I wanted to make goodies to giveaway in honor of Frida's 107th birthday, but I didn't have a huge stack of cash to spend. No problem. That's the best part about creativity. It's free and plentiful! I relied on one of my favorite crafty methods of squeezing a dollar out of a dime:
Watercolor paper earrings.
See also: How to Make a Tie-Dye Heart Shirt
All you need is one 12-by-12 sheet of watercolor paper, paint, pictures (optional), and earring hooks. The options are endless. First, I'll show you the process I used for the Frida event, then I'll share other spin-offs.
Supplies: Watercolor paper Paint Pictures cut in 1-inch circles Scissors White craft glue Earring hooks Needle nose pliers
1. Paint a sheet of watercolor paper with acrylic paint, watercolors, or even house paints.
2. Now paint the other side and let dry.
3. You can use a circle template to draw and then cut out the 1.5-inch circles, or if you have an electronic cutting machine like me, use that.
4. Use a 1-inch punch or a circle maker to cut out pictures.
5. Glue the pictures on the paper circles.
6. Add painted embellishments.
7. Add varnish if desired.
8. Use a thick safety pin to poke a hole at the top of each circle and add the earring hook.
Variations: - Instead of gluing pictures, use pens to draw designs on the circles. - Paint designs all over the watercolor paper before cutting. - Instead of watercolor paper, recycle old concert postcards, the heavy glossy kind work best! - You can also use cereal boxes, any lightweight paper or cardboard!
Peace, love, and glitter!
See more from Kathy at www.craftychica.com.
