an american ballerina: DIY Craft Week

"Doves" The Black Angels

I actually had a last minute opportunity to see the Black Angels last night at Mr. Smalls Theatre in Millvale. It was also my first time at this venue. It's one of those refurbished Catholic churches that Pittsburgh likes to use for non-church like things (such as breweries, bars, etc). They also have many all-age shows, which is great because most of the time people my age can't see anything without a fake ID. So the Black Angels were awesome. Psych-Rock band from Austin heavily influenced by the Velvet Underground (vocalist really sounded alot like a male Nico).

their logo, nico, from the velvet underground

Aside from last night and working a bunch, I've been filling up my time with some DIY stuff. So I have a bunch of empty mason jars (from my mom's jersey tomato sauces), so I decided to put them to some use. I also have an extreme love of candles, so why not combine the two?

Stuff you need:

mason jar(s)
Mod Podge Gloss
water
food coloring
parchment paper
foil
paper bowl
oven tray

Begin by 1. preset your oven to 200 degrees F. 2. thoroughly wash and dry your mason jar. 3. Prepare your tray with foil and parchment paper on top. 4. In a paper bowl, combine one teaspoon water, 2 teaspoons mod podge, and food coloring (I used probably about 10-12 drops per jar which yielded VERY dark colors... It's up to you how dark or clear you want them to be). 5. Mix everything together until the color is even and then pour into the jar (I used a rubber spatula to get every drop in!) 6. Carefully rotate the jar until the mixture spreads throughout and evenly let the excess drip out. 7. Place the jar upside down on the parchment paper and bake for three minutes. 8. Carefully remove the the excess of the mixture that has collected at the rim. Remove the parchment paper, and bake the jar RIGHT SIDE UP from anywhere between 5-15 minutes (depending on how clear you want it to be). 9. Let cool off!

the finished product!!

And voila!! As you can see, if you don't carefully wipe the rim, the mixture will run and settle (look at my purple jar). Note that these jars can no longer hold food or beverages. Also, if you want to use these as flower jars, you're supposed to bake them with a paper cup of water in the inside (so I've heard...)

I also made use of other jars by putting some Jersey sand and seashells inside:

*the colored jars have Yankee Candle "Fluffy Towel" tea lights, and I used "Beach Walk tea lights for the sand jars.

And for the last craft of the week, I also made my own coasters! The apartment needed some, and I had some old cork lying around, so I decided to make my own!

Mod Podge. The main ingredient of all my crafts. Found at Michael's Craft store for about $6

I also used a sponge brush (also at Michael's), brushes, pencil, X-acto knife, scissors, scotch tape, a sheet of cork, and acrylic paints

Begin by 1. cutting your cork into 4 by 4 inch squares and base painting them white (and don't forget the sides!). 2. Then paint whatever you'd like! If your design is very exact, then trace it and/or cut out your own stencils with an X-Acto knife or use scotch tape for more linear designs. 3. Let your design completely dry before you sponge mod podge on your design and the sides. *Use the sponge brush so evenly coat. I do vertical strokes and then horizontal strokes to make sure the little cork holes absorb the glue. 4. Give the mod podge about 25 minutes to dry, and then mod podge four more times to get a thick layer of glue. 5. To give the coasters a completely waterproof seal, spray it with an acrylic sealer (which I've yet to do...)