Maze Craze

In today's crafting report, I pose this question: What do you think will come of these supplies?

It's going to be a TODDLER BEAD MAZE, of course!!

I loved playing with those when I was little. Honestly, I loved playing with the one my kids had! I loved the sound of the beads clicking, and the smooth glide of a bead around the maze was rather soothing. So, I figured my little peeps needed one. With all supplies on-hand, it just had to be done!

First, I cut a piece of balsa down to the size I wanted which is probably a bit big for scale. But, I don't really care. Besides, it still has to be big enough for me to work on without buying special tools just to hold little things.

After sanding the balsa, I stuck the thumbtack in to make a little hole for the wire.

This is a step that almost immediately became unnecessary given how soft balsa is. So, this is the first and only time you will see the thumbtack in use for this particular project ...

Next, I just started playing with the wire. I really didn't know what I was doing other than twisting it in ways that interested me. I used a pencil to bend the wire around ...

... but, in the end, the pencil curve ended up a little too sharp for my beads, so I probably would have been better off just bending it without a guide.

In no time, I had three maze pieces in practice place:

After setting this up, I took the pieces out of the base and ran a bead along them. That's when I first learned where the sticking points were:

Once reasonably satisfied with how the beads worked on the wires off the base, I put them back on and ran beads again:

It took a bit of manipulation, but I finally got them all to work well.

See all of the holes in the base? Well, that's precisely why I took all of the pieces out and flipped the base over! It was on the new side that I put a dab-o-glue on the ends and stuck 'em in the base:

From there, in a step that I really should have done in the first place, I swabbed on some polyurethane. It was super-hard to see as it just sunk into the balsa. So, I turned the piece upside down and used the glare from the computer screen to bounce off of the base to see where I'd painted:

Okay, so, here's a you'd-think-I'd-learn story ... Remember in the beginning of the house build when I warped the house sides because I only painted one side? Because the paint soaked in like it's supposed to but had no counter-moisture? Therefore, warpage? Guess what happened to the base of the bead maze ...

The thing is, the warp really wasn't that big of a deal. Like, for real. It was minimal. I could have lived with it for sure. But, I chose not to. And, the base was still a little wet from the polyurethane. And, I just knew a little bend wouldn't hurt anything ...

HA! WRONG!

You should know, I laughed. I laughed quite a bit. Join me, won't you? Oh, my. It was just funny to me because it was entirely predictable. It was also entirely fixable/re-doable, so I really just did not care.

Back to the box of balsa I went! I poly'ed both sides of this one after doing anything else. The girl can learn ...

And, then, I put it all back together on the very lovely, flat base. Ta-Da!

But, wait! There's more ...!

That's right! This was so much fun that I had to do it again! I actually did so because I wondered if I could make it smaller using smaller wire. But, it really was super fun!

I dug into my old stash of craft supplies because I just knew I had a smaller gauge of wire in the depths of some bag. And, I did!

That paint-pen 28-gauge indicator was
written 27 years ago. I used this for some
Christmas decorations 😊.

I did the same, basic steps as the first project by getting the base ready ...

First we cut -- which could be done with
scissors on this much thinner balsa ...

... then, we poly!

I have two jars of beads that look like this:

So, I dumped part of one out to do the digging:

Some of these might or might not have ended up on the floor,
in my lap, in between keys on the keyboard ...

Next, I played with the wire which was a whole, new experience as this wire is super-bendy!

This wire is delicate enough that just a little pressure makes a dent. So, unlike the first project, I did use things such as a paint brush handle and a glue stick for wrapping the wire because it helped maintain a smooth curve. Check out the difference in thickness:

I vote the one on the left for durability and the one on the right
for allowing expanded creativity.

I also went back to using the thumbtack to pre-make holes in the base because this wire wanted to bend at the base rather than get stabbed through the wood. So, the holes were made to get the wire in the base in tact before the glue I used dried.

I also used the Quick Grip uber-fast drying glue to give the wires immediate stability. It just seemed to me they didn't need to sit unstable any longer than necessary!

After some bending and thinking (very little) and stringing the beads -- all of which ran the wire without stopping at some random bend on the first run -- I got it all in place! Check 'em out side by side:

To me, the base needed one more coat of polyurethane, so I turned it upside to keep the beads off of the wet poly. After painting it on, I rested it upside down to dry by anchoring it on some computer cords:

In case I ever wondered what those cords
are for ...

It still turned out just a bit bigger than I planned height-wise, but I love it! What really ended up happening is that I made it as small as I could manipulate without taking the fun out of creating it. And, doesn't the baby look happy?!

Granted, her expression never changes. Therefore, everything I
create will be awesome.

I love them both! The doors of the house may not be trimmed, the roof may not have shingles, and I may be using up the glue I originally bought to adhere the shingles that I still haven't even dyed, but there's a lot of happy within the house! Fun things! What's next? We'll see ...

And, For the Bookworms

I should have started a count of how many days it will be between noticing I have indoor trim to finish and the day I finally get to it. My friend Cindy said it will be at least 3 weeks. Or, Summer. Or, next year. She's right somewhere in there!

I not only have cool crafts to make, but I diverge this post for a sec to show off the new supply organizers!

Droooooool ...

We're looking at the clear, acrylic numbers up there! I did another mass-organization this past weekend of my supplies, and I realized I was in need of some more organizers (oh, DARN! 😀). I stumbled upon the one on the left at Marshalls yesterday in the bathroom section. It's supposed to be for organizing make-up and the such (but, it rings up at the register under "stationary" ... peculiar). Anyway, the clear-drawer situation is what sold me so I don't have to make labels or otherwise memorize where I put stuff. After I unwrapped it and confirmed the drawers pull out completely, I bee-lined it back to the store to get the one on the right. Drawers pulling completely out are key for me as I like to grab a drawer of supplies to relocate work spaces. These make me drool ...

So, what's been made and not bought? As promised, let's check out the book situation! I made a round of books a couple of weeks ago and loved how they turned out!

That just meant that I needed to make more! Here's how I do it:

First, I simply printed out book covers from Google images because I don't like most of the titles on the book cover printables sites. The fact is, the books on those sites tend to be way too sophisticated for me. Moby Dick, anyone? That's not my cup of tea. Instead, I found titles that mean something to me, personally, and there you have it.

After printing the covers, I use the Tim Holtz Micro Glaze to seal the ink. This is an important step so glue nor polyurethane makes the colors run:

You just rub a teeny, tiny dab of the stuff
all over the image, wipe it off, and PRESTO.
Sealed ink. And, it actually enhances the
color just a smidge!

After sealing, they all get trimmed. I figured out that using my cutter is easier than using the scissors like I did for the first round.

From there, I go into my stash-o-wood pieces from the Hobby Lobby "Wood Pile" collection ...

All sorted and ready to go. It's so lovely.

... and, I match up the closest size I can to the cover.

After marking the cover on the wood ...

... the wood gets a trim! I start this process with the miter saw, but I tend to finish it by sawing in the groove on the mat or trimming it with scissors:

I really don't know why I can't get all the way through one of these pieces in the miter box. But, I can't. So, I improvise, and it works.

So, here are the pieces for the upcoming books:

Each gets just enough sanding, if needed, to get splinters or other things that poke off of the piece.

I do not want to sand the sides smooth because the unevenness gives it a good texture like pages. And, as I choose not to make books that open, I like this particular illusion.

The next step is to paint the page edges. Before doing so, I line up the covers with the wood pieces in order. And, I keep them that way throughout the process.

This just saves thinking-time later. And, matching time. And,
frustration/annoyance energy.

Three of the sides -- so, not the spine -- get painted white. Then, I brush ever-so-slightly some gray on the white. If it's too dark, I just swipe it with white again and do it over. The goal is to enhance the page illusion. I like how they turn out:

It's super-subtle, but the gray makes quite a difference!

My next step is to paint the back cover and spine. To make it easy, I choose the main color of the real book. If I don't know what that is, I go with whatever works with the cover. I don't give this a ton of thought, so don't sweat it:

With this number of books and each cover having a unique color, I can go all BUCK WILD not keeping track of which is which! In my first batch, I had three with the same cover color and same relative size. That wouldn't be a problem if all of the books had been the exact size. Anyway ...

The next step is to slap the covers on with a little dab-o-glue from the stick:

And, then comes the making-it-pretty part!

I paint the top and sides, and, after painting all of them, I scoot them off of their original drying spots to make sure the polycrylic doesn't stick to the wax paper. It will certainly come off, but it will also take a little of the sheen from the finish if the wax dries to it. Just a little scoot after they've sat for a few minutes takes care of that problem.

The result!

You'll note that they are not pristine in terms of the edges. But, I do that on purpose with the kid books (I took a wee bit more -- no more than that, though -- time to sand the edges and make it a little more "perfect" with the teen books in the first batch.). Well-loved kid books look a little tattered. If they are in perfect shape, they're not being read. 😀 My particular favorite is the "GoGos" book in the picture. My Boy had that particular book. It's a sticker book for the collectible miniature GoGos figures. He carried that book everywhere and absolutely wore it ragged from studying each picture days on end! This one looks much like the one he had (that I have stashed *sigh*). I'm also a fan of the "You're a Good Sport, Charlie Brown" one because I specifically remember ordering that from the Scholastic form in elementary school! Those were the days ...

These books add a lot of character smattered throughout the house. In particular, I love this little scene:

What's up next? Tune in to see what happens when that little baby hops off of Grandpa's lap and gets down to play!

For the Kitties

About two weeks ago, I took a good look at the house and realized the ends of the walls and inside the exposed door frames needed some filler, sanding and paint to really finish them off. Because who wants to live with the raw-wood look? Not the peeps in my little house!

So, I got to it. The ends of the walls that are exposed on the back of the house now look complete:

I'd love to show off the finished door frames, but I completely forgot I was working on them until just a little while ago!

At least the filler is in. And, I'm sure after two weeks, it's totally dry. 😋 I also discovered in my stash of not-yet-used pieces from the kit the framing for these doors that I forgot I even had! Whoops. I'll get to sanding, painting and finishing all of that. Someday. The problem is I keep distracting myself with other cool projects!!

This is what Sunday looked like at my kitchen table:

With that, I made a number of cool things! Today, I share the KITTY TREE that I made for the many felines roaming about the house! It started with a cap from an almond milk carton and a piece of a pencil I cut down:

You can see I used the Quick Grip glue. It stuck better on the cap than did Gorilla Glue! I know. I was shocked, too. I did end up sanding the cap, though, after the Gorilla Glue fail. I'm sure that helped with the adhesion although I have no real doubt that the Quick Grip glue would have worked anyway because the sanding didn't make the cap very rough.

I'm sure I waited longer than I needed to let this dry by letting it sit for a couple of hours, but I wanted to be sure it securely held as I wrapped twine (shout out to Cindy for finding her stash-o-twine as I didn't have any!) around the pole:

A kitty's gotta scratch.

I separated the twine down to just one strand which made it look more realistic for the size of the kitties. I don't have lions in there, you know. I smeared the pencil with Tacky Glue, wound and pushed together the twine before letting it dry for just a few minutes. How long did it need? I have no idea. But, I was impatient because I was excited to finish this.

Later, I took some precision scissors and cut the twine strays away to neaten it up before creating the kitty bed. I'd show you more of this process, but it could not have been more, "Let's try this to see if it somehow works!" To start, I cut a hole in my piece of fabric to fit just over the pole:

From there, I cut the fabric a little closer to the circumference of the cap while still allowing plenty of extra because I didn't measure anything. Or, really think it through.

And, yes, that means I ruined my first piece of fabric because I cut the hole too big. And, I had limited fabric. You'd think I'd measure something. But, nope. I reserve that effort for when it really matters.

Then, I folded the fabric up and over inside the cap in any way that it would go in and look good. It was kind of like wrapping a gift that isn't square and you're all, "Um, how about this. Yeah, that works. Sort of. But, it does. Not really. But, enough." When I realized what I was doing would work, I started squirting glue on the inside wall of the cap to get the fabric to stick quickly before it came off and I had to actually think about what I was doing. As this glue is particularly sticky, I utilized my little wood stick to help keep my fingers from being part of the creation:

That stick also did a bang-up job of pushing the fabric closer to where I wanted it to go.

Next, I wrapped a little piece of fabric over a little piece of fluff filling stuff, and I stuck it in the bed thing before the glue oozing from the sides project dried:

I didn't have to work that fast to utilize the glue, but, hey. It was there.

By the way, I got glue all over my hands. And, guess what? Quick Grip glue will eat off your nail polish:

I do not see that warning on the label.

Next, I covered a little piece of balsa scrap to create the base. I cut a small hole in the fabric where the pole would go so it stuck directly to wood. Then, while the pole sat in a little puddle of the Quick Grip, I gave it some stability by leaning another glue bottle against it. This kept the pole straight without having something also sit in the puddle of glue at the base:

This is something I actually thought through.
Like I said: I do it when it matters.

And, while that dried, I took a little pom pom and cut it down to a more appropriate size just by trimming around it until I was satisfied:

Snip-snip here! Snip-snip there! Crap, that's totally lopsided!
Snip-snip! Not anymore! Snip-snip-snip!

Finally, I threaded some decorative twine through a large needle to create the string from which this hangs. A little glue on the end of the twine secures it to the ball where it pulls through the center. And, I put a little glue on the twine where it comes through the fabric to secure it there, too.

Here's the outcome!

How crazy-cute is that?!

Meanwhile, at the top of the landing behind this creation, another kitty hangs out in a lovely kitty bed all to herself:

The bed is the top of a crocheted box I found at an antique store. I used my same, precision ha-ha method of randomly folding some fabric around a piece of fluff and stuffing it where I want it. Totally works.

So, the kitties are very well taken care of around the house! Next? We'll check out the growing library!