Worcester Historical Museum Crafternoons!

Kids Crafternoons at Worcester Historical Museum

- Paper Clip and Tape Necklaces

Worcester Historical Museum held a KIDS Crafternoons session for Spring Break week. Visitors of all ages were invited to explore Worcester's innovators in The Factory of the new Alden Family Gallery. What's more innovative than using something you already have in a new way? Some very creative youngsters made paper clip and colored tape necklaces. These are easy to make with materials you have around the house.

Kids Crafternoons will be back this summer so be sure to follow WHM on Facebook and visit the website at www.worcesterhistory.org.

Try this project at home with your kids!

We have a wide variety of colored tapes to chose from!

CC Lowell

258 Park Ave

Worcester, MA

508-757-7713

Duck Tape Creations!

Duck Tape Clutch Tutorial 



Materials needed: 
Duck Tape
X-Acto Knife
Velcro
Cutting Mat

First thing you need to do is make Duck Tape® fabric. 

1. You can make your clutch in as many different colors as you like. First lay out the duck tape on a flat surface sticky side up. Make sure you overlap your Duck Tape® just a little bit, so you have a strong bond.

2. Then over the top you can layer colors cool sticky side down.

3. Trim the edges with an X-ACTO knife & a ruler.

4. Now you have a great piece of Duck Tape® fabric to work with. :)

The rest is pretty easy. Fold one end up. Leaving a little on top for the clutch's flap.

Then tape up the edges.. Isn't that a fun print on the inside?

Then add some sticky back Velcro on the front flap so it will stay in place when closed.

Then add a fun handle on the clutch made with the two different kinds of Duck Tape® stuck together & trimmed down just a little.

And then your Duck Tape clutch is finished! How cute!

All supplies needed for this project can be purchased at our store.

CC Lowell

258 Park Ave

Worcester, MA

508-757-7713

Image transferring.....it's easier than it looks!

TRANSFERRING AN IMAGE WITH GEL MEDIUM

Materials:
Golden Gel Medium – Regular (Gloss or Matte)
Canvas or wood
Photocopy (mirror image)

Apply a generous coat of gel medium to the canvas.

Place your photocopy face down on the gel and smooth gently to adhere well and remove all air bubble. 

Allow the gel to dry completely for about an hour. Then dampen the back of the photocopy with water……

……and use your fingers to rub all the paper off.

The image will be left behind! Now you can seal it, paint over it….endless possibilities!

All the supplies needed for this project can be purchased at CC Lowell!

Come on down and we will help you get started! 

CC Lowell

258 Park Ave

Worcester, MA

508-757-7713

Plaster Casting Leaves

Plaster Casting Leaves Tutorial 

- Fun for Adults & Kids!

We came across this great project on Pinterest posted by Susan Myers.

This is a fun and easy project for adults, and kids ages 10 and up with help of a parent.

Materials needed for this project:

Several large leaves

Plaster of Paris

Plastic (to protect work surface)

Newspaper

Hemp cording, string, or picture hanging hardware

Step 1: First cover your table in plastic. You can use trash bags or large plastic bags.  Crunch up some newspaper to put under the upside-down leaf to support the center.  (You don’t want your leaf to be flattened by the weight of the plaster).

Step 2: Roll up more pieces of newspaper and put under the edges of the leaves in several places to create nice waves in the leaf.  You will have to use one leaf for every plaster casting as the leaves lose a ton of texture if you try to re-use them.

Step 3: Mix the Plaster of Paris with water in a plastic cup. Add enough water to make the plaster a consistency similar to yogurt. Then spoon the plaster over your leaf. Plaster does not stick to the leaf and in some cases will try to roll off, but be persistent. Try to spread it just to the edges of the leaf, creating a layer of plaster over the leaf that is about ¼  inch thick. Now at this point, add a hanger of some sort into the plaster before it dries. Now allow the leaf to dry for at least an hour. Leaves are fragile and if the plaster has not set completely, it will break into a bunch of leafy pieces. 

Now, flip your mold over and peel off the leaf.

You may have to do some trimming on the edges.  Carefully use a craft blade to score the edges and then snap off the extra in little pieces.  Keep in mind that these plaster leaves are fragile. 

Stop into CC Lowell to get your plaster supplies and x-acto knife for this project!

258 Park Ave, Worcester MA

508-757-7713

http://www.cclowell.com

Revamp, Revamp, Revamp!

Hey, Folks!

So in case you were feeling too clean and pristine today, we dug up a bunch of ideas to help add more splashes (literally) of color to your life!

Poured Paint Planters

 This one is really just as simple as pouring paint, but we all know sometimes even the most creative types of people just need that seed planted ;) ...

The Amsterdam brand acrylics we've got would be great for this, since they are nice and affordable and thin enough to drip on their own. We've also got special tips that go with them that make it easier to control where the paint is going. Also the Pro Art Acrylics would be good for the same reason, and you can get these in 2 liter bottles with pumps if you really wanna go to town!
And this is not even to mention everything you could do with the Montana spray paint we stock...

Dip Dye Scarves

Another quality way to spend your time is to alter clothing with all kinds of different dyeing techniques. Whether it's stuff you already have or stuff you picked up from Goodwill, Savers, Salvation Army, etc...its really pretty amazing what a little dye will do! Martha's got some pointers in the link above, but there's tons more techniques on pinterest, youtube, and the all-knowing Google to get ya goin!

And where might you find this dye? Well, C.C. Lowell of course! We have PLENTY of colors in our Jacquard Procion Dye rack, as well as the extremely user friendly IDye packets you can just throw in the washer with whatever fabric you're dying and be done with (no mess)! We know from both personal and customer experience that once you dye that first shirt, scarf, or bag you start noticing a whole new color potential in pretty much everything you own!

Speaking of new DIY/ color potential in items you may have already, we noticed bags like this one floating around the internet:

Splatter Backpack  

This bag has somehow has a retail value of $55,000....clearly, this value comes from its "artsy" chic quality and brand name, but as artists we know that this effect is NOT very difficult to achieve, even if you deem yourself "un-creative" or perhaps happen to be a child!

                                                                

So, whether you're into letting everyone know how artsy you are or just happen to get paint all over everything like we do, make it intentional and pick up some of our Jacquard Lumiere Fabric Paint or mix Golden brand GAC-900 Fabric Medium into any Acrylic to make it flexible and machine-washable. We also have empty spray bottles that you can use to water down these paints to get a nice splatter-effect.

And with that, get down here and start scheming about what you're gonna dye/drip/splatter today! No excuses! We now close at 7pm Wednesday-Friday, and are open on Sundays 12pm-4pm for your convenience!

:)