varnish for polymer clay?

[weeefairy.livejournal.com]

So, I've been making polymer clay items for quite some time now, usually I don't varnish them, but now i want to attempt to start selling them, and i want it to be more professional.

I know that future floor polish is mostly used to coat items, but i cant quite get it over here. Well actually i can i think, i just dont know which one it is!
I've read on various non polymer clay sites that the equivalent of future floor polish in the benelux (belgium netherlands luxembourg, ) is either something called klir, sols plus, or vloer plus. these are all products by johnson also, but johnson carries all three of these products in my country, and they are most definately not one and the same stuff!
I send johnson an email about this matter, whether they could recommend something to me which is similiar to future floor polish, but i got no reply.
My bet is that is "vloer plus" because its description seemed most similiar to that of future.
however, it is pretty impossible to find where i live, so i wanted to ask if any of you had any experience with the following products:

Fimo shiny varnish, varnish on synthetic basis
Fimo shiny varnish on water basis
decorfin varnish shiny
decorfin varnish non-shiny

are they any good at all? or do they peel off or otherwise suck?
I mainly use kato clay, and i had ordered something called "poly glaze" also from the same website, but its not really a varnish since it says to varnish over it after using, and i really dont like the way it makes items look anyway.

anyway, onwards to some pictures of items!

( pictures! )

makeover makeover MAKEOVER! cha cha cha!

[sylvieonabun.livejournal.com]

So this isn't as much a "reconstruction" as a "makeover".

See, I bought this hoodie yesterday. I love the fabric it's made with, it's got these cute little skulls all over it. And it was $5 dammit. The graphic on it was vaguely wearable even, but I knew I could not bring myself to wear a hoodie saying "rock and Roll Queen". It's not that I'm not a rock and roll queen per say, it's just, well, Disco Stu doesn't advertise and I'd rather not either.

Here is the before, with the offending graphic highlighted:

( and here is it's journey )

lip balm in the making

[lovealwaysliz.livejournal.com]

Ok, I made a post a little while ago about making some stuff for a charity craft bazarr...I ordered all kinds of goodies at thesage.com and I can't wait to get working!  However, I ordered 30 chapstick tubes knowing I had plenty of my own that I could reuse to give to my friends to sample.  My question:  How does one go about steralizing used chapstick containers?  I do not have a dishwasher, and I fear melting the little buggers in the microwave.  Is it okay to place it in a water/bleach solution?  Thanks in advance!

First post

[too-evonish.livejournal.com]

Hi i'm Evon i'm turning 19.
I live in Singapore and has been crafting since i'm 8. 
Of course my first piece of work was kinda crap.

I like to work with gold chains, black crystals and black acrylic beads.
I get my inspirations from the nature, people (dead or alive), vintage icons and animals.

Favourite of the lot.

( You like necklaces? Yes/No? )

How to make a stand-up necklace display

[sybill777.livejournal.com]

I found this tutorial on how to make a stand-up bust style necklace display, and though that the community would dig it.  Im sure at least one of you will end up improvising and coming up with something absolutely amazing. :D

Here is what the finished product looks like (from the site, I didnt make it)


The rest of the site is helpful as well, but that particular page had me thinkin' about y'all.

Enjoy!

(no subject)

[lonelygodess.livejournal.com]

So I bought a 'yoga' zip-up sweat shirt, which I mean to stencil with fabric paint, but I wonder how well it will work, since the material is 86% nylon, 14% spandex. I can't iron it.

Any advice, ladies?

Birthday Banner for Grandma

[gasouthard.livejournal.com]

We are celebrating my grandma's 75th birthday this Saturday. So I wanted my kids (4 years and 2 years) to make her something special. I decided on this banner of sorts. I had the kids paint muslin with watercolors. We outlined things with a black sharpie pen. My son (4 yo) painted the top portion with very little help from me. My daughter (2 yo) painted the bottom portion - though I did a decent portion. But she was adamant about doing it herself. Then I cut out felt hand prints of their hands to make the butterfly and flowers. My son then decorated the butterfly with sequins. I also sewed up the hems on the material to make it look nice. Here is the result. I think my grandma will like it.



( Close-up views... )

Thanks for looking. Posted on craftgrrl and thecreativecafe

more jewelry

[jenae2172.livejournal.com]

My mom's birthday was yesterday. I finally finished the charm bracelet ( I got distracted with other ideas as youll see in the post) Enjoy!!

( would you care for some wine?? )

(no subject)

[le-soleil-noir.livejournal.com]

So i needed a knitting needle stopper quick! I had nothing! I tried cutting a piece of cork off of a wine bottle - too small, just broke. ticky tack? too messy. Oh whats this on my dresser?
( Knitting Needle Stoppers -- uh nsfw )

(no subject)

[homicideisgood.livejournal.com]

hey you guys :)
i got some aweeesome sunglasses for cheap yesterday and the lenses arent exactly the color i wanted :(
any of y'all think theres a way to get them black?
i thought maybe light light spray paint, or some kind of sticky stuff i can peel and stick or whatev?
any ideas are welcome! thank youuu!

(no subject)

[gorillacake.livejournal.com]

Boring H+M hoodie that everyone has
+ listening to too much Dresden Dolls
+ stencil that took forever to make with a damn blunt craft knife
+ black paint

=

( Warning! There is some wideness. )

denim

[raychiecupcakes.livejournal.com]

Experiences with dying denim?
I always find cute vests but I'd rather have them be a deeper indigo color.
Any help appreciated:]

Sick Days

[halofire.livejournal.com]

Called in sick today. More of the "mental health" kind of sick day. I got a lot done on the home front and got a few projects knocked out, so I feel much better!

Graduation present for a friend, riding the HP fandom waaaave!

( Ollivanders: Makers of Fine Wands since 382 BC )

Calling all knitters

[le-soleil-noir.livejournal.com]

Ok, so... what is your ideal knitting bag set up? You know, for on the go?
I ride the buss a lot so i need to have something that can go with me that is compact and doesn't run the risk of needles stabbing people.

How do you manage when you are working on a scarf? I've seen needle bags like this: http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=5871267
but what about the bags to keep the yarn/ working needles with yarn on them in?

what is the best shape? zippered? snapped? what?
i'm sure everyone has a difference preference.

do you like to work from yarn in a ball or a skien? (is that what its called? skien?)

also ... what kind of needles do you like?
i've only used metal ones -- they are ok... i hate the sound they make when they scrape together though.

AND, what are stitch markers for?
why would i mark a stitch?


as you can tell, i'm new at this!
thanks :0D

Quilt Finishing in the Kansas City Area?

[crafti.livejournal.com]

A friend here at work has a quilt top pieced by her grandmother that she would like batted,backed, and otherwise finished so she can display it.  Does anyone know of anyplace I can recommend to her to get this done?  Anyone have a home-based business where they finish quilts?

(no subject)

[artschoollove.livejournal.com]

so i bought some tags. then saw the y bails and bought a pack. now i wish i bought three packs instead of one, and two of the tags that probably won't be used. oh well, i'll get more this weekend. i think the bails look quite nice.


also feel free to add me. i need more crafty friends. :D

Rasta Hat knitting pattern

[mattykeelzyoo.livejournal.com]

Does anyone have a knitting pattern for a hat like this? I have NO idea what the style of hat is called, but even a pattern for an oversized/long beret or something would be cool. I've just been calling it a rasta hat or dread hat lol



Thank you!!

ps. the hat in the picture is made of hemp. not the material I'm working with :]

Cupcakes in a row!

[krysanya.livejournal.com]

Cupcakes in a row!, originally uploaded by rengawk.


Hee lots of pink cupcakes! There are for swaps on www.swap-bot.com.

Smallest cupcake made with the pattern here on Flickr.

Second cupcake has info here.

Cupcake purse patterns by Amy Gaines.

Crocheted with an F hook, Caron Simply Soft for the bases, the darker pink frosting is Red Heart's Candy Print, and the lighter pink is a little creation I made with 4 lightweight yarns I received in a yarn swap. =)

Posted to my journal swapbotswappers, weloveamigurumi, and craftgrrl

photo book

[jessvig.livejournal.com]

Last night I had asked about making a creative "photo album" for my boyfriend (thank you all for your input!). While tossing some things in the trash tonight, I found this book called The Truth About Love, which is all quotes from all sorts of famous people and books. I decided to rubber cement select pictures on every other page, then I took adhesive labels and printed the location, date and what the picture was on it. Pages opposite of the pictures contain the book's quotes. And on the very first page of the book, I stuck a label containing the date of when we first started going out. I hope he likes it!

*pictures L-to-R of the book cover, Mammoth picture at Museum of Natural History, my boyfriend at Ripley's Believe it or Not "behind bars"

(no subject)

[sunnycowgirl.livejournal.com]

One of my friends on another message board made me a sleazy for my horse.