A Promise Kept - a free tutorial

Can it really be 3 years ago that I made the promise to create a free tutorial on how I made my faux stained glass Tiffany inspired lampshade? I just checked, and indeed, it has been almost that long (just shy of 2 months), since I made that promise on this blog. How time flies when there are so many ideas to create! Part of why it took me so long to make the tutorial is that I rarely revisit old ideas, and when I do, it's generally (as you can tell) a long time later.

I have finally made another faux stained glass lampshade for the April 2015 PCAGOE challenge and this time, I documented my steps so that I can keep my former promise! Our challenge theme this month is "Cover something". So, when I was debating all the fun ideas floating around in my head and all the cool items I have stashed for the purpose of covering with polymer, I remembered that little promise I made. Luckily I also had a little lamp for which I had been meaning to make a new lampshade, so the timing seemed perfect.

In my studio, I have an old treadle singer sewing machine, and above it hangs the first quilt I ever made. On my treadle machine, I have a small little lamp that was a gift to me from my friend Amy. Amy is a potter, and she made this beautiful little lamp! When she gave it to me, she had crowned it with a little white store-bought lampshade. The lampshade was perfectly fine, but it just didn't seem to fit the arts/crafts style of the lamp and of the little nook where this piece sits in my room. So, I decided to make a faux stained glass shade to enhance this perfect little piece of pottery that is so dear to my heart.

Here's a before shot of my cute little lamp with it's original lampshade (plus a few of the other lovely pottery gifts from my friend Amy):

The tutorial is posted here free. This is a fairly simple project, but some knowledge of working with polymer is helpful. For this project you will need:

Supplies:

• A glass lampshade (I find them at thrift stores, but you can get new ones at most hardware stores that sell lighting)
• about 3-4 (2oz.) packages of translucent polymer clay (I use Premo)
• about 1 (2 oz) package of black polymer clay (again, I use Premo)
• cornstarch (helpful for blending seams and smoothing out areas)
• a bonding agent (I use Sculpey bake n bond)
• your choice of colors of alcohol inks
• rubbing alcohol
• a waterbased polymer sealer (I used an imported product that is similar to Finalcoat - I don't have the original jar and can't remember the name of mine... it was originally purchased to refinish a table, the remaining amount went to my studio)
• A way to mount the lampshade (I will explain this further after the next photo)

Tools:

• A pasta machine or roller for sheeting polymer
• An extruder gun with a small round hole disc and a half moon disc
• paintbrushes
• tissue blade
• Round cutters (optional)

Notice the hole in the top of the glass lampshade above. We need to design a lamp holder, so that the lampshade will sit over the bulb. The very first one I made had a little harp and finial, so I needed  something that would allow the heat of the lamp to escape and would have a hole in the center for screwing onto the harp of the lamp, securing in place with the harp's finial. My solution to that first problem was to use a decorative brass stamping, similar to the ones above on the left. For this second lamp, there is no harp system. So, I detached the lightbulb clamp from the lampshade that had previously been on this lamp. I needed to devise a way to secure this lightbulb clamp to the lampshade, which wasn't difficult to do.

The lightbulb clamp would be secured between two layers of clay at the top of the shade, positioned as above. If you need to use a stamping for the harp system, you will want to cut or drill a hole into the center of the stamping that is large enough to allow the finial screw to come through. I happened to have a hole punch and dye set and that's how I made the hole in the stamping of my Tiffany lampshade. I believe you could also take a block of wood and a nail, hammer the nail into the center, then once you have a starter hole, gradually increase the size using different drill bits.

Here's a shot of that original Tiffany inspired lampshade so you understand what I mean by the difference in the hanging systems:

So, now we're ready to secure the hanging system. First I measure the top of the shade with my available round cutters. (I used Fat Daddio round cutters).

The smaller of these 2 cutters was perfect for the inner rim of the shade top, the larger one was just a bit larger than I had wanted, but worked fine. I made a sheet of translucent polymer and cut a large circle with the smaller cut out inside, like this:

I mounted this ring to the top lip of the shade. If you don't have round cutters, you can just lay a sheet of polymer over the top of your shade and using an Xacto knife, cut out the inner circle and then cut around the outer lip of the shade to achieve the same effect.

If using a metal stamping with the harp method, you may have to build up this area a bit more on the inside, as generally the metal stampings are smaller than the upper mouths of these shades. Just be sure that the metal stamping has support both underneath and above on the outer edges (about 1/8" to 1/4" overlap on the stamping). If you are using a bulb clamp as I am here, simply trim the edges so you don't have anything sticking out (I use a memory wire cutter for this as some metals will mar the cutting edge of cutters or pliers). Press the hanging system into the clay and use a bit of bake n bond to add strength to the seal.

I decided that I wanted a more decorative top than this, so I also added one of my metal stampings on top of this (to cover up the bulb clamp from the outside view). You'll see this in the second photo after this one. 

Add another ring layer just like the last, over top of this to secure the hanging system. It is now ready for it's first curing. Bake according to your polymer brand's instructions. 

Once the shade has cooled from it's first cure, you are ready to cover the rest of the shade. It helps to have something to rest the shade on for the rest of the process. I use a ball of crochet thread, as seen here (you can also see how the top looks before the first cure).

To cover the rest of the shade, you will need some sheets of polymer that are as wide as the shade is long. I used about 1.5 to 2 2oz. blocks to make my first sheet, on the 2nd thickest setting of my pasta machine. Because of the curve of the shade, it will take a couple different sheets blended together to cover the entire piece. Work with one at a time. First, cover the entire shade with a thin layer of bake n bond or liquid PC. You may need to use your fingers or a paintbrush to help you smooth it into a thin layer, and you may need to add some polymer clay thinning liquid if it is too thick. When this is ready, align the straight edge of the polymer sheet with the rim of clay at the top, wrap the sheet down and around the shade. You will have to trim off sides with your tissue blade. I try to trim at the point of the upper rim where the sheet edge stops touching, and straight down to the bottom of the shade.

Above, you can see on the right side where I've cut off the excess, the left side still needs to be trimmed (you can also see the metal stamping I added to hide the bulb clamp here). Be sure to smooth out as many bubbles as you can! If you find any bubbles you missed, you can prick them with a pin or your tissue blade and starting from the outside of the bubble work your way in toward the pin hole to let the air escape, then blend the clay with your fingertip to cover the hole. Add more sheets in the same way, and use your fingertips to blend the edges of where 2 sheets meet to create a seamless piece. On the bottom of the shade you will want enough clay to be able to wrap a small lip towards the inside (about 1/4"). Your seamless covered shade should look something like this:

At this point, I did a second curing - again, see your polymer manufacturer's baking specs. But if you are confident of your design and confident that you won't make the mistake of nicking the translucent layer with a fingernail or a tool, then you can keep it in the raw state.. Now we are ready to add the faux leading. Using your extruder, put the small round dye and the half moon dye together and extrude black clay (the result will be a small half round extruded length) {Thanks to Jan Montarsi for that tip, which he shared with me after seeing my Tiffany inspired shade). It helps to have an idea of your design. I began adding a design that I thought would work, but after I had 2 of the 4 quadrants completed, I decided I did not like it:

Luckily it was cured before I added the leading, so I just scraped off the areas I didn't like and started over:

Remember, if your translucent base was cured, you will need to use bake n bond or some other bonding agent to secure the faux leading. Be sure to put the flat side of the half round extruded lengths on the side that touches the lampshade. I decided that I wanted my design to mimic the design of my quilt that hangs behind this lamp, but I didn't want the entire shade to be covered in the pattern. This design suited my taste much more!

If you're worried about messing up parts that are finished, while working other parts, you can spot cure finished areas with a heat gun (just be sure you are happy with the design in the areas you spot cure!). If you use the heat gun, also be sure to keep it moving, too much heat at the same spot for too long can scorch the piece! I added a rim of black around both the top and the bottom of the shade, as you can see below:

Here's my fully cured shade with faux leaded design. Ready for color now! I use Adirondack alcohol inks, some rubbing alcohol and paintbrushes. I basically use these inks as though I were painting with watercolor. 

Because real stained glass often has variation in hue and intensity, the alcohol inks painted on the surface mimic the effect quite well. I just point the tip of the ink bottle on my brush till I have the amount I want on the brush, then paint the surface. When I want a change in value, I touch a lighter version or darker version of ink to the brush and let the colors blend together. When I want to use a different hue, I either clean my brush with rubbing alcohol or I use another brush. Any mistakes are easily cleaned with rubbing alcohol or just painted over with the color you want.

With this one, for a last spur-of-the-moment touch, I added some squirts of these sprayable inks that I just picked up at my local thrift store. I really liked the added touch it gave. After the inks were applied to my liking, I put the shade in for a final full cure for 30 minutes. (again follow your manufacturer's specs). Once the piece was cooled, I gave the entire piece a coating of water soluble poly-coat varnish in a low gloss/satin finish. 

Here are some more photos of the finished piece:

And here you can see the lamp with my quilt (inspiration for the design):

I am so pleased with how this turned out, I just love the way it looks with my quilt in the background! I hope you like it too, and I hope you find the project tutorial helpful!  Oh, and if you love the little lamp, check out my friend Amy's Facebook page: Amy Burk Pottery

Please leave me a comment and tell me what you think of my little lampshade, and of the tutorial too!  If you have any questions about any of the steps, please do leave a comment below, I always try to reply within one day!

If you make a faux stained glass lampshade of your own, be sure to come here and tell me how it went! A flickr, Facebook or pinterest link to where I can see your lampshade would be great too!

The voting for this challenge will open on April 1st (no fooling). ;)  I'll try to post a reminder here on the blog!

Ms. Fix-it: or Confessions of a chronic Do-It-Yourself-er

This blog post is about a different type of creativity…  Ever get frustrated with corporate America's planned obsolescence?  I do.  Imagine... you're using one of your trusted tools or gadgets when suddenly it stops or no longer performs properly.  So, whenever  a product I own decides to die, I do a search on the internet to find any available information to diagnose and fix the problem.

So, about a month ago, in the midst of whipping up a batch of home-made bread, my Kitchenaid stand mixer made a funny noise and simply stopped running.  In aid of eating foods that are as minimally processed as possible, (i.e. no chemicals), I make my own bread.  I knew I would be wanting the help of Ms. Kitchenaid in a week or two to make the next batch of bread… what's a girl to do?
I should mention that we live on a one income budget, so we are very crafty with how we spend our money.  Also, I tend towards extreme environmental consciousness, so the thought of tossing something like this to the landfill is unacceptable.   
I first called the 1-800 number located on the back of my machine.

After the nice customer service person told me: 1.  That my bread recipe was ½ cup more than what my model could handle (really? I've been making this same bread recipe with this machine for many months with zero signs of a struggle till this point);  2.  That he couldn't diagnose my problem over the phone; 3. That he highly recommended that I pay for the mailing kit to send my machine to the factory for diagnosis and repair; and 4. That just the mailing kit cost $35, and that didn't include any part of diagnosis or repairs…. Realizing that I can buy a refurbished machine on ebay for likely just a little more than I'd spend sending them the damn machine and paying the factory labor and parts costs for fixing whatever was wrong with it; I thanked him for his time and kindly said that I'd look into all my options before purchasing the mailing kit.  I then headed to the internet for some research.  There are some sites out there that helped; these sites got me to a preliminary diagnosis and realization that I could possibly fix this myself for less than the $35 shipping kit cost!  The sites I found were this:  http://www.ehow.com/how_7780654_apart-kitchenaid-mixer.html   and this:  http://www.foodonthefood.com/food_on_the_food/2009/04/how-to-repair-a-kitchenaid-mixer-yourself.html
It sounded as though my machine had the same issue that was described, a broken worm gear (which apparently is the most common problem when these machines break down).  It seems these gears are made out of nylon (read plastic).  We're talking about a $4 part... Yep, this machine with a heavy metal exterior, leaving one to think the machine is built to last, has plastic gears inside.  The company claims these plastic gears are designed to break down, as to prevent the motor from burning out; though it sounds logical, I admit to being a bit skeptical about that reasoning alone for plastic gears.  Neither of the two websites listed above had many visuals to go with the instructions of dismantling the machine.  Frankly because I'm a visual girl, the how-to instructions on their own left me less than 100% confident that I knew what I was doing.  Never one to let that hold me back when a chance to experiment is at hand… and hey, what did I have to lose by just taking the thing apart?  I set to work, screwdriver in-hand.  After I got the thing successfully apart, I decided that I should do a blog post on this topic, to help anyone else "out there" fix their machine.

 My model is the Kitchenaid Classic 4 ½ quart capacity.  (**Note: it might be of benefit to read through both of the previously mentioned websites and through all of my instructions before you have a go at it! **)  So here are the details…

First, gather the tools you will need to take the machine apart.  Here's what I used:  a small flat head screw driver, a phillips head screw driver, a metal punch tool (not sure of technical name) and a large flat head screw driver; you will also need a hammer:

 

1.  Make sure your machine is unplugged!  Then, at the back top of your machine there is a phillips head screw located on the top of the rounded part as seen in the next photo, unscrew this screw to remove the rounded cover on the back of the machine.

2.  After you remove the rounded back cover, you will see the two small phillips head screws which hold the outer band in place, unscrew both these screws (see red and yellow arrows).

3.  Remove the outer band by stretching outward slightly and slipping it off the machine.

4.  Next we will remove the round band at the front of the machine head, take your small flat head screw driver and place it in one of the little grooves you will find at the top of that silver band, then nudge the band downward (careful not to scratch the paint on your machine), it should shimmy loose so you can remove it.  Note: This band is not fastened with any screws, so when you put the machine back together you want to push this band up far enough so that it will stay in place.

  

5.  Next take your metal punch tool and place it on the pin that you see on the planetary, the pin is located near the shaft which holds your beater attachements (this entire piece that rotates is called the planetary), as seen here:

 

Hammer the end of your metal punch tool to draw out the pin and remove it.  Note: when you put the machine back together, the holes on the outside of the planetary must match up with the hole on the inside shaft, if you can't see clear through all of the holes, simply rotate the planetary until you can see through it and then you will be ready to reinsert your pin.

6.  Now you can pry down the planetary (the part that rotates).  I did this by inserting the long shaft of my screw driver between the planetary and the top of the machine (like a mini crowbar), then wriggled the screwdriver shaft up and down until I was able to pull the planetary off the rest of the way with my hands.  This takes some force, but it will come free.

 

7.  Next you will unscrew and remove the 5 flat head screws on the circular area that were revealed just now after your removed the planetary (seen below)

 

8.  Unscrew and remove the 2 flat head screws just under this circular area as seen here:

9.  At the back of the machine there are 2 more flat head screws that are recessed into the butt of the machine which need to be removed, you will find one on each side of the machine as seen below:

10. Now the top of your machine should be free to lift up and off, again this may take some force (I also used the shaft of my screwdriver to help here) but it will come off... Once it is free, be sure to slide the plastic housing at the top of the cord wire out of the base, as the wires are attached to the mechanics in the top part of the machine but the cord is seated in the base (you don't want to set the top down with this still attached to the base, as it could detach wires from soldered points)  Be prepared, a lot of black gooey grease is housed in the head and may fall out so you might not want do this on your best table cloth or while wearing your favorite outfit!

This is only a small portion of the black icky grease that was in mine, a lot of it fell out as I was taking the top off and a lot of it was in the top part of the machine. 

Now that your machine is apart, you need to diagnose the problem. Clean off as much of the old grease as you can with some paper towels.  Check all your gears to see if any teeth are broken off or shredded.  Not only was the worm gear on mine shredded, but the pinion gear below it was missing teeth - because the pinion gear is metal, those missing teeth were still lodged in the center pinion gear that it connects with, so I had to go through each gap of the center pinion with my small screwdriver to slide out any broken bits to be sure it wouldn't mess up my new replacement gears.  Be sure to inspect all your gears before you order your parts...  I almost missed the pinion gear issue but luckily caught it right before I placed my order.  Go to this website, to view a machine diagram (look for the "enlarge the image" for easier viewing), to determine which gears you need to replace.  This site also has the best price point that I foundon the internet to order the worm gears :  http://www.mendingshed.com/k45map.html   Be aware that when you put it all back together ***you MUST replace the grease!!*** (the manufacturer actually recommends you replace the grease every 2 years or so, but this was the first time I'd done it in the 13 year lifetime of my machine).  You MUST to use a food grade grease such as Benalene, which you can also buy at the Mendingshed website, it comes in a small pint sized can:

So here's my bright new shiny worm (the worm gear is the cream/yellow colored part) and pinion gear box that I replaced, before I greased it back up and reassembled the beast... The cost of this shiny new part was about $7, the can of grease was about $18 and then there was shipping, but I think I got the job done in the range of $35-$40... and I still have a fairly full a can of grease ready for the next time I need it:

When your parts arrive in the mail, swap out the old parts for the replacements by unscrewing the old parts where you see them attached.  Remember to add a generous amount of new grease (comparable to what you cleaned off the parts) and reassemble by following the directions in reverse. 
And there you have it, how to disassemble your Kitchenaid stand mixer... 

Mine has been singing along perfectly since the replacement, as my oven will attest, and I've learned to do my bread in 1/2 batches so I don't break another worm gear!

I'm dreaming of owning an Electrolux mixer someday, but I don't think I'll have a spare $600 to $1000 any time soon, so I have to make my Kitchenaid last as long as she can and with this knowledge, she should last for many years!

I've done this same Ms. Fixit routine for my ibook and my MacBooks.  Thanks to www.ifixit.com for perfect instructions paired with photo visuals of each step, for the past 13 years when I've had a computer problem I fixed it myself on the cheap.  I also buy my new-to-me, previously used computers with "issues" to get a bargain that I can fix fairly inexpensive.  So, next time something breaks, before you just toss it, head to the internet to see if you can learn how to fix it yourself!  You might just impress yourself, or your spouse... I love hearing mine say (and he does often), that he married the right woman; one who's just as handy with a power tool as she is with a kitchen utensil, sewing machine... (insert random homemaker tool), etc.... ;)   Good luck with your machine, if it should ever break, and leave me a comment with any questions!

Free Tutorial: DIY Small Upcycled Recycled Gift Boxes

Upcycled From Toilet Paper and Paper Towel Roll Cores, a quick project for those who enjoy Do it yourself projects...

I'm always looking for ways in which I can: 1. Reuse something that would normally find its way to the trash, and 2. Save money.  I used to purchase jewelry boxes from one of my jewelry supply catalogs, but my supply has dwindled to less than 10 and I just didn't want to spend the money again.  So, I decided to make my own using reclaimed materials.  I love the look of pillow shaped boxes and this is so easy to do, uses something most of us have in our homes that typically winds up in the trash, and takes only a seconds to make. 
These are great for crafters who make small items, as it's quick, somewhat customizable (size and decoration) and you can pre-make at home, then flatten and store in a much smaller space than it takes to store pre-fab boxes.... easier to lug around to craft shows too!

Materials:
Toilet Paper roll core and/or Paper Towel roll core
Optional materials: paint, markers, glue, decorative paper, newspaper, ribbon, etc.

Tools:
A round template (I use the outside band from a Ball jar)
pen
scissors

Method:
1.  Take the cardboard core and flatten it, use the side of a pen or marker to make your creased edges sharp.

2.  Take your round template (you want the diameter of your circle to be larger than the width of your cardboard to ensure that you don't have any overhang of the flaps when you close the box), center the circle over the end of your cardboard with the edge of the arc meeting the edge of the cardboard, as seen in photo below.  Mark this edge with a pen, this will be your cutting line. Again, I use the band from a Ball jar as my template, but I should think something like a coaster sized round object should work if you don't have any ball jars in the house.

3.  Repeat with other side of cardboard.

4. Cut off ends on both sides of the flattened tube, using the pen marks you just made as your guide.

5. Now you are ready to form the box.  Using your fingers, push one of the flaps on each end (the arcs you just cut) into the tube to create the opening sides of your box.  Just push the first flap to meet the other side of the cardboard, you don't want to push it all the way against it's own side...

6.  Pinch the edges of the crease you just made with your fingers to make the edge crisp, do this to both ends.

7.   Now fold the second flaps over to cover the first flaps you just pushed in... this will create a sort of arc football shaped side.

8. Pinch these edges just as you did in step 6, to make a crisp edge.  And you're done!  Now, if you like, you can unfold the sides and re-flatten to decorate the box with markers, paper, paint, etc.  Or, if you're like me, you may just prefer the naked TP roll box with a ribbon or piece of jute tied around it.

Enjoy!  And feel free to share the link to this post with your friends!

Create My World Designs
©2012 text and photos


Do you have any favorite Tutorials using reclaimed or repurposed materials?  If so, Please share them by leaving a comment with the web link!  I love to see new ideas for reusing materials that otherwise would be destined for the landfill!