Love how you can use Friendly Plastic pellets for household repairs!!!

So, the wheel on my kitchen drawer that makes it slide in and out broke.  We have been everywhere trying to find a replacement.  We bought 2 different new pieces of hardware and neither one fit the space under or to the side of the drawer.

You can see how the wheel wouldn't roll at all...the drawer was just sliding down the rail

So, I melted some FP pellets in my little craft skillet and fashioned them around the part of the wheel that had broken off

I used my dremel tool and ground down the plastic until it looked about the thickness of the original piece still there

Of course, the plastic did not adhere, but I simply put some E6000 and let it dry for about 6 hours

Looks just like the original wheel on the other side of the drawer:

And I'm happy to report that when I put the drawer back together....it works perfect!!!  Of course, Kerry is amazed and is convinced that I can now repair anything that breaks with FP pellets!

I think I just made a horrible mistake!

LOLOL!!!

If you live in Colorado - you can buy pellets at McGuckins in Boulder.  I was just there last week and they have it in stock.  MUCH cheaper than replacing the brackets and hardware on your kitchen drawers!


Be sure to check out these links:
My Etsy Store
My ebay auctions - I'm now a Power Seller!

Friendly Plastic Contest

One of my internet pals suggested this (thanks sasha!) and I'm going to run with it - all on my own!!!

Kerry is going to have 5 bypasses done and I need to find ways to cheer him up. So how about I sponsor a little Friendly Plastic contest called:

Make him feel better soon!

You simply make something/anyting out of friendly plastic, and send us a photo of it. I will show him the photos and the one that makes him laugh the most will be the winner. I'll happily gift you a generous set of Friendly Plastic sticks and/or pellets!! And if he laughs really hard, I'll double the prize!!! And if Amaco wants to get involved, I'll send you whatever they send me! Hmmm.....this could turn out to be a pretty good contest.

Just remember - the whole idea is to make him smile! So if you've never made a thing with Friendly Plastic - you probably have a better chance of winning than the pros!

How much Friendly Plastic do you have to use in your project? I think at least 25% - I have to be able to see the plastic. But you could make it 100% Friendly Plastic.

Hint - hint - he's a guy, so it could be fun to make tools out of pellets, medical equipment - a nurse? I'm sure someone could even fashion the entire surgery unit out of pellets! He loves our chihuahuas - so an "altered" puppy would be a good idea. Better yet - a cat that was altered by a puppy......LOL!!

Contest starts today and the deadline will be on March 15. Now since there's no mailing involved, let's just say midnight that night on anyone's time zone!!!

If you don't know my email address, go to the blog's website and click over on the right just below the copyright line.

We don't know yet when his surgery will be, but let's say that the winner will be announced on March 16 and if that happens to be the day surgery gets scheduled, I'll post a different day here.

Feel free to share this contest with your yahoo groups, friends and family.

Can't wait to see what you create!

CHA - Booth 2409- The party at Amaco!!!

Am I ready? No,not really!

Am I packed? Well sort of.

I leave about 6:30 am to fly out. I may be up all night long again. WHEN will I ever learn? LOLOL!!!!

It has certainly been a last minute whirlwind flurry around here. I decided to simply make up ATCs for all the techniques. Under the gun, so some I like, others I would re-do later on or put into the trash!

First one - FP in a mold, the bear, FP scraps, ironed, sizzix....love it!

FP strip embossed in a cuttlebug folder.

Quickutz die in pewter, some repousse, alcohol ink, glossy accents

Pewter, same as above:

FP strip stamped, inked and heated:

Pellets colored and set in a mold made from a charm:

Spellbinders envelope die, with bird aperture. Insert is FP pellets, melted, rolled, and cuttlebug foldered, then copic marker refill inked

whew!

Can you even find the FP on this one? It's my "table top" - FP with fantasy film over it, stamped.

Pellets, melted, rolled, embossed, then copic refill inked, under a fragment, wrapped with metal tape.

Linda made this and tossed it! Cute frame!

Pellets in a mold of a very tiny "frozen charlotte" - just love how she came out!

Metal embossed and sanded:

This is just a sampling! Come by booth 2409 to see the rest....I have an entire 7Gypsies rounder full of ATCs. Forgot to count them all, no time to even photo them! You'll just have to see me at the show!

Come see us at CHA!

Linda, Jana and I are going to be in the Amaco booth at CHA, so come see us! I'll show you how to make these totally fun embellishments fit for any scrapbook project!

Obviously I just laid these on a piece of paper tonight.....who knows what I'll do with them! But I think they look just fine right here.

oh! these are made with Friendly Plastic pellets and Krafty Lady molds.

Let the pre-CHA fun begin!!!

Friendly Plastic Pellets - video - make your own tools

I really do have the most wonderful hardware store in the world! McGuckins. It's in Boulder, Colorado. You can spend days inside this store. Not to mention when they put up the giant tent and have a sidewalk sale!

And....they carry Friendly Plastic pellets. Now, why on earth would a hardware store sell pellets? Well, take a look at my video and you will see!



I showed this to Kerry, who has been playing with micro electronics this week. He proceeded to melt some pellets and form a ball on top of some mini lights. When he plugs it into his circuit board, the plastic ball lights up! LOL!

When he gets it "perfected" - I'll video that. But you know guys - do they ever get anything "perfect"? I imagine he will be playing with pellets for some time to come. I may have to put them under lock and key!!!

Friendly Plastic Pellets - video

What do they look like?
How do you know when they are melted?
How can you tell when the water is too hot?
How do you add color to them?
Can you make them glitter?

All these are questions that have been emailed to me, so as promised....here's a video explaining all that and more!




Up next....why my local hardware store carries Friendly Plastic Pellets!!!

Cuttlebug Friendly Backgrounds

Once I teach this class, I'll work on a video - but I think these are just pretty cool backgrounds for cards and other projects.



All done with clear pellets and cuttlebug or sizzix embossing folders



alcohol inks and pinata inks, paint brushes, Krylon pens, Brush20s,



using both the griddle and the skillet methods - and a combination on some.



No idea which one is my favorite....



But they are all just quick and easy



I normally don't make 6 different samples for a class board....but I just couldn't stop myself. I can hardly wait to see what the students come up with. The pieces are so thin they can easily be cut with scissors....but I didn't cut any of these. I totally love the one that came out looking like a dressform....and I'm thinking I just need a hanger, some clips......

Friendly Plastic Painted Pellet Fusion

I poured Friendly Plastic pellets in little cups, squeezed alcohol ink in on top of them and stirred them up.

And then I took a piece of Friendly Plastic strip and pressed it into mold and pour and made a bracelet blank mold.

Next I poured the pellets into the mold....

And I only used 3 colors...but I'm thinking the more the merrier!

Set them on the griddle with the temp just under 200 degrees and let them melt

It was fun to watch them start to blend together...

and melt.....

and then take them out of the mold when they are cool:

So what are my options now?  

1.  Re-heat on the griddle and run the comb thru them

2. Cut into strips and use in the inlaid technique

3.  Use as is

4.  Back with a strip of Friendly Plastic and make a bracelet

5.  Cut up and use pieces in other art

And what do we call this one?  Melt and blend?  

I haven't even touched the surface of where we can go with this.  Alcohol ink provides a transluscent coloring.  Acrylic paint will give an opaque coloring.  Metallic paints or inks will give us a 4th look.  I'm thinking copper, silver and gold could be a fabulous mix!

And that bracelet blank - I can hardly wait to play with that!  I have ideas to take left over scraps and melt and shape them.  Or how about fracture & fuse with left over scraps and then combed?  I can hardly wait to play!

Sad to say, I took Linda to the airport this morning.  I'm so sad to see her go, but I can't even start to explain the ideas floating around in my head that I want to experiment with.  So as I said...one idea just leads to another, and another, and.....it never seems to end!!!

Friendly Plastic Image transfer

I think this may be my favorite technique so far. At first sight, it looks just like a wild piece of jewelry. Gorgeous to say the least....but there's more to it than it just being a piece of wearable art.




The center of the pendant and the earrings came from this photo:



And that photo is my Chico's t-shirt that I scanned in. So....Now I have wearable art that matches the top I'm wearing. Beyond cool!!!



Simply melt Friendly Plastic pellets and run them through the pasta machine. Yep, while they are still a little warm. Then you do a fimo gel image transfer from a laser print to the pellets. You got it.....Friendly Plastic pellet image transfer.



(OK, I'm trying to dangle my earring so you can see it! LOL) Linda made the pendant, I made the earrings to go with it and I tell you.....I feel like I just accessorized with a million bucks! Let's face it....not just everyone has jewelry that literally matches the clothes they are wearing. I can see myself doing this for every new outfit I get!!!

Another amazing reason to play with Friendly Plastic pellets!!!

Now, if you want to see how badly we trashed my studio this week (I call it my studio on steroids!!!) pop on over to Linda's blog and wait for the video she just completed!!! And don't forget to check the Friendly Plastic blog....the buzz is growing by the minute!!!