Helmar Creative Team

Love is in the Air, Helmar helps make fabric and paper flowers for a Wedding Tutorial

Good Morning all you Hot Helmar fans! It is L. Grace Lauer here!

Today I am going to share with you how to make fabric flowers from polyester with Helmar glue! These were made for my Sister's wedding. I am going to take a quick moment to shout out "Congrats to Sheay and Tom". 

WARNING! Long post... grab a cup of your favorite comfort beverage and a snack! I am pretty sure you will enjoy it!

Now, lets get started - How to make the fabric flowers...

Step 1: Make sure you are working with 100% Polyester! ALL natural fibers are flammable as well as Rayon and a few other man made fibers... however Polyester with mostly melt when heated. Keep a close eye on it.

Step 2: Cut a circle out of the fabric

Step 3: Fold circle in 1/2 and then in 1/2 again (Skip to step 6 if you are wanting the round lollipop flowers)

Step 4: Cut two or three slits from the outside curve toward the center about 2/3 of the way in.

Step 5: unfold the circle

Step 6: hold OVER open flame (not in the flame) from a candle,to gently melt the edges of each petal.

Make many of these with different sized circles and then layer them up!

HELMAR STEP: I used Helmar Premium Craft Glue to adhere each layer to the other and to also adhere the hair "fastener" (clip, wire twisties, comb) to the flowers. Though this glue dries fast to the touch you need to let it cure for a bit longer.  Let set for the glue to cure completely before testing it in your hair... I speak from experience!

***Make sure there is ventilation in the room (watch for a breeze though it tends to blow the heat and flame around and you can easily get burned when the flame is unsteady.

Lets look at some examples...

Hair piece #1 - Bridal flower (this one is made from the remnants of her dress when she got it altered) Helmar Premium Craft Glue was used between every layer and to attach the sliver eyelash ribbon and even the metal center piece. Helmar Gemstone glue came to the rescue when I noticed there was a gem missing in the metal center piece, shhh... don't tell my sister!

Helmar Gemstone glue was used to adhere a spare gemstone (yes I have a selection of those handy just in case... hehe) into the empty place drying totally clear to let it shine! Because this piece was made with the chiffon from her dress it was quite flimsy. I used Helmar Fabric Stiffener & Draping Liquid to give the petals some rigidity.

Here it is in action on the big day! (This photo is courtesy of Sarah Christine Photography in Fort Collins, CO, I highly recommend her!) Isn't my baby sister beautiful?

Bridal Shoe Accessories: The flowers attached with safty pins. (This photo is courtesy of Sarah Christine Photography in Fort Collins, CO)

Flower Girl Accessories! Hair pieces #2 and #3 - All the blue, yellow and grey flowers in the top photo were used to adorn these lovely little ladies with mass amounts of hand crafted Helmar infused pretties! Everything from their hair to their belts to their flowered poms have Helmar all over it! Here is my precious little daughter and her hair piece. (This photo is courtesy of Sarah Christine Photography in Fort Collins, CO)

Their Hair pieces were created like the Bridal Hair piece as well as their belt flowers only I used a large safety pin to attach them to the belt.

Their poms on the other hand started off as a $1 store styrofoam ball (2 for a $1) Using Helmar Craft & Hobby PVA Glue, which is rated for styrene, all over the balls and then wrapping them with strips of the silver taffeta fabric (left over from their dresses that my sister made, yes I come from a very crafty family) made the perfect base for the flowers. After the Helmar Premium Craft Glue was dried on the flower they were pinned into the Styrofoam balls with strait pins and for some extra security they were also glued with Helmar Premium Craft Glue . The handles were done the same way and even after some friendly battles with the Ring Bearer the poms had no mishaps and stuck together like all my Helmar projects do. (This photo is courtesy of Sarah Christine Photography in Fort Collins, CO)

The Ring Bearer Boutonniere - this was created with this technique explained HERE in a great video tutorial (I skipped the inking and misting).  I used Helmar Acid Free Glue to adhere the layers together again to make them very secure because they were in the hands of children for hours... and well kids will be kids. Then I used Helmar Gemstone Glue and sprinkled them with an iridescent glitter from PK Glitz. We added these yellow flowers to the flower girl poms also to bring in more of the yellow shade from the programs and invitations. The Card stock was from Coredinations Foundations.

 

Matron of Honor and Mother of the bride hair flowers - Now since I was the Matron of honor at this wedding I did not get photos of my hair but these were the hair pieces I had the stylist twist into my side fishtail french braid. (This photo was taken prior to the gluing process on the burned flowers...)

Here are three of these little guys clustered in the Mother of the Bride's Hair.

I made these the same way as the bride's but much smaller about 1 1/2" circles. I used wire on the backs to be able to twist them into any hair style or bobbie pin cluster. To secure the wires I used... You guessed it Helmar Premium Craft Glue.

I know, I know... but I warned you this was long! I am almost done!

I had to add to this post that this technique was used again just yesterday while adding leaves to my son's Peter Pan Costume! The leaves are attached to the costume made by my mother... with Helmar Premium Craft Glue because it is washable! If you have a question about wash-ability or what glue is right for what surface... please check out this chart HERE on our blog.

Well that's all folks! I hope you were able to finish your beverage and snack in time. I hope you all have a Happy Helmar Day and please leave a comment below! Thank you for your time!

Helmar Design Team Member

 

Sparkling headband with 450 glue

My daughter LOVES headbands so when Green Tara sent me some beautiful pearl trim and acrylic bead flowers and dragonflies, well I just couldn't resist creating another pretty headband for her. Helmar's strong holding 450 quick dry was just the right glue I needed for a long-lasting bond of all the pretty elements you see here. This glue really made the job fast and easy. You can't see where I glued either - so it lets the acrylic beads really shine!

I gave her the headband on the morning of her 4th birthday and she wore it all day long!

So this is the "before" shot of the plain plastic headband. It's amazing what a few great embellies and the right glue can do!

Easy Headband Instructions:

Step 1 - Cover outside of headband (dollar store) with bead trim (or ribbon, or lace etc.) and let the 450 glue dry for a few minutes.

Step 2 - Add embellishments of choice and tlet them dry.

Step 3 - Brighten a girl's day. Seriously it's THAT easy (if you have the right glue!).

Honestly, it often costs about HALF of what'd you'd pay in the stores too. Here is an example of one I've made in the past with fabric trims and flowers (on a wide faux leather headband, also from the dollar store) to give you a bit more inspiration to try making your own...

 
This glue is my "go to" glue - clear, strong and acid free. Love this stuff!

Thanks for dropping by the blog today!

Vicky Alberto, Design Team Member

http://simplypaperandcreativity.blogspot.ca

 

Build A Better Mouse Trap with Helmar

Well, perhaps I didn't build a better mouse trap, but I did manage a prettier mouse trap.   Do you do what I do and wander around stores looking at things and thinking of what you could make with them or how fun it would be to alter them?  I was wandering around the hardware store and spotted mouse traps.  It reminded me that I had seen somewhere online that a trap was altered and looked really great, looking kind of steampunk and I thought it would be fun to try altering one myself.  There was no way I was leaving that store without a mouse trap or two..... heck, I even grabbed a rat trap.  Can't wait to tackle that one.  For now, I'll stick with sharing the mouse trap.

I started with removing the unnecessary pieces from it and sanding the edges lightly to remove any rough spots and splinters.  I gave it a light coat of gesso for no real reason other than I felt it should have some kind of a primer on it before I got after it with my Helmar Decoupage Paste.   I chose a pretty paper from Pink Paislee and cut two pieces to fit both ends of the mouse trap surface.  I probably could have removed the spring and replaced it, but doing it in two pieces wasn't difficult.

I gave my paper pieces a couple of coats of Crystal Kote Glossy before decoupaging them to the mouse trap surface.

Once the decoupage was dry, I gave the entire trap surface another couple of coats of  Crystal Kote Glossy.  I placed a piece of clear tape over the spring so as not to fill it with  Crystal Kote Glossy.  It probably would have been okay, but I didn't want to take a chance.

I chose to embellish the top with paper flowers and various paper leaves to coordinate with the pattern paper.  I gave what started as white paper flowers a quick spray or two of a yellow Tattered Angels Glimmer Mist and once dry, I pulled out the can of Crystal Kote Glossy again and sprayed the embellishments. 

 

 

Once everything was dry and ready for placement on the trap, I put a blob (creative word) of  Helmar Silicone Adhesive Sealant on the trap and was able to arrange my pieces on it.  I couldn't resist the quick addition of a few gems using Helmar Gemstone adhesive. 

My last step is to adhere magnets to the back of my new clip for attaching it to my refrigerator or, more likely, my metal front door.  I'm good for leaving notes for the delivery men in my life.

It could just as easily be nailed directly to a wall or have a hole drilled in the top and hang it for leaving messages or clipping important papers, mail, etc.  It could just sit on a shelf and look pretty, too.

I made my clip pretty and flowery, but I can envision some really cute whimsical ones or even some masculine ones for the guys' shops!  Think using 450 Quick Dry and gluing nuts and bolts to it.  

Needless to say, the clips are pretty strong and can hold a pad of paper, stack of mail, or a quick note.

Helmar products used for this project were Decoupage and Craft Paste, Silicone Adhesive Sealant, Gemstone adhesive, 450 Quick Dry,  Crystal Kote Glossy. 

 

Can't find Helmar products in your neighborhood?  Check out the left sidebar for a list of preferred online retailers and think about asking your local scrapbook store to get them in for you.

Thanks for spending a few minutes with me.  Now head to the hardware store and see what you can alter and embellish. 

 

Cindy

Taking the jars up a notch!

Hi everyone!! Julie Tucker-Wolek with you here today and I wanted to share a quick little project that I made recently!

My family and I are moving in about a week to our new home! Well, in this new home, I actually get an AWESOME craft space! So I have been spending my weekends at IKEA (don't have to twist my arm to go there! lol!) buying stuff for my new scrappy space.

Well, on a recent visit to IKEA, I found these jars -- and I knew I wanted them for all the little things I have in my scrappy stash -- buttons, loose alphas -- etc. So I bought 6 jars and started filling them up!!

As I was filling them up, I realized I wanted them labeled - but not just like a quick sticker to say what's in the jars -- I wanted something that stood out and was easy to read!

Here is what I came up with!

I used Helmar's 450 Quick Dry to adhere the Dear Lizzy jars to my tags - and also for the alphas!

Thanks so much for stopping by! I appreciate it!

Mixed Media Sketch Book Cover Created with Helmar

I love to sketch, so it goes without saying that I have a lot of sketch books lying around my studio. However, I love to create fancy covers for my sketch books so that they match the creative wonders that are happening inside those wonderful books!

 For this sketch book I created a mixed media cover and I had a lot of fun doing it!

The supplies I used where Helmars 450 Quick Dry Adhesive & Helmar Crystal Kote Fixative, paper from Tim Holtz & Echo Park Paper, flowers from Prima Marketing Inc. & PanPastel .  I cut out my paper and used the Helmar 450 Quick Adhesive to stick it to the front of my sketch book. I then used the same glue to adhere everthing else on too! It was so quick and simple!

     

 

*I have to put a side note in here. I have been teaching and creating art for quite a few years and it is so nice to finally have a fixative that works so well especially with products like PanPastels, charcoals, & pencil!     

 

Once you spray the Helmar Crystal Kote Fixative over the PanPastels everything is nicely set and the colors are still wonderful! Quick and Easy!

It really was fun to create this whimsical cover because the Helmar products dried so quickly. So, if you have sketchbooks at home, give this a try. Try decorating the outside of them. It makes them so much more cheery!!

Have a super crafty day!!!

Susan K Weckesser

Helmar Design Team Member

 

Easy Treat Container with Helmar

Hello, Helmar fans! This is Liz and I am so excited to make my first DT post for Helmar. I have been using Helmar adhesives for a while now and I'll never use another brand. The simple truth is...it just works! The end of the school year is upon us and my kids' teachers have gone above and beyond to teach them and help them have a successful school year. I found these cute little treat containers on Pinterest that I thought would be cute to make them for their teachers. I'll show you what I learned.

1. Cut a piece of patterned paper to 6x8 inches. Run your Helmar Permanent Adhesive Runner onto two adjacent edges.

2. Roll the sheet till it resembles a tube shape. Press firmly to seal the edges together.

3. Now press together the top which has the adhesive already on it.

Fill your container with whatever treat you want. My daughter's teacher loves Hershey's Kisses so I filled mine with those. Seal the open side shut so everything is shut inside. Chocolate Kisses are heavy so I reinforced the top and bottom with Helmar Craft & Hobby PVA glue. Cut the edges with decorative ages, if desired, and decorate the package. Finish it off by spraying it with Helmar Crystal Kote Matt spray. There you have it. Pretty and pretty easy, right?

Thanks for stopping by today.

Maya Road Mini Album

Hi Helmar Fans!!

Last year my mom lost her brother to cancer. It was extremely hard on her and as the 1 year anniversary of his passing approached, I wanted to make her something special. I was inspired by THIS project made by our very own alumni Connie Mercer and decided to make a memory album for my mom to add journalling and pictures of her brother.

 

I started with a Maya Road Scallop chipboard album. Here is the cover. I used the Ocotber Afternoon 5 & Dime 8x8 paper pad for the entire album. After I inked the edges & embossed the edges of the chipboard, I adered each layer of paper to the cover using Helmar Premium Craft Glue. This glue is awesome for paper to paper - it's even my go to combination for cards now! I adhere the chipboard layers and the bling with Helmar 450 Quick Dry - even tho the flatbacked pearls are self-adhesive, with something that I'm giving as a gift I know I want it to have the lasting power so I will always dab a bit of 450 Glue on it. To adhere the metal butterfly, I used Helmar Liquid Scrap Dots - this is great for adhereing heavy embellishments like metal even wtihout using it to create lift or dimension.

I really enjoyed embellishing the inside pages, I wanted to leave lots of room so she could add whatever size pictures she wanted, but I did add bits of journaling pieces here and there.

I also used Helmar Zap Dots to give dimension to a few of the elements on the inside pages. Not a lot using it here and there really helped to make the pages stand out in their own way.

I wanted to give my mom a lot of room to journal memories, so I created this pocket using a paper bag that I stamped and embossed.

 

For the backside, I wanted to make it cohesive with the entire album so I just used some coordinating pattern paper from the collection to tie it all together - here she can add pictures or even more journaling if she wants to.

And the back, I tied it all together with some ribbon from May Arts, I love this silky, wrinkled ribbon and the color matched perfectly.

Thanks so much for stopping by!

Carisa Zglobicki

Helmar Design Team Member

"Mountaineers" - Scrapbooking with Pan Pastels and Helmar

Hi Helmar Fans.   JJ here today with a scrapbooking layout.  I'm happy to be making my first post here as a Design Team Member!

For this page, I wanted to use stencils & Pan Pastels to add some colour to the kraft background:

After each colour of Pan Pastel, I applied Crystal Kote Fixative to keep the pastels from mixing when I added the next colour.  It also keep the colour from smudging when working on the page - a big plus!  This was my first time using Helmar's workable fixative, and I was really happy with how it works.  It did not change the colour or transparency of the Pan Pastels (a problem I have had with a competing brand).  It's also completely matte - once it was dry, you couldn't tell by looking that I had used it.

Naturally, I chose Acid Free Glue for all my paper glueing, and 450 Quick Dry Adhesive made short work of getting all the metal to stick - those gears aren't going anywhere!

Thanks so much for visiting!  Helmar products used in this project:

• Crystal Kote Fixative
• Acid Free Glue
• 450 Quick Dry Adhesive

JJ Sobey, Helmar Design Team Member

http://1-goodthing.blogspot.com

Beautiful cards in Minutes- 5 key design tips to help create stunning cards

Welcome to another day of Cards and Tags Week! I love making cards, but I wouldn't call myself a "card maker." If I am creating cards I usually make three at the same time. So, they have to be quick and simple! Here are five key design tips I use when card making.

1. Keep the design simple by using patterned papers that were designed to go together, like this line from Bella Blvd. I like bright and cheerful designs and I usually keep it simple with two patterned papers and one solid cardstock.

2. I keep my sentiment generic. This way I can either give the card away with a present or package the three up to give as a gift. Sometimes I will stamp a sentiment, but for these I just printed them out to save even more time.

3. For fast drying time on hard to adhere items, I use Helmar's 450 Quick Dry. These bows would have popped right off if I didn't use 450 Quick Dry! It saves me so much time and heartache.

4. I use a pre-made cards that I buy in packs of 50. Then, all I need to do is cut my background paper to size and lay the cards out assembly style. I use Helmar's Premium Craft Glue to put glue on all the cards at the same time. Then, I quickly add the paper and - it's done!

5. Use quick and easy tools. To add embellishments quickly, like the brads shown, I punched a small hole in all the cards and then added brads last.

Remembering these five design short cuts, I was able to finish these cards in only twenty minutes!

Jennifer Evans, Helmar Design Team Member

helmar and the bumpy stuff

so, for the most part i like my layouts to be pretty flat.  however, from time to time, i get a little crazy and add some dimension.

proof:

since i was not used to adding dimension, i wasn't sure which (awesome)helmar product to use.  i ended up chosing acid free glue, as seen here:

but then i got to thinking. i thought, "self...what if you tried zap dots...do you think they would hold??"

i tried them on this layout with the bumpy flair.  it worked!

helmar rocks!

have a super day!

:) jen erickson