Helmar Creative Team

Delicious Craft Candy

Hello everyone and welcome to the Helmar Blog. Today I am going to alter up some Candy Tubes which were purchased from my local discount shop.

What you will need:

Helmar Tacky Craft Glue

Helmar Fabric Glue

Candy Tubes or Test Tubes (whichever you have or prefer)

Paint of your choice

Sandpaper or nail file

A variety of laces, trims and embellishments to decorate (scraps are great for this project)

Firstly, remove the lids from the tubes and give them a sand with either sandpaper or a strong nail file to rough up the plastic and to help the paint to stick. 

Once this is done you can paint your lids, I'm using a simple acrylic paint in 'Antique White' and giving them two or three coats. As I'm going for a 'shabby' look I don't need to be too particular about the coverage. You can also use corks if you don't want the plastic lids, just lightly paint the cork in the same way.

Once your lids are completely dry you can now start the fun part of decorating.

Using the Helmar Tacky Craft Glue I am attaching a strip of fabric around the lid, scrunching it a little as I go.

Allow plenty of time for this to dry.

Once the fabric around the lid has dried, you can start decorating the tube. I like to use my Helmar Fabric Glue for this as it has a wonderful strong hold yet keeps everything soft to the touch and it doesn't smear on the plastic. Be sure that when you glue anything on to the tube that it is below the line of where the lid will screw on.

Continue to glue on your embellishments until you get your desired look. I've used scrap vintage laces, small flowers and rhinestone chain off cuts etc for mine.

When you're happy with how the tubes look, you can attach a little tag if you want, I printed out some words, cut them out and inked the edges. I then glued them onto some cardstock using the Helmar Tacky Craft Glue and attached it to the tubes using a bulb pin with a couple of tiny beads.

I do hope you enjoyed this little tutorial and will try it out for yourself. The Candy Tubes are great for giving to crafty friends or just sitting in a dish in your crafty space to look pretty.

Candy tubes can be filled with many small pretty bits and pieces like peals, beads, sequins, buttons, paperclips, laces, small flowers etc .. oh and of course real candy if you want ;) hehe

Take care and thank you so much for stopping by :)

Jeanette xxx

Making a Diptych Acrylic Pour, Swipe Method, with many cells

Making an Acrylic Pour using Helmar PVA glue and Helmar Silicone Oil for Cells

Hey guys, Kristina here again with my very last post for Helmar.  I decided to do something I have wanted to try for ages, and that is an acrylic pour using PVA glue as the pouring medium, and silicone oil for the cells.  It actually worked better than I expected.  I covered the diptych in resin to enhance the shine once it was all dry, because I just love the gloss finish resin gives.

 

Helmar products used:

Silicone Oil

Helmar Craft and Hobby PVA Glue

 

Other Items required:

Paper Towel

Floetrol

Pouring medium or Airbrush medium

Water

Mixing Jug

Acrylic paints for pouring

Plastic cups

Popsicle sticks to mix the paints

Resin (if you decide to cover it in resin)

 

Procedure:

First of all there is a formula for making the pouring medium that you need to know.  This is the formula from "Pouring Your Heart Out" YouTube channel.  It is Floetrol 3 parts: PVA Glue 2 parts: Pouring medium 1 part: water 1/4 parts.  So, you use 300g of Floetrol, 200g Helmar pva glue, 100g of pouring medium and 25g of water.  You mix all of this together in a plastic jug and let is sit for a half hour.

Then decide on your paint colours, and the swipe colour.  Black or white is generally a great beginners swipe colour.  Add some of your pouring medium to the plastic cups, then add the acrylic paint to the pouring medium and mix well.  It is a great consistency when the paint stays on your popsicle stick when you lift it out of the mix, but it also flows straight back into the cup when you tip your stick.  If it is too thick, add more pouring medium or a little bit of water.  If it is too thin, add more paint.  I found Jo Sonja paints to be the best consistency for this type of pour.  Once you are happy with your mixes, leave them for at least an hour, this helps the bubbles settle to the bottom.

 

The paint colours I used in this pour were:

Carbon Black (Swipe colour)

Titanium White

Yellow

Aqua

Burnt Sienna

Rich Gold

Pacific Blue

Metallic Copper

Yellow Ochre

Once the paints have been mixed and left for a while, arrange your canvas that you will be pouring on.  Lay down a plastic covering on top of cardboard or plastic, so you don't make a mess on your floor.  Put your canvas on top of some cups, so it is not on the ground, otherwise it may get stuck to the ground.

 

Right before you are going to do your pour, add the silicone to all the colours except the black (swipe colour).  Add approximately 4-5 drops in each cup, and stir once or twice, not too much.

 

Now it is time to pour.  Pour the paints in any order you want, but just make sure your swipe colour is in the middle of the canvas and a little at the top.

 

 

Once you are happy with the paint, get your paper towel, I had to use two joined together because my canvas was wide.  Place the bottom of the paper towel into the black paint and drag it slowly down the canvas, making sure it is dragging the paint down the canvas,

 

 

Then grab a new paper towel, place it in the black paint and swipe up the canvas in the same way you swiped down.  Almost immediately you will see the cells forming because of the silicone oil added.  It is absolutely beautiful to watch.

 

This was the most fun I had had in a long time, just watching the colours mix and cells form.  If you have any spots on the canvas that are not covered in paint, just pour a little bit on them, or mix it around with a popsicle stick until you are happy.

 

 

Just leave the canvas on the flat surface until it is dry to touch.  It can take up to three days to be dry to the touch, depending on your weather etc.  Mine took two days, and even though it may look dry, refrain from touching it unless you are absolutely sure.  Yes, speaking from experience here, I touched it, it wasn't dry.  Once you are absolutely sure it is dry, give it a wipe with a slightly damp paper towel.  The silicone will rise to the top of the paint and make a slight film on the canvas.  Just wipe it off and it's done.

 

Next step is to wait about two weeks to ensure the paint is fully dry, and the pouring medium too.  This can take a while.  Then either varnish with your choice of varnish, or you can cover it in clear epoxy resin.  I chose resin, I have a pretty bad allergy to resin so I probably shouldn'y have, but I just love the gloss shine when it's dry. 

 

Mix up your resin how the instructions tell you too, wear gloves, mask, fully cover up and do it in a well ventilated area.  I didn't do this when I first started with resin, and it caused me to become allergic.  I cannot even be touched by the fumes of the resin without getting a serious allergy burn with rash and severe itching.  It is not fun so I recommend always covering up.

You should always wear a mask, the fumes are pretty harsh, especially on your respiratory system.

 

Lay your canvas flat and above the ground, like you did with the acrylic pour, and drizzle the resin over the canvas.  Help it smooth out and cover the canvas using a long flat stick or your hands with gloves on. 

Then when you are happy with the coverage you need to remove the bubbles using a heat gun.  Go gently over the whole canvas with the heat gun.  Then leave it alone to dry, it should be touch dry in about 12 hours, depending on weather.  This is what you should end up with, a gorgeous acrylic pour thanks to pva glue and silicone oil. 

 

 

I love using my creative side again.  It has been a pleasure and I hope everyone keeps creating with Helmar.  Don't forget you can purchase Helmar products from here:  http://www.helmar.com.au/shop/manufacturer/

 

Getting my canvas back into it's frame

Hi Helmar fans, Raelene with you today.

One of the things my Mum absolutely treasured was this portrait of me.  It is by the first artist/photographer to ever put photos onto canvas and I think it was in 1978/1979 judging by my age in the photo.  He had a ground breaking technique for putting photos onto canvas and making them look like a oil painting and my portrait appeared on TV as there was a special on it late at night.  I remember Mum telling me about how Grandma stayed up late to watch it.
I have no idea who the artist was but I would love to find out.

Unfortunately the way Mum stored it and the way it was transported during multiple moves caused it to come out of it's frame but thanks to Helmar I was able to glue it back in!

I wasn't sure which glue was best so I asked Helmar and as always they had answers and advice to help me get this done.  Helmar Super-Tac Glue was what was recommended and it definitely did the job.

I cleaned the frame and the edge of the canvas with a damp cloth.  Then I applied Helmar Super-Tac Glue to the edge of the canvas but I would realise this was a mistake and it was better to apply it inside the frame to get a proper adhesion of the canvas to the frame.

I got a really good seal using this glue. 

As you can see in this photo the print is starting to come off in tiny spots, it is also really faded (my dress had sky blue flowers on it), etc due to being on a wall for 30 years so I have wrapped it up in bubble wrap and packed it into a picture/mirror box to keep it safe.

After packing it away I realised I should have given it a coat of Helmar Chrystal Kote Gloss Varnish (gloss as it was glossy when new) to provided added protection, so I will have to get it out of storage and do that a.s.a.p!

I am so glad that I was able to get this back into it's frame and hopefully it will last longer thanks to Helmar.

 

 

Love Letter Journal: Product Spotlight-Premium Craft Glue

Hey folks Tamiko here!! Today is a post mainly talking about one of my favorite glues, Premium Craft Glue! This particular glue is clear, in gel form and it dries crystal clear.  I use it quick fast and in a hurry for many reasons not already listed. The glue itself is super awesome! It has allowed me to make many a paper crafted items that I've mailed out not just locally, but all around the world. So, I needed to make sure that it stayed in very sturdy condition, especially since I knew it might not be handled in the fashion I might do so.  A perfect example for me would be the work that I do in my Letter Love Journals. My journal is  4x8 inches, very simple in design and sewn.  my outside embellishments on this particular one were all glued on.  Here is an example of a Letter Love Journal.

 

Supplies I used (but not limited to):

Helmar Premium Craft Glue

Manilla folder

Card stock

Awl 

Thread 

Needle

Misc. Stickers, Paints, Digital images, collage papers, washi tape, scrap papers

 

What's a Letter Love Journal? I requested to be added to a group on Facebook that I was introduced to by my Helmar Creative Team sister Vicki Ann. The journals are only 8x8 inches folded in half to 4x8 inches. One cover and 4 pages.  Very simple, think like inserts we buy for travelor's notebooks. in the group are national swaps, international swaps and US swaps.  Sometimes they are themed, that makes for the challenge. They can actually fit in business letter enevelopes if you aren't sending any extras. We rotate them amongst 4 participants till we get our own journals back.  At the end you have worked in 4 journals and you now have the art of 4 new artists.  The books feel all loved on and they need to be sturdy, so I always use my Helmar's Adhesives all through them!! We try to keep them as flat as we possibly can in most cases, as to not incur additional postage charges due to thickness. please see below the covers of the journal most recently created.

 

Now I didn't get as fancy on my own book, moreso because I wanted everyone to feel comfy seeing how to create different kinds of art in the journals. There is actually no wrong way, like art.. the theme is also up to the artist interpretation. Here are some inside collage pieced pages.  Not photographed are the pockets I also made inside to insert stickers and notes. I would and could ONLY do this with Helmar Adhesives. My Premium Craft glue is awesome!  It dries quickly and allows for the flexibility of pages.  Pages won't feel like some stiff board because I used glue is specific areas.  I can honestly say when I use this glue it lasts far longer then I ever imagined.. Its also non toxic and archival safe, which means my papers won't yellow or deteriorate at any faster rate because I used the adhesive!!  How cool is that!?!?!?

 

Don't forget Helmar is an AUSTRALIAN COMPANY that has offices also in the USA and it ships to various places WORLDWIDE!!  Try not just one but a few of the adhesives, but they also sell a number of items in the hardware and automovies and firearms cleaners and lubricants!! Yes Helmar's products can either bring things together with glue.. or keep them from hardening and sticking together!! 

Planner clip turned wall trinket

Hello, from Tina. So, what had happened was...

I received some awesome planner clips in a happy mail envelope.  These clips were so me. I mean I love to write and I am, after all, a super hero. (in my mind-tee hee hee)

Then this happened from over use...

I have this little business card holder stuck to the wall in my office. You know the ones you get in a swag bag with a logo on the front. So, I decided to try the Helmar craft glue.

I also glued down some of the frayed edges on the Super hero emblem.

This worked amazing! The glue adhered really fast so I didn't have to take the business card holder off the wall in order to glue it while lying flat. 

I love it when a plan comes together!

Materials:

Super hero emblem (or any bobble)

Sticky back business card holder

Helmar Premium Craft Glue

Thank you so much for visiting. I am already thinking about what else I can use this amazing glue on....hmmmm?

Acrylic Pour Journal Cover

Hello there, today I decided I would like to try my first 'Acrylic Pour', I'm not really a mixed media artist of the paint variety but I do like to try my hand at new things.

 

What you will need:
Helmar H4000 Silicone Oil
Journal cover/canvas
Gesso
Acrylic Paint in colours of your choice
Small containers
Levelling tool/spatula
Dishwashing Liquid and a drip tray

Firstly I applied a Gesso to my cover pieces, mine is a clear Gesso.

Once this is dry I covered the two pieces with my white acrylic paint with just a few drops of washing up liquid added to help with the flow.

In my small containers I have a couple of drops of washing up detergent and 2-3 drops of the Helmar H4000 Silicone Oil and my acrylic paint. Stir about 6 -7 times to mix these things together.

I had seen an open cup pour on a video quite some times ago so I thought I may like to try this method for my first attempt. All you do is get a small container and cut the base out of it, place it upside-down on your canvas/cover and then pour small amounts of the pre-mixed colours into the hole you made in the base of the container. Just a small amount of paint at a time until you think you have enough to cover the canvas/cover.

Slowly remove the container and allow it to spread for a little while and then using your hands, gently and slowly tilt the canvas/cover in all directions so that the paint entirely covers it.

Before tilting, I added a couple of extra drops of paint mix to the centre as I didn't like that much white.

For the second cover I place the container in the middle to get a different look

Unfortunately I couldn't tilt and take a photo at the same time but once the surface is covered, tidy up the edges with your spatula and place it raised up on a tray to allow for drips.

I decided to add a little glitter at this stage (because that's what I like hehe).

If you want larger or more cells appearing you can take a heat gun to the piece but I quite like the look of my cover the way it was so I didn't overdo it. You can see subtle cells in it but not too many.

Overall I'm quite happy with my first try at an Acrylic Pour. I think it will add a nice interesting background to my upcoming Journal.

I will now set my work aside for a couple of weeks to completely dry/cure (and hope the cats don't walk on it in that time) and then revisit this project.

Thank you so much for taking the time to visit today and I hope you will consider doing an Acrylic Pour yourself using Helmar H4000 Silicone Oil.

 

Take care

Jeanette xxx

Today's Moments

Hello Helmar fans and welcome to my first design team post. How exciting is it to be with this wonderful company!

Today I am sharing a layout that I have created using 4 of the Helmar family of products.

Method:

To start my layout base I have used the Helmar Acid Free Glue to adhere my papers together.

Then when it can to adhering the fabric lace into my layout I have used the fabulous fast drying Helmar Fabric Glue. 

 What an amazing product this it is as it is so quick drying and bonds securely.  

Then as I moved into layering my embellishments I used a mixture of Helmar 450 Quick Drying Adhesive and Helmar Liquid Scrap Dots which provide awesome depth and dimension you can see from the below butterfly image how thick and firm the Scrap Dots are. 

As I continued to layer my embellishments I have continued using the above glues.
You can see the dimension these glues have allowed in  the below image.

When adding my title to my layout I have used the Helmar Acid Free Glue to adhere you can see from the below image how little you need to apply and it dries clear.

I hope you have enjoyed my blog post share, if you would like have further information on creating this layout please contact me!

Kim 

 

 

Mother's Day Magnets for Mum

 

Here's a simple project for you or the children to make just in time for Mother's Day!

All you need are some magnets, decorative papers, glass domes, scissors, pen, glitter pen and Helmar 450 Quick Dry Adhesive.

 

To make the Domes:

First cut a decorative piece of paper to fit the size of the dome. Edge the paper with a glitter pen (or decorate) and then evenly apply the Helmar 450 Quick Dry Adhesive to the dome.

Place the dome on top of the decorative paper firmly and allow to dry completely.

 

 

 

Once dry, apply Helmar 450 Quick Dry Adhesive to the under side of the paper and apply a small strong magnet. Allow to thoroughly dry before using.

 

 

 

To make the Bookmarks:

Cut out your decorative paper to your preferred size and decorate as desired being sure to keep your embellishments flat as it will be sitting in a book. Also cut out a strip of paper that will be bent over the top of the page, so make it the length of your decorative piece plus a couple of centimetres. Also cut your magnets (I used last years local real estate fridge magnet) to fit on the long strip at each end.

 

Glue the right side of the long strip to the wrong size of your decorative piece, allow to dry.

 

With your Helmar 450 Quick Dry Adhesive, glue one piece of magnet (face down) to the wrong side of your strip of paper and then place the other magnet (face up) on top of the magnet already glued.  Apply glue to the 'face up' magnet, fold over your bookmark and press gently but firmly down and allow plenty of time for this to dry.

 

 

 

 

Once all your magnets are dry you can enjoy them yourself or wrap them up and give them to mum for a lovely little addition on Mother's Day.

 

 

Helmar 450 Quick Dry Adhesive does dry very quickly but when working with magnets you must allow extra time to be sure they are completely dry before using.

 

Thank you so much for dropping by today, I do hope you like this simple tutorial and will consider making one (or two) yourself :)

 

Jeanette xxx

Coloured Tea Light Holders with Robyn Wood

Hello! It’s Robyn Wood with you today, sharing a quick and easy project - a pair of coloured tea light holders sealed with Helmar Crystal Kote Gloss Varnish.

Helmar produces a range of aerosol fixative and varnish products that make protecting your work very easy. Simply spray on according to the directions on the back of the tin, wait for it to dry and you are done – your work is then protected from dust & grime.

I find them the perfect product to preserve the colouring of these tea light holders which had been done with alcohol inks.

I managed to pick up this pair of clear glass tea light holders at a local discount store with the plan of altering them. They looked a little plain otherwise and alcohol inks are a fantastic way of adding a burst of colour to non-porous surfaces such as glass.

Firstly, I cleaned the tea light holders with warm soapy water and made sure they were totally dry. Then I went to town with a variety of bright, warm colours of alcohol inks and dabbed colour all over the outside of the glass. The alcohol evaporates really fast so this is a quick project.

I wanted to retain the glossy shine of the glass as well as give them a protective layer to make cleaning and care easier. Helmar Crystal Kote Gloss Varnish is perfect for the job! There is also a ‘matte’ version if you wish to have a less glossy appearance.

As the varnish is an aerosol, I took them outside to the back yard and gave them a couple of coats of spray and allowed them to touch dry. This generally doesn’t take very long, then I set them aside overnight to fully dry.

I found the spray 'moved' a little of the alcohol ink colour but not in a way that ruined the project. 

Once I popped in a couple of battery operated tea lights, I had a lovely soft light that brought a bit of happiness to my space.

Supplies:
Helmar Crystal Kote Gloss Varnish
Ranger Alcohol Inks in yellows & reds
Ranger Blending Tool & felt

I hope you have enjoyed learning how this project was created. I hope it gives you some ideas on how to use Helmar Crystal Kote Varnish sprays – I’d love to see what you do with them! Until next time…

The Secret Garden Journal

What do you find in your Secret Garden?  Art Grandma just made her a junk journal where she will keep her items she finds for her garden.   

Lets see if Alice finds the key to her Secret Garden.

pages in my journal book 

Products I used:

green cardstock 

scrapbook paper scraps 

Helmar Hobby and Craft PVA Glue

Helmar Liquid Scrap Dots

beaded ribbon

Helmar Liquid Scrap Dots were used to attach flowers and give them deminson

Helmar Craft and Hobby Glue was used to attach all the scraps from scrapbook paper.

I really like this Glue it dries clear and gives you a little wiggle room when attaching your paper.

I want to give Craft Bayou and Bobby papercrafting a big thank you for sending me paper scraps and using pictures from the Cajun Bayou Mixed Media kit. 

Happy crafting with Art Grandma