DIY Home made photo booth - 67 of 366 creative days

67/366 - DIY home made photo booth

  If you don't have money to buy a photo booth for you jewelry, just look around your house, you can always find spare part to help you build a photo booth like: wire, boxes (cardboard, plastic, metal if you are hard core), paper, tape.
  All you need is a bit of imagination. So see what I did when my drying rack broke several years ago (about 4)

a - Materials

1. Hard wire
2. Soft wire (tape can be used instead, but will make everything less sturdy
3. Light bulbs the higher the better, I had 120 W output, but could have been much better
4. Tape
5. Wax paper, or cooking parchment, white
6. White paper
7. Aluminium foil

b - Tools

1. Pliers
2. Wire cutters

c - Techniques
           1 - Make from one wire a square and the leg of height of the box and repeat so you can have 2 pieces. Leave at the end a 2-3 cm to be able to bend and will be used for link the pieces between themselves.

Top and bottom of the wire skeleton of the  photo booth

Wire joints for linking the squares for top and bottom

            2 - Link the top and bottom together using the bent end wires. use thinner wire or extra wire for the 2 other legs that are missing.

Wire joints for linking the top and bottom

Top and bottom of the skeleton photo booth put together

            4 - Add paper all around and use tape to stick it together

            5 - Use another wire to build a big circle and a small circle( that worked for my type of lamp).
Cover the big circle with aluminium foil (used for wrapping and secure it with a tape)

d - End result

You will need to find ways of figuring out of putting together based on whatever you have. The bottom line is to have all the joints secure enough. The objects you will use will not be too heavy, but is good that entire photo booth to be good enough so you wont need to patch every photo shoot.

Polymer clay purple and pink color mix - 66 of 366 creative days

66/366 - Color mix for flowers and more

The mix is done regardless of company and turned out pretty well.
It goes well specially when you want to soften FIMO hardness.
Studio Sculpey is a very soft clay that goes softer with hand heat(specially if you have warm hands by default). Studio and PREMO Sculpey seems to remain soft over the years compared to FIMO classic.
So please see below the color mix that I played with (that's why the random combos), was a lot of fun and element of surprise.

a - Materials

1. Premo Sculpey Accents Pearl - 5101 

   

   Premo Accents Pearl
2. Premo Sculpey Accents Magenta Pearl 2029 - the light pink that was used for this experiment was discontinued in 2015(can be mixed from 8 parts Premo Accents Pearl 5101 + 1 part Premo Fuchsia 5504), the 2016 version is a strong pink. 

   

   Premo Accents Magenta Pearl

3. Premo Sculpey Accents Bright Green Pearl 5035 

   

   Premo Accents Bright Green Pearl

4. Premo Sculpey Accents Purple Pearl 5031 

   

   Premo Accents Purple Pearl

5. Premo Sculpey Accents Blue Pearl 5289 - was discontinued, can be mixed from 6 parts Premo Navy Blue 5010 + 1 part Premo Accents Pearl 5101 + 1 part Premo White 5001 + 1/8 part Premo Accents Cadmium Yellow 5572 

   

   Premo Accents Blue Pearl

6. Premo Sculpey Accents Peacock Pearl 5038 

   

   Premo Accents Peacock Pearl

7. Studio Sculpey Antique Gold 6894

   

   Studio Sculpey Antique Gold

8. Fimo Effect Metallic Gold 11 

   

   Fimo Effect Gold

9. Fimo Effect Metallic Copper 27 

   

   Fimo Effect Copper

Very useful Premo chart with discontinued colors with formulas.

b - Tools

           1 - Hands or pasta machine

c - Techniques

           1 - Mix equal amounts from the above colors

d - End result

Color Premo Pearl color mix

Color Premo Accents Sculpey Fimo metallic pearl Mix Chart

The picture shows the colors very close to reality. I love earthy colors and all those combinations please me.

Asian style stir fry - low carb - 65 of 366 creative days

65/166 - Asian style stir fry low/no carbohydrates

For the sixty sixth day of 366 creative days I posted my stir fry recipes, easy to make, very tasty, can match all tastes and very healthy and with as little carbs and calories as possible.

Stir fry no carbs vegetarian 

Materials

      1 - Any 4-5 vegetables you have in the fridge or around the house (onion, carrots, mushroom, chicken, cabbage, chicken, tuna, noodles, etc)
   Example:
- onions, Chinese cabbage, tuna, avocado, mushrooms (Pic 1)
- onions, celery, chicken, spinach, red pepper, mushrooms (Pic 2)
- onions, red and white pepper, tuna, spinach (Pic 3)
- onions, mushroom, spinach, red pepper, cauliflower - vegetarian (Pic 4)

     2 - 50 - 60 ml from the following sauce mix
         - 1 spoon of balsamic or white vinegar
         - 2-3 spoons of dark soy sauce
         - 1 spoon oyster sauce
         - rest up to 50 - 60 no sugar soy sauce
Combination can be made by adding oyster sauce or mirin or teriyaki but i prefer to keep it low carbs
      3 - 2-30 ml oil mix (sesame, olive oil, aromatic ginger oil)
      4 - 1-2 cloves or garlic
      5 - 5-6 thin slices of ginger if you have and like (even pickled is good
      7 - pepper, 5 spices, etc


b - Tools

           1 - Wok, I prefer non stick
           2 - Sharp big knife
           3 - Wooden or non stick big spoon
           4 - Measuring cup
           5 - Imagination
 

c - Techniques
           1 - Wash and chop the vegetable in thick slices, 1/2-1 centimeter for hard vegetables and 5 cm for soft like spinach, Chinese cabbage, etc.
           2 - Prepare the sauce mix in advance in the measuring cup and add also the spices
           3 - Place the wok on the highest heat setting and add the oil. When is very hot, thrown the ginger and garlic, and leave it for 20-30 seconds, before it goes brown. Garlic can be removed.
           4 - add first the meat (thinly slices - 2-3 mm) and add 1/3 of the sauce. Stir continuously until the meat gets white, no need to be fully cooked, otherwise will get dry by the end of the full dish (1-2 minutes).
           5 - add the hard vegetables (carrots, onion, celery, cauliflower, mushrooms, cabbage, pepper, etc) and add another 1/3 of the sauce ( 3-5 minutes, depends on the vegetables, cabbage needs a bit more until is getting softer)
            6 - add the soft vegetables (spinach, salad, Chinese cabbage, bean sprouts, etc) with the remaining sauce. (1-2 more minutes)
            7 - serve while hot, but can be served also cold if you like it        


d - End result

Stir fry no carbs - onions, celery, tuna, avocado, mushrooms

Stir fry no carbs - onions, celery, chicken, spinach, red pepper, mushrooms

Stir fry no carbs - onions, red and white pepper, tuna, spinach

Stir fry no carbs vegetarian - onions, mushroom, spinach, red pepper, cauliflower

I am sorry the pictures are not that good. The recipe can be varied based on taste. if you have too many ingredients ( I usually place 1 item each - 1 big onion, 1 tiny carrot, 1 can mushroom, 1 chicken breast thinly sliced) you might need to add a bit more sauce, up to 75 ml.
I cook based on my mood and add ingredients based on my imagination. I never had complaint so far for this dish, whatever was the variation. I was even asked for recipe.
I will try to perfect it a bit more and check the time more precise.

I hope you will enjoy it or get some inspiration.

Acrilic and grey polymer clay color mix - 64 of 366 creative days

64/366 - Color mix polymer clay

For the 64 of the 366 creative days I have a mix if Super Sculpey firm polymer clay that I mixed with acrylic paint color, slightly excessively.

Materials

1 - Super Sculpey Firm
2 - Acrylic color tubes

b - Tools

1 - pasta machine


c - Techniques

 1 - Mix a small quantity of acrylic paint with polymer clay

Color mix - adding the color to polymer clay

Color mix - mapping the colors

d - End result

Vertical is the mix with the above.
Horizontal is the mix with extra shade of white.

Color mix - extra shade of white to the base colors

The quantity of acrylic added, made the polymer clay a bit brittle, so I added a bit of Premo for mold making. Because of the grey, the color are not very bright, but with a bit of earthy look.

Jade beads and pendants - 63 of 366 creative days

63/166  - Fake jade

For the twenty eighth day of 366 creative days I have posted a fake jade attempt of a pendant made of noodles and beads, along with a some other tests. Gives a bit of Maya jewelry impression.

Fake jade polymer clay Mayan pendants

 Materials

1 - 1 x 104 + 1 x 404 + 1/2 x 504 transparent Fimo polymer clay for light green
2 -  1 x 104 + 1x 404 + 1/2 x 374 transparent Fimo polymer clay for mustard olive
3 -  1 x 80 + a pinch of 43
4 - sand (mix of dark and white)
5 - liquid Kato polymer clay
6 - cinnamon powder, tiny sticks, various other "dirt that might look interesting in the jade
7 - 1 x 50 + 1 x 10 polymer clay
8 - 1 x 50 + a pinch of white

b - Tools

1 - roller
2 - pasta machine
3 - extrude gun
4 - molds and stamps
5 - brush


c - Techniques

 1 - Mix the colors together separate by shade by using a pasta machine
 2 - Chop the blended (1, 2) polymer clay into small bits and pieces and mix it with some sand, cinnamon and other "dirt"
3 - Mix 3 with a bit of sand for making the base for the pendant, then flatten it at a 2 mm thickness
4 - Make the bead and pendant shapes and stamp them with various designs
5 - Leftover jade extrude with a polymer clay extruder, same for 7 and 8, will fasten the process.
6 - Thin a bit more the "noodles" using your finger
7 - Brush the base using a brush with liquid Kato polymer clay, and start arranging the polymer clay jade noodles using your imagination.
8 - Bake as described on package (110 C) on a piece of baking paper

Fake jade polymer clay beads

d - End result

I'm trying to find the pendant for some time, somehow, it got lost when I changed flats along with another necklace.
I really loved the pendant, after baking, the polymer clay become slightly transparent and give a very interesting touch along with non transparent colored clay.

Lahmacun and pockets recipes for diet - 62 of 366 creative days

62/366 - Lahmancun and pockets

For the 62 of the 366 creative days I tried to reinvent Lahmacun at home, based on a taste I remembered. Also tried some spring pockets with same type of filling.

a - Materials

 1 - Bread dough or Armenian pitta or frozen flat pastry
 2 - Mix of 50/50 lamb with beef, 20% fat, minced
 3 - Lots of chopped parsley, 1/3 of meat
 4 - Chopped onion, 50% of meat
 5 - Chopped tomatoe, 1/4 of meat
 6 - Garlic (my personal touch), 1-2 cloves for taste
 7 - Salt, paper for taste
 8 - Some oil for greasing the pan and the dough
 9 - Chilly flakes for adding later when you eat (same can be added in the mix as well, 1/2 tsp)
 10 - Ayran yogurt, for putting down the fire

b - Tools

1 - Bowl for mixing
2 - Greased tray and covered with baking paper
3 - Toothpicks
4 - Rolling pin or glass bottle      

c - Techniques
     Mix all ingredients together in the bowl.
  Use a rolling pin  to spread the dough as thin as possible, 2-5 mm.
  Grease the dough with some oil.
  For the lahmacun - "sprinkle" the mix all over into a thin layer
  For the pockets - cut the dough in even 7- 10 cm squares and place a tbsp of mix in the middle.
Bring the corners together and place a toothpick to keep them together
Bake in over at 200 C, separately.

d - End result

Home made Lahmancun

Home made pockets with lamb and beef mix

It ended up being good but the pockets were a bit dry, needed more oil.
Lahmacum is a very light food, diet dish, like a pizza but without all the fat. If the layer of dough is thin, no worries about carbs either.
I will experiment some more and update the recipe until I will reach the perfect taste.

Ebony and beads refurbished jewelry - 61 of 366 creative days

61/366 Rearranged old jewelry

For the 61 of 366 creative days I have refurbished some old jewelry.

 Materials

1 - Old ebony necklace, old plastic bracelet
2 - Ribbon
3 - Beads
4 - Metal square for the pendant
5- Thread

b - Tools

1 - Scissors
2 - Needle
3 - Saw (for sawing some of the big beads)
4 - Pliers
5 - Glue


c - Techniques

           1 - Each line of small beads are done one by one, not loom, spin around the metal plate (that was covered previously in ribbon. when done, glue a big piece of  dotted brown ribbon on the back so the tread wont be visible.

d - End result

Abanos necklace

Beaded pendant with ribbon and big plastic focal beads

I enjoyed doing them, gave them as gift to my friends.

Earrings and bracelet crochet jewelry - 60 of 366 creative days

60/366 - Crochet jewelry

This is sixty day of 366 creative days.
A pair of earring and a flower bracelet from silk and a cotton crochet flower bracelet I've done in a trip to visit my family and friends 3 years ago.

a - Materials

- Silk thread
- Glass beads
- Silvery thread
- Silver earring hook
- Plastic circles (the ones used for curtains or bra's)

b - Tools
- Crochet

c - Techniques
For the earrings - simple step
For flower bracelet - simple step, chain for petals, simple step on chain

d - End result

Crochet silk earrings

Crochet flower cotton bracelet

Crochet cotton flower bracelet for girls

Knitted baby clothes - 59 of 366 creative days

59/366 - Baby knitted cloths
This is fifty ninth day of 366 creative days.
Knitted baby clothes that I've made for my daughter and some of my friends' babies as a Christmas gifts many years ago.

a - Materials

          1 - Wool thread
          2 - Cotton thread
       
b - Tools

          1 - Knitting hooks
          2 - Crochet Hooks
         


c - Techniques
          1 - Standard knitting models found in books or imaginations (the shapes)
       
d - End result

Baby girl dress vest

Baby girl flowers crochet vest

Geometric figures zipper knitted cardigan

Baby knitted boots

Baby knitted hat and mittens

Baby girl knitted dress

Baby boy knitted vest

    Thank you for your support!

Paper cuts "painting" - 58 of 366 creative days

58/366 Paper cuts "painting"

This is  fifty eight day of 366 creative days. Is actually done about 9 years ago, trying to post all the things worth remembering. This picture is the starting point of my desire for crafting.

a - Materials
b - Tools
c - Techniques
d - End result
e- Other info

a - Materials

          1 - News paper/magazines
          2 - Plain wrapping paper for the background
   
b - Tools

          1 - Scissors
          2 - Paper glue
          3 - Pencil

c - Techniques
          1 - Cut the paper in triangle shapes by color groups
          2 - Draw the shape you want to cover, roughly
          3 - Glue the pieces together based on color choice

d - End result

f - Other info

- this is not a tutorial, was posted to help me remember some things and to keep track on "366 creative days" project.

    Thank you for your support!