DIY Halloween Decorations by the Atlantic Ocean

For Halloween, instead of witches, ghosts, and monsters to decorate with, I tried to think what would be more suited to Halloween in Florida. The scariest thing I can think of is the Mauve Stinger Jellyfish that visited the Brevard County area this Summer for an unwelcome long visit. Those things left me with scars!

Mauve Stinger Jellyfish

So, to make some jellyfish decorations, I used some corrugated cardboard that was in the recycling bin from a package we received recently. I cut the top cap of the jellyfish out freehand, and painted the cardboard in a purplish pink to resemble those little buggers.

Jellyfish caps to be painted

Next, I used a couple of white plastic shopping bags (hey, I do the reusable almost all the time, I forget sometimes!) and I cut the handles and bottom off of these bags.

Plastic bag with handles and bottom cut off ready to cut into strips

Removing the top and bottom of the bags makes for a big loop I cut into thin loop pieces about an inch wide. I then cut these loops into strips, cutting off where the printed part on the bag was, so I'd get a clear white strip.

Cut into 1" loops to be cut into long strips

After I had painted the jellyfish caps with acrylic paint and let them dry, I taped the white strips to the back of each cap in a concentrated row along the center bottom. After that, I used some leftover paint and painted the strips too- I started pretty opaque with the color at the top, then used less as I painted down the strip so the stingers would be purple to clear at the ends.

What a fun mess!

Once this dried, I taped a loop of string to the back of each cap to hang. I'm hanging mine on the fence when the Trick or Treaters come around, or you can hang or attach them to a tree, mounting it on a long dowel in the stuck into the ground, etc. Just remember that if you're going to leave them outside in the open weather, you should spray seal it with some gloss coat to keep the cardboard and paint from getting ruined by the rain.

Completed Jellyfish

Pretty spooky, huh? Well, they're scary to me, least. The tentacles really move around when the wind blows, which is fun. It was also a great way to get into the Halloween spirit without blowing cash on pre-made stuff that'll just end up tossed eventually anyway.
Hope you have a fun Halloween and be safe!

Surfin' Superstar T-Shirt

Ok, so I see a lot of surfers sporting Event T-Shirts, which is fun, since I seem to have a growing collection too, that I love to keep as memories of fun.
I also see a lot of surfers/non-surfers sporting shirts that I know are pretty expensive, but have some nice photographs- of other people doing fun things. Now, I don't have a photo of me getting air, surfing Jaws, etc. I wish I had a good enough camera to take some action shots of local surfers, but, alas, no luck there either.
I do, however, have a nice picture (I think) of the beach along Patrick Air Force Base that I took with the iPhone and modified with a little iPhone app:

Sea Grapes on PAFB Beach

I thought this picture would look neat-o on a t-shirt. I had found a t-shirt in the clearance bin for $1.99. I wanted to use those t-shirt transfers that you can send through an ink jet printer and iron-on. The t-shirt I picked up was dark brown, so I used (already had some in the stash) some "dark t-shirt transfers". They sell these at the office supply store, the box stores, craft stores, etc.
The different thing about dark t-shirt transfers is that you don't print them backwards- you actually print on the good side and apply them to the shirt like a giant sticker. It also makes it fun just to cut out shapes, even if you don't print on them, or if you print a random pattern and cut out a shape.
To start, I washed the shirt first. I can't stress how important this is. Even if you are using a recycled shirt, wash it, but don't use a dryer sheet if you put it in the dryer. Anything extra on the shirt will cause the decal to have a hard time sticking and can tear a little (trust me, it will happen, but you'll call it art).

Blank Brown Shirt

So I still adjusted the picture I was going to use even more on the computer by adding text (my blog site :)  ) and by creating a stronger contrast so I'm hoping this will come through on the printer. My printer is pretty awful, as I discovered, so I used one of the reject prints as an image for the front of the shirt, then the better print for the back, but I still needed to trim the edges because of my squirrelly printer. Follow the directions on the package, but for my ink jet, I loaded the good side down to get it to print on the correct side.

Feeding the 8 1/2 by 11" sheet into the printer

After this prints, I let it dry for quite a while so the ink can set up. Here's the back of the shirt image trimmed up, but not ironed down:

Here's the little front image I cut from a bad print to use. I cut it in a fun fish shape!

Traced out the fish shape over the blog name

Cut out shape

From there, I used a piece of cardboard inside the shirt so the transfers wouldn't stick to the other side of the shirt. Also, the package came with tissue to use on top so the transfer won't stick to your iron. It still can burn, unfortunately, so keep the iron moving constantly.

Ironing on the image on the back using the tissue

I tried my best to center the front and back, so here's the final result:

Back of shirt

Front of shirt

Obviously, you can use a picture of yourself ripping it up, others ripping it up, etc. Just represent the locals, ok, don't buy a picture of Sunny Garcia. I'm sure he's very nice in person. Please don't beat me up.

Wetsuit Neoprene Projects From the Bottom Up: Part 5: Adventure Backpack

Back from Costa Rica, stormy and windy there, but the flight wasn't bad. Of course, the weather's wasn't good for surfing, but I did catch one of the biggest, nicest rights I've ever had on the first day before the weather came in. ;) Just a beautiful country with the friendliest people! Definitely some ¡Pura Vida! happening there. Total "blue zone".
This is the last project in the series for the $5 wetsuit neoprene project experiment fun. In total, out of this ONE suit, I've gotten:
Project #1: 1 beach wallet
Project #2: 2 Sea Specs Cases
Project #3: 1 Passport Cover
Project #4: 2 pairs of surf fin heel protector covers
and now...
Project #5: A backpack to use for the beach, paddling, or other adventures.

Here's the remainder of the suit I had left to work with:

Remainder of wetsuit

From this amount left, I thought a backpack for taking a hike on the beach or while stand up paddling back in a lagoon or lake would be a useful project.
First, I trimmed up the bottom and squared it up using a straight edge and a rotary cutter.

Squaring up the bottom

Next, I wanted the top of the backpack to have a simple flap opening, so I cut one side of the top end off to be shorter, cutting it about at the level of the former armholes. The longer side would then become the over flap.

One part pulled back while the other side was cut down

To make arm straps for the backpack, I used 1" nylon flat webbing strips. I also used 2 sets of plastic D-rings to adjust each strap to tighten the pack up. I thought plastic D-rings were a better choice, since even stainless can become funky after while, and this would allow the pack to be washed without wrecking the washer drum.
I cut 2 strips at about 12" long and used a lighter to singe the ends of the nylon- this is very important or the strip will fray. Use care with lighters, and singe the ends outdoors- burning nylon is not healthy indoors.

The straps to be attached to be attached to the top of the bag and a lighter to singe the ends

First, I threaded the D-rings though one end of each strip, folded the end back about 1", and sewed this securely so the D-rings are caught in this loop. Next, I sewed the other ends to the top side of the pack on the outside- remember, the flap needs to be away from your back, so the ends of the webbing will be stitched on the side facing your back, and placed down far enough to allow the flap to be closed and secured down. This placement is about in line with the base of the armhole. Be careful to only sew through the one layer, or you'll sew the top shut.
I did use the machine to sew the webbing to the neoprene, using a 90 needle, and a wide zig zag stitch back and forth to secure it. I also sewed another line down from the original to doubly secure the strap. I did the same for the other strap. Of course, these can be sewn using a heavier embroidery needle and Fireline (fishing line) at 4-6 lbs test. As you can see in the picture, I used staples as pins, like I have in my other neoprene projects.

Sewing down the top strap

Next, I took the remainder of the webbing, cut it in half, singed the ends as before, and sewed it to the outside layer of the bottom on the same side as I sewed the top straps. I only sewed these to the one layer, not both, so the bottom is still open. I pinned these in place (with staples) about two inches in from either side, and made sure that at least two inches of webbing was above the bottom edge:

Bottom straps stapled ready to be sewn to the inner layer

Like the top of the straps, I sewed a double line of zig zag stitching back and forth to secure. After this, I needed to sew up the bottom. I did use the machine for this, once again using a zig zag stitch- luckily my machine came though this ok, but the seam edge was a little wavy since I did have to pull and push the neoprene through the machine a bit to get it to move. I went back over this line again to ensure security of the bottom closure.

Sewing the bottom shut

To clean up the bottom a bit, I sewed at an angle on each corner of the bottom, then cut off the excess corner so that the bottom wasn't so square that I would be hitting it with my arms all the time.
Here's the bag, but it still needs some Velcro on the flap to make a solid closure. I'm using 1" black Velcro all the way across the flap edge to hold it down to the bag. Remember to attach the soft loopy side to the inside of the top flap so when you put stuff in the bag, it doesn't scratch your stuff up.

Finished (almost) backpack with surf stuff in it

This pack can also be used as a car seat protector when your rear's soggy after a surf if it's empty, or can be useful for holding your wet baggies and rashguard in your trunk after a liquid lunch. Just remember to take it out of the trunk and rinse it all after work or you're going to be soaking your sweet ride in Febreze.

Surfboard Art with Beach Plastic

Recently, Surfrider had a contest for it's "Rise Above Plastics"/ One Foot at a Time campaign, so it looked like it would be fun to enter. Before I headed out for Costa Rica, I thought I'd try an entry. I collected my trash on the CCAFS/Merritt Island Refuge shorelines, which are just north of Port Canaveral. These beaches get a lot of washed in flotsam debris from other beaches, boats, and ships.
Essentially, to get started, they gave you an outline template you printed out on letter sized sheets and taped together. I chose the surfboard template:

Surfboard template

The idea was, to take the outline and creatively fill it in with beach or community trash you collect.  Here's just a sampling of what I collected- I had to collect a LOT to get a good variety.

Just a bit of the trash collected

I eventually wanted to be able to mount this "art", so I traced the Surfrider template onto a cardboard beach toy box to use as a base.

Template outlined on the scrap cardboard

The back side of the cut out piece

To begin, though, I did layout some pieces on a paper template to get an idea of what I had to work with. Some of the plastic was so brittle from being outdoors and in the water so long, it easily broke into tiny bits for a mosaic, which was good for art's sake, but bad since everything was so fragile to work with.

Laying up the general pieces for an idea

Once I had an idea of what I wanted, I used a hot glue gun to start gluing pieces down to the cardboard surfboard template. I started with the "stringers" of the surfboard, using long pieces of plastic handles, straws, etc. I used some of my pattern weights I made for sewing to hold the cardboard down.

Starting the final piece- drew the Rusty logo on the board to make into a mosaic

Pattern weights to hold cardboard down while glue dried

Additionally, I touched up the R in the Rusty logo with tiny bits of this reddish plastic, using a fishing bead I found as a perfect dot!

This part burnt my fingers a lot!

Instead of the green at the top layout, I wanted to start out with blue plastics and work into lighter greens then darker greens.

Darker blue pieces

Working down into lighter blue pieces

A lot of this work required hand breaking pieces to fit, or doing a lot of rearranging so everything would get filled in. I finally had most of the board filled in, ready for detail work:

After stressing over it, and making sure holes were filled in, things were balanced, and so forth, I tried to make myself stop working!!

The next stage was to take the piece out to the beach for it's "modeling shoot". This is the final picture I sent into Surfrider:

The Finished Entry

Keeping my fingers crossed, but it'll be fun to hang up anyway, win or lose!

The Windy City of Tamarindo

Well, we're finishing up our trip to Tamarindo, Costa Rica and it hasn't been the best for surfing this week. With the exception of the first couple of days, the ocean's been angry, my friends...
The other night, a small local boat wrecked here on the rocks and the pieces were scattered all over the beach and in the water. I collected lots of little small wood planks that looked like they may have come from the flooring of the boat. Anyway, great crafting material, and a great way to use salvage that's cluttering the beach.
Not sure if it's teak, but I guess I'll find out back at the ranch. It's just screaming to be a cool craft!
¡Pura Vida!

Maori Hook and Sailor Square Knot Sinnet Necklace

Long ago, sailors would craft with rope, not only to hone knotting skills, but to pass time on long boat travels. I can understand this even today, as I am looking for which craft to take with me on my upcoming flight. I find knotting to be a fascinating craft- there are actually many groups and forums that explore historical and present day knotting techniques, like those used in sailing, fishing, and even decoration.
Another interest of mine has always been the Maori Fish Hook, used by the native Maori of New Zealand. It has been adopted as a Hawaiian symbol as well, no doubt due to exploration and migration of people in the Pacific. The fish hook has been claimed to be a protection for travel over water. I could use a little of that.
For this project, I used simple waxed cotton cord, a large hole bead, and a Maori Style Bone Fish Hook with a hole drilled at the top.
I used two weights of cord: the heavier weight was used as a core cord, while the thinner cord was used for the sinnet. I measured approximately 1 yard for the core cord, and 4 yards of the thin cord I will use to make the square knot sinnet. I'm planning on making a short necklace that won't get in the way when surfing.
Here's how I began, with taping the core cord down, keeping in mind that I'm making the necklace around 16-18" long, so I wanted to keep that knotted section in the center area of the core cord.

Cording used with the core cord taped down

Next, I started tying the thin cord around the core, making sure to ensure I had about equal amounts on each side (2 yards on each side).

Starting to make the sinnet

For the sinnet, a square knot is basically right cord over the core, left cord under the core, tighten, then left cord over the core, right cord under the core, tighten, then 1 square knot is completed. I continued this sinnet of square knots down until I was about halfway down the necklace, or had about 8" or 9" of length.

Sinnet of square knots

At this point, I wanted to add my fish hook. I took my left cord and strung my large hole bead onto it.

Putting the bead on first

Next, I took the cord, made a loop, then pulled the loop through the hole at the top:

I then took this loop and pulled it down and behind the whole hook, making a lark's head knot. I then took the free end of the cord and threaded it back through the large hole bead to end up back at the sinnet.

Starting to make the lark's head knot

Going back through the bead to join the sinnet again

Now that both cords are back with the sinnet, I can continue with my square knots. I continued doing this for the equal length as the first half. When I was done making square knots, I made an overhand knot with the core cord right up against the sinnet to ensure the sinnet doesn't stretch out:

Overhand knot of core cord at end of sinnet (sinnet cords are not clipped off yet)

At each of the bitter ends of the core cord, I put an overhand knot to prevent the necklace from sliding out with the tie I'm about to do.
You can tie the necklace on directly and knot it, but if you need to take it off over your head, try this:
I placed each free part of the core cord together going opposite directions. I used some skinny cord to make a simple knot which would be the start of a short sinnet over these two core cords.

Start of the adjusting sinnet

Completed sinnet for adjusting, thin cords have not been clipped

You will find that by pulling the ends of the core cords in opposite directions, the necklace gets tighter, and the opposite happens when you pull them apart. It is recommended at this point to put some glue on the ends where you finished off sinnets (including the adjusting sinnet) to ensure the knots do not become unraveled.
Here's the finished necklace:

Front of necklace

Back of necklace, showing how it can be adjusted

Now, I hope I can wear this without getting in trouble with Da Hui- I just want a little protection on my travel.
Speaking of which, I'll be in Costa Rica next week hopefully enjoying good weather and good surf, and won't be posting (like anyone will notice anyway...) But even if it's rainy and there's no surf, it's still Costa Rica, and that's OK by me.

Making Sea Creatures from Plastic Bottle Tops

I found out recently that while most soda bottles can be recycled, the bottle tops cannot since they are of a different material (#5). I know places like Aveda claim to take these caps, but I haven't really seen it done locally, and that's the most frequent item I see when picking up trash on the beach. Really, there are a lot of things to do with these, but here's an idea to try.
I've used plastic bottle tops, plastic jar caps, etc. for a while now as great bases for pincushions. They work great, and were another fun craft to make. I figured this could also make a fun toy for kids (over 5 y.o.), small pets, or a neat display if you want to go crazy with it.
For this project, I used craft felt that is made from 100% recycled soda bottles- I really like the idea of the whole project using recycled materials. I decided on a fun little MOW jellyfish- they're not really fun to surf or dive around, but this one will be cute.
First, I cut a large circle out, about 3-4 times the diameter of whatever soda bottle cap you are using.

Purple felt for the circle

Then, using embriodery thread, or whatever you have on hand, I made a running stitch around the edge of the circle, leaving a long tail loose when I started. I used white embroidery thread so it would show up in the pic:

Running stitch around edge

After going all the way around, take the two ends and start to draw them up- the circle will look like a shower cap:

At this point- if you want to put a face on your jellyfish's head, now's the time before starting to stuff the head. You will stuff the head until it fills out like a ball. You can use old stuffing (I used some from an old pillow), or even scrap felt pieces.

He's watching you...

Once you have stuffed the head firmly, draw up the rest of the free thread and knot it shut. Get some glue and put a little around the edges and in the cap.

This will *hopefully* hold the head onto the soda cap until you sew it down. Next, I covered the bottom of the cap with a circle the same size as the cap:

I then made fringe (the tentacles) by cutting a rectangle out and cutting it into fringe, but leaving a top solid band to be secured around the edge of the cap. I glued the solid edge of fringe around the edge of the cap and cut off any excess.

Happy non-stinging jelly

I whipstitched the top edge of the fringe wrapped around the edge to the head to secure it together after the glue had dried to make usre to stayed in place.

Next, I wanted to make a little sea fern to go with my jelly. To do this, I made fringes of shaped long fern leaves from two different color green felts.

I placed the side edges of the bottoms together and rolled the bottom like a jelly roll.

I ran a couple of stitches though the bottom to make sure the roll wouldn't unravel, and then glued it into a bottle cap.

Now I can move my fern anywhere I want to on the reef! In fact, using the same techinques, I made a tiny reef complete with a brain coral (my favorite).

Soft, non-pokey reef

You can use you imagination and go wild, making a whole reef that can be rearranged, restyled, and added to whenever you feel like it. And the only stitches you'll get are the ones you make on the felt....