~Mini Tips and Hints~

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July 1998

Ah ha, you thought I would wait another month, didn't you:)? July is the quintessential month for picnics, days at the beach, and just general summer fun.

So what do you find on the beach? Well, I live by a rather large body of water called Okanagan Lake. It isn't an ocean, but it is certainly big enough for a sea monster! His name is Ogopogo, and kind of a kissing cousin to the Loch Ness's Nessie. I haven't seen him personally, but there are quite a few tourists who come here specifically to catch a glimpse of our rather reclusive lake resident. See projects for a Ogie water toy!
Beach blankets are a must when trying to keep the sand contact down to a minimum. Nothing worse than having sand infiltrate your shoes, socks, underwear, etc.! The easiest way to create a blanket is to find a suitable piece of cloth (small printed/tartan laden job, or a very small knit such as one would find in baby clothing) and cut a square/rectangle. Then seal the edges with white glue, fusible webbing or a fray inhibitor, or if you are really frisky, try to bind the edges with a nice satin ribbon. Make a few beach pillows while you are at it with square scraps sewn together. Fill with a little sand before you finish your edge. Ok, I saw all you none sewers cringe at the very idea of a straight stitch. To make a non-sew pillow, start with a small chunk of model magic and form into a pleasing pillow shape. Allow to completely cure. From here you have two options-- either paint it or glue some fabric to it. It doesn't need to totally meet up at the edge, or be particularly neat IF you cover the seam with some braiding. I am lucky in that I have found premade braid at my local craft store, but if you don't have such luxury then try this old trick. Take a piece of embroidery floss (couple feet long) and tie one end to the beaters of an hand held electric mixer. Tie the other end to a drawer pull. Stand back a bit and turn on the mixer (low is preferable). Allow floss to twist until it starts to wind around itself. Walla, a twist braid! Tie off the ends of the braid so it doesn't unravel, and when you want a piece glue the areas where you are going to cut. Then it is just a matter of attaching it to your pillow with a bit of glue.
Ok, we are comfortable now, except we are very thirsty! We need a soda, that is all their is to it. Start with an appropriate size dowel. Paint silver and let dry. Glue a label to the can, either a reduction of your favorite beverage cut from an ad, or better yet make up your own label!
Perhaps you are thirsty, but a can of cola just isn't going to cut it. You want a frozen treat? Sounds good to me!:) Popsickles (frozen flavored water on a stick for those not acquainted with this brand name) are fairly easy. Obtain an appropriate stick (section of a flat toothpick) and cut it to the right size. Mix a very small amount of color (my personal flavor is red, but orange and purple are also quite popular) into translucent polymer clay. Shape into a popsickle shape, carefully insert stick into bottom and bake. If you want the popsickle to be seen from both sides, use a small amount of fimo as a stand to keep any one side from being flat. Once cool, jiggle the stick. If it is too loose, remove and dot a small amount of superglue to the stick. Gently, carefully, and without anybody sticking themselves to anything weird, replace the stick. If you anticipate getting stuck, keep a bit of acetone (nail polish remover) nearby. This is only for fingers. If you get stuck worse (say your hand to your face), go to the hospital! Enough soap boxing:).
Maybe you would prefer an ice cream cone. Make a cone out of a bit of brown fimo. Bake and let cool. Roll some very thin ropes of brown fimo. Position said ropes around the cone to imitate the ridges usually found on them. Using another piece of fimo for a stand, prop cone up so it can cook evenly without squishing the ropes. Once this is cool, start applying fimo ice cream. You will need a bit of over hang first, and then add a ball on top. A few well placed pinmarks and another baking later and you have an ice cream cone.
Beach food is usually very simple. Items like chips, potato salad, cold fried chicken, three bean salad, hamburgers, hot dogs and the like are very popular munchies. Dried green pepper seeds make excellent potato chips. Potato salad can be made with chunks of fimo (for potato and egg) and dimensional paint (in a cream color) for the sauce. Fried chicken is fimo sculpted into an elongated tear drop, cooked, coated in glue and dipped into fine beigy brown sand. Three bean salad can be made with thin fimo ropes in the color of the three main beans (green, kidney and wax) used, cooked, cut into lengths and put into a bowl with a clear "sauce" substance. Resin has the best look for this, but in a pinch you can use thin glass paints, or apply a few dozen layers of varnish over a bunch of glued in bean pieces. Hamburger patties are made from brown black fimo and sandpaper for texture. Cheese can be made from fimo, or a thin slice of white gum eraser. Lettuce can be a bit of fabric or paper. Tomatoes are slices of red-orange slices of fimo. Buns can be made from crayola model magic and a bit of brown-yellow paint. A plate can be a painted soda bottle insert, or cut out a disk of paper and decorate in the style of "picnic". If you can't cut out a proper circle, use curved scissors to help, and if you still have ragged bits then carefully sand into a proper circle. Hot dogs are simple tubes of reddish brown fimo (about the color of a pencil eraser).
We need games! A ball of crayola model magic can become a ball with a little paint. To make straight lines on a curved surface, wrap a string around the ball where you want a line. Carefully make a light guide line with a pencil along the string. Then all you have to do is fill in the blanks. The same method of ball making can be used for baseballs, footballs, basketballs, and any other annoying sport you can think of (end of editorial;) ). Frisbees have been made from soda cap inserts and paint.
Shells can usually be found in craft stores, tourist shops, or on the beach (though be careful of local by-laws concerning what you can and can't take from certain areas). These are great to put into pails (made from fimo and dowel, a painted thimble, or a plastic cap from an electronics store), or glued around the beach scene for atmosphere. Make a sand castle from model magic, coat with glue and dip into a fine sand. Add a small flag and glue a couple of the small shells on for decorations.
...And that is it. If you have an idea for a tips and hints section, please write to me. So far I have done a few reader's ideas, perhaps you can be next! Please also check the archives , as there could be an old theme that might jive with one of your own current projects!:) Also, if you have a good tip hint that you would like to share, don't hesitate to give me a note about it, You could become famous...

For older tips, check out the Mini Tip archive.

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