Jamie Koala

Artist. Fashion Designer. Photographer. Content Creator.

Harleyquinn's Hammer

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Hey! Everyone has been asking how I made my Harley Hammer / Mallet so I figured it was time to post the photo process! I built my hammer in a couple of hours in a day, so its definitely possible to ...hammer... one of these out ;)!

What you will need:

-Two Baskets

- EVA Foam

- Spray Paint / Acrylic Paint

- Spray Paint Primer (to prime your foam before you paint)

- Dowel Rod & Wood Ball (if desired) 

- Screws & Screw Gun

- Thin Craft Foam

- Buttons or Water Bottle Caps or Flat Beads

- Hot Glue Gun & Sticks

- Scissors and Razors

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Step #1 Baskets, use anything light weight with the shape you’d like for your hammer. Once your desired shape is achieved screw the baskets to the dowel rod.

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Step #2 I personally thought my shape was too dramatic so I took some lightweight card and wrapped and glued it around the center of the baskets; it also served as extra strength.

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Step #3 Cut out your “wood” planks out of EVA foam. I measured the diameter of the largest part of my basket and the smallest center part. From here I used those measurements to perfectly calculate the size that my 5 planks should be. (EX. 25in diameter outside; 20in diameter center; 25in/5 = 5in; 20in/5 =4in; so your planks would be 5inches across on the outside and tapper to 4inches across on the inside; this method axes out any issues with trail and error or guessing plank size, YAY MATH!). 

Step #4 Texture your planks; I used a razor blade to cut out pieces of my planks and cut up the plank edges to make them look more realistic.  

Step #5 Trace your basket onto foam to create the end circles; I made mine about 1/4in larger than the basket; then I again textured them with a razor.

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Step #6 Prime all of your pieces with spray paint primer or some kind of primer; foam soaks up paint, when you prime the pieces not only does your paint go farther but it also has a cleaner more shiny finish. 

Step #7 Once the primer has dried spray paint your pieces their base color, I chose red and black for my planks and brown for the side circles.

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Step #8 Use acrylic paint and glaze to create depth with in your wood pieces. Here I painted my pieces with black paint and then used a dry paper towel to rub off the paint color leaving black paint in all of my textures to create depth.

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Step #9 I added more paint stroke by dry brushing more black paint on my red planks. On my side circles I dry brushed a light tan color in the center of my circles and accented my name cut out with red paint.

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Step #10 Once your planks have all dried you can begin gluing them to the easter baskets; here I used a rubber band to ensure all of the planks were placed where I liked them prior to gluing. 

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Step #11 Glue and cut long strips of thin craft foam together, spray paint prime them, spray paint them gold.

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Step #12 Spray Paint your beads or buttons or bottle caps gold; then glue them to your gold strips of craft foam.

Step #13 I used a brown paint glaze to give my barrel bands more texture and make them look dirty. 

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Step #14 Glue your barrel bands onto your Hammer with hot glue.

Step #15 Attach a wooden ball to the bottom of your dowel rod if desired and paint the dowel rod to match the rest of your hammer. 

Simple Tye Dye Key Shirt

Easy and Fun are my favorite kind of projects; so what better than a Tye Dye shirt?! It is perfect for summer and on trend for 2019!

Things You Will Need:

-Water

-Fabric Dye (I used RIT Dye)

-Cups

-Popsicle Sticks (for stirring)

-Rubber Bands

-White Cotton Shirt

My Black & White Keys Tank top is FREE with any $50.00 purchase from KoalaArtAndDesign.com THIS WEEKEND ONLY! Use the Code “FREETANK” at checkout! While Supplies last, Cart must be $50.00 before tax and shipping.

-Trash Bag or Tarp

-Rubber Gloves

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One of my favorite parts are Tye Dying is that there is no wrong way to do it! This is the perfect project to do with friends, children or yourself…we all need ME and self-care time; treat yourself!

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Typically when I am Tye Dying I like to wet my garment completely to ensure the dye flows easier; this could work to your advantage or disadvantage dependent on how detailed you want your designs to be. I would keep the garment dry if you’re trying to do something complex; wet if you’re just trying to get some nice color mixing going! From here I then pinch random spots of fabric and give them a simple twirl, secure it with a rubber band and repeat until you have your desired amount of twirled knots!

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Now the fun part. I decided to keep it simple with two colors of fabric dye, Magenta and Cyan, I chose these two because I knew if they mixed it would make purple and I like purple. Make sure to pop on your gloves to avoid possible “Smurf’dom” and carefully pour your dyes onto those twirled knots; dependent on how you poor will determine what kind of spiral look you’re doing to get. I did a few pours around the twirls and pouring dye on each side, I honestly just kind of went crazy and hoped for the best.

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Let your garment rest so that the dye can take hold for about 20-30 minutes. When you’re ready, rinse the item out in the sink (or hose if you’re outside) and throw it in machine to wash the remaining dye out! Hang the garment to dry and marvel at your masterpiece.

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BAM. TYE DYE FASHION AND A FUN AFTERNOON PROJECT.