A Little Boys Smile

Good Morinin'
Some of you know I have been working on my own designs, but I had wanted to do something that I didn't have to do much thinking. Kind of mindless ya know? Sometimes I just need something I only have to think about papers and maybe a few embellishments. I had posted that kind of a note on the SVG cuts page and one person responded. They wanted to see my take on the fish tank. I will be honest, I had no intention of making that fish tank. It looked like a ton of work and I just wasn't into it that much, but when I saw it my grandson Wyatt was here. He is 4 and his eyes bugged out and he smiled that smile at me that said, grandma I know you can make this and I would love this.. oh gosh! Darn that smile and those eyes !
I love all my grandsons and I have 6. I get to see four of them more than the other two because they live in the next town over just a short 7 miles at the most from me. The other two are all the way toward Oklahoma. Anyhoo when those little blue eyes smiled at me oh, I was a goner as they say.

1st problem: I encountered making this was that I couldn't find the file. I had received a new to me laptop from my dad about Oct. last year and thought I had retrieved all the files I needed off of it. (it came on only when it wanted to) I finally found it buried in a file on my desktop. I had already sent an email to Leo to re-enable the download.
2nd problem: the way the instructions were listed the Height was listed first then the width and Silhouette lists the width first then the Height. So I was not paying close attention and messed up the cut for the "glass" part. I had started using a new blade holder I ordered from China as I was wanting something that lasted longer. I had done research on this and found this blade holder and blades. They are awesome and cut like butter but that is another post. I didn't want to cut the acetate with my new blade and dull the brand new one that was cutting like butter right out of the box so I was switching back and forth between the silhouette blade and the new blades. So this was not fun for me to realize I had made the H &W mistake. All of this should have been my clue to quit while I was behind, but I persevered. (or I am really thick and I just didn't know when to quit, that is probably the real answer) 3 problem: I was very concerned about how much heat a battery pack that held 4 or 6 batteries would conduct,a 4 and never quit touching 7 year old and this is paper. I had looked at the instructions and decided I would change the bottom so it would hold a battery operated tea light on the bottom and top.
So this is how I started.
When I finally realized my mistake I re-cut the "glass and top and bottom. I did make another top and bottom making it about a 1/4 inch smaller all around and a hole in the center for the light to fit into. I will show a picture of one of my mess up ones so you can get the idea of what I did. Then to make the insert fit at a lower level I cut the edges half way off with scissors. I drew a box around the inside cut lines of the "lid" and centered a circle the same size to cut out of chipboard. (cereal box)This was to give my insert strength when I  glued the rocks on the top using my Glossy accents. I  totally forgot so they aren't glued down. I will do that in Riley and Connors. The insert on the bottom is taped into the inside bottom of the "glass" AFTER you put the fish inside.

Then on to the fish, which wasn't so bad now that I knew to pay close attention to my H and W sizes. I had a lot of fun making the fish and of course adding a turtle. I didn't want Wyatt to be scared of the scary fish so I took him out. He will go in the other tank I will make and so wont go to waste. I didn't use the fish from the Sea Side kit either as the one thing I found is don't try to over stuff your fish tank. Also I didn't like the visual I was getting for the long coral so I made it a bit less squished looking. I found my bag of sequins I purchased from Walmart a long time ago and dug through and found white and clear iridescent sequins, a couple of green and silver as well. I put those on the coral and seaweed after I inked the seaweed with pigment ink and a sponge. I daubed them with the ink like real coral looks.  I used my tiny bubbles emboss folder and a darcy woodgrain folder to add texture to the fish, coral and seaweed. That was the fun part then getting the acetate inserts to stick to the sides of the tank was a challenge for me and getting them in and straight was not so fun. Although it looks super cool, and IS a fantastic project it is not one I excel in.That IS me not you and I am not at all saying you shouldn't try this if you just love it. It is awesome wow factor!
The top is make just like the bottom, I kept the tea lights in place by putting the 3d glue dots onto the top if them. This way the lights can be reached to change the batteries and turn off the lights when not needed. Next time I will make a holder for the bottom and add the cardboard to the top as well or make several thicknesses with cardstock to recess the light a bit more. All in all a very cute project. I bought the color changing lights from Amazon in a 12pk. I didn't know they blinked until I tried one. It said it was what I had ordered before but I know the other ones I bought did not blink. I am not sure I like them that way but we'll see.

I am thinking of one for the older two boys with a sunken ship of some kind. Riley loves pirates and Connor will say he is too cool for the whole thing but grandma knows he will love it as well. Defiantly has to have a shark, that will make it so much cooler.. well, I hope it be cool.  Thanks for reading my blog and leaving me some love. Y'all have a great day and Happy Craftin'! Blessings Sharalyn

SVG Kits and Collections Used:
Box Cards SVG Kit
Gift Boxes SVG Kit
Surf Shack SVG Kit
 Wet N Wild SVG Kit
Tropical Friends SVG Collection

Supplies Used:
American Craft Card Stock: Black, Crimson, Keylime, Aqua, Mint, Moss, Sunflower, Lipstick, Blossom, Mustard, Carrot, Plum, Marine, Lavender

, Lemon, Cherry, white, Dandelion, Leaf and Stone: All Scrapbooksteals.com
Bazzill Card Stock: Turquoise Mist : Scrapbook.com
Ranger Glossy Accents: Michaels
Ranger Black and White Glossy Accents: SimonSaysStamp.com (eyes)
3M  Write on Transparencies. Staples
Sequins: Walmart
Decorative Rocks: Dollar Tree
Zots 3d Glue dots: Michael's
Clear glue Squares: Dollar Tree (attach acetate to sides of tank)
Scotch Quick Dry Adhesive: Michael's
Cuttlebug Emboss Folder: Tiny Bubbles
Darcy Emboss Folder: Wood Grain
Color Changing Tea Lights Amazon.com Lily's HomeTM Color Changing Everlasting Tealights Candles with 7 Rainbow Colors- Set of 12