- Stamped Tile Coasters from Dollar Store Crafts
- The mum pillow at Assorted Notions
- Missle Command circle skirt at Evil Mad Scientist Laboratories
- Magazine Reed Box at CraftStylish
- Millifiori and Organza Pendant at Polymer Clay Central
- Minibooks with faux fabric book tape at The Small Object
- Cardboard tube hurricane lamp cover at A Little Hut
- Glitzy Garden Globe at Diary of A Crafty Chica
- Soda Can Star Lights, also at Diary of a Crafty Chica
- How to Scrapbook with Busy Patterned Paper at Creativity Prompt (since I'm a sucker for those busy patterns)
- Pleated Hem Sleeve at rostitchery
- handmade flower embellishments at the Creating Keepsakes blog
Showing posts with label Friday Favorites. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Friday Favorites. Show all posts
April 24, 2009
Friday Favorites, Episode 45: The End
It was a tough decision to make, but this is going to be the last Friday Favorites that I post up here. At least, for now. It's just getting to be too much-- I'm barely able to keep up with reading blogs, let alone compiling this post every week. Especially over the last month or so, where I've often had to skip weeks and then do two at once, and even more especially now that I'm back at my part-time garden center job and therefore lose a big chunk of Friday. So #45 seemed to be a good place to leave it. And since I have a tendency to mostly link tutorials, and have been saving them all to my Wists account anyway, anyone who wants to can see what tutorials people have been putting up that I like from the sidebar on here. Maybe one day I'll go through there and clean up the tags for easier access, but not today. And since I'm on a time crunch (my whole weekend is flute rehearsals and performances, and I only have about an hour and a half before I have to leave!), I'm going to do this list-style. So here's what I liked this week...
April 11, 2009
Friday Favorites, Episode 44: The Saturday Edition
I really did mean to post this yesterday. But I got caught up in spending the time between work and my church's Good Friday service catching up on financial stuff/balancing my checkbook, and then it was time to leave for church, and so on. So rather than wait until next week again, I figured I'd just post it a day late.
First up is just a tad bit late for tomorrow, but it still looked neat. Vegetablegardener.com had instructions for how to dye eggs with natural products, like onion skins and berries and such. I wonder if it would work on fabric too? (I found this one through Craft Stylish.) For another edible project, I liked the sound of Cheap Healthy Good's Spaghetti with Asparagus, Egg and Parmesan (or "a mutant freak of deliciousness", as they called it.) Also from a link from the same site, I found CakeSpy's post on dessert recipes inspired by classic rock. "John Lemon" bars, anyone? Or perhaps you're more in the mood for some Rolling Scones?
Via Craftzine, I thought this "cardapult" at Instructables (a toy catapult made from buisness cards!) was really fun! Also at Instructables, they had instructions for how to build a model of the TARDIS from Doctor Who that lights up inside. (I forget which site alerted me to this one-- might have also been Craftzine.)
Anyone who's been following this blog for awhile knows that I am not a knitter/crocheter by any means. Every time I try, the projects are pretty much disasters. Even with machine help. But I still really enjoyed one of this week's Threadbanger roundups-- knit and crochet projects inspired by the good old 8-bit Nintendo! That crocheted Mario blanket is seriously nothing short of amazing. And so is the in-progress scarf that's intended to show the entire scrolling level 1-1 of the original Mario Bros. game! (Yes, I still love my 8-bit Nintendo!)
Speaking of projects made of fail, the geniuses at Dollar Store Crafts have cooked up a new blog called Craft Fail-- basically, to allow people to laugh a bit at themselves (and with the other contributors) when projects don't go completely as planned. (I think my favorite so far is the soap that ended up looking like spam.)
At Blisstreee.com, there were instructions for some lovely hand-painted background paper. Looks like it would be really fun to try for stuff like scrapbooking! (I think this one was via One Pretty Thing.)
And last but not least, I thought this "landscape dress" at Wardrobe Refashion was very clever! I really liked how she designed that leaf motif to tie the three different prints together.
On a slightly more personal note, I did do some crafting today-- basic resizes of 3 t-shirts for a friend. No pics though, since she was hanging out here when I sewed them and she took them home. She was quite happy about it, though. And also doing some plotting for what might be my next Big Project (after the mini-wardrobe, of course! But those should all be pretty simple pieces to put together, with the exception of the jeans and possibly the dress.) As of yesterday, my brother is engaged, so I'm going to need something to wear to the wedding. It's going to depend partially on in what capacity I'm actually involved-- I'm not going to be a bridesmaid, and I'm not sure yet whether they'll want me to be one of the musicians or not. (I had guessed not, since flute isn't my brother's favorite, but when he and my mom and I were talking about it, he didn't say no. So that was a bit of a surprise.) And it's also going to depend partially on where it ends up being-- they're not getting married at our church (he works there, so I think he wanted a break!), she wants an outdoor wedding, and they're thinking October. Which has the potential to be pretty much anything between warm and sunny or cold and rainy with winds left over from whatever hurricane most recently hit the coast, the way things tend to run here. But based on my initial "research", I'm kind of leaning towards this dress (the shorter version). I kind of want to treat myself to some really nice fabric for it too. I'm thinking silk, because I've never made anything with it, and I think a natural fiber would keep me more comfortable in whatever weather we might end up having. And also contemplating a wrap of some sort, in case of cooler weather. Guess I'd better start looking through this book some, to prepare myself for this sort of project!
First up is just a tad bit late for tomorrow, but it still looked neat. Vegetablegardener.com had instructions for how to dye eggs with natural products, like onion skins and berries and such. I wonder if it would work on fabric too? (I found this one through Craft Stylish.) For another edible project, I liked the sound of Cheap Healthy Good's Spaghetti with Asparagus, Egg and Parmesan (or "a mutant freak of deliciousness", as they called it.) Also from a link from the same site, I found CakeSpy's post on dessert recipes inspired by classic rock. "John Lemon" bars, anyone? Or perhaps you're more in the mood for some Rolling Scones?
Via Craftzine, I thought this "cardapult" at Instructables (a toy catapult made from buisness cards!) was really fun! Also at Instructables, they had instructions for how to build a model of the TARDIS from Doctor Who that lights up inside. (I forget which site alerted me to this one-- might have also been Craftzine.)
Anyone who's been following this blog for awhile knows that I am not a knitter/crocheter by any means. Every time I try, the projects are pretty much disasters. Even with machine help. But I still really enjoyed one of this week's Threadbanger roundups-- knit and crochet projects inspired by the good old 8-bit Nintendo! That crocheted Mario blanket is seriously nothing short of amazing. And so is the in-progress scarf that's intended to show the entire scrolling level 1-1 of the original Mario Bros. game! (Yes, I still love my 8-bit Nintendo!)
Speaking of projects made of fail, the geniuses at Dollar Store Crafts have cooked up a new blog called Craft Fail-- basically, to allow people to laugh a bit at themselves (and with the other contributors) when projects don't go completely as planned. (I think my favorite so far is the soap that ended up looking like spam.)
At Blisstreee.com, there were instructions for some lovely hand-painted background paper. Looks like it would be really fun to try for stuff like scrapbooking! (I think this one was via One Pretty Thing.)
And last but not least, I thought this "landscape dress" at Wardrobe Refashion was very clever! I really liked how she designed that leaf motif to tie the three different prints together.
On a slightly more personal note, I did do some crafting today-- basic resizes of 3 t-shirts for a friend. No pics though, since she was hanging out here when I sewed them and she took them home. She was quite happy about it, though. And also doing some plotting for what might be my next Big Project (after the mini-wardrobe, of course! But those should all be pretty simple pieces to put together, with the exception of the jeans and possibly the dress.) As of yesterday, my brother is engaged, so I'm going to need something to wear to the wedding. It's going to depend partially on in what capacity I'm actually involved-- I'm not going to be a bridesmaid, and I'm not sure yet whether they'll want me to be one of the musicians or not. (I had guessed not, since flute isn't my brother's favorite, but when he and my mom and I were talking about it, he didn't say no. So that was a bit of a surprise.) And it's also going to depend partially on where it ends up being-- they're not getting married at our church (he works there, so I think he wanted a break!), she wants an outdoor wedding, and they're thinking October. Which has the potential to be pretty much anything between warm and sunny or cold and rainy with winds left over from whatever hurricane most recently hit the coast, the way things tend to run here. But based on my initial "research", I'm kind of leaning towards this dress (the shorter version). I kind of want to treat myself to some really nice fabric for it too. I'm thinking silk, because I've never made anything with it, and I think a natural fiber would keep me more comfortable in whatever weather we might end up having. And also contemplating a wrap of some sort, in case of cooler weather. Guess I'd better start looking through this book some, to prepare myself for this sort of project!
April 3, 2009
Friday Favorites, Episode 43
I really need to get back to doing these on a weekly basis. The stack from the last 2 weeks is a bit overwhelming! So best to just dive right in...
Recycled goodness...
I tend to post a lot of this type of stuff anyway, I know, but even more appropriate now that it's April, with Earth Day coming up and all. The music lover in me enjoyed this Threadbanger roundup of things to do with old vinyl records (I was particularly a fan of the iPod case!) Hippyshopper had a second roundup of recycled jewelry ideas. I don't really care for the necklace made from recycled nylons, I'll admit, but I did think the one with the pen caps has some serious potential! Cut Out + Keep had a clever tutorial for making a shrug from an oversized t-shirt-- I love the Grecian drapiness of the final look. Dollar Store Crafts showed how to dye Easter eggs using recycled silk ties to put designs on them. Also found tutorials for envelopes done two ways-- turning envelopes into gift bags (via Whip Up), and making other paper into padded envelopes (via Craftzine). Craftstylish showed how to make easy earrings out of beach glass (not that it takes much to inspire me to go beachcombing!) and also things you can do with old VHS tapes (the flowers on the straw purse were my favorite.) Finally, going back to Craftzine, there was a table lamp with a shade made from soda can tabs. It reminds me of chainmaille!
And the geek shall inherit the earth...
It was a good week for my not-so-inner geek. Lots of things that made me smile-- like Dollar Store Craft's Alien Abduction Lamp, and Whip Up's Star Wars mice. Craftzine linked to an April Fool's joke featuring a Tauntaun sleeping bag (for all those young Jedi wannabe's, a la The Empire Strikes Back). But my absolute favorite (also via Craftzine) was this Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy-inspired Kindle case. I have to admit that the Kindle also reminded me of the Guide, so I absolutely love this! And if I ever decide to get a Kindle (which I don't think will be happening any time soon because I still love the tangibility of turning the pages in an old-fashioned paper book), I am SO stealing this. Everybody needs something with "Don't Panic" written on it in large, friendly letters.
Random Tutorial Goodness
First up, I liked Sewl Sister's "scrapbook in a box". Seems like it would be a really good gift for someone, and nice and compact! (I also like her pregnancy calendar bar at the top-- especially the snarky commentary!) Little Birdie Secrets posted a recipe for DIY Thin Mints (the only Girl Scout cookie I truly like). I'm somewhat skeptical due to what the crunchy inside actually is, but also quite curious. My fellow Sew Craft Blog groupie Corvus Tristis posted a neat tutorial for how to make an inexpensive weaving loom (and then later updated it with an additional improvement that she says makes it much better. Plus it involves playing with power tools.) Craftynest showed how to make some hemp pendant lamps that would be great for any nature-inspired decor (or Asian, for that matter...), and the Crafty Chica shared some instructions for some simple wooden jewelry using precut shapes and rubber stamp embossing. Craft Leftovers showed how to make your own drawing charcoal (hint: there's grilling involved). Craft Stylish had instructions for making a reusable sandwich wrap (bye-bye, Ziploc bags!), and Sew Take A Hike had a fun-looking tutorial for embellishing with roses made from scraps of knit fabric. Going back to the food, Thimble shared a recipe for some yummy looking spinach olive pasta (usually I don't like cooked spinach at all, but I might have to give this one a try.) And even though it's obviously passed by this point, One Pretty Thing posted two tutorial roundups for April Fool's Day. Mostly in the form of food that looks like something it's not. But it was still fun.
And now for something completely random...
I couldn't help laughing at this post from Craft Stylish. Any post entitled "Crafts I Want To Punch In The Face" has to get a mention. (And besides, I'm sure that everyone who reads this who's ever sewn by machine will agree with #5!)
And finally...
Finished projects I liked! From Wardrobe Refashion, I thought this little girl's violin dress was adorable, this octupus sweater was funky and clever, and this hippie-looking shirt is something I just want to steal. And I also really liked Angry Chicken's corset belt (complete with matching purse and earrings!)
Recycled goodness...
I tend to post a lot of this type of stuff anyway, I know, but even more appropriate now that it's April, with Earth Day coming up and all. The music lover in me enjoyed this Threadbanger roundup of things to do with old vinyl records (I was particularly a fan of the iPod case!) Hippyshopper had a second roundup of recycled jewelry ideas. I don't really care for the necklace made from recycled nylons, I'll admit, but I did think the one with the pen caps has some serious potential! Cut Out + Keep had a clever tutorial for making a shrug from an oversized t-shirt-- I love the Grecian drapiness of the final look. Dollar Store Crafts showed how to dye Easter eggs using recycled silk ties to put designs on them. Also found tutorials for envelopes done two ways-- turning envelopes into gift bags (via Whip Up), and making other paper into padded envelopes (via Craftzine). Craftstylish showed how to make easy earrings out of beach glass (not that it takes much to inspire me to go beachcombing!) and also things you can do with old VHS tapes (the flowers on the straw purse were my favorite.) Finally, going back to Craftzine, there was a table lamp with a shade made from soda can tabs. It reminds me of chainmaille!
And the geek shall inherit the earth...
It was a good week for my not-so-inner geek. Lots of things that made me smile-- like Dollar Store Craft's Alien Abduction Lamp, and Whip Up's Star Wars mice. Craftzine linked to an April Fool's joke featuring a Tauntaun sleeping bag (for all those young Jedi wannabe's, a la The Empire Strikes Back). But my absolute favorite (also via Craftzine) was this Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy-inspired Kindle case. I have to admit that the Kindle also reminded me of the Guide, so I absolutely love this! And if I ever decide to get a Kindle (which I don't think will be happening any time soon because I still love the tangibility of turning the pages in an old-fashioned paper book), I am SO stealing this. Everybody needs something with "Don't Panic" written on it in large, friendly letters.
Random Tutorial Goodness
First up, I liked Sewl Sister's "scrapbook in a box". Seems like it would be a really good gift for someone, and nice and compact! (I also like her pregnancy calendar bar at the top-- especially the snarky commentary!) Little Birdie Secrets posted a recipe for DIY Thin Mints (the only Girl Scout cookie I truly like). I'm somewhat skeptical due to what the crunchy inside actually is, but also quite curious. My fellow Sew Craft Blog groupie Corvus Tristis posted a neat tutorial for how to make an inexpensive weaving loom (and then later updated it with an additional improvement that she says makes it much better. Plus it involves playing with power tools.) Craftynest showed how to make some hemp pendant lamps that would be great for any nature-inspired decor (or Asian, for that matter...), and the Crafty Chica shared some instructions for some simple wooden jewelry using precut shapes and rubber stamp embossing. Craft Leftovers showed how to make your own drawing charcoal (hint: there's grilling involved). Craft Stylish had instructions for making a reusable sandwich wrap (bye-bye, Ziploc bags!), and Sew Take A Hike had a fun-looking tutorial for embellishing with roses made from scraps of knit fabric. Going back to the food, Thimble shared a recipe for some yummy looking spinach olive pasta (usually I don't like cooked spinach at all, but I might have to give this one a try.) And even though it's obviously passed by this point, One Pretty Thing posted two tutorial roundups for April Fool's Day. Mostly in the form of food that looks like something it's not. But it was still fun.
And now for something completely random...
I couldn't help laughing at this post from Craft Stylish. Any post entitled "Crafts I Want To Punch In The Face" has to get a mention. (And besides, I'm sure that everyone who reads this who's ever sewn by machine will agree with #5!)
And finally...
Finished projects I liked! From Wardrobe Refashion, I thought this little girl's violin dress was adorable, this octupus sweater was funky and clever, and this hippie-looking shirt is something I just want to steal. And I also really liked Angry Chicken's corset belt (complete with matching purse and earrings!)
March 20, 2009
Friday Favorites, Episode 42
Going to be a long one this time, since I have stuff saved from the last two weeks. So in no particular order...
- Over at Goodworks1's Notes, she has a denim quilt that she and her sister are making. Same concept as mine, using the recycled jeans and letting the edges fray, but I like the twist of using circles instead of squares!
- Wardrobe Refashion favorites from the last two weeks: theclosetseamstress's pillowcase top, Gwen's versatile skirt/dress for a beach vacation, and Carrie's cute sheet sundress.
- Speaking of refashioning, I also enjoyed Karen's blouse from a tie-dyed skirt, over at Sewing by the Seat of my Pants.
- A couple inspirational projects-- Craft: featured a cd cover in which the artist hand-stitched the artwork for it--and with my addiction to new music, that's enough to make me want to try and hunt it down! And Whip Up showed an art installation of some delicate-looking trees cut from, of all things, toilet paper rolls. And then over at Crafting a Green World, remember that selvedge dress? Well, the same woman decided to use the same technique to reupholster a chair. I think this is even cooler than the dress, actually!
- Back over at Craft:, they shared a link to an older article of theirs on how to make summer sandals from a recycled sole. With my oddly extra-wide feet, it's always hard for me to find shoes, so the thought of trying this one is exciting!! Now if I can just find a pair at the thrift store to cannabilize...
- Some home decor-type stuff: CraftyNest featured a tutorial for how to make some very simple Ikea tables much, much cooler with the help of some bamboo veneer. thelongthread.com had some simple pintucked pillows, and Dollar Store Crafts shared a link to some really cute flower vases made from plastic bottles. They look like they'd be great for a bridal shower, so I'll have to keep that in mind for the next time I'm a bridesmaid... (Incidentally, while looking there just now for the main link, I also found stuffed animals for the grown-up music lover. Heehee.)
- Back to Whip Up for tips on spring cleaning your sewing machine. I know that both my Bernina and my serger probably need it badly...
- The gift bags from thrifted sheets at Sewtakeahike are pretty and practical, but the real reason I'm linking to it is that I am 99% sure I had those yellow sheets as a kid, and so this makes me laugh.
- Margot at The Impatient Crafter shared a link to a free beading project she designed for Beadalon. I like the design but would have to find beads that aren't pearls to use (because, to quote my friend who got married last summer whose jewelry I made, "pearls make me cringe". A little too old-fashioned for me. Maybe some glass crystal-like beads for a Renaissance look?)
- And finally, some food stuff. Cheap Healthy Good shared a list of ideas for last-minute dinners for one. Which is great for nights I just don't feel like defrosting something from the freezer. And Craft:g33k shared a recipe for real chai made with whole spices. Yum.
Ok, that's it for today... my big project for today, since my time of not working on Fridays is probably over (starting back at the garden center tomorrow), was experimenting with henna to dye my hair. And my time for letting it sit is getting close to done, so I have to go wash mud out of my hair. And then maybe I can go sew!
March 6, 2009
Friday Favorites, Episode 41 (the late edition)
Technically, it IS still Friday, so...
Since it's getting late, just going to run these off quickly. On myLifetime.com (found via another site, but I can't remember if it was One Pretty Thing or Whip Up), I liked this laminated paper chandelier. They used an old book, which I thought was fun. Creativity Prompt had a video tutorial for a fabric covered hardbound book. Sigrid shared some hints and tips for using Burda World of Fashion patterns and what they don't tell you to do-- quite good timing, since I just cut out my very first BWOF pattern today! ThreadBanger shared some ideas for a dress pattern similar to the famous black dress that Audrey Hepburn wore in Breakfast at Tiffany's. Craft Tutorials shared some tips for finishing craft projects in general, some of which I knew, but others I wouldn't have thought of (like using a hairdryer to get rid of those pesky hot glue strands!) Antoinette made a great Flickr slideshow tutorial on turning a men's shirt into a shirtdress (and I love her men's shirt refashions, so I was happy to see this!) And at ScrapHappy, she did part 2 of her "Scrapbooking on the Road" miniseries.
3 Wardrobe Refashion picks this week: Ellsea's Susan Pevensie costume (from Prince Caspian) that she made for her daughter completely out of thrift-store stuff, some appliqued jeans from the same person, and Meghan's tunicy-dress thing.
Hopefully I'll get some time to post again tomorrow... the time just got away from me today. The good news is, I was very productive. Finished my new spring/summer purse, got the aforementioned BWOF cut out (that drawstring blouse I was raving about in one of the more recent posts--ended up just using a piece of stash fabric because the men's shirt didn't have enough fabric), and starting a reconstruction (not the men's shirt) that was inspired by a song and this book. More details on that to come. Plus I have an award (thanks to Sharon) that I need to post about. But now I need to get off the computer and get some sleep!
Since it's getting late, just going to run these off quickly. On myLifetime.com (found via another site, but I can't remember if it was One Pretty Thing or Whip Up), I liked this laminated paper chandelier. They used an old book, which I thought was fun. Creativity Prompt had a video tutorial for a fabric covered hardbound book. Sigrid shared some hints and tips for using Burda World of Fashion patterns and what they don't tell you to do-- quite good timing, since I just cut out my very first BWOF pattern today! ThreadBanger shared some ideas for a dress pattern similar to the famous black dress that Audrey Hepburn wore in Breakfast at Tiffany's. Craft Tutorials shared some tips for finishing craft projects in general, some of which I knew, but others I wouldn't have thought of (like using a hairdryer to get rid of those pesky hot glue strands!) Antoinette made a great Flickr slideshow tutorial on turning a men's shirt into a shirtdress (and I love her men's shirt refashions, so I was happy to see this!) And at ScrapHappy, she did part 2 of her "Scrapbooking on the Road" miniseries.
3 Wardrobe Refashion picks this week: Ellsea's Susan Pevensie costume (from Prince Caspian) that she made for her daughter completely out of thrift-store stuff, some appliqued jeans from the same person, and Meghan's tunicy-dress thing.
Hopefully I'll get some time to post again tomorrow... the time just got away from me today. The good news is, I was very productive. Finished my new spring/summer purse, got the aforementioned BWOF cut out (that drawstring blouse I was raving about in one of the more recent posts--ended up just using a piece of stash fabric because the men's shirt didn't have enough fabric), and starting a reconstruction (not the men's shirt) that was inspired by a song and this book. More details on that to come. Plus I have an award (thanks to Sharon) that I need to post about. But now I need to get off the computer and get some sleep!
February 27, 2009
Friday Favorites, Episode 40
Ah, the big 4-0! Does this mean the series is getting old, I wonder?
Favorite Tutorials of the Week:
The Crafty Chica had a fun how-to for making a stitched paper dot lantern. I also really liked that she posted some alternate ideas for how to use the stitched paper dot technique! Craft: had a link to a tutorial for some lovely beaded flowers. The Long Thread featured a tutorial for some cute, simple fabric "crooked coasters"-- they just look fun to make, since sewing in crooked lines is the entire point! And Dollar Store Crafts had a tutorial for a handbag made from a miniature rag rug! Crafting a Green World had two that I liked-- one for a t-shirt covered corkboard, and one for upcycling boring greeting cards with fabric scraps. (It always makes me happy to find tutorials for fabric scrap projects that aren't cutsey or kid-oriented, since I'm neither at this point in my life!) And last but certainly not least, Sharon over at Adventures from the Sewing Studio had a great tutorial for attaching collars to button-down shirts without getting a bump between the collar band and the main part of the shirt.
Favorite Projects:
I'm thinking I need to stop being so tutorial-oriented with this, and bring in a few more projects I see around the blogs that just deserve to be seen by more people! So with that in mind, I have two this week. The first is my favorite from Wardrobe Refashion for this week. Despite having been born in them, I hate the 80s and think it was one of the worst decades for music and (especially) fashion, ever. So I love it when people can take 80s ugliness like this stripey maternity muumuu thing, and turn it into something fun in a much better vintage sort of way (in this case, using a bodice pattern from the 60s, which was an exponentially better decade in both aforementioned categories.) Speaking of 60s music (maybe, anyway), I really loved Eileen's concert journal--she took a thrifted vinyl 45 and an old music book and turned it into a scrapbook to fill with concert memorabilia and such.
Favorite Miscellaney:
This doesn't really fit under tutorials. And this isn't really something I've ever tried, beyond purposely saving stuff to throw in a scrapbook and writing out stuff for journaling while on vacation. But over at ScrapHappy, she's started a mini-series about scrapbooking while traveling. Only one post so far, but I'm enjoying it. And who knows, at some point I might want to try the whole assembly-as-I-go thing!
Ok, that's it for today. May end up with another post depending on how things go today, since the weekends seem to be my blog catch-up time!
Favorite Tutorials of the Week:
The Crafty Chica had a fun how-to for making a stitched paper dot lantern. I also really liked that she posted some alternate ideas for how to use the stitched paper dot technique! Craft: had a link to a tutorial for some lovely beaded flowers. The Long Thread featured a tutorial for some cute, simple fabric "crooked coasters"-- they just look fun to make, since sewing in crooked lines is the entire point! And Dollar Store Crafts had a tutorial for a handbag made from a miniature rag rug! Crafting a Green World had two that I liked-- one for a t-shirt covered corkboard, and one for upcycling boring greeting cards with fabric scraps. (It always makes me happy to find tutorials for fabric scrap projects that aren't cutsey or kid-oriented, since I'm neither at this point in my life!) And last but certainly not least, Sharon over at Adventures from the Sewing Studio had a great tutorial for attaching collars to button-down shirts without getting a bump between the collar band and the main part of the shirt.
Favorite Projects:
I'm thinking I need to stop being so tutorial-oriented with this, and bring in a few more projects I see around the blogs that just deserve to be seen by more people! So with that in mind, I have two this week. The first is my favorite from Wardrobe Refashion for this week. Despite having been born in them, I hate the 80s and think it was one of the worst decades for music and (especially) fashion, ever. So I love it when people can take 80s ugliness like this stripey maternity muumuu thing, and turn it into something fun in a much better vintage sort of way (in this case, using a bodice pattern from the 60s, which was an exponentially better decade in both aforementioned categories.) Speaking of 60s music (maybe, anyway), I really loved Eileen's concert journal--she took a thrifted vinyl 45 and an old music book and turned it into a scrapbook to fill with concert memorabilia and such.
Favorite Miscellaney:
This doesn't really fit under tutorials. And this isn't really something I've ever tried, beyond purposely saving stuff to throw in a scrapbook and writing out stuff for journaling while on vacation. But over at ScrapHappy, she's started a mini-series about scrapbooking while traveling. Only one post so far, but I'm enjoying it. And who knows, at some point I might want to try the whole assembly-as-I-go thing!
Ok, that's it for today. May end up with another post depending on how things go today, since the weekends seem to be my blog catch-up time!
February 20, 2009
Friday Favorites, Episode 39
...which will hopefully be the first of a couple posts today. I have some catching up to do!!! So on with the show.
Everything in its place....
Got two from Whip Up today... the first is a tutorial for a quick & easy shoe bag, which I think they're using for travel packing purposes. If my closet wasn't the size of a shoebox, I think I'd try to find a way to tack them to the walls so I can get some floor space back! (I might try anyway.) The second is a tutorial for a reusable snack bag, for those tired of tossing out plastic ziploc bags every time they want to bring something crunchy with their lunches. (And more fun, too!) And from Crafting a Green World, they showed this laptop pillow that looks like it would be pretty easy to replicate with some tube-style pillows velcroed together. Of course, around here, it would probably get used as a temporary holding pen for the cat!!
Around the house...
Lots of fun decorating ideas this time. For those without on-demand cable to turn it onto the virtual aquarium, Apartment Therapy Unplugged shows how to turn an old tv into an actual aquarium. Heehee. I'm absolutely loving this faux capiz shell lampshade from Craftynest, which is made from laminated rice paper, and if I could actually manage to clear a spot big enough to set it on, would so make this for my bedroom. It would fit in perfectly. On ReadyMade, there's a tutorial for this funky bubble light fixture. And on a completely random note, if anyone ever wanted an 8-foot pillow shaped like a giant squid, PW Style is the place to find directions for that (found courtesy of One Pretty Thing's Daily DIY roundup.)
Things to Wear and Do...
At The Impatient Crafter (also found courtesy of One Pretty Thing), there's a free project from a new bead book of some really fun-looking cascade earrings. I definitely have some of those little cone things to use up, so I'm excited to try these sometime! (I'm also liking yesterday's "Tiger, Tiger Burning Bright" Choker, and think I'm going to have to start following this blog.) And while not actually something to wear, this CraftStylish tutorial for how to do 4 different seam finishes will definitely help with things to wear. I especially want to try that Hong Kong seam finish, because I've never used that one and I think it'll be perfect for one of my (hopefully) upcoming projects.
Random but Awesome
A bunch of non-tutorialish crafty goodness this week. First of all, this tissue box at Disdressed just made me laugh. Especially since I've been quasi-sick all week. Confessions of a Craft Addict used one of those giant cupcake cake pans to make a ginormous rice krispy treat. Craft Tutorials had a knitted dress that cracked me up-- I wouldn't want to dress like a cheeseburger, but if I did, this would be the way to go. I have to give a shoutout to Lydia, who posted this week to say she finished sewing together her baby bag-- believe it or not, other than a few baby bibs, this was her first major sewing project, and I think it looks great! And I also have to give a shoutout to my friend Nicole--she's an amazingly talented artist and a good friend of mine, and she just started a blog for her artwork this week. So go check it out!
Ok, gotta get some stuff done so I can post again... I'm hoping I can get stuff up today both for those scrapbook layouts I promised, and my long-overdue embroidered shirt. And then I also started a new skirt yesterday and I'd like to work on that some more too!
EDIT: I almost forgot!! I've been following Cake Wrecks since a friend sent me a link to their V-day disaster cakes (which I posted about in FF last week.) Apparently once a week they do a feature devoted to cakes that are actually good, and this week's was by the Ace of Cakes crew. Their stuff is always amazing anyway (yes, I admit I watch the show when I can catch it), but this one was just made of awesome. It was made for the crew of Lost to celebrate their hundredth episode. And has tons of fun little tributes to the show-- the computer with The Numbers, the Dharma beer, little figures of the cast (mmm, Sawyer...)
Everything in its place....
Got two from Whip Up today... the first is a tutorial for a quick & easy shoe bag, which I think they're using for travel packing purposes. If my closet wasn't the size of a shoebox, I think I'd try to find a way to tack them to the walls so I can get some floor space back! (I might try anyway.) The second is a tutorial for a reusable snack bag, for those tired of tossing out plastic ziploc bags every time they want to bring something crunchy with their lunches. (And more fun, too!) And from Crafting a Green World, they showed this laptop pillow that looks like it would be pretty easy to replicate with some tube-style pillows velcroed together. Of course, around here, it would probably get used as a temporary holding pen for the cat!!
Around the house...
Lots of fun decorating ideas this time. For those without on-demand cable to turn it onto the virtual aquarium, Apartment Therapy Unplugged shows how to turn an old tv into an actual aquarium. Heehee. I'm absolutely loving this faux capiz shell lampshade from Craftynest, which is made from laminated rice paper, and if I could actually manage to clear a spot big enough to set it on, would so make this for my bedroom. It would fit in perfectly. On ReadyMade, there's a tutorial for this funky bubble light fixture. And on a completely random note, if anyone ever wanted an 8-foot pillow shaped like a giant squid, PW Style is the place to find directions for that (found courtesy of One Pretty Thing's Daily DIY roundup.)
Things to Wear and Do...
At The Impatient Crafter (also found courtesy of One Pretty Thing), there's a free project from a new bead book of some really fun-looking cascade earrings. I definitely have some of those little cone things to use up, so I'm excited to try these sometime! (I'm also liking yesterday's "Tiger, Tiger Burning Bright" Choker, and think I'm going to have to start following this blog.) And while not actually something to wear, this CraftStylish tutorial for how to do 4 different seam finishes will definitely help with things to wear. I especially want to try that Hong Kong seam finish, because I've never used that one and I think it'll be perfect for one of my (hopefully) upcoming projects.
Random but Awesome
A bunch of non-tutorialish crafty goodness this week. First of all, this tissue box at Disdressed just made me laugh. Especially since I've been quasi-sick all week. Confessions of a Craft Addict used one of those giant cupcake cake pans to make a ginormous rice krispy treat. Craft Tutorials had a knitted dress that cracked me up-- I wouldn't want to dress like a cheeseburger, but if I did, this would be the way to go. I have to give a shoutout to Lydia, who posted this week to say she finished sewing together her baby bag-- believe it or not, other than a few baby bibs, this was her first major sewing project, and I think it looks great! And I also have to give a shoutout to my friend Nicole--she's an amazingly talented artist and a good friend of mine, and she just started a blog for her artwork this week. So go check it out!
Ok, gotta get some stuff done so I can post again... I'm hoping I can get stuff up today both for those scrapbook layouts I promised, and my long-overdue embroidered shirt. And then I also started a new skirt yesterday and I'd like to work on that some more too!
EDIT: I almost forgot!! I've been following Cake Wrecks since a friend sent me a link to their V-day disaster cakes (which I posted about in FF last week.) Apparently once a week they do a feature devoted to cakes that are actually good, and this week's was by the Ace of Cakes crew. Their stuff is always amazing anyway (yes, I admit I watch the show when I can catch it), but this one was just made of awesome. It was made for the crew of Lost to celebrate their hundredth episode. And has tons of fun little tributes to the show-- the computer with The Numbers, the Dharma beer, little figures of the cast (mmm, Sawyer...)
January 30, 2009
Friday Favorites, Episode 37
Kind of a slow week this time-- now that it's almost the end of January, most of what I've been finding out there in the way of tutorials and such have been for Valentine's Day projects.
I hate Valentine's Day. Always have. Red and pink (especially pink) are two of my least favorite colors, diamonds are not this girl's best friend (especially after watching Blood Diamond-- I don't think I could ever get a piece of new diamond jewelry with a clean conscience now!), hearts are too cutesy for my taste, and most of all, I think real love should be celebrated any and every day of the year, not just because Hallmark tells you to on February 14th. Besides, let's face it, when you've been single for as long as I have, it's just torture. I don't need to be any more aware of my singleness, thank you.
Ok, enough ranting. On with the projects.
Ironically, the first one is for a Valentine's related project, but this is one I can really get behind. You know those candy hearts that taste like chalk and have tacky little messages on them like "U B MINE" and "LUV U" and crap like that? Well, over at Evil Mad Scientist Laboratories, they decided to improve on these. #1, by making them edible (shortbread cookies instead of chalk) and then by stenciling their own messages on them. These ones were taken from classic LOLCats phrases, and therefore are already far superior to the average candy heart. (Incidentally, they do list some good uses for the regular candy hearts. Such as ammunition for a Lego trebuchet. Or sidewalk chalk on the cheap.)
On to more creatively fun projects. On Crafting a Green World this week, they demonstrated how to recycle the soles of old shoes (I'm guessing the ones that are too beat up for even the thrift store) into fun new rubber stamps. I have made my own stamps before, from the linoleum blocks as part of a printmaking project in my high school art class. It was a lot of fun, and I wouldn't mind trying it again. So I'll have to keep this in mind next time I wear out a pair of shoes. They also featured a link for a by-the-yard fabric made from a blend of hemp and recycled plastic bottles (link to one of the fabrics on their Etsy site.)
Generally, I'm not one drawn to old-fashioned vintagey sort of things that look like they could have come from my grandmother. I'm just not a pearls-and-lace-and-pink sort of girl. (Actually, for the most part, none of those things actually would come from either of my crafty grandmothers.) But I really loved this next project, probably because it can double as a very natural-looking thing (and I do love my nature stuff!) Over at Everyday Beauty, she made flowery twinkle lights using a strand of Christmas lights and....sewing pattern paper! You know that's something all of us sewing-types have a ton of. And this would be a great use for that pattern that was a total flop, or that just wasn't your style anymore. Or maybe even the leftover pieces cut off of the side and such as you're cutting out the pattern.
Since it's been a bit of a quiet week due to the impending holiday, I'm also going to mention some of my favorite things from Wardrobe Refashion as of late. Melynda made a beautiful applique and reverse-applique shirt from a Smirnoff tee. Elizabeth is making a steampunk costume from a thrifted dressing gown. And Veronica made a great 60's style dress from an appropriately-printed curtain.
I hate Valentine's Day. Always have. Red and pink (especially pink) are two of my least favorite colors, diamonds are not this girl's best friend (especially after watching Blood Diamond-- I don't think I could ever get a piece of new diamond jewelry with a clean conscience now!), hearts are too cutesy for my taste, and most of all, I think real love should be celebrated any and every day of the year, not just because Hallmark tells you to on February 14th. Besides, let's face it, when you've been single for as long as I have, it's just torture. I don't need to be any more aware of my singleness, thank you.
Ok, enough ranting. On with the projects.
Ironically, the first one is for a Valentine's related project, but this is one I can really get behind. You know those candy hearts that taste like chalk and have tacky little messages on them like "U B MINE" and "LUV U" and crap like that? Well, over at Evil Mad Scientist Laboratories, they decided to improve on these. #1, by making them edible (shortbread cookies instead of chalk) and then by stenciling their own messages on them. These ones were taken from classic LOLCats phrases, and therefore are already far superior to the average candy heart. (Incidentally, they do list some good uses for the regular candy hearts. Such as ammunition for a Lego trebuchet. Or sidewalk chalk on the cheap.)
On to more creatively fun projects. On Crafting a Green World this week, they demonstrated how to recycle the soles of old shoes (I'm guessing the ones that are too beat up for even the thrift store) into fun new rubber stamps. I have made my own stamps before, from the linoleum blocks as part of a printmaking project in my high school art class. It was a lot of fun, and I wouldn't mind trying it again. So I'll have to keep this in mind next time I wear out a pair of shoes. They also featured a link for a by-the-yard fabric made from a blend of hemp and recycled plastic bottles (link to one of the fabrics on their Etsy site.)
Generally, I'm not one drawn to old-fashioned vintagey sort of things that look like they could have come from my grandmother. I'm just not a pearls-and-lace-and-pink sort of girl. (Actually, for the most part, none of those things actually would come from either of my crafty grandmothers.) But I really loved this next project, probably because it can double as a very natural-looking thing (and I do love my nature stuff!) Over at Everyday Beauty, she made flowery twinkle lights using a strand of Christmas lights and....sewing pattern paper! You know that's something all of us sewing-types have a ton of. And this would be a great use for that pattern that was a total flop, or that just wasn't your style anymore. Or maybe even the leftover pieces cut off of the side and such as you're cutting out the pattern.
Since it's been a bit of a quiet week due to the impending holiday, I'm also going to mention some of my favorite things from Wardrobe Refashion as of late. Melynda made a beautiful applique and reverse-applique shirt from a Smirnoff tee. Elizabeth is making a steampunk costume from a thrifted dressing gown. And Veronica made a great 60's style dress from an appropriately-printed curtain.
January 23, 2009
Friday Favorites, Episode 36
It's that time of the week again!
First up today: At Craft Leftovers, the author kindly provided a free download for some spice jar labels with this cute drawing of a talking spice jar on it! It's quite functional too, as there's space provided for writing when it was bought, so that way you know how fresh it is. She's re-using her spice bottles to refill from bulk bins, which I think is a pretty neat idea too.
At Creativity Prompt, there's a video tutorial for how to make a mini-photo album out of scrapbook paper and a recycled corrugated cardboard box. The instructions are quite clear, the results are cute, and it would make a great gift for someone! (Now that I'm looking there again for the links, there's a new one up for a 10-minute mini-book too. Will have to check that one out, since I'm still determined to learn bookbinding!)
Chinese New Year is on Sunday, and while I'm not Chinese by any stretch of the imagination, I do love Asian-inspired things. (One of those things I've definitely developed a greater appreciation for over the last several years, since I tend to get a lot of students that come from Asian families that immigrated here.) So I really liked this tutorial for making those oh-so-fun paper lanterns. (It's actually a dual tutorial--the same post has one for tin can lanterns!)
The next one is sort of a first for me on this feature, since I generally don't talk about books much. But this one looked kind of intriguing-- it's called Sewing Green by Betz White, and I found out about it via Whip Up. The link takes you to a gallery of sample project photos from the book. Didn't look like anything much out of the realm of my experience, but it's all using recycled stuff. (One that I did find particularly cool was a sun shade for a car windshield made out of...*drumroll*... Capri-Sun pouches! Might not have thought of that one.)
Next up, from Weekend Designer: I. Need. This. Bag. No, seriously, I do. I've been thinking for months that it would be nice to have a big roomy zip-up bag for weekend trips--my carry-on suitcase is a little too small, my regular suitcase is way too big, and it's a bit unwieldy to use a rolling suitcase in instances such as the crafty hangout weekends (like the one coming up in February) when I'm also having to wheel the rolling tote thing for my craft supplies. And this one looks pretty much perfect, plus has the added bonus of being a free pattern (once I draw it out.) I'm trying to think of if I have anything in my stash that might work-- bought fabric for a new spring/summer purse yesterday and now I have to come up with a stash project to compensate, according to my new rules. I know that I have one that might, but I'll have to see if it's strong enough (they recommended upholstery-weight, and this fabric is pieced together of denim and brocade--my mom had bought it and decided she couldn't use it after all and passed it on to me.)
Last item for today, from Dollar Store Crafts: These light bulb vases are cute and simple. Would require the old-fashioned kind, of course, because the halogen lamps would definitely NOT work for this.
Ok, that's it for now. Time to go get some stuff done. Like take some pictures-- I'm at least 2 posts behind on that now!
First up today: At Craft Leftovers, the author kindly provided a free download for some spice jar labels with this cute drawing of a talking spice jar on it! It's quite functional too, as there's space provided for writing when it was bought, so that way you know how fresh it is. She's re-using her spice bottles to refill from bulk bins, which I think is a pretty neat idea too.
At Creativity Prompt, there's a video tutorial for how to make a mini-photo album out of scrapbook paper and a recycled corrugated cardboard box. The instructions are quite clear, the results are cute, and it would make a great gift for someone! (Now that I'm looking there again for the links, there's a new one up for a 10-minute mini-book too. Will have to check that one out, since I'm still determined to learn bookbinding!)
Chinese New Year is on Sunday, and while I'm not Chinese by any stretch of the imagination, I do love Asian-inspired things. (One of those things I've definitely developed a greater appreciation for over the last several years, since I tend to get a lot of students that come from Asian families that immigrated here.) So I really liked this tutorial for making those oh-so-fun paper lanterns. (It's actually a dual tutorial--the same post has one for tin can lanterns!)
The next one is sort of a first for me on this feature, since I generally don't talk about books much. But this one looked kind of intriguing-- it's called Sewing Green by Betz White, and I found out about it via Whip Up. The link takes you to a gallery of sample project photos from the book. Didn't look like anything much out of the realm of my experience, but it's all using recycled stuff. (One that I did find particularly cool was a sun shade for a car windshield made out of...*drumroll*... Capri-Sun pouches! Might not have thought of that one.)
Next up, from Weekend Designer: I. Need. This. Bag. No, seriously, I do. I've been thinking for months that it would be nice to have a big roomy zip-up bag for weekend trips--my carry-on suitcase is a little too small, my regular suitcase is way too big, and it's a bit unwieldy to use a rolling suitcase in instances such as the crafty hangout weekends (like the one coming up in February) when I'm also having to wheel the rolling tote thing for my craft supplies. And this one looks pretty much perfect, plus has the added bonus of being a free pattern (once I draw it out.) I'm trying to think of if I have anything in my stash that might work-- bought fabric for a new spring/summer purse yesterday and now I have to come up with a stash project to compensate, according to my new rules. I know that I have one that might, but I'll have to see if it's strong enough (they recommended upholstery-weight, and this fabric is pieced together of denim and brocade--my mom had bought it and decided she couldn't use it after all and passed it on to me.)
Last item for today, from Dollar Store Crafts: These light bulb vases are cute and simple. Would require the old-fashioned kind, of course, because the halogen lamps would definitely NOT work for this.
Ok, that's it for now. Time to go get some stuff done. Like take some pictures-- I'm at least 2 posts behind on that now!
January 16, 2009
Friday Favorites, Episode 35
Almost didn't get to this today... got sidetracked by a clothing reconstruction that's taking longer than I thought it would. But I'm taking a dinner break now, so here goes...
First up is Dollar Store Crafts, featuring this shoji screen made from bamboo and shower curtains, and an easy how-to for customizing an iPod with a clear plastic cover and scrapbook paper. ( I think I'll definitely have to give the latter a try, as the silicon cover I've been using since I got it is leaving it kind of grungy.)
Second is Whip Up, which had a tutorial for a Viking-style shoe and a tree stump trivet (that's really made from felt.)
The newest site I've found is Craft:G33k. Loved this Tardis tissue box cover! And she also posted a link to this "teh yarn bukkit". (For the uninitiated, it's a takeoff of the LOLCats.)
It's been awhile since I've posted anything from Crafting a Green World.... mainly because, for some reason, the feed's stopped working on my Bloglines and I missed a bunch of stuff, thinking that it was just quiet due to the holidays. :-P But I did enjoy this article about digital vs. traditional scrapbooking. And, though it's not from this week, this was a good reference post on all of their eco-friendly fabric finds from 2008.
Two other random favorites, since everything else came in pairs. I really liked Antoinette's most recent men's shirt refashion--think I'm going to have to borrow this idea sometime! And this rather stunning wrap skirt was originally featured on Weekend Designer, but there were some copyright issues so it got removed. But you can still drool over it at Assemblage.
Ok, back to the sewing room-- I'm determined to finish that shirt recon today, since I absolutely have to do muslins for bridesmaid stuff tomorrow morning!
First up is Dollar Store Crafts, featuring this shoji screen made from bamboo and shower curtains, and an easy how-to for customizing an iPod with a clear plastic cover and scrapbook paper. ( I think I'll definitely have to give the latter a try, as the silicon cover I've been using since I got it is leaving it kind of grungy.)
Second is Whip Up, which had a tutorial for a Viking-style shoe and a tree stump trivet (that's really made from felt.)
The newest site I've found is Craft:G33k. Loved this Tardis tissue box cover! And she also posted a link to this "teh yarn bukkit". (For the uninitiated, it's a takeoff of the LOLCats.)
It's been awhile since I've posted anything from Crafting a Green World.... mainly because, for some reason, the feed's stopped working on my Bloglines and I missed a bunch of stuff, thinking that it was just quiet due to the holidays. :-P But I did enjoy this article about digital vs. traditional scrapbooking. And, though it's not from this week, this was a good reference post on all of their eco-friendly fabric finds from 2008.
Two other random favorites, since everything else came in pairs. I really liked Antoinette's most recent men's shirt refashion--think I'm going to have to borrow this idea sometime! And this rather stunning wrap skirt was originally featured on Weekend Designer, but there were some copyright issues so it got removed. But you can still drool over it at Assemblage.
Ok, back to the sewing room-- I'm determined to finish that shirt recon today, since I absolutely have to do muslins for bridesmaid stuff tomorrow morning!
January 9, 2009
Friday Favorites, Episode 34
It's baaaaaaaaack! 2009 may only be about a week old, but already finding some good ideas cropping up.
1. First on the list is a post from SewStylish about "dressing for her DNA". No, it has nothing to do with how tall you are, or hair color, or anything like that--more of a speculation of what she would wear if her wardrobe reflected her family background. So I wonder what would happen if my predominantly Anglo-Celtic mother's side (which I admittedly take after far more in my looks) took on my dad's Germanic, Pennsylvania Dutch side? (I think the Celts would win, given my fondness for things that look like they could come from a Renaissance Faire or a fantasy movie!) So I may give this a try at some point soon.
2. I've noticed a tendency in my sewing over the last year and a half or so-- I've been slowing down. Not so much that I'm not sewing as that I'm putting a lot of time into things to try and get them really finished-looking and well-fitting. And I'm mostly ok with that, but sometimes I just want a fast project. So I liked this quick, one-seam skirt at CraftStylish.com. (Bonus-- I need all the patterndrafting practice I can get, if I ever want to successfully make one!)
3. I'm not a coffee person at all, really--I'm thoroughly addicted to tea. (I blame that aforementioned predominant Anglo-Celtic side.) But I still liked this coffee cup cozy from Whip Up. (Us tea-drinkers probably actually need it more, as all we're usually given at the coffeeshops is a cup of boiling water with a tea bag dunked into it!) But it's cute, would be easy to just toss into your bag, and projects that use up scraps are always good.
4. Got two things from Dollar Store Crafts this week. The first would be a great project to do with kids--how to make a knitting loom from stuff like popsicle sticks and toilet paper rolls. The second is a planter made from a bread pan--the person who made it used succulents like aloe plants, but since it's made from a kitchen item anyway, I bet it would also make a really cute windowsill herb garden!
5. Last up for today-- not a tutorial, but I love this idea at Oh Happy Day. She made her husband a "Leisure Book", to give him one place to keep track of things like movies he wants to watch, bands to listen to, things like that. I'm definitely stealing this idea-- I'm constantly losing my lists of that sort of stuff. Especially my bands and my books. And I have the dayplanner from the last couple of years that would be perfect to recycle into this-- it has the binder rings, and the tab dividers. It's just falling apart in my purse, but recovering it and keeping it near my compy would work great! (Found this one via OnePrettyThing.com.)
And now, I must go do some cleaning so I can work on my pajamas some more. Hoping to finish the machine work on the top before Cassie comes over for the Stargate Atlantis finale *sniff*/Chuck marathon/crafty evening. So that way I'll have some handwork to do--that and some more embroidery, maybe. Of course, I'm more in the mood to deconstruct than sew...
1. First on the list is a post from SewStylish about "dressing for her DNA". No, it has nothing to do with how tall you are, or hair color, or anything like that--more of a speculation of what she would wear if her wardrobe reflected her family background. So I wonder what would happen if my predominantly Anglo-Celtic mother's side (which I admittedly take after far more in my looks) took on my dad's Germanic, Pennsylvania Dutch side? (I think the Celts would win, given my fondness for things that look like they could come from a Renaissance Faire or a fantasy movie!) So I may give this a try at some point soon.
2. I've noticed a tendency in my sewing over the last year and a half or so-- I've been slowing down. Not so much that I'm not sewing as that I'm putting a lot of time into things to try and get them really finished-looking and well-fitting. And I'm mostly ok with that, but sometimes I just want a fast project. So I liked this quick, one-seam skirt at CraftStylish.com. (Bonus-- I need all the patterndrafting practice I can get, if I ever want to successfully make one!)
3. I'm not a coffee person at all, really--I'm thoroughly addicted to tea. (I blame that aforementioned predominant Anglo-Celtic side.) But I still liked this coffee cup cozy from Whip Up. (Us tea-drinkers probably actually need it more, as all we're usually given at the coffeeshops is a cup of boiling water with a tea bag dunked into it!) But it's cute, would be easy to just toss into your bag, and projects that use up scraps are always good.
4. Got two things from Dollar Store Crafts this week. The first would be a great project to do with kids--how to make a knitting loom from stuff like popsicle sticks and toilet paper rolls. The second is a planter made from a bread pan--the person who made it used succulents like aloe plants, but since it's made from a kitchen item anyway, I bet it would also make a really cute windowsill herb garden!
5. Last up for today-- not a tutorial, but I love this idea at Oh Happy Day. She made her husband a "Leisure Book", to give him one place to keep track of things like movies he wants to watch, bands to listen to, things like that. I'm definitely stealing this idea-- I'm constantly losing my lists of that sort of stuff. Especially my bands and my books. And I have the dayplanner from the last couple of years that would be perfect to recycle into this-- it has the binder rings, and the tab dividers. It's just falling apart in my purse, but recovering it and keeping it near my compy would work great! (Found this one via OnePrettyThing.com.)
And now, I must go do some cleaning so I can work on my pajamas some more. Hoping to finish the machine work on the top before Cassie comes over for the Stargate Atlantis finale *sniff*/Chuck marathon/crafty evening. So that way I'll have some handwork to do--that and some more embroidery, maybe. Of course, I'm more in the mood to deconstruct than sew...
December 19, 2008
Friday Favorites, Episode 33 (last one of 2008!)
It's been a very quiet week for crafting here. I literally have not had a chance to do anything since last Saturday, other than put together a couple more necklaces for my mom's stocking and a couple pairs of earrings for a Christmas gift. I guess I should take pictures of those. Oh, and I made earrings to go with that red and black necklace I made for Mom a week or so ago, because she let me borrow it back to wear with my pantsuit for the band concert and I needed earrings for it. (Using another leftover bead and some of my thrifted jar supplies to make myself a necklace, so I'll still have something to go with it.)
But it's been a crazy busy week-- spent most of Sunday afternoon addressing invitations and planning Susannah's bridal shower, Monday was an extra-long teaching day because of adding a new student, Tuesday also ran late and by the time I finished eating dinner and showering and all I just wasn't up for it, Wednesday was the band concert (which went really well! Yay!), and then yesterday I had practice for my church's Sunday and Christmas Eve services, which I'm playing with the music team for. And then tonight I'm going to a party, though I'm hoping to have some time to work on unpicking the hem of my latest refashion so I can make it look better. I'm getting so desperate for creative time, though, that when I had some dead time at work yesterday, I sat there sketching out craft ideas! (It's not like I was slacking-- it's just the managers literally had nothing for me to work on at the moment, and I'd already cleaned the showroom. Ah, garden centers in winter.) I really hope I have time to do something tomorrow!
Anyway, on to Friday Favorites. I've decided to make this "episode" the last one of the year, since the last Friday is the 26th and by then I'm going to be in frantic costume mode in order to get things done before New Year's Eve. So I'll bring it back in about 2 weeks (I'm hosting a party on the 3rd, so between that and the party on the 31st, I'm going to have my hands full!) Anyway, I hope you've all been enjoying this feature, and hopefully I'll find lots of fun stuff to share in 2009.
Also, I'm not finished with the backlog yet, but I've started sticking all the tutorial-type stuff that I've been bookmarking on my Wists page so they're all in one place. Plus it has pictures.
Not surprisingly, almost everything is Christmas decorations this week.
Garlands: Dollar Store Crafts had a fun, colorful one of felt squares. Cheeky Magpie featured a rather intricate one of folded paper and (very carefully cut-out) stamped designs. And Whip Up linked to a paper chain link garland-- not the construction-paper version we made in elementary school, for sure! Looks so time-consuming, but the Renaissance lover in me is all, "Ooh, paper chain-maille!" (Plus it would probably be a fun way to recycle junk mail or something.)
Cards and Wrapping: Speaking of junk mail, I thought the gift bag made from it at Recycled Crafts was a really clever idea! Going back to Cheeky Magpie, I couldn't help but love her snowman cards-- Calvin & Hobbes is pretty much my favorite comic strip ever, and his snowmen always amused me. And for her blogaversary, the writer of SewDelish has free Christmas printables that would be great for gift tags or scrapbook pages or whatever.
Ornaments: The medieval-looking cd cross ornaments over at Ecologue were just stunning. I love the look of these fabric star origami ornaments at Zen Crafting. And that they can have a billion different looks depending on what fabric you use. And that it's great for scraps. Over at CraftStylish, they're showing how to revamp (or "resparkle", as they call it) those worn glass balls with charms and gems. Crafting a Green World had a nice kid-friendly ornament made from, of all things, recycled plastic ziplock bags (and some other on-hand stuff to decorate them with). And while not really an ornament, persay, I did like Creative Kismet's snowflake window.
Other: Which I suppose these would make good stocking stuffers or last-minute gifts. First one is these simple but cute bookmarks at Trail Mix. Over at Craft Apple, she made a bag from a cheap skirt found on the clearance rack. And Craft Leftovers had a free pattern for recycling sweater bits into some very cute armwarmers.
Ok, so that's everything for this week. Er, year.
One more bloggy announcement... next post is my 300th. Going to try to do something special for it. Stay tuned.
But it's been a crazy busy week-- spent most of Sunday afternoon addressing invitations and planning Susannah's bridal shower, Monday was an extra-long teaching day because of adding a new student, Tuesday also ran late and by the time I finished eating dinner and showering and all I just wasn't up for it, Wednesday was the band concert (which went really well! Yay!), and then yesterday I had practice for my church's Sunday and Christmas Eve services, which I'm playing with the music team for. And then tonight I'm going to a party, though I'm hoping to have some time to work on unpicking the hem of my latest refashion so I can make it look better. I'm getting so desperate for creative time, though, that when I had some dead time at work yesterday, I sat there sketching out craft ideas! (It's not like I was slacking-- it's just the managers literally had nothing for me to work on at the moment, and I'd already cleaned the showroom. Ah, garden centers in winter.) I really hope I have time to do something tomorrow!
Anyway, on to Friday Favorites. I've decided to make this "episode" the last one of the year, since the last Friday is the 26th and by then I'm going to be in frantic costume mode in order to get things done before New Year's Eve. So I'll bring it back in about 2 weeks (I'm hosting a party on the 3rd, so between that and the party on the 31st, I'm going to have my hands full!) Anyway, I hope you've all been enjoying this feature, and hopefully I'll find lots of fun stuff to share in 2009.
Also, I'm not finished with the backlog yet, but I've started sticking all the tutorial-type stuff that I've been bookmarking on my Wists page so they're all in one place. Plus it has pictures.
Not surprisingly, almost everything is Christmas decorations this week.
Garlands: Dollar Store Crafts had a fun, colorful one of felt squares. Cheeky Magpie featured a rather intricate one of folded paper and (very carefully cut-out) stamped designs. And Whip Up linked to a paper chain link garland-- not the construction-paper version we made in elementary school, for sure! Looks so time-consuming, but the Renaissance lover in me is all, "Ooh, paper chain-maille!" (Plus it would probably be a fun way to recycle junk mail or something.)
Cards and Wrapping: Speaking of junk mail, I thought the gift bag made from it at Recycled Crafts was a really clever idea! Going back to Cheeky Magpie, I couldn't help but love her snowman cards-- Calvin & Hobbes is pretty much my favorite comic strip ever, and his snowmen always amused me. And for her blogaversary, the writer of SewDelish has free Christmas printables that would be great for gift tags or scrapbook pages or whatever.
Ornaments: The medieval-looking cd cross ornaments over at Ecologue were just stunning. I love the look of these fabric star origami ornaments at Zen Crafting. And that they can have a billion different looks depending on what fabric you use. And that it's great for scraps. Over at CraftStylish, they're showing how to revamp (or "resparkle", as they call it) those worn glass balls with charms and gems. Crafting a Green World had a nice kid-friendly ornament made from, of all things, recycled plastic ziplock bags (and some other on-hand stuff to decorate them with). And while not really an ornament, persay, I did like Creative Kismet's snowflake window.
Other: Which I suppose these would make good stocking stuffers or last-minute gifts. First one is these simple but cute bookmarks at Trail Mix. Over at Craft Apple, she made a bag from a cheap skirt found on the clearance rack. And Craft Leftovers had a free pattern for recycling sweater bits into some very cute armwarmers.
Ok, so that's everything for this week. Er, year.
One more bloggy announcement... next post is my 300th. Going to try to do something special for it. Stay tuned.
December 12, 2008
Friday Favorites, Episode 32
This one's almost entirely Christmas-oriented, so I'll categorize like that. Funny how I can never seem to set this up the same way twice...
Ornaments!
It seems I'm perpetually on the lookout for things that can be made with fabric scraps, and so of course I thought these "scrappy tree" ornaments from Dollar Store Crafts were really cute! And I like that they can fit a lot of different decor styles, depending on how the edges are finished and what sort of fabric is used. Whip Up had a tutorial for a vintage-looking fabric-covered ball that would also be a great use of scraps. This one's not a tutorial, but I couldn't pass up a mention of these metal ornaments by Creative Kismet because they're so fun and colorful. And though technically not an ornament, Recycled Crafts featured an easy-to-make (though undoubtedly time-consuming) felt tree garland created by scrapbooking superstar Ali Edwards.
Other Decor!
Also on Recycled Crafts, they have a tree skirt made from a bridesmaid dress. If this past year is any indication, it seems I'm in process of becoming the next 27 Dresses girl, so this one might come in handy! Cheeky Magpie had a pattern for a paper cone that can be used either as a fillable decoration, or flipped over as a paper tree (which she put lights inside for a really neat effect!) ThreadBanger's weekly DIY roundup featured wreaths of all different styles, made of everything from recycled fabric to ice to computer parts. Speaking of wreaths, Thimble had a small feature of different Christmas tutorials, of which my favorite was this paper wreath at the red thread. And sew it begins... featured a tutorial for an easy-to-make but complicated paper snowflake that's a great large size for window or wall decorating. And going back to Creative Kismet, she had this great paper-cut winter wall art.
Miscellaneous goodies!
Over at Quality Time, there was a tutorial for a patchwork tissue holder that would make a great stocking stuffer (and use up more scraps!) I liked this cocktail dress at Fehr Trade-- simple, but a great color. And Angry Chicken had a simple but good sweater reconstrutcion with a vintage vibe that would be good for more casual holiday gatherings.
My stuff:
I had some unexpected time off work yesterday, so I had time to go to Joann's (where I got some fabric on sale because I'm weak.) And I also did some sewing-- need a few finishing touches, but then two of my Christmas presents will be done. Hopefully will get those up tomorrow. No time tonight, since one of my friends is having her annual Christmas party/ornament exchange. I think I'm going to bring one of the poinsettia ornaments, so we'll see what I come home with!
Ornaments!
It seems I'm perpetually on the lookout for things that can be made with fabric scraps, and so of course I thought these "scrappy tree" ornaments from Dollar Store Crafts were really cute! And I like that they can fit a lot of different decor styles, depending on how the edges are finished and what sort of fabric is used. Whip Up had a tutorial for a vintage-looking fabric-covered ball that would also be a great use of scraps. This one's not a tutorial, but I couldn't pass up a mention of these metal ornaments by Creative Kismet because they're so fun and colorful. And though technically not an ornament, Recycled Crafts featured an easy-to-make (though undoubtedly time-consuming) felt tree garland created by scrapbooking superstar Ali Edwards.
Other Decor!
Also on Recycled Crafts, they have a tree skirt made from a bridesmaid dress. If this past year is any indication, it seems I'm in process of becoming the next 27 Dresses girl, so this one might come in handy! Cheeky Magpie had a pattern for a paper cone that can be used either as a fillable decoration, or flipped over as a paper tree (which she put lights inside for a really neat effect!) ThreadBanger's weekly DIY roundup featured wreaths of all different styles, made of everything from recycled fabric to ice to computer parts. Speaking of wreaths, Thimble had a small feature of different Christmas tutorials, of which my favorite was this paper wreath at the red thread. And sew it begins... featured a tutorial for an easy-to-make but complicated paper snowflake that's a great large size for window or wall decorating. And going back to Creative Kismet, she had this great paper-cut winter wall art.
Miscellaneous goodies!
Over at Quality Time, there was a tutorial for a patchwork tissue holder that would make a great stocking stuffer (and use up more scraps!) I liked this cocktail dress at Fehr Trade-- simple, but a great color. And Angry Chicken had a simple but good sweater reconstrutcion with a vintage vibe that would be good for more casual holiday gatherings.
My stuff:
I had some unexpected time off work yesterday, so I had time to go to Joann's (where I got some fabric on sale because I'm weak.) And I also did some sewing-- need a few finishing touches, but then two of my Christmas presents will be done. Hopefully will get those up tomorrow. No time tonight, since one of my friends is having her annual Christmas party/ornament exchange. I think I'm going to bring one of the poinsettia ornaments, so we'll see what I come home with!
December 5, 2008
Friday Favorites, Episode 31 (and the results of yesterday's poll)
First off, thanks to those of you that responded to my post yesterday. The vote is really close! But I've decided to go with the BWOF subscription. I am still a little nervous about trying to figure out the non-visual instructions, but since one of my ongoing craft goals (that so far I'm failing miserably at) is to reduce my stash of supplies/fabric, I need things that will enable me to use up some of said fabric stash rather than expand it, and patterns from the Big 4 don't really inspire me much these days, for the most part. Plus, since I haven't managed to find it in any of my local bookstores, the only way I can get any issues is to buy them online at something like $16 a pop. If I find things I like in more than 4 issues, it's pretty much paid for itself at that price. Plus, truth be told, I'm kind of feeling right now like getting nice fabric would be a waste of the money, since it's not like I have occasions to wear really spectacular outfits of pricier fabrics. It might just be a case of the winter blahs setting in early this year... *sigh*
Anyway, on to the link list, which I'll have to keep concise today since I have a major rush-around day going here.
First off, I'm finding Rostitchery's series of posts on how she's trying to hand-make her Christmas gifts/decorations completely out of things around the house rather inspiring. It's amazing what can be done with what's on hand. Weekend Designer had some really classy-looking ornaments made of ribbon and lavender, and on the other end of the spectrum, Thrifty Decor Chick featured a Christmas tree made of... *drumroll* Mt. Dew cans. XD (I learned about this one via Miss Celie's Pants.) Craft Leftovers has some tips for fixing broken ornaments, Sewtakeahike had a very cute ice skate gift tag, Crafting a Green World showed how to recycle old Christmas cards into gift tags, and Whip Up had a huge list of festive tutorial goodness. And on a completely non-Christmasy note, I thought the baby Princess Leia costume at Clevergirl.org was just too cute (in a totally geeky sort of way, but that's ok because I kind of am a geek.)
And with that, I'm off...hopefully teaching Cassie how to reconstruct a t-shirt tonight. Mwahaha.
Anyway, on to the link list, which I'll have to keep concise today since I have a major rush-around day going here.
First off, I'm finding Rostitchery's series of posts on how she's trying to hand-make her Christmas gifts/decorations completely out of things around the house rather inspiring. It's amazing what can be done with what's on hand. Weekend Designer had some really classy-looking ornaments made of ribbon and lavender, and on the other end of the spectrum, Thrifty Decor Chick featured a Christmas tree made of... *drumroll* Mt. Dew cans. XD (I learned about this one via Miss Celie's Pants.) Craft Leftovers has some tips for fixing broken ornaments, Sewtakeahike had a very cute ice skate gift tag, Crafting a Green World showed how to recycle old Christmas cards into gift tags, and Whip Up had a huge list of festive tutorial goodness. And on a completely non-Christmasy note, I thought the baby Princess Leia costume at Clevergirl.org was just too cute (in a totally geeky sort of way, but that's ok because I kind of am a geek.)
And with that, I'm off...hopefully teaching Cassie how to reconstruct a t-shirt tonight. Mwahaha.
November 21, 2008
Bookworm award! (Oh yeah, and Friday Favorites, Episode 30...)
First order of business: Christine at and sew it begins... graciously bestowed a Bookworm Award on me.
The rules of this award are:
-pass this on to 5 friends
-Open the closest book to you, not your favorite or most intellectual book, but the book closest to you at the moment, to page 56.
Write out the 5th sentence, as well as two to five sentences following that...
Closest book to me is Interview With the Vampire by Anne Rice (started it just before Halloween, figured it was appropriate for the season, but this is proving to be a shockingly slow read for me!! Normally I'd have been done a book of this size by now! Anyway...
" 'For what!' Lestat grimaced, so that his face looked like a skull. 'Taking me out of school!' He threw up his hands and let out a terrible roar of desperation. 'Damn him! Kill him!' he said."
On that cheery note... :-P
Since the book thing never gets old, even if you've done it before, I'm nominating Mom2Fur @ Sorta Frugal, Sharon @ Adventures From the Sewing Studio, Gwen @ After The Dress..., Christina @ Stina's Stuff, and Antoinette @ clevergirl.org. Have fun!
And now, onto Friday Favorites! This week, it's pretty much a case of Christmas or not.
Non-holiday favorites: Another tutorial list at Whip Up-- picked this one because it had more clothes! And Dollar Store Crafts had a tutorial for a coin purse made from an old cassette tape-- I like this better than the wallets!
Holiday favorites: Confessions of a Craft Addict had the cutest little trees! Sew, Mama, Sew! has been doing a series of gift ideas for various people, such as this post on gifts for bookworms. They also have a woodland ornament tutorial that looks like fun. Over at The Long Thread, there's...bowling for elves? Well, they call it "skittles", but it's basically bowling. Back over to Whip Up, there's a tutorial for a pocket advent calendar (using gum), and a gift card box (which will come in handy for the gift card white elephant my friends and I are having!
Ok, that wraps it up for today. As for the pantsuit, so far, on track. Though I haven't started cutting yet, since I'm waiting for the tires on my car to get done!!
The rules of this award are:
-pass this on to 5 friends
-Open the closest book to you, not your favorite or most intellectual book, but the book closest to you at the moment, to page 56.
Write out the 5th sentence, as well as two to five sentences following that...
Closest book to me is Interview With the Vampire by Anne Rice (started it just before Halloween, figured it was appropriate for the season, but this is proving to be a shockingly slow read for me!! Normally I'd have been done a book of this size by now! Anyway...
" 'For what!' Lestat grimaced, so that his face looked like a skull. 'Taking me out of school!' He threw up his hands and let out a terrible roar of desperation. 'Damn him! Kill him!' he said."
On that cheery note... :-P
Since the book thing never gets old, even if you've done it before, I'm nominating Mom2Fur @ Sorta Frugal, Sharon @ Adventures From the Sewing Studio, Gwen @ After The Dress..., Christina @ Stina's Stuff, and Antoinette @ clevergirl.org. Have fun!
And now, onto Friday Favorites! This week, it's pretty much a case of Christmas or not.
Non-holiday favorites: Another tutorial list at Whip Up-- picked this one because it had more clothes! And Dollar Store Crafts had a tutorial for a coin purse made from an old cassette tape-- I like this better than the wallets!
Holiday favorites: Confessions of a Craft Addict had the cutest little trees! Sew, Mama, Sew! has been doing a series of gift ideas for various people, such as this post on gifts for bookworms. They also have a woodland ornament tutorial that looks like fun. Over at The Long Thread, there's...bowling for elves? Well, they call it "skittles", but it's basically bowling. Back over to Whip Up, there's a tutorial for a pocket advent calendar (using gum), and a gift card box (which will come in handy for the gift card white elephant my friends and I are having!
Ok, that wraps it up for today. As for the pantsuit, so far, on track. Though I haven't started cutting yet, since I'm waiting for the tires on my car to get done!!
November 14, 2008
Friday Favorites, Episode 29
It's baaaaaaack!!
And loaded with stuff, as I did end up being able to get my bookmarks back, so this is the pared-down version of three week's worth of stuff.
So I'll sort it into categories.
Stuff people made that I liked:
Angry chicken's shadow box/thumb puppet theater was just too fun. And though she's been quieter as of late, I really enjoyed reading Lydia's post about a Martha Stewart roasted chicken recipe. I swear, the girl should be a food writer. The photography and the way she describes things never fails to make me hungry! And Whip Up featured a dress made entirely from fabric selvedges, and (of all things) a puppet made from old t-shirts, of...an earthworm. Finally, I was glad to see Krustallos' pattern review for a McCall jeans pattern-- I think I have this same one to try next in my quest for the perfect pair of jeans. And since I have that gapping in the back issue with jeans all the time, good to know that I'll probably have to make those adjustments!
Tutorials galore!!
I get blank envelopes on a pretty regular basis, from students who pay me in cash. So I'm looking forward to trying these envelope books featured at Recycled Crafts. They also had a tutorial for making new packaging boxes from old ones-- just in time for holiday gift-wrapping--and a bag made from woven labels. I loved the look of it-- reminds me of those Starburst wrapper chains I used to make! Over at Little Sweet Hearts, she made a tutorial for Hana Kanzashi-- those hair flowers that are featured in Memoirs of a Geisha. At Crafting a Green World, someone figured out how to make shrinky dinks from the type of plastic that disposable cups are made from-- I really want to try this for a scrapbook! And there were a whole slew of things at Whip Up: A pencil case that looked like a bunny. A chipmunk plushie made from a glove. (I kind of want to try it as a squirrel, since a couple of my friends and I have a lot of inside jokes about squirrels.) A flower garland from old catalogues. Another flower, in the form of a pincushion wrist cuff. And if that wasn't enough, they pointed me to a post by The Princess and the Monkey, that's an entire list of sewing tutorials for everything from bags to plushies. A lot of it is kid-oriented, but that should help a lot when I'm having to make gifts for my friends!
Cool blog of the week:
A heads-up from ThreadBanger, who pointed me towards Dollar Store Crafts. The entire blog is dedicated to upcycled crafts made from stuff found in dollar stores and bargain bins. I'm checking out the wearables category and my favorite so far is the "Eight Dollar Corset". The stained glass is fun too, as is their tattooed soap!
And with that, wrapping it up for today, as I need time to actually, you know, craft.
And loaded with stuff, as I did end up being able to get my bookmarks back, so this is the pared-down version of three week's worth of stuff.
So I'll sort it into categories.
Stuff people made that I liked:
Angry chicken's shadow box/thumb puppet theater was just too fun. And though she's been quieter as of late, I really enjoyed reading Lydia's post about a Martha Stewart roasted chicken recipe. I swear, the girl should be a food writer. The photography and the way she describes things never fails to make me hungry! And Whip Up featured a dress made entirely from fabric selvedges, and (of all things) a puppet made from old t-shirts, of...an earthworm. Finally, I was glad to see Krustallos' pattern review for a McCall jeans pattern-- I think I have this same one to try next in my quest for the perfect pair of jeans. And since I have that gapping in the back issue with jeans all the time, good to know that I'll probably have to make those adjustments!
Tutorials galore!!
I get blank envelopes on a pretty regular basis, from students who pay me in cash. So I'm looking forward to trying these envelope books featured at Recycled Crafts. They also had a tutorial for making new packaging boxes from old ones-- just in time for holiday gift-wrapping--and a bag made from woven labels. I loved the look of it-- reminds me of those Starburst wrapper chains I used to make! Over at Little Sweet Hearts, she made a tutorial for Hana Kanzashi-- those hair flowers that are featured in Memoirs of a Geisha. At Crafting a Green World, someone figured out how to make shrinky dinks from the type of plastic that disposable cups are made from-- I really want to try this for a scrapbook! And there were a whole slew of things at Whip Up: A pencil case that looked like a bunny. A chipmunk plushie made from a glove. (I kind of want to try it as a squirrel, since a couple of my friends and I have a lot of inside jokes about squirrels.) A flower garland from old catalogues. Another flower, in the form of a pincushion wrist cuff. And if that wasn't enough, they pointed me to a post by The Princess and the Monkey, that's an entire list of sewing tutorials for everything from bags to plushies. A lot of it is kid-oriented, but that should help a lot when I'm having to make gifts for my friends!
Cool blog of the week:
A heads-up from ThreadBanger, who pointed me towards Dollar Store Crafts. The entire blog is dedicated to upcycled crafts made from stuff found in dollar stores and bargain bins. I'm checking out the wearables category and my favorite so far is the "Eight Dollar Corset". The stained glass is fun too, as is their tattooed soap!
And with that, wrapping it up for today, as I need time to actually, you know, craft.
November 7, 2008
Friday Favorites, Episode 29: The Interactive Edition
I know I'd said I wanted to go back to the regular format this week, but due to the current computer issues, that's impossible, as my bookmark list is trapped on my computer and it and the internet don't get along right now.
So, since there's a good chance the needed reformatting is going to make me lose my entire bookmark list anyway, for today's Friday Favorites, I want some feedback!
The question: What are your favorite craft websites? I'm not being picky here-- they can be blogs, forums, regular websites, places you go purely for inspiration, anything craft-related. (Ok, so I'm not really into the yarncraft thing, but if those are your favorites, go ahead and say them anyway!)
So, since there's a good chance the needed reformatting is going to make me lose my entire bookmark list anyway, for today's Friday Favorites, I want some feedback!
The question: What are your favorite craft websites? I'm not being picky here-- they can be blogs, forums, regular websites, places you go purely for inspiration, anything craft-related. (Ok, so I'm not really into the yarncraft thing, but if those are your favorites, go ahead and say them anyway!)
October 31, 2008
Friday Favorites, Episode 28: And Now for Something Completely Different!
I'm hoping that next week, I can get Friday Favorites back to its usual format. The last couple weeks have been nuts on weekends. But since today is Halloween (and I have nothing to dress up for this year, sniff sniff!) I'm doing things a little different this time-- a retrospective on some of my favorite costumes that I've made!
(Warning: VERY picture-heavy post coming up!)
The first comes to you from my junior year of high school--the first serious costume I made. At the time, I was completely obsessed with the updated version of Romeo + Juliet (and no, it wasn't because of Leonardo DiCaprio-- I just loved the combination of the Shakespearean dialogue and the modern beach town mafia setting!) And one of my favorite things about it was her angel dress from the masquerade. So this was my 16-year-old attempt to copy Prada... I sewed the dress from two layers of a white cotton, and made a velcroed sash to turn the princess-seamed dress into an empire waist. The hard (and most fun) part of it was the wings-- they took forever! I used cheap fairy wings from Joann's, dissected them and re-sewed them together to change the shape, and then completely covered both sides with white craft feathers that I'd hand-trimmed to the correct shapes and then hot-glued onto the wings. I no longer have the dress (gave it to a friend, as you'll see later, because due to some proportion changes in college I could no longer zip it up!) But I still have the wings.
Moving along to mid-college, because while I did have a couple other costumes in the high school/beginning of college era, they were all kind of last-minute thrown-together and not really that memorable or cool. So now we skip forward a few years to the beginning of my obsession with Lord of the Rings, which started when I read through all three trilogy books and finished just in time for the first movie to come out. And I've been hooked ever since. So the next major costume I made, naturally, has that sort of feel to it. So this is my elf dress, which I made from Simplicity 9891-- with some major alterations. The first was, I changed the shape of the sleeve to be more fitted down to about the middle of my upper arm, and then flare from there. The second is the silvery panel in the middle, which I added because after sewing it together, I realized I couldn't zip it up past my ribs! (See previous mention of proportion changes.) But this was a good change, because I think it added more interest. The third was that I just had a silver strip at the top instead of a drape, because that sheer was too stiff to drape. This picture is me at the Maryland Rennaisance Faire.
And a closer-up view of the top taken behind my house. Can't see it, but the silver panel and the tops of the sleeves are also hand-painted with swirly designs.
And every elf (or fantasy heroine wannabe) needs a cloak, so this is mine. It's made from a green fine-wale corduroy and lined with some really nice dresss lining. That sort of sagged past the hem, so it's tacked up kind of oddly in spots. But when I'm wearing it with a dress, you can't really see that. (Unfortunately, I haven't gotten to wear this to the Ren Faire yet-- it's been too warm every year, or we went as pirates. This was going to the the year, but then we got rained out last weekend and now the Faire is over for the year. Oh well...maybe next time.)
But of course, the LotR-based costumes were not done. Eowyn is my all-time favorite character (with Faramir being a very close second), and so my next costume was an attempt to make one of hers.
My biggest challenge in making the Shieldmaiden Dress was that I did it straight from promotional pictures that were released during the second movie, but the actual costume didn't show up till the third. Part of me wishes I'd waited a bit longer, because the first time I was watching Return of the King, I kept noticing all these little details on the dress that would have made it so much better! But overall I'm pleased. The underdress was drafted by me, from a historic costume pattern book and based on a 15th-century chemise (with some seriously modified sleeves). It's made from bleached muslin. The vest/corset was also drafted by me, but using a t-shirt that I chopped up as a pattern. It's suedecloth with hand-sewn on gold trim. If I had opportunity to wear it again, I'd be seriously tempted to remake the chemise, because I never was totally happy with it. But I do like the vest.
And here's a better view of the back.
Next major movie costume inspiration: Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl. But since this was for pirate day at the Pennsylvania Ren Faire, I thought it would be more fun to play Jack Sparrow than Elizabeth Swann! (Now, later in the trilogy may have been a different story, since I do like her more Asian-inspired Pirate Queen getups!)
This was a very mix-and-match costume. The coat was made from one pattern (out of mostly velveteen, but with a piece of car upholstery fabric to replace a piece I cut wrong!), the shirt from another (out of more of that bleached muslin), the pants were already in my wardrobe, the hat was felt and I think taken from online directions. The boot tops are my favorite-- figured those out on my own, out of thin vinyl, and over top of a pair of boots I already owned. I also refashioned the sword out of a flea-market find that was all shiny-silver but the perfect style! So I "antiqued" the hilt with paint and spray-painted the scabbard black. Also made the baldric from vinyl and a thrifted belt-buckle. (Which I'll have to redo sometime, because apparently I lost it after last year's Halloween party!)
Later on, a vest also got added, made from some polyester stuff that was horrible to sew on, but it was a quickie job for PA Ren Faire Pirate Day Take 2, because it was roasting hot. (And yes, that is my angel costume, which my friend N borrowed from me for the party! And she now owns the dress.)
(Warning: VERY picture-heavy post coming up!)
The first comes to you from my junior year of high school--the first serious costume I made. At the time, I was completely obsessed with the updated version of Romeo + Juliet (and no, it wasn't because of Leonardo DiCaprio-- I just loved the combination of the Shakespearean dialogue and the modern beach town mafia setting!) And one of my favorite things about it was her angel dress from the masquerade. So this was my 16-year-old attempt to copy Prada... I sewed the dress from two layers of a white cotton, and made a velcroed sash to turn the princess-seamed dress into an empire waist. The hard (and most fun) part of it was the wings-- they took forever! I used cheap fairy wings from Joann's, dissected them and re-sewed them together to change the shape, and then completely covered both sides with white craft feathers that I'd hand-trimmed to the correct shapes and then hot-glued onto the wings. I no longer have the dress (gave it to a friend, as you'll see later, because due to some proportion changes in college I could no longer zip it up!) But I still have the wings.
Moving along to mid-college, because while I did have a couple other costumes in the high school/beginning of college era, they were all kind of last-minute thrown-together and not really that memorable or cool. So now we skip forward a few years to the beginning of my obsession with Lord of the Rings, which started when I read through all three trilogy books and finished just in time for the first movie to come out. And I've been hooked ever since. So the next major costume I made, naturally, has that sort of feel to it. So this is my elf dress, which I made from Simplicity 9891-- with some major alterations. The first was, I changed the shape of the sleeve to be more fitted down to about the middle of my upper arm, and then flare from there. The second is the silvery panel in the middle, which I added because after sewing it together, I realized I couldn't zip it up past my ribs! (See previous mention of proportion changes.) But this was a good change, because I think it added more interest. The third was that I just had a silver strip at the top instead of a drape, because that sheer was too stiff to drape. This picture is me at the Maryland Rennaisance Faire.
And a closer-up view of the top taken behind my house. Can't see it, but the silver panel and the tops of the sleeves are also hand-painted with swirly designs.
And every elf (or fantasy heroine wannabe) needs a cloak, so this is mine. It's made from a green fine-wale corduroy and lined with some really nice dresss lining. That sort of sagged past the hem, so it's tacked up kind of oddly in spots. But when I'm wearing it with a dress, you can't really see that. (Unfortunately, I haven't gotten to wear this to the Ren Faire yet-- it's been too warm every year, or we went as pirates. This was going to the the year, but then we got rained out last weekend and now the Faire is over for the year. Oh well...maybe next time.)But of course, the LotR-based costumes were not done. Eowyn is my all-time favorite character (with Faramir being a very close second), and so my next costume was an attempt to make one of hers.
My biggest challenge in making the Shieldmaiden Dress was that I did it straight from promotional pictures that were released during the second movie, but the actual costume didn't show up till the third. Part of me wishes I'd waited a bit longer, because the first time I was watching Return of the King, I kept noticing all these little details on the dress that would have made it so much better! But overall I'm pleased. The underdress was drafted by me, from a historic costume pattern book and based on a 15th-century chemise (with some seriously modified sleeves). It's made from bleached muslin. The vest/corset was also drafted by me, but using a t-shirt that I chopped up as a pattern. It's suedecloth with hand-sewn on gold trim. If I had opportunity to wear it again, I'd be seriously tempted to remake the chemise, because I never was totally happy with it. But I do like the vest.
And here's a better view of the back.
Next major movie costume inspiration: Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl. But since this was for pirate day at the Pennsylvania Ren Faire, I thought it would be more fun to play Jack Sparrow than Elizabeth Swann! (Now, later in the trilogy may have been a different story, since I do like her more Asian-inspired Pirate Queen getups!)
This was a very mix-and-match costume. The coat was made from one pattern (out of mostly velveteen, but with a piece of car upholstery fabric to replace a piece I cut wrong!), the shirt from another (out of more of that bleached muslin), the pants were already in my wardrobe, the hat was felt and I think taken from online directions. The boot tops are my favorite-- figured those out on my own, out of thin vinyl, and over top of a pair of boots I already owned. I also refashioned the sword out of a flea-market find that was all shiny-silver but the perfect style! So I "antiqued" the hilt with paint and spray-painted the scabbard black. Also made the baldric from vinyl and a thrifted belt-buckle. (Which I'll have to redo sometime, because apparently I lost it after last year's Halloween party!)
Later on, a vest also got added, made from some polyester stuff that was horrible to sew on, but it was a quickie job for PA Ren Faire Pirate Day Take 2, because it was roasting hot. (And yes, that is my angel costume, which my friend N borrowed from me for the party! And she now owns the dress.)
Back to LotR for the next one. This time, inspiration came from Eowyn's coronation dress, but I made it in green instead of yellow--partially inspired by her green dress and partially because yellow is a pretty awful color on me. 
Yes, mine is more foresty and hers is more olive, but that's what was available in the crepe-backed satin that this dress is made out of. It was based more or less off McCalls 4490, which I modified to smooth out the neckline gathers and split the skirt up the front. And then I just made a long underskirt to go under it. The sleeves are fully lined in the lighter green, and the back is laced up.
The belt (which is sewn onto the dress) is also hand-beaded, and the sleeves have beads on the dividing line between the lighter and darker green. A very time-consuming costume, but totally worth it. (And washable, thanks to the fabrics!) So this is one of my Ren Faire staples.
And this is about where this blog comes into the picture. My first Halloween on here was the year of The Wizard of Oz, where some of my friends hosted a party where each of us came as a pre-set character. And since the movie is slightly lacking on female roles, I was the Scarecrow. (It was either that or a flying monkey, and we had no scarecrow.) So I blogged about the straw... but the rest of the costume never made it on here, so here you go.
My costume was mostly thrifted/refashioned-- the hat and shirt are as-is, I added some patches to the pants, the hood was refashioned from a turtleneck, the belt is just some braided yarn, and the boots are thrifted, but ones I had before and wear as everyday ones.
Yes, mine is more foresty and hers is more olive, but that's what was available in the crepe-backed satin that this dress is made out of. It was based more or less off McCalls 4490, which I modified to smooth out the neckline gathers and split the skirt up the front. And then I just made a long underskirt to go under it. The sleeves are fully lined in the lighter green, and the back is laced up.
The belt (which is sewn onto the dress) is also hand-beaded, and the sleeves have beads on the dividing line between the lighter and darker green. A very time-consuming costume, but totally worth it. (And washable, thanks to the fabrics!) So this is one of my Ren Faire staples.And this is about where this blog comes into the picture. My first Halloween on here was the year of The Wizard of Oz, where some of my friends hosted a party where each of us came as a pre-set character. And since the movie is slightly lacking on female roles, I was the Scarecrow. (It was either that or a flying monkey, and we had no scarecrow.) So I blogged about the straw... but the rest of the costume never made it on here, so here you go.
My costume was mostly thrifted/refashioned-- the hat and shirt are as-is, I added some patches to the pants, the hood was refashioned from a turtleneck, the belt is just some braided yarn, and the boots are thrifted, but ones I had before and wear as everyday ones.
As you can see, we had a very creative group!
And of course, there was last year's also-almost-entirely-thrifted/refashioned fairy costume. But I like this picture better than the one I posted.
So that's that. And now I just have to hope that N does have that New Year's costume party she wants to do, so I have an excuse to make something new!!
October 10, 2008
Friday Favorites, Episode 27
You all were busy this week-- lots of linkage!
First off, another Carnival of Green Crafts. My favorites this time were the costume corset made from a dress, and how to make those reed diffuser air fresheners. Will come in handy for the refills, anyway-- I'm going to be buying (gasp!) one shortly. But the reason I'm purchasing it is that it's for the fundraiser for the band I'm teaching, to help pay for our end-of-the-year competition trip. So at least it's for a good cause, right?
You can tell it's election season here in the States, and frankly, I can't wait until it's over. I'm so sick of political commercials that it makes me want to throw things at my tv. But I did appreciate these two lighter takes on it. First off, at Crafting a Green World, they compared how much money you'd have now by recycling the cans from $1000 worth of beer (or soda, if you prefer) and investing $1000 worth on some of the major stocks. (The beer wins by a lot.) But the reason I'm really linking this is because I was amused at the car built from the cans. And then Lindsay T outlined the reasons why sewing is a patriotic thing to do. Check out her campaign promise! Finally, something I can get behind!
Lots of fun at Whip Up this week. I thought this magazine stand shaped like a house was really cute. The crocheted car cozy amused me. And isn't this pincushion just too cute? Makes me feel a little better about the impending winter, because it's all the things I like about it!
Tutorials I liked: Paint chip notebooks and produce bags from vintage doilies, both linked at Recycled Crafts. Also, Sewtakeahike had a quick and easy fabric gift bag, just in time for the last couple months of the year, when it seems like the majority of my friends have their birthdays, plus Christmas coming up! And Craft Tutorials had this costume ring (inspired by, of all things, a troll!) that would be great for certain Halloween costumes.
Other things I liked: I want this purse pattern featured at Craft Apple. Oonaballoona had a link to this site called Weekend Designer, that tells you how to draft patterns for different clothes. It looks interesting-- I just hope my non-math-inclined brain can figure it out! (As I always tell people, as a musician I can count to four repeatedly like nobody's business.... anything beyond that can get tricky!) And at Because I Said Sew, she showed the cutest wedding cake topper ever.
Ok, that's it for me.... off to work. And then running some errands, and then off to JoAnn's to get muslin on sale. I'm hoping that I can finish the chevron blouse tonight, and if that's the case, I need to test out my next couple projects!
First off, another Carnival of Green Crafts. My favorites this time were the costume corset made from a dress, and how to make those reed diffuser air fresheners. Will come in handy for the refills, anyway-- I'm going to be buying (gasp!) one shortly. But the reason I'm purchasing it is that it's for the fundraiser for the band I'm teaching, to help pay for our end-of-the-year competition trip. So at least it's for a good cause, right?
You can tell it's election season here in the States, and frankly, I can't wait until it's over. I'm so sick of political commercials that it makes me want to throw things at my tv. But I did appreciate these two lighter takes on it. First off, at Crafting a Green World, they compared how much money you'd have now by recycling the cans from $1000 worth of beer (or soda, if you prefer) and investing $1000 worth on some of the major stocks. (The beer wins by a lot.) But the reason I'm really linking this is because I was amused at the car built from the cans. And then Lindsay T outlined the reasons why sewing is a patriotic thing to do. Check out her campaign promise! Finally, something I can get behind!
Lots of fun at Whip Up this week. I thought this magazine stand shaped like a house was really cute. The crocheted car cozy amused me. And isn't this pincushion just too cute? Makes me feel a little better about the impending winter, because it's all the things I like about it!
Tutorials I liked: Paint chip notebooks and produce bags from vintage doilies, both linked at Recycled Crafts. Also, Sewtakeahike had a quick and easy fabric gift bag, just in time for the last couple months of the year, when it seems like the majority of my friends have their birthdays, plus Christmas coming up! And Craft Tutorials had this costume ring (inspired by, of all things, a troll!) that would be great for certain Halloween costumes.
Other things I liked: I want this purse pattern featured at Craft Apple. Oonaballoona had a link to this site called Weekend Designer, that tells you how to draft patterns for different clothes. It looks interesting-- I just hope my non-math-inclined brain can figure it out! (As I always tell people, as a musician I can count to four repeatedly like nobody's business.... anything beyond that can get tricky!) And at Because I Said Sew, she showed the cutest wedding cake topper ever.
Ok, that's it for me.... off to work. And then running some errands, and then off to JoAnn's to get muslin on sale. I'm hoping that I can finish the chevron blouse tonight, and if that's the case, I need to test out my next couple projects!
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