Daily source of DIY craft projects and inspiration, patterns, how-tos @Craftzine.com blog

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Love Bug Valentines

I'm fond of holiday artifacts that avoid using the expected go-to holiday symbol. So, Christmas wrapping paper that isn't covered in Santas or reindeer, Thanksgiving decorations that don't feature turkeys or Pilgrims, and Valentines that aren't exploding with hearts.

In that spirit, these "love bug" Valentines by Danyelle of [dandee] get two thumbs up from me. Long after those cheesy store-bought Valentines have been tossed, the little plastic bugs that were attached to these bug-jar cards will remain on recipients' shelves and desks. Danyelle has the jar card design available for downloading a printing, so you can make your own!

Paper Castle

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This incredible intricately designed paper castle was created over the span of 4 years by Japanese art student Wataru Itou. This is so exquisite, so beautiful, and SO gives a new meaning to the word patience.

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How-To: Crochet Box of Chocolates

I've never been a big heart-shaped-box-of-chocolates-on-Valentine's-Day kind of gal, but this super cute crochet pattern from Red Heart Yarn may change all that. It would be funny to color the polyfill inside to correspond with different flavors, and stitch a stuck-my-thumb-in-it-to-see-what's-inside hole on the bottom of each piece.

Retro TV Bar

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Look at this cool retro tv bar that I saw on Spotted Fox. Now I need to find a rad retro tv!

DIY No-Sew Caftan Video

For all of our non-sewers and sewers alike, here is a DIY caftan you can make without sewing skills. Caftans are free-flowing long tunics that originated in the middle east centuries ago. They have re-emerged throughout fashion history many times, most notably in the late 60's-early 70's (think Mrs. Roper and Maude). I, myself, LOVE a modern day caftan for lounging, relaxing, or accessorizing and wearing out.

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Sewers can sew instead of use the tape I show, and feel free to play with different fabrics and the depth of your slits and arm holes. I got this beautiful fabric at Britex. Really light, airy fabrics or silk give a really sexy look.

CARE: Most caftans (due to the fabric) are hand wash or spot clean. The trade off with the no-sew caftan is that the tape means a bit more time is necessary for care. I recommend spot cleaning with the no-sew option. Replace the tape with a straight stitch if you want to throw your caftan in the washing machine.

Subscribe to the CRAFT Podcast in iTunes, download the m4v directly, or watch it on YouTube or Vimeo.

DIY Pearl Hair Combs

Anne, of Flax and Twine, shows us how to make these beautiful pearl hair combs. Beautiful!

Recipe: Red Velvet Hot Chocolate

Valentine's Day may be filled with bright, springtime colors, but there's still a chill in the air. Just in time for cupid's arrows to start flying, Elsie from A Beautiful Mess shared her recipes for red velvet hot chocolate and pink hot chocolate, so your drinks can be festive and you and your special someone can stay nice and cozy!

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How-To: Embroidered Note Valentine

This embroidered note valentine from StitchPunk, the Urban Threads blog, is like a fun, grownup version of passing notes in class. Plus, if you've got stitching skills but less-than-pretty handwriting, you can pick up the pattern for their note design right on the site.

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How-To: Homemade Astronaut Ice Cream

Ever since I was a kid, I've adored the crunchy/creamy sweet treat of astronaut ice cream. Now that I live just five minutes from Johnson Space Center, the freeze-dried confection is the top request when we take visiting friends to the gift shop at Space Center Houston. There is just something idyllic and iconic about the space-age dessert. Chris Gammell shows how you can build a freeze dryer to sublimate the water from regular ice cream to turn it in to the crunchy astronaut ice cream we all know and love. Bonus point for the mix of science and sugar! [via @proteinwrangler]

Leaf Sculptures Made From Human Hair

photos: Robert Diamante

Jenine Shereos created a unique series of leaves from human hair that she stitched together by hand.

Inspired by the delicate and detailed venation of a leaf, I began stitching individual strands of hair by hand into a water- soluble backing material. At each point where one strand of hair intersected another, I stitched a tiny knot, so that when the backing was dissolved, the entire piece was able to hold its form.

[via colossal]

Time Lapse Chewbacca Stitchery

Back in September, I posted about the Star Wars stitcheries of Love and Sandwich, and mentioned that the Chewbacca "Laugh it up, fuzzball" was my favorite. I was really excited, then, to see this time lapse of her creating that very piece over on Feeling Stitchy. It's two and a half hours of work shown in two and a half minutes, and gives you a great appreciation of what goes in to making a project like this. Enjoy!

Falafel Waffle

It was only a matter of time before someone attempted the falafel waffle. And it actually makes sense. A waffle is typically lightly fried wheat dough, and falafel is fried chickpea dough. Dan Shumski of Waffleizer describes how he made it, along with how to achieve the best results when making the hummus to accompany.

Related:

Waffle Croque-Madame

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Most recent posts: page 1 of 6