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Scarf Blocking 101

I've always been really lazy about blocking (although I must admit the Knitter's Block has changed my attitude somewhat), but this great scarf blocking tutorial makes a great case for blocking even scarves! There are a bunch of how-to photos and some advice for hand-washing sweaters to boot.

Posted by Arwen O'Reilly Griffith | Feb 5, 2010 04:00 PM
Knitting | Permalink | Comments (0) | Suggest a Site

Crafty Biz Spotlight: Bell and Trunk Flowers

One afternoon in sunny Potero Hill in San Francisco, this small shop Bell and Trunk Flowers caught my eye. I couldn't help myself when I walked in to see the vintage decor filled with crocheted and knitted baby clothing and blankets that peppered the front area. Upon chatting with the owner Vanessa, I found out that most of the items were handmade by her mom and 11 year-old daughter. You can see a photo of grandma and granddaughter knitting away in the picture frame inside the trunk. Most of the goods that decorate the space inside her shop are all handmade or from indie designers. The former newspaper journalist decided to open up the shop a few years ago and shares with us her creative life as proprietor of Bell and Trunk Flowers.

Bellandtrunk Knitting

Bell and Trunk Flowers
1411 18th Street
San Francisco, Ca 94107
(415) 648-0519
www.bellandtrunk.com
Become a fan of Bell and Trunk on Facebook

Read on after the jump for my Q&A with Vanessa and more photos!

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Book Review: Card. Paper. Ribbon by Kristin Roach

My Paper Heart

I'm always on the look out for great paper craft projects, especially ones that help you recycle paper at the same time. Just out today is Kristin Roach of Craft Leftovers' new eBook, Card. Paper. Ribbon published by CraftyPod Publishing. Learn how to take your old greeting cards (I have mine all saved in a box just waiting!) into beautiful handmade paper. But it doesn't stop there, Kristin shows you how to take that handmade paper and turn it into a stab stitch sketchbook. Don't throw away your wrapping paper either! Learn how to turn old giftwrap into papercloth and sew yourself a papercloth wallet or zipper clutch. Finally, there's ribbon and how you can learn how to combine your excess ribbon into your yarn projects. Crochet a market bag and a knit project basket that looks ready for spring!

I especially love the eBook format. The step-by-step photos and text are fantastic, along with printer-friendly pages containing all single project instructions on one page for easy reference (and to save paper). Pattern templates are also included as well as a handy list of resources for papermaking, crochet, and knitting. This eBook is chockfull of amazing projects and you can get it instantly via download for only $10. Perfect for a weekend of crafting!

Card.Paper.Ribbon 3
The crochet market bag incorporates all those scraps of ribbons you have.

See more project photos from Card. Paper. Ribbon after the jump!

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Enter the New Crafty Chica Challenge: Love Shrine!

Crafty Chica Challeng: Love Shrine

CRAFT and iLoveToCreate.com have teamed up to present to you the Crafty Chica Challenge: Love Shrine!

Kathy Cano-Murillo, the Crafty Chica, has been making love shrines for the past 15 years. Using everything from mint tins to cigar boxes to even kitchen drawers, she transforms them into colorful art assemblages filled with objects, trinkets, mementos and phrases she loves. Her themes range from exotic lands to her kids to her Mexican culture. But her favorite love shrines to make are themed around romance!

In Kathy's new crafty-themed novel, Waking Up in the Land of Glitter, her main character, Star Esteban, makes a magical, glittery love shrine for her ex-boyfriend, Theo as a way to woo him back. Readers will not only have a peek at how Star made her love shrine in the story, but at the back of the book there are directions to make your own. You can also try one of Kathy's Love Shrine workshops in a Box - or start from scratch!

Here are her tips:

Let your heart guide you. Think of all the things that give you goosebumps (or that you want to give you goosebumps!) and make you happy! Your shrine can be exploding with sparkle and shine, or it can be soft and subdued. Start by laying down a foundation and background, and then adding a focal point, and then add accents to round it off. While Kathy likes to use creative containers for her love shrines, you can use what ever you want - anything is fair game! Kathy believes by setting out your love shrine in a place where you will see it everyday is a great way to bring happiness into your life!

Enter in this Crafty Chica Challenge for a chance to win crafty prizes. This challenge will run for 5 weeks, and the deadline for entries is 11:59 p.m. PST on March 11, 2010. The Prize winners will be announced on Wednesday, March 17, 2010. Because Kathy feels that love shrines are oh-so-very personal, the winners will be drawn at random. There will be one (1) grandprize winner, and three (3) runners-up. For more information and official rules, visit the Crafty Chica Challenge: Love Shrine contest page.

The Grand Prize is a Crafty Chica gift basket, a copy of the Crafty Chica's first novel Waking Up in the Land of Glitter and a $50 gift certificate to the Maker Shed.

The Runner-up Prize is a Crafty Chica gift basket as well as a Crafty Chica bobblehead.

To enter this Crafty Chica Challenge, please submit photos of your love shrine to the Crafty Chica Challenge Flickr Group, and include a description of your project, inspiration, and materials were used in the process. (250 words or less please).

If you're joining in on the contest, here's the code for the badge to display on your site or blog.

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/groups/ccc_loveshrine/"><img src="http://cdn.makezine.com/make/craft/CZ_CraftyChica_LoveShrine-Badge.gif" width="162" height="171" border="0" alt="Crafty Chica Challenge: Love Shrine" /></a>

Behind the Scenes at MAKE and CRAFT

In January, many of the remote MAKE/CRAFT team members (myself included) convened at the Maker Media headquarters at O'Reilly Media in Sebastopol, California. Take a look behind the scenes of your favorite DIY publications as Goli Mohammadi gives us a tour!

View on YouTube, Vimeo, or Blip.tv, subscribe to the CRAFT Podcast in iTunes, or download the m4v video.

Photo by Sam Murphy.

How-To: Make Sweet Paul's Twig Heart

I'm really into crafts that use natural materials. This twig heart project from Sweet Paul is simple, natural, and romantic. If you visit his site, be sure to click around. His projects are to die for, and he has many new developments.

Intern's Corner: How to Make "Silverwear" Earrings

CRAFT: Intern's Corner
Every other week, CRAFT's awesome interns tell about the projects they're building in the Craft: Labs, the trouble they've gotten into, and what they'll make next.

By Lindsey North, projects intern

The trend now -- and I love it -- is recycled accessories: earrings made of bottle caps full of resin, belts made from candy wrappers, purses from pull tabs, and a plethora of other cool things. In CRAFT Volume 02, Kathy Cano Murillo showed how to fashion earrings from recycled tin, and in CRAFT Volume 03, Casey Dougherty showed how to make Fishing Lure Earrings. And then I saw some really cool jewelry at Maker Faire made from funky old utensils, watch gears, and tons of other random things that you'd never think of.

Ever since Maker Faire, I'd been looking for the perfect something to make into a fun pendant or pair of earrings (I'm an earring junkie, a constant collector). While visiting my grandparents recently, I found my inspiration: a silverware set that had once belonged to my great-grandmother, the most beautiful utensils I have ever seen. They were aged to perfection, slightly tarnished, but that only served to enhance the delicate flower pattern that decorated the handles. And so I was inspired to create earrings out of spoon handles.

Of course I wasn't allowed, nor did I want, to make the earrings out of my great-grandmother's spoons -- they're a family heirloom. Instead I went to the local thrift store and purchased some mismatched utensils. You can find some very fun and inexpensive flatware at thrift stores. I also found some cool inexpensive silverware at the local Safeway grocery store.

Once you've found your pieces of silver, cut the utensils to the desired length. I used a band saw at the Craft: Labs but you can also use a hacksaw. I like to vary the earring length, it just makes them more interesting.

After you cut the flatware, drill a hole near the top with a small drill bit. It's a good idea to oil the bit as you're drilling, to save your bit, especially if you're drilling stainless steel. Use sandpaper to sand down the rough edges of the metal to prevent future cuts and scratches.

Then just put in your jump ring and your earring hook! Now I wear my silverwear all the time.

Your CRAFT intern,
Lindsey

Nerdy geeky love

It doesn't surprise me at all that these computer jargon, super geeky Valentines are sold out, but it does make me happy that there should be a new batch ready by Monday, just in time for you to get one to give to your nerd sweetie pie.

Here at CRAFT we were all trying to come up with some other, equally nerdy versions, mostly involving references to Star Wars, binary code, and HTML 5. What l33t <3 note can you come up with? [via BadderHomesandGardens]

Scientist Valentine's Day Cards

We posted these two years ago on Make: Online, but I just can't get over these great scientist valentines from Ironic Sans. I really am "Sagan all my love" for them!

How-To: Felt Blue Bird Applique Valentine

I've admired the felt applique work of Melissa from Checkout Girl for a while. Her portraits and artistic series are simply charming. She's just posted a tutorial on Sew, Mama, Sew for making this beautiful "Be My Bluebird" felt Valentine. I love the doily effect she created using a screw punch on the felt.

How-To: Pillowcase Nightie

Here's a viewer-submitted project from Threadbanger, in which Anne shows us how to make a Valentine's Day nightie out of a pillowcase. Nice!

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Felt Banana Slug PEZ Dispenser

I've collected PEZ dispensers since I was a kid, and love seeing them modified, transformed and imitated in various art forms. When Moxie sent this link my way, I was filled with glee at the fun interpretation on the classic mint dispenser. Fiber artist, Hine Mizushima, created the functioning mint dispensers. I love 'em!

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Most recent posts: page 3 of 6