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November 10, 2009

Literary Clutch Bags

Olympia Le-Tan makes these adorable clutch bags that look like first edition novels. Check out the interview at Dazed Digital.

Posted by Becky Stern | Nov 10, 2009 04:00 PM
Arts & Design | Permalink | Comments (0) | Suggest a Site

How-To: Monogramed Napkin Rings in Burlap

Here's another table decoration that could go nicely with the freezer paper stenciled burlap placemats I posted earlier today. Maya from maya*made shows how to make these monogramed napkin rings in burlap. Find a way to coordinate the design with your placemats, and you'll have a very nice table setting for the holidays!

Persimmons just shout "autumn" to me. Just the sight of those stark branches against the sky dotted with bright fruit sends me straight into cozy mode. Aran over at Cannelle et Vanille has not one but two amazing-sounding recipes for persimmon fans, as well as some fun recollections of the role persimmons played in her childhood. (I have similar memories of raw hachiya persimmons literally sucking the life out of my mouth; it took me a while before I was brave enough to fall in love with the sweetness of a raw fuyu persimmon in a winter salad.) I'm always a sucker for olive oil cake, and while I have never heard of a verrine before, it uses mascarpone, so I'm sold!

Me, My Scarf, and I Contest: Couch Scarf

CRAFT: Singer Contest - Me, My Scarf, and I

Kudos to Heidi Wickersham one of our entries in the Me, My Scarf, and I Contest who created her cozy Couch Scarf and Flapper Hat.

Heidi writes:

I am somewhat nostalgic and I like being comfortable. So, I decided to combine the two for this contest to create a scarf with a cushion look to resemble an old-timey arm chair.

I'm also very thrifty and like re-using things that I have lying around, like the over-sized men's shirt that I made this scarf and flapper hat out of.

This scarf is incredibly warm and comfortable. When wearing it, it brings back memories of cuddling on the sofa in front of my grandmother's fireplace with a teacup full of colorful mini-marshmallows .

See more entries in the Me, My Scarf and I Flickr Group.

There's still time to enter the Me, My Scarf, and I Contest. Deadline for entries is 11:59 p.m. PDT November 23, 2009. Each entry will be judged based on the following criteria: creativity of design, description of how the scarf represents the creator, and the use of a sewing machine in the creation process. Please see Official Rules for more information on the Winner selection.

CRAFT: Singer Contest - Me, My Scarf, and I

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/1229922@N20/"><img src="http://cdn.makezine.com/make/craft/badge_singer_scarfcontest.gif" width="150" height="144" border="0" alt="CRAFT: Singer Contest - Me, My Scarf, and I" /></a>

How-To: Grown-Up Hot Chocolate

Hot chocolate is a childhood classic. One of my fondest memories as a child was slurping half-melted whipped cream off the top of a warm mug of cocoa. I'd beg to have it right off the stove, but it was always too hot for gulping. Instead I'd have to sip it and then savor the cool whipped cream against my tongue. We all remember this moment as kids, right? As I have grown, however, my tastes have changed. What I like now is freshly beaten whipped cream, extra-rich chocolate, and, of course, amaretto. Adding a shot of liquor to this decadent treat pushes the experience over the top. It updates my warm childhood memories in a wonderfully grown-up way. I recommend making a double batch of this hot chocolate, and serving the kids first! Send them off to bed, then relax with your own unadulterated cup.

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Book Review + Giveaway: Balloon Twisting

The Klutz Book of Balloon Twisting by Karen Phillips
Klutz.com
Ages 8 and up

I went through a serious balloon twisting phase as a kid, somewhere between my obsession with the steel drum and sewing purses. My parents got me a book and kit for making all sorts of things from these long, skinny balloons, but some of them were far too advanced for me. The Klutz Book of Balloon Twisting would have been perfect for me as a kid, since it has eleven kid-friendly projects that would be easy to make at a party or playdate. It comes with 40 balloons and a pump, which makes blowing up the balloons an absolute breeze. The book has hats, wands, swords, and fairy wings, which are perfect for girls and boys. If you're interested in getting your kids started on this fun craft or want to whip up some party toys but have never even made a balloon dog, this book is a perfect place to begin. For some more ideas of models to make, try Balloon Molecules.

Book Giveaway Time!

Three lucky CRAFT readers will each receive a copy of The Klutz Book of Balloon Twisting! Please make sure you include your email address in the comment form field (won't be published). All comments will be closed by Noon PST on Friday, November 13th. The lucky winners will be announced later on the site. Good luck!

Also this month, as a special to CRAFT readers, get 25% off all Klutz titles by entering in the promo code CRAFT at checkout!

Holiday Paper Crafts

Lisa at the Red Thread has posted up some links to holiday paper craft tutorials that you can get a head start on now. I am loving her Paper Christmas Wreath and the Holiday Baubles (pictured below) that kids can make.

Xmas Bauble
.

Pumpkin Bread Recipe

Instructables user scoochmaroo shares her best pumpkin bread recipe. And I love her tip about freezing pumpkin bread so you can make a big batch and keep the pumpkin bread love going.

Biomedical Lab Uses Shrinky Dinks Instead of $100K Diagnostic Chips

Michelle Khine's lab at UC Irvine couldn't afford the $100K equipment to make microfluidic chips, a sheet of material with tiny channels used for certain diagnostic tests, so she made her own with Shrinky Dinks. From the MIT Technology Review:

Racking her brain for a quick-and-dirty way to make microfluidic devices, Khine remembered her favorite childhood toy: Shrinky Dinks, large sheets of thin plastic that can be colored with paint or ink and then shrunk in a hot oven. "I thought if I could print out the [designs] at a certain resolution and then make them shrink, I could make channels the right size for microfluidics," she says.

To test her idea, she whipped up a channel design in AutoCAD, printed it out on Shrinky Dink material using a laser printer, and stuck the result in a toaster oven. As the plastic shrank, the ink particles on its surface clumped together, forming tiny ridges. That was exactly the effect Khine wanted. When she poured a flexible polymer known as PDMS onto the surface of the cooled Shrinky Dink, the ink ridges created tiny channels in the surface of the polymer as it hardened. She pulled the PDMS away from the Shrinky Dink mold, and voilà: a finished microfluidic device that cost less than a fast-food meal.

[via BoingBoing]

How-To: Freezer Paper Stencil Placemat

I love the warm, rustic feel of these burlap placemats with freezer paper stencils on them from Courtney of Two Straight Lines for Book Hour Craft Projects. She points out that the process is simple enough to include your kids in helping, and warns that once you get a taste for freezer paper stenciling, you may be tempted to stencil everything in sight. [via @shimandsons]

More:
Ask CRAFT: Sourcing Freezer Paper and Other Supplies

How-To: Purse from DDR Pad

When your Dance Dance Revolution pad controller breaks, don't throw it away, make yourself a DDR purse! Instructables user quantazelle shows you how.

How-To: Refashion a Man's Hoodie Sweatshirt

Jessica of Happy Together shares a tutorial for a hoodie transformation she completed for her husband. She took it from a basic hoodie to a handsome collared sweatshirt. Love it!

Hot Drink Mixes for Holiday Gifts

Amy at the Motherload shows you how to make hot drink mixes as perfect holiday gifts. She's got recipes for not just hot cocoa but also for vanilla chai tea!

Howl's Moving Castle in Lego

I'm a big Hayao Miyazaki fan, so this Lego version of Howl's Moving Castle made me very happy. If you haven't seen the film, I highly recommend it! [via BoingBoing]

Acorn Napkin Rings

Betz White shows you how to make these fall-inspired acorn napkin rings for your Thanksgiving dinner table by using some felted sweaters, felt balls, and acorn toppers.

CRAFT Giveaway: Moop Bags

Moop specializes in handmade bags for men, women and kids. Every bag is designed and crafted, start to finish, in their Pittsburgh studio. Once an order is placed, they begin the process of production (cutting, sewing, finishing) so your bag is made especially for you.

Featured at top is one of my favorites, The Letter Bag (in Rosewood). This is a bag with lots of little pockets, perfect for your cellphone, iPods, notebooks, craft projects, and more. It's also deep enough also to carry at laptop up to 15"!

Moop 4Bags
Pictured above: (L to R) The Porter, The Market Bag, The Messenger, and The Tote

From the Moop site:

We love the maker's life and are constantly looking for ways to be more connected to the people who make the things we love. We support small independent businesses who work hard to do what they love and find ourselves akin to the same practice. You will find us in the studio every day sewing, making, designing and sharing our experience via our blog. We have worked hard to establish a business that is always looking to improve and grow. We hold thoughtful design and product integrity to be among our achievements. We believe that form does follow function and work hard to bring you bags that hold up to our own high standards.

CRAFT Giveaway Time!
We are excited to partner with Moop to bring you this fabulous giveaway! Two random CRAFT readers will be given the bag of their choice (any bag from the entire Moop collection!). To be in the running, simply visit moopshop.com, then come back here and tell us which bag you want and why. Please make sure you include your email address in the comment form field (won't be published). All comments will be closed by Noon PST on Friday, November 13th. The lucky winners will be announced on the site. Good luck!

Update 11/13: This giveaway is now closed!

How-To: No-Sew Apron

CRAFT: Super Crafty Kidz

How-To: No-Sew Apron
By Jessica Wilson

I have been wearing aprons since I was a wee cutie. I can say that because, seriously, I was one cute kid. When I was a wee one, I wore little pillowcase aprons my mother made for me, and when I was a teen I wore vintage aprons over my clothes. With skirts, with dresses, with pants, it didn't matter. I loved aprons and I still do. The only problem is that even though I have a pretty swell collection and even though I wear them as often as I can, I always, always, ALWAYS forget to wear them when I am cooking. Go figure. Though I think it is because they are too cute and purdy to get food stuff on them, you know?

I love to make things — LOVE to, but I am far from being a good seamstress. Here is a nifty way to feed your apron habit without even sewing. The best part is you get to go thrift shopping for materials! And these instructions are so simple, your little ones can follow along and make their very own aprons.

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Giant Homemade Subbuteo

Filth Wizardry is a blog for creative moms and their creative kids. It's filled with fearless and super fun craft ideas for the preschooler set. This project is a DIY version of a popular UK game called Subbuteo. From what I can gather, it's basically foosball, but without the table! To create it all, the kids got to work with salt dough, do some coloring, and find creative materials for building their stadium. I think its a great example of how children can often have as much fun making a game as they can have playing it!

Mystery Christmas Crochet Project From Sarah London

Sarah London has just announced her mystery Christmas crochet project, which runs through the end of November. I'm in love with the idea of jumping in to a project without knowing what the end result will be!

As I said, it is our Mystery Project for November, so no reveals til the end, plunge in if you have faith, plunge in if you love to crochet and plunge in if you're looking to decorate with crochet this Holiday Season!

Angler Fish Jack-o-Lantern

I know Halloween is over, but I still want to share with you this awesome angler fish jack-o-lantern. Rawr!

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Most recent posts: page 6 of 6 1 2 3 4 5 6
Browse the complete archive by category or month.

Craft:

Literary Clutch Bags

How-To: Monogramed Napkin Rings in Burlap

Baking with Persimmons

Me, My Scarf, and I Contest: Couch Scarf

How-To: Grown-Up Hot Chocolate

Book Review + Giveaway: Balloon Twisting

Holiday Paper Crafts

Pumpkin Bread Recipe

Biomedical Lab Uses Shrinky Dinks Instead of $100K Diagnostic Chips

How-To: Freezer Paper Stencil Placemat

How-To: Purse from DDR Pad

How-To: Refashion a Man's Hoodie Sweatshirt

Hot Drink Mixes for Holiday Gifts

Howl's Moving Castle in Lego

Acorn Napkin Rings

CRAFT Giveaway: Moop Bags

How-To: No-Sew Apron

Giant Homemade Subbuteo

Mystery Christmas Crochet Project From Sarah London

Angler Fish Jack-o-Lantern

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