RSSArchives: August 2006
August 31, 2006
Craft studio inspiration - create a fabric wall
Our CRAFT friend Cassi Griffin of Bella Dia recently redecorated her craft studio into a completely drool worthy mecca of crafting heaven. Take a look at the inspiration. Link.
She also created these fabric panels to decorate the room and just posted up a tutorial on how you can make these yourself. Link.
More:
Flickr group: Craft Rooms - Link.
Posted by Natalie Zee Drieu |
Aug 31, 2006 04:07 PM
Paper Crafts, Recycle |
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Doknit - knitted donut pattern
Mmmm...donuts. Why does this look oh so ever appetizing even though it's made out of yarn? ax174 says, "If you like knitted food, you'll love the free donut pattern by rogue knitter, Matie Trewe - she of the squid hat and knitted digestive tract patterns. I've knitted this pattern many times (results here, as have many other bloggers (e.g. here). It's a nice, quick knit, and is seamless too." Link.
Posted by Natalie Zee Drieu |
Aug 31, 2006 01:53 PM
Amigurumi and Toys, Knitting |
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Knitted hand sanitizer cozy
Andrea of SpinnySpinny shows you how to make a fun knitted drawstring cozy for your hand sanitizer. Link.
Posted by Natalie Zee Drieu |
Aug 31, 2006 12:40 PM
Knitting |
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Clothespin Dolls
Recently, Kath at Whip Up did a post on clothes pins and it reminded me of these wonderful dolls that my friend and crafter Chrissa Banner makes. I love the accompanying sets she creates so the dolls really fit in a scene. She was inspired by the children's book series,"The Borrowers" and because of her I've almost read them all. There's something fascinating about a small world you can create and how it can emerge from something so simple as a wooden clothes pin. Link.
Chrissa says "These photos are from a birthday story I made for a friend involving a magic present - a handbag - that whisked her around the world on a birthday adventure. Fritz the cat went along, too." Link.
Here's a close up of another one of Chrissa's clothespin dolls based on one of our friends and her brand Lulu Bliss. From her own flickr Clothespin Portraits group. Link.
More Clothespin Dolls
The Small Object Steno Pad makes some cute clothes pin dolls for sale. At left is No. 403 Ric Puffy Rac and at right is No. 399 Sweater Bird. See the flickr photo group of all of The Small Object's pieces. Link.
Vintage handmade peg doll from Kath's blog, red current. Lots of resources here on how to make your own clothes pin dolls. Link.
Posted by Natalie Zee Drieu |
Aug 31, 2006 11:38 AM
Amigurumi and Toys |
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More T-Shirt Options: Stencils and Dishwasher Detergent
David Harris sent in some pics of tshirts he made, both are innovations of the bleach idea from my podcast. Way to go David!
So here are two shirts I made inspired by the spray bleach idea. A
couple of months ago I started getting into the whole stencil art
thing and I had made several out of strong paper, after a couple coats
of spray paint these things will hold up to most anything -- including
bleach it seems.
The first is a stencil of my wife -- using sprayed bleach.
The second, i brushed on cheap-ass knock off cascade over the stencil
and left it on for 15-20 minutes, I like the subtle globbiness of it.
Posted by Bre Pettis |
Aug 31, 2006 09:51 AM
Sewing |
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Sticker Stencils
Lenore says, "I thought you might like our how-to on painting using stickers for masking. Demonstrated with pin boxes and a lunchbox used for sewing supplies. Would be perfect for personalizing your psp carrying case." Link.
Posted by Natalie Zee Drieu |
Aug 31, 2006 08:45 AM
Paper Crafts |
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August 30, 2006
Super Eggplant's Tote Bags 101
One of the founders of Super Buzzy (seller of great Japanese fabrics) is Super Eggplant and her tutorial on how to make tote bags is the best. You'll be making lined tote bags in no time! Link.
Posted by Natalie Zee Drieu |
Aug 30, 2006 05:45 PM
Sewing |
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The Soft Electric by Grace Kim
The Soft Electric is an exploration in wearable fashion technology, designed by Grace Kim for her final thesis project at NYU's Interactive Telecommunications Program. Grace knit and felted the caplet by hand and embroidered the piece with conductive thread. The thread carries electric current to LEDs that are beaded into the embroidery. The LED beads flicker, acting like a sequin in the light. Link.
To help you get started in creating wearables yourself, Grace was nice enough write up an idea for a smaller project and she also posted up 2 of her tutorials on her flickr. Thanks Grace!
Tips from Grace:
One could make a simple LED bracelet using one LED, some wire, and a 3V coin cell battery. Twist each leg of the LED with a length of wire (make sure each leg is wrapped with a different piece of wire, so you don't short the LED out), wrap the wires around your wrist, then tape the wires to the corresponding sides of the battery. Instant, though somewhat crude, bracelet!
However, if you wanted to make a little softer and more wearable, you could substitute the wire for conductive thread. Curve the legs of the LED with roundnose pliers so they form loops. Whip a length of conductive thread around each loop a few times, then knot, leaving long tails. From here, you can do several things: you can sew the thread to a length of ribbon, felt, or leather to make wristband, make a soft battery holder for a more secure power connection, and make a power switch by using a metal snap to connect the line to ground. You could also get a little fancy and embroider the conductive thread on the surface of the band or use an LED sequin instead of the standard, round-top LED.
The most important thing is to start with a simple circuit. Get the technical aspects working, no matter how crude it looks, then slowly substitute hard components in the circuit with soft materials. Once you've done that, go back and rethink your circuit, shrinking the number of electronic components or rethinking the placement of elements on your board. Then rethink some of your soft materials. The hard electronics will inform the soft components and vice versa.
It took about a month for me to finish the capelet. It took 3 days to knit and felt the capelet and about forever to embroider it and incorporate the electronic components.
Tutorials:
Posted by Natalie Zee Drieu |
Aug 30, 2006 04:28 PM
Fashion Tech, Sewing |
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Fabric Tales - Japanese Fabrics Gallery
The online Japanese fabric store called Fabric Tales has a great gallery featuring user submissions of projects featuring the Japanese fabrics bought at the store. Pictured left is handmade dog collars made by Jacqueline Broussard and right is a Blythe doll "Pura-chan" in a Japanese kimono made by Ryoko. It's fun to browse through all the inspirational craft projects. Link
Posted by Natalie Zee Drieu |
Aug 30, 2006 01:45 PM
Bazaar, Japanese Crafts, Sewing |
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HOW TO - Make paper beads
Natasha Fialkov has a great tutorial on making cool looking paper beads which I found through Whip Up. I love the variety of paper used from origami papers or old books. The patterns created are quite unique and colorful. [ via ] Link.
Posted by Natalie Zee Drieu |
Aug 30, 2006 11:30 AM
Jewelry, Paper Crafts |
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HOW TO - Make keychains
Creative Little Daisy has a great tutorial on how to make super easy keychains like the ones above. Link.
Posted by Natalie Zee Drieu |
Aug 30, 2006 10:45 AM
Sewing |
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Rubik's Cube cake
Next time there's a birthday in the house, whip up a Rubik's cube cake. It's a great way to make sure everyone gets an even slice, er, cube of cake. Link.
Posted by Natalie Zee Drieu |
Aug 30, 2006 09:14 AM
Homemade |
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August 29, 2006
Plush You Toy Workshop
There will be a Plush You workshop at The Richard Hugo House on September 30th at 11:30am. Blair of Wise Craft will be teaching you how tomake your own "Wee" soft toy based on Hillary Lang's "Wee Wonderfuls Wee" pattern. (See all the variety in the Wee pool in flickr.) The workshop is $10 and you can email plushyouworkshop@gmail.com to sign up. Link.
More:
Plush You Show in Oct @ Schmancy - Link.
Week of Toys Interview with Kristen Rask of Schmancy - Link.
Posted by Natalie Zee Drieu |
Aug 29, 2006 05:25 PM
Amigurumi and Toys, Events, Sewing |
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Dr. Jeannine Mosely building the Business Card Menger Sponge
I've posted this to the MAKE blog but I know that this will interest the Crafters too.
There's some new photos up on flickr (and in the MAKE and CRAFT flickr pools) showing the building process of Institute for Figuring exhibit, "The Business Card Menger Sponge" by Dr. Jeannine Mosely which is now on display at Machine Project (1200 D North Alvarado) in Los Angeles from August 26 - September 24, 2006 . Here Jeannine is doing some touch up surgery to the outer skin. Link. and Link.
More:
MAKE Blog post on event - Link.
Posted by Natalie Zee Drieu |
Aug 29, 2006 03:05 PM
Arts, Paper Crafts |
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Maven: Urban Design + Craft Fair, Berkeley CA Sept 9th
The idea for Maven: Urban Design + Craft Fair was born from the final project in Adjowah Brodie's graphic design class at San Francisco City College. The professor asked the class to design a two color poster that captured the essence of a place or event, and Adjowah, an Oakland based jewelry designer, made a poster for the fictitious Women of Color Crafts Fair. She loved her poster so much she wanted the fair to be real. Although she has decided not to continue with her studies in the Graphics field, Adjowah was able to make the craft fair a reality.
Maven: Urban Design + Craft Fair is an indie boutique style craft fair featuring the Bay Area's most exquisitely skilled and ultra crafty women artisans, held the second Saturday of every month, starting Saturday, September 9, from 12p.m. - 5p.m., at the corner of 1700 Dwight and McGee in Berkeley. Maven is a Hebrew word, which, loosely translated, means "One who is skilled in any field". Adjowah chose the name because she felt it best described both herself and the artists she'd met over the years at various fairs & festivals. "Off the top of my head I can name a local Soap Maven, a Felt Maven, even an Angel Maven." Adjowah describes her customers as mavens, too. "When you shop this fair, you officially become a Shopping Maven, because you will be choosing from an eclectic assortment of gifts you just can't find anywhere else. You'll be an exceptionally gifted giver."
The Maven Craft Fair seeks to promote the businesses of all women, with a special emphasis on women of color in the arts/crafts/handmade/D.I.Y. communities. The Maven Craft Fair presents the best of the best, with a strong commitment to locally handmade arts, crafts, goods and services. Although Adjowah has gracefully exited the world of graphics, she is enthusiastic about her new project and looks forward to seeing it grow. "There's nothing else like it in the East Bay." she explains. "I know a lot of great women crafty types and I already have a waiting list for the October show. There is a need for this kind of marketplace, and I'm glad to be a part of it". Link.
Posted by Natalie Zee Drieu |
Aug 29, 2006 01:40 PM
Events |
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Simplicity - Built by Wendy Patterns
Built by Wendy is a cool clothing line by Wendy Mullin. She's teamed up with Simplicity to bring you 4 new sewing patterns under the line called "Built by YOU". [ via ] Link.
Posted by Natalie Zee Drieu |
Aug 29, 2006 12:30 PM
Patterns, Sewing |
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Finding the perfect knitting needles
The knitbuddies blog has a great post on how to find the perfect knitting needles. With so much to choose from these days (even lighted ones), it could be daunting to know which one is good for your project. Knitting needles of course can be more of a personal choice so feel free to comment to this post on which ones work the best for your knitting projects. Link.
Posted by Natalie Zee Drieu |
Aug 29, 2006 11:12 AM
Knitting |
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Print your own designs on fabric with an ink jet printer
Did you know you can print your own designs on fabric with your ink jet printer? Just treat your fabric to the Bubble Jet Set 2000 solution and then iron on freezer paper onto the fabric in order to run it through your printer. There are pre-cut flat sheets of freezer paper available now so they don't make your fabric curl up. Here's a pin cushion made by Hillary Lang of Wee Wonderfuls where she's printed her own design to create a custom piece. Bubble Jet Set 2000 doesn't work with some printers so check the list of compatibility. There's also Bubble Jet Rinse, to rinse out inkjet printouts or to set dyes in bleeding fabrics. Link.
Posted by Natalie Zee Drieu |
Aug 29, 2006 10:02 AM
Bazaar, Design, Printing |
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Sewing Kit
Robin Bowles sent us a link to a short introduction of the the must have tools for her hand-sewing projects. Link.
Posted by Natalie Zee Drieu |
Aug 29, 2006 08:16 AM
Sewing |
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August 28, 2006
52 Projects
If you are every looking for inspiration and a way for you to get your crafty creative juices going, check out the 52 Projects blog. From the site, "52 Projects is a site dedicated to thinking outside the craft. It's all about projects and project-making. Project ideas, projects to create, projects to check out, and projects to participate in. DIY projects, homemade projects, writing projects, photo projects, projects, projects, projects... And more projects." Link.
But wait, there's more! As if creator Jeffrey Yamaguchi wasn't busy enough, there's the book, "52 Projects: Random Acts of Everyday Creativity". The projects in this book will help you expand your imagination and also help you take stock on your life. Perfect for those times when you have a serious creative block. The variety of projects are presented in a way to allow you to find your artistic side, your creative voice, or explore your self or your friends. From the beginning of the book, Jeffrey's encourages the reader to re-interpret the projects in their own way and to share it when they are done. Some of my favorite projects are #19 Write down the story of the best night of your life and Project #28 The next time it rains, collect all the discarded broken umbrellas on the streets and make something out of them! (my reinterpretation). Link.
Posted by Natalie Zee Drieu |
Aug 28, 2006 06:48 PM
Bazaar, Reviews |
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