Craftzine.com blog: October 2007 Archive

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Archives: October 2007

October 31, 2007

Dia de los Muertos Pet Cemetery

Carla Blackmar of Sparrowpost has a great Dia de los Muertos sugar skull how-to. She decided to pay a gorgeous and hilarious homage to the fallen pets of her childhood:

Making candy skulls out of sugar is a Mexican tradition. According to internet sources, each skull is painted with the name of a deceased loved one, and then placed on the family's "Day of the Dead" alter. WASP-y girl that I am, the notion of writing the names of my dearly departed in frosting on my sugary craft project seemed a little indecent...
Instead, I decided to make skulls to memorialize all of the various pets of my youth. This was to be an act of atonement, as I was the primary suspect in most of these murders. While I was able to purchase a mold to make the traditional human sugar skulls, it wasn't going to be quite so easy to find a confection mold for a bird skull. Instead, I improvised, using bottles from my recycling bin as molds.

Have fun making your own variations! Link.

Patchwork Lid Sewing Basket Tutorial

Magda of Little Thing shows you how to make this patchwork lid sewing basket. What a great gift to make a fellow crafty friend. Link.

D.I.Y. Vanilla Extract

The Traveler's Lunchbox has an excellent post detailing how to make your very own vanilla extract. Sounds like a great idea for holiday gifts and avid bakers. [via] Link.

Halloween and Autumn Picks on Etsy

Etsy's The Storque features my picks for Halloween and Autumn in their weekly Featured Buyer column. Link.

Recycled Cardboard Toy Kitchen

I am so amazed by Anna of forty-two roads who made this toy kitchen for her daughter entirely from scratch, using primarily corrugated cardboard that was salvaged from the dumpster. Anna covered the pieces in contact paper and joined them together using no glue, no nails, nothing but clever joining cuts, which makes the kitchen entirely disassemblable so it can be packed flat for moving/storage. So cute for the little cooks in your life! Link.

House-Shaped Tea Cozy

Maybe it's my sore throat (and Nyquil buzz) talking, but this Dutch-inspired, house-shaped tea cozy (complete with little curtains!) looks insanely cute and handy to me. Just the thing to keep your tea warm in style. [via] Link.

DC Craft Mafia's The Unusual Suspects Arts & Crafts Festival in Bethesda, MD on Saturday, Nov 3

The DC Craft Mafia presents The Unusual Suspects Arts & Crafts Festival happening this Saturday, Nov 3rd at The Anastasi Room (5020 Battery Lane, Bethesda, MD) from 12pm to 8pm. With lots of fun door prizes and over 50 vendors, you won't want to miss this fun holiday shopping event! Link.

Stop-Motion They Might Be Giants Video

Toy and puppet maker Hine made the above video for the They Might Be Giants song "Ana Ng" just for fun, and it turns out the fellas saw it and liked it. So they had her make another video, for their song "With the Dark" (which you can see here)! It's so fun seeing her work progress--and I love the puppet pix on her website too. If you want to bring some of her craftiness home for yourself, check out her Etsy store, where you can buy fun felted creatured like the birdie below. Link.

Button Greeting Card Download

Yoonie at Home has a free download for these cute greeting cards you can send you someone special. All you have to do is sew on a cute button! Link.

Spooky Ghost Meringues Recipe

Shannon points us to this quick and easy recipe on 101 Cookbooks to make these cute spooky ghost meringues. Link.

Last Minute Lego Costume

Yay for Erin of A Dress a Day for making the Lego costume by Diana Eng from our Last Minute Halloween Costumes for Kids. I love that she used blue painters masking tape since you can't buy spray paint in Chicago. It looks great! Link.

Silkscreened Gift Wrap

Our CRAFT friend Shannon of Make It has launched her own new line of silkscreened gift wrap! The Jigsaw pattern features a simple line drawing silkscreened by hand onto 18 x 24 sheets of white and kraft-colored papers. The 70# text weight paper is flexible enough to wrap a variety of packages and durable enough for use in craft projects such as cardmaking and scrapbooking. Shannon put just as much care, attention, and skill into the creation of this gift wrap, as the handmade gifts you'll be giving this holiday season! To see more, visit the Rifferaff Etsy store. Link.

HOW TO - Make a Box from an Old Greeting Card

Sister Diane shows you how to take your old cards and transform them into a cute box with her tutorial on CraftyPod. Link.

Etsy Halloween Costume Contest Winners

The winners of the Etsy Halloween Costume Contest have been announced! Etsy's Unique Boutique dressed up as a strikingly amazing Edward Scissorhands. See all the winners here. Link.

Fence Posts Obscure Cords

Picket Fence is a clever way to hide cords and cables in your home. This idea is a great inspiration for a DIY project around the house. [via] Link.

Bat Wings Tutorial

My Halloween crush on Evil Mad Scientist continues with this post on how to make (more) anatomically correct bat wings from an umbrella. Is there any limit to what they can do? Link.

October 30, 2007

Darth Vader/Anakin Skywalker Pop-Up Mask

Need a cool Star Wars Halloween disguise that you can create yourself? Star Wars: A Pop-Up Guide to the Galaxy author Matthew Reinhart shows you how to make this simple pop-up mask that changes you from Anakin Skywalker to Darth Vader in a flash. Link.

Patterned Pumpkin

Emily Albinski shows you how to make this cool patterned pumpkin. Link.

Circuit Boards and Sprinkles

I love seeing the fun items people drop into their resin jewelry, and Etsy seller stOOpidgErL has made some really eye-catching pendants using circuit boards, sequins, and real ice-cream sprinkles. Link.

Little Savages Faerie Sculptures

Tessa Farmer has collaborated with the London Natural History Museum for an exhibition called "Little Savages," in which her amazing tiny faerie sculptures are installed amongst the Entomology Department's mounted insect and animal collection. - [via] Link.

Inside-Out Blythe Guts Costume

Flickr user Girlontherocks created a hilarious yet gross "inside-out" costume for her Blythe doll, including a removable magnetic heart and i-cord intestines. Link.

Wrap Art by John Boak

John Boak's wrapping magic appears on the cover of our latest issue of CRAFT: 05 (on newsstands next Tuesday, Nov 6). He's got a brand new book called Wrap Art which shows and describes a variety of wrapping tactics, using everything from recycled paper and ribbon to junk-mail stickers. It's a great way to gear up for the holidays with new eco-friendly wrapping. The book is a print-on-demand book available from Blurb.com. Link.

You can also join in on the fun and become a member of the community at John's site for wrap artists. - Link.

CRAFT: 05 celebrates the wonderfully diverse world of paper projects. This 33 project-packed issue also shows how to sew your own party dress, transform a T-shirt into a sleek skirt, make a modern heirloom quilt, build an optical-illusional mirror, and much more! - Link.

Craft Biz Q+A: Queen Puff Puff

This week's interviewee is Nicole Vasbinder of Queen Puff Puff. Nicole's super-colorful booth is a fixture on the craft show circuit, and her gorgeously-crafted bags and accessories straddle the line between retro and modern beautifully. In addition to cranking out a wide variety of hand-sewn goodies, Nicole also finds time to teach others to sew, at a few select venues around the Bay Area. Nicole's love of everything vintage comes through clearly in her work, so it's no surprise that this Mary Tyler Moore lookalike enjoys hitting up estate sales and cocktail parties in her (precious!) spare time. Read on to find out what doing it yourself really entails.

JENNY: Do you run your indie business full time, or do you have a "day job" to help keep you afloat? BONUS: If the latter is the case, how do you balance your time/make time for crafting?

NICOLE: Well, the Queen Puff Puff business is my day job but then I have a part-time gig teaching sewing classes at Stitch Lounge in SF and also at Stonemountain and Daughter Fabrics in Berkeley. To keep on schedule, I put everything on a calendar. This includes classes, shows, order deadlines, dates to order supplies, dates to start projects and dates to ship. Each morning I simply check the calendar to see what needs to be done and where I need to be.

JENNY: How did you make the transition to working for yourself? How do you structure your days when you're the boss?

NICOLE: I used to have a part-time job working at a fabric store. It was great to be surrounded by fabric all day, plus that employee discount sure came in handy when I was starting up my company. As my business grew I went from 4 days to 3 days a week and then eventually down to 2 and then last year I made the break.

Structuring my days has been my biggest struggle. It's very easy to get sucked in to Golden Girls reruns on TV or the rabbit hole of the internet. So self-discipline has been my big challenge. I get up at 6:30 in the morning, have my coffee and surf the net, check email, print out orders. Then around 8 am I start sewing product. Around 1pm I usually stop and take a break for lunch and a shower. After lunch, I sew some more and then around 5pm I pack up any orders that need to go out and drop them off at the PO.

JENNY: How important has the internet been in relation to the growth of your business? Also, would you say the bulk of your business comes from your own website, or from wholesale accounts and/or craft show sales?

NICOLE: It's been huge!!! I've picked up so many wholesale accounts from people who have seen my website! My biggest revenue stream is wholesale, then craft shows, then my website and then a bit of consignment.

JENNY: Is there anything you wish you'd done differently when starting your business, knowing what you know now? BONUS: Any resources for upstart craft businesses that you'd care to recommend?

NICOLE: The Switchboards has been an invaluable resource. I've met SO many other indie business owners on that site and have learned an incredible amount about running a small business. Small Time Operator by Bernard Kamoroff is a great book about starting a business.

JENNY: How would you compare the challenges of working for yourself with working for "The Man"?

NICOLE: The biggest challenge about working for yourself is that when you slack off, you're not making any money! When I worked an office job I could surf the net, take a coffee break and I was still getting paid. But now my most enjoyable hobby has turned into the thing that pays my rent! I don't get depressed on Sunday nights because I'm dreading going to work!

JENNY: Any tips on how to keep your business fresh and thriving/growing?

NICOLE: Don't hole up in your studio and get cut off from the rest of the world. Get outside, check things out and talk to people. Working from home can be lonely and the days can run together. Keep your spirit and mind fresh and your work will continue to be inspired.

Related:
• Queen Puff Puff site - Link.
• Stonemountain and Daughters - Link.
• Stitch Lounge - Link.
• The Switchboards - Link.
• Small-Time Operator by Bernard Kamoroff - Link.

From the pages of CRAFT:

CRAFT: 04 - "Business Basics for Crafty Types" by Jenny Ryan pgs. 42-43. Digital Subscribers can read the full article here. - Link.
Don't miss an issue! Subscribe to CRAFT Magazine today and get 4 quarterly issues delivered to your door. - Link.

Craft Organization Design - Survey

Katie Larson, the industrial designer at RISD specializing in craft culture organization, has another survey for the next phase of her design process. She's created a few storage solution concepts, both static (furniture) and mobile (totes), and she could use some feedback from crafters like you! Fill out her survey - Link.

Tuna Nigiri Sushi Costume

Melinda of Mookie Moo made herself a last minute costume and transformed herself into a Tuna Nigiri Sushi, complete with a wasabi hat, pickled ginger scarf, and nori cummerbund.

Melinda writes:

While this costume was not obvious to everybody, when people figured it out there was a very satisfying moment of "AHA!" that passed over their faces. It helped that my boyfriend dressed up as my sushi chef.

Check out Melinda in her Tuna Nigiri Sushi costume at her blog, Mookie Moo. Link.

Related:
Last Minute Halloween Costumes: Sushi by Diana Eng - Link.

Vintage Hair Archives

Planning to be a flapper for Halloween? Donna Reed? Priscilla Presley? The Vintage Hair Archive is here to help! There's a great collection of hairstyles from the 20s through the 70s, many with styling instructions. (Holy cow are they a lot of work! But what else is Halloween for?) Link.

Frida Kahlo in the House

Elsita has posted another great project. She made this Frida Kahlo dollhouse for her daughter so that she would learn about the Mexican artist. Link.

Dia de Los Muertos - Sugar Skull Tutorial

Thanks to Jason for pointing out this Sugar Skull tutorial for Dia de los Muertos on These Foolish Things. Good instructions including where to buy supplies. Dia de los Muertos is on November 1st and 2nd. Link.

October 29, 2007

Holiday Softie Awards

You have only 2 days left to enter the Holiday Softies awards! All entries must appear in the Holiday Softie Awards flickr group by midnight on Halloween, Oct. 31st EST. Here's one of my new favorites in the "Let it Snow" category - a winter Guggenheim by blueblythemonster. Link.

HOWTO - Convert a MacBook to Dvorak

Jonathan made a great instructable on how to reorder your keyboard keys on a MacBook if you prefer a Dvorak layout (an alternative to the standard QWERTY layout, the Dvorak keyboard requires less finger motion as you type). He also points out that it's helpful if you just want to give your keyboard a good cleaning. He'll show you the proper delicate technique for removing and replacing your keyboard keys without damaging them; the MacBook keyboard is quite unique. - Link.

Knit Pencil Scarf

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Zakka Life has a pattern showing you how to knit this absolutely adorable pencil scarf. Link.

Apron Contest

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Just a reminder that our Prairie Girl-inspired apron contest is still running until November 12th, so get stitching!

Here's the scoop again!

We know there are lots of wonderful homemade aprons out there, and we want to see them. Taunton books has generously offered a copy of Prairie Girl to each of the five winners, and we'll be featuring the aprons in the Curio section of the next issue of CRAFT. Send photographs of the aprons you've been working on to curio[at]craftzine[dot]com by November 12th. (Be sure to include your website or Etsy shop!)

(Aprons above from Golden Green Bird and Okano Designs, both at Etsy.)

Felt Club: XL Holiday Event featuring Maker Square

The vendor gallery for November's upcoming Felt Club: XL Holiday event is now online and ready to view! In addition to showcasing crafts by a variety of talented folks, Felt Club will host "Maker Square", a mini version of Maker Faire featuring about 12-15 Los Angeles-area Makers. There will also be hands-on craft classes, book signings, and mini-seminars (such as a Craft Biz talk by Craft, Inc. author Meg Mateo Ilasco). Link.

Bunny Pincushion Ring

This bunny may not look too thrilled about being stuck with pins, but it sure makes me happy! This stuffed bunny pincushion ring by Flickr user Dottyral is a very clever way to keep pins handy during sewing and mending projects. Link.

Green Eggs and Ham Soap

Etsy seller Mollycoddle makes these hilarious green eggs and ham-shaped soaps. What a wonderful way to get your kids to wash their hands--which is so important, especially during cold and flu season. She also offers lemon-iced bread soap, tropical loofah soap, and more. [via] Link.

HOW TO - Make Spider Cakes

Not Martha shows you how to make these yummy spider cakes that are perfect to serve on Halloween! Link.

Holiday Knits - USPS Stamps

I've waited a year for these (post here) and now the knit holiday stamps featuring the work of NYC illustrator and knitter Nancy Stahl is available! Link.

Lego Costume Hack

OK, so Natalie and I just returned home from Saturday's CBS Early Show taping last night, and already one of our Craftzine readers has made a costume from the segment! Jennifer Ramos of Textile Fetish created her own adult-sized version of Diana Eng's Lego costume, and put a new twist on things by adding criss-cross straps at the back. Awesome! If anyone else makes a costume from the segment, feel free to add pix to the CRAFT Flickr pool. Link.

Crochet Candy Corn Pet Sweater Pattern

DIY Maven on Curbly has a pattern on how to crochet this cute little candy corn sweater, perfect for your pet! Link.

Punkpins!

The time is upon us...time for spooky-kooky crafty fun! Jenny B. Harris of Allsorts is getting in the spirit with this grey pumpkin-shaped softie, adorned with Shrinky-Dink eyeball "punkpins". Eek! Link.

October 27, 2007

Last-Minute Halloween

We did it! CRAFT Senior Editor Natalie Zee Drieu and I have spent the last week coordinating a Halloween fashion show for the CBS Early Show, working with some wonderful CRAFT contributors (Nancy Flynn, Cathy Callahan, Susan Beal and Diana Eng) to create some adorable yet easy outfits for kids. It's been a whirlwind of activity, but we taped the show this morning and it went off without a hitch! We'll let you know when the video makes it to CBS online, but until then please check out our special Halloween Kids How-To page for photos and instructions on building these super-cute custom outfits. Link.

Natalie and Diana adjusting the straps on our 4-year-old sushi roll, Cyerra.

Tetris Quilt

Amy made this quilt based on my favorite video game, Tetris. And when compared to other Tetris crafts, it shows a much more optimistic gameboard. - Link.

Related:
Quiltbert: Q*bert Video Game Quilt - Link.
Tetris Tote Bag - Link.

October 26, 2007

Etsy Halloween Bash

Just one more party announcement, this time at Etsy Labs in Brooklyn. Simply rsvp to rsvp@etsy.com if you wish to attend this Saturday night. Oh, and wear a costume. There's lots of stuff in store. You are sure to have fun!

Etsy Halloween party - Link.

American Museum of Natural History Halloween Bash

Rob Sullivan, with another timely Halloween announcement, tells us about the AMNH bash:

The Museum is having its 12th annual "Spooktacular Halloween celebration" Wednesday October 31st from 4 to 7 PM.

You will be greeted by characters such as Winnie the Pooh, Clifford the Big Red Dog and more as you wander the halls of the Museum. Other activities include trick-or-treat, create creepy origami, and make crafts including "boo"-tiful ghosts, spooky "boo"-kmarks, and Venus fly traps.

American Museum of Natural History Halloween bash - Link.

Instructables Halloween Costume Ball

Rob Sullivan, our special DIY Halloween correspondent, reminds us of an event this weekend:

Don't forget: the Instructables Halloween Costume Ball is this weekend!

The festivities commence at 6:30pm on Saturday, October 27. Bring your friends, family, costumes, snacks, and enthusiasm- we'll supply the fabulous venue, music, more snacks, roof deck, and skyline view of San Francisco.

Things to do: Eat Jesse's birthday cake Make costumes Bob for apples and more! Details: The Halloween Costume Ball will feature costume making, bobbing for apples, dancing, ghostly writing (laser engraving), monster movies, a ghoulish photo shoot, and Halloween Pinatas with enough candy to rot your fangs out! There will be a dancing on the roof deck, weather permitting, and a movie room showing non-stop monster classics! Come early for pumpkin carving. We'll have tools and a few pumpkins on hand, but you can bring your own! Have something to demo or display? Let me know, and we'll get you table space.

This event is kid-friendly- we'd love to see their costumes too, and will run the interactive events before bedtime.

RSVPs requested, though not absolutely required- we need a good crowd estimate to ensure enough tricks and treats for everyone! Email at canida at instructables dot com.

Location:
Instructables HQ:
The Squid Labs Control Tower
2175 Monarch St.
Alameda, CA 94501

Bountee On-Demand Garment Printing

Mike Giles at Cool Hunting writes:

With no set up charges, a user-friendly interface and the option for single units and short-runs it seems they've mastered the art of on-demand printing. Using a "Direct to garment" printing method, in which graphics are literally printed directly onto the tees, Bountee offers unlimited numbers of colors, gradient printing and a turn around time that a traditional screenprinter would scowl at! If you like what you see at their website feel free to use the code "lovecoolhunting" at checkout for 15% off your order.

On-demand garment printing at Bountee - [via] Link.