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Archive: Crafting with Nature
April 23, 2009
How-To: Simple Botanical Prints
Wendy from Build/Make/Craft/Bake shows you how to make simple botanical prints by hammering flowers and leaves to release the natural dyes.
Posted by Natalie Zee Drieu |
Apr 23, 2009 08:00 AM
Crafting with Nature, Paper Crafts, Printing |
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April 22, 2009
Foraging for Salad
I get a thrill out of foraging for free stuff, especially food, and I'm hoping to instill the same in my kids. I'm willing to do a bit of work for the "free" stuff, like fighting through the thorns to get to the plump, juicy blackberries, and in fact, that probably makes the treat taste that much better. I equate it to a treasure hunt; finding hazelnuts or huckleberries in the forest is definitely like finding a prize.
So last week the kids and I set out to forage for a free salad. We started in the fridge and then moved to the pantry. We had some leftover feta cheese that a friend had made, another friend had given us some lemons from her yard, and yet another couple had given us some olive oil as a hostess gift a few months back. So far, so good — all free!
Next, we headed out to the yard; dandelion greens really are edible. And we have lots of dandelions because my younger son loves to stomp on the seed heads or blow them all over the lawn.
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But dandelion greens can be a tad bitter, especially if used raw, so we headed out into the woods and along our driveway, looking for some miner's lettuce, which is sweet and tender and yummy. We gathered enough for a salad, ate a few leaves as we picked, and headed back into the house with a bowl full of our efforts.
Back in the kitchen, I rinsed the greens and my youngest used the salad spinner to dry them (he loves it!). I threw on the feta, and then made a simple dressing with lemon juice, olive oil, salt and pepper, plus a clove of garlic, because we all love it.
I ended up cheating a bit and adding a few toasted nuts to complete the dish. I chose hazelnuts because we actually have hazelnut bushes growing on our property, but we've only ever gotten 2 or 3 nuts off them in 10 years. But the hazelnuts in the salad could have come from our foraging attempts, so it's only the slightest bit of cheating, right?
I'd love to hear about other people's foraging, scavenging, or dumpster-diving, if that's what you like to do. Please post your tales in the Comments.
And if anyone's wondering whether my kids are getting anything out of the exercise, here's a couple of shots that should convince even the staunchest of naysayers.
Posted by Shawn Connally |
Apr 22, 2009 01:00 PM
Crafting with Nature, Food, Kids |
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Happy Earth Day! Crafting with Nature Roundup
Hi Crafters! Happy Earth Day today. We've been Crafting with Nature all month so I thought it would be a great time to round up some of the fabulous projects we've featured exclusively on the site.
Home Decor:
Jewelry:
- How-To: Super Fly Feather Earrings
- How-To: Wood-Inlay Jewelry
- Roadkill Jewelry: The Art of April Hale
- How-To: Tin Can Vase
- Making Art from Trees
- It's (K)not Wood and Faux Bois
- How-To: Make Tulle Blossoms
We also have some adorable Crafting with Nature buttons. Feel free to place them on your site or blog! You can grab the images or copy and paste the HTML code.
<img src="http://blog.craftzine.com/button_CWN_TreeB.gif" width="150" height="200" alt="CRAFT: Crafting with Nature">
<img src="http://blog.craftzine.com/button_CWN_BeeB.gif" width="150" height="200" alt="CRAFT: Crafting with Nature">
<img src="http://blog.craftzine.com/button_CWN_BirdB.gif" width="150" height="200" alt="CRAFT: Crafting with Nature">
<img src="http://blog.craftzine.com/button_CWN_BunnyB.gif" width="150" height="200" alt="CRAFT: Crafting with Nature">
Posted by Natalie Zee Drieu |
Apr 22, 2009 08:00 AM
Crafting with Nature, Roundups |
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April 20, 2009
How-To: Super Fly Feather Earrings
Super Fly Feather Earrings: Adorn yourself with one of nature's finest adornments.
By Sara K. Woll
Photography by Portia Sanborn
I invite you to play with feathers. Hollow and air-filled, they want to take flight, and bring their own levity and movement, which I refer to as wonk, to each project. Accept the wonk and your process will be much more pleasant. The technique described here to create feather earrings can be adapted to adorn anything: hats, barrettes, skates, even the ends of your arrows. The best tip I'll share with you is this: collect your feathers at fly shops. Fly fishermen and women create their own lure to attract specific fish using lots of natural materials including feathers and fur. My dad's feathers were aflutter when he learned that he could shop for gifts for his vegetarian daughter at his favorite fly shop, and my workspace would remind him of his father's, downy drift of feathery fluff coating pliers and wire. Who knows what you may attract when your ears dangle your very own super fly feather earrings!
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Posted by Goli Mohammadi |
Apr 20, 2009 01:00 PM
Crafting with Nature, Jewelry |
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April 18, 2009
How-To: Tin Can Vase
This beautiful floral display is actually in a recycled tin can! I'm loving this inspirational tutorial on making a tin can vase wrapped in wonderful birch bark.
Posted by Natalie Zee Drieu |
Apr 18, 2009 08:00 AM
Crafting with Nature, Home Decor, Recycle |
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April 17, 2009
Roadkill Jewelry: The Art of April Hale
Roadkill Jewelry: The Art of April Hale
By Linda Permann
When April Hale accidentally hit a squirrel with her car a few years ago, her reaction wasn't typical. Instead of driving away, she wanted to take responsibility for the death, so Hale, a 12-year vegetarian at the time, called a friend to help her cook and eat the animal.
Hale had been interested in using found animal fur in her work before the accident, but previously she was afraid to touch roadkill. Having overcome her fear, she now collects dead animals, which she cleans, skins, and presents in her finely crafted jewelry. She aims to take the animals out of the context of "roadkill" and bring them back to their surprisingly beautiful state.
Before using the animals, Hale sketches and skins each one. "The science dork in me comes out," says Hale. "I learn about how they died, and see details that you can't get close enough to see in live wild animals." She feels a deep reverence for each of her subjects, and wants to turn their deaths into a positive interaction.
In Bozeman Mont., where Hale is pursuing her MFA degree, she's known as the one to call when you come across an interesting dead animal. There are times when she is looking for something specific to use in her work, but she has mixed feelings when she finds it. "I don't want to find dead things, but I do get excited to find them," says Hale.
She has rules about what she'll pick up, though: nothing too messy, nothing illegal, and nothing personal (no domesticated animals or pets).
Through her beautiful packaging of carcasses once relegated to the side of the road, Hale challenges the nature of our relationships with the animals we consume. She intends for her pieces to be purchased and worn, but many potential buyers are too disgusted to even try them on. Although most people wear and eat animal products, few can stomach the idea of adorning themselves with intimate jewelry handmade from roadkill.
The gross-out factor that hits many people when they see Hale's jewelry is unintentional, and she hopes to break down the mental wall that comes with the word roadkill. Says Hale, "It makes me happy when someone tells me that they never really noticed it before, but now they see it and think about it. That's all I can hope for."
About the Author:
Linda Permann is a freelance writer and craft designer who loves to crochet, sew, and cook. See what she's up to at lindamade.com.
Posted by Goli Mohammadi |
Apr 17, 2009 01:00 PM
Crafting with Nature, Jewelry |
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April 16, 2009
Brini Maxwell for CRAFT: Metallic Leafed Shells
I spend many summer weekends with friends on the beaches of Fire Island, N.Y., and one of the things I like to do is walk along the beach and look for seashells. I have several boxes full of lovely specimens in my crafting closet. Seashells are fun to collect, but what do you do with them once you've collected them? Leafing them is a simple way to make them stand out. Gold or silver-leafed shells can be used to great effect in place settings, as accents in a bowl, even as soap dishes or jewelry. The process of leafing is very easy to do and very satisfying because the results are immediate. Giving the calcified remains of sea creatures the Midas touch may seem like gilding the lily, but if you let the imperfections of the shell — the flutes and ridges — shine through, the final result can be quite beautiful and not at all ostentatious.
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Posted by Goli Mohammadi |
Apr 16, 2009 01:00 PM
Crafting with Nature |
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Making Art from Trees
Since I've been thinking about ways to craft with nature for this month's theme here at Craftzine.com, I've been keeping an eye out for neat techniques. And I've been telling all my friends and family to keep an eye out as well. My husband, Bruce, sent me to this fabulous site that features the work of Bryan Nash Gill, who uses relief printing and a time-consuming scratching technique on sections of logs to create wonderful pieces of art.
Ashes & Milk, the online gallery that sells Bryan's work, also offers an amazing range of art pieces that rely on natural elements -- stone, clay, textiles, wood, metal, and paper -- to be specific. Their aesthetic is very appealing, to both the modern woman and the hippie chick living inside me, which is very difficult to do.
Posted by Shawn Connally |
Apr 16, 2009 12:01 PM
Crafting with Nature |
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April 15, 2009
Crocheted Wooden Bowl
Crocheted Wooden Bowl
By Vickie Howell
How-To Photos By: Tanner Howell
I'm always looking for new ways that knitting and crochet can be applied to other forms of craft. I'd seen fellow designers drill holes into wood pieces to embroider through, lace over, or otherwise assemble into some new kind of arty goodness -- this got me thinking, "Hey, I bet I can do something similar with crochet!" I love the idea of juxtaposing something as non-pliable as wood with something traditionally softer like yarn. There's sort of a male/female yin and yang quality to the combo, don't you think?This basic, wooden salad bowl given a modern makeover using pineapple yarn is a realization of just that. Happy hooking!
Posted by Natalie Zee Drieu |
Apr 15, 2009 01:00 PM
CRAFT Patterns, CRAFT Projects, Crafting with Nature, Crochet, Home Decor |
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April 13, 2009
It's (K)not Wood and Faux Bois
Don't forget Crafters, we are Crafting with Nature this month! One of the trends we keep seein' and a lovin' is faux bois (aka fake wood). Helping to spread the faux bois love is the blog, It's (K)not Wood which is super neat! Recently spotlighted are these knit socks by Ashidashi and woodgrain print hoodies at Oligarchy above.
Posted by Natalie Zee Drieu |
Apr 13, 2009 08:00 AM
Crafting with Nature |
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April 10, 2009
Wood-Grain Baby Gifts
Wood-Grain Baby Gifts
By Susan Beal
Making a coordinating set of graphic-appliquéd gifts is a fun way to welcome a new baby. My go-to handmade presents are the ones we couldn't live without when my daughter was small: a generously sized swaddling blanket, a handy burp cloth, and a mix-and-match shirt and pants set. I fell in love with this wood-grain fabric and bamboo-blend leaf print and designed these little embellishments around the fantastic patterns — thinking that the apple doesn't fall far from the tree.
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Posted by Natalie Zee Drieu |
Apr 10, 2009 01:00 PM
Babies, Crafting with Nature, Hand Embroidery, Sewing |
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April 9, 2009
How-To: Make a Nature Can
How-To: Make a Nature Can
By Megan Heep
Kids filling your pockets with nature's treasures? Or maybe you can't help but pick up rocks, shells, and pretty moss yourself. Here's what you do: make a Nature Can, using materials you probably have at home, for your kids (or you) to stylishly and conveniently carry their own collections.
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Posted by Goli Mohammadi |
Apr 9, 2009 01:00 PM
Crafting with Nature, Green, Recycle |
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April 7, 2009
How-To: Make Tulle Blossoms
In fitting with this month's theme of Crafting with Nature, Becky at Beetlegirl Design has a tutorial on how to make tulle blossoms.
Posted by Natalie Zee Drieu |
Apr 7, 2009 10:00 AM
Crafting with Nature, Home Decor |
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April 1, 2009
How-To: Wood-Inlay Jewelry
Wooden Jewels for the Novice
Make intricate wood-inlay jewelry with the simplest of skills.
By Diane Gilleland
You don't need any woodworking skills to make this fancy-looking wooden jewelry. The secret is inlay strips, which are sold pre-made as decorative elements for fine woodworking projects. They're beautiful and easy to cut, and have lots of craft applications.
Here, with just a little glue and varnish, we'll make an inlay pendant, earrings, and zipper pull.
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Posted by Goli Mohammadi |
Apr 1, 2009 01:00 PM
Crafting with Nature |
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