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Archive: General
November 20, 2009
Cathe Holden's Gift Making Guide
Cathe Holden has put together a super useful gift making guide, complete with more than 40 of her DIY projects that are perfect for your holiday gift list.
Posted by Rachel Hobson |
Nov 20, 2009 06:00 AM
General, Holiday projects |
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November 18, 2009
How-To: Embroidery Hoop And Felt Mobile
The composition of this embroidery hoop mobile from Sara of Creative Jewish Mom is so charming! Fun felt accents add a colorful touch and can be swapped out for changing seasons. [via @SisterDiane]
Posted by Rachel Hobson |
Nov 18, 2009 11:00 AM
General |
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November 9, 2009
How-To: Make a Castle Out of Felt And Cardboard
The Sewing Dork shares how to make a small castle using an oatmeal container, felt, embroidery floss and a bit of scrap cardboard. I could see making a whole village of these kinds of buildings for the kids to create their own city!
Posted by Rachel Hobson |
Nov 9, 2009 08:00 AM
General, Kids |
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November 6, 2009
Creature Comforts
One of my favorite blogs is Creature Comforts. Ez, the author, has a constant stream of beautiful things to make and see. Last week she moved to a new and way more wonderful site. Creaturecomfortsblog.com is the new url, and the switch brought with it quite a few improvements to the information presentations. All the content is the same amazing quality, but with a very cool new vibe. All the projects, printables, fonts, and inspirations are collected into categories that make browsing for ideas much easier. When you visit, check out one of my favorite tutorials, this butterfly wedding accent that could be incorporated into any lovely event.
Posted by Brookelynn |
Nov 6, 2009 11:00 AM
Design, General |
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November 5, 2009
Crafty Chica Fall Products Heading Back to Michael's
Kathy Cano-Murillo's Crafty Chica product line is returning to select US Michael's stores this weekend. She's announced a list of locations that will carry the line. If your local Michael's isn't on the list, give them a call and request they carry the line. When her first line of products debuted last year, supports were snapping pictures in the store and sending out reports of what merchandise was left. Now, Kathy is forming a street team to help get the word out. If you live near one of the stores and are interested in helping, just get in touch with her. I remember checking in at my Michael's several times last year when her line first debuted. It's been such fun following her progress on this dream of hers, and even more fun seeing the generous members of the craft community so enthusiastically support her!
Posted by Rachel Hobson |
Nov 5, 2009 08:00 AM
General |
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October 29, 2009
Betz White Designs on Kleenex Boxes
The next time you are in Target, check to see if they have the new holiday Kleenex boxes with Betz White's exclusive designs. Read about how she created them, and see close-ups of all the boxes over on her blog. I'm especially smitten with the ric rac box!
Posted by Rachel Hobson |
Oct 29, 2009 10:00 AM
General |
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How-To: Stiffened Fabric Flower Brooch
Diane at Crafty Pod shows how to create a snazzy stiffened fabric flower brooch, including some tips for keeping the sheen nice and smooth. This could be a great use for fabric scraps!
Posted by Rachel Hobson |
Oct 29, 2009 06:00 AM
General, Jewelry |
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October 26, 2009
Vintage Thread Bird Nests
Remember the fantastic vintage spool advent calendar from Cathe at Just Something I Made a couple of weeks ago? She's back to share how she used the discarded thread from the spools to make a collection of colorful bird nests!
Posted by Rachel Hobson |
Oct 26, 2009 06:00 AM
General |
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October 23, 2009
How-To: Transfer Ink Jet Images to Wood With Mod Podge
Katie of matsutake shares how to transfer images from your ink jet printer to wood using Mod Podge and Elmer's school glue. With drying time of overnight, it's a craft for the patient, but the applications for this are endless and very cool. (And while you're enjoying her blog, be sure to check out her very cool Where the Wild Things Are banner!) [via Mod Podge Rocks]
Posted by Rachel Hobson |
Oct 23, 2009 03:00 PM
General |
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Shrines, Just Because
My neighbor Teresa Cuseo is an amazing artist and crafter -- every time I talk to her or go over for a visit she's doing something creative, from terrific mosaics to yummy baked goods to cool jewelry and clever shrines.
She recently bought a Day of the Dead crafting book and has plans to make some Day of the Dead altars, but the shrines and altars she's created thus far pay homage to the various incarnations of the Virgin Mary, bicycling, her loved ones, other religious figures, and roses. I like each and every one of them, and think they offer a lot of inspiration for our Day of the Dead shrines, too. Check them out after the jump and see what you think!
Read full story
Posted by Shawn Connally |
Oct 23, 2009 02:00 PM
Arts & Design, Contests, General |
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October 16, 2009
How-To: Create Faux Porcelain Pottery
P.S. I Made This shares a brilliant transformation of old vases, bottles and cans to faux porcelain pottery with the help of a little puffy paint and spray paint. [via @thingswemake on Twitter]
Posted by Rachel Hobson |
Oct 16, 2009 06:00 AM
General, Recycle |
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October 14, 2009
Spacecraft: A Craft Studio in Brooklyn
Yesterday I visited Spacecraft, a craft studio in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. They opened just about a year ago and are host to a long list of fun crafty events and activities in the neighborhood. Their menu of walk-in crafts has something for every age and skill level, and they host classes and workshops. They also carry a very wide range of tools and supplies for things like batik, puppetry, felting, embroidery, stamp carving, tie dye, leather working, and I even spotted a few Crafty Chica products on the shelves. They host monthly Church of Craft meetings, make Bags for the People, and even have "Craft on Draft," an adults-only homebrewed beer and crafting session. If you live in Brooklyn, stop on by to check out what's going on, or check out their online events calendar. This Saturday there will be soap making, followed by felting over soap (how convenient)! They'll also be hosting an anniversary/Halloween party on the 31st that is not to be missed. Email to get on their weekly newsletter mailing list, or stop by:
Spacecraft
355 Bedford Ave.
Brooklyn, NY 11211
Check out the rest of the pictures from my visit at my Flickr set.
Posted by Becky Stern |
Oct 14, 2009 04:07 PM
Events, General |
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October 12, 2009
Hubble Telescope Paperclip
Have you heard what a raging space geek I am? You can imagine, then, my jaw dropping over this little discovery of a Hubble Telescope-shaped paperclip. Greg over at Dinosaurs and Robots writes:
While preparing for her big star party at the White House this past week, my wife scored this awesome piece of swag from a NASA meeting: a paper clip shaped like the Hubble telescope.
Paperclip versions of logos are new to me, and Greg goes on to share examples of a few companies' logos that translated well in to paperclip format. I'm still hung up on Hubble, though. Love it!
Posted by Rachel Hobson |
Oct 12, 2009 06:00 AM
General |
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September 28, 2009
Five-Minute Crafts
When I saw the following tweet from Kids Craft Weekly, "There is no such thing as being too busy to craft - all you need is five minutes!" I was intrigued. I'm always having to remind myself that I don't necessarily need long stretches of time to exercise some creative muscles. The latest issue of Kids Craft Weekly focuses on just that idea, and serves up several crafts that can be completed in about five minutes. Sure, they are geared toward kids, but they can also be a fun excuse for quick crafting for adults! Sometimes, that's all you need to get yourself out of a creative rut.
Posted by Rachel Hobson |
Sep 28, 2009 08:00 AM
General, Kids |
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September 16, 2009
Teagan Tall
The dreamlike and the practical merge with objects modern and objects vintage in the new blog of San Francisco designer Teagan Tall. Teagan, who counts among her clients MAKE magazine and our own Craftzine, and has recently begun chronicling her art, her work, and things she loves. She includes diverse posts, ranging from high-end furniture and her collection of books, to papercut art and photography.
These pieces of bird-inspired art represent her ability to render the reality of nature using the softness of the ethereal. The story of her creative journey to arrive at them is modest and sweet:
Two years ago I decided to start finding uses for the stacks of old calendars and scrap paper I pack around with me like a greedy hermit crab. I began to sketch birds drawn from field guides onto the more undesirable side of my paraphernalia — the tree is made from the ghost prints of an old woodblock I did ages ago — and cut out the forms with an X-Acto. This project became one of the few art exercises I've done recently that didn't consume my mind with concept or execution — it was just scrap paper! I wasn't worried how they turned out, and this ended up being very liberating.
Posted by Brookelynn |
Sep 16, 2009 12:00 PM
Design, General, Reviews |
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September 12, 2009
Crafty Pod Celebrates Its 100th Podcast Episode
Crafty Pod, the podcast that's "all about making stuff" has just released its 100th episode. Diane Gilleland has produced the podcast since May of 2005, and has hosted guests on subjects ranging from crafting with your children to all angles of running a craft business to the relationship between indie and corporate crafters. In her 100th episode, Diane answers questions provided by listeners (and even has an extra blog post with some of the questions that wouldn't fit into the podcast). If you've never listened to Crafty Pod or have only heard a few episodes, be sure to check out her podcast main page and go back through her archives to hear them all.
Posted by Rachel Hobson |
Sep 12, 2009 03:00 PM
General |
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August 30, 2009
Back to College Crafts
Craftster has rounded up some great back to college crafts like this Notre Dame monogram pillow by Miss American Pie.
Posted by Natalie Zee Drieu |
Aug 30, 2009 06:00 PM
General |
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August 13, 2009
How-To: Doily And Lace Jellyfish
Bitter Betty Blogs shares a tutorial for making these delicate doily and lace jellyfish. I imagine a a whole grouping of them hanging could be stunning!
Posted by Rachel Hobson |
Aug 13, 2009 07:00 AM
General |
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August 5, 2009
On the Importance of Consistency
I never thought I'd take a lesson from Coca Cola, but this great graphic at Thinkingalaud on the history of Coca Cola and Pepsi logos is a great example of the importance of consistency in branding, whether for a small crafting business or a multinational behemouth (via Swiss Miss). [Note: apparently this is a fairly simplified timeline; for a discussion of the brand evolution and a more accurate timeline, go here. I still like the idea, though, so I thought I'd share it anyway.]
Posted by Arwen O'Reilly Griffith |
Aug 5, 2009 02:30 PM
Craft Business, General |
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August 4, 2009
How-To: Make Your Own Canvas Panel
Kristin at Craft Leftovers shows you how to make your own DIY Canvas Panel in her two-part video.
Posted by Natalie Zee Drieu |
Aug 4, 2009 10:00 AM
General |
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