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November 7, 2009

Bone China Spoon Set

You might have noticed that I have a thing for spoons. It's actually more of a broad serving utensil fetish, but spoons are at the top of the list right now. This set of unglazed and pure white porcelain spoons are made to look as if they were ornate silver. I can't get over how pretty they are.

Posted by Brookelynn | Nov 7, 2009 06:00 PM
Design, Home Decor | Permalink | Comments (0) | Suggest a Site

Brooches as Gift Toppers

I love this idea of using brooches as gift toppers from Laura of Bugs and Fishes. It's a fun way to add a little extra gift to your gift and include something that won't be thrown away. I also love how she's used yarn in place of ribbon - so lovely!

How-To: Apple Cider Donuts

Randy Sarafan grew up near apple orchards, like me, and shares with us his method for making delicious apple cider donuts.

Paper Box Drawer Dividers

I love the design solution by Sharilyn at lovelydesign to make these paper box drawer dividers to keep things organized. You can download her tutorial to make the perfect sized box to hold anything you need! [via not martha]

Glamourpuss Book Giveaway Winners

The winners from last week's book giveaway for Glamourpuss by Julie Jackson are: Laura from Bronx, NY, Warren from Alexandria, VA, and Virginie from Kiel, Germany. Thanks to everyone who entered!

Gomistyle's Urban Window Garden

San Francisco resident Marque Cornblatt of Gomistyle recently started documenting his indoor urban gardening efforts and he presents some really neat ideas and suggestions. Despite the fact that he does have a little yard, he got tired of sharing his harvests with the neighborhood raccoons and decided to take his garden indoors. He replaced traditional pots with big black plastic storage bins from Office Depot because of efficiency and cost-effectiveness. Marque experimented with growing vines, including tomatoes, pole beans, cucumbers, and peppers, by creating hanging planters from plastic one-gallon jugs.

These soon got replaced by more black plastic bins with holes drilled in them (as seen in the top picture). This is such a great way to maximize his window space and conserve water too. Here's a closeup of his lovely thriving cukes:

My favorite part is that Marque is admittedly no master gardening. He just experimented to see what works best. He even begins his blog post by saying: "Let me begin with a simple admission. I don't know much about gardening. Until a few weeks ago, I had never planted a seed, or maintained houseplants. My thumbs weren't green, they were red and swollen from playing Xbox. " That put a smile on my face. He plans to post updates and details as his garden grows.

Reminder: Alex Rider Book Giveaway

As a special preview for MAKE's upcoming Alex Rider Dream Gadget Contest, we're giving away two copies of Eagle Strike by Anthony Horowitz, part of the Alex Rider series! Just leave a comment in this post and tell us why you or your kid(s) needs one of these books. That's all you need to do to enter! Please make sure you include your email address in the comment form field (it won't be published). All eligible comments will be closed by Noon PST on Sunday, November 8th. The winners will be announced next week on the site. Good luck! For a sneak peak at Eagle Strike, check out a sample chapter at MAKE.

More:

Jennifer Perkins' Crafty Business Advice on Blog Talk Radio

Here in Austin, we're lucky enough to be able to take classes in person from the uber savvy, Jennifer Perkins. If you aren't lucky enough to make it to Austin, you have a chance to hear her discuss her crafty business advice this Sunday at 6pm CST on Inspired at Home on Blog Talk Radio.

I will be chatting with Tiffany Windsor, daughter of Aleene Jackson. Ya as in Aleene's Tacky Glue. We are going to be talking about all kinds of stuff from crafts to crafty business. Not to mention there will be a roundtable discussion afterwards with a whole gaggle of awesome crafters!

Baby Pants Snap Mod

Most of the baby clothes my son wears are hand-me-downs or flea market finds, but my very favorites are usually the vintage ones. They don't look like all the other baby outfits you see running (crawling?) around and they're usually better made, too.

The drawback is that they don't always have snaps in the legs. I loved this pair of 80s overalls, but there's no way I am putting on or taking off overalls more than once a day. It was an easy fix, though! I ripped out the old seam, made a new one along the edges of the legs, and sewed on six snaps. Now diaper changing will be a (dare I say it?) snap.

I turned the seam under for the length of the legs, but left the cuffs folded over so they weren't too bulky. If the pants you're modding are thinner, go ahead and turn the seam under all the way.

When sewing the snaps on, make sure to use strong thread and stitch a little more than you think you need to. You don't want those things popping off and ending up in your little one's mouth!

Here are all six snaps sewn on. Learn from my mistake and make sure you have the two sides of the snap in the right order (I accidentally sewed on two backs)!

CRAFT Pattern Podcast: Jumping Paper Frog

CRAFT Pattern Podcast

Badge Supercraftykidz

This week's CRAFT Pattern Podcast is the Jumping Paper Frog by Matt Hawkins, featured in CRAFT: 05. The PDF includes full instructions as well as the template for the paper frog. All you need to do is cut out the template and glue the tabs together. Then simply add a paper clip to create a spring so your paper frog can now JUMP!

Matt is the creator of Custom Paper Toys and you can find more downloadable paper toys and info on his site.

Download the Pattern PDF | Subscribe in iTunes

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.

How-To: Cozy Bed Warmer

Here's a great holiday gift idea by Calli of Make it Do -- sew up a cozy bed warmer.

Calli writes:

A cozy bed warmer is one of my favorite things. Put them in the microwave for a few minutes and they work wonders for cold feet, aches and pains, or plain old stress relief. Bed warmers make a such a wonderful gift. They are easy to make, inexpensive, and both pampering and useful.

How-To: Green Thai Curry Paste

Instructables user Jayefuu writes:

This is a recipe for a fantastic green thai curry paste. The original recipe I've long since lost, I make up a large batch once every 6 months or so and freeze it in blocks. Once made I can pull a block out the freezer any time I like and fry it with chicken, coriander, carrots, beans and coconut milk to make a wonderfully creamy curry.

How-To: Matryoshka Doll Fold Out Card

I love this sweet matryoshka doll card from Jessica at Zakka Life. The fold out design to mimick the nesting of the dolls is brilliant! She's provided a template and a how-to so you can make some of your own!

How-To: Candy Apples

Sarah James at Instructables is a tireless force when it comes to holiday eats (and food photography, holy delicious!). Behold her candy apple tutorial!

Large Scale Advent Calendar Project

More than a step-by-step tutorial, I like to hear about a crafter's process in creating a new project. I love to hear the stories of how they brainstormed, sketched, scavenged and came up with solutions to their crafty dilemmas. Such is the case with Pam's post over at Gingerbread Snowflakes as she shares her large scale advent calendar. She talks about tackling this project that has been in her head for almost a decade, and walks us through how she slowly took that idea and executed it, using mostly supplies she had on hand. She even shares some tips on a new favorite craft supply that you get at the hardware store! I love following her process, and she's done a beautiful job of sharing not only the technical steps she went through to create the calendar, but also her loving story of how she was finally able to bring this back burner idea to fruition.

The Intersection of Arts and Science: Between the Folds

For folks interested in the intersection of arts and science, the PBS series Independent Lens is presenting a fascinating in-depth look into origami titled Between the Folds. The film documents "a determined group of theoretical scientists and fine artists who have abandoned their careers and scoffed at their graduate degrees to forge new lives as modern-day paper folders."

Featured in the film are MIT's youngest-ever tenured professor Dr. Erik Demaine; mathematician, sculptor, puzzle maker, and self-taught computer scientist Marty Demaine; master free-style folder Vincent Floderer; pioneering Israeli educator Miri Golan; mathematics professor Dr. Tom Hull; trained artist and instructor Paul Jackson; one of the most technically accomplished folders in the world, Eric Joisel; one of only a few handmade origami papermakers in the world, Michael LaFosse; origami "hyper-realist" and physicist Dr. Robert J. Lang (who was profiled in CRAFT Volume 05); material artist with a masterful understanding of patterns and geometry, Chris K. Palmer; and the father of modern origami, Akira Yoshizawa.

Screenings are part of the Independent Television Service's (ITVS) Community Cinema series, which are free, followed by discussion panels and access to resources.

Between the Folds will be showing in the Bay Area in Oakland on Tuesday, November 17 at 6:00 p.m. at the Oakland Asian Cultural Center and in San Francisco on Wednesday, November 18 at 5:45 p.m. at the San Francisco Main Library. For a list of screenings taking place across the country, check out the film site.

Here are a couple of interesting excerpts from the documentary to get a flavor for it. The following clip features Paul Jackson, an origami artists and art teacher living in Tel Aviv, Israel, speaking of the "one fold":

And this clip shows Michael LaFosse, a master artisan who not only makes origami, but is one of the only handmade origami paper makers in the world, providing a window into his workshop and processes:

How-To: Sewable iPod Remote

Here's a quick and easy soft circuit project from Instructables user craft-tech:

There are a lot of really cool iPod remote control projects: some have simple buttons, some react to heartbeat or body motion, and others are designed to interface directly with software running on a computer. However, not one of them is truly wearable, or speaks to the unique needs of e-textiles designers. They have been mostly prototypes, and are seldom intended for serious, daily use. With this in mind, we took our time to design a system that is tiny, robust, and very easy to incorporate into your project. The end result has three components:

1. a tiny, complete circuit that sits *inside* the dock connector

2. four pieces of conductive fabric that form the two buttons of the remote

3. two-channel conductive yarn to connect the sections (we spin it ourselves)

More:

New Soft Circuit Kits in the Maker Shed and Massive Soft Electronics Roundup

Apple Butter Recipe + Pre-Thanksgiving Preserves Swap

Apple Butter Recipe + Pre-Thanksgiving Preserves Swap
By Cornelia Hoskin
homegrown.org

There's a spot I retreat to in the hills of New Hampshire where three heavily laden apple trees are completely overlooked by the locals in the fall. I'm not certain of the apple variety, but, other than the occasional black spot and worm hole, the fruit is incredibly crunchy, tart, and flavorful. The trees are flanked by a few smaller crab apple trees and, um, a graveyard. Some people could be creeped out thinking of their apples being fertilized by the dead. I, on the other hand, see it as a splendid way to participate in the inevitable cycle of life.

I managed to pull down about 40 pounds of apples a few weeks back and, upon returning to my humble city apartment, cooked up 15 pints of apple butter. Because, really, when is the last time you had some local, wild-foraged apple butter?

Read full story

Paper Cutout Winners and a Crochet Pattern by Maria Merlino

I love the enthusiasm for paper crafting shared in the comments for this giveaway! Reading each message has really been fun, and I think that everyone who goes through even just a handful of them will find the inspiration contagious. There can only be 10 winners (congratulations paperazza10, Hilde, Bethany, Sam, danierenae, Kristen, MafiosaGrrl, Pooja, Marlene Brady, and Eva) to recieve the paper prizes, but, due to the generosity of an amazing craftzine reader, I have a treat for everyone!

Maria Merlino, of Crochet Living, has transformed the peacock papercut into a fillet crochet pattern! Her work in crochet is creative and skillful, and she just happens to also be a member of the Guild of American Papercutters. Maria's pattern is the perfect intersection of two distinct craft medias, and I love that she created the crossover. And I love even more that she has offered to share it with all of our readers! A PDF download of the pattern, with two graphs and detailed instructions, is available for everyone, with only the condition that it be used for personal, not commercial purposes. For more of Maria's amazing crochet patterns, please visit her etsy and her blog. Cheers, and happy paper crafting!

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

Craft:

Bone China Spoon Set

Brooches as Gift Toppers

How-To: Apple Cider Donuts

Paper Box Drawer Dividers

Glamourpuss Book Giveaway Winners

Gomistyle's Urban Window Garden

Reminder: Alex Rider Book Giveaway

Jennifer Perkins' Crafty Business Advice on Blog Talk Radio

Baby Pants Snap Mod

CRAFT Pattern Podcast: Jumping Paper Frog

Creature Comforts

How-To: Cozy Bed Warmer

How-To: Green Thai Curry Paste

How-To: Matryoshka Doll Fold Out Card

How-To: Candy Apples

Large Scale Advent Calendar Project

The Intersection of Arts and Science: Between the Folds

How-To: Sewable iPod Remote

Apple Butter Recipe + Pre-Thanksgiving Preserves Swap

Paper Cutout Winners and a Crochet Pattern by Maria Merlino

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