Small Projects for a Relaxing Weekend
One of my best friends gave me the book Creepy Cute Crochet; Zombies, Ninjas, Robots and More! as a birthday gift and I put it to good use this weekend.
Corporate Zombie
and the Ninja
I crocheted the Zombie first but like the Ninja better because it looks cleaner. I think I might have screwed up the head on the Zombie because it looks a little screwy. Hrm.
I also had some gorgeous Noro Kureyon Sock Yarn hanging around that I had no plans for so I used two strands at once and made this pouch for my new iPhone. (SQUEAL!)
Here’s the front:
And here’s the back:
I love Noro yarn, you couldn’t even imagine how pretty this is in real life!
5 comments February 8, 2009
You Make Great Things, You Receive Great Things
Here is the gorgeous pincushion that I received from my craft swap partner Anary!
Add comment February 6, 2009
The Project I Had to Wait a Month to Share
My wait is finally over!
I actually finished this about a month ago. It was for a Craftster swap where we had to make a pincushion for our partners, I had to wait until she received it so I wouldn’t ruin the surprise!. I knew I wanted to make something blue, covered in cherry blossoms as my partner had something similar wisted. I decided to splurge on some real wool blend felt for this project and headed off to the fabric store.
The fabric store had an array of the ugliest color’s known to man. I figured I could buy white felt and color it with Sharpie’s to get the colors I wanted.
After a few minutes of coloring and my hand aching (I was never a good colorer) I gave up on the Sharpie idea. I then decided to use artist’s chalks which turned out to be an amazing idea as not only could I color the felt quite quickly, I could also achieve a gradient effect.
As you can see, I used gradients all over this thing. Each (handcut I might add!) flower has a dark pink chalk round the rim, a light pink ring in the middle and was left blank to give it a white center. The bottom was done in a sky blue, the top and top rim in a green, one circle in the sky blue again and a circle of a blue green color. The butterfly is yellow and green.
The flowers were individually sewn on and each flower has 3-5 french knots as the center.
Mr. Butterfly was added to fill up a bit of space and because I wanted an excuse to throw a dash of a different color. Stuffing his wings with polyfill was a pain in the ass.
I sewed him on the side of the pincushion, but now that I think about it, I should have attached a pin back so he could be repositioned.
As a last minute detail, I added a few Swarovski beads to add a little sparkle all around it.
The pin cushion was all stitched in blanket stitch and before closing it up, I glued a think piece of cardboard to the bottom piece inside to it would be stable. This was a very good move as the felt expanded with all the stuffing!
I received the most wonderful email from my partner telling me how much she loved it. I really loved making this and told her that I think this might be the best thing that I’ve ever sent out in a Craftster swap.
3 comments February 4, 2009
My Pin Cushion Addiction…
(I think I keep making them because I keep picturing my “work in progress” craft studio and the lovely pin cushion that I would like to have in there!)
Added to my Etsy Store this afternoon…
A checker board pin cushion,
A sweet green and blue pin cushion,
and some fancy straight pins,
2 comments January 18, 2009
I’ve Finally Put Something in My Etsy Store
Ever since participating in a Craftster pincushion swap, I’ve been addicted to making pincushions. I decided to throw it out on my store to see what happens.
It’s all hand stitched out of a wool blend felt that I hand colored. I think the end result is so nice, it was such a joy to make.
Inspiration hit and I even made some straight pins that look like fancy gemstones.
1 comment January 11, 2009
Holy Crap, I Made Bread!!!
Hot damn!
OK I’m crafty, we all know that but I’m not that experienced in the kitchen. I’m OK in the kitchen, I can follow a recipe as long as it’s not too hard and the kitchen’s I’ve lived with in the past ten years have been about the size of a cubicle. Of course the size of a kitchen shouldn’t be an issue as long as you have the basic tools (stove, fridge) but it’s just so uninspiring when you can barely turn around in your space.
Anyway, I’ve been wanting to try to make bread for a long time and decided to start out with some inspiration from Not Martha and her experience with the No Knead Bread Recipe.
It’s very few ingredients (that are really inexpensive) and as long as you have the right pot and the timing correct it should be a success. The catch to this bread? It needs to rise for 18-20 hours, timing is everything here!
Here’s my first loaf just out of the oven.
I totally burned my hand getting it out of the oven because I was excited, I now have a blister. Fabulous.
We’re having it for dinner tonight with my homemade turkey chili that’s simmering on the stove as I type! Isn’t it pretty?
5 comments January 1, 2009
Dorkin’ Out
I’m sure that I picked up this phrase from some movie or television show, but to me “Dorking Out” is when you get childishly excited over something that to the normal person is silly or stupid.
For Christmas, my Mom (who totally understands what makes me dork out) bought me an origami kit that makes Japanese dolls. I’m willing to bet that the kit was for a child, maybe a tweener but it was filled with pretty papers and pretty decent instructions and the whole thing made me quite happy.
I’m also pretty sure that this gift was put under the tree for me because my husband is really good at origami, hence a recent Facebook update of his that stated “More bacon for the origami king!” (Mom rewarded him with bacon when he helped me out with a confusing fold and yelled out “More bacon for the origami king!” as she served him his prize.)
I even added more dorkiness to the situation with another present from her; Martha Stewart’s 24 pack of glitter. I’ve never really had much of a use for glitter as I’m into fabric, thread and yarn but I’ve always wanted to use glitter on something, I just never really had a use for it. If you’re looking for an excuse to buy glitter, just go ahead and get Martha’s assortment pack, every color is named after gemstones.
First was this lady, who needs a touch of glue on her right sleeve. Note the sapphire glitter in the middle of the flowers.
Then came an easy peasy little girl who got peridot glitter.
The third girl is my favorite so far, she was made from the prettiest papers and her hair style is the best.
There’s much more paper to play with and I think I might frame one or two of these to hang in my huge project that’s going on now; the creation of my craft studio!
3 comments December 28, 2008
Book Review!
Things are just so crazy in my world at the moment I can hardly catch my breath. Between closing on our first home and working there just isn’t enough time to catch my breath.
My sweet husband and I though have made a point to have a few dates here and there though and my favorite date has got to be dinner and the bookstore. In all honesty, I rarely ever buy the fancy craft books from the bookstore, I pet and inspect them and then order them off of Amazon (almost always cheaper!). Two weeks ago I found a book that I had to have at that very moment.
I love felt food, I’ve never made it but I love it. I have a crafty LiveJournal friend who has made some seriously cute felt food. I’ve also been in the market to purchase some of that luxurious 100% wool felt instead of using cheap acrylic.
Look at what you can make. THIS IS MADE OUT OF FELT, PEOPLE!
Are you dying of cuteness? I am!
Of course, I haven’t made a single darn thing out of it yet. I haven’t even ordered my fancy felt but I will say, this book is worth every single penny just for the pictures alone.
In the back are detailed instructions and patterns to make everything. Fabulous. This is one for everyone’s craft book library.
1 comment November 6, 2008
Dutch Russian
Over the weekend, I caught a nasty cold. Lucky for me, I was off all weekend so I parked my butt on the couch, watched some movies and stitched.
And then I stitched some more. And then I kept on stitching.
My favorite cloth to stitch on is a piece of an Aunt Martha pillowcase. The fabric is stiff and has almost no stretch. I couldn’t imagine using it for a pillowcase, let alone putting it anywhere next to the skin (maybe after a 1000 washes?).
I started stitching this little sweetie Saturday afternoon and finished her Sunday night. She was made with DMC satin floss (LOVE!), one tiny vintage button and a handful of glass seed beads to add a hint of glimmer.
After I was done with the embroidery, I sewed a piece of 100% wool felt to the back and then added some ric-rac to a piece of bias tape for a hanger.
She’ll be hanging on the door of my craft studio when we move into our new house (in only two weeks!).
4 comments October 20, 2008
Embroidery on the Go!
I believe that knitting is probably the number one portable craft, but my protable craft of choice is embroidery.
It’s probably not that most intelligent choice, you need lots of sharp things like tiny needles and tiny scissors, but I have a small case that carries everything I need.
Because I work two jobs, I like to carry around my projects for that boring lunch hour or if I get a short break where I need to be quiet for a few moments. I recently finished 2 tea towels and then spent last Sunday night putting a little trim on each one and backing them with a coordinating fabric.
Both of my tea towels came from Sublime Stitching, as I agree with a lot of the girls over at Craftster, they have the best texture to stitch on.
I stitched this one because I was looking for an excuse to use that bobble trim that I kept seeing at Joann’s Fabric. The pattern is from Sublime Stitching but part of Jenny’s Artist Series, this one was designed by Lisa Petrucci.
Because I work two jobs, I like to carry around my projects for that boring lunch hour or if I get a short break where I need to be quiet for a few moments. I recently finished 2 tea towels and then spent last Sunday night putting a little trim on each one and backing them with a coordinating fabric.
I backed this one with a predominatley orange batik fabric that had tiny but vibrant bits of yellow throughout.
You can kind of see the texture of the towels in this last picture. See how I got that grid effect in the puppy’s fur? That’s due to the texture of the towel, it’s almost comparable to a looser cross stitch fabric called Aida cloth.
This mermaid towel was a crafty feeling I had last week and I needed a project to keep my hands busy. I had iron on the pattern month ago but never went any further.
Her tail and the gold flecks in her hair were done with DMC’s satin floss, which is one of my favorite threads to use when I have to fill in larger spaces. The satin floss seems to be able to fill in more quickly, that might be my mind doing tricks on me though. The large ric-rac was an afterthough, sort of the top of the waves in the ocean.
This one was also backed with a batick fabric, it has a blue-ish green bubbly texture; it felt very “under the sea”.
I wish I could have gotten a better picture of the texture of the starfish. He es done all in french knots, so he’s got a swirly texture.
No matter what, there will always be wrinkles around her tail *sigh*
The bubbles were done in a very light blue with a touch of iridescent blending filament. Very bubbly and shiny.
2 comments July 16, 2008
Sorry.
I’m sorry…I really am and have no excuse for my extended absence.
I have an offering though, how about a picture of my new kitten?
3 comments July 8, 2008
The Holga and Diana Went to The Park…
click on each picture to be taken to my Flickr so you can see the full size
At the Botanical Gardens, this is right at the entrance to the Japanese Gardens. Such a beautiful place.
A mosaic statue of a person praying.
A close up of some flowers, there’s something very dreamy about it.
1 comment June 2, 2008
Recent Ebay Button Aquisitions
This is a freaking huge button. I really like it but wish there was a little more color to show the details of the mermaid. Hrmpf.
Not a vintage button, a mermaid behind resin in a silver cup.
These are the new pride and joy of my button collection. They come from the garment district in New York circa 1920’s. They’re pretty fabulous when sitting in your hand. I think the blue one is the best!
(Did I just turn my blog into “adult content” with all the mermaid boobs?! HA! Who would have though that a post about buttons would yield so much nipple. I bet my blog hits just went up because I typed nipple! Twice! HA!)
Add comment May 30, 2008
Catching Up!
A few months go by, I make a few posts a week and everything is great and then I forget to take pictures. And then everything piles up where I have to make a post apologizing for not updating like I should.
*sigh*
I’m going to try and set a little better about that. Stability is the key here.
Anyway, I really do have some super awesome and fun things to update with. For instance, I know I talked about the glass classes that I’ve been taking but I haven’t taken a single picture of my finished work. I ended up coming home with 6 different plates, a set of coasters and some pieces of glass that I don’t know what to do with. Taking photos of glass is a bitch, so I know I’m going to have to set up a little studio to get things going.
Speaking of photos, I broke out the Holga and the Diana+ and went over to the Missouri Botanical Garden to take some photos of the Niki exhibit. I felt like a huge, goofy hipster traipsing throughout the garden with my Yahoo branded messenger bag filled with cameras but I did have a good time. I’ll find out if I got some gems or not tonight!
Now one thing that is probably pretty apparent is that I really enjoy hoarding things, in fact I jokingly refer to myself as a crazed chipmunk. Well over the years I hoarded a pretty nice collection of makeup samples that I finally convinced myself to sell them on Ebay. They sold for a nice amount and I used the acquired funds to purchase a Gocco.
This thing is blowing me away with fun. Out of control fun. I’ve done two unique prints and I might just throw a few of them up in the old Etsy shop. Guess what’s holding me back? PICTURES!
I also just signed up for a vintage button swap on Craftster and I’m pretty sure I was paired up with the most perfect person ever for this swap, I cannot wait! Too fun!
I leave you with the cutest felt food ever made by my friend Jenny.
3 comments May 28, 2008
Well Hello There!
A big “hello” to everyone visiting from IKEA Hacker!
Stop in, look around and leave a comment so I can read your blogs as well!
1 comment May 21, 2008
Jar of Whimsies – Part 2
And here is the amazing jar that I received.
Contents:
My swap partner went above and beyond and she really went with the vintage theme that I wanted. I was really touched that she included a “little people” person as she explained that they always had a special place in her heart as she was a sickly child and they were one of her favorite things.
1 comment May 2, 2008
Jar of Whimsies – Part 1
The first time I ever heard the term “Jar of Whimsies” was from One Good Bumblee. Basically, it’s a jar filled with little treasures like Cracker Jack Toys, vintage buttons and bits of ribbon; anything tiny and fascinating gets put into the jar.
I recently participated in a Craftster swap where we created jars of whimsies, here is the jar and the contents that I sent to my partner. Part 2 will cover the amazing jar that I received.
The contents:
Add comment April 30, 2008
I’ve Been Up to So Many Things…
…and have been so busy with life.
I can’t wait to update you on my recent projects and my amazing experiences at glass class but for now a pendant I threw together today to hold us over.
The flowers are from my vintage stacking beads, the middle is an antique button from the 1920’s with an aurora finish. The bail (the loop that connects it to the necklace) is sterling silver.
Add comment April 27, 2008
Etsy Picks – April 17th, 2008
The Big Minuature Sampler by abelemporium
Ok, everyone knows that cupcakes are super trendy and I’m thinking they’re going to be “in fashion” for quite a while. I think these awesome cupcake toppers are going to be the newest addition to the trend. They all look vintage, but they’re not! When perusing the store, go ahead and buy the Magical Forrest Sampler set and invite me over for cupcakes and coffee! Please!
Woodland Necklace by lusterstudio
While we’re on the subject of magical Forest creatures, I thought I’d bring up this little pretty gem. I’ve been really drawn to kitsch lately and this is really full filling that need. The price is fabulous for all the little detail this pendant has; check out the Rainy Day Necklace too!
6 Soapsicle Party Pack by soapylove
I squealed at these, couldn’t help it. If you’re a reader of this blog, you know I love me some super saturated colors. I think these would be the cutest party favors ever. Take a moment and browse all the styles offered, I love the one titled “dreamy”.
Add comment April 17, 2008
Easy and Functional
A few weeks ago, I participated in Bath/Spa swap over at Craftster. If you’re a crafty type and have not participated in any of these; shame on you for missing out on all the fun. Seriously, they have swaps for all types of crafty people, from the gothic to the new mothers. Nothing is more fun than coming home from a long day at work to a big box of surprises!
Anyway, I was excited for the bath swap because I have an unusually large stash of Lush product that I really love to send to people, this of course was a perfect excuse. The only problem was that you’re supposed to send things that you make as well (duh) so I had to come up with a few ideas.
One thing I sent was a small cosmetic type pouch.
What made the pouch so special was it was the very first time I ever inserted a zipper, I used a tutorial that I found on Craftster.
I also made a hair turban. Basically the turban is made of absorbant terry cloth, wrapped around the head and secured with loop around a button. It’s an easy desgin and a really functional thing, I use one every single morning! It cuts down on hair drying time and looks nice if you have to answer the door.
Here is the front view, notice my amazing widow’s peak and stew in your own jealousy.
The back view.
A closeup of the vintage button I used (including a loose string of two!)
I made a quick graphic tutorial on how to make your own, click on the picture to be taken to my Flickr where you can see it in larger sizes if you need to.
- Cut out two pieces of fabric that look like the pink image.
- Sew the top (the rounded head part and the tail) together.
- Finish off the raw edges at the bottom.
- Sew on a loop of ribbon or rope on the tail.
- Sew on a cute button at the rounded head part.
Or course you can go crazy and embellish the hell out of it! Have fun and comment or email me if you have any questions!
1 comment April 9, 2008
