Quick tip I stumbled upon today

[eponine84.livejournal.com]

Like many of you, I am a student, and like most students, I am broke.

Though I was crafty in a few of my Christmas gift endeavors (I'm a big knitter and did quite a bit of knitwork for gifts), I ran out of time/energy/finals took over/I got lazy, and ended up buying for most of my friends.

Well, I didn't really want to spend $3.99 on four yards of nonrecyclable paper printed with snowmen, so what did I do? I got crafty!

I had a couple smaller things to wrap, so for those, I used magazine pages (ads for Mona Lisa Smile, male torsos, etc.). Magazine pages are indispensable for the crafty type; not only do they double as wrapping paper for small gifts, but they make excellent envelopes, too. For the bigger things, I Mod Podged some cute, Christmasy images onto newspaper. Easy, cheap, and eco-friendly. And if my digicam wasn't being silly, I'd post pictures.

Thought I'd give an option for cheap giftwrapping to all y'all in this season of giving!

scarves

[sairyuu.livejournal.com]

scarfy goodness. here is my boy modeling both scarves (crocheted red and cream scarf and skull scarf) and me in skull scarf for fun, and a skull detail...
( Read more... )

Pin-Up Purse

[lvlylatinalady.livejournal.com]

I've had these for awhile now and I took some pics with my hubbys Sprint PCS camera *NOT A PLUG*..lol... And they may be a little fuzzy. They are of pin-ups that I got out of some book that had like, two hundred of them. I just mod-podged them onto a blank white lunchbox from Micheals. Then I varnished it with some brush on. I've gotten tons of compliments on them and am quite proud. There is quite a few behind the cut, but they are not big pics....
Like em?
X-Posted into Pin-Ups

*Front Of First One*

( More Lovely Ladies.... )

Butterfly hair clips

[pumpsnail.livejournal.com]

Using nail polish to snazz up a plain plastic butterfly hair clip: yea or nay?

I have missed being active in this community. I'm in my first year of college and finals are coming up, so I haven't been reading or posting as much as before. Here's what's been going on with me lately though:

Christmas pressies:
My dad is getting a blue hat I knit. First time using circs and DPNs, and it turned out really nice.
My sister is getting knit armwarmers using a pretty rainbow-type yarn.
My mom is getting a scarf in two shades of pink to match the mittens I made for her birthday.
My grandparents are getting ornaments with my face on them (I'm not egotistical, I swear. They always tell me how much they want to see more pictures of me, and now that I'm 1500 miles away, they tell me this more often. Plus, I've done less sentimental gifts for them in the past and they always seem to flop, so I think a gift of granddaughterly love is in order)..the ones where you cut 20 small circles and fold them into triangles and all that. I think the instructions are in the memories. I'm going to make one each of a recent picture of me cut into sections, so the entire thing makes some sort of a face-like collage thing, and then a similar one of my younger sister, and then one of lots of tiny baby and growing-up pictures of us. I hope they (both sets of grandparents) enjoy them.

So, in conclusion, I miss posting here more and after next month, expect to see me back in action!

piggy hand puppet!

[jesamine.livejournal.com]

i made a pig hand puppet to go with the cow and bear hand puppets i made. i used the pattern for the cow found here...which i modified slighty, to make it more pig-like!



:D

(no subject)

[jesamine.livejournal.com]

y'know those book ring thingys...they were used to join that record journal that was posted a while ago. does anyone know where i can get some online? or even, what they're actually called, so i can find them??

(no subject)

[vixen4987.livejournal.com]

hey ya i'm kayleigh, i like to do crafts but i'm broke this year!!!! i already did my mom's and dad's and grandpa's presents (i made them lil painted candle votive holder things) and a couple of my frineds, but i'm sooooooooooooooo stuck on my brother and sister, lol. my sister's 22 and my brother's 19... sister is a huuuuuuge feminist lol and brother loooooooves anything to do with antique cars.

and i have noooo idea for my friends! lol. so it looked like you give good advice about christmas pressies and i thought i'd ask. thanx, you guys make cool stuff :> gtg to skool, i'll check back at lunch and after skool!

(no subject)

[dimpledork.livejournal.com]

just thought i'd let you ladies know that i plugged this community in an article i did for my school paper on christmas crafts.

have a nice day :)

(no subject)

[http://users.livejournal.com/_lilac_/]

I'd really like a bermuda bag:

I love the idea that you change the covers and make your own!

I've been searching on ebay for one but there aren't many and only a few that ship to sweden. So I was thinking that maybe anyone of you guys had one you'd be willing to sell to me. At least it's worth a try. I don't really need a cover just as long as there's a handle because I could make the cover myself.

So I just hope I'll have some luck here *crosses fingers*

what to do, what to do??

[dyingeuphoria.livejournal.com]

Heya.
I just hollowed out a bunch of books to make bags for people's presents this year, and now I am left with a bunch of paper...or stories without covers, and I don't know what to do with them. =(

ANy ideas, grrls?

P.S. you might hate me for this, but I have a coverless Darwin's Theory of Evolution and a really cool vintage children's story book from the 70's...yikes!

(no subject)

[ex-misschili604.livejournal.com]

With Christmas coming up soon, and without a lot of time or money (of course, I'd probably have more money if I didn't have this craft habit, but that means I can make presents), I was thinking about what to give to my fiance's 11- and 13-year-old cousins. Yesterday, I decorated two notebooks, one for each of them. I'm going to find some gel pens or something and give them to the girls for Christmas. (Girls like pens and notebooks, right? I was a girl once, and I remember that I did, but I also acknowledge that I'm not typical.) I also started making some gift tags; unlike the Christmas cards I scanned the other day, these look more shimmery than they are.

( hidden behind a cut because I care )

Again, just one

[twotrees.livejournal.com]

I have already posted about this, but here are the pics of my Harvey collage, shrine box and other such things.

x-posted to Craftgrrl and my journal

http://www.geocities.com/gehunter/sallie_pix

scarf thickness

[sairyuu.livejournal.com]

i got in a fight with my boy yesterday about my scarves. he didn;t want to wear them for the pictures because they are "lame"... (and no it wasn't a HUGE fight, we bickered. he did end up wearing them)

why are my scarves lame? he says they are too thick. i like to be able to fold it in half to keep my neck extra warm this goes back to when i had no hair (extreme dramatic aline).

i thought *all* scarves were the thickness i made mine.

wassup with these new thin scarves??

btw how skinny should a skinny scarf be? can guys were them? should they be thicker for boys... but still skinny?

Boffer Sword

[demarazare.livejournal.com]

A guy friend of mine helped me make this functional and safe boffer sword to "fight" with. It's made mostly from PVC pipe, a camping mat, and duct tape.

( more pictures )

It's great for hitting brothers with. :)

Anyway, my friend promises to give me the web site that helped him with directions, since most boffer swords are a lot simpler than this, and I will be attempting to make another one without his experience guiding me over break. If any of you ladies would be interested in learning how, I'll post it when I get it.

I'm sorry that I didn't post this sooner so you guys could also spend Christmas swordfighting with little brothers and sisters. If anyone is really ambitious, it took me a weekend to make, but you could probably do it in a day if you had all the materials.

Long time lurker, first time poster.

[dabble.livejournal.com]

Ive been lurking for a while and am in awe of the cleverness I see here. I am totally inspired to get crafty.

Just wanted to contribute the last major craft thing I did.

( musically speaking )

x-posted to crochet and craftgirl and my journal.

[melena.livejournal.com]

( 3 christmas present scarves )

Holiday Card!

[theaterdiva.livejournal.com]

Every year, I like to try to make the Holiday cards I send out. Now that I have an image host, I can start posting all kinds of stuff, but for right now, I'm starting with this card.

( Open the card! )

Toy car garage: any ideas?

[firebirdsfather.livejournal.com]

I've got the urge to make stuff, I think I want to make a garage for my daughter's cars (hotwheel and bigger sized). Any ideas? I'm not really setup for building a box for it, though that's what I'd really like, a wooden box... just wondering if anyone has ideas... Any ideas on where to find a good selection of wooden boxes? maybe ones with shelves in them? little divided spots would be coolest, since that way each one could have a parking spot... brain storming, that's all...

Lion Brand Microspun yarn problems.

[ijustlookasian.livejournal.com]

I bought two balls of Lion Brand Microspun in black and red. Tried making scarf, armwarmer anything with it and find it increasingly hard to work with. The problem is that the individual strands come unraveled and I stab it with the crochet hook, through the yarn, making it all shitty looking. It doesn't stay twisted together like the regular Lion Brand Wool Ease or Red Heart. The result is I can't grab all of the strands, or I go back and grab it, but it's pulled out farther than the rest, it takes me forever, esp when hdc to make any progress bc I have to be super careful. Am I doing something wrong? Please help. I love how soft this yarn is.
Cross post to crochet as well.

new necklace NOW WORKING!

[colourflake.livejournal.com]

This is a necklace I made with marbles!

You can see it here .... ! (I think it's working now!)

Good book for beginners

[ijustlookasian.livejournal.com]

I got this book from lemonlies for Christmas.
I noticed a resurging interest in knitting and crocheting again, thought you all might like this book. Really good photos and details. Helped me a lot.

Good HouseKeeping Illustrated Book of Needlecrafts

Tiara...

[g33ku5.livejournal.com]

Hey, haven't posted here much but anyway... heh..

My friend really wants a tiara for Christmas, does anyone know how if I would be able to make one..?

Thank you xx

... more "help me with ideas for gifts!" pleading ...

[guppygrrl.livejournal.com]

I need help with ideas for my husband. I know that I'm just not thinking outside the box enough, but unfortunately my mind is totally stuck. Please help?

Him: 30 (31 in April, he's a Taurus and very Taurus-like). Chin-only goatee with jazz patch, no mustache. Dark hair he's growing out again that's he's currently slicking back. 75% covered in tattoos, is a tattoo artist and owns his own tattoo parlor. Obsessed with monkeys (my nickname for him is Monkey, his for me is Fish, a shortening of my screenname KissyFish), cats (we have 8 live ones and 2 robot ones), tattoos (obviously), Las Vegas and gambling (we got married in Vegas, actually), Coca-cola. Likes model cars, but the kind you just decorate, not the kind you snap together (too impatient for that). Artist - paints, draws, makes mixed media collages. Loves incredibly tacky "white trash" kind of stuff (think trailer park with pink flamingoes in the yard kind of tacky). Obsessed with showering and bathing and pampering items like that - have soap making supplies, but no way to get any other kind of bath stuff supplies.

Me: general all around crafty punk girl. Can sew, crochet, knit, sculpt, paint, woodworking (with a Dremel). You can dream it, I can probably do it. I have very very little money (had to quit my phone sex job for a while due to my illness [severely painful endometriosis and I've recently restarted a twice monthly weeklong "cycle" again - fun! *sigh*], though I should have one more check from them waiting for me, so I might have $100 altogether to spend on Xmas for everyone - I'm making stuff mostly, though). I have a TON of crap around the house to make stuff with since I never throw anything away - yarn, fabric, bottle caps, frames, random pieces of wood, beads, wire, threads, records - again, if you can think of it, I probably have it.

Issues: he has a million hats and pairs of gloves/mittens. He will not wear a scarf. Does not need a bag of any kind. *DID* like the stuffed monkey I crocheted for him when he randomly said something like that would be funny (sorry, no pattern - just made a circle, then increased for the body, decreased for the neck, increased for the head, decreased to close. Tubes for the arms, legs and tail, embroidered the face). Possibly could figure out how to crochet up a kitten - I've spun some wool out of his favorite cat's fur - maybe that would work.

We like to give each other lots of little silly gifts - I'm just at a loss of what to make, since I have to make it all. Though we usually have a "main" gift for each other, everything else could be considered "stocking gifts", so it doesn't have to be elaborate, just...meaningful in some way to us - cats, monkeys, fish, Coca-cola, Vegas. He's also artistic and crafty, so I kinda feel like I have to do it *right*, you know? *LOL*

I'm sorry this is so long winded, but I'm really at a loss, and wanted to give as much info as possible.

~Kissy the Panicked Fish

corey marie's a machine!

[pixelicious.livejournal.com]

i made a whole bunch of stuff, including kitten hats, a skull & crossbones hat for my boy, quilted pot holders for my dad, and a scrapbook page. ( you'll find pictures behind this here cut. )

needlepoint/cross-stitch program help

[guppygrrl.livejournal.com]

Does anyone in this community have one of those programs that turns any image you want into a cross stitch pattern? You know, it pixelates it AND tells you what colors of floss to use?

OR

Do you know of a good version of such a program that has a free trial? My husband and I thought x-stitching a pillow for his brother would be a cute present, so I just have one picture of a cat that I'd like to do this with.

Push comes to shove, I guess I can try stenciling it, though my past experiences with making a stencil using a grey cat were rather dismal (thus the x-stitch idea).

There are ways you can x-stitch kind of quickly, right? By using a large weave or something? It's just...a bunch of Xs in different colors, yes? The idea is that it's something my husband, of little patience to learn a new project, can help me with (doing some of the stitches while I work on crocheting his sister's scarf, etc - ie., he'll be doing it supervised. *snicker*).

It's the floss colors I think I really need, to get the gradiation of Smokey's greys looking good. *L*

Thanks for any info you can provide. If you have such a program and are willing to transfer it into the pattern with the floss info for me, leave a message here so I can send you the picture. :) Thanks thanks thanks thanks thanks!!!

~Kissy

Paper Crane Ornaments

[sarahbellem.livejournal.com]

(sort of x-posted to my own journal...)

Well, thanks to the ingenious suggestion of one of our fellow crafty grrls (please feel free to refresh my memory as to who originally posted the suggestion so I can give proper props), I made about 2 dozen paper crane ornaments on Saturday.

( Behold, the pretty cranes! )

My cost estimate for one crane is about $0.50, if that. So now everyone and their grandmother is getting a lovely paper crane ornament for X-mas. And I know I'm probably going to be keeping a few for myself, because darnit, they're just so pretty!

And incidentally, the cranes themselves make fabulous kitty toys.

***EDITED TO ADD***

Just found the original post in the FAQ. A very special thank you to ireneadler for sharing the idea with everyone! You rock! :)

[jars jars jars]

[youwontremember.livejournal.com]

this is what i made today...the mod podge is still drying but i love it so far<3
( vanilla sugah mmm... )

:)

probably xposted to craftgrrl

most recepies taken from www.marthastewart.com
im attaching a card and a receipe with all the jars. :)

decoupage issues!

[laurenrambles.livejournal.com]

hey everyone!
im having a decoupage crisis. i usually prefer glossy finish, so thats the only type of mod podge i have. but im working on a project, and looking at it i feel like it might look better if i finished it matte. id rather not go out and buy a new jar, cause i dont think id use it much. is there any way to get my glossy to look more matte? or any other suggestions? thanks!

(no subject)

[nirvanasashes.livejournal.com]

OK, so. For Christmas, Im going to make people record bowls and then inside I was thinkin about making round cookies and frosting them to look like records. So, Im using pink frosting and black icing and I was trying to think about what to write on them. Im probably going to make 60 cookies, about 3 per person.
Im thinking Rock and Roll quotes, like the obvious "Peace, Love, Rock N' Roll" but do you guys have any ideas for others?


thanks a bunch! Must go, cookies are burning :D

Cozy & fun inspiration

[chele75.livejournal.com]

I was out Christmas shopping and saw these cute fleece hats for kids in a store window and instantly thought that any craftgrrl could do just as well....



The ones I saw were solid colors (the pink was my favorite)!

Then I started surfing around for other fleece hats and found these....

( Lookie! )

Generic Gifts?

[arachnophile.livejournal.com]

Hey, everyone. I'm soooo sorry to post yet another "what can I give this person" question...I checked the FAQ's and I haven't seen any posts quite like this. So here's the situation. I need very small trinket-type gifts for a whole bunch of people.

( I babble too much )

I need a simple, generic present that would appeal to anyone, regardless of age, interests or ~religion~ (yep, some Jewish people too so I need to be careful about the xmas theme stuff). ANY ideas would be greatly appreciated.

Christmas Gifts Finished!!!!

[polkadottedcows.livejournal.com]

Despite the 3 feet of snow we have, i was relatively productive today. I finished some things and took pictures of some things i finished over the weekend. My Christmas gifts are officially completed :) and all of my shopping done. Yay!

( Pictures of some gifts )

Hooray for lip gloss!

[http://users.livejournal.com/miss_g_/]

I made my first lip gloss today, I'm pretty pleased! (I wont post pics because it looks boring). Anyway I used 1 tsp of beeswax, 2 tsps of sweet almond oil, half a tsp of lanolin, a few drops of musk fragrant oil (yum), and half a teaspon of honey. I also tried to add this pink lip stuff called pink ink, but I tell you what, its not ink, and it wouldn't blend at all :P Next time I'll use a sliver of lipstick. Anyway it's really glossy and is lasting ages.
Things I will change for next time:

1 full tsp of honey (I could barely taste it)
1 drop of musk FO only (a few was too much for a recipe this small)
A bit of lipstick!

Does anyone have any lipgloss recipes that are really, stupidly, glossy? I'd love to hear them!

First Sewn Project!

[http://users.livejournal.com/_yesh/]

I just finished the first thing I've ever sewn on the sewing machine... granted, it looks off cause I didn't do any measurements or anything, and I was just in a hurry to make something that I made this!

( who doesn't love purses? )

more gifts.

[dirtyrobotman.livejournal.com]

i have finished the gift for my roomate, and i need some suggestions for packaging.

( miss kristin, do not look if you do not want to spoil christmas! )

hmm.

[teaspoons.livejournal.com]

I'm confused.
i don't get the part where it says:
With RS facing, evenly pick up and knit 48 sts along the length of the piece.
With RS facing, evenly pick up and k 18 sts along the left side of the strip, using a dpn.

Any help would be appreciated! [:

(no subject)

[jinfae.livejournal.com]

crochet question from a novice:

why is it thatmy scarves/ afghans alll get shorter and shorter in width as i go up?

& how do i fix that? thankso much

crafty girls in three feet of snow.

[lemononmylips.livejournal.com]

my friend kate ireneadler and i were crafty today. since i have a digi cam, i told her i would post her pics of the cranes that she wrote the directions/suggestions for here: http://www.livejournal.com/community/craftgrrl/2480842.html

kate and her creation.

the cranes.

oops

[-elise.livejournal.com]

i am making a scarpbook as a gift and i used elmers glue to glue a photo to the page and it turned out all lumpy. is there anyway to fix it? what should i use to stick it?

EDIT..sorry i should have read the FAQ..never seen it =(
sorry

knitting like whoa.

[lemononmylips.livejournal.com]

kate ireneadler knits like a maniac and she is darn good at it.
i'm posting these just for her. she made both the hats and the gorgeous scarf.


( a couple more... )

i should make my own hallmark.

[lemononmylips.livejournal.com]

mmmmore craftiness. these are my cards. one for the roomie and one for a very good friend.

helen loves martinis.

( the inside pink goodness. )

(no subject)

[blissedmistake.livejournal.com]

the past few weekends i've been busy making cards to send out and some for my mom. i used pressed paper from molds, stamps and i embossed. the pictures i took don't do them justice. i also got some transfers which were kind of neat.

Here's a few of them. :-)

( to the cards )

(no subject)

[--heavythoughts.livejournal.com]

I made one of my friends a decoupaged frame by being a cheap frame at target and decoupaging some michael's scrapbooking paper on it. then i took marbles and made marble magnets (minus the magnets..lol). i printed out the words "Best friends" twice and glue the letters onto the marbles. i put those around the frame. i hope she likes it.

( Christmas Present )

<333

computer cases

[sharmelon.livejournal.com]

Me and the bf are gonna do a little DIY project together. I'm excited. Ha ha.. and if I can remember lol I'm going to document EVERY SINGLE THING ABOUT IT. Yeah, I'm excited. I've been artsy and he's been really into modding his computer and whatnot and then I got crafty and he wants to be all DIY.. but in a non-girly, non-crafty, manly sort of way.

Anyway, I've got an OLD computer case. It's from one of the first computers our family had.. and that was a VERY long time ag. Dad found it in the garage and gave it to me so I could play around with it. The bf got a dremel and so now we're planning on cutting the case, adding a window, fixing it up a bit, painting it, etc...

Quick question though -- am I going to need to do something to the case before we paint it? We're planning on using spray paint. And also, will we need anything on top of it? Any and all comments are greatly appreciated. :)

Thanks in advance.

(no subject)

[idripmelting.livejournal.com]

hmmm okay so im in the process of making a card for my friends birthday, which is today, and ill being seeing her in 1 hour.

but im stuck, sorta kinda. see, i put on the card a copy of gustav klimts - the kiss, and i want to write something beside it but im at a loss, do any of you have any thoughts?

thanks in advance! :)

Picture posting

[twotrees.livejournal.com]

I don't understand why the picture posting isn't working for others. It worked for me, but then I am a computer dunce. How do I get another website to host them? How do I do all of this pic posting stuff? Help!

x-posted to my journal

(no subject)

[justamy.livejournal.com]

lets say you have a brown paper box from hobby lobby and you're going to fill it with a whole mess of cheesey, sweet, love love stuff for your boyfriend....

how would YOU decorate the box?

scarf lovahhs community

[dointhepanic.livejournal.com]

we_like_scarves

hey kids, i'm starting a SCARF APPRECIATION comm...so come on out and show off the stuff you've made, cause i've seen some VERY awesome scarf knitting/crocheting/sewing on craftgrrl before. it'd make me very happy indeed. ^_^

(no subject)

[hot-robot-sex.livejournal.com]

i want to get THAT onto a canvas. but how? i can enlarge it and print it out. i tried to coat it in water and slap it against the canvas in hopes that the ink would smeak into it. it just made one big mess.

is there anyway i can get an image from paper, onto a canvas?

thanks.

(no subject)

[duckygurl.livejournal.com]

Somehow i miscalculated the amount of squares i needed, and i'm 2 short. <--- clicky!

I peiced everything else together, and started the top 'quilting' pulling crazy yarn thru at the corners to make a little 'yarn flower' or whatever the heck they're called (which wouldexplain the stringy things near the corners... those are just unclipped ones). I'm lazy, and haven't felt like ripping seams when i do it incorrectly, the next blanket i make will be done perfectly, so the yarn is to hide my little mistakes.

I think my next quilt will be a rag quilt, that affords imperfections. My co-worker is giving me fabric to use as the backing. Now i just have to learn how to put it all together... Oy!

lining this pouch...

[projectavoid.livejournal.com]

I've been doing some sewing experiments this evening, and I decided to sew myself a circle zip pouch. I didn't line it, because I haven't really got a clue about lining things with zippers and hiding all the raw edges (i usually just glue in the lining with fabric glue! shh, don't tell.)

How would I go about lining this pouch? I scanned it to my computer, I hope the pictures are ok. I don't care if I have to rip out the seams, really. I just have so much difficulty trying to line something with zippers while hiding the edges. I can line things with hiding the edges, and I can put in zippers, but I can't for the life of me do them together! HELP!!!!

( pictures under the cut )

Don't you hate it when the subject is "Help!"

[murdercitygrrrl.livejournal.com]

I know I've seen instructions on how to sew a messenger bag. In fact, I know that I've printed them out, and they have vanished.
I've checked the FAQ's. I've done google searches.
So either
a) I have some sort of mental defect/difficulty and I don't realize it.
b) I'm looking in the wrong place/using the wrong search phrases.
c) The instructions don't exist.

Please tell me that its b.

xposted to sew_hip, craftgrrl, and anywhere else I can think of later.