carpentry craft?

[peacevine.livejournal.com]

hmmm...I don't know if you guys and gals can help me with this but...
I'm moving into an apt soon and have just about no furnishings- so I figure it would be fun to make my own!
Specifically, I'd like to make a desk and a coffee table, but I have never really built stuff like this and I want it to be somewhat crafty but I do not use too many tools as I don't have them.
Alternitavely, I'm thinking about getting random stuff from the thrift store and transforming them into furniture.

Any ideas/designs? Any other places I should be checking out?
Thanks a bunch!

p.s. sorry about no pics for the bowls/plates post- already gave them to my friend, but I'll post up mine own whenever I get to them.

I've looked, but need more help

[naelany.livejournal.com]

Ok, I did find a duckie mold for soapcrafting (the melt and pour kind), but I think it's a bit on the pricey side. I have never made anything with soap before in my life, and I wanted to make my mother in law some duck-soap (her fave football team is the Oregon Ducks...get it?).
What I was thinking, could I cut up a rubber duckie and use it as a mold????????? If so, how would I best go about it?
I'm strapped for funds at the moment thanks to medical bills, and her birthday's later this month, so I don't have much time either. Any help would be appreciated.
Oh, and did I understand it right that I can use food coloring for soaps? And can I add vanilla essential oil for fragrance???
Sorry if I sound kinda dense, but I'm trying at least.
Thanks for your help you wonderful peeps.

(no subject)

[nerdieangel.livejournal.com]

I recently purchased 3 more cameras to add to my collection, 1 needs a battery adapter because they no longer make those types of batteries and the other needs respooled film, which thanks to those here, I have been able find places to get that. My only other issue with the Kodak Vigilante is the lack of a battery which makes it difficult for me to tell if a picture was taken. Does anyone have this camera and know how exactly it works? It still has a roll of film in it from way back when, so I have been trying to take a few pics, but I'm not sure what I'm doing really. Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

(no subject)

[lindseythefork.livejournal.com]

HeLLooOooo.. I'm having difficulty finding those bracelet blanks to make glass marble picture bracelets. Someone said look at Rings n Things (www.rings-things.com), but alas, I could not find anything. I think the problem is that I don't know what to look for, exactly, in that I don't know their proper name; anyone have a clue, besides "those bracelet blanks you use to make glass marble picture bracelets"??

product review/rant

[samuraigrrrl.livejournal.com]

I hope this post is OK with the moderators and that some of you find it helpful. I've been wanting to learn to crochet for years now and finally I purchased the Wrights/Boye "I Taught Myself to Crochet" kit for $12 at Wal-Mart, thinking that it included everything (except the yarn, of course) that I would need to get started and finish a project.
*The Kit Includes: The "I Taught Myself to Crochet" book; Crochet Hooks sizes F, G, H, I, K; Afghan Hook size I; Tapestry Yarn Needles; Stitch Marker Rings; Bulky Knit Yarn Bobbins; Bonus: 3 new patterns featuring Lion Brand Yarns.
*The lessons and instructions were, to me, vague and the diagrams and illustrations were confusing for a beginner. I ended up referring to a Better Homes and Gardens crocheting & knitting book published in 1977 for how to make basic stitches.
*After practicing for a bit, I decided I might tackle one of the three projects featured in the book from the kit. I chose the "Pound of Love Hooded Baby Afghan". So, even though the instructions in the book were worthless to me, I thought that I could still make use of the pattern and the hooks.
*I made a trip to Jo-Ann's and found the Lion Brand Pound of Love yarn on sale. When I opened the package at home, I realized that the pattern for the Hooded Baby Afghan was printed on the inside of the yarn label for free. Not wanting the kit to be a total loss, I told myself that at least I'd spent my $12 and wound up with 6 hooks and I'll be able to use them on the project...
*NOPE! The Hooded Baby Afghan as printed in the book and on the yarn label suggests using a "J" size hook. The kit DID NOT include the "J" hook! A double check and I found that the other two featured "bonus" patterns need a size "Q" and size "N" respectively. The kit comes with NEITHER of those hooks!
*I went back to Jo-Ann's and bought a Susan Bates size J hook and I love the way it works so much better than the Boye hooks, that I doubt that I'll ever pick up a Boye hook again.
In conclusion, this kit was COMPLETELY worthless to me.
A TOTAL waste of funds.
Other would-be self-taught crocheters, BEWARE!
Don't get caught hook, line and sinker like I did.

Pillow!

[maybeimlucky.livejournal.com]

I actually finished all my homework the other day, so I was bored and made a tiny pillow with extra scraps of material.
( look! )

(no subject)

[blahdeblahblah.livejournal.com]

Just a couple things I've made recently....

( lots of pictures back here )

someone gave me yet another idea

[jloopy.livejournal.com]

if any of you are crafty people (who are curvy, curvy supporters or just looking for a place to promote your stuff) that have ebay stores or web sites selling your wares would like to be listed on curvywomenrock and it's store, send me a link and a picture of what you sell and i will give you a little free advertising

please limit it to stuff you make -- i.e. not an e-bay store that sells you kid's outgrown clothes or old records

of course, i would appreciate a link back somewhere but it is not a requirement

A "Thank you!" and some random tips...

[rhiannontherose.livejournal.com]

I wanted once again to thank everyone who responded to my posts about the wedding dress design and the hand flower. You gave me some wonderful feedback, a smattering of advice, and most importantly...confidence! I never expected the amount of positive comments I got, and I am still turning funny colors.

This effort at turning my crafting into my official career and full-time business is really frightful and overwhelming. It is all the more so nerve-wracking and insecurity-feretting because it is oh-so-important to me. I have a mobility-impairment and a smattering of minor other disabilities that are progressively interfering with my working "normal" jobs. My husband's search for better work is hindered by his need to worry about finding work compatable with work for me, since he is providing all the transportation for both of our jobs. We have recently had to give up our dreams of PhD's because of finances and my general health, and have settled on a new life plan...that aims for need-meeting and happiness by way of him having more freedom to find a "providor" job that he can stand and that doesn't wear on *him* physically, and for me to be able to do this as my professional career, so that my condition just maybe stops degenerating so quickly, I can still contribute financially to our household, so that we can save for a house, and be able to start our family. We really want to be able to start our family. :-) If I can pull off having my crafting as my career, I could still work through a pregnancy, and even at-home-mom!

All this, really, just to impress upon you how much it means to me...to us...to hear that you think I'm not completely loony to think that maybe, just maybe, this can all work. So thank you, thank you again, for your wonderful responses.

In thanks, I thought I'd post a few answers to questions that I get asked all the time at work (I work in a Fabrics & Crafts Department, at the moment)...

( Here you go.. )

...this is what i like to do everyday....:)

[lolla.livejournal.com]

...my latest creations...;)
( only for your eyes )

Crazy Crafting Questions (excuse my wordy-ness)

[-night-light-.livejournal.com]

Hey, yeah I lurk and post comments and...hooray...I finally joined.

Question: If I want to sew patches (the iron-on type) onto a canvas tote bag, would you recommend me not using my sewing machine? It was pretty pricey and I don't want to mess it up. Also if I can use a sewing machine, what type of foot should I use, and should I just use straight-stich or what?

Sorry for the excessive inquisitiveness, but I've never sewn with patches before.

( Another question behind the cut )

How fabulous is this?

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

So I've got wayyy too much craft stuff. On this wall I was going to have some shelving installed but I happened upon these storage caddys today at kmart, and they were only 20$, so instead of shelving I'm going to get two or three more to store the majority of my supplies. the best part is that they're on casters, so i can wheel the whole thing over to wherever i'm working. This is really useful, since I'm constantly moving from my dining room to the 2nd spare bedroom while working on projects and the clear drawers are easy to see into and removable.

This caddy is mostly holding all my card making supplies, the top three drawers are all papers and then there are embelishments (fibers, ribbons, my eyelet collection, powders, pigments) then there is a drawer full of stamp pads and reinkers and some random small stamps. The last drawer is full of blank journals and books that I'd like to alter, although the journals take priority, work before fun and all.

This entry sounds like I own stock in these storage caddys...anyway, go get one, they are fabulous.

(no subject)

[kellie-bellie.livejournal.com]

How do would one go about making a t-shirt longer? Not wider, but longer. There's a shirt that needs to be longer because it was bought a size to small for a relatively skinny person.

(no subject)

[rawiscorrri.livejournal.com]

am i the only one or is craftster gone??! when i went there it said it was "gone"...not the typical "cannot find server" message. what happen?

(no subject)

[greenjeanz.livejournal.com]

I thought of something great the other day while I was lying in bed: Using the little sugar/chocolate skull molds for ice cubes! It would be great for parties, you could serve a neutral drink(lemonade, ginger ale, champagne or another clear/neutral alcohol, orange juice, etc.) with a kool-aid/fruit juice skull cube that would slowly melt to release the flavour. :D

latest creations

[jenkel.livejournal.com]

i'm new here, so i'd thought i'd share a few things.

here are a few of my most recent projects:

bag & wristbands