(no subject)

[broken-kitten.livejournal.com]

hi!

i have recently moved and am looking forward to decorating my new bedroom. in the past i have used Sticky Tac to hold my pictures and stuff on my walls. i have found, though, that sticky tac leaves marks on the walls and on some of my pictures (from magazines, mostly) making them look wet where i put the sticky tac. do you have any recommendations as to what has worked well for you for holding stuff on your walls?
i'd love to hear what's worked for you! thanks! ♥

me again..

[sporkburrito.livejournal.com]

Boredom at midnight + scrap yarn + the crocheting bug ( = )

(no subject)

[prophetspyder.livejournal.com]

Can you die over t-shirt transfers?

A few years ago some friends gave me a joke thong with a picture transferred on, but now it is all cracked and faded. It had been a white thong, and had a small Coke picture Santa on it.. I want to dye it black, but will it dye over the transfer, or just discolour it?

Old halloween costume.

[redchinadragon.livejournal.com]

I was looking through my old stuff and I found a costume I had hand sewn about 2 halloweens ago. It took me two complete weeks to try to figure out how I wanted it to look. It was my first sewing project in a while. Anyway, here it is!

(Two pictures)

( Costume! )

(no subject)

[xitsmylifex.livejournal.com]

Does anyone have a tutuorial/any instructions for sewing a round bag/purse? When I say round, I mean like a ball, so 3d round, not just the bag in the shape of a circle when you look at it flat.

I have an idea, but I want to try it out before I share it.

Boys... what would you want to sew?

[sugarmommaless.livejournal.com]

Hi,
I regularly teach pad-making workshops (reusable menstrual pads) and I've decided to do just a general beginner's sewing workshop that doesn't involve pads. It's going to be at LadyFest Ottawa http://www.ladyfest.org and it will be for a mixed group of people of all genders and aged probably from 15-35. There will likely be an overall punky aesthetic among those present.

I'm trying to think of simple project ideas that would appeal to boys and non-girly girls in order to make them want to learn to sew (and overcome a shred of our culture's constant attempt to create a sexual division in labour.)
And... I'm stumped.

I can think of purse, pads, skirts...
but I can’t think of anything non-dorky that would appeal equally to a roomful of political music-loving men, boys, girls & women.
My ideal project would be smallish, cheap to construct, and worth keeping once done. I want to project to have a little bit of challenge in it so they will actually learn some skills(like sweing curved seams, making a button hole, putting on snap, or puttin in a zipper.) Maybe he project should be music oriented?

So... any ideas for me?
(Boys, here's your chance to speak up!)

(Oh, and please forgive me for the nature of this post. I hate this type of post, but I’m feeling a little desperate so I’m actually doing it.)

(no subject)

[pinkheroin.livejournal.com]

Hey. i went threw the history and i couldnt really find what i was lookin for so im going to ask...

I have those safty instructions you get on plans or trains..and they are like plastic paper lol...i have seen people make bags and such out of these and i was just wondering how and what yo8u use to sew the sides together...i was just thinking cause i thought regular thread would be to thin and just break..

if anyone has any idea...id be very happy. thanks alot bybeyebye

New

[cannibalgirl666.livejournal.com]

Hi I'm new. I thought I'd post a purse I made a while ago.
( Lookie lookie )

(no subject)

[girlwithpencil.livejournal.com]

This is pretty off-topic, but also "crafty" and hillarious:

Maxi Pad slipper

Interfacing gone... weird.

[butterfield8.livejournal.com]

So, I wanted to make a cute pouch, but I knew how badly my first bag looked with no interfacing, because it was not stiff at all, just flimsy. So I decided that I needed to put interfacing in this one.

I looked around for something hard-ish that I knew the sewing machine could handle. After thinking magazine covers might work, I found canvas paper that I used for painting and decided that was better. This worked really well. Until it came time to turn my bag right-side-out after sewing the seams. WOAH bad idea. First I had to basically crumble the thing into a ball, causing the interfacing to rip (but not anything else) because it's just paper, and a lot of wrinkling. I pressed it after but I don't think it'll ever be the same.

I definately need to go to the fabric store to buy something different, I just don't want it to cost too much.

( Anyway, here's the pouch )

two easy ponchos

[avrage-princess.livejournal.com]

I know that the big thing this season is ponchos but I didn't want to go and buy one for $20 when I would just make one myself for under $3. so what did i do...? more info behind the cut...

( Read more... )

I made stuff!

[pumpsnail.livejournal.com]

(The subject line is oh-so-inspired. not.)

Before I get into the crafty pictures, I'd like to state that I have a kinda big (1/4 pound), untouched roll of 26 gauge silver wire that I'm never gonna use for anything. If anyone wants it, I'd be willing to send it off for just the cost of shipping. Any takers?


Anyway! Moving on!

First, my friend and I went to Otakon last weekend (omg yey!) and we decided at the last minute to cosplay as Generic Schoolgirls #37 and #38, or some shit. Well, schoolgirls need berets, so we found a SUPER EASY pattern online and sewed up a pair.

I'm not one to let a good thing go to waste after one weekend, so I pulled some pins off my backpack and am now...SUPER POSER!
( I can go to cafes and talk about art in this hat )

Now, unrelated to the beret, I made myself a circle skirt. I'm not sure what to call it--it's either, like, the circus skirt from hell, or something.
( pic )

And now...what I'm MOST proud of, is ( this )

tie quilting

[smashkin33.livejournal.com]

does anybody have any good links for information about tie quilting? i have never made a quilt before, and that seems like the easiest type for a first-timer (correct me if i'm wrong!)
thank you!

looking like a tree: advice for the craft-challenged?

[rocketbox.livejournal.com]

hello girls! i am doing some faery photos at the end of this month and was hoping to put together a tree-bark dress. (of course, it doesn't have to be MADE of actual tree bark - cleverly overlayed strips of brown cloth would do.)

the look i'm going for is nymph/dryad/druid-esque. i would love any tips you have for creating a complete look, dressmaking ideas, or even inspirational photos of your own.

thanks so much. <33 hope someone replies. =D

crossposted to dress_up, faeriefashion, faeries, fancydresser.

for Southern California crafters...

[birdwalk.livejournal.com]

9th Annual Art Methods and Materials Show
Pasadena Conference Center
Oct. 15-17

Tons of all-day workshops including Marketing Your Artwork, Silk Painting, Silver Metal Clay Charms, Collages, Transfers, and Acrylics, Faux Venetian Leather...by and large, it's painting and drawing, but I thought some of the classes looked pretty interesting. You can look up the classes and register at their website.

Origami

[kilayi-s74r.livejournal.com]

I made some incredibly hard origami last winter for my Sophomore project (it was on Japan :P) so I thought I would like to share, as one big collage type picture ^^;; ( Read more... )

valentine at 55 (art car?)

[comearoundruby.livejournal.com]

for the third time in my life i find myself with an old buick. a white 88 buick park avenue to be specific. and shes...well shes dull, shes boring, and shes absolutely nothing like me. (im not a little old lady. honest!) so ive decided to paint her. of course not just any paint would do and i most certainly cant afford a professional paint job - so i started thinking more along the lines of art cars and...well spray paint.

ive decided id like to stripe her in pink and white. and of course add little pink hearts. a 55mph valentine. here for your pleasure is a really crummy photoshop sketch of my idea:

(the grey is this weird metal trim that all old buicks seem cursed with. i plan to add lots of little pink heart magnents.)

(violet is her name. in case one wondered)

however - before i start this rather uber-crafty project i had some questions. has anyone used spray paint on a car before? any prep work? how well does it hold up to weather conditions and general car abuse. also worth noting is that i live in an apartment and my poor car has no garage. how well does spray paint hold up to sunlight? ideally id have maaco add a professional clearcoat after my painting but i may not be able to afford it. any sealants that anyone has used that would work?

and most importantly: is this do-able at all?

(no subject)

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

More jewlery. The top is hematite and smoky quartz chips.

The bottom one, which I made for myself (hence the larger wrist size) is sterling silver with czech class and metal beads. The big bead is actually a bee ensconced in amber. It was rather pricey, but it's for me and I'm fabulous.

Both have magnetic closures.

I have some questions about craft fairs. I know some of you must have participated in them so I just need a few questions answered.

There is a huge christmas expo every year in Kenner. It's hundreds of vendors, thousands of consumers. My boss is really pushing me getting a booth since she's seen how well my stuff sells in stores and thinks it'd be a great opportunity to make some money and get some adversiting since my website is opening in September.

The smallest booth they have is 10x10 and costs 280$ for the weekend long event. I don't need anything bigger because my products don't take up much space. Does 280$ seem a little high to rent a booth? From what I've read a lot of craft fairs only charge you between 50-100$ for the booth.

My boss is more than willing to cover the cost, which i could do myself,but I'm just wondering if this price is uncommonly high for 2 days?

What types of items in your experience sell the best at craft fairs? I'd planned on going in there with jewlery and cards, since thats what I'm focusing on right now. I don't doubt my talent in the least I'd just hate to spend a weekend and close to 300$ and not come out of it making a profit.

How much would you pay for the first bracelet in the picture? The last few bracelets I posted I sold for 15$ each. However, the bracelet above uses high quality beads and was much more time consuming. I've read in several places that the best way to price goods is to figure out the cost that went into it + 25% plus however much you personally feel your time is worth on a per hour basis. Does that seem fair? That would put the bracelet at around 30$ and that's only if I charge 10$ an hour which is the low point of what i might actually work for.

How much inventory does one usually make for this type of thing? Is it based on how much profit you'd ideally like to make, or how many people are expected to attend?

Help!

Thanks in advance :)
--Adam

(no subject)

[killforthis.livejournal.com]

( Corset dress tutorial )

(no subject)

[jesamine.livejournal.com]

some glass bead jewellery i've made...



( ...and quite a few more! )

:D