paint

[tubish.livejournal.com]

I made this tablecloth a while ago and I used textile paint.
Are there more people who do( this )

?

Scarves!

[kittenbitten.livejournal.com]

I've been teaching myself how to knit this winter and I made a bunch of scarves for people for Christmas presents. I haven't done anything other than scarves yet. I can do basic knitting and purling. I think I'm going to try a drop-stitch scarf next. I want to do something other than scarves once I'm done with these last couple that were requested from me. Does anyone have any suggestions for patterns for some simple things to make?

( Click for pictures. )

Funky Earings!

[shinedownonme.livejournal.com]

I've had fun making funky earings from random found objects. Not only are they fun to do, but theyre also super easy and cute. Here's what I've conjured up so far. By the way, the purple stars are glow in the dark stars that I painted with nail polish, the guitars were individual neacklaces, and the desert earings were some toy figurines I found at a little Japanese gift shop. Hope you like them. :)

"Poka" the Turtle

[roxy-craft.livejournal.com]

( full size )

New Doll Lil D

[grlinabox.livejournal.com]

( my version of little red riding hood )

jewelry

[stasiia.livejournal.com]

Some jewelry I have made.. the first 3 are christmas gifts. I wanted something to give to my dad and step dad that I made, so I came up with a little turquoise keychain.

( pictures )

Making your own shoes

[dappleshark.livejournal.com]

Sooooo...I found this awesome book at my new library called "The Make-It-Yourself Shoe Book" by Christine Lewis Clark (copyright 1977) and I am now inspired. The book uses a molding method instead of using lasts and doesn't require much equiptment to get started. My largest problem would be were to find leather. I can't find anywhere locally that sells any, and I'd like some recommendations for mail-order supplies. They call for one inch thick foam rubber as well (says it's normally found in upolstery shops...but we seem to have a lackage of those too).

I've only worked with leather a tiny bit and most of that was stamping, but this doesn't look *too* terribly difficult and could potantially save me a great deal of money. I have uber-wide feet (as in 8 EEE) so the only commercial brand that commonly fits is New Balance and even then not quite right. If I can custom-make my own, they'd fit just right.... I was thinking too that if we ever decide to have any offspring (or I should say if he ever convinces me too lol), it seems like it would be much cheaper to make children's shoes too, especially when they are super young and grow out of them quickly.

Dunno if this book is still in print, but for anyone interested, the book is clear and well written. I wouldn't call them fashionable even by my lack of standards, but hey we're all crafty here, right? Personally I don't give crap what they look like though, as long as they fit!

(no subject)

[fraises.livejournal.com]

Edit: Now with another ugly purse picture!!
Something ugly that I made while driving with my boyfriend to south carolina, after realizing that I'd forgotten my current knitting project at home.




So, yeah. I knit a bag. It's got a flat bottom, and I really love the yarn. I figured that I should post a photo of it before I take it apart. I don't know what was going through my head when I made it, other than complete boredom and the unwillingness to spend the 8 hour drive thinking about/dreading visiting my bf's parents house. "Gee, I'll knit a bag!" "Gosh, I should use handspun yarn!" "Hmmm...what does it need? A RUFFLE!"

Heh. Anyways, the green/pink yarn is bulky handspun two ply, and the ruffle is handspun three ply. I seriously love the yarn. It took forever to spin, because the thin ply in the green/pink yarn was blended with angelina fiber, and it was my first time working with it, so I had a bit of trouble. It's very glittery and shiny.


Anyways, here's something random and mildly cool to do with leftover bits of fiber. Almost always when I spin, I end up with a tiny tiny bit left over, either because I don't like the color, or the strip of roving has gotten too thin to spin with the style of yarn. So instead of keeping the bits around, I'm thinking of making these and including them with the yarn whenever someone buys it. They can be cut or whatever, too...pretty hearts and shiny stars! I love pinwheel looking things, though.



( how to )

(no subject)

[decline-me.livejournal.com]

you know whats a nifty alternative to knitting needles?

colored pencils!

colored pencils aren't usually octoganal in shape like regular pencils and they can be double pointed or have the pencil top erasers like these:


attached to the bottom. lightly sharpen and use!

im not sure exactly what size they are but i'd say they're about 10/11ish.

tips: loose stitches are good. also, try to find pencils with the smoothest wood. the synthetic wood/plastic stuff would be the best but there aren't too many pencils like those.

(no subject)

[gyrate.livejournal.com]

my cat, eli, is kind of infamous around these parts (okay, just amongst my friends), so i thought i'd spread his love this holiday season by turning him into a pillow for gifts.

( schmeli )

Earring ... changing?

[webmyrcury.livejournal.com]

So there's book altering, clothing surgery... why not Earrings too? I altered a pretty little pair my mom gave me. They were nice as-is, but tended to get lost in my hair and not really show... So!

Before:



( and after! )

And ( here's something my best friend and I cooked up for his Nephew... )

(no subject)

[triedsohard.livejournal.com]

Latest projects:
( Say anything, say what you mean )

Now for a quick question...those fleece tie blankets that craft stores sells the kits for...has anyone made one on their own? How hard/easy are they? Any guidance/directions? Thanks a lot!

Mural painting question

[kickandslide.livejournal.com]

Has anyone here ever painted a mural on a bedroom wall before? I am being comissioned to do a mural and I just wanted to double check what kind of paint to use. Should I use small cans of regular latex wall paint in the primary colours and mix them on site?

Also, when I draw the design on the wall, should I just use pencil? or is there a better tool that won't bleed through the paint?

Thank you!

Bag for Wet Swimsuits

[mmalicious.livejournal.com]

hello all :)

I'm a college student here in Olympia, WA and I managed to get a 3 hour break between my classes, during which i plan to work out/swim. Problem is, I don't have a bag for carrying wet clothes in (defintely not putting them in the book bag) and i don't want to carry plastic bags everywhere- sooooooooooo

any ideas? is there some cheap fabric i could buy to sew my own bag? and what fabric would be good for this? any patterns?

thanks all!

(no subject)

[un-rational.livejournal.com]

hi everyone
i've been around for a while but really havent had the need to post
but now i do
YAY!
actually i had a question
i'm a new knitter
and i want to know the best(and possibly cheapest)place to get double pointed needles
i already have gone to my local michaels and they dont have any *dies*
so i would love to get some opinions :)

Baby crafts

[sew-crafty-girl.livejournal.com]

A friend is expecting a baby boy so I made my first crocheted baby items and first sewn bibs.

The bibs are flannel with vinyl in the middle layer.



Crocheted items made with Bernat Baby Coordindates yarn.

(no subject)

[p-p-cakes.livejournal.com]

Does anyone have any intresting/unique way to wrap 50$$?
and so its not text only
( colorful )

I love my dinosaur earings

[deja--fait.livejournal.com]

Here are a few little pins and earings that I have been making lately. Sorry for the extremely bad picutre quality! ♥ Janet

( First Time Post Here, but I freakin love this community! )

(no subject)

[its--delicate.livejournal.com]

Ok, I'm doing costumes for one of our school plays again, and it is the Canterbury Tales. One of the characters is a cook, and the director wants to make her fat. I already know I want her sort of wench style, with a "bludging" corset, but since the actress is skinny I'm not sure about the best way of making her seem chunky. Any quick and cheap ideas?

oh and so this isnt text only also, here are my two favorite costumes from the fall play

( Baby bear and Hansel  )

(no subject)

[breakmeheart.livejournal.com]

This is a bob marley shirt I stole from a friend and NEVER wore due to it being to big so I put it in the wash shrunk it. and realized...im way to flashy to wear something bland...and I went around on websites finding a good tanktop because im in florida. And i found a criss cross haltertop. ^_^ I like it..What do you think? Is the orange polka dots to bright er. mess up bob's attitude? ...oh yeah. I look like crap. so i put pretty smileys. and i hate my arms. so deal with it all.

( Read more... )

first post

[fatso.livejournal.com]

( Scary monster under the cut! )

candle glitter?

[twinklebella.livejournal.com]

do you need a special kind of glitter for use in candles, or is it ok to simply use ultrafine glitter?

I've been searching online and it seems that its just cosmetic/ultrafine grade glitter, but I'm using it for the wedding favors for my sister's wedding (pictures to come!) so I just wanted to make sure.

thanks!

help.. washing instructions

[thunderstorms.livejournal.com]

This is a terrible thing.. I have spent nearly 2 hours on my stupid laptop googling this topic... and really - I just want a PERSONAL experience with this matter... I made a bag for my aunt.. the outside is polyester/cotton mix and has craftfuse interfacing... well - she wanted this silk i had left over from something else i had made a bit ago for the inside.... okay fine... and she wanted picture frames... so i use clear vinyl and poly/cotton and more craftfuse... i didn't think much of it at the time!

here is my dilemma.... she wants to know how to wash the stupid thing... which i totally did not think about b/c well - i was in a crazy scientist/sewer mood at the time and the bag came out beautifully and i just don't want to scrap it so it's safe to clean...

silk says dry clean only
craftfuse is machine wash cool tumble dry low (uhh, i think.)
poly/cotton mix is machine wash warm, line dry
16 gauge clear vinyl is handwash cool, do not machine dry or iron

here's what i was thinking about sticking in the washing instrucions... handwash lukewarm with mild detergent, hang dry... iron with a low heat to smooth out any areas

well.. has anyone washed silk before with water? it could be dupioni or shantung or something else... :-/ i don't really.. know... and of course.. i didn't prewash the silk.. so i am double scared about that (well, not so much about shrinking if it would b/c the lining was made a little too big) but.. would it.. like.. come apart or like... something scary?

i figured handwashing was safer than machine washing but my aunt would prefer to machine was it - could she put it in a nylon net bag or something??... lukewarm isn't warm but it isn't cool and mild detergent won't hurt the silk... and hang dry - b/c welll... most of them say to not machine dry anyway

any help or suggestions or anything would be greatly appreciated... thanks you guys

oops.. sorry - forgot to mention.. dry cleaning isn't an option as she is sorta like.. allergic to whatever chemicals they use

Christmas gift post (a bit late)

[dawnafterdusk.livejournal.com]

This year I didn't have as much money as I would have liked to spend on gifts, so I decided to make things instead. (warning- lots of pictures)
( Knifty Knitter hats and my first attempt at stenciling )