Altoids bento box?

[bellemojo.livejournal.com]

Made this for a friend's birthday gift this year, 'cause the original idea I had for her gift failed during baking (egg box--good idea, but it needs steam vents... and now I know this. :)

Being short on time, I put this idea together over a couple of days and finished it as I had the time:

( behind the cut. )

Polymer clay, some bits of balsa wood, an altoids tin, some paint (spray for the box, acrylic for sushi details and wood), fleece for the lining, a little Gorilla Glue, and one good coating of clear gloss. The end. :)

Not sure if it showed up in the pictures, but there's a tiny bit of the decorative plastic "grass" some sushi restaurants use, too. ;)

Sewing help please :D

[komoriblue.livejournal.com]

I am having a problem, and I am about to throw the freakin' machine through the window. I have been messing with this all day, and CAN NOT figure out what I am doing wrong. I have a Singer 5050 that I recently aquired by trading it for my Brother sewing machine. Now, I was used to all of the Brother's little quirks, but my sister had this Singer and said it was too complicated for her, so I agreed to trade it for my slightly less intimidating Brother. And now I can;t get it to work! It doesn't like me! I get the impression that it wants me to work on delicate, frilly things, but NO!

Anyway, I am not such a good seamstress.

And I can't figure out what I am doing wrong.

( oops. SOrry, forgot the cut. Here it is )

It was working earlier in the day, then I messed with the tension because I was using some pretty thick material, and I was getting loops on the underside of the fabric (I changed the needle and everything!), and then it started doing this, and I can't get it to BEEEHAVE!!! UGH!!

Plus, my cat keeps trying to help by running across the room with the thread in his mouth.

Okay, I admit I plan to use the sewing machine in a manner entirely inconsistent with its intended usage (Hey, my Brother could handle sewing through a piece of mat board; surely this thing can too!)

*edit* 1:49 5-13-06

Please help meeeeee! PLEASE!!

Problem solved! I love this community. Thanks ever so much!

One way to make simple polymer clay animals

[stolenmilkcrate.livejournal.com]

Okay, I made a tutorial for the making of clay chibi animals. I tried to make it a bit tongue-in-cheek because I hate boring walkthroughs. However, it's a LARGE file (all one .jpg). Dialup folks beware, you'll be there for a day and a half.

It's too large for photobucket and imageshack, and lessening the quality comes out looking shoddy, so. This is what I have. Save it while you can because it might go bye-bye.


Edit: Woof, nevermind about my own webspace, DeviantArt seems to handle the size all right.
Link is here.
Let me know if you have a problem viewing it!

(no subject)

[allie-x-core.livejournal.com]

I just bought 3 really cute spiral notebooks.
I can't do anything on the cover, because they're cute.
What should I do with them?

Question about Resin

[nekomiao.livejournal.com]

Clear Cast Resin or any kind of resin that's strong enough basically that I can make big things for props like swords/weapons and the like.

I wanted to get some pretty colours going through it and thought this might be the community to ask.

For a weapon much like this one link
or one that looks like an icicle like this one

I was wondering on how to work it. If I trapped a lighter coloured resin inside dark resin or (lightly painted clay inside the darker coloured resin) would it show through because in the first prop it looked like the outside hue is a little darker than the blue streaks on the inside? Or are there any ideas that people can suggest or techniques that have been tried before?

Thanks in advance. =3

"Ageing" paper

[fayth1978.livejournal.com]

Hi crafty ladies!

I was wondering if you would be so kind as to help me "age" paper - ie. making it look yellowed and antique. Any tips, or links to tutorials, would be most helpful!

Thank you!!!!

The other "Glassy Lady"

[doogloose.livejournal.com]

Hello again - you've seen all my stuff for the craft fair I'm doing with my mom. Now, here is her stuff! I'll pass your feedback along to her as she doesn't have a livejournal.

( windchimes & suncatchers )

Stuff I've made lately

[redmelde.livejournal.com]

Yarn, dyed fiber, a couple bracelets, and a set of stitch markers.



( Several LARGE photos! )

WIP: Branching Out

[sharmelon.livejournal.com]

PurpleDoor (Glitter)sent me some lovely balls of yarn in exchange for some workout music I sent her. She sent me three balls of this Russian creamsicle colored variegated yarn; I think it's some sort of wool blend, but I'm not sure, as I can't read the label.

I wanted to try out lace knitting. I had only done one dishcloth that had a lace type pattern and really enjoyed how different it was from just working on garter & stockinette stitch. So, I started working on the Branching Out lace knit scarf from Knitty..





Thing is, I can't see the leaf pattern at all in my scarf! This sorta happened with the dishcloth I made, where I couldn't really see the pattern pop as much as it did in the pattern's photos. I'm not sure if it's the way I'm knitting, or if it's because of the variegated yarn or what..

If anyone knows what I'm doing wrong or any tips to help me with this pattern, that'd be great. OR, if you have a different scarf pattern you could suggest I make instead of this one that would make good use of this yarn, I'd really aprpeciate it.

first timer...

[sbilokonsky.livejournal.com]

kelley diaper cake front,
originally uploaded by ellenaldesigns.

my first diaper cake i have ever made!! oh yeah!

kool-aid dying,
originally uploaded by ellenaldesigns.

another first

Help Boho pants

[acexkeikai.livejournal.com]

Hi there!

I'm desperatly looking for a Boho pants pattern =\ Especially one that can be made with your measurement. That would be great! I've searched the memories, the web and crafters.org without any luck.

Boho pants are simple pants that you fasten by tieing them in the back, then in front. Thank you for your help ^___^

(no subject)

[cherylzie.livejournal.com]

I have a question. What kind of paint can I use to paint those rubber-material kinda pumps?

I've got this pair of Melissa rubber pumps I wanna cover due to dirty scuff marks. It's white, and the material is like, wellington boots kind? Do you think I could use nail polish, or would it dis-integrate it? Thanks!

Jeans to skirt

[marauded.livejournal.com]

I've had a pair of jeans for a while, that i want to turn into a skirt. Trouble is, I don't have a sewing machine. Are jeans hard to sew by hand? Here is the kind of thing I want to do, except where she has the green material, I just want to sew in plain cotton fabric (pillowcase fabric), and instead of the ruffle I want to use lace ribbon all around the bottom of the skirt (any idea where i could buy this resonably priced online? Preferably a UK site.) I'm not a very good sewer (lack of practise!), could anyone point out a site that has a basic stitch that would hold well and be suitable for this?

Or would it be best for me just to tack it altogether and bring it into a dressmaker?

(o_0 sorry for sounding so demanding! lol.)

Thank you!

(no subject)

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

My dear crafty ladies,
I'm going to prom next weekend in a suit; my problem is that I need both a bowtie and a cumberbund (and there is no way in hell I am spending $34 on a bowtie, like some fancyshmancy store expected me to).

If I go to JoAnns, I can get a pattern for a cumberbund and a bowtie, BUT I can only get a pattern for a clip-on tie. I really wanted one that forced me to tie it myself (it's what seperates the men from the boys!), but I'm settling for a clip-on. Will it be really noticeable, or should I try to get a pattern for one that I tie myself?

Also, I got guinea pigs about a month ago. They had a really tiny cage (2x1ft), which I decided was NOT good enough for MY pigs.

( One trip to the hardware store (and one willing dad) later... )

oobi eyes...

[glitterophelia.livejournal.com]

My son watches this show called Oobi, where the characters are hands with little eyes that talk and do kid related stuff.

( so I decided to make eyes for our hands so we could play... )

two questions

[paintedkaty.livejournal.com]

1. So I decided to make a lunch bag out of my ugly ugly ugly old sheets. I cut the fabric today and started pinning, but it seems awfully flimsy. I'm using three layers of the fabric. I'm thinking of maybe sticking some quilt batting in there too. Would that make it a bit stiffer and stronger? Any other ideas?

2. I saw a woman at the bank today that had what seemed like a purse made out of newspaper. It looked really convincing, and it even folded and crinkled the way that a fresh newspaper does. I swear I could see the texture of real newspaper! The newspaper seemed to be dated last December. How on earth would someone make a newspaper purse?? It really did look like newspaper, not fabric printed like newspaper.

Thanks craftgrrls!

My very virgin post!!

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

It's my first post here :)

Let me know what you think ok of the accessories I have created so far!



( This and more! )