HELP!

[lyricospinto.livejournal.com]

Where is the best place to find blank, plain/unfinished, cheap, 4x4 or similar sized stone or ceramic tiles to make into coasters?

Every tile I've seen so far in my searches (Lowes, Home Depot) is fancy, finished, and frankly expensive. Am I looking in the wrong department? Is there somewhere else I should be going?

I want to do photo/decopoged coaster sets for my family members for Christmas, and I've got to get my supplies before I head off to uni again, with no car and no access to stores other than of the grocery type. I have the cork roll to back them with, and I have the photos/various papers I want to put on them all planned out and in my possession, but I just don't have the tile.

I looked in the memories, because I remember seeing a post with decopaged tile coasters on here a long time ago, but I found nothing.

I really have my heart set on using tile as the base for these, so any help or direction at all would be ace, and very much appreciated.

Thank you in advance!

My recent creations

[flapi.livejournal.com]

I've been taking the chance of being on vacations to develop new crafty ideas, here's what I've been making :-)

( Zippers, Measuring Tape, Tablecloth, Cartoons and more! )

Decorating A Shadowbox Frame

[darklydanie.livejournal.com]

I have a question for everyone. A while back I went and saw Jensen Ackles perform in the play A Few Good Men and while there had him sign my Supernatural cover box. I also took a fair amount of photos of the boy. When I got back home I placed the cover box in a shadow box frame to display. I also trimmed down six photos of Jensen to frame it will but I am not sure how to adhere them to the shadow box (craft tape is not working I wake up in the morning and all the photos have fallen off), I am afraid to use glue because it my ruin the photos which would be a shame. Quite frankly I would like to decorate the entire back of the shadowbox to match its contents but I am not quite sure how to go about it. Does anyone have any suggestions for not only adhering the pictures but maybe jazzing up the box itself? I would be forever thankful. I am posting a picture of the shadowbox. Thanks for the help.

remember the other day when i asked for advice for a present for a co worker?

[kodakrome.livejournal.com]

well, i decided to paint some wine glasses.


( here they are )

Little bottlecap pincushions!

[mubeimmik.livejournal.com]

I made some wee little pincushions.



And this cupcake, which turned out okay, but it took me so long to make it's almost embarrassing.



I don't know how practical these are, but darnit they're cute!

(no subject)

[rhiannonrising.livejournal.com]

Please delete if this isnt allowed.  Does anyone have a link to a Joann's coupon?  I normally wouldnt ask here but I cant find it online and Im in a bit of a fix.  Thanks gals!

"Craft + Activism" = craftivism?

[absinthecity.livejournal.com]

Apparently, Crafting has now entered the political arena with 'republicrafts' and 'democrafts' making all sorts of politically motivated craft. Is nothing sacred now??

three panel quilted line bag

[misskat.livejournal.com]

this be the bag i have been slowly doing for the last week. much stuffing around on my part.
the three panels are two sides (pleated at top) and one large panel to make bag and flap. it sits very square
what you can't really see is the many, many foot width lines i did down the whole bag (the "quilted lines"). i did them in a tan color and they don't really show up.
the lining and loops are a bright color (an old curtain) because i wanted a stark contrast to the muted colors of the outside.
i also pushed the lining out when i top stitched it to make a framing effect.


( details inside and out )

thanks for looking

not my work

[wildwoodflwr.livejournal.com]

So, I didn't make this. My mom did. But it so beautiful, I had to show it off.  She just sent me a picture of it today.

( roses and hearts, oh my! )

baby soft toys & onesies

[digitalusrex.livejournal.com]

like a million of my friends and acquaintances have had children this year and i would love to give them some handmade gifts. specifically i'm interested in soft/plushy toys and onesies.

BUT i'm ultra worried about using the wrong materials or stitches on the toys and having the wee ones choke on stuffing or suck dye or fibers out of the fabric. i tried to look up the ASTM guideline for baby/children's soft toys that large-scale manufacturers use, but the book costs ~$60.

have any of you made baby toys before? what types of fabric & stuffing should i use? i'm going to double stitch all the seams to avoid ripping and spillage.

as for the onesies, do you recommend purchasing blank ones and then adding print/appliques/etc or sewing them from scratch? i found some patterns i could use. where can i purchase blank onesies? i'm going to do alternative baby designs so i won't be using pastels.

thanks!

Middle School Care Package

[rainydays852.livejournal.com]

X-posted to sew_hip and craftster

My 10yo cousin is making the big leap to middle school. I asked her if she was excited and she said she was scared and didn't want to do it. So, to make the transition a bit smoother, I put together a little care package of things that I thought my aunt and uncle weren't likely to buy for her (because they're not completely necessary), but that made my middle school career easier and more fun.

( Read more... )

(no subject)

[suprisesuprise.livejournal.com]

I'd like to start off by saying that I've been through the memories and have done a Google search and haven't found anything that would help me. I know this is sort of long, but I'd really appreciate some input/help. Thanks!

My boyfriend's birthday is October 13th. He lives in Maryland, where I used to live, but I moved to Oklahoma in September of last year. We have an amazing relationship and I know it's crazy, but he IS The One. I know some people don't believe in soulmates, and neither did I before I met him. Anyway, his name is Jeff, he's turning 20, he's a welder but is looking into opening a tattoo/piercing shop with a buddy and he is OBSESSED with the band Avenged Sevenfold, specifically M. Shadows. He drinks ALOT of coffee and likes band teeshirts. I JUST got a job and I'm using the money I was going to spend on his birthday present for a plane ticket to go visit him for his birthday. Sooo I want to make him a few sweet homemade gifts, because I can't afford to fly out to see him AND buy him something. I really want to make him a coffee mug but I have a few questions because I don't even know if what I want to do would be possible.

I want to get a plain black or white coffee mug and decoupage pictures of his favourite band on it and then I guess varnish it or whatever. I want him to be able to use it as a regular coffee mug, and not just set it on a shelf to look at it. Is this possible? I want it to be safe to drink out of and safe to wash. He doesn't have a dishwasher so dishwasher safe isn't an issue. I know you can go to places and like, paint mugs and plates and stuff and then a day later they put it in a kiln or something and you can go pick it up. Is there a special kind of varnish or sealer I can use so that the mug still looks nice after years of use and is also safe for him to drink out of the mug. Any ideas?

I also plan on taking lyrics from songs that sort of relate to our relationship and tell him how I feel about him, writing them on coloured index cards and then on the back of the card, I'm going to write one thing I love about him, so he'll end up with a bunch of index cards with lyrics on one side and something I love about him on the other side. Is this a stupid idea? Is there someway I can improve on it? Maybe turn it into a book or something? I'm a scrapbooker so I love working with paper and stickers and all the scrapbooking stuff.

Example:

( HERE )

Anyway.
I don't want it to be too chesse-y, but I want him to be touched, even though I didn't get him something expensive, but something that I made that really comes from my heart.

Help?

oh dear lord, help me before i rip my hair out

[campfires.livejournal.com]

I've picked up some nice yarn, and I thought I would cruise over to my favorite Internet sites to pick out a pattern. The problem? I've COMPLETELY FORGOTTEN this one site that I adore.

From what I recall about it, it's a magazine (foreign, I believe, because they have a lot of patterns in UK knit-speak) website and it offers a ton of free patterns. It's got a nice, crisp feel (white background and all), and you pick the patterns based on going through the past issues of the magazine. It's NOT Rebecca, I know that much, but after that, I'm completely lost.
I've searched for about two hours so far and have found nothing.

Does anyone know of a site like this? Was I just dreaming up this website? Should I give up my search and just find something to knit on knitty instead? Please, help me before I end up sobbing in the corner, clutching my yarn in despair!

(no subject)

[dixiegirl05.livejournal.com]

Hey girls! I got a quick question for all of you that sew. Where is a good place to buy fabric online?? Good, reliable, nicely priced ones? Some of the ones that I have come across look kind of sketchy.

Thanks in advance!!

(no subject)

[iguanasdefuego.livejournal.com]

Hello ladies.

If I might ask a question:

Where do you sew? I'm hoping to make a quilt or some such for my boyfriend, but the problem is, we live together. So keeping it a secret seems like a very hard thing to do.

Know of any good sewing-friendly places?

Adding heel height

[hydrolagus.livejournal.com]

There is a pair of flat-heeled sandals that I'd like to use in my Halloween costume, except that I don't want them to be flat-heeled since that makes me walk like a duck. I just want a little rise; maybe an inch. Do you think it would work to add height, like maybe with those heel-shaped discs that shoe repair places have? The soles look pretty flexible. ( Clicky to see the sandals--big pic )

Lampwork Seashell Necklace!

[slyviolet.livejournal.com]

I wanted to show off one of my necklaces - the lampwork seashell was made by a friend of mine, I did everything else.

"Seaside"
She used to walk on the beach every morning, with her shells. But the ocean is a dangerous place, and not in any of the ways that you were told when you were a child. The seashore is right next to it, which is an untenable place to try to make a living. But she would, all the same.

She walked along the beach every day, gathering shells and carrying them in her skirts, then taking them up to the more popular stretches of beach and selling them to the sunbathers.

One evening, she returned home with only one shell in her hands, a warm flush in her cheeks, and a strange, longing look in her eyes. She strung the shell onto a string with a few stones, and tied it about her neck. She never again went down to the ocean, but she still wears the shell.

We have all asked her about it one time or another, and every time, she simply touches it gently with her fingers, gazes out the window at the cliffs, and one corner of her mouth lifts in a subtle smile.

( 4 images of Seaside )

Zippery pouches

[madfishmonger.livejournal.com]

( crappy pics, but wanted to share )

Comments and constructive criticisms welcome. I just learned to do this from this tutorial, thanks to whoever posted it first.