July 27, 2011
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Felt Keeley progress
She is coming along quite fantastically! I tried my hand at a few different methods to “ink” her outline. I settled on couching black yarn with black thread. Originally, the yarn I bought was way too thick so I had to trade that in for something thinner. I wish now that I went with more of a rope than yarn because of the fuzzies up close, but from far away (as she will be hanging on a wall) she definitely kicks butt like the superhero she is.
Good news, Keith will be in town in August so I have a solid deadline to get her finished. Sometimes I need that, you know? And thanks to my “step-grandmother-in-law” Ruth for the giant embroidery hoop!
This type of embroidery is new to me. Usually, my left hand is under the fabric and I can feel when my thread gets caught. Couching the yarn, however, means my left hand stays on top to guide the yarn as my right hand works the thread around it. As such, the back of this piece is horribly embarrassing – but to allay any doubt in your mind that I am making the awesomeness that this is and not faking it somehow through photoshop, I thought I’d share:
April 5, 2011
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things on my table
I am sure you have been expecting pictures of my new kitchen but it has been really hectic here. Not only is there still much to be done with it, but Boy also has moved his company to a new location so that has taken a higher priority of our time. I will leave you with this tease though:
I also began scrapping again since I recovered my craft room. I posted all the pages I have made in my personal book, but I have yet to show you my Peru scrapbook. I started it shortly after my return in 2007, and school got crazy so I never finished. This is a shot of me trying to work out the layouts for the day trip to the national museum in Lima:
I also need to get in gear if I want to participate for the Sew Mama Sew giveaway, hopefully coming up in May. I’ve had so many ideas for covers but it is time to start working them through. This isn’t intended to become a cover, more like an idea board of options while I work through the problems and creative process and await my nice wool felt shipment. (I just may have purchased the dream bundle at WoolFeltCentral, ooo la la!)
And have you ever heard of 31bits? Apparently there are a few companies out there doing something similar but I must say this one rocks – anthropology for the win! One of the founders is a cultural anthropologist who saw these Ugandan women, having survived and been displaced from the civil wars, making paper beads and jewelry but with little market in which to sell. 31bits was developed as a way to give them a client base and therefore a way support themselves and their families. Unlike other “parties” out there, this one is neat and simple – you get a box of goods, you sell what’s in the box directly to your friends, and you ship back what didn’t sell. No overhead of shipping, waiting, or returns. No obligation to try to get to a certain price-point to get discounts. Just an honest transfer from their hands to yours. I’m not much of a jewelry gal but Boy felt the urge to buy me this bracelet:
(Oh, that background? Well, one day I must tell you of the gorgeous quilting my Aunt Sandy does – in fact if she is reading this, she should really consider having a website to show case her work!)
February 23, 2011
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cubicle wall art
My friend Leslie gifted me lots of crafty supplies – fabric, binding, lace, ribbon, sheeps wool – all kinds of stuff. So when I started messing around with the table runner thing she gave me, I decided it would be hers. (I posted about it here and here). She has had a major adjustment or two in her life recently so I stitched the beginning of my favorite quote on it. The original idea was to stitch the whole thing but I decided it would be too cluttered. It will spruce up her cubicle wall nicely, don’t you think?
Just when the caterpillar thought the world was over,
It became a butterfly.
-Anonymous
December 17, 2010
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fabric family tree
If you missed it, you can read about the creation of the fabric family tree. Im super thrilled to finally get it framed.
I ran into a slight bit of a problem as the size I wanted was 16 x 24, which is not standard for photo frames. It is, however, standard of poster frames but poster frames do not come in the “floating” style (nor are they glass, but Ill take what i can get). I ordered two as a quick way to put it all together, instead of finding plexiglass for the backside elsewhere.
I was prepared to work with tutorial at How Does She? to make my own floating frame: Floating Frame Tutorial. But i lucked out because i was able to use both plexiglass pieces in one frame without any hotglue or other additional work. (The jury is still out on how you can see the little tabs though …).
Its been delivered into the care of its new owners, yippee!
And now I have a frame without any plexiglass but Im not deterred because “empty frames” make cool art. For instance, Make It and Love It shows two project ideas just for the holiday season: Christmas Wall Vinyl and Simple Christmas Decor.
What do yall think?
September 17, 2010
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a family tree
So Im gonna say it: Im pretty proud of this project. It took me upwards of about 30 movies to complete (all by hand!) so I dont really care to calculate the time spent on it but it was a good time (i mean hello, i watched more movies in a month than i have in the last 5 years combined – thank you streaming netflix!!). Its true what they say – hexies are addicting. I was afraid to start this project because I had never done paper piecing before, nor had anyone I talked to. However, the tutorial over at craftstylish was well explained and easy to follow. And paper-piecing is quite simple! Honest!
Here is the backside:
The idea for the project was a culmination of a couple of things. First,
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August 24, 2010
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crafting!
While my house may be under construction, i have squeezed in some artsy time. Im working on a super secret project that i cant post about until after a wedding, but its coming up so I thought id put a shout out there to watch for it.
What i can share with you is this super sized bookcover. I will eventually post patterns but they arent ready yet so chill out there, cowgirls. Patience is a virtue:) I am happy that now Ill be able to offer two sizes : the standard “mass market paperback” size and the standardish larger “trade paperback” size such as this one:
Purple Butterfly, a la Heidi Grace
Felt and Embroidery (Chain stitch and back stitch)
July 23, 2010
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Crafternoon!
A while back I discovered the idea of a Crafternoon. Unfortunately I dont remember where the idea came from, but when you google it, you can see different takes on the theme. The general idea is to get together and make projects while you hang out. Since a lot of the people I know either have kids or young people in their lives, I thought a Tooth Fairy Pillow was in order.
I printed out the pattern from
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June 18, 2010
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thread art experiment progress
I added a butterfly with a different piece of the lacey cloth. Up close, the butterflys body has a faint outline. Its my first experience with the dye in the thread bleeding but its not enough to bother me that much (though it did rub a bit on the white flower…)
June 15, 2010
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experiments
I havent been crafting as much as Id like to lately, but ive been doing some much needed things around the house so i forgive myself. I have been playing with some ideas though and learning more embroidery. This is my sample so far (candidate for worst photo on thecrafties thus far):
The first few stitches can be seen in detail here. So far I have learned something like 24 techniques. Here are the latest ones, so you can see them better:
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June 10, 2010
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thread art experiment
I get a lot of inspiration from crafters who use natural fabrics with delicate things like doilies, tatting, and lace. The look is very simple and clean but still elegant and sophisticated. Recently, I was happy to have been gifted a lacey table runner with a flower motif.
But I just dont know what to do with it quite yet. The previous owner
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May 28, 2010
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embroidery sample
I ordered The Embroiderer’s Handbook a while back and have finally decided its time to start my sampler. I have intentions on making a pretty sampler once I get the hang of what im doing, but for now Im excited to learn new techniques and content with just sketching them out on a cloth. (Sharon B at In a Minute Ago, who catalogs tons and tons of stitching and her amazing thread art, suggested I use Evenweave Linen 26 but I only found 28 and its working out for me okay.)
Likely, I will post pics as i go
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May 8, 2010
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Pril and Ay
For my niece – I am a bit late with the April gift, so its two for one this round! The pattern came from FutureGirl, out of the Sasha the Seahorse pattern. Thanks again Alice!
One day Ill get to play with beads and sequins but she is still far too little so nothing but french knots and other embroidery for now. I love love love the shape of sea horses, dont ask me why. I had fun making them, but I will warn you that the adult is just a tad bit more difficult than the baby to make, since you need to combine two pre-stuffed parts (the body to the head). But if I can do it, you can too! :)
May 6, 2010
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surprises
So there i was, straightening my sheets the other day and as I flipped the top sheet over to tug the bottom one, I was greeted by this huge monster.
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as mammoth as I had originally thought, but mind you *i was just in the bed*. Literally, like 60 seconds before and it was found right where i lay. He was just shy of a quarter in size. After about an hour search (seriously, what took me so long??) i discovered it is a Parson spider, and although not poisonous
March 13, 2010
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crafty catch-up
One of the projects I made since losing my usb cable is Ruar, the Starfish. I used some gifted fabric and felt, did a little embroidery with french knots and fern stitching, and sewed and stuffed. My neice loved it, as it was small and fit in her hands and mouth:) I got the pattern from futuregirl, from her super cute sea creatures set. Since i committed myself to one toy a month for the year, you can expect to see other creatures from her set here in the future.
February 3, 2010
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Janu the whale
There is this cute little kid that I had promised a slew of toys for, and she is now a whole year old! Man, how time flies. I will attempt to make her a gift every month for the year, as long as I can rack up enough sea themed goodies. It will be fun to see how much better Ill become after all the practices.
Since this is the littlest she will ever be on her birthday, I started with the largest of the sea creatures – a whale. I found the pattern over at Small Dream Factory. Its not the whale I had envisioned originally, but in the end, making a humpback whale was pretty cool. I only wish that I had enlarged the pattern a bit (the whale is only as long as my hand).
Arent you proud that I was oh so clever enough to think to stick some yarn out the top for the water spout? :)
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August 14, 2009
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Charlotte's blanket
This post was a long time in coming. And when i say long, i mean loooong. She was born in december!! But I just got word that the gift was received and loved (phew!), so now you can see it.
Her parents chose the “all you need is love” bedding set and painted her room a soft blue with a dab of orange.
I wanted something to match, so I went with “sherberty” colors. I had started the throw before her birth day, hand embroidering all the hearts and cutting out all the blocks.
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June 11, 2009
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a dudes bookcover
I have a quilted bookcover that i picked up at a local arts and crafts show. I love the thing. It helps keep my books in great condition, and even resist dog eared corners and the occasional spill (its just enough to soak up the wetness while i whip the book out of its cover). Plus, the bookmark always stays put, and as a friend once pointed out to me – it allows privacy of the book you are reading so people cant make judgement calls. (Do people do that??)
I wanted to try my hand at making one because i didnt see any that were embellished. Im thinking embroidery, beads, sequins – whatever. Since i usually dont make anything for myself, i needed a volunteer. Tofer was the obvious choice – we read the same kind of books and i see him like every day so hes who i thought of. But…
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May 25, 2009
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and then the bird landed
This is a project i have been working on for a bit. I got the bird pattern from Spool Sewing.
It was very easy to piece together by hand although I altered where the opening was for the stuffing because i had chosen very thick felt to use as the fabric so i needed something larger to turn it out.
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April 4, 2009
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another flower pin
Along with my brothers birthday gift went his likewise belated christmas gift, which I also needed to include his girlfriends present. Im saving for a trip to france on top of the stress of buying a new house that needs a little TLC, so my money is quite reserved. Solution: homemade goodness! In fact, i hope to eventually always have homemade presents, but alas they require time and skill – two things i am trying to collect more of.
For Carrie, i wanted to try a different approach. Princess Lasertron uses such awesome color combos, so I wanted to be a bit more daring. I still dont know how she does it, her eye for color amazes me, but here is what I came up with.
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January 18, 2009
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imitation flatteration
Most artists learn through copying. It makes sense – humans pretty much do it with everything: language learning, cooking, fashion, gadgets. What’s fun about it is adding your own spin and making it yours. This is how the world evolves. Something I will always try to do, though, is to never make money off of someone else’s idea. So in my search for creating “products”, those projects that I copied will never meet the standards. But, alas, sometimes I just have to try my hand at something, regardless of how blatantly obvious it is as a copy.
This project was inspired by Princess Lasertron. She designs these brilliantly colored felt flowers, with all kinds of awesome buttons. She is a big hit currently in the bridal world, a new take on a traditional item. I strongly urge you to check her out, you’ll fall in internet love with her immediately, I just know it.
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