Crafting: November 2010 Archives
** Please welcome our latest contributor, the fabulous Don from HR! Today's post is his handiwork - I just uploaded it for him while we work out some technical difficulties. Hooray for Don! - Holly **
On the 11th day of Christmas, my true love gave to me: festive custom stationery!
I settled in with lots of craft supplies, determined to produce some of my own cards to send out via snail mail to my friends this Thanksgiving and Christmas. I had just purchased a set of blank cards from Fabric.com and couldn't wait to see how they turned out. Armed with a set of markers, ink pad, my favorite owl stamp, ribbon and cardstock, I flipped on Wheel of Fortune and got stamping. Surprisingly, my efforts turned out well.
For the owl card, I pulled together all my green and blue markers and started to color. I used an olive green ink for the owl stamp. This makes a great "anytime" card. The hearts on the card could be changed with any color markers or even adding glitter (I was not that ambitious).
For the "you make a difference" card, I rubbed my blue ink pad over one of the cards to create a variance in color, which was shown to me from one of my fellow crafters at work, Michelle. Then, I used crafting glue to adhere my ribbon and card stock to the card. I did use a little too much glue (oops), but my candle sat on top as a weight for the night ensured that the card was good to go this morning.
For the "Heartfelt Thanks" cards, I plan on using this at Thanksgiving to send out to relatives. I purchased small craft jewels to embellish the stamps that I had purchased online, along with a maroon and brown ink pad. After using the stamps on the card, I attempted to use some glue dots for the jewels, which did not turn out well. I ended up moving to the craft glue to ensure the jewels stick to the stationary. This was the most time consuming part of the card creation. On the bottom of each card, I added a foil leaf that I had saved from last year (my mom is infamous for adding confetti to cards), attached with craft glue.
For the remember card, I used a tree stamp from my collection, along with some sticker ribbon and a "remember" stamp. I was attempting to create a more serious card with this endeavor. I accidentally messed up the first time I laid the stamp down with the olive green ink. Instead of tossing the card, I re-stamped it creating a look of multiple trees in the background. I laid the black sticker ribbon in front of the trees, trying to create the illusion of a wrought-iron gate in front of the trees. Finally, I added the "Remember" in black ink.
As always when you are stamping, make sure you clean your stamps between ink changes and after you are completed.
If you can tie a knot, you can make an edgy fringe scarf or necklace for the fashion-forward person in your life. These are great projects for kids or teens to make for themselves or as gifts. Low on cost, high on fun.
The first item I made in my knot-stravaganza is a scarf made entirely from recycled tee shirts.
-I took three tees out of my scrap pile, and cut 1" strips across the shirts so they would stretch lengthwise.
-Then I stre-e-e-e-e-e-etched those pieces out so the edges curled in, giving the strips a ropey, corded appearance.
-After stretching, I cut one base strip about 40" long, then the rest of the strips into 7-14 inch pieces (I like variation).
-The next step was to attach all those little pieces to the longer piece. I used a Lark's Head knot (also called a Cow Hitch) to tie my smaller pieces on, but any knot you like will do! I went with a basic repeat of my three colors (I loved you, shirts - thanks for the memories!), but I encourage you to play with color patterns to your heart's content. The fabric has enough tooth that if you tie a nice tight knot, you don't need to do anything special on the ends. I just cut the extra fabric on each end off and tied it into a basic knot, leaving enough length so the "tail" would look like another piece of the fringe.
If you prefer to start with fabric instead of a tee shirt, jersey is an excellent choice.
For my second knot-speriment, I wanted to go a little more elegant. This is a simple necklace (easy to extend in length to become a scarf) made from grosgrain ribbon. It's construction is identical to the scarf above, except I used a basic right-over-left simple knot. The ribbons were cut in 8-10" pieces, with the base piece about 40". It's a fast fun project, again, great for crafters of all ages!
The free Diva-licious Cosmetic Bag pattern is a perfect resource for your holiday gift-giving projects. Everyone can always use more cosmetic bags, and these babies go together in a flash. In a weekend, you could easily take care of many people on your holiday list!
The great thing about a bag like this is that it offers myriad design choices. Make it with a softer interfacing for a bag that conforms to odd-shaped items. Make it with heavier interfacing for a crisp, structured bag. Add tabs at the zipper stops or even a handle.
The real key to customizing a bag like this for the recipient is in the fabric choices. Girly prints and pretty florals are natural choices for little ladies and grown-up girls, but don't leave out the men in your life! If you choose fun prints with a boyish slant, these bags become perfect on-the-go storage for small toys - just in time for holiday travel. A more masculine fabric like faux suede or faux leather makes these bags into perfect alternates for the standard shaving-kit style bag.
No matter who is on your "nice" list this year, they're sure to delight in a bag designed and sewn especially for them!
