Tuesday, June 29, 2010

i've never really made a beaded bracelet like this

i've knitted them SURE but i've never stitched then. i do so like the way freeform peyote looks so i decided to give it a try. here's the beginning of a bracelet i'm making. i am having trouble with the thread (i think i used the wrong kind) and keeping the beads tight. well, this is a learning process of course. the first one of a kind i make cannot be perfect...

if i get farther, i'll post pictures. 

it's fun and we'll see how far along i get with this.

Saturday, June 26, 2010

i stopped into

lucinda's beads in windsor yesterday. it has a new owner, shelley hilton. the selection is still great. the prices very decent AND of course what is MOST important to me, the customer service is WONDERFUL.

pic of lucinda's beads is from the website linked above. the other pics are mine. the focal bead i'm going to use in a beaded peyote bracelet (back and front) and just some of the other beads i bought. sorry, i was just too hot and too lazy to take them out of the bags.


Wednesday, June 23, 2010

Tuesday, June 22, 2010

Friday, June 18, 2010

how GENIUS is this?

from organize! conquer clutter

glitter storage AND dispensers (really genius i tell ya!)

pic from shirley's blog linked above


via

can i identify? what do YOU think?


CraftyPod Video Blog #4: 7 craft supplies I am no longer allowed to buy from Diane Gilleland on Vimeo.

something to make with your kid

or ME if  i'm invited over



via

cool!

Threading a Needle No Problem for China's Armless Wonder
 Marc Hartzman
(June 16) -- A 65-year-old armless woman in China has been named the best embroiderer in her village. And while this seems like an unimaginable achievement, given her disability, it is not.

Ren Jiemei, of Haiyang, Shandong province, is a modern-day armless wonder who, like many before her, demonstrates skills that are seemingly impossible.

Ren is said to be able to thread a needle without fail and works quicker and better than all her fully limbed peers. She holds the needle with her right foot and threads it with her left.

"I was born without arms. So from childhood, I swore to myself that I'd use my feet to do everything," she told the Qilu Evening Post.

That everything includes eating, washing her face, combing her hair, drawing pictures and cutting paper....................


pic:
Quirky China News/Rex USA
Ren Jiemei, 65, of Haiyang, China, is so agile that she is able to do everything she needs to using just her feet. "I was born without arms. So from childhood I swore to myself that I'll use my feet to do all the jobs," she said.


via

Thursday, June 17, 2010

pillow love from bromeliad

and it's a diy too!!!

pic from the bromeliad suzani pillow link above

i'm digging it!


via

i want to make a bunch of little tiny embroidery kits

as gifts. i wanted to use candy tins. i'd put in some embroidery needles (glue a magnet inside the tin so the needles will stay put), a few colors of embroidery floss and some tiny fold  up scissors. i painted some of the little tins, but that just got messy and i don't think i have the right kind of paint anyway. it's not looking great on the aluminum tin.

soooooooooooooooooooo i just saw this for

embossed tins and i immediately KNEW this was MY solution! i am so going to do this! i have everything BUT the aluminum tape. that's easy enough to get. there are so many hardware stores around here,  you could throw a rock and hit one

Photo: Diane Gilleland and tutorial by Diane Gilleland, contributor

from crafting a green world

just in time for father's day (i was lax. i ordered something YESTERDAY from amazon for my dad. i would have liked to make him something. maybe i can still do it. we'll see)

here are a few fathers day crafts dads can do with their kids


Written by Julie Finn

pic from the crafting a green world link above

Wednesday, June 16, 2010

i adore this

and i am going to incorporate it into one of my crafts. i don't know what yet, but it will be SOMETHING. i do have a similar picture of 'fairy soap' which i've used to make necklaces 

via

Tuesday, June 15, 2010

here is a MOST wonderful blog

(i DO think i've linked to another owl project from the blog as well)

nini makes/. it's chuck FULL of wonderful ideas and projects.


here's a great owl template you can download and make. (pic from the owl template link at nini makes

some unusual places

to spot crafts

via

Monday, June 14, 2010

oh babies..............

a recipe for an organic VEGAN twinkie by fran costigan found via chewswise


pic: Organic vegan Twinkie, photo by Linda Long

reminder if you want pre-made VEGAN (and wicked tasty) cupcakes (they make a couple different types of cakes as well) try moo-cluck. their chocolate creme filled cupcakes are TO DIE FOR


pic of the chocolate cupcakes from the moo-cluck website linked above

Wednesday, June 9, 2010

Tuesday, June 8, 2010

make a clock for your popi OR


make a clock WITH your popi

the magic bean shows you how


here's the magic bean's etsy shop (GREAT doll patterns and kits)

pic from colleen's diy clock-making tutorial linked above

via

Sunday, June 6, 2010

just found this on the lion brand site as well


i don't know how i could have missed this one. i do check the site often. this scarf IS ME

felted braided colored scarf (niiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiice!)


pic from the lion brand link above

afghan love


windchime crochet afghan pattern

from lion brand (which has a TON of free patterns. you just need to sign up and that's it!)

found whip up

pic from the lion brand pattern link above

Saturday, June 5, 2010

'preserving stuffed animals'


(want!!!)
from geekologie

i just got some italian wire mesh ribbon from



specialty beads in ca. they seem to have very good prices (yeah, the stuff is expensive, but it's soooooooooooooooooo cool) and their customer service is outstanding (that counts for a LOT in my book).

i didn't order any of their lampwork beads but they look wonderful as well. that will be next.

anyway, i am going to make a necklace out of the wirelace. don't know what yet. i've never worked with it so i want to think before i dive in.

the spools picture is mine, the unfurled wire pic is from the specialty beads website.

Friday, June 4, 2010

i am SOOOOOOOOOO going to knit these up


from mochimochi land

tiny perching pigeons (FREE pattern).

she has a bunch of free patterns to share (i've posted some in the past) and some for sale. her work is incredible.

here's the mochimochi land shop

and if you want to pre-order (i did) anna's book: you can do it RIGHT HERE

pic from the tiny perching pigeons pattern at the mochimochi link above

Wednesday, June 2, 2010

since i DO spin......... (well not with a wheel)


i've never used one. i'd LOVE to, but haven't. i do use drop spindles and i have never made my own.

i'm guessing i'm going to NOW

make an awesome drop spindle

author: Culturespy

pic from the instructable linked above

i could use one of these


build your own desktop zen garden author: obbitz

pic from the instructable linked above

on an instructables kick.....


i think these would be GREAT to have on hand. hope i'd never have to use them, but one never knows. make your own chitosan bandages
Author:ERCBIENG

pic from the instructable linked above

Tuesday, June 1, 2010

craftzine has the final installment on


crafting a corset (part iii)

by

Alaina Zulli is a dressmaker and costume historian based in Brooklyn, N.Y., who specializes in historical sewing techniques. She spends her days dissecting old clothes, sewing new ones, and researching the lives of the women who wore them.

pic: from the tutorial at craftzine linked above

ravings of a semi-sane madwoman: she was one of the first women artists i knew about

ravings of a semi-sane madwoman: she was one of the first women artists i knew about