My Handmade Hell

I'm a published author!!

2011-01-27T11:19:00.002-06:00

And no, I'm not talking about this blog, which does count.

Check me out at Crafting a Green World! It's a guest post, but guaranteed written by me. I will now be a regular contributor to the site, so I'll keep you all updated when my new articles are published.

Also, WE BOUGHT A CAMERA!!!!

I may not get a chance to post any pictures right away, but this weekend I will be a photo-taking machine. So get ready for some pic-heavy posts next week!

Silhouette Giveaway!

2011-01-18T10:46:00.001-06:00

Okay so I think I kind of really want one of these - who doesn't at this point, right? So I'm entering my first giveaway on a blog ever. And it's this one on Keeping It Simple!

Silhouettes seem to be pretty wicked, so I hope I win!

25 Items Complete, and a New Sweater Recon Project!

2011-01-18T09:06:00.005-06:00

On Friday I made a chrysanthemum out of marshmallow fondant during our weekly cake decorating class at work (don't ask). It's so purty!

On Saturday I hosted our monthly knit night at my house, which was a WAY fun time, and I finished a 12" block for my Ravelry Block-A-Month Afghan-Along. Sunday I made three 6" blocks, and stitched up a quick quilted crochet-hook-case since I realized I had no way of organizing my hooks at all. Monday I stayed home from work because I was on Day Three of not smoking anymore, and well...I did NOT feel like going in to work! So I read a lot and watched some Law & Order and made three crocheted pop-tab flowers. I've never crocheted with pop tabs before, and it is SO MUCH FUN! So I may have a new love.

Because there is still no camera in sight, I will just continue featuring other awesome crafters in the blogosphere. As you may have gathered from my round-up last week, I've got a thing for sweater reconstructions. Have I done one? Ehhhh, no. Not so much. But that's only because I don't have any sweaters to cut up right now. I will, my pretties, I will.

The awe-inspiring Leanne from Organize and Decorate Everything has created some truly gorgeous sweater bracelets, and her tutorial makes it all so simple. I love the look of these - soft, comfy, and unlike other bangles, won't make that loud clacking noise when they strike each other while you're moving around during your day. I love them so much, and I can't wait to make my own!

A Reconstructed Clothes Round-Up - Professional Edition

2011-01-11T08:11:00.014-06:00

Good Tuesday all!

Last night, while dinner was cooking, I made a tiny pincushion out of a soda bottle cap, some fiber fill, some white fleece, a little ribbon and elastic a la this tutorial. It took me 10 minutes, including gathering all the materials together. Therefore, all of my sewing friends are going to get one, because I've been saving those bottle tops for a while now.

In the spirit of the original purpose of this blog - to create or reconstruct a fashionable, wearable wardrobe using crafty DIY skills - and in the absence of a camera with which to record my own ventures into this territory, I have decided to throw together a round-up of some of my favorite tutorials that I've come across in the last year or so. Since I currently work an 8-5 as a receptionist, where I probably ought to try looking my professional best, I've decided that this round-up shall include items that would be acceptable in an office setting.

Adorable Skirt from Sweater

This skirt really is adorable. It can be lengthened (hell, or shortened if you want) depending on the size of the sweater you start with. It would look adorable with a pair of tights or leggings, and paired with a long-sleeved t-shirt it could look very classy.

Faux Undershirt Camisole

This is sheer brilliance - I have so many v-neck or wrapped tops that are just a tad bit too low for me, but I hate the feel of camisoles under my shirt - they always ride up, and if the shirt is form-fitting, anybody can see the lines the cami creates. This is a perfect solution, and I will be making one in every color.

Pants to Vest

This one might take a little chutzpah to pull off, but we're crafty people, aren't we? We can handle a big old bow on our boobs. For this vest, you could use blue jeans, khakis, slacks...or, you know, even just plain fabric - the tutorial doesn't discriminate against those who hand-select the exact fabrics they want at the fancy crafts stores!

Sweatshirt to Cute Shrug

I love cute little short-sleeved shrugs, and I especially love it when I can make my own. I really especially love it when I can make my own out of a sweatshirt, and it doesn't look like a sweatshirt anymore.

Men's Sweater to Awesome Sweater Dress

The image here looks a little casual, but done well and with a good starting sweater, this could be an outstanding addition to your professional wardrobe. Seems to me you could make it sleeveless, or longer, or shorter, or just a shirt...the tutorial allows for a lot of creative leeway.

Pullover to Cute Cardigan

This one is pretty similar to the shrug tutorial above, but I can't emphasize how much I love these kinds of projects. Add some embroidery or buttons or beading or lace...the potential is limitless!

2 Shirts to Yoke Blouse

This one didn't have "photographic" evidence, but I thought it was adorable nonetheless. The right combination of colors, textures, and embellishments could make this a staple of a professional wardrobe.

Men's Button-Up Shirt Resized to Fit You

Ahh, general skills tutorials. They make me happy! This one is simply fantastic to know, because you know what? Men have badass-looking button-up shirts, and I want to make them fit me, dammit!

Super Simple Sweater Recon

This right here might be one of the cutest recons I've ever seen. The trick is simplicity itself - you cut away the bodice and the sleeves of the sweater...and turn them around and reattach them backwards! Simple as that to turn a shapeless garment into a flattering fit!

Resize a Cardigan

Finally, the most basic of Grosgrain's Embellish Knits Month tutorials - simply resizing a cardigan until it fits you perfectly. Do you KNOW how many gorgeous cardigans I've passed up at thrift stores because they were too big? If only I'd known! I highly recommend, by the way, that you click this link and then check out the rest of Grosgrain's Embellish Knits Month tutorials. They are every one of them gorgeous and unique.

This round-up comprises just a few items on my long to-do list before winter is over. Looks like a trip to Goodwill is in my near future.

Anybody else have any favorite professional-looking clothing recon tips?

Watson Family Rules Subway Art

2011-01-10T09:51:00.004-06:00

So I've been seeing subway art all over the crafty blogosphere for months and months, and while in general I tend to shy away from major trends, I came across the perfect application of subway art for my own household in the form of this post on Sassy Sanctuary.

I've been wanting to post a list of rules somewhere in our house for a while now, but never really knew exactly how I wanted to go about it. When I ran across this post in my morning blog read, I knew I would have to at least give it a try. So here's what I created in Photoshop this morning. Let me know what you think? Is there too much white space? Are all the fonts too close to the same size? Are the fonts themselves too disparate from each other? Help me out here, I've never done one of these before!

My 365 Tally As of Monday, January 10, 2011

2011-01-10T08:19:00.004-06:00

This weekend we tried to go to Sam's and Best Buy to find a new camera, but to no avail. We found the one that we want - a Kodak EasyShare - but we both knew for a fact that we could get it much cheaper online than in the store, so we were able to fiddle with it and get a feel for the interface, and we'll be ordering it sometime this week. It was hard to tamp down my disappointment over not having a new camera NOW, but patience is a virtue (or at least, that's what they tell me). So I'm forcing a grin as I type - pictures sometime next week, I suppose.

Here are the items I've made that count toward the 365 Crafts in 365 Days challenge (I promise I won't do this all the time, I just need some way to keep a list going so I don't lose track):

-10 calendar envelopes
-3 12" blocks for an afghan
-1 6" block for the same afghan
-1 DIY light box (following this tutorial)

I've cast on a vest called Hilja (I think) using some yarn that's called blue but looks like purple. This is my "mindless bus-knitting project," and I am taking it very, very slow. I'd like to train myself out of my impatience, and I think that taking my time to knit something large, wearable, and simple is probably a good idea.

In other news, for those of you who read this and aren't in the Trash to Treasures group on Ravelry, my friend Kristy of Textiles4You was nominated a few months ago for Terracycle's Make a Difference Moms contest, and has made it to the top four finalists! The competition is now open for voting, so please go and read about the top four moms here, and vote here, and you can read about it on Kristy's blog here!

Of course, votes for any finalist are encouraged, but you'll be extra special to me if you happen to find Kristy to be the best of the four - I certainly do!

Speaking of Kristy, and since a craft blog post is NOTHING without crafting content, here is Kristy's latest project from her blog: a Valentine's Pull Tab Heart Bracelet.

Kristy + pop tabs is usually pretty amazing, but this bracelet kind of takes the cake for me. I've been saving pop tabs for a while, and I wasn't sure why until I saw this post. Follow this link to get to her blog post about this project, which includes written instructions AND a video!

Happy Monday!

A New Year, A Resolution, and a Plan!

2011-01-03T08:51:00.003-06:00

That's right! I have joined Kristy's fabulous 365 crafts in 2011 challenge! Way to return to the blogging world with an almost impossible splash!

And back I am, I hope, because taking up my blog again is among my many New Year's Resolutions this year, most of which fall into the category of "crafting my ass off." I received a lot of wonderful crafty gifts for Christmas, including the donation of holiday greeting cards and old calendars from my coworkers, so I am SO set for the time being.

So, 365 crafts in 365 days. Er, 362 days, since it's already January 3rd and I've made...nothing! I've finished a few projects, but I don't think I'm going to count UFO's in this challenge.

Here are my own rules, which I hope Kristy will allow, since it's her challenge and all:

1) The completion of UFO's (or unfinished objects) will not count as finished crafts in this challenge.

2) Any and all individual items that are made for the purpose of making a profit (including my etsy shop, another 2011 Resolution) WILL count as finished crafts in this challenge. That means, if I make 20 fancy-paper envelopes, it counts as 20 crafts.

3) The construction or crafting of supplies or equipment (such as a handmade drop spindle, a loom, a ball of spun plarn, t-yarn, or newspaper yarn, etc.) WILL count as finished crafts in this challenge.

The goal here is for me to be crafting every day, or at least almost every day. One of my major goals for this year is to discover my inner artist. I have a difficult time accepting it when people call me creative, because most of my projects come from other people's patterns. I feel that THOSE people are the creative ones - I'm just crafty because I want to use the patterns in my life. So I am urging myself to recognize and accept inspiration when I see it, and to apply it to my crafting so that simple crafts can become true works of art.

Stay tuned for more! I'm buzzing with ideas already!

Three Flowers - with Mini Tutes!

2010-06-30T08:19:00.009-05:00

Well, it's been a busy week so far. My at-home business is just starting to pick up some speed, and on top of that I managed to have a nice, creative, crafty weekend. On Sunday, I think I went for seven hours straight, just knocking out project after project on my to-do list. I'll get pictures of all of them up eventually, but for now, I'll start with my favorite part:

Three flowers, each different in materials and construction, but alike in...flowery...ness. We'll tackle the one on the right first.

Cut slightly concentric circles from two coordinating fabrics. I traced around the bottom of a plastic cup, then cut just inside the trace line for the yellow circle, and a little further inside the trace line for the plaid circle. I did not worry about being exact, because this will all ruffle up anyway.

Fold the two circles in half together and cut a half-circle out from the middle. Again, preciseness is not necessary or relevant at this point (are you noticing a theme with my crafts yet?). Then you end up with this:

Next take some leftover lace - you really don't need much at all - and begin sewing a long running stitch along the edge of the inner circle you just cut, sort of catching the lace with your needle as you go. You can feel free to bunch up and fold the lace as much as you need to, because again, it's going to be ruffly. Ruffly is really good at hiding mistakes! I love ruffly!

Finally, get out your hot glue and use it to glue a pretty shank button into the center of the flower. Take one of the circles you cut out of the center of the flower and glue it onto the back. Finally, glue a pinback on it to give it ultimate versatility. The combination of fabrics, laces, buttons, sizes and shapes really makes this an exciting project.

Next! The easiest of the three: a book paper flower brooch.

Not so much a traditional-looking flower, but it kind of has a chrysanthemum appeal to it, I think.

Get thee several sheets ripped from books you no longer want or need. I recommend outdated tax law books, Windows 3.1 how-to manuals, or diet fad books that ended up killing more people than they saved. I used one of many Reader's Digest books I was given and can't seem to get rid of no matter how hard I try. I can't give these suckers away! So I'm making stuff with them.

Trace and cut seven circles out of the book pages, seeing if you can score big words like antidisestablishmentarianism or floccinoccihilipilification. You might not be able to find any of these words, but take a look anyway.

As the picture shows, you will begin folding them into sixths. So basically take a circle, fold it in half, then fold that in half, then fold it in half again. Crease firmly so they keep their folded shape. Do this to 6 circles (leave one circle unfolded - this will be your base).

Glue those suckers onto the base radially, as in, glue them so that their points are in the center of the base and it looks like you have little folded paper spokes all the way around it. Unfold the not-glued-down parts of your petals, and fluff! Glue a pinback to the back of the base. (I LOVE PINBACKS.)

Finally, the largest and possibly weirdest one: the toilet paper roll flower.

Get yourself an empty toilet paper roll and press the sides together until it's folded in half. Using very sharp scissors, cut six (or more, depending on how full you want your flower to be) slices, roughly 1/2-inch wide, off one end. Because of the fold you created in the tube, your slices will already be roughly petal-shaped.

Arrange them together and glue so that they look like a flower, like so:

I was lucky that my toilet paper rolls were a nice, not-unattractive shade of white. If yours are brown and you don't want them to be, I would recommend doing some painting at this point.

Next, glue the whole shebang to the right side of some pretty fabric (I used my yellow again). Now, I went to the great and tremendous trouble of hot-gluing along the edges of the petals and placing them carefully, one at a time, on the fabric, lamenting every spill, burn, and leak in the process. DO NOT DO THIS. It wasn't until I was done with the hot-gluing that I realized that spray adhesive would have worked MUCH BETTER. So use that instead.

You may also want to iron your fabric. Or not.

Then, carefully cut away the excess fabric around the flower, leaving only what's glued to the petals, so you have something that looks like this:

Again, it's okay if you're not really precise with your cutting, but try to get as close as you can without losing your eyesight or making your fingers cramp.

At this point, I needed a way to sort of clean up my edges a little, so I threaded an embroidery needle with some pretty pink embroidery thread and just looped it around the cardboard petals, which not only hid some of my hot glue mess, but also provided a little extra strength between the cardboard and the fabric.

Finally, I took another tiny scrap of lace and ruffled it up using the same flower-ruffling method from the first tutorial. I glued it and another fabric scrap to the front and - you guessed it - a pinback to the back. This one is considerably larger than the other two, so I would recommend it as an embellishment for a winter coat or a large bag. It's a bit too much for daily wear. But hey, it's a way to use up toilet paper rolls! If you, you know...have a need to use up toilet paper rolls. Like...I do.

Anyway, there you are! Three handmade flowers you might not have thought to make before but might try now! If you do try, I hope you'll post pictures or at least link me to your blog or Flickr stream so I can see it! Hope everyone's having a great week!

This post has been linked to the following link par-tays:

A Thrifty Home's Penny Pinching Party
http://www.thethriftyhome.com" src="http://www.thethriftyhome.com/images/pennypinchparty.gif"/>

Me and My Bucket’s Show Us What You’re Workin’ With Wednesday

Someday Crafts’ Whatever Goes Wednesday

The Trendy Treehouse Creative Share Blog Hop

Women Who Do It All Idea Sharin’ Wednesday

Blue Cricket Design Show and Tell

My Backyard Eden’s Make It Yours Wednesday

Sew Much Ado’s We Did It Wednesday

733 Blog’s Sugar and Spice Weekly Link Party

Fine Craft Guild’s DIY Linky Party

The "Tetris" Shirt

2010-06-25T07:51:00.003-05:00

I have a lot of "if only" statements attached to this project. If only I'd made the blocks smaller. If only I'd gotten another color involved. If only I'd put together the different Tetris shapes patch-work style before attaching them to the shirt. If only I'd sewed them on instead of hot-gluing them. But nonetheless, all of these "if only's" add up to a failed shirt. I'm actually wearing it today, though, because it's Friday and I need to figure out if I'm going to keep it or not. But here's a picture:

Doesn't look so bad, I guess. Here's one on me:

The picture makes it look worse on me than it really does. It's not precisely flattering, but it's comfy and unusual, so it makes a good casual Friday shirt, I think.

TETRIS SHIRT IS A FAIL. I'll try it again sometime, but I'll do it, you know...right.

My Fail Equals Your Pleasure

2010-06-24T10:20:00.008-05:00

So last night I was inspired to alter a t-shirt for my brother for an upcoming birthday. He's a hard dude to shop for, so when inspiration strikes this time of year I jump on it. I pulled out an old navy blue t-shirt and began to cut out large-ish squares from solid-colored material and assembled a Tetris board on the front. I was going to be SO PROUD to show it to you today.

After about an hour of hot-gluing, it was done. After about 10 minutes of looking at it from all different angles, I hated it. I mean, it looked kind of cool, but it definitely did not look like a Tetris board. Instead, it looked like that time Grandma's quilt exploded in a frenzy of creative overload and splattered its intricately-cut squares all over your shirt - remember that? What a mess that was.

Now I'm stuck with this weird patchwork shirt that I suppose I'll have to do something with and no post for you.

So here's some stuff other people have done that's way better:

You may have seen on Craftzine yesterday this truly badass Twister gameboard raincoat that Nicoleeoliee_4_Life on Craftster.org (where else?) made in response to one of the site's notorious monthly challenges. I cannot express adequately how very much I love this, but sadly I don't think I'll be making it for myself. My husband would have too much fun with it. I can almost hear the "Right hand red!" jokes now.

A couple of weeks ago Heather of The Salty Pineapple produced these beautiful paper lanterns, which is definitely going on my "kids projects" list for the summer. My daughter recently came into a good-sized supply of beautiful origami paper that I think would be just perfect for this craft. With the right color combination, this could make an easy and elegant addition to any party. We like parties.

Finally, another Craftster find (but this one I found all on my own). Before I post the pictures, I need to let you in on a little secret (it's probably not that big a secret). I am kind of a nerd (I am a completely ridiculously impossibly hopeless geek). I occasionally enjoy playing video games, reading comic books, and I dabble in cosplay (I play Magic: The Gathering and the Star Wars tabletop roleplaying game on a regular basis, and I am listening to remixed video game music right now). As a result, certain crafts that relate to any of these little hobbies make me smile (I am totally geeking out over these pictures, and I can hardly contain my excitement).

AREN'T THEY CUTE??????

These lovely t-shirt recons were created by Serene in the clothing reconstruction section on Craftster, and I am so very deeply impressed. And she's cute as a button too!

How can I do this? Where do people find these shirts? How many times do they practice a certain design before cutting into the shirts themselves? Why can't I get the confidence to do and wear stuff like this? And other important questions!

Thanks for looking. Hopefully I'll have something for you, perhaps a new tutorial, by next week! Have a great day!

Anthropologie really IS inspiring.

2010-06-23T08:11:00.002-05:00

First of all, I'd like to extend another special thank you to Stephanie at Under the Table and Dreaming for featuring my Nifty Fold-Out List Notebook on her blog yesterday. Click the Under the Table and Dreaming button under "I Was Featured!" to the right.

Now, on to the crafty stuff.

I've been seeing a bunch of "Anthropologie-inspired" stuff on various crafting and sewing blogs and forums, and to be frank, I always kind of stayed away from it because of all the hype Anthropologie was getting. So it wasn't until yesterday when, bored and itching for inspiration, I began to browse some of their wares. And I'll go ahead and say it:

I get it.

Now, a lot of that stuff is clearly designed for people with no boobs, which I am...not. And the price tags made me snort coffee out of my nose. But I guess that's why Anthropologie makes for such good creative fodder. You can take a brilliant idea and make it fit you perfectly at a truly miniscule fraction of the cost.

I did find something I really liked right away.

These Seven Day Bermudas seemed like the perfect solution for a pair of yellow jeans I have that are just a hair too short to look cool.

Here are the offending pants:

They were a gift from my husband's grandmother - she'd bought them and never worn them. I wore them once and loved them, but the first time I washed them they shrunk and the color faded. I guess I'm okay with the new color (but they used to be so bright and happy!), but the shrinking is not okay. I don't care how many magazines say it's okay, I do not like jeans that expose my ankles.

So I chopped off about six inches from each leg - I wasn't too fiddly about getting them exactly right or straight - then turned them inside out. According to the website, there's a bit of green fabric edging either side of the outer seam on the wrong side of the pants - so it shows when the edge is turned up. I hand-stitched a strip of green plaid fabric and let a little hang off the edge. Then I turned them right-side out again and folded up the bottom of the pants. I sewed the green plaid to the outside of the pant to hold it in place, then tacked it at a few spots around the leg.

A pretty simple operation that took about 45 minutes (just because I hand-sewed instead of using my machine), and here is the result:

(Note the "I'm so awesome" pose.)

So there we have it: the first in a line of probably many...many Anthropologie-inspired wardrobe makeovers which will give me the quality of being completely unique just like everybody else.

Blog Updates

2010-06-22T10:21:00.004-05:00

First and most importantly:

I have a follower!!! Thanks so much Stephanie! I'm way more excited about this than I have any right to be.

However, it did spur the motivation in me to add a Google Friend Follower list, which is in the right-hand sidebar.

You may also find in the right-hand sidebar a bit of code you can copy if you wish to add my button to your blog. If you do, let me know and I'll gladly add yours.

Or hell, I'll just add yours if you ask me to. Leave me a comment with a link to your blog and I'll see that your button ends up on my sidebar.

Finally, if you look across the top of the page, I've posted several links to different pages within the blog. One page will contain a list of all my tutorials (which you can also find in the right-hand sidebar), one page contains a list of my favorite vendors, and finally a list of other people's tutorials, projects, and tips that you really should be looking at.

Thanks everyone! I'm starting to actually get a little excited about this blog.

I really hate the word "tablescape."

2010-06-21T10:44:00.003-05:00

And yet here was mine on Saturday night when we unexpectedly hosted some new friends for dinner:

I'm especially proud of the centerpiece. Three tea light candles on a medium-sized salad plate (that came from the same set that we served dinner on), with assorted river rocks and home decor flat-marbles scattered around them. I like how using dark-colored rocks and clear and blue marbles gives it a sort of babbling brook effect. I'm not usually a decorator, and I know this is pretty amateur, but I thought it was very pretty.

Mondays are for Shout-Outs!

2010-06-21T09:58:00.005-05:00

My newest favoritest blog is having a Great Giveaway to celebrate her 100+ Google Friend Followers! This chalkboard she's giving away is AWESOME, so go check it out!!

EDITED TO ADD:

Also, check out yesterday's post on Mummy Crafts - Dr. Seuss print fabric is coming! I am so excited!! Thanks for pointing it out, Mummy Crafts blogger!!!

Mummy Crafts: Fabulous Fabric... Dr Seuss

Nifty Fold-Out List Notebook

2010-06-18T19:18:00.013-05:00

This post has been linked to the marvelous Under the Table and Dreaming Blog via her Growing Tree Toys giveaway linky party. Click this link below to see some amazing projects!

It has also been linked to the awe-inspiring and humbling Organize Your Stuff Now blog, which hosts a weekly organizational coop of sorts - all your crafty organizing ideas are welcome at the link below!

Approximately forty-five minutes before my husband sliced his thumb open with a Kiwi knife (they really are excellent knives), I began construction of the following list notebook:

I even...wait for it...wait for it...

Photo-documented my phony-journal-making adventures to create my first ever tutorial on My Handmade Hell. Now, I know that this isn't a wearable item, and I'll be honest: not everything I make will be. In this particular case, I needed a good, creative, well-designed little notebook for keeping my ideas for blog posts and my ideas for craft projects handy. What I got was a sort of schlubby, misshapen, vaguely useful pile of paper, but one I'm super happy with, and with the proper amount of time and the right materials, I'll bet someone could make something far better than this. Hence, a tutorial.

Here's what you'll need:

1. One large shipping envelope, preferably one with a misspelling on the label so it can be recycled instead of thrown away.
2. Several sheets of paper with 1/3 size lists on them. I got the Dreamy Blog Topics to Post list for free at Erin Vale Designs, and I made the Best Ideas list myself in Word. All have been printed on the backs of misprinted paper I've been saving up for a while. I have enough of each for a full year of ideas.
3. Some scrap/cheap yarn for binding purposes.
4. A paper cutter.
5. A 3-hole punch.
6. A marker for marking stuff up.
7. A variety of ribbon, lace, fabric scraps, or any other small crafty items you like to decorate the front (not pictured).

Note: Instead of using an envelope, you could use something sturdier, like the cardboard from a cereal box or something, but keep in mind that you'll need to be able to fold it down the center of the notebook.

Step 1: Use the paper cutter to slice up your lists. I really like the funky hand-made look, so I wasn't too picky about getting all the sheets the exact same size. Your preferences might dictate otherwise.

Step 2: Using the paper cutter, chop off all four edges of your envelope so you have two separate large pieces (front and back). The front will be your cover. The back will be cut into smaller covers for your list sheets.

Step 3: Set your list sheets in the middle of the cover with more than an inch of space between them. Make sure the tops and bottoms line up properly. Use a straight edge to mark around them on the envelope around an inch away from the edges of the list.

Step 4: And cut along those lines.

Step 5: Take the OTHER piece of your envelope (the backside)and lay the list stacks along the sides. Trace around them, leaving about a half-inch allowance on all sides. These will be your list covers.

Step 6: Cut out what you just traced and place it all together - cover, lists, and list covers. Now it's starting to come together!

Step 7: Use the 3-hole-punch thoughtfully to punch holes in the lists and the list covers.

Step 8: Punch holes in the cover so that they'll line up with your lists and list covers.

Step 9: Cut four fairly-equal lengths of yarn (mine were about eight inches long). These will be your binding. If you have more than two holes on each side of your notebook, then obviously you will need more lengths of yarn.

Step 10: Thread the yarn through the top left hole in the cover, and also through the list sheets. I threaded my list sheets a few at a time, but if you were more careful with your trimming than I was, you may not have to.

Step 11: Now begin threading the yarn through the bottom hole, as before.

Step 12: Now thread the yarn through the holes in your list cover. In your most atrocious handwriting, write the name of whatever kind of list you're going to keep there.

Step 13: Tie the yarn loosely around the spine. You want it to be kind of loose and shifty so that you have room to open all the pages.

Step 14: Repeat steps 10-13 for the other side.

Step 15: Look at your creation so far. See if you need to trim away any of the cover to make it seem more uniform.

Step 16: Fold the whole damn thing in half.

Step 17: Receive an emergency call from your significant other as you are taking your last picture. Frantically return all the office tools you borrowed for this project while talking to your panicked 6-year-old daughter and uploading all the photos you took onto Picasa. Go home and clean up the blood. (Not pictured.)

Step 18: Once your significant other is safely back at home with 7 stitches in his or her left thumb, pull out all your favorite pretty bits and bobs and whip out your glue gun. Tack that shit on until the anxiety stops.

Of course, as with all craft tutorials, there is no one right way to do it. You might be more meticulous than I (and I hope you are!), so yours might be all one long cardboard piece covered in beautiful fabric. Your lists might be the pinnacle of tidiness, and your penmanship just might be a hair better than mine. But the important thing is that maybe after revising my tutorial in whatever way you see fit, you end up with what I have: an idea notebook you can be proud to jot your mental overflows into whenever you need it.

Please don't hesitate to ask me questions if any of this doesn't make sense or if my photography skills are just horrible (hint: they are). And feel free to share if you decide to make one too!

Patriotic Parade Linky Party!

2010-06-17T21:44:00.004-05:00

The indomitable Craftaholic is hosting a 4th of July Parade! Crafty bloggers all over the country are submitting their patriotic red, white, and blues for a special appearance on her awesome blog!

You can also find this project linked to the marvelous Tater Tots & Jello blog. Linky party here:

Now, the rules say I have to post the button (SEE AND CLICK ABOVE PLEASE!), but that kind of indicates that those who participate ought to have some traffic to direct to her. I uh, well, I don't yet. I hope she'll still accept mine. :P

ANYWAY, I was planning on making a great sunhat for our annual Fourth of July barbecue at my in-laws' house, and what other colors could I possibly choose? I did this hat up in a single night, because I apparently don't like to sleep or anything like that.

The hat was finished by last night, and the second I got home today I fixed up the flower, which is just two layers of fabric (red felt and blue print cotton) cut into concentric circles with one identically-sized circle cut from the center. I basted around the inner circle, along with the lace, then pulled tight to get it to ruffle. Then I glued more red felt and a pinback on the backside, and a pretty brass button on the front.

So two days for a perfectly functional, wearable item is not bad. Not bad at all, if I do say so myself. ^_^

Creative Tithing is THE FUTURE of Crafting

2010-06-17T15:38:00.002-05:00

I had the pleasure today of discovering the olive bites blog, and of reading this post from last Wednesday about Creative Tithing.

As with church tithing, creative tithing is the concept of giving 10% to other crafters to encourage, promote, and support one another. The world of crafty professionals is growing larger and larger all the time, and with it comes a few nasty little devils that (in my opinion anyway) defeat the purpose of a crafting community entirely: harsh competition, plagiarism, and those soulless mass-producers who always manage to get themselves an etsy page or tout that their products are "handmade." Here's a hint: hand-stitched by poor children in another country doesn't really qualify as "handmade."

These are the monsters that creep into most capitalistic endeavors. The idea behind capitalism is very sound, but in the crafting world, there is simply no room for profit-seeking alone. Sure, we all want to make some money for our creative efforts, but when money is the sole achievement to be had, the art dies a painful death. What I love about the crafting world is the unique quality of the items sold, the love you can feel when you unwrap that decoupaged cigar box or that hand-painted locket or that painstakingly stitched vest. And that's what it's really all about, isn't it? Love.

The above-linked blog post encourages us to use some small portion (10% is suggested) of our profits and our unexpected windfalls to support the community we all want to be part of and protect. In a follow-up post from just yesterday, she examines other ways we can support without opening our wallets: opening our hearts and minds and mouths in enthusiasm and encouragement. Even if I never sell anything in my upcoming etsy endeavor, I think even a single note from a single browser expressing an interest in my crafts would absolutely make my day - or possibly my month, depending on what month it is.

Just a little soap-box speech for you about the importance of spreading it around - not just the money, but the love.

When Blades are Dull and Paper is Wet

2010-06-16T11:48:00.002-05:00

Just a brief update, more for my own sanity's sake than that of anyone's interest:

My rotary cutter is dull, which sucks a great deal. I tried to cut out my quilt pieces last night, but it was definitely a no-go. Upon examination of the blade, I discovered that it was a) dirty and b) nicked up and dull. Someone on Ravelry (thanks Kristy!) suggested that I use a strip of denim to try and sharpen the edge a little, so I'll give that a shot tonight.

Last night, I started making Recycled Newspaper Beads, which I'm pretty sure I screwed up royally by accidentally letting the paper soak overnight instead of the suggested 1 hour, and also by possibly not adding enough glue. That has yet to be seen, however. The beads are drying as we speak, and hopefully by Friday I'll know if my errors were destructive ones or not.

You want a picture, you say? Well, I'd love to! Unfortunately, even though I found my camera charger all those months ago, now I can't find the cord to put the pictures on the computer. ARGH! I think I just need a new camera anyway. The viewscreen stopped working a few weeks ago, and it's just really hard to take a good picture with a digital camera when the viewscreen is shot.

Sorry to keep ALL of you waiting! ^_^

2010-06-15T11:58:00.011-05:00

Oh, I know, all of the devoted readers of my four-post-long blog have been missing me so much over the last several months! I guess I probably should have mentioned that my interest in things like blogging waxes and wanes with the moon (kinda) and I will almost certainly spend very long periods of time gone without a trace. But since I suppose this blog is more for myself than for others, that probably doesn't matter too much. Blogger didn't delete it, so it must be fate that I'm here again today!

One thing I want to do though is fashion this blog so that I actually maintain interest, even when my interest in the subject matter at hand (crafting) is not at its peak.

So let me update you on all the fun stuff I've been up to lately!

Remember the hat I made for my brother for Christmas? Yeah, I said I wanted to make one for myself, and shortly after Christmas I did just that. I was sitting near the window, knitting a sweater or something (pictures of that later I suppose), when I noticed that it was freezing. In particular, my head was cold, and well, that's just unacceptable. So I switched gears, pulled out some chunky wool and t-yarn and my size 10 needles and in two hours I went from this:

To this!

This hat became my security blanket for the rest of the winter. Of course, it's June now, so I have no idea where the hat is, but there you go. My new lovely hat.

In other news, a little over a week ago Chuck and I returned from A-Kon 21 in Dallas, TX, a delightful and mega-crowded anime convention that's been running for 21 years consecutively in North Texas. It was my 10th year in a row, and to celebrate (ha ha) I opted to help out my mother-in-law, who had scored an Artist's Alley table to sell little handmade goods. Since the theme of the convention this year was "Revenge of the Penguins," I decided to make...little crocheted penguins!

I used Lion Brand's Amigurumi Penguin (sorry for the log-in screen, they're really cute, I promise!). Lion Brand has this remarkable little bit of language in their license agreement that states that anybody can sell items made using their patterns, provided it's not in a massive, worldwide kind of corporate way, which this was not.

On the contrary, I only made 20, and I gave them each little accessories and named them. I threw together a "Certificate of Authenticity" which gave the date, the occasion, and the penguin's name, and I was able to sell them all out by the end of the weekend! It was pretty awesome, if I do say so myself. ^_^

Here is a very blurry picture of my penguins ready for sale:

Finally, the vast majority of the last six months was spent on this monstrosity:

This, for those of you not in the anime know, is PenPen, a very popular character from the series Neon Genesis Evangelion. Inside that costume is our friend Justin. He is not terribly happy right now, actually, because the costume is hot and he can't sit in it. But nonetheless, there it is. $1000+ worth of styrofoam, plastic tubing, foam padding, expandable soft foam, felt and fur. I'd love to say I did it, but that would be wrong and mean. My husband is responsible for this craziness. I think it looks amazing. It didn't win any contests, but that's okay, because it was definitely a successful endeavor.

Next time we do something like this though, it'll be much smaller, haha.

So I guess that's all I have for now. I'm afraid much of my time over the last several months was taken up by crocheted penguins, the penguin costume, and watching all six seasons of Lost in a row (that was a trip). But I'm back in the saddle now, and back to making things that I want to make. Next on the crafting board is a quilt made from scraps I found in my closet and my garage. Should be pretty interesting, as I've never made a full-size quilt before, and I'm giving myself until the end of June to finish it. I like a challenge.

Huzzah for Cameras and Sewing Machines

2009-10-23T12:53:00.003-05:00

So now that I have a functional camera, I can finally post pictures of some of the stuff I've been working on!

When my sewing machine tanked, I decided it was time to get obsessed with some small, funky hand-sewn projects. Wrist cuffs were a quick and easy answer. Here's what I did:

This was my first one. It looks a bit wonkier and more "homemade" than I really wanted it to look, but that's okay. I still like it. :P

Argyle! Just because.

This one took FOREVER, but I may be proudest of it because of the time and focus it took. I'm not very good at dedicating time or focus to anything, so this was a change of pace for me.

This one is my favorite because it has this great balance of corporate and punk, which I would like to incorporate more into my wardrobe. That is a functional zipper, but no, it doesn't do anything other than unzip.

Two bracelets crocheted from those cheap plastic leis that are so ubiquitous every summer. It was a great way to use them up, and the results are fun and interesting!

But now I have a sewing machine. No, my existing sewing machine didn't miraculously fix itself, nor did I miraculously fix it with tools. My boss gave me hers.

Yes, that's right. Gave. She said that she used to love sewing when she was younger, but now she spends all her time working and taking care of her husband, who has advanced multiple sclerosis. I tried to protest (admittedly not too hard), saying that she could sell it, or maybe I could try to buy it from her, but she laughed and brushed it off. Apparently she has a little tiny one that she can use if she needs to sew something, but she said she didn't anticipate that happening at all for the rest of her life. It made me tear up a little, but I was happy to accept it. It was a generous gift, and I'm really very grateful to her.

Finally, on the knitting front, I'm knitting a hat for my mother-in-law for Christmas, which is taking FOREVER, but luckily I finished this badass hat for my brother first!

Yes, I know. It is badass. So badass that I'm going to make one for me. This one is made from a chunky charcoal wool and...t-shirt yarn! I knew I'd find a good use for all that t-yarn I made a few months back. Actually, it sort of respawned my interest in the stuff, so I'll probably make more this weekend. So I can, you know, make one for myself. :D

So I think that's all I have for now. That's probably enough, right? :P

I can do math, and other good news

2009-10-20T08:58:00.003-05:00

Last night I cast on Guinan, a really freaking cool-looking hat that has concentric circles of I guess you'd call it horizontal ribbing. It looks like Whoopi Goldberg's hat when she was Guinan on Star Trek. My mother-in-law will LOVE it, everyone insists, even though she never ever wears hats ever. So it said to cast on 90 stitches, which I did, and then I looked at it and thought, "Gee, that's never going to fit around anyone's head!" So I actually...did a swatch. I've never done one before, and I was a bit nervous that it would take forever, but of course it only took a few minutes. And I found that, while the pattern gauge said 5 st/in, I was actually knitting 7. After a few agonizing minutes, during which I was actually almost driven to tears, I figured out that all I needed to do was cast on 126 stitches instead of 90 (adding two stitches for every five in the pattern) and I would get the measurement I needed.

And I was right!

So far that's going extremely well, and I will try to post pictures of that later.

That's the first bit of good news, actually - I found my camera charger. I have lots of yummy pictures to post for you, but I keep leaving my camera at home and then not actually posting them while I'm at home. If I can remember to bring my camera to work tomorrow, I should be able to get them all where they should be.

The next bit of good news - and this one is really big - is that I have a new sewing machine! Okay, it's not new, at all. It's older than mine, and it's a Singer too, but it works better than the one I have. And the best news is, it cost me nothing but a few minutes of my time. I was lamenting to my boss about the death of my sewing machine, and she immediately offered to loan me hers, which had been collecting dust in her closet for years. I accepted happily.

Later, she said that she needed some measurements taken for a custom jacket she was ordering. She had no clue how to do it, so I offered to help. She then said that she would trade me my help for her sewing machine...permanently. I think I almost choked when she said that, but ultimately she convinced me that she would probably never use the sewing machine again. Smiling, she added, "If I ever get inspired though, I know where to find you!"

So I'll post pictures of that beauty later, hopefully in action as I teach Chuck how to use it. He's so excited - he's always designed beautiful garments, and now he'll be able to put some of them together.

I haven't sewn anything on the new machine yet, but last week I went crazy hand-stitching some fabric arm bands, which I also have pictures of on the camera that is currently at home.

So there's my update. Life is good in my crafty world this week. :D

And the Universe Laughs - Ha! Ha! Ha!

2009-10-14T09:33:00.003-05:00

Why is it that, less than two weeks after deciding that I would finally start sewing again, and what's more, running a blog about it, my sewing machine craps out, and then my camera does the same.

Okay, that's not true. What is true is that my camera is old-fashioned and requires a docking bay, that must be plugged into both a computer and a wall socket for the battery to charge. We have the docking bay, and we even have a computer somewhat situated near an empty plug. What we don't have is the cord.

Grr.

Okay. So, I have all these things that I've made, this great t-shirt necklace from the Generation T website, and several wrist cuffs, some of which suck and some of which totally rock. I've made lacey fingerless gloves in chocolate-brown fingering weight yarn. I want to show people these things! I want to post pretty pictures and make this blog a photo log as well as a written log of my handmade adventures.

But perhaps that's not what my hell wants.

Who knows? I don't.

How to Sew without a Sewing Machine

2009-10-12T10:11:00.003-05:00

So from the looks of things, my sewing machine is probably screwed. I don't know if that's a bad thing or not, to be honest. I've had the damn thing for almost two decades, and it's held up well enough. While I do have some sentimental value attached to it, I also have memories of hours and hours of frustration and agony associated with it, so perhaps just giving up on the damn thing would be best. I'll keep tinkering with it, of course, and maybe I'll happen across some magical tool or technique that will fix it, but for now, I think it's time to start saving up for a new one. I have my eye on a couple already, although it may be "too soon."

That said, I will have to resort, I fear, to entirely hand-sewn or no-sew items in the future. For knitting, this should be simple. For some small sewing, such as the many fabric wrist cuffs I hope to make throughout this week, hand-sewing shouldn't be so bad. I may even be able to pull off my Ursula costume with minimal sewing, although I'll need a bit of time and patience for it.

So this has led me to the wide, wonderful world of no-sew T-shirt Surgery. There are a ton of sites, such as Livejournal's T-Shirt Surgery community, which outline in usually detailed tutorials how one might take a huge, baggy t-shirt and make it flattering and cute with or without the use of a sewing machine and various other interesting notions. My problem, of course, is that I work in an office. As a receptionist. And although The Company is very good about allowing me to express myself through my dress, there are some t-shirt surgeries - many, in fact - that are simply not work appropriate.

Therefore, it stands to reason that my new challenge simply must be to create several no-sew or little-sew shirt surgeries and other reconstructions that I can wear to work, and that won't make me look like a loser or a teenager.

Meanwhile, I will continue knitting through my ever-growing Christmas gift list to keep my spirits up. I get sad when I fail at sewing.

What Does One Do Now?

2009-10-11T18:55:00.004-05:00

So I had a random weird experience today.

First, I was sewing along happily, my stitches were even and clean.

The next time I sat down, just minutes later, my needle thread kept breaking. I rethreaded it, lowered the tension a smidge, and replaced the bobbin (it looked like the needle thread was getting trapped around the bobbin case). That solved the thread-breaking problem, but then...

The needle thread kept loosing itself from the needle. I'd get about six or seven stitches in, and it would just fly out for seemingly no reason at all. I replaced my apparently dull needle and rethreaded the machine, and that problem was fixed, but then...

My stitches started birdnesting behind my fabric. I rethreaded it again (discovering that the thread hadn't fully engaged in the tensioner), and that problem went away, but now...

It just won't sew anything at all! I mean, it goes and all, but there's some big disconnect between the needle thread and the bobbin thread or something, and it just rolls along, needle bobbing up and down, but there aren't any stitches being made.

The Singer website offers no remedy for such a problem, and in fact does not even include this problem in its list of common sewing machine problems.

What is happening here? I've had this machine since 1992, but I haven't used it too intensely. Is it mad at me? Did I break it somewhere between problem one and problem two? Has it "had it"? Is it trying to commit suicide?

I've posted this problem on three different forums, hoping for an answer before Halloween. I'd hate to have to...*shudder*...buy my Halloween costume this year.

Oh well, at least I finished a whole pair of lacey fingerless gloves this weekend, demonstrating my awesome badass powers of knitting. That makes me feel a lot better about being a shitty seamstress.

Off to cast-on...something!

Knitwear To The Rescue

2009-10-08T10:38:00.011-05:00

Thankfully, through all my sewing abominations, there's knitting. I love knitting.

~*sigh*~

Knitting is so nice and relaxing, and I can do it anywhere I want. The instructions are so very precise and you can't make a mistake unless you're not paying attention. And when you make a mistake, it doesn't royally suck to fix it (at least, I don't think it does. I know some people disagree). And it doesn't expect too much out of you. And with minimal knowledge, you can make some really awesome stuff.

So here are some knitted wearable items I've put together recently:

Some knitted lace-wrist Victorian fingerless gloves, pattern from http://www.ravelry.com/. I wore these as part of a semi-steampunk costume at San Japan this year, and I've worn them a few times to work, etc.

My first real pair of socks, made from elann.com 100% cotton Lustrado in Nougat. A few things I will never do again? 1) I will never knit socks with 100% cotton yarn again. It hurt my hands, stressed my needles, and feels horrible when I wear them. 2) I will never knit socks with nougat-colored yarn again. So. Boring. 3) Actually, I may never knit socks again, period. It was extremely time-consuming, and while it was a good project to carry with me in my purse for my bus commute and what-not, it was just, you know, not very fun. Now, I did end up knitting my husband some ninja tabi socks later, but those didn't count because they were worsted weight and, you know, fun.

Lime green worsted weight fingerless gloves. These took maybe an hour, and only because I'd just made a really badass scarf with this yarn and had a bunch leftover. I still have some leftover, along with some black worsted weight leftover from the tabi socks, so I'm thinking of combining the two in some beautiful way. Like maybe making a Space Invaders scarf or something.

My Neo-Victorian Opera Gloves, made from a pattern on Ravelry. The pattern itself wasn't that great, but these were kind of fun to make, and even more fun to put on. That's t-shirt yarn I'm using as lacing there, and the black and green bit is from the screenprinting on the t-shirt I cut up. Anyway, I think they have a funky, punky kind of look and I'm really looking forward to having an opportunity to wear them.

It occurs to me that I've made a lot of gloves, which is weird on two levels: first, I don't like gloves that much. But they sure are fun to make! And second, I live in South Texas. I have to wear gloves for all of six weeks in this city, and even then, fingerless gloves don't cut it - I need full coverage to protect all of my appendages from the absolutely brutal wind and rain we get here around Christmastime. So fingerless gloves=for fashion only, which I guess I can live with.

I was about to cast on my second of ten or so Christmas presents I'm knitting this year (the first was the badass scarf) when my five-year-old daughter insisted that I never make anything for her, which is kind of true. So I felt guilty and put away the second Christmas present and knit her up some really cute striped fingerless gloves. When I was done with those, I looked at how much yarn I had left. Long story short, I clearly had to make her a matching scarf. Then I'll almost certainly have to make my son some gloves as well and possibly also a hat.

Then I'll finish my Christmas knitting.

Really.

(Do they celebrate Christmas in hell?)

Sewing Exploits Lead to Striped Skirt

2009-10-08T10:17:00.005-05:00

Sewing has never been my strongest skill. In fact, I recently gave up sewing FOREVER.

This skirt is the result of that decision.

Okay, it's actually the result of a ton of really wonderful chicks over on http://www.craftster.org/ who gave me some badass advice about how to construct a garment. I put those tips to the test and came up with something that, once it's actually finished, could become a pretty awesome addition to my wardrobe.

Since this photo was taken, I've finished the hem (which is dangling free as a bird here), but I have yet to embellish the shit out of it. I don't know if I'm going to add anything at all, actually, but without embellishment, it just seems kind of...boring. The last thing I made out of those red-striped Ikea curtains was a plastic bag dispenser for a swap, and I added some light blue felt chidori (bird silhouettes), and it looked really good. I may consider doing that. Maybe I'll just baste them on and wear it out once or twice. If it looks like crap, I'll take them off again.

Magic Waistband janked from the Fisherman Thai Pants Concept:

So yay for a finished skirt. It did build my confidence a bit. This weekend I think I'm going to try reconstructing a dress. Into...you know. Something easy to make.

First Post from my Handmade Hell

2009-10-08T10:05:00.002-05:00

In my opinion, hell (the non-Christian interpretation anyway) is a place where you cannot escape that which drives you the maddest. In my case, my own personal hell lies in the realm of handmade (or "DIY") clothing. For over twenty years I have beat my head against wall after wall in gritted-teeth inspiration and impassioned impatience trying to create something - anything - that I could wear beyond the bounds of my own bedroom. So far, those attempts have not yielded me the 100% handmade wardrobe I so crave.

Realistically, of course, 100% is an outrageous and idiotic goal. I'd settle for being able to wear one handmade item every day without repeating myself too often. And as far as the definition of handmade itself goes, I'm fairly flexible there too. Reconstituted, reconstructed, deconstructed, reworked, resized, it all counts. Any time I can lay my hands upon a scrap of fabric, a yard of lace, a spool of thread or a sadly out-of-date garment and create something wearable, I'll count that as being happily handmade.

So welcome to my handmade hell. Things can get a little crazy here, so you might want some safety goggles. And some leather gloves. And something to defend yourself with.

Like a sword or something.

Or some mace.