How to Make Cold Porcelain

There are lots of reasons to love polymer clay, but if you're of a DIY mindset, you might try making some cold porcelain—an air-drying clay that's amazing for jewelry and other small projects. Here's how!

What you'll need:
3/4 cup white glue
1/2 cup water
1 teaspoon cold cream (such as Pond's)
1 teaspoon glycerin
1 cup cornstarch, plus additional for dusting your hands

Assemble all your ingredients before you begin. If you have trouble finding glycerin, try a drugstore's skin care aisle, or a cake-decorating store.

If possible, use an old saucepan and spoon for this process. The ingredients in cold porcelain aren't toxic, but they can be sticky, so don't use your best utensils!

Begin by mixing the white glue, water, cold cream, and glycerin in a saucepan. Stir this mixture over medium heat until it's smooth. (You may need to mash that cold cream up a bit in order to get it to dissolve.)

When the wet ingredients are nice and smooth, add 1 cup of cornstarch. Be ready—the mixture will transform very quickly at this point. Continue stirring. The mixture will rapidly become quite stiff.

When the mixture forms one clump and has pulled away from the sides of the pan, it's done.

Next, you'll be kneading the clay with your hands. But it's still pretty hot to the touch at this point. So, take a clean, old dish towel and wet it with cold water. Drape this towel over a plate and place the clay on it.

Take a moment to fill your saucepan with hot, soapy water. Soak any spoons or other utensils you've used.

Wrap the wet towel over the clay and knead through it. Pause every couple of strokes to pull the towel from the clay, then repeat the process.

In a few minutes, the clay will be cool enough to handle, so you can continue kneading with your hands. Keep a small bowl of cornstarch nearby, and keep lots of it dusted on your hands so the clay doesn't stick. You can also dust the surface of the plate with cornstarch as needed.

After about five more minutes of kneading, your clay will look like this—smooth textured, elastic, and no longer sticky. If you want to add some color to your clay, you can knead in a little acrylic or oil paint at this point.

Place your clay in an airtight container while you proceed to wash all your utensils and surfaces. You don't want any of that glue mixture to dry on anything!

By the way, if you don't want to make your own, you can buy lovely premade cold porcelain in lots of colors online from Cold Porcelain Designs.

When you work with your cold porcelain, prepare a work surface that can double as a drying place. I like to put some foil over a cookie sheet and work on that because when I'm done, I can set the cookie sheet someplace safe while my work dries.

Now, cold porcelain does so many things. Cold Porcelain Designs has some fun examples of hand-modeled figures and tiny roses. And the shop offers some great tutorial videos on You Tube. You can also see cold porcelain creations at Cold Porcelain Flowers.

Or, here's a very simple project: candy-mold pendants! Just rub a little cold cream into a candy mold (and a little on your hands) so the clay won't stick. Then, press a tiny bit of clay into the mold at a time, taking care to press clay into every nook and cranny. Keep adding more clay a little at a time until you've filled the mold.

If your mold is transparent, check it from the other side to make sure there aren't any air bubbles trapped in the clay. See that little bubble in the star above? I'll need to press that out, so it won't show up in my finished pendant.

Leave the clay in the mold overnight. It will shrink a bit as it dries, so you should be able to pop it out of the mold easily.

You can then press an eye pin into the top of the clay, like this. Leave the clay to dry. Depending on the size and thickness of your pendant, this can take anywhere from overnight to several days.

When dry, the clay wil be very hard, slightly translucent, and quite a bit smaller, as you can see. Because the clay shrinks as it dries, the eye pin will be very securely fastened after drying.

Once dry, you can paint and embellish your pendant any way you like. I decoupaged some washi paper onto mine. You can also rubber-stamp onto this clay, or draw on it with markers. Be sure to seal your work with Mod Podge or a water-based varnish.

Thanks to Diane Gilleland http://www.craftstylish.com/item/2802/how-to-make-cold-porcelain

8 Track Tape Wallet

Super easy to make and so much fun - have fun and enjoy!

Here is a list of what you will need to make this wallet

- 8 track

- hot glue gun

- fabric

- pliers

- long zipper

First you will use your pliers to open up the 8 track - once open remove the music tape. With your pliers try and remove some of the ugly plastic from the inside. It will make it much nicer to close and to add your items.

Use the fabric to trace the outside edge - then cut out leaving enough on the edge of the fabric to turn under.

Using your trusty hot glue gun - glue the zipper to all edges of the 8 track.

Once you have finished glueing the zipper to both sides use the fabric to line the insides of the 8 track with your hot glue gun - it will hide any flaws that might have happened while glueing the sides and the inside of the 8 track.

Then you are done - put your favorite lipstick and some change inside and you are on your way!!!

Enjoy!

DIY Weekender Bag

So this weekend will have you jetting off to the coast for sun & surf? For a weekend excursion you need a quick trip bag. Forget the luggage (too bulky); you need a versatile tote made specifically to carry all your belongings from wallet to swimtrunks for a quick weekend getaway.  Here is a fun choice in a cotton waxcloth outer with leatherette base and trim, perfect for the do-it-yourselfer.

Dimensions: approximately 18″ x 8 x 17″ [45cm x 20.5cm x 43cm].

You will need:

• 6 pop rivets
• 1 metal slider, 2″ dia [50mm]
• 2 latch hooks, 1″dia [25mm]
• 2 d-rings, 1″dia [25mm]
• 1 square ring, 2″ dia [50mm]
• 2 dome snap set, 5/8″ dia [15mm]
• 1 heavy metal zipper, 25″ [64cm] long
• 1-2/3 yds. [1.5m] of nylon webbing, 2″ [50mm] wide
• heavy-duty thread
• 1 yd. [0.9 m] of upholstery weight fabric, 54″ [137 cm] wide
• 1/3 yd [0.25 m] of polyurethane leatherette, 39″ [100 cm] wide

PATTERN

1 square = 1 inch [2.5 cm]

CUTTING

Bag - cut 1X on fold

Pocket- cut 2X

Struts - cut 4X

Handles - cut 2X

Handle trim - cut 2X contrast

Bag Bottom - cut 1X contrast

Tab - cut 6X contrast

DESIGN TIP: Use a permanent marker in the leather colour to carefully  “dye” the edges of the leather pieces if you get a white edge after cutting it.

ASSEMBLY

1. To make D-ring tabs, wrap tab piece around D-ring and stitch close to d-ring. Open ends of tab flat.
2. To make latch hook tabs, wrap tab piece onto latch hook and stitch close to ring.
3. To make Shoulder strap, cut a length of webbing 6″ long and another, 30″ long.
4. On the 6″ piece, wrap one cut end of the webbing with a latch hook tab and X-stitch in place. Secure tab with a pop rivet. On the opposite end, slip a square ring onto webbing and turn end back on itself and X-stitch it closed.
5. On the 30″ piece, wrap one cut end of the webbing with a latch hook tab and X-stitch in place. Secure tab with a pop rivet.
6. Slip a slider on to the webbing. On the opposite end, slip the strap through the square ring on the shorter piece and back on itself through the slider.
7. Stitch across the end of the webbing and secure with a pop rivet.
8. On pocket piece, turn the top edge under 2″ and stitch down.
9. Apply the top portion of the snap kit to the pocket following manufacturer’s directions.
10. Place pocket up-side down at points G,H and stitch bottom edge to body using 1/2″ seam allowance.
11. Fold the pocket upward and mark contact point of snap on body portion.
12. Apply bottom portion of snap kit to the body.
13. Turn under long edges of struts 1/2″ and press flat.
14. Place a pair of struts at points A,B,I,J and C,D,K,Lon the body portion with pocket sides under the strut pieces.
15. Topstitch struts in place.
16. Repeat the  above proceduces for the opposite side of the bag.
17. Center contrasting bag bottom piece onto bag and overlap strut ends. Topstitch in place.
18. On bag straps, turn under 1/2″ on both short ends. Press flat.
19. With right sides together, fold the strap piece in half lengthwise and stitch along the length using 1/2″ seam allowance. Press seam open. Turn strap piece right side out. Press flat. Topstitch perimeter of bag straps.
20. Fold the strap in half lengthwise and center a contrast handle trim along the open side of the strap. Wrap the trim around the “doubled” handle edge. Topstitch in place.
21. Repeat this for the other bag strap.
22. Align the ends of each strap level with the top of the pocket and sew an X-stitch to pointsA-B and C-D. (Note: ensure you allow for 1/2″ seam allowance at top of bag.)
23. With right side together, align and match up the side seams of the bag. Stitch seam using 1/2″ seam allowance. Press seam open.
24. Fold across the bottom, centering the side seam in the middle and stitch across the open end using 1/2″ seam allowance.
25. On the top edge of the bag, position the zipper FACE UP inside the bag on the wrong side of the fabric. Center it.  Pin and baste in place. Unzip the zipper.
26. With right side together, sew the pair of zipper plackets together across the short ends using 1/2″ seam allowance. Press seams open. Turn right side out.
27. On one long edge of placket, turn under 1/2″ and press flat.
28. With right side of placket to wrong side of body, pin/baste raw edge of placket over the zipper opening. Stitch around circumference of opening using 1/2″ seam allowance and ensure that you are securing the zipper tape in the seam.
29. Fold over  placket face up to right side of bag and align the folded edge with the machine-stitching. Topstitch in place.
30. At top of each side seam, below the placket, center the D-ring tabs and apply with topstitching.

Beautiful Beaded Spring Flowers

Tricia of Oh So Crafty has posted a tutorial on how to create sweet, simple beaded flowers. I love seeing the beaded petals coming together throughout her tutorial - they are so beautiful!

Supplies: Beading wire, I used 24 gauge

The Smitten

This is the cutest thing I have ever seen - Great for Valentines Day too. 

Knit a Smitten for you and your lover…

or for a loved one to use as a muff…

either way, nothing says love quite like

a smitten

Here is the detail from Cocoknits PDF How to

http://cocoknits.com/knit/garments/accessories/cocoknits_Smitten.pdf

I Heart My Dishes

I wanted to buy a new dish sponge yesterday and while I was looking at all of the square sponges in the store I was inspired to make my own. Square is so boring - right and with Valentines Day just around the corner I decided to make a "heart" themed dish sponge. Here I used a pink washcloth that I had hiding in the back of my linen closet.  I first made a simple pattern of a heart of out paper then used that to cut out 2 perfect size hearts for the sponge. I then hand stitched around the edges - turned right side out and stuffed with the scraps of the same washcloth ( super  easy to make ) Now for the entire month of February I will use my themed dish sponge and say "I Heart My Dishes"

Valentine's Day Teabag Wrappers DIY

Creature Comforts offers these free Valentine's Day printables for making custom, I love you teabags for your sweetheart.

Materials:

• computer and printer
• standard weight paper
• scissors
• tea bags
• needle & thread

Simply click here for Ez's tutorial and printables! 

9 Tips in creating a very creative space

If this time of year gives you an organisational/creative kick in the pants you could do a lot worse than start with Amy Shearn's 9 great tips for making a creative space. 

1. Choose a Space - ('choose'might be a bit of a stretch for those of us who are still apartment dwellers.) but finding a nook and designating it is a good idea.

2. consult the masters - she's talking feng shui not something creepy.

3. go on border patrol - meaning define your space with a screen or even just a rug

4. to thineself be true - She means that if you know you need a lot of space to work, then allot yourself as much as possible, if you work best with a laptop in Starbinkies then that's all good too. Also the quote is 'To thine own self be true',  (It's Polonius' advice to Laertes in Hamlet). Persnickety nerd? MOI?

5. it's clean-up time!  essentially, get rid of junk and anything that isn't relative to the task at hand an you'll be more creative. 

6. get organized - she advises some quality time with The Container Store.

7. eliminate distractions -  Ms. Shearn says "You know what distracts you. Get rid of it. (Wait, unless it's your spouse, or a child or something. In that case, perhaps politely asking them to leave is best.)" ... this doesn't work too well on an 11 month old.

8. prepare your arsenal - gather your tools to hand so you don't have to scrabble about for them, simple no?

9. And lastly, my very favorite tip, gather your totems - surround yourself with things that spark your creativity and inspire you.

Check out the atricle for more in-depth information on each tip. Image from here

Pom-Pom Scarf

Here is another great use for Pom-Poms - I totally love this. 

Cathie and Steve from Creative Juice show us how to make this playful pom-pom scarf, perfect for adding a burst of color to these chilly January days.

How To Make Pom Pom Flowers

I have a thing for flowers that look like pom poms. Mums, allium, chive blossoms, dahlias - love ‘em! Since fresh flowers aren’t always in the budget, and because I have a brown thumb, I started thinking about what I could do to brighten up our apartment with flowers without actually using flowers. Soon, the idea for some sort of pom pom flower started bouncing around in my head, and this is what I came up with.

How to make pom poms? I googled around and found a number of tutorials, including several that use the cardboard donut method, which can be found here, here, and here. Unfortunately, I’m impatient and not particularly coordinated, so cardboard donuts were flying everywhere. My favorite method is found in the pom pom tutorial at Bella Dia. This method makes slightly more yarn scraps, but you can recycle the scraps by using them as stuffing for craft projects, or you can put them in a small fabric pouch and add a few drops off lavender, rose, or another type of essential oil to make a drawer sachet.

Though my method basically follows the Bella Dia tutorial, I have made some slight variations, so I’ve posted my method below.

What you’ll need for the project:

yarn
small, sharp scissors
wire cutters
a hot glue gun and glue sticks
materials for the stems (paper or fabric covered floral wire or my favorite, branches or twigs)

Using your thumb, hold the end of the yarn against your fingers as you begin to wrap the yarn. After a few wraparounds, you should be able to let the end go and continue wrapping. I size my pom poms by fingers: 2 is small, 3 is medium, and 4 is large. Don’t wrap the yarn too tightly, or you’ll have blue fingers and won’t be able to slip the yarn off easily later!

The more times you wrap the yarn, the fuller your pom pom will be. However, try not to overdo it, or you may have trouble in the later stages because there’s too much bulk. For small pom poms, I wrap between 50-75 times; for medium, 75-100; for large, 100-125. Yarns come in many different thicknesses, so you may find that you need more or less wraps to achieve the fullness that you’d like.

After you’ve finished wrapping the yarn, carefully slide it off of your fingers.

Cut a piece of yarn that is between 4 and 6 inches long to use as a tie. Place the wrapped yarn on top of the cut piece, trying to center it as much as possible.

Pull the cut yarn as tightly as you can over the wrapped yarn, and tie a knot.

Using a small pair of sharp scissors, cut the top of the yarn loops th entire way around.

After you cut all of the loops, you’ll be left with a shaggy looking pom pom.

Using your scissors, trim off the longer pieces of yarn until you’re satisfied with the appearance of the pom pom. Fuzzy!

Fire up your glue gun, and find a place on the pom pom where the yarn looks a tad sparse or where things are a bit flat or uneven. Basically, you’re looking for a good place to glue the stem. Part the yarn to expose the more dense area of the pom pom. This will make a sturdy anchor for your stem. Apply a small amount of hot glue to your choice of stem, and press into the exposed anchor area.

Ta da! You’ve got a pom pom flower.

Use wire cutters to trim the stem to the desired length, and have fun figuring out where you’re going to put your flower!

Make Your Own Cleaning Products

A lot of people seem to be reorganizing and revamping their homes right now for the new year, and these DIY cleaning product recipes from Jolly Mom could be just the kick-start you need to inspire you to work on own place. You can pick up plastic bottles at your local dollar store or supermarket - have fun cleaning.

Glass Cleaner
1 cup distilled white vinegar
2 cups water
1/2 tsp dish soap
10-15 drops essential oil
Spray Bottle

All Purpose Cleaner
1/2 tsp washing soda
1/2 tsp liquid Castille soap
2 cups hot water
10-15 drops essential oil
Spray Bottle

Disinfectant
Hydrogen Peroxide
10-15 drops essential oil
Spray Bottle

Hardwood Floor Cleaner
4-5 Tbsp Murphy's Oil Soap
2 Cups Water
Spray Bottle

Furniture Polish
2 cups oil (vegetable or olive)
1 squeezed lemon
15 drops of lemon essential oil

Air Deodorizer
1 tsp baking soda
1tsp vinegar
2 cups water
10 drops essential oil
Spray Bottle

Top Crafting Ideas

Here’s a list of free tutorials and craft projects from 2008 to inspire you to create something in 2009.  

There are many sewing tutorials, plus lots of other crafty projects. 

For the Home:

Crochet Heart, Bella Dia
Fabric Gift Bags, Jo Calvert for Canadian Living
Fabric Vase Covers, How About Orange
Papier Mâché Bowls, Painted Fish Studio
Easy Roman Shades, A Merry Mishap
Fabric Bird, Spool Sewing
Fabric Calendar, I Heart Linen
Wine Tote, Kathryn Goodman for Sewing Republic
Mushroom, My Little Mochi
Pom Pom, Molly Chicken
Butterfly Collage*, Ali Edwards
Toadstool, Lucy Kate Crafts
Rice Pillow, Wise Craft
Napkin Set, Angharad
Quilted Patchwork Hot Pads, Coyote Craft for Sew Mama, Sew
Picnic Blanket with Rock Pockets, House on Hill Road for Sew, Mama, Sew
Phone Charging Basket, Oh, Fransson!
Matryoshka Note Paper & Labels, A Print a Day
Fortune Cookie, Lady Harvatine
Yoyo Coaster*, Sew Take a Hike
Pleasant Kitchen Dishtowels, Alicia Paulson
Fabric Covered Boxes, Wink Designs
Plate Transfers, Skinny Laminx for Design Sponge
Doily Bowl*, Jane Schouten for Design Sponge
Felt Votive Holder, Kate Pruitt for Design Sponge
Felted Sweater Flowers, Betz White for Craft Magazine
Ribbon Bookmarks*, Wee Wonderfuls
Fabric Bucket, Pippijoe
Recycled Bath Mat, New York Etsy Street Team

Homemade Oven Mits - So Neat

A great way to showcase a small amount of really special fabric. They get lots of use and visibility, totally practical, easy to make and always welcomed as gifts. A perfect project for a few spare hours. These can also keep your hands nice and warm on a wintery day if you miss place your mittons!

Thanks to http://soozs.blogspot.com

You will need:
*Fabric for the glove outers - about 50cm x 70cm. Make it something special and make sure it is machine washable
*Fabric for the glover inners - about 50cm x 80cm. Ditto the machine washable and make sure it co ordinates well with the outers.
*Cotton batting to line the gloves - about 100cm x 70cm
*Hanging loops - I used cotton tape 12mm wide x 30cm long, but scraps of either your inner out outer fabric would do
*Thread for the sewing machine
*Scissors, pins, iron


How to do it:

1. Cut 4 outer mitts. Make em bigger than you think they could possibly need to be and then add a bit. You'll lose a lot of size in the seams and because of the batting and other layers and there's nothing worse than small mitts. Make sure you have right sides facing so you have two pairs of outers and not 4 all facing the same way. Pay attention to the pattern if you need to so bits face the same way and all that.

2. Cut 4 inner mitts. These are basically the same as the outers but a fraction smaller in every way except length. Make them about 5cm longer so you can turn the excess up as a cuff later.

3. Cut 8 pieces of batting. Make them the size of your outer mitts minus the seam allowance.

4. Quilt each of the outers to a piece of batting. Use a contrast topstitch. Go crazy. Press good and proper so they are nice and flat.

5. With right sides facing sew each pair of outers togethereverywhere except across the bottom opening. Trim the excess seam allowance from around the curves.And clip in to the crook of the thumb.

6. Turn the outers right side out and press the side seams open.

7. Quilt the inners to the batting. Yep, all 4 of them. Press them well. Then sew them together, clip and trim as for outers.

8. Put the inners in the outers. Makes sense, huh? Make sure you get them in good and tight as far as they will go.The bottom edges of the inners should be horizontal with the bottom edge of the outers.

9. Turn up the excess edge of the inners by 1-2 cm and then turn again to form a neat folded cuff all the way around the bottoms that encloses the raw edge of the outers.Slip the hanging loop between the outer and folded cuff on the side seam and pin in place.

10. Hem all round the bottom edge making sure you catch the loops well and add a few extra rows of stitching for strength.

New Years Resolution Post Card Craft Swap

Who is ready for 2009 - Have you thought about your 2009 Resolutions yet? Here is an opportunity to write down your New Years Resolutions and send them out to friends. Will you stick with your resolutions or give up after 2 weeks? Just a fun way to get involved in the new year and try to make your resolutions come true. 

Post Card Craft Swap 

This is a swap for you to send out postcards to old friends or new all over the world! And when I do something I do it big! For this swap you will be given at random 10 partners that you will send 1 postcard to each person. That means 10 different locations! Send 10 postcards out - you will get 10 postcards back with everyone’s 2009 New Years Resolutions listed. 

Who doesn't love to get postcards the old fashion way - snail mail. Be as creative as you would like. 
How to play along:
If you wish to join the swap please email me no later then January 9th with your name and home address to:

lancarrowmaltby@yahoo.com 

I promise to keep all info safe!
With the title "New Years Resolution Post Card Craft Swap". On the 10th I will then send out the address of your 10 partners that you will be sending your Resolution post cards too.

Invite your friends to participate - the more the merrier.

Please send out your cards on or before January 31st 2009

Thanks so much, and Happy New Year 2009

Planning for the new year

Over at etsy for how-to tuesday helps you get organised with this weekly planner - download a pdf or create your own. Great for planning your New Years Resolutions 2009

Last Minute Gift Wrapping Ideas

Need some inspiration on wrapping gifts these next few days - for some last minute gift wrapping inspiration, Creature Comforts has a wrapping roundup.

Here are some really cute stickers and taps that you can print from home on your printer. All you will need for the stickers is sticker paper - available at your local craft store - and for the gift tags some nice card stock. 

Enjoy and happy holidays

Tissuepapers

Easy reconstructed sweater purse

Check out this sweater reconstruction project at Redux designs. All you need is an old sweater and some purse supplies that you can get at any local craft store. Who will be making one of these for the holidays!

Make Holiday Bows From Magazines

I just had to add this amazing how to from my BFF Crystal over at  http://jewelfaerie.com I am in love with this and will be making all my bows this holiday season.

Another day, and just another task in my quest to save the Earth...ok, maybe that's a little dramatic.    

Do you have old magazines lying around?  Need bows for the holidays?  Solve both problems with this quick and easy solution:  Make your own bows from those old magazines.

Here's how:

Gather supplies:  At least one magazine, some brads (the brass thingies from the office supply store that go into the holes punched by the hole puncher), scissors and a sharp tool of some sort that can poke a hole.  For the latter, I used an unfurled paper clip.



How to:

First, tear out several pages from the magazine.  Don't use the subscription inserts or cover as those are too thick for this project.  Next, cut several strips from those pages about an inch wide like so:



For a nice standard-sized bow, I cut my strips the long way.  After you make your first bow, you'll get an idea of how big to cut the strips depending on what size bow you need.  BTW:  If you have access to a paper cutter, it makes this job loads easier!

Gather 7 strips and begin bow assembly as follows:



Hold one strip in your hand.



With your other hand, bend the top of the strip down to meet the midpoint of the strip.  Do NOT crease.  Hold with the thumb of your original hand.



Using your free hand, flip the newly folded part of the strip over and place back under your thumb.  It sounds more complicated than it is, I promise!  In this case, I'm holding the strip with my left hand, so I just flipped that folded part to the right and re-secured it under my left thumb.



Repeat the process from the bottom.  Bend the bottom of the strip up to the midpoint...(do NOT crease)

...then do the fancy flip.  You should now be holding a figure 8 securely under your thumb.



Use your sharp tool to poke a hole right in the center of your figure 8, puncturing what should now be 4 layers.  Be careful not to puncture your finger in the process!



Slide the brad through the hole you just made.  Do NOT spread the brad's  "wings" yet.


  

Now, repeat this process for all 7 strips, alternating their angle on the brad as you go.  After the last strip, spread the brad's wings and fluff your beautiful bow!



Voila!  A finished bow.  Secure your bow to the package with clear tape.

Now for more fun stuff:

Get creative.  When you cut out your magazine strips, you can group like-colored strips together.  For example, here's my "mostly brownish" bow:



You could also be funny and use a recent People magazine to make a "Barack Obama" bow!  Or a "smile" bow (I noticed there are a lot of people smiling in People magazine).

You could use a, ahem, Gentleman's periodical (or a Ladies periodical for that matter) and make a "naughty" bow.

Like pets?  Use a Dog or Cat fancy magazine for your bows!  The possibilities are endless...

If you'd like, you could forget the magazines all together and use newspapers or even wrapping paper, or any paper or similar material that you'd like!  

Admittedly, I'm a little <strike>lazy</strike> tired right now so I've made myself a grocery bag of magazine bows and will use them on my packages wrapped in brown craft paper for the holidays.   No worries about "matching" the bows to the package!

Happy Holidays and enjoy!

Yummmm Felted Candy Cane Ornaments

felt candy cane ornament tutorial from felt cafe [via craftzine]

Homemade for the Holidays - Knitting Patterns Part 1

row 1
Pattern: Saartje’s Bootees [PDF]
Knit a ballband dishcloth by Kay Gardiner and Ann Shayne: pattern at Canadian living
jaywalker socks by grumperina [ravelry download] (need to be a member)

row 2
Basic Sock Recipe by Stephanie Pearl-McPhee [instructions at DIY network]
Clapotis by Kate Gilbert [pattern at knitty]
Calorimetry by Kathryn Schoendorf [pattern at knitty]

row 3
Swallowtail Shawl by Evelyn A. Clark [pattern interweave 2006]
Fetching by Cheryl Niamath [from knitty]
Monkey {socks} by Cookie A. [knitty pattern]

row 4
Foliage by Emilee Mooney [at knitty]
February Lady Sweater by Pamela Wynne [ravelry download]
Odessa hat by Grumperina [ravelry download]

row 4
Turn A Square hat by Jared Flood [ravelry download]
Endpaper Mitts by Eunny Jang [pattern]
Booga Bag by Julie Anderson [pattern]

row 5
Urchin by Ysolda Teague [pattern at knitty]
pinwheel blanket [pattern at knitlist]
Ribbed Lace Bolero by Kelly Maher [pattern]

Christmas Cookies Tutorial - Stacked Christmas Tree

My blogging friend Dot at Dabbled.org made the great 3-D Xmas Tree Cookies.

Here are the complete directions and thanks Dot from letting me share your how-to here on PNN.

Directions:
1. Make/bake your sugar cookies ahead of time. You'll need Star shaped cookie cutters in 4 sizes. You'll need 8 cookies per tree, 2 in each size. Here's some star shaped cookie cutters- hey, you can always reuse for the 4th of July!
IMPORTANT: Your cookie dough recipe should not have any leavening in it (ie no baking powder or baking soda), so the cookies bake flat--here's one.

2. Icing - Use green food coloring to tint your icing green. We used a buttercream I think, but it really shouldn't matter, as long as the icing dries hard. Ice the largest cookie first, then ice the second of the same size. Immediately press the iced cookie on top of the first one, centering the points of the stars between the ones of the previous layer, so they do not overlap. Continue building the tree in this manner, with successively smaller stars. Mine were messier than Jennifer's, hers are the prettier ones! But exactness isn't needed, just make sure you ice the tips since that's what shows.

3. Decoration - You can decorate any way you like, but we used packaged royal icing flowers, which you can purchase from a cake supply shop or online. Just google royal icing flowers. Just press one on top while the top star's icing is still wet. We had some sugar stars we considered standing up on the top of the tree, but we didn't try that while I was there.

4. Trunk. the original idea didn't include a trunk, but the boxes they were packaging them in for gifts were tallish, and they decided the tree needed to be taller. Hence, a stem made from a mini Reese's Cup and glued on with icing! Mmmm always nice to add chocolate anyway, right?

5. Packaging - They used clear acetate favor boxes ordered online, tied with a gold ribbon. Let the tree dry thoroughly before transferring to packaging. Use icing to 'glue' the tree to the bottom of the box.

Make your own paper ball ornament

Click here for the full directions -paper ball ornament

I totally love these - already pulled out my scraps of paper and setting up my tree tonight. 

design*sponge diy wednesdays

Gingersaurous Rex Cookies Recipe

I am trying to get into the holiday spirit so last night my husband said let make some cookies. Oh what fun - so I went digging through my collections of recipes, ingredients and cookie cutters and thought "no cookie says Christmas more than a gingerbread man cookie - right.

All I could find was this T-Rex cookie cutter, so here is my twist on this classic cookie.

Gingersaurous Rex Cookies

We had so much fun decorating and eating the heads off I do have to say I could  almost hear bells ringing in the distance and caroling at the front door.

Gingersaurous Rex Cookies Recipe
INGREDIENTS
 For the cookies
3 1/4 cups sifted all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter (room temperature, softened)
1/2 cup dark-brown sugar, packed
1 Tbsp ground ginger
1 Tbsp ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoons ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon finely ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 large egg
1/2 cup unsulfured molasses
Royal Icing
1 egg white
1/2 teaspoon lemon juice
1 3/4 cup confectioners sugar (powdered sugar)
METHOD
1 In a large bowl, sift together flour, baking soda, and spices. Set aside.

2 In an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter. Add sugar and beat until fluffy. Mix in eggs and molasses. Gradually add the flour mixture; combine on low speed. (You may need to work it with your hands to incorporate the last bit of flour.) Divide dough in thirds; wrap each third in plastic. Chill for at least 1 hour or overnight. Before rolling out, let sit at room temperature for 5-10 minutes. If after refrigerating the dough feels too soft to roll-out, work in a little more flour.

3 Heat oven to 350°. Place a dough third on a large piece of lightly floured parchment paper or wax paper. Using a rolling pin, roll dough 1/8 inch thick. Refrigerate again for 5-10 minutes to make it easier to cut out the cookies. Use either a cookie cutter or place a stencil over the dough and use a knife to cut into desired shapes. Press raisins, chocolate chips, or candy pieces in the center of each cookie if desired for "buttons".
4 Transfer to ungreased baking sheets. Bake until crisp but not darkened, 8 to 10 minutes. Remove from oven. Let sit a few minutes and then use a metal spatula to transfer cookies to a wire rack to cool completely. Decorate as desired.
Makes 16 5-inch long cookies.
Royal Icing
The traditional way to make Royal Icing is to beat egg whites and lemon juice together, adding the powdered sugar until the mixture holds stiff peaks. With modern concerns about salmonella from raw eggs, you can either use powdered egg whites or heat the egg whites first to kill any bacteria. With the heating method, mix the egg white and lemon juice with a third of the sugar, heat in a microwave until the mixture's temperature is 160°F. Then remove from microwave, and beat in the remaining sugar until stiff peaks form. Using the powdered egg whites method, combine 1 Tbsp egg white powder with 2 Tbsp water. If the icing is too runny, add more powdered sugar until you get the desired consistency. Fill a piping bag with the icing to pipe out into different shapes. Keep the icing covered while you work with it or it will dry out.

Enjoy and I hope you add my Gingersaurous Rex Cookies to your Holiday this year!

Most exciting months ever

I just wanted say that the last couple of months have been the most exciting time of my life - other than getting married, turning 30, graduating from collage, traveling to London,etc. 

Last month I was the winner to the PNN craft contest - WOW - now I have the great opportunity to be a featured writer for a topic that I love to do. Crafting and DIY.

Today Venus Zine Magazine Winter Issue just came out and one of my designs was a runner up to their Craft-off contest back in September. The Elle Tie-On Slippers.

Let me just say I am so excited and just wanted to share!!

Sweet Cinnamon Stick Votive

A perfect hostess gift for the holidays might be this cinnamon stick votive candle holder. Very easy to make and only cost a few dollars..Supplies are minimal and it would take only a few minutes to assemble. I can already smell the cinnamon floating through the air - the holidays are here.

To get started here is what you will need.

• a glass votive holder
• a rubber band
• cinnamon sticks
• raffia
• a tealight candle
• cloves (optional for an added kick of yummy scent)

For the entire tutorial, visit jonathangongstyle.com. 

Vintage Marshmallow Men

For a vintage little Christmas, you might want to make a few of these adorable Marshmallow Snowmen. I love how chubby they look - so cute and so good to eat too.  A wonderful little project to make with the kids on a blustery winter night. I can see these little guys visiting the gingerbread house you made last week! 

What you need to make one Marshmallow Man:

• 2 large marshmallows
• 4 mini marshmallows
• 3 wooden toothpicks
• wrapping paper
• glue (Elmer’s or tacky craft glue)
• scissors
• Sharpies or suitable markers; OR you could use food coloring pens so the little dudes are edible.

For the entire tutorial, go to gingerbreadsnowflakes.com. 

Holiday Man Ribbon

A perfect finishing touch to any DIYers’ gifts this holiday season–wrapped with the finest holiday ribbon - Duck Tape. After wrapping the package for that special man in your life, unroll a long piece of duck tape. Carefully fold over in half ( sticky side together) and smooth out all the air bubbles. Use your "duck tape" ribbon to make bows to add that special touch to your gift.  

Turkey Origami

Skip the meat and pass the paper! This Papercraft Turkey dinner pattern is available in a PDF. A color printer is a necessity for 'authenticity's' sake. Go here for the assembly instructions and to view the original source, check this out. Via.

Fold A Festive Turkey

Here is a fun center piece project you can make for your turkey day table. I am making one and filling it with little treats for the kids to take home.

Download the free PDF to get the full instructions on how to make the paper turkey - PDF Link !

Easy Holiday Garland

Here are two ways you can make some garland and holiday decorations with what you might have laying around the house. 

Recycled bottoms on water bottles can turn into twinkling stars with a snip of a pair of scissors. Great at reflecting light from different directions and guest will say ohh and ahh when they see them. Add some decortive beads to join the stars together to make the garland or hang them sepretly with a bit of wire to your tree/wreath. I will be making these this year for my going green theme.

For a set of five stars and three snowflakes, set aside eight plastic bottles. They can be colored or clear. Slice off the bottom end of each bottle using a serrated knife. Then, use scissors to trim off the curved sides so you are left with only the very bottom of the bottle (either oval or round)

To make a star, cut out triangle-shaped shapes from the sides. For a snowflake pattern, leave the "branches" and the core, and cut out all the rest. With a needle or hole-puncher, make a hole in each ornament to hang it. 

For a hanging ornament, cut out two identical stars and hang them back to back. This is also a perfect Christmas tree topper if you use some discreet wire. Another idea for a hanging decoration is to string different sized stars (made from large, medium and small bottles) together, from largest to smallest. 

For a garland, start with a long piece of string (at least 1.5 m). Thread on some clear beads and push them toward the center. Add a star, make a knot, and then thread the free end of the string back through the beads. Repeat for each star or snowflake. Use more or fewer beads to make the stars hang at varying lengths. 

Snow Flake Tea Lights Holder

Snow flakes - who wants it to snow? Well here is a great delicate project that you can bring the snow in. So pull out your sheets of white paper and get your little ones ready to make a room full of snow!

Here is what you will need to get started:

paper
paper or plastic vellum (or any paper that is somewhat transparent)
scissors
double stick tape
l.e.d. votives (these are small electronic lights that are designed to
mimic the glow and flicker of tea lights. you can get them at any
walgreens or target etc.)

1) cut out your paper snowflakes. for three lights i made 5 snowflakes
in various sizes.

2) prepare your l.e.d. votives. i added this step to diffuse the
light. cut out a strip of vellum 1 inch wide and 3 inches long. stick
a piece of tape that spans the entire length of the strip and wrap it
around the votive.

3) add another strip of tape all the way around the votive on the
bottom. this is what will keep your snowflakes in place. stick your
snowflakes around the edge.

4) finally to cover the rest of the sticky parts that didn’t get
covered by the snowflakes cut out a strip of paper and wrap it around
the votive. i think these are actually quite versatile little lights
that i’ll keep around past the holidays to enjoy.

For more info visit Design*Sponge

Make a Dressed up Dresser - How to

Here is a great turtial on how to dress up your dress by Lena Corwin. Don't you just love it .

Click here to download the complete instructions, or follow along below. Let's get to it, shall we?

Here is what your will need to get started.

• A piece of furniture to stencil, (old pieces should be sanded or stripped)
• white latex primer paint
• white semi-gloss paint
• contact paper
• a contrasting colour of latex paint
• roller paintbrush, pencil, craft, knife, scissors, painters tape
• to download those lovely chubby moose and their animal chums

for the rest of the (very detailed) skinny go HERE. Do check out Lena's blog and her interview with Etsy - her stuff is amazing.

Tissuepapers

How to turn your closet into a Chic Boutique - Oh La La

While shopping this past weekend at one of my favorite thrift stores, I came across this most amazing wall paper. So I thought how beautiful would that look in my ugly closet - I could transform my closet it to a chic boutique that would just scream put your clothes away in me! Here is how I took my closet from boring to oh la la.

Step 1

Vincent Van Gogh Severed Ear Earring Holder

Hello, My name is Lisa Ancarrow-Maltby and  i'm an avid crafter, vintage anything collector, pattern designer and a amateur gardener. I live in Richmond, Va with my Husband and two wonderful pugs named Bailey and Pearl.

 I am always trying to get organized and with Halloween right around the corner - I love a good scare. Here is a fun and almost creepy way to keep all of your earring nice, neat and tidy. You will never be short on trying to find that missing hoop or diamond stud ever again!  With inspiration from one of my favorite painters, I made this little stuffed severed ear of the famous painter Vincent Van Gogh. It is very easy to make and all of your friend will want one too!

Have fun and happy crafting

Here is the complete step by step instructions so you can make one too. 

Step 1 - Find a friend with a nice size ear.

Step 2 Get some fluff and some felt ( fabric color your choice )

Step 3 Using the ear as a pattern cut out with fabric * remember to leave enough around the edge for the seam allowance. Stitch around ear shape by hand or sewing machine, leave about 1.5 inch opening so you can turn right side around. Once you have turn around, hand stitch the opening to finish off ear.

Step 4 Using the ear picture as a guide, lightly with a pencil draw the ear lines. Once you have the lines drawen on your stuffed ear, either by hand or sewing machine stitch out the lines of the ear. I used black thread for great contrast.

Step 5 I added some ear hair for extra drama but you can get creative and add anything you want - warts, veins, ear wax, blood, etc.

My spooky front porch " The Birds "

I just finished decorating my house for Halloween. This year I decided on a theme - Alfred Hitchcock's " The Birds ". I was totally inspired while shopping at my local craft store and I came upon the great black crows birds in all different sizes. I true fan of Alfred Hitchcock, I thought this was perfect. With a little help and past inspiration from her majesty Martha Stewart Halloween magazines, I arranged the birds on my front door and a few on my orange and white pumpkins I have setting on the stoop to get that I'm being attacked by birds look. A few here and there faux spider webs compliment the front while a scary skeleton and black cat grace the windows to the left as silhouettes (Martha Stewart Crafts )

The Pearl Rucksack

I love sewing and designing - I was shopping at my local fabric store and came across this amazing red cotton fabric. I just had to turn it into something great. After watching all of my favorite 1940's movie this weekend - I was inspired to use the fabric and make a modern day glamorous verson of a rucksake. Think Huckleberry Fin with high heels and lip stick!! It was very easy to make - you can make almost any size. Figure out how big you want it - cut out 2 perfect squares. Here is the link to the pattern and the directions. 

Vintage Inspired Tie-On Slippers

Here is a cute little pair of slippers that you can make. I was inspired by one of my favorite movie stars -Doris Day and designed these slippers to wear on those lazy days of summer afternoons sipping your chilled ice tea. Enjoy! Here is the patternwith the complete directions attached.

Woven Paper Dove Brooch

I used to make this little bird as a child, then just recently I had a dream about her and she popped back into my head.  Two weeks ago I went out with my husband to a fancy  dinner party and I got to dress up - little black dress and all! I always like to WOW his friends, so I made my little dove into a brooch - added a small pin to the underside with glue - then presto I had the most original brooch at the party. You can use the bird in so many other ways too - use it instead of a bow on a gift package, you will get a big wow with that one!! 

Here is the link to complete step by step photos on flickr have fun and enjoy.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/9808633@N02/sets/72157607534204690/