Quick Craft/Update

Posted by Jackie on Nov 25, 2009 in Craft Presents

Two points of order:

1. I filmed my first craft this weekend! A girl I know - http://ebwhite.blogspot.com/ - asked me if I could prepare a small craft for a film she’s doing for a journalism class. She wanted a quick cheap unisex craft (that means no feathers or jewels) that could be gifted for the holidays. Right up my alley!! After much pondering (and then running out of time due to an overload of schoolwork), I settled on making a handy-dandy box out of dominoes with a matching picture frame! The clip is right now being edited, but that won’t stop me from showing you the box - the picture frame has since been destroyed. I made the mistake of glueing the dominoes to the glass before sticking a picture in, thus making picture placement impossible.

Here’s the box:

Domino Box!

To make it, it’s pretty simple. I used a box of old dominoes and a hot glue gun (but really, a heavy duty tacky glue would be wayyyy better) - and made coaster-looking “walls” out of 8 dominoes. 5 total - one for each side, and then an extra for the base. I then made the cover, which is not necessary, but equally cute. You can vary the height and width of the box, making it a tall pencil cup or a short squat box. Easy!! And, if you don’t happen to have a box of dominoes hanging around, it’s a cheap craft to go out and buy the supplies for: dollar store dominoes ($1) + dollar store glue gun + glue shots ($2). Fun!!!! What I liked the most about this, is that the black and white graphic look of the dominoes ends up looking SUPER TRENDY right now. Everyone loves black & white!! Chic!!

2. Non-craft related, I figured I may as well promote myself a teensy bit. http://maddykweddings.com/blog/2009/11/hello-sunday-this-is-valerie-maddy-ks.html

That’s me! I’m going to be one of the on-site bloggers for Maddy K’s Bridal Boudoir bridal show in 2 weeks! I’m pretty excited. I LOVE weddings and I love blogging, so why not! Rumor has it that the brides who show up get an awesome goody bag. Rumor ALSO has it that volunteers - like me - MIGHT also get said goody basket. YUMMY!! Be sure to check out the Maddy K blog on Dec. 6th - I’ll be there all day writing about all the awesome things I see!

XOXO

Tags: fun stuff, news, recycling

Cold-Weather Cuteness #2: Cozy Fleece Scarf… WITH POCKETS

Posted by Jackie on Oct 14, 2009 in Accessories, Craft Presents

My friend Rosalie is PROBABLY my blog’s biggest fan - both of my blogs actually. She pestered me to get back on crafting because she was running out of things to read when she’s bored. She is also a lover of the craft making, and has asked me repeatedly to invite her over when I craft. I don’t think she’d be too keen on coming over at 3 a.m. when I can’t sleep and have a weird jolt of inspiration. So, because she’s a really great girl, and because I like her and think she’s awesome, I made her a teensy little present - that actually kills two birds with a stone - because it’s both a wearable craft AND a recycled household objects craft! Wow!

In my house, we are apparent lovers of the glorious fabric that is FLEECE. Back in my summer camp days, I gave the same gift for the gift game two summers in a row: a fleece QUILLOW lovingly handmade by myself - or my mother if I ran out of time/got lazy. My mom once made me a fleece bed cover thing, that attracted both stray hair and sweat. My sister had giant hot pink fleece throw pillows. I made MYSELF a hot pink fleece QUILLOW. See a trend?

So, using all this excess FLEECE we happen to have lying around (I have since put the fleece cover into storage and my sister outgrew the need for HOT PINK FLEECE), I thought nothing would be cozier than a great fleece scarf for Rosalie. And hey, IT’S NO-SEW.

Things You Need:

A ton of leftover fleece - like old throw blankets, even old fleece bathrobes
Scissors
Glue gun
Heart template - or whatever shape you want your pockets to be
Optional: embroidery floss & a needle

Now, I know I said it’s NO SEW, but I made mine LOOK like it was sewn but it’s really not. A sew trompe-l’oeil!

How To:

Decide how thick and long you’d like your scarf to be, and cut it as evenly as possible to your desired length/width. Make sure it’s wide enough for pockets!
In an alternating color (or the same, however you wish), trace & cut out 2 patch shapes for your pockets, large enough to fit most of your hand.
OPTIONAL: sew stitches around the pocket shapes to look like seams.
Glue the patches to the near bottom of your scarf, leaving a wide opening at the top. Put glue ONLY on the edges, you’re making a pocket, silly!
Wrap around your neck, sneak some candy into your pocket and go out for an Autumn walk!

Stuff I used

Cut fleece

Tracing a shape

Cut hearts!

Glue the hearts on!

Finished scarf

Rosalie's package!

Estimated Time: 20 minutes, add 15 if you’re faux-sewing the pockets.
Craft Level: Easy - cut & glue!

Tags: cute, diy, easy, no-sew, presents, recycling, scarf

Anniversary Crafts

Posted by Jackie on Oct 12, 2009 in Craft Presents

My man and I recently celebrated our one-year anniversary (OKAY, I know 1 year of dating ISN’T SUCH A BIG DEAL ANYMORE, but to me it was so deal with it!) and in addition to man-made/store bought presents, I knew that I had to MAKE him something. Apparently sending pictures and captions to Bureau en Gros to be made into a calendar didn’t count so much.

I did sell my soul to the scrapbooking gods to make him a great looking corny/stereotypical scrapbook, but the real craft that I made has its own background story:

My aunt’s parents have these giant fish sculptures at their place that kiss. If at any time, you should visit them and the fish aren’t kissing, the couple are NOT happy with each other. But if you visit, and the fish are kissing, you know it’s - as we say in Hebrew - “Shalom Bait” (literally: peace in the home, figuratively: things are koooooool). I wanted to recreate this idea - complete with the undertones.

So, a DIY sculpture kissing couple? EASY AS PIE.

I bought 2 identical and inexpensive glass figurines, and decorated them - one male & one female. Using a heavy duty adhesive [Well-Bond], I gave them lips, a necklace/bow-tie. For the female, I recycled trimmed edges from a set of false eyelashes to make her eyes lashilicious.

Check out pictures below!