Crafters UNITE!

[Medusa]

Hey Crafty McCraftersons!

I want to know what projects you are working on! Your best sources for craft material! Your favorite time of day to craft! Whether you reach for glue or paper first! Your biggest craft wins! Your biggest craft fails!

I am pretty new to crafting anything. I have crocheted and painted in the past but making anything intricate with my hands has eluded me...until now...MWWAHHHAAAHHAAA!

Let's talk!

[Medusa]

So, Jack cleaned out her "Butch Drawer" in the kitchen and brought me a bazillion Snus tins:

http://snusauthority.com/blog/wp-con...10-448x336.jpg

I was thinking about painting them and putting little scenes or funny vignettes inside of them. What would YOU do with those?

[clay]

Hey Medusa....I love doing all sorts of crafts! Being in the lowcountry of SC, and having palm trees all over..there is a neat craft I have done in past. The trees limbs are trimmed down real close to the trunk each year. When those "limb bases "fall off" after a while..they split on the end attached to the tree..and what I do is....glue movable eyes, a red pom pom nose, and make a red velvet ribbon...I spray the whole thing with clear polyurethane before I embellish it... a gold, or silver, or even green ribbon is also cool...it looks just like a reindeer...smiles....
Having an abundance of oysters' shells here (we have a "return your empty shells" after an oyster roast) to a state run DNR bed..where they are "replaced" back in these oyster beds....and are the only beds where oysters can be gotten for local consumption...anyway I use the spanish moss, abundant here also..and I make Lowcountry angels...pm me for more info...
I craft late evening for most part. I am tired, have a doc appt in am, and will respond more tomorrow evening...grin EXCELLENT post AND thread idea, Medusa..hugs..Clay

[Medusa]

Hey Clay! Sounds like you make some unique and awesome stuff! I never thought about empty oyster shells being reused for beds but that is a bad ass idea!

Love the reindeer idea too!

[chai~]

see what you've done now!! You've got my brain thinking up something awesome!!!

What are the dimensions of these?

[Medusa]

Originally Posted by chai~

see what you've done now!! You've got my brain thinking up something awesome!!!

What are the dimensions of these?

They are about 2 inches long, 1.25 inches wide and maybe .33 inches deep. Smaller than a pack of cigarettes but larger than a box of matches.

They are great for organizing the craft room. I have some saved for needles and small jewelry fixings but I'd love to be able to gift some of them!

[chai~]

ok! They are smaller than I thought but first thing that comes to mind is to take apart the top and bottom, and use each piece as a pendent or earring base.

You could fill each piece with semi precious stones, small decoupage, etc.

Drill a hole in the top to put a head pin thru and attach an ear wire.

Let me see if I can find some pics of what I mean.

I would even fill them and make funky rings with them. Oh see, now I want some to play with!!!

[chai~]

I would wear the first one as a ring!

The second one would be an adorable keepsake!

And the 3rd, nice and handy if I need one in a pinch!!!

Have fun with your fun hobby!

[amiyesiam]

OHhhhhhhh Hi

Cool tins I would use them for spices. Find some cool way to decorate the outsides and then put up a magnetic strip and stick them on so they would be on display in the kitchen. Useable art.

As for me, I do needle work all kinds of paper crafts, some crochet, knitting, some jewelry making, weaving, sewing and so on.

Currently I am learning to spin on a top whorl drop spindle. I won a batt of fiber a few months ago, so I got a spindle and spun it. It is a decent first attempt considering that I don't have someone to actually teach me and must use online sources. So I spun it and then I plyed it and now I am knitting a bandana cowl out of it. I got 155 yards out of 60 grams of fiber. I will be done tomorrow and pictures will be posted on facebook!

I have won more fiber ( I enter A LOT of podcast contests) and ordered a custom batt. So I will be busy for awhile LOL

[1QuirkyKiwi]

Hi Medusa, I’m just finishing off hand embroidering Christmas cards – I’ve finished hand embroidering a Clock for my close friend’s Christmas present. I’ve got 2 Sweaters to hand Embroider, 2 to sew together and some baby blankets to hand embroider for Neo-natal.

I can sew, stitch, draw, and sculpt anytime of the day or night – it depends on when the mood takes me…….once I get engrossed in a project, I find it difficult to walk away and leave it if it’s going well. I hate the feeling of emptiness when a project is finished, so I like to have two or three ready to start or that have been started. I love to hand embroider on a warm Summer’s night – just me, the Moon, the Stars, the scent of Summer in the gentle breeze.

I’ve had some spectacular crafting fails over the years! LOL! Years ago, I bought a new pattern for a blouse and forgot that there was no seam allowance – when I finished the blouse it was a little on the snug fitting side, lol! I looked like a badly stuffed sausage, lol!

I still haven’t master the art of knitting! I’m not sure I ever will – my many attempts always seem to look like a plate of tangled spaghetti that a child has been playing with….lol!

As I student, I made Paua shell Jewellery to help support my studies – nothing fancy, more costume Jewellery.

The tins could be used as Trinket boxes…… lipstick holders…..for homemade lip balm or solid perfumes….?


Great thread!

[1QuirkyKiwi]

Originally Posted by chai~

I would wear the first one as a ring!

The second one would be an adorable keepsake!

And the 3rd, nice and handy if I need one in a pinch!!!

Have fun with your fun hobby!

These are FANTASTIC!!! I love the keyring!

[Diva]

I MAY have groaned out loud when I saw this thread because I KNOW Y'all are going to give me new ideas and I'm not done with the OTHER ideas yet!

Medusa, I use Altoid tins a lot....even the teeny~weeny ones. I give them a light sanding/wipe down first, so glue and paint stick better. Then I decorate them to suit an individual. Let's say I have a friend in Colorado who is a photographer and loves baseball......I might paint a mountain scene on the lid, wrap the sides in a neat paper and on the inside, put a cut-to-fit piece of paper in the bottom with a 3-d baseball glued in the corner....maybe some old film rolled up tightly on one end and allowed to scroll cross~wise across the bottom. In the top of the box, another piece of paper with a Babe Ruth quote, an old vintage photo of The Babe (that you can just print out on reg paper and cut to fit. Something like that.

Of course, NOW I'm gonna have to MAKE one and take pictures, as I cannot find ANY pictures of the ones I made when I was in my TDP (Tin Decorating Phase).....

NEAT thread!

When the tins weren't large enough, I moved on to cigar boxes. One might purchase said cigar boxes at Spec's Liquor Stores (the ones with humidors) for a buck fifty! There are the tradional cardboard boxes, of course, but I have found some VERY neat wooden boxes!

My latest craft is a paper garland which has driven me to drink.........wait.
8 circles of paper, each circle folded in half, one half glued to the next until you get a 'pom-pom', close the pom-pom around eith thin ribbon or even embroidery thread (I used very narrow ribbon). I'm on pom-pom #30.....I don't know if I'll get it done for THIS tree or not. The circles I'm using are about 1", but I've made some ornaments using the same idea, but much bigger circles of paper. I'll try to remember how to post a picture here of these.

(I may have remembered!)



(I especially love the one cat hair. OH! That table consists of repurposed closet doors that kept falling off their track. Blu built a frame and slammed those puppies on top, screwed 'em in and VOILA! New farmhouse~esque dining room table that seats 10 comfortably! Great for my parties! It's 45" wide ~3 door panels ~ by however tall the damn doors are....6 1/2 feet maybe? Next trip, he's gonna build a bench for one side! Weeeeeeee!!!!)

And speaking of repurposing....I use the oddest things in my art. I just punched out some tiny stars from the nubby foil seal on a coffee can....they are SO neat!

[clay]

GREAT ideas...and Medusa...now ya have ME thinking on "what to" with the snus tins..smiles...Chai and Diva had awesome ideas, too on their use...
I have used quart mason jars with lids n rings..and filled with potpourri, lacing a strand of those 35 mini light strings inside and layering with the potpourri...and when I top it off, I place a colorful piece of cloth OR a crocheted lace doilie inside the ring and cap off jar...leave plug end of lights long enough to plug it in..I use drops oif scented oils to "replenish" these over time..and it is a nice gift...lights are so low heat they won;t catch fire....of course I never leave one on 24/7..just plug in to refresh area and unplug few hrs. later.
The white "dryer vent hose" (which is almost impossible to find now) I use..I cut about 12 inches off the roll...and I briong one end onto the other one, and hot glue them together onto themselves...then spray with a burnt orange spray paint, then "anitque with a brown spray paint..I cut a 'stem" from either a green or brown raffia twist....and insert in center with hot glue. I next take one of the stick scarecrows found in most crafts stores..and cut stick down to about 3 inches and insert inside where stem is, and hot glue in place...these make excellent Halloween decorations..and you can get a roll of about 25 ft. of the white vent hose in hardware stores...
I take a really full, pretty long strand of magnolia blooms (artificial) either in burgundy or white..and cut each flower off...I get the little angel pin kits that are birthstone specific..and make them up..usually 6 of each month) once made, I open the bloom, hot glue the sngel in place..and fold the leaves over...and I have special boxes with tissue wrap inside...where the angel lives when not on the tree...I call them Lowcountry Magnolia angels..and sell quite a few of them. I get 15 bucks for each one!!!
Those oyster shell angels are really quite awesome. Unfortunately I don't have pics...I use the moss to make her hair with...glue a "party favor" gold ring on for halo..and use a round wooden ball to paint a face on..I attach hair and halo to that then attach that to the upright oyster shell and glue a ribbon hanger on back of shell..
One can also paint scenes on these shells as well...glue them together to make a family..and use one shell as a base to make a beach scene and attach the angels as well..living in a beachy town, we tend to make things specific to the area...smiles...

[Gemme]

Originally Posted by Medusa

So, Jack cleaned out her "Butch Drawer" in the kitchen and brought me a bazillion Snus tins:

http://snusauthority.com/blog/wp-con...10-448x336.jpg

I was thinking about painting them and putting little scenes or funny vignettes inside of them. What would YOU do with those?

I actually have one sitting next to the computer and I've been contemplating what I'm going to do with it. Everything from decorating it and using it as storage for buttons or small beads to doing as chai mentioned and decorating a scene on it, like I used to do in grade school.

Personally, I haven't done much in the way of crafty goodness lately but I do enjoy scrapbooking, penpalling, and making small things that could be framed and hung or placed in a memory album. I did a 3D postcard once that I really enjoyed.

Journaling too. I tend to turn my journal into more of a junque journal than your average, ordinary write about what happened today journal.

[1QuirkyKiwi]

Originally Posted by Diva

I MAY have groaned out loud when I saw this thread because I KNOW Y'all are going to give me new ideas and I'm not done with the OTHER ideas yet!

Medusa, I use Altoid tins a lot....even the teeny~weeny ones. I give them a light sanding/wipe down first, so glue and paint stick better. Then I decorate them to suit an individual. Let's say I have a friend in Colorado who is a photographer and loves baseball......I might paint a mountain scene on the lid, wrap the sides in a neat paper and on the inside, put a cut-to-fit piece of paper in the bottom with a 3-d baseball glued in the corner....maybe some old film rolled up tightly on one end and allowed to scroll cross~wise across the bottom. In the top of the box, another piece of paper with a Babe Ruth quote, an old vintage photo of The Babe (that you can just print out on reg paper and cut to fit. Something like that.

Of course, NOW I'm gonna have to MAKE one and take pictures, as I cannot find ANY pictures of the ones I made when I was in my TDP (Tin Decorating Phase).....

NEAT thread!

When the tins weren't large enough, I moved on to cigar boxes. One might purchase said cigar boxes at Spec's Liquor Stores (the ones with humidors) for a buck fifty! There are the tradional cardboard boxes, of course, but I have found some VERY neat wooden boxes!

My latest craft is a paper garland which has driven me to drink.........wait.
8 circles of paper, each circle folded in half, one half glued to the next until you get a 'pom-pom', close the pom-pom around eith thin ribbon or even embroidery thread (I used very narrow ribbon). I'm on pom-pom #30.....I don't know if I'll get it done for THIS tree or not. The circles I'm using are about 1", but I've made some ornaments using the same idea, but much bigger circles of paper. I'll try to remember how to post a picture here of these.

(I may have remembered!)



(I especially love the one cat hair. OH! That table consists of repurposed closet doors that kept falling off their track. Blu built a frame and slammed those puppies on top, screwed 'em in and VOILA! New farmhouse~esque dining room table that seats 10 comfortably! Great for my parties! It's 45" wide ~3 door panels ~ by however tall the damn doors are....6 1/2 feet maybe? Next trip, he's gonna build a bench for one side! Weeeeeeee!!!!)

And speaking of repurposing....I use the oddest things in my art. I just punched out some tiny stars from the nubby foil seal on a coffee can....they are SO neat!

I love these! If I had the wall space left, I'd if you do commisions...

[girl_dee]

There is a place in heaven for each and every one of you.

Being crafty is a gift! (I do not possess this gift)

[PinkieLee]

Originally Posted by Cajun_dee

There is a place in heaven for each and every one of you.

Being crafty is a gift! (I do not possess this gift)

WORD... this is me, too

[girl_dee]

Originally Posted by PinkieLee

WORD... this is me, too

I love and am fascinated with crafters, I love watching them go!

That may or may not be very weird.

[PinkieLee]

Originally Posted by Cajun_dee

I love and am fascinated with crafters, I love watching them go!

That may or may not be very weird.

It is fun to watch an idea come to life. I wish I was that creative.

[Words]

I have recently become a quilting widow

(Truth is, I find watching Blue hand stitch all those squares quite arousing - must be the 'in and out' action *cough* - but hey, that's for us to know and Hym to wonder about.)

Words