Piece of Craft: Yarn-Wrapped Anything
This week, I’m bringing you a super-easy craft idea that can be used in a variety of situations: yarn wrapping. All you need is your favorite color yarn, some glue, and the object you are planning to wrap and you are ready to go.
The first time I saw this idea was on the blog Jen Loves Kev, (as well as Sarah Ortega’s blog) where there is a DIY tutorial on yarn-wrapped letters. This is a really cool concept for a home-décor project, as you can place the letters spelling out a word on a table surrounded with framed pictures. Or, choose to make your initials and place them on a bookshelf in a similar manner. Jen Loves Kev chose to create her own letters using cardboard and tape. This is an easy project in itself, but if you’d rather just do the yarn wrapping, you can purchase large letters at a craft store such as Michaels.
A yarn-wrapped letter. Photo from sarahortega.com.
Piece of Craft: Watercolor Textual Effects
I love to paint, especially with watercolors. Sometimes, though, I feel like I need to find a new technique to freshen up my designs and my technique. Online I’ve found all kinds of textual effects to give your artwork a new appeal. Here are some great ideas:
Watercolor painting with alcohol drops from watercolorpainting.com
Alcohol: Putting drops of alcohol onto your already-damp work can create a cool drop or swirl effect. The alcohol drops here will manifest themselves in a white-ish color. If you use drops of alcohol on somewhat damp paint and then paint over it, you can also create a similar effect, but instead the drop will be colored.
Piece of Craft: Clutching a Book
Sometimes I wish it were acceptable to carry a book everywhere I go, especially when I’m out at night. But let’s be honest, carrying a book to a bar isn’t exactly considered acceptable behavior. That is, unless your book is also somehow your ridiculously cute clutch purse. After a great DIY tutorial from Runway DIY (originally from Olympia Le-Tan), now you can have the best of both worlds.
An amazing book clutch for your night out! Photo from Runway DIY.
For this craft, you will need:
Piece of Craft: The Versatility of Chalkboard Paint
In the past year or so, chalkboard paint has been appearing everywhere. First, it seemed like it only appeared in the home, perhaps painted on a wall to post the daily menu or messages, or on a table for drawings and lists. But more and more often I have been seeing chalkboard paint in a variety of crafts, both home décor-related and non-related. There are some really good ideas I’ve seen, read about, or heard about that I want you to share with you all, so you can release your inner chalkboard artist.
On the blog, Henry Happened, I came across a really awesome DIY chalkboard necklace. This craft is very reminiscent of a traditional locket-type necklace, but with a twist. Instead of the locket, all you need is a flat pendant that can be sprayed with the paint. Then, instead of putting a picture inside your pendant, you can write a message or draw a picture — whatever you feel describes you that day. It’s very easy to make and all the necessities for this craft are listed on the Henry Happened blog.
Paint a pendant using chalkboard paint to create a unique necklace. Photo from the Henry Happened blog.
Piece of Craft: Kool-est Yarn, A DIY Project
I have tried for a long time to come up with an awesome way to dye yarn and other fabrics using household items. Of course, you can always use actual dyes, or perhaps tea bags depending on what hue you’re going for, but I wanted to try other things for a truly original-looking fabric. Luckily, Miss Make, along with a few other tutorial sites, gives a lovely tutorial with a completely unique idea: yarn dyed with Kool-Aid!
Yarn dyed with Kool-Aid. Photo from Miss Make.
Take any white yarn (or fabric) you may have to start out with. Pick out the colors of Kool-Aid that you would like to use. You can choose to use all one color, or try to use multiple colors. Either way, your end product will be a great one.
Piece of Craft: Crafts at the Downtown Phoenix Farmer’s Market
Believe it or not, I had never actually been to the farmer’s market in Downtown Phoenix — until this weekend, when I went with my friend Merry. I’ve been to many other farmer’s markets and always enjoy the amazing food and the seemingly ubiquitous handmade goods. This week, the farmers market had a great selection of both of these things, making me one happy girl.
Photo by Faith Breisblatt; Beautiful piece by Modern Muse 61, using all sorts of interesting materials, such as bottle caps and beads.
There were so many great crafts at the farmer’s market, but I have to say, I was most intrigued by the works of Rosario Melinda Hoffman, the designer and collaborator for Modern Muse 61. The collections of Modern Muse 61 are made using “hidden treasure” materials found in hardware stores, flea markets, and yard sales to make one-of-a-kind pieces. I’ve always been a big fan of using old things that you find in places such as yard sales (including bottle caps, antique keys, chains, nuts and bolts, etc.) to make unique creations, so as soon as I saw these amazing pieces, I knew I needed to find out more.
Piece of Craft: “A Beautiful Mess” of a Blog
My latest blog obsession comes to you in the form of A Beautiful Mess, although the blog is anything but a mess. If a mess is something that is this wonderful, than I want everything to be a mess. But in all seriousness, I’m awarding an extraordinary amount of credit to Elsie Larson, designer, boutique owner, and blogger, for sharing all her style, DIY, photography, food, décor and beauty tips with the online world.
One of my favorite DIY creations from A Beautiful Mess: song-lyric wall art. Photo taken from the A Beautiful Mess blog.
Elsie doesn’t just do this blog by herself. It has become such a production that she has help from Emma Chapman (the recipe editor), Rachel Denbow (the décor editor), Katie Shelton (beauty contributor), Kinsey Mhire (DIY contributor), and Amanda Keith (another DIY contributor). All of these individuals come together to make one awesome blog.
Piece of Craft: The College Student’s Necessity
As a legal, of-age college student, I think that there is one thing that is necessary to have that can actually be a fun DIY project: a flask. It is small, portable, and can make weekend excursions super cheap, if you catch my drift. You can buy a flask from various vendors, including online websites such as CKBProducts or a particular store if you prefer. They come in a range of sizes and prices, but can be found at a pretty reasonable cost if you look in the right places.
A flask made by Faith Breisblatt using words from the novel The Scarlet Letter.
My favorite thing to do with this craft is to cover the entire flask with decoupage designs. To decoupage, you use Mod Podge glue and various types of paper. As I have stated in previous posts, you just glue your piece of paper down and then coat it with the Mod Podge to give it a glazed sort of feel. I think using this method makes it very easy to customize your flask with whatever you want on them.
