Fine Craft Guild .com » Craft by Material

PS I Made This

Fine Craft Guild — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 12:46:00 +0000

great title, great book.

Part designer DIY
Part fashion
Part lifestyle inspiration guide.

I counted 27 projects in this book. All are practical and with easy (obvious) to follow instructions.

Here is a sample of a project:

How to Make a Fancy Ruffle Shirt

(Upcycling a plain boring white t-shirt)

Get Inspired

Not only does the writer Erica Domesek give us great projects to do ourselves, with step-by-step instructions; she also shares where she gets her inspiration from, encouraging us to cross-pollinate ideas and be creative ourselves.

As styles are diverse, surely not all 27 will be according to your taste. However, they don’t need to be. If you are an avid reader of my blog, this book will be a teaser for you to apply your own creativity.

You’ll pick up some techniques, which you can take further and you restyle, refashion or reuse things to represent you, using the book as your initial starting point and how-to guide.

E.g. If you don’t like those bouncy balls in that tied pantyhose necklace, well, use something else instead. You could use some left over foam balls, or even some IKEA packaging materials, chopped up. The pack I opened last night had a great foam cube in it that just screamed ‘craft me’ into something good !! Or, use a could of standard black/white dices instead. All these would make great statement jewelry, riding along the lines of black/white and recycling trends.

See it, like it, buy it:

PAPERBACK VERSION: P.S.– I Made This: I See It. I Like It. I Make It
KINDLE VERSION: P.S.– I Made This

Click Here For Other: Craft, DIY & Interior Design Book Reviews

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Valentine Heart Wreaths

Fine Craft Guild — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 12:55:00 +0000

Well-illustrated Tutorial
To Make Rag Heart Wreaths
as Valentines Gifts or Decoration

By guest writer Lilana

“Hello, Fine Art Craft Guild readers! I’m the “Lilly” in LOVD, Lilly Of the Valley Designs. I’m a hardly-at-home-stay-at-home wife and mom, retired rocket scientist, jewelry-maker, project seeker, and optimist do-gooder, and daily blogger at FeelLOVDeveryday.

I can’t tell you how over-the-top thrilled I am to have been asked to share a craft project with you, let alone a Valentine’s Day craft project.

Here’s how your end result will look. Like it?

‘Craft’ Materials Needed

The best part about this project: it will cost next to nothing but will yield spectacular results. You probably already have all the items you’ll need just sitting in your closet:

- Dry cleaners wire hanger

- Old t-shirt, color of choice

- Scissors (not shown)

- Wire cutters

- Starch (optional)

Step-by-Step Instructions

♥ STEP 1: MAKING THE WREATH FRAME.

The hardest part of this project is bending of the wire hanger. Carefully unwind the wire hanger at the hook area and shape the hanger into a heart. You’ll have the hook portion at the heart’s center. Wrap the two wires into one. Take wire cutters and cut off the excess wire. You may need stronger wire cutters than those pictured. Be sure not to cut too closely to where the wires come together as you don’t want to break the connection. I actually cut the excess wire off after I tied each rag strip.

♥ STEP 2: CREATING THE HOOK.

Take the old t-shirt and cut the bottom right above the sew line. This strip will act as your hanging strip. The sewed seam will help this strip’s role from unraveling while it hangs your Rag Heart Wreath.

♥ STEP 3: CUTTING RAG STRIPS.

Begin cutting strips starting at the bottom of the t-shirt. I made my strips between a half an inch to an inch in width and between four to five inches in length. It’s not an exact science and the variation adds character to the final result. This width and length worked so well when I tied the knot that I did not need to use the starch to force the rags to lay outwardly.

♥ STEP 4: KNOTTING YOUR WREATH.

Begin knotting each strip to the wire and follow along until the entire wire is covered. It is not a double knot, just a simple basic tie.

TIP:

When you get to the center of the heart where there are two wires coming together, take a rag strip and knot both wires together. Continue along until the entire wire is covered. Push each knotted strip together tightly.

This photo shows the heart’s center and knotting both wires together.

♥ STEP 5: FINISHING YOUR WREATH

Remember that rag strip you cut from the bottom of the t-shirt?

Go ahead and figure out what length you need based on where you’re going to hang your Rag Heart Wreath. Tie each end to the Rag Heart Wreath around the area where the heart begins to curve upwards.

Try to make that knot blend in with the rest of the knots already tied on to the wire by positioning it between the knotted rag strips already there.

HEART RAG WREATH

All done!

Go hang your swoonie Rag Heart Wreath and be proud; a Valentine’s Day craft that cost nothing, nada, zilch! Good for you and Happy Valentine’s Day, you savvy crafter, you!

I hope you enjoyed this simple craft. I’d love for you to visit me at my blog, Feel L.O.V.D. Everyday, for uplifting conversation & beautiful inspiration.”

: ♥ :

And, if you enjoyed Lilly’s bubbly voice in this tutorial here, go visit her on her blog for more! She is clearly a delightful spirit!

Thank you Lilly for this fun,

eco-friendly project!

Happy Valentines Everyone!

: ♥ :

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Sweet Little Crochet Leaves :: Free Pattern

Fine Craft Guild — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 18:11:00 +0000

They all beg for them: crochet flowers, crochet roses & crochet hearts all want a couple of leaves to come along with them.

Forgo the standard option of making them in green. Try a lovely cream-colored leaf to accompany your peach or pink flower, rose or heart.

Crochet Materials

Yarn: I used the softest of the softest yarn ever, i.e. 100% organic cotton.

(note: if follow this link & you choose to buy from fabric.com, you may receive FREE SHIPPING in the US on order of $35.)

Crochet needle: Recommended Knit Needle Size: US 9 (5.5 mm), however I used 4.5 mm for this leaf.

This is the very yarn I used:

Crochet Leaf Pattern 1

In essence, when making a crochet leaf, one works around a central chain. This is how all leaves are made.

For this particular leaf, make a loop and chain 10 more stitches.

Then vary the width of the leaf, like so:

Row 1: skip 1 st, 2 sc,3 dc, 2 sc, and 1 sl st.

in the first st, 3 sl st

and now start working on the other side of the chain, in reverse order of row 1, like so

Row 2: sl st, 2 sc, 3 dc, 2 sc. Now the leaf should be complete.

Now, create a tiny stem:

Chain 2,

Make 2 sl st along the chain, going back down to the leaf.

cast off. Weave in ends.

Crochet Leaf Pattern 2

cast on, ch 9

in second stitch: sl st, 2 sc, hdc, dc, tc,dc,

in the last stitch: sc, sl st, sc

now on the other side: go in the reverse order: dc, tc,dc, hdc, 2sc, and finish up with a sl st.

cast off. Weave in ends.

Time Required

Takes approximately 2 minutes to crochet a leaf.

Choice of Yarn

Tip 1: Use variate yarn, i.e. yarn which has lots of different colors is ideally suited for crochet leaf, as it closely resembles the variation in nature.

The 100% organic cotton yarn I mention above, and as you can see here, has variate colors as well as full colors. Check out either of these two color combinations shown. When you click on the images, there will be other color combi’s to consider.

Tip 2: if you want to resemble nature a tat further, make one side of the leaf a tiny bit different than the other side. Eg.exchange the 3 dc for 1 dc and 2 tc. Experiment … and before you know it, you can do freeform crochet!

Crochet Patterns

We feature many crochet patterns here at Fine Craft Guild, including:
Kaleidoscope Crochet Scarf
Coffee Cup Crochet Pattern
Crochet Bike Fashion
eBook with Crochet & Knitting Patterns
Market Bag
Crochet Beach Bag with Flowers
Kids Crochet Hat (summer)
Free Crochet Patterns – an Overview page
Free Crochet Pillow Pattern
Gorgeous Scarlet Red Scarf Crochet Lace Pattern with Oversized Flowers
Craft Storage Tips
Fluffly Heart Crochet Pillow
Crochet Monsters
Crochet Flowers
Crochet Water Bottle – beginners tutorial
Crochet Briefcase / iPad case
and more crochet patterns

Curly Grosgrain Ribbons for Valentines Day Wreaths

Fine Craft Guild — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 12:50:00 +0000

Something nifty today:
Curly grosgrain ribbons!
So cute!

I happen to fancy doing this today. Besides making darling wreaths with them, curled grosgrain ribbons are ideal to embellish a bunch of creative projects I’m working on. You need them too?

How to Curl Grosgrain Ribbons

The traditional recipe of baking curls has been around for ages:

wrap ribbon around long pin & secure,
soak in water,
sprits starch
bake in oven for 1/3 hr.

and VOILA: a mountain of curly grosgrain ribbons.

Doesn’t that look tidy?

Ode to Nikki !!

Nikki, In Stitches, explains how to make curly grosgrain ribbons in some more details on her blog, Nikki in Stitches, and then shows how to make your ribbons into whimsical Valentines Day Wreaths.

In one word: adorable.

Image credit: Nikki’s.

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Beads Beads Beads

Fine Craft Guild — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 12:59:00 +0000

Oh, and the things you can do … with beads. And I’m referring to those beads that are iron-able and shape-able into pretty much any thing you fancy, called perler beads.

Creations Made with Perle Beads

After you’ve made Zhu zhu pet food from beads, and a beaded jewelry set with necklace & bracelet for Barbie or Bratz, and you & the kids still haven’t ran out of steam, .. then here are some more Perler beading ideas for you:

Funky Bead Coasters for your kitchen or to cheer you up at your desk
Bead Frame (s) to match the coasters, also for your desk
Beads Ornaments, balls or stars, for the Christmas Tree of Year-round
Doll Rug for Barbie’s house ( I like that … very creative)

Perler Beads

These colorful shapes are lovely, aren’t they? These perler beads make for a lovely no-mess afternoon crafting, and I highly recommend them. They are inexpensive and you can order online. You’ll need to buy 3 things: Perler beads, pin board shapes, and iron-on sheets.

For more info on how to iron them together, read the tutorial to make play food for zhu zhu pets.

Make a Recycled Dryer Sheet Envelope

Fine Craft Guild — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 12:47:00 +0000

Great Idea: Make your own envelopes for keepsakes from used dryer sheets.

Jennifer from Sunny Vanilla executed this creative idea that was the brainchild of Paula Spahr. Let me show you her works of art:

How to Make Your Own Envelopes

Step-by-Step Tutorial

Just a few steps to success for this craft project:

she ironed the sheets,
folded them over,
cut the sides of the envelop flap (see picture), and
sew a decorative line at approx. 1/4” of the edge.
Then, she used that same contrast color for the card inside. Love that red-white striped card.

Perfectly Easy, Creative Recycling Project

Make a stack of them at a time, so as to make it worth your while to get the sewing machine out.

Jennifer made the dryer sheet envelops for (Valentine) greeting cards. However, I can see a million other uses for these handmade envelopes, either embellished with lot of decoupage, or plain. Jennifer added a pretty, simple and nice button.

source: sunnyvanilla.blogspot.com

Scrapbooking Canvas Art (Pinterest Fave)

Fine Craft Guild — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 22:53:00 +0000

‘Soul Smile’

‘Laugh with your eyes, hug with your soul, and smile with your heart’ (Anonymous quote)

Wow. Powerful quote on canvas art. Paper art creation. Scrapbooking collage on canvas.

Below is my favorite Pinterest pin today.

Inspirational?

Love the colors, style and sincerity statement.

Comes with a very detailed tutorial.

source: Unity Opportunity

Like it?
Pin It!

DIY ‘Porcelain Rose

Fine Craft Guild — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 22:50:00 +0000

Isn’t this an awesome glossy porcelain rose? However, it’s made from 13 old plastic spoons instead. Would you believe it?!

Next time you have a party, save those plastic spoons! You’ve got roses to make…

Find an excellent, step-by-step tutorial by Gail here, at the “Can’t Stop Making Things”-blog.

Tip 1: Take good care of nature: Please, please, please use recycled materials instead of new. We must collectively curb our collective consumerism obsession. Thank you in advance.

Tip 2: Take good care of yourself: As you are heating up plastic, you are best advised to work in a well-ventilated area. Never leave an open flame unattended.

Tip 3: Try these roses in red and pink for a Valentine – look!

This my Pinterest Fave for the day. Hope it inspires you.

I think it would be a fun Valentines Day or Mothers Day gift. I also have seen used stuck on a Vase to resemble an Anthropologie knock-off.

Italian Farmhouse Kitchen Table (Pinterest Fave)

Fine Craft Guild — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 12:55:38 +0000

Not fair that Pinterest followers were getting my best design ideas, instead of my loyal blog readers. Being Chinese New Year, I’m changing it now, and during the coming year, I’ll add a Daily Pinterest Favorite to my blog.

I’ll feature a mix of interior design styles, home decorating DIY projects, knititng, crochet, paper art, and of course holiday crafts.

TODAY’S FAVORITE HOME DECOR

If you wonder how to make a charming Italian Farmhouse kitchen, that it’s essential you start with some rustic basics, such as this authentic …

Farmhouse Kitchen DIY table. This table is a classic to be found everywhere in the Italian country side. I hope to inherit one, rather than to have to build my own, as it can take the good part of a week, besides a couple of hundred dollars worth of timber.

However, without such luck, I’ll use these instructions.

Valentine Greeting Cards

Fine Craft Guild — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 12:28:00 +0000

Love this pop-up card. Classy, simple. Love the color ~ not pink for a change, with a universal message that any lover will understand. Perfect.

Best of all, it comes with a free template.

You will need some precision scissors however to cut this perfectly, but if you do, you’ll have a stunning and unique handmade Valentines Greeting Card.

source: Duitang