Sometimes a project you thought was finished begs for a little more attention. I wet felted and needle felted these decorative trivets a while ago, but was never completely satisfied. I then had a moment of inspiration when I decided to hand stitch one edge of each of the needle felted strips to emphasize the striped pattern as well as the handmade character of the trivets. Now they are finished, and are offered for sale on Etsy
These are the little half-size business cards I whipped up for the artist market I participated in a couple weeks ago. I created three different image backgrounds that showcase categories of things I make – Plicious clothing, art & decor, plush toys. Since my HP Officejet is unable to perfectly align double sided printing, I printed front and back on separate cardstock, glued them together, and then cut out the individual cards with a straight edge and X-Acto blade. Of course, if I had planned ahead, I could have just used Moo.com. They are the best on the web for business cards and other promo materials. But last-minute DIY just suits me better, of course.
As I focus on making things with my two current favorite materials – paper and felt – I am revisiting some craft books I’ve had in my library for years. Extreme Origami by Kunihiko Kasahara includes instructions for weaving various spheres from strips of paper. One of the simpler spheres is made using four strips and a weaving technique that is similar to braiding with four strands. These small paper spheres can be scaled up to become ornaments or bowl fillers, or strung together in their miniature form to be used as garland or as part of a mobile.
A while ago I happened upon a way to make a simple skirt from the top half of a XXL t-shirt. I literally just stepped inside the giant neck hole and said “Hey, this could be a skirt.” The sleeves were flipped inside and sewn shut to form giant pockets and the skirt hem was a simple raw cut edge. It was just that simple. I wore it a few times in the summer. It was funky for sure – even for me. So recently, I decided to alter it a step further and make some low crotch harem pants. Using a second complementary gray t-shirt, I created tapered legs and a folded waistband. They are super comfortable, but clearly an experimental part of any wardrobe. Pants are much more practical in my wardrobe, so I may actually wear these as a funky, feature piece now and then.
Simple homemade marshmallow shooters were the hit of my daughter’s Halloween party. Unadorned ½” PVC pipe and fittings were inexpensive, easy to put together, and a great party favor. The ensuing marshmallow fight was a great activity before trick-or-treating. But my daughter will tell you that picking up smashed marshmallows around the yard the next morning was not so fun.
Happy Halloween! We invited kids over for a pre-trick-or-treat party. Simple decorations included ripped cheesecloth crawling with plastic spiders, a pumpkin vomiting fruit, bone-shaped bread, bleeding candles, black daisies, hanging paper bats, and lots of rubber roaches. Note to self: take more pictures with a better camera.
The second of two gigantic t-shirts was transformed into a dress. The chest pocket remains in the original location so it wraps over the new side seam. The bottom edge is raw but the sleeves and collar hems were preserved.
I once purchased a large piece of artificial turf carpet to use as decor for an event. Ugly stuff really. Plastic, itchy, and just…artificial. It’s been rolled up in a corner of my garage for a couple years now. But I was inspired yesterday to do something with it. Using a pair of utility scissors and a circle template, I refashioned the turf into a contemporary outdoor area rug – slash – putting game for the kids.
I scored the biggest t-shirt ever at a thrift store – 9X! It is large enough to make two one-sleeve dresses, and I’ve finished one so far. I even kept the shirt pocket as-is which put it right in the middle of the dress.
by pauline 