Crafty Confession

So the two-blog thing is getting pretty hard on me especially with all the. . .well, life that I have. This is only post #5 and I just feel bad that I've done such a crappy job on this blog. However, in my defense - I have been rather crafty - continuing my shrink plastic obsession and passing it on to my nieces. I even attempted to string one of the shrink plastic pendants the other night. I seem to be doing great at STARTING creative endeavors, but finishing them has been another issue entirely.

Since I've made this confession to you, I've already started the tangent, I want to share another crafty confession. Okay, here goes: I can't sew. Oh - I HAVE a sewing machine. My wonderful husband, who supports my creativity, got it for me quite a few years ago. I tinkered around with it, managed to get a few items bound together, and put it away. When we bought our house almost five years ago, I boxed it up for the move. It has come out of that box (and back into it) once. I decided I couldn't remember how to thread it. And, what use was it without thread? I have since located the CD containing the instructions and want to try again soon.

I grew up with a mom who sewed and watched as my sister put the sewing machine needle through her finger. As such, I have a bit of a fear of the great biting machine. Yet, I envy the beautiful items other seamstresses make and always bookmark my favorites. Usually, they are just simply beautiful and seem 'easy' enough for me to attempt in the future.

Here are a few of them:

• Beautiful and apparently "easy" camera case
  
• The 5 minute skirt
  
• A cute sweater to cardigan redo
  
• Super awesome kid's birthday crown

So. . .I wanna learn to sew, at least a little. How could I not when there are so many lovely things I could make and so many talented people who want to share these beautiful crafts. I guess I better break out the biting machine and those directions soon.

Crafty Weekend Indeed

Personal Creations
Oh, I was so very crafty this weekend!! It was wonderful.
I got to play with Shrink Plastic. Basically, I just cut sheets into smaller sections with a paper cutter and doodled on them with sharpies before punching holes in them for jewelry. I then shrunk them and began sealing them with Glossy Accents.
For a while I've been carrying around and putting holes in these small, plastic farm animals. I finally got them all done a few weeks ago, so I strung some of them as bracelets for my nieces. I think they're going to love them. We'll see in a few hours.
I also managed to collage some and made a few wooden pendants. This one was my favorite.
I did a little embroidery, but forgot to take the picture. I'll share at another time.

I really wanted to share these items to prove that I am crafty indeed. I hope I've proved my point.

You Can Totally Do This

So here's another attempt at sharing some craft links and information. This post includes some crafts that would be easy for both experienced and new crafters. Enjoy!

Reference
About.com has a fairly complete list of a variety of crafts with projects, patterns, and tutorials. The variety of crafts includes everything from weaving and felting to soap and paper making. You could spend a very long time looking through those pages.

Craft Idea
This easy craft can be useful for crafters and non-crafters alike. Outta envelopes, wanna send something special, have a burning desire to use up all the pretty paper and pictures you have sitting around? Making a funky envelope may be just the craft for you. It's even made from some fairly basic supplies that even non-crafty peeps should have just laying around the house.
Recipe
Now that your cool envelopes are made, Avie Designs shares a recipe for envelope glue (scroll down the page to find the instructuions.) I know that this isn't the type of recipe you would usually expect, but hey. . .it does call for edible ingredients and works well with the above project.
Personal Creations
I actually was able to fit in some crafting lat night and this morning.
1. I have been experimenting with coating shrink plastic pieces, just as Dabbled did. My tries at using a spray sealer just made the permanent marker bleed and fade. I did find that some markers (Sharpies) had more staying power than others (Bic), but they all bled to some extent. I have tried both Diamond Glaze and Glossy Accents to coat these instead. While I really like both of these products in general, I found that the thicker-consistency Glossy Accents was easier to control on the Shrink Plastic. Diamond Glaze left a beautiful finish on the plastic, but its thinner consistency just ran over the sides and into the holes (punched for jewelry making) of the plastic. This just made a mess and ended up smearing both sides of the piece. I have yet to try Triple Thick (another sealer I like) on the plastic, but am afraid this may leave streaks (as it needs to be painted on.) For now, the Glossy Accents is the winner for me. I hope to get some pictures up of these trials (or at least the completed projects) soon.
2. I also worked on a embroidery project that has been in progress for some time, but didn't really get much done on that before my hubby was ready to run some errands (including dinner) with me.

That's all for now. I'm trying.

Let's Get This Party Started

So here's my attempt at a solely 'CRAFT" blog.
I've got a TON of blog posts, craft ideas, craft downloads, and tutorials saved and want to share them with the world - or at least with those brave souls who dare venture here. I'm starting at the bottom of one list and will share a few of these at a time. I also plan on posting about the crafts in which I find myself entangled or any craft ideas that come to me.
Please keep in mind that since I'm sharing items I have saved, many are 'older'. If you are a crafter, you may have already seen some of these. But, bear with me and we'll see how this develops. Please feel free to share any feedback, complaints, or suggestions in the comments section. I'm open.

Are you ready for this? Let's see if I am.

Craft Idea

I recently got The Big-Ass Book of Crafts (catchy title huh?) and love this wastebasket made by another crafter using the book.via craftzine.com

What a great way to re-use your own trash. Stylish and environmentally-friendly - yay!!

Recipe
Cooking is also creative, and who can't resist a yummy cupcake. These are made from beer, not just any beer, Guinness!! I haven't had a chance to try these out since baking hasn't been on my to-do list lately, but they do look YUMMY!! Check out the recipe for these beer cupcakes.

Tutorial
If you are looking for some basic bead stitching instructions online, I found that Beads East has a great list of printable and video tutorials. The list includes basic instructions for a variety of beading techniques such as the daisy chain and peyote stitches. It's perfect for beginners and even for long-time beaders who need a refresher. Check it out!

Personal Creations
I had a long beach vacation planned and took two bags of craft supplies with me. However, Hurricane Gustav prompted us to leave early and I wasn't able to get as much accomplished as I had hoped. I did doodle on some shrink plastic, embroider a bit, and start a pair of basic earrings; but NOTHING got finished. As such, I did not take pictures. Hopefully, later posts will include some of my own work.

Send me some feedback on this initial post and what you think. I'm all ears (or eyes, as it a blog.)