All posts filed under: Handmade

slangin’ crowns.

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I tripled my craft show participation this year from one show last year to three shows this year. Ha! I will admit, as soon as I sign up for a show now I totally regret it because of all the prep I envision, but I’ve drastically reduced my SKUs and edited what I bring to shows. I also really appreciate the ‘me time’ at events – even though I’m chatting with crafty friends and customers, I also bring projects with me and get a block of time to create in a fun environment filled with other creatives. In August I participated in Hipline’s Sunshine Shop and Social. I decided to only sell felt floral crowns, which I love love love to create. Hipline hooked it up with tables, chairs, linens, and umbrellas, so I only had to bring inventory and display items. I managed to roll up with a small luggage and a tote bag. I thoroughly enjoyed a 10-minute set up and 10-minute break down. And customers loved the crowns! I even debuted a …

bookmark.

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Here’s a handmade gift idea for all your book (or magazine) lovers, and in my case – craft book enthusiast! For this project I used two colors of 4mm cord. I cut 4 strands 4-feet long with one color and 1 strand 8 inches long in the second color. You can mix and match however you like. I used basic macrame knots for this project, starting with 4 Lark’s head knots to attach the longer cords to the shorter cord. Then a series of square knots alternating between a square knot for strands 1-4 and 5-8, and then a square knot for strands 3-6, until you have about 8 inches of cord left. Finish off with a double half hitch knot for strands 1-4 and 5-8 going diagonally down and inward, then tie the two inner most strands together to create the pointed bottom. Trim and fray as you wish. Add a cute tag for funsies. Pair with a book of choice. What’s on your reading list this winter? Me: Modern Macrame by Emily Katz.

go big!

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What happens when you haven’t created with your hands in over four months and you sign up for your first in person creative workshop in over a year and a half? You get super excited and create a larger than life wreath, question if it will fit in the car to take home after class, and wonder if it will even fit your regular sized front door. Seriously, I thought my 2019 winter wreath was gigantic. I didn’t think I could create something even larger! Abby Dale of Craft + Work taught this wreath making class in the Royal Bee Yarn Company‘s recently renovated garden space. Abby has taken some of my felt workshops at Craft + Work; it was so fun to take a class that she was leading! She provided lots of guidance, inspo, and encouragement throughout class. Abby brought a huge spread of foliage – milkweed, sage, rosemary, magnolia leaves, eucalyptus, succulents… – some from the San Francisco Flower Mart and others from her garden. You really couldn’t go wrong selecting foliage …

pumpkin fluff.

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Fall is the perfect season for felt (IMHO all seasons are the perfect season for felt, but Fall especially!). And you can never go wrong with a pumpkin craft. Let’s make fluffy felt pumpkins! For this craft your will need: Felt in your favorite pumpkin color (10” square for a pumpkin 5” in diameter, plus an additional piece for a 3” circle) Felt for pumpkin stem (any size, I used a piece of felt 2” x 3”) Nylon cord or upholstery thread Sewing needle Polyfil / fluff Fabric scissors This will make a pumpkin approximately 5″ in diameter and 2 1/4″ tall. Cut felt circle 10” in diameter. It doesn’t have to be a perfect circle. Loosely measure out cord. You want at least the circumference of your pumpkin felt + 10ish times the diameter of your pumpkin felt + a little more. Thread your needle with cord; knot one end of your cord. Sew a running stitch along the perimeter of your felt circle 1/4″ from the border. Begin to fill with fluff. Tighten …

oh hi 2021.

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Remember when I took a stamped calendar workshop in Seattle? I loved the idea and wanted to share the experience with my family. We had originally planned for this to be our activity for Christmas Craft Camp 2020, but guess who stored away their craft kits through the winter and start of spring? Yuh, all of us. So for Mother’s Day we brought out our crafts for another virtual Mom’s Day activity – a bit late for a calendar craft, but still just as fun. For my calendar, I used gouache! I not-so-secretly want to be a surface designer so I decided to practice with pattern play. I tried to vary shapes and colors throughout the calendar, but I clearly had some favorite patterns – splotches and stripes for the win! My very favorite design out of the twelve months is March. It might stay March all year. 🙂 I can envision this as a fabric print! I have a long way to go before I can be a legit surface designer, but this was …

homegirl.

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Happy Mother’s Day to all the mamas, mother figures, and future moms! This is my first Mother’s Day, and the only craft I was able to put together in the last month was this iron-on letter onesie for my little. It’s super simple and you can gather all your supplies from your local craft store or craft closet. Materials and tools: Onesie or any clothing item of choice (I recommend washing before applying letters) Iron-on letters (Pick your fave font and color) Scissors Iron (Remember I have a dedicated craft iron now? Ha!) Ironing board or other heat-tolerant firm surface Towel (A tea towel works nicely) I made a similar top for myself many years ago to celebrate my mom. Mine said Mommy is my Homegirl. I was inspired by a Gwen Stefani bag I used to own that said Gwen is my Homegirl. Cut out letters and arrange as you wish. Remove the protective backing; the letters should stick in place. Place a towel on top of the letters, then firmly press with the …

mala.

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Another Michaels workshop in the books. This time I created a mala necklace, or at least a necklace inspired by a mala necklace. Traditional mala necklaces have 108 beads, but I did the cheat way of creating this necklace and was a bit more freestyle with my beads. For the full tutorial and supply list see the online class and accompanying instructions. For my necklace I used: bipyramid beads 6mm beads (I chose blue coral) a pendant assorted seed beads silk bead cord big eye beading needles (I ended up not needing these because my bead cord had an attached needle) pliers bead tweezers scissors Most of my beads came from local bead shop Blue Door Beads (During shelter in place I sent them a list and they shopped the store for me and shipped!). The pendant was from Michaels. I also used beads I acquired from craft swaps. My how to: I decided on a pattern and repeated the pattern four times for one side of the necklace, then mirrored the pattern on the …

plant people.

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No more surface area for plants? Hang them! Here’s an easy macrame plant holder you can whip out in 30 minutes or less. This recipe creates a plant holder for 4-7 inch plant pot, up to 6-8 inches tall. For this project, you will need: 67 feet of 5mm rope, cut into: 6 10-foot pieces 1 3-foot piece 1 4-foot piece 2-3 inch hoop (metal, wood – your choice) Scissors S hook Somewhere to hang your project as you work Knots used (knot reference): Finishing knot Overhand knot Square knot How to: Hang your project using an S hook. Find the midpoint of the 6 10-foot pieces and hang on the ring. Using the 3-foot cord, create a finishing knot to gather the 6 10-foot pieces of rope. Working in cord pairs, create overhand knots approximately 4 inches from the bottom of the finishing knot. You will end up with 6 overhand knots. Working in groups of four, create 3 square knots approximately 3 inches from the bottom of the overhand knots. You will end …

reindeer.

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Real talk – Santa scares me, but the reindeer are cool. Here’s a reindeer piñata idea for your Christmas celebrations. How cute would it be to create one for each of Santa’s reindeer? You will need: Cardboard Crepe streamers in reindeer colors (brown, creme, black, white) Paper in browns, black, and white Glue stick Scissors Pencil Paper scissors Masking tape or similar I used my burro template and reindeer-ified it with antlers and spots. Cut out two reindeer shapes plus strips of cardboard 2 inches in width for the perimeter. Make sure you can bend the cardboard into curvy shapes (corrugation should run across the 2 inch width). Decide where you want to place the piñata opening and start wrapping one of the shapes with the cardboard strips above the flap. Use tape to attach strips to shapes. Continue to work around the piñata until you reach the flap opening. Attach the second shape to the opposite side. Since we’re not popping this piñata open, I used packing tape to make it extra secure. Add …

lavender.

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Here’s a cute, easy, and smelly in a good way DIY for the holiYAYs: lavender sachets with a Christmas twist. For this craft you will need: Lavender buds – I ordered lavender from San Francisco Herb Co (a local favorite!). Upon opening the bag I felt instant relaxation vibes. Cotton sachets – Find them at your local craft store. Spoon or funnel Letter stamps – I used Mine Stamp to label my sachets. This is a great labeler for all fabric items. There is room to include up to three lines of text and also a built-in ink pad! Alternatively, you can use individual letter stamps. Fabric ink Stamp a bunch of sachets, fill with lavender, and tie. To make it festive for Christmas I labeled sachets with “You’re Nice / Not Coal.” Don’t they look like little gift sacks? I originally wanted to create lavender sachets as a natural silverfish repellent (gross!), but then I found more uses for them! In general, they smell nice so having a sachet handy for smelly occasions (like …