All posts tagged: handmade

dye party.

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It had been a minute since my crafty lady crew gathered for a crafternoon. We’d been dye-ing to create together, and we’d each been hoarding loads of fabric for the occasion! Here’s how it all went down. We prepped our materials. One day prior, we washed our fabric in natural detergent (for best results!). On the day of we mixed powder dyes plus warm water in squeeze bottles (for classic tie dye) and in buckets (for dip dyeing). We set up our work stations so we had an area for fabric manipulation and soda ash water soaking, an area for dyeing, an area for fabric resting before rinsing, a rinse station, and an area for hanging (and taking photos, let’s be honest). Next we folded fabric. I like to fold all my fabric at the same time, then dye all at once to limit having to rinse or change gloves too many times, and also the chance of me getting unwanted dye on the next fabric I touch. But the process is up to you! …

market bag.

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I’ve had this 500-foot spool of gorgeous mustard rope hiding in my craft closet. I thought maybe I would get 3 or 4 projects out of the rope, but I ended up choosing a 400+ foot market bag project. Look at this beaut! This project was from Modern Macrame by Emily Katz.* I cut out all the lengths of rope*, attached to my feet, and got to knotting. I didn’t use the suggested rope (jute) so partway through I realized I had to adapt the pattern slightly and add an additional 8 strands to my project. It’s such a pain to undo knots, but it made sense for this project otherwise I would have had major gaps in the bag for more falling out potential. There were so many new-to-me macrame techniques in this project. I learned how to create a bag opening and strap, how to connect two panels (the front and the back of the bag), and a crossing technique to add dimension to two sinnets of square knots. My favorite part in …

name sweater.

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Eee, here’s a personalized project I can get behind: embroidered name sweaters for the littles! Perfect for gifting! For this project you will need: Start by sketching out your letters. I went with a semi cursive font. The marking pen rinses off under water so it’s ok if it’s not a perfect outline. Keep in mind the width of your yarn when spacing out your letters. A thicker yarn will need more space in between letters. I used a chain stitch throughout – See a quick tutorial by Cutesy Crafts. Start by knotting your yarn, then create a chain, stop whenever you would ‘pick up your pencil,’ and tie off your yarn on the reverse side. When I crossed the ‘T’ I created a chain stitch on top of the first chain stitch. Trim any excess yarn and rinse off the marking pen. So fun I couldn’t make just one! I created one for my friend’s Bebe, too, in this burnt orange color. This project works best for short names, though I imagine with a …

that’s a wrap.

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I tried my hand at making beeswax food covers. I’ve been wanting to learn how to create my own for some time, and now I know I’d rather just buy them premade. Ha! It’s a messy craft! Jenny Lemons teamed up with Cara of Cara Corey Designs for their monthly craft night to bring an evening of creating these reusable, sustainable, and super cute beeswax food wrappers. Cara reviewed materials and shared all of her wrapper making secrets. What’s great is you can use scrap fabric – so if you’ve got a fabric stash, this is a fun way to use up material, or a good reason to buy more cute fabrics! Per usual, Jenny Lemons prepared craft kits. When I learn a new craft I love having a kit with all the supplies ready to go (even though I totally have a stash of fabric, beeswax, buttons, and embroidery floss!). The kit from Jenny Lemons included: Jenny Lemons fabric squares Beeswax pellets mixed with jojoba oil (portioned for each piece of fabric) Buttons Embroidery …

paper lanterns.

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Gearing up for Lunar New Year! I was recently asked to host a paper lantern workshop in celebration of Lunar New Year. I had never created a paper lantern before so I did some internetting to get design ideas. My friend Rebecca created a lantern template for me and you can download it here to create along. Gather materials and tools: Lantern template Printer access Red cardstock (8.5” x 11”) Gold cardstock Gold metallic marker Gold metallic embroidery floss, or similar Tassel maker (cardboard or other firm board works, too) Sewing needle with large eye Scissors (for paper and for fabric) Hot glue (can use tacky glue or other glue) Print the lantern template onto red cardstock. I like using 65lb cardstock. Cut out the lantern shapes. Use the gold metallic marker to outline each lantern. This can be done before cutting, too, if preferred. Use a craft needle to poke holes on each lantern “petal” (use the black dots on the template as a guide) and in the center of the lantern. The petal …

sunburst basket.

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I made the Flax and Twine / Modern Macrame sunburst basket project! My stitching isn’t the best (also, left hand problems ~ everything is backwards!), but I loved all aspects of this project. This project requires minimal materials: rope, twine, a tapestry needle, and scissors. I copied the sample colors because look how dreamy this brown rope is. The pattern comes with an accompanying video which I am a big fan of – it’s so much easier for me to follow a video versus written instructions when it’s my first time creating a project. When I shared my progress with my parents my Dad shared that my Great-Grandfather was a basket maker! OMG, it all makes sense now why I’m basket obsessed! It’s in my blood! My Great-Grandfather’s repertoire was vast with baskets ranging in size from tabletop baskets for displaying food to large works meant for storing rice. Goals! Here’s my finished piece. The sample was more of a plate-like shape; I went for more of a bowl since I like having containers for …

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 …

christmas hello.

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Something I haven’t done in a few years because I pack my November/December with craft events and I wait until it’s too late to make it happen: creating and sending Christmas cards! I used to do it every year. These cards are four years in the making. I will now be sending Christmas cards every leap year…maybe. This year’s Christmas card timeline: Year 1: Buy the paper Year 2: Cut the paper Year 3: Assemble the paper Year 4: Write messages on the paper, address envelopes, and mail! Here’s what I used to make my cards: 12″ x 12″ double sided card stock 12″ x 12″ white card stock Twine Embellishments (I cut out reindeer images) Envelopes Paper cutter Scissors (for fabric and for paper) Bone folder Double sided foam adhesive Someone once described my cards as little booklets. I like to use 12″ x 12″ double sided cardstock (get the good heavyweight stuff!) for all of my handmade cards. They divide up into three 4″ x 6″ cards (cut two 8″ x 6″ pieces …

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 …