MetaFilter posts tagged with crafts and crafting

The Ugly Side of Crafting

orange swan — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 10:13:28 -0800

Crafting can be great. But beware: crafting can also go spectacularly wrong. Fortunately for the benefit of those of us who might become so proud of having made something, anything, all by ourselves, that we are oblivious that the result is an aesthetic travesty, there are websites making a valiant attempt to document the legion of ways in which crafting can get totally out of hand. Before you pick up those needles or scissors or fire up the kiln or soldering iron, check out: Glitter Gone Bad; Handmade Gone Wrong; What Not To Craft, Homemade Hilarity; and Kraftomatic. The sturdy souls at CraftFail (previously) deserve special credit for documenting their own crafting mishaps, and Regretsy (also previously) and Etsy WTF will help you choose wisely from among Etsy’s hand-crafted wares. I can’t begin to warn you about all crafting’s pitfalls, but I will give you a few pointers. Knitting your own toilet paper is extremely time-intensive and hard on your plumbing and municipal sewage system, so I recommend you don’t do it. For that matter, it’s probably best to avoid all toilet-related crafts, even the commemorative “I just potty trained my kid” craft. Think twice before you choose to let Edward Cullen leer at you while you’re peeing. And TMI is always TMI, no matter what the medium or how painstaking the needlework. Much as I respect the skill and ingenuity that goes into food-related crafts, I’m always struck by their sheer pointlessness. But hey, not here to judge. If it makes you happy to dress up like a burger, go for it. Do use consideration when making gifts for others. If you can kick your substance abuse problems through crafts, great, but I strongly advise against slyly replacing your loved ones’ drugs or cigarettes with homemade substitutes, however lovingly made or well intended. And please do be extra careful about what crafts you inflict upon your children. This yarmulke will not make your son’s bar mitzvah “fun” and “edgy”, regardless of how good-humoured your Egyptian friends are. And if your child is used as billboard, expected to play with a Knitler, or an anthropomorphized vibrator, or even simply subjected to a sewing project gone wrong, the long-term consequences may be serious. In general, the results of all your hard work may not be what you envisioned: your plastic bag jewelry may be less than elegant; your attempt to hide the cigarette burn in your scarf may make the scarf look worse; your significant other may never wear the sweater you made him or her; and your clown paintings may give people clown phobias. None of this is meant to discourage anyone from crafting, of course! It’s just a word to the wise, etc.

Softies for Mirabel

hecho de la basura — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 13:56:17 -0800

In its' third year, Softies for Mirabel is an appeal for handmade stuffed toys to benefit children supported by The Mirabel Foundation. The Mirabel Foundation is an Australian nonprofit organization whose aim is to support children who are abandoned or orphaned due to parental illicit drug use. Softies (also sometimes referred to as plushies or plush toys) are popular among crafters as making one can be as simple or as complicated as the maker desires. Take a look at the Softies for Mirabel Flickr group for inspiration and get cracking, but hurry, deadline is December 10.

This is not your grandmother's crafting web site

orange swan — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 14:16:20 -0800

If you’re into crafting, you’ve probably stumbled upon Craftster, a crafting community web log within which members can post pictures and documentation of their own crafts and processes, share information and tutorials, and get feedback. The crafts tend to be off-beat and original and many involve upcycling – this is not a site where one would proudly post pictures of a completed paint-by-numbers or rug hooking kit project. The Craftster esprit de corps is nicely expressed by its slogans, which include, “No tea cosies without irony”, “Knit fast. Die Warm”, “Measure twice, cut once. Meh. Just start cutting”, and “Cheaper than therapy”. Craftster was launched in 2003, has 700,000 visitors a month, and, besides posting and discussion boards for every possible subset of crafting, its features include a calendar of forthcoming crafting events, member-created city guides to craft resources in your area, and staff-written articles. But I especially wanted to draw your attention to the Craftster Craft Challenges, the first one of which was announced on April 28, 2005. If you’re competitive and crafty, you have just enough time to whip up something for the 41st crafting challenge, which is to create an “edible craft” (the entry posting window is August 1st to August 5th). For inspiration, check out the 40 previous Craft Challenges. Unfortunately, though I’ve done my best to set this post up to make the material as quick and easy to view as possible, it will take a lot of clicking to view all the craft challenge entries, because a) there are hundreds of them and b) they aaaaaalllll have their own individual pages. Also because these posts are up to four years old, there are many “dead” pictures, though there are still plenty that are viable. Realistically, of course, most of you just won’t be that interested, so within my list of all the first 40 Craft Challenges, I’ve linked to some of my favourite entries within the various contests to expedite things a little for those who would just like to see a relatively small selection of the better projects: Craft challenge #1: Make “something unexpected” with $5 worth of dollar store items. Check out this prom dress made from a dollar store tablecloth, shower curtain liner, and plastic twine. Craft challenge #2: Make a two-piece outfit from $10 worth of thrift shop items. Craft challenge #3: Make a diorama or shrine. Craft challenge #4: Pay homage to a 1980s Band in craft. Check out this Stray Cats T-shirt. Craft challenge #5: Knit, crochet, weave or spool knit something without using yarn. Check out this knitted sterling silver wire bracelet. Craft challenge #6: Make an artful collage out of free/found/trash materials. Check out this collage made of National Geographics, this Tori Amos hat box, and this wedding photo frame. Craft challenge #7: Reincarnate a pair of jeans. Craft challenge #8: Make “something unexpected” with $10 worth of hardware store items. Craft challenge #9: Create a replica of yourself. Check out this self-portrait doll. Craft challenge #10: Revamp a pair of shoes. Check out this pair of Kool-aid dyed shoes. Craft challenge #11: revamp a thrift shop "objet d art" in some beautiful, clever or ironic way. Check out this black velvet painting satchel. This craft gets the award for its original combination of Jack Chick tracts and p0rn. And if the Smurfs ever annoyed the living shit out of you, this craft is for you. Craft challenge #12: Make something, using at least three of the following types of craft supplies: pipe cleaners, dried pasta, plastic lacing, popsicle sticks, plastic easter grass, pom poms, potholder loops. Craft challenge #13: Make a sock monkey. Check out this sweet transvestite sock monkey. Craft challenge #14: Make something tiny. Craft challenge #15: Make a robot, zombie, or bear themed craft. Craft challenge #16: Halloween Costume Contest 2007. Check out this headless Halloween costume, little mermaid, and Frida Kahlo and Zombie Trotsky. Craft challenge #17: Make a clock. Check out this time bomb clock. Craft challenge #18: Make something out of felt. Craft challenge #19: Make a tiara. Craft challenge #20: Make a shopping bag Check out this tree hugger shopping bag. Craft challenge #21: Upcycle a board game. Craft challenge #22: Make a pair of pillowcases with a “yin and yang” type theme Check out these order and chaos pillowcases. Craft challenge #23: Buy $20 worth of thrift shop crap and turn it into something awesome. Check out this cute ruffled suit and fab brown velvet cocktail dress. Craft challenge #24: Make something that will aid you in keeping your 2008 New Year’s Resolution Check out this cupboard-style bulletin board, yarn stash chest of drawers, and collage change jars and notebook. Craft challenge #25: Represent your home town in craft. Craft challenge #26: Make something amazing from $10 of stuff from the dollar store. Check out this kitchen caddy from dollar store items, and $10 wedding gown. Craft challenge #27: Create a light fixture. Check out these cherry blossom lights and this slide show lamp. Craft challenge #28: Give a chair a makeover. Check out entry, in which two chairs get married and become a love seat. Craft challenge #29: Commemorate your childhood heroes via craft. Craft challenge #30: Make an ironic cozy. Craft challenge #31: Make something functional or wearable from $15 of supermarket purchases Check out this Barack Obama bean portrait and this fruit roll up and gummi bear lampshade. Craft challenge #32: Halloween Costume Contest 2008. Craft challenge #33: Make a gift for a kid under 15. Check out this felt name book and vegetable garden floor pillow. Craft challenge #34: Gift wrap a present in a thifty and stylish way. Check out this film strip gift bow, snowshoes wrapped in snow, and watch a presentsaurus attack Present City Craft challenge #35: Make something that will help you keep your 2009 New Year’s Resolution. Check out these wardrobe mix and match magnets. Craft challenge #36: Interpret a favourite song in craft Check out this ”You Could Be Swinging On a Star” clock. Craft challenge #37: Decorate an existing item in your home with buttons Check out this button tulip suitcase and see how buttons can be used to cover up cat scratch damage. Craft challenge #38: Make something out of plastic eggs. Check out this silver egg ring box and these floral-tufted rackybirds. Craft challenge #39: Upcycle a catalogue Check out these collage table tiles, and this Faux Birkin handbag, sunburst mirror, and flip calendar. Craft challenge #40: Incorporate a photo you’ve taken into a craft. Check out this negative lampshade, hand-pixelated version of a photo, these photo strip shoes, this calotype exposed on canvas as a direct negative, and this machine embroidered version of a photo.

The Needlers and the Hookers and the damage done

orange swan — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 09:26:57 -0800

Crafters may look like a close-knit group, but the reality is that there are armed camps within crafting. Knitters and crocheters brandish their respective tools and claim their craft is easier to learn or more versatile, while those who are bistitchual remain determinedly on the fence. For the uninitiated/uncrafty, here’s an explanation of the difference between the two. “Wooly Bullies” [sic], a documentary, explores the animus between the Needles and the Hooks. When Sandi Wiseheart of Knitting Daily dares to mention the “c” word, she gets many comments from knitting readers who, while stressing that they have nothing against crochet, just don’t want to see it in their ~~backyard~~ magazine. When Kim Werker, editor of Interweave Crochet, tries to talk to the Knitting Daily crowd about crocheting she gets even more negative feedback. Part of the problem seems to be that while knitters contend with the “old lady’s pastime” stereotype, crocheters are up against the much more negative “granny square and toilet paper cosy” stigma. [shakes head in sorrow] Crafters, can’t we all just get along? and make stuff?

Creative Commons...I think you're doing it wrong

dejah420 — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 12:18:20 -0800

Instructables.com moves to a "pay to see" model Instructables, the community craft blog of the handy set, has moved to a closed pay-only model, and the timer is ticking for legacy accounts. After 90 days from implementation rollover, people who do not pay for an Instructables "Pro" account will have their accounts "crippled". Non-paying accounts will no longer be able to view entire instructables at once, print out projects or get a PDF, have a "favorites" list, and most perniciously, people won't be able to view "secondary" images in instructable steps that have multiple images. (Even if you happen to be the person that created it.) Some creators suggest that this new pay model breaks the Creative Commons license that most writers used on their projects, but Instructables says that creators don't understand that the CC applies to everyone *except* the site where the content is published. (Disclosure: I've had some fairly well trafficked projects on instructables. However, I've removed my projects because I believe that even if this doesn't violate the letter of the CCL, it certainly violates the spirit.)

You've got (junk) mail (and craft materials)!

orange swan — Sun, 24 May 2009 14:52:44 -0800

Your household probably gets something like 800 pieces of junk mail per year. Other than sighing and tossing the junk into your recycling bin, what are your options? Of course, I’d urge you to support any one of the numerous current anti-junk mail campaigns (do be aware of any possible conflicts of interest), but until those measures take effect, there is always crafting. You could make pop-up Christmas cards, Easter cards, or reminder cards. You could make envelopes, or simply turn old envelopes inside out for a second useage. You can make gift bags, or recycled handmade paper, decorate your paper clips, or make a homemade filing system. You could make a dress and matching clutch for the upcoming Postman’s Ball, hats for your child’s birthday party, or save the junk mail for your child’s craft supplies box. You could also make a wreath, tree ornaments, a table or two, shag carpeting, or window blinds. Or you could make art out of your junk mail. Patricia Zapata, of the blog A Little Hut, explains how to create junk mail art in this podcast. You could make collages like artist Sandy Schimmel, or junk mail trees like Florida State University art professor George Blakely. If you’re feeling especially militant about the anti-junk mail cause, you could make a tank to let everyone know. And if none of the above ideas work for you, check out these lists.

Arts & Crafts Videos from Etsy

Kattullus — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 14:01:14 -0800

Etsy has a YouTube channel where they have all kinds of profiles of their users and how-to guides. My two favorite series are the Process series (e.g. New Books with Old Materials & Tin Toys) and Handmade Portraits (e.g. Armor Guitars & Wood Mosaics). In the description of each video there is a link to the corresponding entry on Etsy's blog, The Storque. The blogposts have more information on the users and sometimes further links and videos. [via Work in Progress]

Barefoot and crafting in the kitchen

orange swan — Sun, 05 Apr 2009 10:26:33 -0800

If you’ve got extra kitchenware about is never used to cook or contains food anymore, here are some (low calorie!) ways to use it again. If you’ve kicked your caffeine habit, your metal coffeepots can become lamps, or your teapot can morph into a camel. Other items of kitchenware can become recycled toys. If you now eat oatmeal instead of muffins for breakfast, your child might enjoy the novelty of a muffin tin meal, or making recycled crayons, or counting down the days until a birthday. Muffin tins can also be used as a way to display curios, or collages, or become wall art. If you’ve sworn off cookies, your old cookie sheet can become an Advent or perpetual calendar. Cookie tins can be redecorated, or turned into a coin bank or purse. Cookie tins can become tambourines, ukuleles, or banjos. Or they can become clocks, bracelets, ribbon and string dispensers, or figurines. However, if as you craft you find yourself scarfing down the crumbs that lurk in the crevices of your old cookie tins, you are probably not over your cookie habit and should reserve at least one baking sheet and tin for their original purpose.

Crafting can be the perfect way to cap off your St. Patrick's Day celebration!

orange swan — Tue, 17 Mar 2009 16:04:12 -0800

For St. Patrick's Day, rather than show you how to knit your own leprechaun or make a hat out of a ice cream container (because who the hell wants to do that), I'm going to help you with your after party cleanup. You'll have lots of bottle caps and wine corks lying about afterwards, so here are some ideas on what to do with them. Bottle caps lend themselves to making interesting jewelry: resin necklaces, brace lets, small pins and brooches, beads, or rings. Here are some tips on how to make bottle cap jewelry. You can also make a purse, hairbows, keychains, magnets or mini pin cushions. You can make a trivet to suit your taste: plain, covered in plain crochet, or covered in whimsical crochet. You can decorate a picture frame simply or elaborately, or decorate your kitchen cabinets or table tops. You can make Christmas decorations. Or you can avoid paying to have the car repainted. You can create tiny artwork, or like artist John T. Unger make mermaid or fish mosaics. You can make a dragon mosaic, or just embellish mosaics made from other materials, or make portraits like artist Molly B. Right. See this article for some other ideas on how to use bottle caps. If you favour wine over Guinness, you have options for what to do with the corks. You can make earrings, or stampers, trivets and coasters, place-card holders, or bulletin boards. You can decorate a mirror frame. You might make some Bacchanalian wreaths, or a garland. For Christmastime reminders of festivities past, you can make a miniature Christmas tree, or decorations for your full-size tree: clowns, snowmen, Santas, or reindeer. You can make a mural, or a self-portrait. You can make a lamp, a table top, or a chair. You can use wine corks as baseboards, or as the wall. You can make a birdhouse, or mulch plants. Again, there’s really no need to pay to have the car repainted. If none of these ideas pop your cork, see this thread for more suggestions on how to use them. And if you really have enough bottle caps and wine corks lying around to make more than a few of these projects, next year I would like to be invited to your St. Patrick’s Day party.

Have a forking good time crafting!

orange swan — Sun, 08 Mar 2009 20:29:04 -0800

If you have too much mismatched cutlery to fit in your kitchen drawers, take a stab at crafting with it! Make a wind chime, fork key ring, fork cup rings or coat hooks, make cutlery clocks, or light fixtures such as these by designer Ali Siahvoshi. Or you can make jewelry: fork bracelets, a fork necklace pendant, or collaged spoon necklace pendants like those made by SpoonFedArt. Forks and spoons make groovy rings. Here’s how to make spoon rings. For more inspiration, check out this cutlery chair sculpture by Osian Batyka-Williams, this cutlery table by Toni Grilo, some sculpture by Matthew Bartik, Vince Pompei’s whimsical silverware flowers, clocks and sculptures, or the items at Forkometry. Just don’t get so carried away with your new craft that you find yourself having to eat with your fingers.

It's curtains for your old linens!

orange swan — Wed, 04 Mar 2009 19:17:05 -0800

Does your linen closet runneth over? Yes, you say, you have a stack of towels you regularly use in the bathroom and for swan origami, but you have others that are getting worn. You have tablecloths and aprons you never use, your dish towels seem to breed in their drawer, and you have pillowcases which have outlasted their matching sheets, king-sized bed sheets for the bed your ex took when you split, and your linen closet contains a selection of linens that are faded or torn or leftover from former decorating colour schemes. What are you to do with them? Well, you could make a beach towel, bathrobe, hooked bathmat or comfy bathroom pillows out of your excess towels. Your tea towels can be turned into slippers, a window valance, bench cover or cushion. If you need an apron, you can make one out of an extra pillowcase. If you have an apron and don’t need it, you can make it into a curtain. Old pillow cases can become a Christmas stocking, placemats or seat covers, and old quilts can become headboard upholstery. An old print bedspread can become a number of coordinating accessories for your bedroom. Sheets have lots of possibilities because there is so much fabric to work with. They can become pillowcases, curtains, the lining for a sewing project such as a child’s jacket, or a summer dress. If your linens are too worn to be serviceable as fabric, cut them into strips and braid or crochet the strips into a bowl or potholder or a rug. Check out these articles for more ideas on how to reuse household linens. And then smile as you behold your new, useful items that you made yourself, as you survey your linen closet which is no longer stuffed with items you’ll never use, and as you tell your ex you just don’t know where the sheets for the king-sized bed could have gotten to.

Last one to craft is a rotten egg!

orange swan — Mon, 23 Feb 2009 21:11:55 -0800

You can’t make an omelet without breaking eggs, and you can’t buy eggs without winding up with egg cartons. What will you do with the empty cartons? Well, you could make a string of flower lights, lamps, or a pendant light. If you refrained from drinking too much egg nog over the holidays, you might be lightweight enough to make use of a egg carton seat. This company makes footstools out of egg cartons. You also could make a truck or a T-Rex costume for your kid. You could make a bulletin board, get organized or store small objects, use the carton as a paint palette, or turn the carton into a loom for weaving scarves. You could start some tomato or coriander and chives seeds for spring, or use the cartons as molds for concrete. If you’re really desperate to improve the sound quality in your studio or to find something to wear to the ball, egg cartons are one option. You can also make sculpture or the Mona Lisa. Or, like Dutch artist Enno de Kroon, you can make original paintings using egg cartons as your canvas. This article has some other ideas for how to re-use egg cartons. And now you can get ~~cracking~~ crafting.

My crafty Valentine, sweet recycled Valentine...

orange swan — Sat, 14 Feb 2009 17:51:11 -0800

You forgot all about Valentine’s Day and now must come up with an extra special momento to pacify your beloved. Or you are sitting home alone with no way to celebrate V-day. In either case, it’s crafting time! You can recycle things you probably already have to make Valentine’s Day trinkets. You can start by making a card with scrap yarn, or from wrapping paper. You can make gift bows or a heart-shaped candy basket from recycled magazines, and a gift bag from a newspaper. You can make a love letter box from an old box. The kids or the artist in your life might like to get heart-shaped crayons, made from stubby old crayons. If you’ve got nice former Valentine’s Day souvenirs sitting around, you can use the old candy boxes to make a picture frame or a Valentine clock, or make Valentine mobiles from old cards. You can make heart shaped pillows from old linens, napkin rings out of cardboard tubes, or plain old glass jars to make vases. If you cherish memories of your exes, you can decorate with your old cards. Or, like artist Gila Rayberg, you can make mosaic Valentines. If none of these ideas inspire you, you could just take some advice from irrepressible romantic Jean Teasdale, who has lots of creative ideas for how to celebrate February 14th, with or without a sweetheart.

Sock it to me, eco-crafters!

orange swan — Thu, 15 Jan 2009 10:51:55 -0800

What can be done with worn, outgrown or single socks? Well, if you want to wear those favourite socks awhile longer, you can darn them. If your baby’s feet are no longer so tiny, make a baby sock purse or sachet, baby sock reindeer, or baby sock corsage or bouquet decorations for a friend’s baby shower. You can make a hat out of your child’s outgrown socks, or your kids can make Barbie clothes. You can use single socks to make a foot massager, potholders, slippers, a dog rug, a snowman, sock puppets or cute critters. Or sock art installations. See these articles for more pedestrian ways to use socks.

Your suitcase doesn't suit you? Tired of lugging that luggage?

orange swan — Thu, 08 Jan 2009 12:24:38 -0800

If you’ve got a shabby old suitcase and want to give it a makeover, you could always découpage it. Or disguise it as a watermelon. If it doesn't have wheels, you can add some. If you aren’t traveling much these days, you could put a synthesizer in your suitcase. Or turn it into a pet bed, or a planter. Suitcases can be used as an end table, or turned into chairs and ottomans. The pockets from old suitcases make useful additions to bulletin boards. And if you have unused purses, here are some ideas on how to repurpose them. For info on getting rid of/transforming other types of baggage, see AskMe.

Don't hit the books; craft with them

orange swan — Sun, 04 Jan 2009 16:57:51 -0800

So, you have some old books lying around you don’t read and that you're pretty sure no one else will ever read because they have pages missing or they’re hopelessly outdated technical manuals or they never should have been published in the first place. What to do? As always, crafting is an option. You can make a wrist cuff, or a purse. Book covers can be made into clocks, or photo frames, or photo and card stands. They can become CD and DVD cases, or a hiding place for valuables or necessary contraband, Shawshank Redemption-style. You can make yourself a diary, notecards, envelopes, or gift tags. If you’re feeling more artistic than practical, some people use the pages from a book as a canvas. Artist Su Blackwell brings scenes from her books to life: check out Alice’s Tea Party, or this scene from The Snow Queen. Personally I feel strangely drawn to this piece. Noriko Ambe sculpts with his books; Stefano Arienti created this installation, and Brian Dettmer took a scalpel to his and did some “Book Autopsies”. There are more ideas for things to be done with books to be found here and here. And will you die-hard book lovers kindly stop screaming. It’s not like I wrote a post on how to craft with your mother. Yet.

Should auld calendars be tossed out, and never brought to mind?

orange swan — Sun, 28 Dec 2008 10:21:53 -0800

As 2009 approaches, you’re taking down your old calendars and wondering what to do with them. You still enjoy those Monet/Jeff Foxworthy/rose garden/Playmate images so much you hate to throw them in the recycling bin. Don’t worry, there are ways to reinvent that calendar so you can enjoy those images for years to come. For starters, you could make envelopes and notecards out the calendar. Though perhaps you won’t want to use your new Playmate stationery to write to Grandma. Calendars can be turned into recycled wrapping paper and bows. If you’re a real packrat and have a ten-year-old calendar kicking around, you may be able to turn it into a calendar for the current year. Calendars can become lampshades or mobiles. If you’re into decoupage, you know that you can decoupage practically anything, from a waste basket to old suitcases to flower pots to your shoes. And there are lots of other possible project ideas. If you’ve got an old planner you liked, you can make one like it and reuse the old cover. And as you craft on New Year’s Day, you can savour the irony of using the act of memorializing the old year to try to forget your alcohol-enabled indiscretions of the night before.

High Craftibility: crafting with old vinyl records, cassette and VHS tapes

orange swan — Sun, 21 Dec 2008 17:17:21 -0800

Audio visual technology changes so fast that if you’re of a certain age you’ve been left holding the bag of cassettes, VHS tapes and vinyl records. What will you do with these AV artifacts if you no longer want to play them? Have no fear; you can have lots of crafty fun with your real audio. You can make a cassette tape mini journal, a cassette wallet or cassette coin purse, or a mini cassette lamp. If you’re into melting stuff, you can make a sculpture, such as this skeleton, from the plastic. The tape can be crocheted or knitted into items like totes, evening bags, Barbie halter dresses, or baby booties. If you’ve got old VHS tapes kicking around, the boxes can be turned into storage cases, or a chair. You can crochet with VHS tape as well, and make some purses. We had a vinyl record craft post a few weeks ago, but here are some additional vinyl record crafting ideas. You can make clocks from them, regular or Dali-style. Vinyl records can be used to make books or journals, tote bags or purses, or earrings. They can also be used to make silhouette cutouts, serve as a canvas for paintings, or made into wall art. And what a relief, huh? You thought you’d have to smuggle those New Kids on the Block or K-Tel compilation albums to the nearest thrift store in the dead of the night.

Because the landfills out there are frightful, but crafting is so delightful

orange swan — Wed, 10 Dec 2008 10:59:56 -0800

Christmas is coming, but while the goose may be getting fat, your wallet is not. And you’re dreaming of a green Christmas. How, you ask, can one decorate a home economically and with consideration for the environment? This depends on what you’ve got sitting around the house already. Do you have lots of old Christmas cards that always seemed too pretty to throw away? Use them to make a star or two, tree ornaments, angels, gift boxes, a basket, a wreath or a small tree. If you’ve been making merry with the aid of copious amounts of alcohol, you can use the empty bottles or cans to make a tree. Aluminum cans could be used to make angels; a wine bottle can make a small tree; an old pop bottle can become a star. A plastic tub from the kitchen and a Christmas-themed paper napkin can become a flower pot. Your old CDs can be used to make tree ornaments or a wreath. If you’ve been going broke buying baby food, use the jars to make a centrepiece. If you’re a starving student and have spent your all on textbooks, use them to make a tree. Old light bulbs can be used to create new ornaments, like these snowmen, this reindeer or this Grinch, and old tin cans make cute snowmen or Santa jars. Scratched Christmas ornaments can be made useable again with crocheted covers. You can also recycle old clothing to make ornaments for the tree, or Christmas stockings for everyone in your household. And now you can only hope that Santa will consider that being a good crafter is tantamount to having been good.;-)

Nicotine-free crafts: crafting with cigarette and cigar packaging

orange swan — Sun, 23 Nov 2008 09:37:50 -0800

If you've quit smoking and you're trying to get through the early withdrawal symptoms without gaining 20 pounds, one coping strategy is to get busy crafting. Sure, you say, you've made naughty figurines out of your cigarette packages in bored moments before, but now if you're going to craft you want to make something that celebrates your fantastic self-discipline and can serve as a worthy memorial to your renounced habit. If that's how you feel, check out these links. If you were a cigarette smoker, you can make a cigarette wrapper purse or two, gift tags or cards, a flash diffuser for your camera, or a model Lamborghini. Or you might launch into the creation of a photographic series like artist Chris Jordan. If cigars were more your thing, you can also use them to make some truly lovely purses (here's how). The boxes can be découpaged, collaged, and decorated to make boxes for jewelry or what have you. If you were a really heavy and brand-faithful smoker, you can make a chest of drawers. Then perhaps you should make a shrine for yourself. Cigar boxes also lend themselves to making good planters, mini memo boards, or stationery sets. If you think you'd like to take up a musical instrument once you've finished making things out of all your old cigar boxes, why not make your own guitar, fiddle, kalimba, or cigar box amp. You can also make a cigar box battery for a tube radio. And now that you're looking at what you have wrought, thank you for crafting and recycling and for not smoking.

Your motorcycle gang days may be over, but thanks to crafting your leather jacket can rock on.

orange swan — Sun, 16 Nov 2008 08:37:10 -0800

Got some old leather articles lying around that have become dated, worn, or too small? Well, happy days are here again for your old leather goods, because here are some ideas on how to make old leather items into new items you can use. For starters, what have you got to reinvent? An old coat? You can make it into a chair cover, a painted leather purse, a satchel, or a book or notebook cover. Skirts can be turned into nice purses or a wallet. Leather pants can be turned into a tricorn hat. A leather boot can become a purse. You might salvage an old compartment from an old purse to put into a new one. If you've got some old belts, they can become a rug, a picture frame, or a wrist cuff. You might also decorate that old belt and go on wearing it, and if you like doing that, you can move on to learning leather tooling, which is quite the art form and can be used to decorate any kind of leather item if the leather itself is suitable. If your item is very worn and you've got only a small amount of salvageable leather, you might make a leather bookmark, doll shoes or clothes, a leather cuff, or a business card case. However, if you've got old leather bondage equipment you'd like to repurpose, you are so on your own when it comes to finding links for that.

Got a crafting urge all bottled up?

orange swan — Sat, 01 Nov 2008 21:20:52 -0800

Even though you recycle the plastic you discard, you sometimes feel guilty about how much you throw out and worry about where it's going. Would you like to be a little more hands on and proactive and recycle some of your plastics yourself? If so, I've got some ideas for you. Do those used plastic gift cards always seem too pretty to just throw away? You can make guitar picks or jewelry from them. You can make beads out of plastic and make even more jewelry. If you'd like to make some home furnishing and décor items, you can make lamps from milk jugs or water bottles. If you'd prefer a pendant light, that's an option too. If you've got the ceiling height and live near an ocean, you can make a “Tide Chandelier” like artist Stuart Haygarth, who made this chandelier from mostly plastic objects he found on the beach. If you've been ordering in a lot lately, you might make a chandelier like this one out of your plastic spoons. You could also make some interesting candlesticks and containers from plastic bottles, or a dish out of plastic bottles and aluminum cans. If you want extra green points, you could grow your own food in this self-watering plastic bottle planter. Or you could just make some plastic flowers that don't need watering at all. Your children might enjoy making butterflies or a bottle bank, making and racing “robottles”, or some of the plastic bottle top games and crafts listed on ehow. If you like to fish perhaps you could use a minnow bottle. More ideas for recycling plastic containers can be found here, and you can also check out this list of 12 practical ways to recycle plastic lids. If you're more of an artist than a crafter, you could take your cue from Heath Nash's plastic bottle designs or sculptures, or Aurora Robson's gallery of plastic bottle sculptures, or Kosuke Tsumura's “Bottle Armor” or “Bustle Style” works. And whatever recycled plastic craft or art project you undertake, rest assured that you're not at all likely to run out of supplies.

These shoes are ripe for crafting

orange swan — Wed, 29 Oct 2008 14:41:02 -0800

While you may not be the shoe hoarder some people are, you have shoes in your closet you never wear and you'd like to know what to do with them. Are they just boring? In that case you could just experiment with new ways to lace them, or find a way to make them light up when you walk into a room. Or you could draw on the shoes with markers or sharpies. You could also paint them, going with the theme of your choice: Art Nouveau, Picasso, Day of the Dead, or any of the ideas here. You could cut motifs from fabric and glue them on to your lace-ups, cover your flats with new fabric, bling up a pair of strappy shoes with glitter, or embellish your flip-flops with some yarn. Is the old upper worn out? Knit or crochet a new one. Want to get where you're going faster? Make custom roller skates, or modify your bicycle. Do your shoes hurt your feet? Put them on your face instead as a wrestling mask, or turn them into an iPod case. Your shoes could also become a birdhouse, a planter, a centrepiece, or an integral part of a coat rack, bookends or leg lamp. If you're really not up to crafting, here are 11 non-crafty ways to recycle old shoes. But what fun is that?!?

Because bra burning is so passé

orange swan — Tue, 28 Oct 2008 08:38:47 -0800

Got a stack of bras you don't know what to do with? Charities will accept secondhand bras in good condition, but if you're in the mood to be creative there are bra crafting ideas on the net. You could make a bra wristlet, and then make a sleep mask out of the rest of the bra fabric, earrings out of the hardware, and a toy out of inserts. You could make a lavender sachet out of a bra and use it to perfume your lingerie drawer. One seemingly popular idea is to make a cute and feminine evening bag or, as one woman who wears a 36F quipped in a comment, luggage. If you're an especially sassy member of the Red Hat Society, you could make a purse that matches your hat. Some people even make hats out of the bras, though perhaps not every woman would care to so obviously wear a bra on her head. If you're a breast cancer survivor and want to avoid buying expensive and uncomfortably heavy prosthetics, you could knit yourself a pair of tits and go right on wearing your favourite bras. You could also make an art installation: a 5' bra ball. Here's a list of 28 things to do with old bras. And yes, I realize this post will make many of the men of MeFi want to get a lot of puns/juvenile comments off their chests, but titter away. You're probably just jealous you can't make such cool crafts out of your jock straps.

What a great homemade witch costume! Um, you were supposed to be a princess? Oh.

orange swan — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 19:32:43 -0800

Halloween is lurking ever nearer, and you need costumes and home decorations. Even if you're not as crafty as a witch, Halloween is a good time to start because the results are supposed to look deformed and grotesque. And you're dreaming of a green Halloween. Fortunately I just happen to have a few links to get you started. This garlic wreath could help you keep the vampires away, and this eyeball wreath may work on everyone else. For a geek-style Halloween, make a Mac-o-lantern. You could also decorate the house with a vinyl record cat clock, tin can candle lanterns, a ghost mobile, CD cat coasters, or a skeleton doll made out of old socks. For outdoor decorations, lawn tombstones can be made out pizza boxes and old newspapers, a skeleton out of old plastic containers, and there could be a ghost or two hanging about. You could adorn yourself with a skeleton brooch made out of tin cans, and if you've got old clothes or linens lying about the children in your life might like a few cute monsters to cuddle. If your kids (or you) have finally outgrown dolls, give the dolls a zombie makeover. For costume ideas, check out the Daily Green's list of the best recycled costumes on the Web, then send the kids trick or treating with pumpkin or black cat canisters. Just please be careful with those shears and x-acto knives or the blood and gore on your costume may be a little too organic.