Formed, Fired and Glazed Earring Giveaway
I would love to wear a pair of these earrings by Lemone Rouge. Correction... I want to eat them. The bright, popping colors look like delicious little candies! Hand fired, glazed and turned into earrings, these little pieces of art are perfect if you like to wear small studs. They aren't edible, though.
Right now, The Art and Tree Chatter of Aquarian blog is giving away two pairs of beautiful Lemone Rouge earrings.
- Enter Here...
- Value: $40
- Expires: 4.28.13
- Artist: Alyssa Zynda website | Etsy shop
- More Giveaways: Handmade Giveaways
Turn T-Shirt Fabric Scraps into Rosettes
As I hack and slice my way through t-shirt transformations, I'm often left with these lovely little piles of sleeves and hems. Aspiring to be the hoarder my mother has always encouraged me to be, I've saved these scraps. For years. Well, the time has come for action. That and the husband is threatening me with a beautiful fabric-fueled bonfire in the backyard.
I've come up with a way to turn fabric scraps, like the sleeves of my new Trident Braided Racerback t-shirt transformation, into adorable baby roses. Or large ones, depending on the scraps you've got to work with. Check out the complete step-by-step photo tutorial, where I deftly turn scraps into beautiful flowers, before my husband has the chance to put the scrap box to the torch!
T-Shirt Transformation: Trident Braided Racerback
For my next trick, a t-shirt transformation that doesn't have to look punk. I love turning t-shirts into new creations, but let's face it. The jersey material doesn't exactly scream 'sophisticated'. Sometimes it even howls, 'I don't fit very well'.
That's why I've tried so hard to make all of my T-Shirt Surgery designs a good fit. I've seen way too many tutorials out there that proclaim to be a cool upcycled t-shirt project, but produce what I can only describe as hanging rags. Yes, that is a legitimate 80's look, and I have some t-shirt skirts that hang in the best of raggidy ways. But I don't always want to look like I've climbed out of the bowels of a White Snake video.
To make a T-Shirt Surgery project a success, or any clothing project for that matter, the fit needs to be right. This was my main focus for my latest t-shirt transformation design, the Trident Braided Racerback. Kind of a mouthful, but stick with me, here. Using a t-shirt braiding technique, this design pulls in all of the extra fabric cut from the arms and back of the shirt. This way, the shirt is sized to fit your body as you're working on it.
The three-pronged racerback is braided individually and re-stitched to the collar to further tailor the shirt to your body. This isn't sophisticated sewing, either. All of the sewing involved is a simple straight stitch. We won't have to hem anything, here, the braiding does the work for us.
Here you can see that we are cutting away a large chunk of the t-shirt. When we braid these edges, it will give the shirt a polished look, and prevent the edges from looking flimsy and unfinished. Get the step-by-step tutorial for the Trident Braided Racerback t-shirt.
Fixing a Shrunken Fitted T-Shirt
Tomorrow I'll be posting more on my latest design that works with fitted t-shirts, the Trident Braided Racerback. Here is a preview of the before and afters:
With three textured straps at the middle of the back and braided sides to gather the fit, this is a t-shirt transformation that doesn't look like 80's punk. It has a smart, finished look to it. Stay tuned tomorrow, when I post the full tutorial for this shirt, as well as the t-shirt scrap rosettes trimming the collar.
Can I Make My Own Bikini?
On one hand, if the people at Speedo, with their years of experience and what I assume to be a thorough study of the human body, can't make a suit to fit me, then what hope do I have? Am I really going to be any better at making this spandex material transform me into brazen beach baby? Preposterous!
On the other hand, if something isn't working in the store, then my usual go-to is to make it myself. Maybe the Speedo guys have been in this market for years, but they don't know squat about my body and what I feel comfortable squatting in. Not that I do a lot of squatting on the beach, but there are those castle-building moments that call for a lot of graceful framing of the booty. Or awkwardly clambering on top of an floaty tube. I'm not sure anyone can craft a swimsuit that makes mounting a giant Cheerio attractive.
But if you'd like to have a crack at it, I've done a bit of research and found these best-bets for those more adventurous than I. For now, I'm going to settle into the 52nd swimsuit I tried on and hope it lasts me the rest of my life.
DIY Swimsuits
- 5 Bikini Top Styles from Pattern School.
- Crochet String Bikini Free pattern from Patons Yarns. This one is a bit... daring.
- Three One-Piece Styles that cover well and give you some options from Ralph Pink. I believe this is a free download.
- Retro Bikini at Burda, downloadable pattern for $5.40.
- Hottie from the Blue Lagoon crocheted bikini from Kusine.com.
- Making a Swimsuit - Lots of tips here from Feathertysews on working with the special materials and tools used to make a suit.
Purse Projects for Beginners
So, if you're a beginner, never fear. There's no shame in not knowing what you don't know. Even the seasoned professionals run into a puzzler every now and then, and need a simple, zen project to clean their palette!
Here are some simple projects to get new stitchers started, or to ease the mind of the seamstress who's been dealing with satin for an hour.
Win it: Upcycled Beer Can Jewelry
Did you know you can create some cute jewelry with beer cans? I've made pop tab bracelets, but I have yet to delve into the world of crinkling craft beer cans. ReFab Diaries is currently offering a 'taste' (don't put them in your mouth) of this craft with a bundle of free beer can jewelry!
- Enter Here...
- Value: $30
- More Giveaways: Handmade Giveaways
Win it: Rainbow Hair Chalks
Have you ever wanted to be a unicorn? Probably not. You'd have to live in the woods and little girls would keep trying to ride you. Permanent haircolor can be just as annoying as pint-sized hop-ons. Hair chalks are a great way to get that magically delicious look without the commitment. You can win a full set of wash-out hair chalk from Alyssa Zynda, but hurry... this giveaway ends in just a few days!
- Enter Here...
- Value: $40
- Expires: 4.28.13
- Artist: Alyssa Zynda website | Etsy shop
- More Giveaways: Handmade Giveaways
Four Bracelets Even You Can Make
Are you craftily challenged? Some of us can huddle around a pile of old suitcases like the Peanuts gang over a saggy Christmas tree, wave our arms, and voila! A vintage-inspired vanity! Others of us attempt such feats and end up with nothing more than a neatly-stacked pile of old suitcases.
Some projects seem like they only exist in the Land of Pinterest, where everything looks useful, delicious, and photographed in just the right light. We need projects that have been attempted by mere mortals. Here are some bangles and cuffs that I made and still wear to this day. They've stood the test of time... and the test of me; a lady who talks with her hands and repeatedly slams bracelets into her keyboard.
This sounds like a simple recycled office supply bracelet, but the result is actually a dazzling cuff of glass beads and gleaming metal.
Bend and shape a toothbrush to fit your wrist for a cute plastic bangle. It's easy with the right instructions.
Origami isn't just for cranes anymore. This simple step-by-step will show you how to create cute bracelets using nothing but paper.
Some button bracelets, strung on elastic, can pinch the dickens out of you when you least expect it. This one layers the buttons in a pattern that keeps everything in place.
- Make a Safety Pin Bracelet that looks like real live jewelry.
- Create a Cute Button Bracelet that won't pinch you.
- Make a Bracelet out of a Toothbrush, using the right method to get a good fit.
- Fold Fast Origami Bracelets out of any kind of scrapbook or decorative paper.
I'm Rebelling! It's Spring! Spring, I Say!
I'm so desperate to rid myself of my winter clothes and, hopefully, the winter blues as well. Here in Ohio, we have been experiencing a delicate balance between snowstorms and insanity. Our weather is ping-ponging from 50-degree sunny days to blankets of snow and gloom. Meanwhile, that groundhog is somewhere snickering into his evil little paws. I'll never trust an adorable overgrown rat with my weather expectations again. Fool me once, groundhog...fool me once.
Well, I've had it. I'm about to dig my way out of another week of hats and scarves to look optimistically toward spring. Yeah, I said it. It's SPRING, Mother Nature. Do you hear me? What happened to you? You used to be cool; used to be loose with the warm breezes, and now all we get is snow. Mannnn, sometimes Mother Nature just doesn't understand.
Time for a good old-fashioned rebellion against mom. I'm putting away all of my heavy coats and gloves. I'm going to march my buns down to the garage and start up my scooter. I'm opening all of the windows in the house, then I'll sit on the porch and just dare winter to show its mealy little face again.
At this point I'm truly convinced (and maybe just a tad desperate enough to believe) that if I embrace the possibility of spring with all the tank tops and bright colors I can muster, then winter will surely be banished forever. Well, for a while, anyway.
So, I'll be spring cleaning this weekend. Time to take all of the fall clothes from the closet and replace them with items that I hopefully won't be freezing in next week. Because I'm wearin' 'em no matter what.
P.S. Mother Nature, please don't strike me down with lightening or send your henchman groundhog to chew my eyes out in my sleep.