crafting Archives - Page 2 of 26

Wanderlust Pine Needle Basket

It’s time for an update on my adventures in making pine needle baskets! You can see my original post here, my 2nd set of baskets here, and my 3rd set here.

This basket here is my most recent, and possibly my favorite so far.

I made a leather and fabric bottom and I dyed the pine needles a fun aqua blue. I’ve found the trick to dying the pine needles is to dry out green needles in a dark area and that will turn them a really light green which you can then dye and it works better than trying to dye brown needles.

For the lid, I used a dyed pine cone and wrapped the pine needle coils all in raffia. I picked the beads up locally and they are actually made from coral.

So there you have it! These baskets are really fun but it is almost hard to find time to create them because I have way too many hobbies. Do you ever feel that way?

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Adventures in Pine Needle Basketry – part 3

Hey guys, Happy Tuesday! It’s time for an update on my adventures in making pine needle baskets! You can see my original post here, and my 2nd set of baskets here.

I’ve made a couple more recently so I figured I’d share photos of them!

I decided to try making a vase shape, and I am super pleased with how it turned out. While I’m pretty sure it won’t really hold water (I’d have to find some way to seal it.) I still think it’s amazing and could hold fake flowers. Haha.

I did a “meandering coil” around the vase, and added some fish beads that I got at a local craft show.

Something cool about making pine needle baskets is that I learn new things on every one! There are so many different stitches and techniques to experiment with!

On the basket below, I made a basket center out of resin! I started by making a mold with the Amazing Remelt mold, and then added Amazing Clear Cast resin and put a piece of rosemary in the resin. Once the resin was dry, I stabbed holes in it with a small awl.

As you can see above, my basket collection is really starting to grow! The only 2 baskets I’ve made that aren’t pictured there are the 2 below, the owl basket and the Southwest themed basket whom I’ve found new homes for.

I’m working on a new basket as well, It should turn out neat- it uses dyed needles! 🙂

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Product Review- Amazing Remelt

Today’s product review is the Amazing Remelt mold by Alumilite. I saw this mold in their booth at CHA earlier this month and thought it was really.. Amazing! I chatted with the folks at the Alumilite booth and they decided to send me a mold to review, so here it is! 🙂

I actually reviewed this on the Indie Crafts blog over at Craft Gossip, but I wanted to share it here for you guys as well.

For my first test project using the remelt mold, I chose a few buttons, tiny embroidery scissors and a mini spool. I took the remelt material out of it’s container, cut it up into little squares (It looks a lot like Jello when you do this!) and microwaved for about 15 seconds at a time until it was a liquid.

Amazing Remelt comes in multiple sizes, but I’m using the .625lbs mold for this project.

I put the items I wanted to make a mold of from inside the container that the mold came in and poured the liquid mold over top of them.

It did take quite a while to cool off and harden (I’m not very patient), so don’t get in a hurry. Once it became solid again My buttons and scissors came out nicely!

My “mini” spool was actually a little too tall for my mold so it didn’t turn out right. Oh well.

To try out my new mold, I dusted the inside with a little bit of Alumilite metallic powders and then poured in some Amazing Clear Cast, which also took a while to completely cure. You can see my completed resin buttons and scissors below. They came out quite nicely, I think!

Overall thoughts- I think this mold is fantastic! Personally, I only most molds a few times before I get tired of that shape, so I love that I can just remelt this mold making material and shape it into a new mold whenever I feel like it. It’s completely reusable! If you like doing Resin crafts, or maybe need a chocolate or fondant mold, definitely check out the Remelt! It is…. Amazing!

Thanks, Alumilite, for sending me a free Amazing Remelt mold to review!

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DIY Faux Seed Bead Phone Case

This project was one of the handmade stocking stuffers I created for my Sister, Taylor. I made her some custom sunglasses with seed beads on them (following this fantastic tutorial) and I wanted to create her a phone case as well!

I was afraid the phone case would get beat up, being in and out of pockets, purses, hands etc so I didn’t want to attach real seed beads. Instead, I decided to just give the case the look of a seed bead pattern using a little paint!

Supplies: Phone Case, Paint, Small Paint Brush, Graph Paper, Markers

1. I started by googling different patterns I thought could work. Try searching “tribal patterns” or “seed bead patterns” for inspiration!

Next I used some graph paper and Sharpies to figure out my pattern and what color scheme I wanted.

2. Once you figure out your color scheme, pull out the paints!

3. Now the fun part! I used a small tip paint brush for this step. But if you don’t have one small enough, just flip a paint brush upside down and use the other end for tiny dots.

Start with your first color and apply small “dots” of paint in your pattern.

4. Continue adding paint dots to look like seed beads, following your pattern and switching colors on different rows.

5. Let dry completely! I also went over it with some Mod Podge just to make sure the paint couldn’t be scratched off easily!

I gave it to Taylor for Christmas and she loved it, which makes me happy! What do you think? Do you like the look of seed beads?

I should restyle my own phone case, it’s just a solid pink and it’s begging for a restyle! 🙂

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DIY Resin Gummy Bear Mold

Resin is one of the many different mediums I like to experiment with every now and then. I have so many different things I like to do though that I don’t get around to using resin all that often.

I was however inspired to bust out my resin supplies when I had the idea to make resin gummy bears. I mean, What’s cooler than resin gummy bears??

I took pictures of how I made the mold, so if you want to make your own faux gummy bears, here’s how:

Supplies: Amazing Mold Putty, Amazing Clear Cast Resin, Gummy Bears

Note- when picking out your gummy bears to use for the mold make sure not to get any defective bears! You don’t want one that’s missing a leg.

1. Start by mixing equal amounts of the mold putty together, until they’re one color.

2. Next form your mold into a strip that’s about 1.5″-2″ tall and wide enough for a few gummies. Don’t spread your putty out too thin though, you want it sturdy.

3. Place however many gummy bears will fit into your mold, pressing them in firmly.Make sure the mold putty squeezes in around them.

4. Let your mold putty completely dry, following the instructions on the container and then remove your gummy bears.

5. Now you can mix up some resin and pour it in to your mold to make faux gummy bears! I used clear resin, mixing in a little bit of Alumilite dye into it to create the color of the gummy bears.

I turned my gummy bears into keychains, just using a keyring and a few jumprings and eyehooks.

I actually started this project back in September, making the resin gummy bears. But I have been traveling so much since them I just recently finished turning my gummy bears into these cute key chains!

Have you tried using resin? It definitely has a learning curve but I’ve enjoyed experimenting with it!

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Woodland Animal Inspired Pine Needle Baskets

Making pine needles baskets is a fun new hobby of mine, I like to work on them while I’m watching a Star Trek episode, or just chilling out. It’s relaxing.

I shared my first 4 baskets here on the blog already, but I just finished both of these and I wanted to share them as well.

It wasn’t planned, but they both ended up being inspired by woodland animals. I created the center for the first basket from clay and as I was deciding what to put on it, my obsession with foxes just sort of took over. Same with the owl.

A friend actually wanted to purchase a custom basket, and she told me to just “surprise her” when it came to colors, design, etc.

I decided to use a hand painted leather center and as I picked up my paintbrush I just decided it wanted to be an owl. I found the beads in my stash and liked the way they looked so I added them on as well.

I’ve only made a total of 6 baskets so far since I started making these but I’ve learned so much! I learned how to make handles, which I added onto both of these baskets.

Have you ever tried making pine needle baskets?

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DIY Screen Printed Cloth Napkins

I have some exciting news! I’m not one of Cut Out + Keep’s “Craft Test Sidekicks“! That means every now and then I get to try out fun crafty products and post a tutorial using them.

For my first project as a craft tester I used SpeedBall’s screen printing kit to created these Desert inspired cloth dinner napkins! Taylor recently moved to Arizona so these were for her.

This DIY uses the drawing fluid technique of screen printing.

Supplies:

1 SpeedballScreen printing kit

4 Cloth napkins

1.Start by placing whatever design you want to print underneath your screen.
2.Use a sharpie, Micron or other permanent black marker to trace your design onto your screen.

3.Things are about to get messy so now you need something to prop your screen up on incase liquid seeps through the screen.
Take 4 thumbtacks and put them in the bottom corners of your screen.
Flip your screen back over (so it’s sitting on the thumb tacks) and place it over newspaper, or inside a cardboard box.

4. Take your drawing fluid and paint the area of your design that you want to be printed. Let the drawing fluid dry completely.

5. Once the drawing fluid is dry, take Speedball’s screen filler and place a line of the filler near the top edge of your screen and use the squeegee to pull the filler over your entire screen.

6. Let the screen filler dry completely- It’s recommend that you let it dry overnight.

7. Use warm water and a sponge and wash off the drawing fluid. It should come off pretty easy, but you can lightly scrub at it with the sponge if you need to.

8. Place your screen over your cloth napkin in the area you want your design.

Place a line of fabric paint on the top edge of your screen.

9. Use the squeegee to spread the fabric paint over your design on the screen, pressing firmly. Make sure to completely cover your design area.

10. Lift your screen straight up off of your cloth and you’re done!
Let your design dry!

Have you ever tried screen printing? This was my first time and I’m pretty pleased with the results! 🙂

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Vintage Airplane Mixed Media Bookmarks

I love making mixed media bookmarks. I made my first set last Christmas and have been making quite a few of them throughout the year.

For this set, I got a request for airplane themed bookmarks, specifically inspired by vintage airplane ads. I did my best to make them have that vintage style while still being mixed media-y.

For the colors I used a Mister Huey watercolor set by Studio Calico and then doodled through a stencil.

What do you think? Overall, I’m pretty happy with them!

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Handmade Holidays Blog Hop

Welcome to the 4th Annual Handmade Holidays Blog Hop! A few years ago we were looking online for handmade gift ideas and thought it would be great if there was a resource dedicated JUST to handmade gift ideas. Enter the Handmade Holidays hop!

We’ve gathered over 100 of our creative blogger friends in the craft industry as well as some of our fellow product manufacturers to bring you a plethora of inspiring gift ideas you can make now to give to your friends, family, and colleagues. Pin and bookmark these ideas for this holiday season and to use throughout the year!

Each day of the hop features approximately 30 gift projects and you can “hop” from one blog to another to check them all out.

My Project:

My sponsors for this hop were Walnut Hollow, Oly*Fun, Sakura and ICE Resin, so I created this project using some of their products.

My gift is one made with geeks in mind! So whether you have a friend that is a trekkie, a star wars fan, a whovian or just an all around nerd, space is the final frontier! So anything galaxy themed is the perfect gift for your geeky friend!

Supplies: Wooden Clock, Clock Kit, Black Paint, Paint Brush, Oly Fun Material, Gelly Roll Moonlight Pens, Glue Pen, Fine Silver Glitter, Liquid Glue (like Mod Podge or 450 Quick Dry) Ice Resin

1. Paint your clock black.

2. Cut out swirls from your Oly*Fun material. You can sketch onto the material first to create a pattern, but I just free handed them with a pair of scissors. Remember, it’s a galaxy, it doesn’t have to be perfect.

3. Brush a liquid glue onto the back of your Oly*Fun swirls and decoupage them down onto your clock. This is where you get to be creative and create a galaxy!

4. Time to get out your gelly roll pens and further embellish your galaxy. My best tips:

Swirls. They’re super simple (anyone can draw a swirl) and work really well with the galaxy theme.
Dots, This could be space dust, right?
Circles. Somewhat like dots, only larger. They’re easy and add texture to your galaxy.
Stars. Every galaxy needs stars and it’s another simple shape to make.

At this point, I decided my galaxy needed a moon in the foreground. Here’s how to make one:

5. Cut out a 3″ circle from gray Oly*Fun material as well as a few dots and a quarter circle. Scallop one edge of the quarter circle so that it’s wavy. Glue them down onto the 3″ circle. Glue the moon onto the clock.

6. Take a black Gelly Roll pen and add doodles to your moon. I outlined my material and added a bunch of dots to look like craters,

7. Take your Quickie Glue Pen and draw some swirls, stars and dots around your galaxy. While the glue is still wet, sprinkle silver glitter over your glue doodles. Knock off the excess glitter.

Time to give it a glossy look!

8, Squirt out equal amounts of resin and hardener into a disposable cup and stir for one minute or following the directions on the package. (I used the entire amount of resin in the 1.oz kit.)

9. Pour your mixed resin onto your clock and smooth it out using a brush. Let it dry completely (I recommend overnight).

10. Follow the instructions of your clock kit to put your clock together.

11. Place your clock numbers equally around your circle, mashing them down to secure them good. It’s extremely important that they’re spaced out equally- You don’t want to be running late because your number was in the wrong place!

And that is it! You now have an amazingly geeky and awesome galaxy clock!

Are you ready for lots more creative handmade gift ideas and projects??

Follow along on our blog hop! Simply click on each of the links below to be taken to that post with additional information and photos on how to create a handmade gift project. Have fun and pin away!

Clearsnap

Ellison Educational Equipment

Scrapbook Adhesives by 3L

Elizabeth Craft Designs

Pink and Main

The Buckle Boutique

Clearsnap – Vivian Keh

Ashley Rader – Giddy Upcycled

ICE Resin – Jen Cushman

Candy Spiegel- Candy Scraps

Graphic 45 – Andrew Roberts

Rina Gonzales – Mothership Scrapbook Gal

Therm O Web – Amanda Niederhauser

Cori Warner – The Flying C

Yana Smakula – My Cardmaking & Scrapbooking

The Buckle Boutique – Shawn Mosch

Eileen Hull Designs – Eileen Hull

Angela Muir – Handmade in the Heartland

Krista Winters – eat, knit & d.i.y.

Scrapbook Adhesives by 3L – Erica Houghton

Katie Smith – Punk Projects

Elizabeth Craft Designs – Karen Aicken

Jeanie Hevener – Create & Babble

Ellison Educational Equipment – Hilary Kanwischer

Fancy Shanty – Stacy Molter

Liz Hicks – Blogerisms

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Follow our Handmade Holidays Gift Ideas Pinterest board for even more inspiration!

Follow Jennifer Priest of RainMaker Media Works + Hydrangea Hippo’s board Handmade Holidays on Pinterest.

A huge thank you to our sponsors for this hop – please visit their blogs below and follow them. And be sure to come back tomorrow for another 30+ amazing Handmade Gift Ideas!

Clearsnap || Ellison Educational Equipment || Walnut Hollow || Graphic45 || Westcott || ICE Resin || Therm O Web || Rowland Industries || Scrapbook Adhesives by 3L || Pink and Main || Elizabeth Craft Designs || The Buckle Boutique || Neat and Tangled

Additional Sponsorship provided to bloggers by:

Sakura || Fairfield Processing

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Adventures in Pine Needle Basketry

I’ve already mentioned that I spent a week staying with my Aunt and Uncle in Colorado last month. They live up on a mountain building an off grid house, which is pretty cool!

Anyhow, while I was staying with them, my Aunt taught me how to make pine needle baskets! She has a couple of ponderosa pines on the mountain so that’s where we collected the needles from.

So far, I’ve made 4 baskets and learned a lot making those! My first basket definitely isn’t perfect because it took me a little while to figure out how to keep the stitches tight. Here are my baskets, in order of when I made them (starting with my first):

This green basket is perfect for holding tiny embellishments!

The basket below I created for Taylor. We picked up the beads while we were in Sedona, AZ they were perfect for the southwest inspired theme of the basket.

This basket is my most recent and one I tried something fun on- I dyed the needles before I made the basket! I just used RIT liquid dye in fushia to end up with this nice auburn color. I picked up those arrow shaped needles at Michaels.

Because the arrows remind me of a breeze, I’m calling this one “Mountain Breeze”. I haven’t named any of the others yet though.

Have you tried making pine needle baskets? They take a little bit of time, but I love working on them while watching movies or tv (star trek episodes!).

Also, I’m curious- Would you be interested in purchasing handmade baskets? I’m also considering posting a tutorial.