i recently discovered aunt peaches blog and i'm sort of obsessed. the project that really got my goat is the floral pendant lamp created from coffee filters. it's so bright and gorgeous. i'm for sure adding it to my DIY projects list for after the holidays when work gets quieter.
image sweetly borrowed from aunt peaches :)
we showed you how to turn record albums into funky spacey bowls but what about the cool covers with rad retro modern graphics or feathered hair ladies in silken 1980's dresses? check out the tutorial below to turn the covers into boxes to keep your stuff organized or for reuseable gift packaging.
making yo yo rosette flowers is a great way to use fabric scraps. but what to do with all the yo yo's? i love piecing them together to make necklaces or headbands. it's pretty simple and once you get the hang of making the yo yo's it goes pretty fast. follow the instructions below or check out my ready to go diy craft kits or if you're not feeling very crafty you can buy one i made in my etsy shop.
what you need:
-hand-sewing needle
-thread
-fabric scraps cut into various size circles around 2-5 inches in diameter
-necklace chain & clasp
what to do:
1. hold one fabric circle so the printed side is down
2. fold over about a 1/4 of an inch of the edge of fabric from bottom to top so you can see a bit of the printed side on the back of the fabric
3. thread your needle and do a running stitch (push the needle through the fabric from bottom to top then from top to bottom) repeat the running stitch around the circle
4. once you have sewn around the whole circle, pull the thread until your circle puckers (it will look like a pouch) and knot the tail of the thread from where you started with the tail of the thread with the needle on it. knot it 2 more times
5. now pull the sides out from the center and flatten the pouch.
6. you have your first yo-yo!
7. repeat this for your other fabric circles until all the fabric circles are yo-yo's
8. design your necklace- pick 3 yo-yo's for the top line and arrange the rest below them in a 'v' pattern
9. once decided how to arrange your yo-yo's, slightly overlap the first two in the top left corner and sew a few stitches on the back side to connect them.
10. now sew the last one in the top row to the first two and sew the remaining yo-yo's together as well, making sure to overlap each one a bit.
11. stitch one end of each side of the chain to the top of each side of the 'v' of your yo-yo collage.
12. put your new necklace on and marvel at your craftiness!
if you know me at all, you know i'm an avid thrift store shopper. it's always hard for me to resist buying record albums, with their cool covers and the smell of vinyl always makes me happy. but alas i no longer have a record player and after moving 18 times and crating heavy box after heavy box of albums up stairs and into u-hauls-i've given up my collection. lots of these albums went to friends who still play vinyl but other i turned into bowls. here's how...
DIY tutorial: how to make bowls from record albums
RECORD ALBUM BOWLS
what you need:
record album
oven
bowl to mold the album into
oven safe bowl
baking sheet
what to do:
1. heat the oven to 200 degrees
2. place the oven safe bowl upside down on the cookie sheet and put the album on top of the bottom of the bowl. put everything in the pre-heated oven for about 3 minutes or until you see the sides of the album start to droop. (don't leave it in too long or it will start to emit stinky toxic fumes)
3. once the album is pliable take it out and set it in your other bowl. (don't dilly dally as the album will start to harden immediately!)
4. place it in the bowl and press down in the center so the sides start to curve, use your hands to help mold it into shape.
5. let the album sit in the bowl for about 10 minutes so it can set.
6. use your new rock'n'roll bowl for anything except food!
my sewing machine is the vehicle i use to create so many things that make me happy. but the machine itself with it's boring white plastic and diagrams always kinda bummed me out. for years i've been wanting to pimp out my sewing machine. i've toyed with the idea of using fabric, collage or paint but never had the balls or took the time out until this week.
my inspiration came from listening to a podcast on hello craft by tina seamonster. tina was talking about occupying her time while her kids were in summer camp by doing embroidery in a church. at the end she said something about how when we make our living through what we make and are obsessively checking out etsy store sales and blog stats we forget that the reason we started crafting is because the process, not just the product, deeply moves us. i actually got a little emotional about this.
i have a hard time balancing my passion for the craft with my need to pay the rent. taking time out from the business of crafting to just make something and not care what others will think or if they'll buy it can be difficult. and so, last night, even though there was stack of blazers and tees with appliques waiting to be sewn on, and applications for patchwork indie arts & crafts festival waiting to be weeded through, a new website for craftcation needing to be built, etsy orders to be shipped and a full inbox of emails to be answered...i stopped took a deep breath and grabbed 2 boxes of vintage and retro modern paper and my mod podge and sat down in the living room for some good old "just for me" crafting. i took a vintage copy of one of my favorite books, raymond carver's "will you please be quiet please" that was falling apart and used it as the base, added some collage circles and birds and viola! my sewing machine got it's craft on.
before
after
if you want to pimp out your machine here's how....
what you need:
-mod podge or gloss medium
-paint brushes
-glass of water & paper towels or an old rag
-scissors
-papers for decoupage: an old book to cut up, magazine photos, wrapping paper etc...
-scissors
-exacto knife
-acrylic paint (if you want to outline anything)
-boring old sewing machine
what to do:
1. decide which paper you want to use as your background and cut it into strips and little pieces.
2. paint mod podge on the area you wish to collage, pick a paper that fits in the area. i had to do some trimming especially around round parts, put down the paper then paint mod podge on top. keep collaging until the machine is covered.
3. once you have the whole machine covered you can choose little images to put on top of the background. repeat step 2 for this.
4. use some acrylic paint to outline any images if desired.
*make sure to keep the mod podge out of working parts and little buttons so they don't stick!
what you need:
3 tablespoons of brown sugar
3 tablespoons of raw sugar
3 tablespoons of epsom salt
3 tablespoons of sea salt
6 tablespoons of a carrier oil (olive, almond or grapeseed, apricot kernel etc...)
10-15 drops of essential oil
what to do:
