Sailor Jerry Pin Up Magnets (part one)

How to Tuesday: Lined zippered pouch out of an onion bag

We tend to go through a lot of onions in the kitchen so I always grab large bags of them at the grocery store and they come in these mesh bags (see in the far left) which have always struck me as DIY project waiting to happen. The font and graphics on the front are really cool so I knew I really wanted to use them in some way for some time now. I  finally decided on an idea this week and  set out make a pouch with it and some leftover fabric. Came out pretty polished for a first try, Riki saw it at home and thought I'd bought it! 

Want to make your own? Click below for a picture heavy step-by-step on how I made it:

Hand Stamped DIY round up

I've seen some cool stamped designs on band records and shirts over the years but to be honest I haven't really given the technique much attention before in my own projects. I know, I'm pretty surprised myself, after all stamping, along with stenciling and screen printing (the latter two of which I've done my fair share of experimenting with) are pretty much at the heart of DIY in many ways. So here's a round up of awesome stamp and stamping related projects to inspire you (and me) to get into stamping everywhere and everything. 

Enjoy the hell out of it.

x

Pinterest vs. Tumblr... or not

I have to admit that when I was first introduced to Pinterest, the visual pin board website, I wasn't impressed. Truth be told, I refused to get an account because I was too obsessed with Tumblr at the time and saw my account as my very own custom visual imagery feed. What I didn't realize then was that I could have both - and use them completely differently.

Craft tattoo round up

Last week I made an appointment to get tattooed by the talented Ashley Love. Her lovely traditional tattoo work has been on my radar for awhile - the first time I looked her up was (in 2011?) when a feisty pink-haired makeup artist working the OCC Cosmetics booth at IMATS NY showed me his tattoos and highly recommended her. I've seen her become more and more popular these days so I'm glad I finally set something up before I just can't get into her busy schedule.

One of the reasons it took me so long to make the appointment in the first place is that I just couldn't decide what I wanted to get done by her so when I contacted her I just gave her a few ideas and she picked out what sounded the most fun to her. I find that's often the best way to get a great looking tattoo; when it's something they're personally stoked on rather than just you.

While I'm not getting a craft tattoo this time around, it is something I plan on getting soon enough so i've been collecting designs and photos as reference material since the idea first came to mind. In my searching for inspiration I have really come across some gems that go beyond the typical ball of yarn, spool or scissor tattoo and It's only fitting that I share some of these craft themed beauties on here...

Flash by Thomas Kenney, Hub City Tattoos

more after the jump...

Valentine's day card making extravaganza

This past weekend I made a couple of cards to donate to the Etsy and city meals Special Delivery project. My original idea was to get a bunch of girlfriends together to make a ton but that idea fell apart quickly since it was too last minute (and you know..superbowl/puppybowl plans). I only got a chance to make four cards but it's ok - they were good ones. Riki saw me knee-deep in a sea of paper cutting and craft supplies and he even felt compelled to make one too. The one with the boat was all him.

Book recommendation

Stitch n' Bitch by Debbie Stoller

I highly recommend this book to anyone looking to get into (or already into) knitting. It's extremely easy to follow and very entertaining overall. I gifted a copy of this to a friend recently, and she went from only knowing how to knit to purling, making mittens, handwarmers, and working with more complicated stitches that I have yet to even try myself... ( need to get on that.)

Easy jewelry display

I (Finally!) managed to clear out my jewerlry, keeping only the essentials. It was hard, seriously. Once I consolidated, it was time to set up my favorites on top of my dresser for easy access. I didn't want to buy a display so the rest is history.

I was researching DIY cake stands as a christmas gift idea for my mom and then it dawned on me that I could easily use one of these for jewelry (She's incredibly picky so I made her something a little more intensive but let's leave that for another blog post)

(Image From Apartment Therapy)

A 'found' vintage spice rack gets a makeover

My lucky boyfriend was the one to spot this classic wooden spice rack a few blocks away from the apartment he was living in. It came with us when we moved in together but the sad thing had definitely seen better days so it was one of the first projects i tackled upon our move in. (Partially because we own so many spices... that's not even half of them on it)

Here's how I did it...

project round up

Now that Thanksgiving is over, the holidays are just around the corner and the weather is getting chilly.  I constantly troll the internet for inspiration on new projects and while i dont always get around to trying everything it certainly helps keep me creatively focused. 

Ideally, i'd like to make this a constant feature on this blog - a themed round up of projects that i've either attempted or would like to attempt. In this case, i've already made variations on the kahlua and the mittens pictured above- will have to share those soon!

Hi old friend, it's been awhile

I know, its been ages. I should be ashamed.
To my defense, i've been incredibly busy and rarely documenting my craft projects.
While I've wanted to return to this blog for quite a while now, it just hasn't really happened. Inspired by the DIY and handmade blogs I stalk daily I figured I should take advantage of the situation at hand. I'm working from home while our office regains power after hurricane Sandy and I have less of workload on my hands for the time being. It's going to be nuts once we return to the office so nows the time to show you what i've been upto lately in the crafts dept...



 Band shirt pillows!

From left to right: VICE SQUAD Last Rockers tee (from when i saw them in London!), HorrorPops shirt (from the good old punkmart days) and The Adicts tour shirt (still got the playing cards from the last time I saw them)

Fabric Flowers

Hand-stitched fabric flower I made out of green and pink striped fabric. Lined the back with thick black fabric and sewed a clip to the back. The center is made up of a metal button sewn directly to the fabric.

xo.

Recycled Vinyl Record Cuff

I've been workin' on a vinyl record purse from scratched up vinyl. In the process I ended making a cuff from the scraps. Here's the result.

I think it came out pretty cool. Luckily I was cutting off the edge of the record for this project because it worked out perfectly shape-wise. All I used was a pair of metal scissors and the oven to make it pliable. Just make sure to sand down the rough edges on the side that was cut to avoid scraping yourself!

Westcott Fair

@The Westcott Fair Picture by Christina Cathleen.

Stuffed friends

"This is how I make a carrot"
 Terribly cute video and profile on etsy seller, Steffbomb

This is how I make a carrot! from Craig Shimala on Vimeo.

Read the full article here
Check out her plush creations on her etsy store here: http://www.etsy.com/shop/steffbomb

She makes quirky, fun plush creations. With names like Grumble buns and Twanga Twanga Twanga Tenor Banjo, who could resist? My favorites are carrot and baby corn. The severed hand and the chainsaw are pretty great too, just in time for Halloween!

Ah, sometimes I wish I could just make stuff and hang out all day in a studio creating.
I think I'm too antsy for that, though. I want to be doing so many things all the time.

Made with vintage buttons

Sold a couple of variations of these at the fair. Brooch in the back and elastic band to be used as a headband as well. I'll get a better pic up soon. xo.

Project studandspike-a-thon: part 2

D.I.Y SPIKED HEELS!
Following my recent obssession with studded things and my previous post with the awesome Louboutin/Rodarte heels I finally got around to working on my own version. The whole project didn't take too long really(about two days?). At this point I just need to get some more cone studs for the front of the right shoe and i'll be done!


Materials:
$5.00 pink heels from Salvation Army
$15 bag of assorted large spikes
things i already had:
xacto knife, bag of cone studs, felt, can of black spray paint + clear coat spray
TOTAL: All and all i spent around $20... not bad, not bad!

How I did it:
-Before you begin mark off with a sharpie where you'd like your spikes to go.
-Then poke holes through your marks with a sharp x-acto, making them wide enough for your spikes to screw threw (start small, you can always widen them)
-Screw in your spikes through the holes and tighten
-For the cone studs in the front, bend the prongs back and use a glue gun to attach them one by one to the toe of your heels

Westcott Fair

Clutch purse! If I get my ass in motion more  will be available at the fair.

Just got started on my things for the westcott fair. Ive got some new things in the works to sell this year.

WESTCOTT FAIR THIS YEAR: Sunday, September 19, 12:00 - 6:30 PM

http://westcottfair.org/

Surfing on a rocket

Looks like we will be using all the boxes left over from the move!

Introducing...the new house project. WERE BUILDING A ROCKETSHIP for our living room.

How awesome is this?

Images and tutorial here:

http://www.instructables.com/id/How-to-build-a-cardboard-Rocket-ship/

Studs and Spikes

Recently a lot of designers have been popping out shoes, bags, and clothing studded and spiked to my little heart's content. I of course, cannot afford such an expense. Thats where my master diy skills come into play.

Feast your eyes on these kick ass beauties though:

        Exhibit A: Louboutin and Rodarte                                  

  

 Exhibit B: "The porcupine"

 Louise Goldin for TopShop

Exhibit C: "The Stegosaurus Tail Spike heel"                  

  Exhibit D: "The Balsac Jaws of death heel"                             

   ...Better known as the ultimate metal heels  

           

I just bought myself a 40 pack of spikes on ebay and have a couple of english cone studs that i'll be using on this little project as well. Still debating on silver or black for the actual shoe though.

Upon my recent obsession for all things spiked  I quite honestly wish acquire some super large spikes. Mind you, not any kind of large spike, im thinking hurtyourself-immakillyou 8 inch spikes. (Which by the way i did find online here.) I want to put those babies on the shoulders of my jacket and trot around like bowser. Yep, I want to be the jackass at the show that scrapes all the assholes in the pit "Oops, was that your face? Sorry about that."

My google searching for spiked heels and placement inspiration also yielded a really nice tutorial that was posted on outsapop.com a while back. Check it out here