Dappled Air

This is the third mask I have painted so far. For some crazy reason I could always see a face in those lids. First Mask Second Mask When I start painting the lid I have no idea how it will eventually look. It is almost as if the lid has a mind of its own. For this mask I used paper punches for the yellow stars, the red hearts and the text swirls for the hair curls. The rest is painted with craft paint and then coated with a few coats of water based varnish.

My son and daughter-in-law gave me some beads as a mother's day gift. I was tickled pink. After sorting through the beads and taking them of the strings they came with, I had the inspiration for this necklace with green glass beads this past weekend. The black glass beads were also part of the gift and the silver beads came from my bead collection. I love the way the necklace turned out. It is about 27 inches long. Check out my market place with beadwork I have for sale

Now that I have switched to metal water bottle from plastic, I decided that I needed a cover for the water bottle as holding metal in my bare hand could at time be quite cold, but probably quite nice in really hot weather. As I haven't had it long enough yet to see what happens in summer, I imagine that it will also absorb condensation, keeping the outside of the bottle dry. Now my next question was what material to use and what technique? I decided on knitting as I like knitting while watching the TV shows I recorded the day before on my DVR. Ok, knitting it is, now I have to decide on cotton or wool. I want something that is not very bulky and choose cotton. I discovered a few years ago that I can knit a lovely material with the cotton threads from the sewing thread cones I inherited from my husbands grandfather. I have about 8 cones in various colors of brown. They date back to the 1950's or earlier. I used 6 threads and 3mm knitting needles. As I had already knitted like th...

I love to do paper embroidery and I love to recycle. This little project is a combination of both. We must have gotten some advertisement from Celebrity cruises with little cards to use for a price reduction of a cruise. I liked the look of the cards and kept them until I could figure out what to do with them. Then one day I looked through my stencils and small patterns and the light went on. I could do some paper embroidery on the cards. I quite like the results. The only problem is tracing the designs. So I found I either print the design the desire size on scrap paper. The place it over the card stock and start punching holes about 1/4" (5mm) apart. If I have a design already cut out, I just punch the holes on the edge of the shape.

Here is a tip for a quick Valentine craft. It is easy to make and quite unusual. I took the idea for a scrapbooking fan album and shrank it down in size. I used 6x4 inch photo paper to make the small strips that are 2x6 inches. Each fan used 2 6x4 inch pages and so has 4 pages that are held together by the colored split clip and a scrapbooking flower. Full instructions and MS Publisher template is available here

Yesterday on the local radio station I heard them talk about being a maven, but they had no idea what that meant. That gave me the idea for today's post. I call myself a 'creative maven', a Jack no Jill of all trades. I grew up in Switzerland where in grade 1 I learned to knit and crochet and then over the years to embroider, sew and more. Eventually, I had the opportunity to learn metal work, I learned working with wood by watching my dad. My learning style is monkey see, monkey do. So what is the meaning of maven? It comes from the Hebrew word 'mevin' to understand and when you have mastered something you really understand it and become an expert, a maven. Wikipedia's definition Google Dictonary's definitions

Today is garbage day in our neighbourhood and it is quite windy. So as we went for our daily walk there were a lot of cans that were lying on their side or even in the middle of the road and the lids if not attached with a string where some place else. Every time this happens. I ask my husband why people put up with this and why they don't take their black garbage bags out of the cans and only put those at the side of the road? We have a garbage can with a black bag inside just outside the kitchen door, that we fill from collection day to collection day. Today's bag was just barely full after 4 weeks. Then once garbage day arrives we take out the bag, tie it up and put it on the curb. That way our garbage can lasts a long time and we don't loose the lid. I don't think it is extra work to handle the garbage this way. I took the picture of the garbage cans on my walk. I am just curious to know if my idea is so strange and would love to know what my readers think. I am lo...

I love beading and making necklaces, but have trouble finding a way to display them to take great pictures. Then one day while looking for something totally different I came across instructions on how to make your own display stand from cardboard. Now I just had to check this out. After running into a few problems I figured out my own way of making it and I am quite pleased with the end result. You can find the instructions here . The necklace on display is called 'Belle of the Ball' and is beaded over an old key. It is for sale for $30.--. Email me if you are interested.

For the last 10 years I have been making my own envelopes from last year's calendar pages. I also use magazine pages to make envelopes. Over the years I have developed a variety of envelope templates. -> last year's Maritime pictures calendar is now a dozen envelopes. The envelopes are for sale for $9.00 for the 12. Email me if you are interested. The envelopes in the picture are made on the diagonal from a piece of paper that is 8.5 inches square. You can find the instructions here . Sometimes magazine pages are not quite 8.5 inches wide after tearing them out and this diagonal template does not really work too well, so I created a straight down template. As both the top flap and the side flaps are wide, placing the template on a piece of paper that is shorter and narrower is no problem as long as the bottom is aligned with the paper. So even an 8x10.5 inch piece of paper works. You can get the template and instructions here . Another version of envelope needs no glue. I ba...

I finally printed my own monitor calendar strip for 2009 even though I created them early in October, but just never got around to print one. I originally created the calendars in 2008 and the feedback was so positive that I just had to keep on repeating it. I really like to have the calendar attached to the frame of the monitor, it is very helpful. While I am on the subject of calendars. I also have the 2009 version of the popular dodecahedron calendar with different backgrounds. It is easy to make if you glue it in the right order. My CD case calendars were quite popular Christmas presents. I give them to my friends and family in the case the first year and then I can them send refills the next year. I created my version to be printed on double sided brochure paper (I get mine at Staples), this way there are not too many pages to cram into the case. All calendar templates are free and you can download them at the following pages: Computer Monitor Calendars Dodecahedron Calendar CD C...

I came across this lovely link at Wide Eyed Wonderfuls with a lovely pattern for a Christmas tree done in paper embroidery. It is simple but the result is quite stunning. I followed the pattern and made a card and promptly sent it on to Switzerland before taking a picture, I guess I was in a hurry. Then I had the idea of working with the design in Photoshop and created a background for the card from that one tree, print it out and then embroider it. I went through a few version and still don't know which one I like best. First I left the tree to be embroidered unprinted, then I printed it like the rest of the background and finally I reduced the saturation. Then the embroidery part also went through a few version. First I had no sequins, so I used glass seed beads. Then once I got some sequins I had to give that a try.

Yes, it is this time of the year again and money is tight. So how about making your own gifts? My youngest daughter just voiced this sentiment and I suggested that she bake some cookies as gifts. Well, no sooner had I thought about it when I came across this article at "Get Rich Slowly" will a list of 34 ideas for home-made gifts. Being a crafty person, I have also accumulated a few ideas of my own for handmade gifts . I try to stick with simple and fun projects and sometimes integrate some recycling into them. Like this pair of little angels below

This morning as I was going through my RSS feeds I came across this link at Whipup.net to the Princess and the Monkey blog with this huge list of sewing tutorials. Wow, this is so cool. With the holidays coming up, there is a great chance that something will be just perfect to make for somebody on the gift list. Giving a homemade gift, especially in this tough economic time, is just so special. Each gift is imbued with the love that created it. Also with the arrival of my first grandchild just around the corner, I will probably find something special to make for his arrival. The list is broken down into the following groups: Hand Bags Tote Bags Wristlets & Wallets Crafty Bags Baby Stuff For In Your Bag For Your Sewing/Crafting Supplies Around the House Others Quilts & Manchester Kids Stuff Softies Softies - Food Ornaments Kids Clothing Clothing Aprons Embroidery Sewing How-Tos

I love to work with beads, but they have a tendency to run away on me. So I have experimented with various materials I had at home. First I tried paper, then a tray, then some felt. The paper was too slippery, the tray I did not like and the felt, well the needle got stuck in it when I tried to pick up a bead. Then one day when I was shopping I came across this cool shelf liner that had a slightly spongy and sticky feeling to it. It has a diamond design on one side and it plain on the other. I lost the label and don't know what it was called. It wasn't too expensive and came in various colors. I picked off white and cut a piece about 12 inches long, it is 9 inches wide and got to work. The first thing I noticed was that the beads did not slip around any more. So it looks like I have found my beading mat. March 2009: I found the label. It is called 'All purpose storage mat', 12" x 30" non-slip. On my searches around the web I came across this very helpful beadi...

Yesterday I came across a question on how to recycle business cards at about.com family crafts That reminded me that I had the same question a few years back and found a really useful way to recycle all those business cards by turning them into a small box that is 2.25 inches square. When you buy them commercially you end up often with way too many as the information on them seems to change just too fast and you have to get new ones. By making your own cards you can print only what you need and make the changes as they occur. I don't remember where I got the idea from, but I created a step by step tutorial on how to turn 19 business cards into a little box with a lid. The cool thing about it is that it does not use any glue or staples and there is no cutting involved. All you do is fold the cards and then slot them together. Without a lid the current business cards can also be store in the box. Multiple boxes can be connected together with other business cards. I have also made ...

With the cooler weather it is time again to dig out my 'Panta' headband that I knitted a few years ago from a pattern I found at Craftster and adapted to suite me. Here is a link to my tutorial . It also has a link to the original Craftster post which has no grown to over 90 pages. While checking out the link if it still works, I discovered that it dates back to 2005 and some of the pictures don't work any more. The headband was easy to knit and didn't take much time. I sewed it together so that there is no seam showing. I really like wearing the headband, it is very comfortable and warm and small enough to fit into a pocket or purse. It is perfect when it is still too warm to wear a hat.

While doing my research on the 'Wunderknäuel' in Google in German I saw my baby spiral socks and an explanation that in German hospitals they use them for preemies. They call them in German 'Regenwürmer' - 'earthworms'. As the socks have no heel they can be worn by any size baby and will keep the tiny ones nice and warm. Here is a link to the pattern and all kinds of other baby patterns in German.

Thanks to the Internet I am able to read German and English blogs and newsgroups. That's when I came across a post about knitting socks from a 'Wunderknäuel' - surprise wool ball in English. I remember those fondly from my childhood. It was a great incentive to get me knitting. The picture above shows a Wunderknäuel with the knitting started and some of the content from the Wunderwolle blog , it is in German. Now what on earth is a 'Wunderknäuel' - surprise wool ball? I asked at a local wool shop if they had ever heard of them and the answer was no, what is it. So it seems to be totally unheard of in the English speaking world, but quite common in the German speaking world. A 'Wunderknäuel' - 'surprise wool ball' is a ball of wool that has been rewound around a bunch of 'goodies' or surprises. For kids it was usally a toy or several that only became visible as you continued knitting. The surprises can be anything small enough that can be i...

I just realized that now would be a great time to get organized with all my craft creations. I never really created a list of what I have. So this weekend I started to create a spreadsheet for all my items, wow there are a lot. I have also discovered a great way to store all the various items. I discovered prewashed lettuce in seethrough plastic containers and never one to throw things out before I can figure out a use for an item, I quickly realized their usefulness. These containers are rectangular and stack very nicely. They are not too big, about 12,5 inches long and 8 inches wide. I can now readily see what is inside, which is much better than shoeboxes. I still label the containers to make it easier on me to figure out what's inside. I also read someplace to use transparent labels and then write with a pencil on it, that way the text can be changed again. I also use this on file folders.

After I had finished my husbands socks there was still some yarn left over, just enough to make a pair of baby spiral socks. As spiral socks are very stretchy and babies grow so fast, I decided to make the socks big enough for a bigger baby (up to 20 lbs), but they should also fit a newborn. So I had to make them long enough for the bigger baby, for the smaller baby there will just be a big cuff as you can see on my model, a doll that is even smaller than a newborn. Material needed: about 10 gr wool per sock 4 double pointed needles darning needle gauge: 28 stitches = 4 inches (10 cm) on 3.25 mm (U.S. 3) needles My pattern is: 2 knit, 3 purl for 3 rows and then offset either to the left or right by one stitch so that it will go like this: 1 knit, 2 purl, 2 knit, 2 purl. Knitting Instructions : cast on 32 stitches very loosely divided over 3 needles (10 stitches, 12 stitches, 10 stitches) knit ribbing pattern: 1 knit, 1 purl for 10 rows switch to spiral pattern: 1st row of pattern: 2 ...