Ready, Set, Craft!: Guest Posts

Showing posts with label Guest Posts. Show all posts

Tuesday, October 12, 2010

Guest Post: Skeleton Wreath

I'm so lucky to have my dear, dear blog friend Meg here today to share a very creepy tutorial with you. She's crazy for Halloween and always has creative ideas for all kinds of Halloween decor, treats and more! Enjoy her skeleton wreath tutorial, then head over to her blog for more spooky stuff!

Hi there, I'm Meg from Mega•Spooky (and Mega•Crafty). I am really excited that Joanne asked me to guest post here are Ready, Set, Craft! Halloween is by far my favorite holiday. I love decorating for it and I also love crafting, so anytime I get to combine the two I'm wildly happy.

Today the project I'm going to share is a skeleton wreath. It's made from a styrofoam skeleton that came in a bag with all the bones separate (This exact product or something like it seems to be readily available in the Halloween decoration section of most chain home stores.)

I started by laying out the bones and evaluating all the pieces, dry stacking them a few times to get a feel for the shape and size of the wreath.

For me the shape worked best if I used the flatter pieces- hips, hands, feet- to make my base. Each piece overlapped the other so that I could glue them to each other.

I found this glue in the craft store and it worked perfectly.

I wanted the skull to greet all my guests face to face so I gave it a prominent spot at the top, then worked my way around the wreath building the second layers of bones using mostly the leg and arm pieces (boy doesn't that sound strange in a wreath tutorial).

Once I had two solid layers I was left with some of the skinnier flat bones and some smaller little ones (I'm not a doctor and I'm really not sure which bones these are so I'll stick with my highly technical term of "the rest".)

I took "the rest" and stuck them in wherever I thought it felt a little bare.

The last piece of the skeleton I added to the wreath was the jaw (and in my opinion it was the best piece- I think it really makes the whole thing).

This was the only piece that needed to be propped up until the glue dried, everything else stayed in place on it's own.

I let the wreath dry flat overnight and the next day it was ready to hang. Since the skeleton is foam it's very light and only needed to sit on a small nail to hang it (but you could attach some floral wire and use a small hook it needed).

It's a little creepy (my husband shakes his head every time he looks at it and says how wrong it is) but I love the unexpected for Halloween! (Besides I think he secretly likes it.)

Thanks for checking out my project I hope you have a Happy Halloween.

Wednesday, September 15, 2010

I should've named this week "Baby Week"!! - Weg Bag Tutorial by Arwen

New Momma, and real life/blog friend Arwen (check out her blog HERE) has been making these adorable wet bags lately for baby gifts - and since baby gifts have been on my mind I thought I'd have her do a guest tutorial for us. So without further ado, here's Arwen!

If you're like me, you know about a gazillion people who are pregnant, or who just had a baby. Having had a baby 11 months ago, I was getting a little bored with the traditional baby gifts. Inspired by using cloth diapers and some cute wetbags I saw for sale, I decided to try and make some to give as gifts.

Here is what you will need for this project: -1/2 yard of printed fabric -1/2 yard of PUL fabric -1, 14" zipper in the color of you choice -1 spool of matching thread -a walking foot for your sewing machine.

Let's get started!

First, you will need to cut your printed fabric so it is 34" long by 16 1/2" wide. Then, cut the PUL fabric so it is 36" long by 17"wide. Once you have done that, put the 2 pieces of fabric together. You want the wrong side of the printed fabric to be touching the non-shiny side of the PUL fabric. It should look something like this:

Pick one side at the top, fold down the 2 layers of fabric to form a nice crease, and line your zipper up so that there is approximately 1/2" of printed fabric showing on either side. Pin one side of your zipper to this and sew straight across. I find it easier to first pin my seam, and then go through and add the zipper to the pinned seam.

Once you have sewed the first side, unzip the zipper, and repeat the same steps with the other side. After the zipper is sewed on, set the bag aside, it is time to work on the handle! For the handle, you can make it however big or small you would like. I chose these dimensions because of the print that I wanted to show, but I normally prefer to have a much smaller handle on the bag. I cut, from the printed fabric, a strip that was 19" long by 4.5" wide. Fold in half so the right sides are facing in. Pin along the outer edge and sew. Just sew the seam, do not sew the ends shut.

Once it is sewn, turn the handle right-side out. Now, take your bag and turn it inside out, so the printed fabric sides are touching, and the shiny PUL fabric is on the outside. Pull back one side of the bag, and lay the handle down so the handle is facing towards the other side of the bag and pin in place:

This may get confusing, so bear with me, I'm not an expert sewer, so I apologize. You want to sew the handle into the bag, but only sew down to the end of the handle and then stop. PUL fabric is stretchy, and when you sew the PUL fabric with the shiny sides out, it tends to bunch. This is not a problem, except if you try to sew the PUL fabric, with the printed fabric together to finish the seams and the bag, your material will also bunch. Since the PUL fabric is going to be on the inside, we need to close the printed fabric and PUL seams individually. This way, the printed fabric will not bunch, and when the PUL does, no one will be able to see it. If you're still with me, here's how I did it. Pull back your PUL fabric, to expose only the printed fabric. Do you see the red thread on the PUL where I sewed the handle? Match up that seam with where you will start and sew the printed fabric only.

Then go ahead and sew the PUL fabric on that side. Go to the other side and repeat. It should look something like this:

and here is an example of the bunching that will always happen, but no one looks inside because that's where the dirty diapers go :)

Turn the bag inside out, or right side out, et voila! You have just made a wetbag!!

Wednesday, May 26, 2010

Guest Post: Terrariums

I constantly find myself in awe of the wonderfully talented people I encounter daily - especially here in the land of blogging. I share links to some of the fabulous projects I come across each weekend in my Week in Review posts, and now on (most) Wednesday's... at least for a awhile... I'm going to be going a step further and inviting one of those creative folks to guest blog here at Ready, Set, Craft!

You may remember today's guest, angelina la dawn tomato, from her crafty ornaments guest post here during the holidays last year. She's back today with a fun terrarium how-to that is a perfect project for kids and adults alike. When you're done here be sure to pop over to her place to check out what she's up to there!

i know this craft is kind of not super crafty, but let me just tell you how much i love terrariums. it's a lot. one of my kitties refuses to let anything green and growing in a flower pot survive in our apartment, so this is the perfect plant for me. it's also a great activity for kids, and they make great gifts. really, i love these things!

so go grab your supplies:
- large glass vase, candle tumbler or fish bowl {like i used}
- colored rocks, pebbles, sand, sea shells, mosaic tiles, or any other accent you'd like to use {look around at the craft store- there are tons of options!}
- potting soil {optional, depending on how big your container/plant is}
- a succulent or cactus to fit your container

step 1: fill the bottom of the bowl with your colored pebbles or other accent material. {i usually go for 25% full}

step 2: add an equal layer of dirt.

step 3: add your plant of choice.

step 4: add sea shells {i used the shells i've collected over the years at various different beaches} or other accent material around the plant.

step 5: voila! you're done! i put mine in the book shelf for something unexpected.

you only need to water your plant once a week, and by putting the pebbles {or whatever} at the bottom of the bowl, you prevent over-watering. pretty fool-proof. and i love anything that seems to have endless possibilities- go make it your own :)

Wednesday, May 19, 2010

Guest Post: Recycled Sweater Business Card Holder

Recycled Sweater Business Card Holder

Hi, I'm Dot. I blog over at Dabbled.org and I've been loving the projects here at Ready, Set, Craft! for a while, so when Joanne asked me if I'd do a guest post for her, I figured it would be fun!

I've chosen a quick and easy project that doesn't take much sewing skill or time, and is a great way to use a small piece of fabric that you might have lying around from another project. I had been saving
this little scrap of sweater, with a lovely beading detail, in my bag of tricks for a while. (It's actually a scrap from one of my first recycled sweater projects back in 2007 -- the Ele-purse!

Old sweaters are a great material to work with. They are 'free' (a great use for that sweater that was shrunk in the wash, or got a mothhole!) or very cheap (your local thrift store will have a bunch!). And you're up-cycling old materials. They are also extremely forgiving fabrics for those of us who are not overly skilled in the sewing department. This is totally a project that YOU can do, even if you're not an experienced seamstress.

This project is for making a business card holder or mini-wallet (because I needed one, and because this fabric scrap was particularly small), but the same process can be applied to a simple case for a
compact camera, or anything you need a small pouch for.

So, on the the project:

Materials:

Fabric scrap large enough to wrap around the front and back of a business card, with some to spare (somewhere around 3x8 inches). Credit card sized piece of plastic (I used an expired insurance card -
those pretend credit cards that come in the mail work too. This will stay in the card holder to keep it stiff.) Ribbon for trim and button loop. Coordinating button.

Sew the Body:

Fold your fabric in half, with the good sides facing each other, and the fold at the bottom. Use a plastic card to estimate the size of your pouch-- the 'front' of the pouch will need an extra inch or so of fabric (for the flap), but the back should just a little higher than the height of the card-- use pins to mark where you'll sew the seams and where you'll cut (see photo below.)

Stitch a seam on either side. Trim the excess. (See photo below - you may want to leave more 'flap' than I did) Turn pouch right side out, and insert the card to keep it stiff.

Sew the Flap:

You should now have a pouch with an opening at the top, and enough fabric to fold over for a flap on the pouch. You're going to secure a loop of ribbon to the top of the flap, and hem it. So, as shown in the photo below, you're going to make a small hole in the center of the flap. Thread your ribbon through it to make a loop.

Then fold down a hem, and sew to secure. This doesn't have to be super neat, as you're going to cover it with ribbon. Trim off excess ribbon from the ends of the loop.

Pin a ribbon around the front and back of the flap, to cover the stitching.

Sew on ribbon by stitching around the edges on the front of the flap (use a matching thread -- here I used a contrasting thread for demonstration purposes).

Stick several business cards inside the pouch, and fold over the top to estimate where to place the button (whereever the end of the loop is!). Find a coordinating button (make sure it fits through your
loop!) and sew it on to the front.

Enjoy your new card holder!

In retrospect, I would have made the flap longer (perhaps an inch or more), so it would fold down neater, but I had a stain on the sweater that I was working around, so I went small. You could also do the flap rounded or to a point, instead of squared off as you see here. The possibilities are really endless with something like this. Just use your imagination!

Thanks to Joanne for inviting me! I hope you've enjoyed this simple tutorial -- I'd love to see anything you make with it! You can find me at Dabbled.org, my Arts & Crafts blog, and I'm also the editor of
Foodwhirl.com --the website dedicating to answering the question of "What's For Dinner!?" Drop by either place and say hi!

Wednesday, May 5, 2010

Guest Post: Making Paper

Making your own paper using recycled paper is fun and easier than you might think!

I first made paper back when I taught museum programs for kids. But it’s not just a great project for kids. I’ve enjoyed making paper for my own cards and crafts over the years.

Here’s what you’ll need:

A cheap wooden picture frame (You can find frames at almost any dollar store or discount chain, I think I paid a dollar each for mine). Any size you like is suitable but 8x10 or 11x14 are the easiest work with.

Roll of fiberglasss window screen. You don’t need anything fancy. Mine was inexpensive (6 dollars at a home improvement store) and there is enough to make more paper frames than I’ll ever need.

Staple gun

¼ inch staples (or the smallest that will fit into your staple gun)

An old blender

Scissors

A plastic container that’s larger than your frame

2 more containers for holding scraps of paper and water

A cup (to our water into the blender)

Various papers that are ready to be recycled

Felt Sheets (At least dozen is good- you’ll need about two per sheet of paper you want to make)

Newspaper and some hand towels or paper towels

Dry sponge

Duct Tape (Optional)

First you’ll have to make a paper frame. Remove the glass and cardboard backing form your frame- you’ll only need the wooden part.

Cut a square of screen that fits over your frame.

Lay the screen over the front side of the frame and staple once to hold it in place.

Pull the screen on the opposite end of the frame so it’s tight and staple in place.

Work you way around the screen, pulling the screen tight over the frame and stapling it into place.

Cut the excess edges of the screen off.

If you want you can use duct tape to cover the staples and ragged edges of the screen. (I didn’t but it’s probably a good idea if you are going to do this project with kids).

Once you have the paper frame made you’re ready to get going.

Start by ripping paper into small pieces. I like to rip paper in big bunches at a time so I wind up with a container full of paper bits that I can grab anytime I need to make more paper pulp.

Mostly I’ve used white and cream colored printer and notebook paper so I get a white/off white pulp that can be left white or colored if I want (by adding bits of colored tissue paper into the blender with the white paper). But you can use colored paper if you like.

Note: You can also use paper from your shredder but you’ll end up with a confetti paper texture. The blender doesn’t chop of those small shreds very well.

Place a few handfuls paper into the blender.

Use an old blender that won’t be used for food anymore. Once you’ve blended the paper you’ll want this to be a “craft blender” form now on.

I don’t fill the entire pitcher- this is just asking to burn out the blender!

Add about twice as much water than you’ve got paper and blend on high about 15 seconds until you get a fairly smooth looking pulp. (the occasional pulse also helps to break up any large clumps).

Pour the pulp into your large container.

(There is about 3 batches in here.)

Now add enough water so you are able to dip the screen into the paper slurry.

It’s time to dip the screen into the slurry. It should go in staple side down.

Dip your frame in like your digging or shoveling (tilting front end in first followed by the back) so that you get a slight scooping action. If you’re doing this project with kids- younger ones usually need help dipping to avoid the screen plopping in straight down.

The key here is to get the water to sort of flow over your screen evenly. The water will go through the holes in the screen but the little bits of paper suspended in it will get stuck.

You’ll get this nice pretty screen of sopping wet paper pulp.

Let the screen drain over the container for a minute. While it’s draining now is a good time to remove excess clumps from the edges of the screen and frame.