Monday, December 19, 2011

How to re-make old shoes into glitter-tastic new ones

Shoes are most definitely my latest favorite thing to customize, alter and otherwise remake. I took my inspiration for this redo from the fabulous new book Sweat Shop Paris: Lessons from a Sewing Cafe.
This is what the shoes looked like before their transformation, plain dark brown but the folds offered a great way to divide up the space and use different colors.

How I altered the shoes:
I painted several coats of Plaid's Extreme Glitter paint onto the different sections of the shoes. I used red and black.
Then I die cut 4 pairs of scissors out of some silver Mylar making sure I did them in mirror images for the right and left shoes using the Cuttlebug scissor die. One set went on the toes and the other on the outside ankle area.
To glue the scissor on I used Tacky Glue and a toothpick.
Then all that was left to do was add a few coats of Crafty Chica Glossy Gloss Varnish to give them that glitter patten leather look and protect the scissors.

If you are a fan of the "redo" I bet you will live this beautiful and inspiring book!
More about the book from the publisher Andrews McMeel Universal:
Sweat Shop Paris: Lessons from a Sewing Cafe
by
Martena Dusss and Sissi Holleis

Sweat Shop Paris: Lessons from a Sewing Cafe brings the namesake Paris Sweat Shop founded by Martena Duss and Sissi Holleis to North America with more than 50 DIY fashion and home projects, including instructions and more than 200 helpful, inspiring full-color photographs. The first "cafe couture" sewing shop in Paris, the Sweat Shop was named to highlight the questionable nature in which store-bought clothing is sometimes made. Instead of rewarding dubious labor practices, the Sweat Shop and The Sweat Shop Book inspire crafters to make something unique with their own sweat equity and creativity.

Crafters meet at the cafe and share ideas while renting equipment by the hour. In addition, classes teach novices how to sew, knit, crochet, and much more.

In March 2010, Martena Duss and Sissi Holleis opened the Sweat Shop, the first sewing cafe in Paris, near the trendy boutiques of Canal St. Martin. Duss is a Swiss makeup artist. Holleis is from Austria, where she had her own fashion store and label. In addition to carving a niche in Parisian society, the Sweat Shop has been featured in publications such as Vogue, Elle, the New York Times, Le Monde, the Guardian, and Marie Claire.

Sunday, December 18, 2011

Christmas tree ornament chain link fence decoration

Back at 4th July time I made an American flag with Christmas ornaments on my chain link gate well did you think I would let my gate go unadorned at Christmas? No sir-e!

Craftside-A behind-the-scenes peek at our crafty world
This week at Craftside there is a double giveaway featuring books and Styrofoam shapes along with tutorials and patterns for Christmas painting and knitting along with a recipe for vegan nut butter dip and some adorable photos of our newest Amineko.

Rock Paper Ink

Until Covered in Ink Do Us Part

Lindsay Sews
With the holiday ornament swap complete, you can check out photos of the lovely handmade ornaments--including bacon!

Margot Potter The Impatient Crafter
Madge turns some styrofoam and sparkly things into a Retrofabulous Suzy Snowflake Snowlady!

Margot Potter The Impatient Crafter
Madge turns some styrofoam and sparkly things into a Retrofabulous Suzy Snowflake Snowlady!

Stefanie Girard's Sweater Surgery
How to make a yarn ball and dpn Christmas tree.

Aileen's Musings
Aileen shows you how she took pre made cards and embellished them to make her own Christmas cards she mailed out this year..

Carmi's Art/Life World
Carmi enters the Friendship Bracelet world and learns a thing or two.

Craft Buds
Turn that old wool sweater into a personalized keepsake. Learn how to make a monogram sweater ornament, embellished with jingle bells.

Craft. You.
Meet Jenny Barnett-Rohrs of Craft Test Dummies this week on Craft. You.!

Crafty Princess Diaries
Tammy is able to spill the beans about a new jewelry business adventure she is exploring.

Eileen - The Artful Crafter
"Santa Claus is coming to town." Are you ready for The Artful Crafter's annual Christmas Parade of Crafts?

Thursday, December 15, 2011

Rorschach's new Christmas sweater and his yarn ball Christmas tree

Rorschach Amineko got a wonderful Christmas sweater from one of our best friends. I think he looks positively adorable in it. I mean really don't all cats look cute in sweaters, especially crazy Christmas ones! Here he is posing in front of his favorite Christmas tree in the house.

It's made from his mom's stash of green balls of yarn and dpns (double pointed needles). All I did was make a base of yarn and then stack each layer on top of the first securing the balls with the dpns.

And it seemed appropriate to top off this yarn ball tree with a tiny knit sweater.

I do love using my craft supplies in their natural state to make decorations. It will be super easy to dismantle and store back in the boxes as nothing was damaged. If you need to make yourself an Amineko check out this post that features the book I used to make Roy.

Monday, December 12, 2011

Funny headline and product combo from the grocery store check out line

OK does anyone else think that this drink is the perfect beverage to read this article?

If only what we read was true.

Craft Buds
Create H.O.P.E. Designs is making a world of difference through sewing patterns, and Mary stitches up the A+ Art Portfolio.

Craftside-A behind-the-scenes peek at our crafty world
This week at Craftside there is a fun new video on how to tint gesso with pastels by Traci Bunkers, tutorials on how to draw Christmas trees and poinsettias, tips on cleaning glassware and a yummy recipe for vegan maple bacon doughnuts.

Craft. You.
This week on Craft. You.: Heather Mann of Dollar Store Crafts.

Carmi's Art/Life World
Here's a post about remembering the December birthdays!

Aileen's Musings
Aileen not only offers you a fantabulous Glitzy bleached Christmas tree project but also a giveaway on her blog this week!

About Family Crafts
Play along with the current craft challenge and submit an angel craft or two.

Crafty Princess Diaries
Tammy takes a look at a craft book packed full of projects.

Eileen - The Artful Crafter
Do you know about yarn bombing? Whimsical hand knit and crocheted art is circling the globe!

Lindsay Sews
He's cute and cuddly, and you can sew him with just one yard of fabric. Take a peek at Hugh Manatee from the new book, Fabric-by-Fabric: One-Yard Wonders.

Margot Potter The Impatient Crafter
It's a video! It's two craft projects with instructions! It's RETROFABULOUS! Yay!

Mixed Media Artist
If you've still got any autumn leaves available, here's a pretty idea for using them up!

Stefanie Girard's Sweater Surgery
Learn how to make a recycled sweater wreath with a candy style bow.

Rock Paper Ink
Jay Calderin discusses getting a handle(bar) on trends.

Monday, December 5, 2011

How to make a recycled sweater with a peppermint candy style bow wreath

My first Christmas wreath of the season. If the wind keeps up here and I have to keep picking up tree dabris it might just be the only one! But it sure came out cute.
I was inspired by this post over at Fave Crafts Blog where there was a sock craft roundup. One of the projects was a wreath made of socks that was adorable! Well as the mistress of sweater surgery my go to material is the almighty sweater so off to the sweater stash!
While not a conventional Christmas color combo I thought this striped sweater would look kinda cool.
How I made my recycled wool felted sweater wreath;

I cut the sleeves off the sweater and up the seam.
I simply whip stitched the sweater strips onto a Styrofoam wreath base. The stitches don't show so it doesn't matter what they look like! I wanted it to be a little more scrunchy so I cut another strip of the sweater from the back as well. So in total it was 3 sections.
To make the candy style bow. I cut 2 strips of the stripes. One was 3 wide with the dark color on the outside and one was 3 stripes wide with the dark stripe on the inside with the two light blue on the outside. Then I folded them in half and coiled them up. This made the center candy part.
To make the "wrapper" side pieces I cut the ribbing section from the base of the sweater and did a running (gather) stitch. I bit of hot glue was used to attach them to the sides of the candy and then onto the wreath.

Sunday, December 4, 2011

Win a copy of Sweater Surgery and 9 other great books and yarn

Pop on over to This post at Craftside and get yourself in the running 3 ways to have a chance to win a copy of Sweater Surgery and 9 other sewing, felting, knitting and crochet books along with a whole bunch of yarn and supplies!

Also at Craftside-A behind-the-scenes peek at our crafty world
there is a free knit stocking pattern with monograms, a whole bunch of cool gift topper tutorials, how to embellish antique gift tins and a recipe for Asian turkey and rice soup.

Craft. You.
It's hectic around the holidaze, don't forget to take a moment to enjoy and exhale. Zuzu's Petals.

Carmi's Art/Life World
Displaying an art collection is a craft too!

Aileen's Musings
Aileen offers you a blinged out Dollar store ornament transformation!

About Family Crafts
Share your homemade gift stories, whether they are good, bad, or ugly! You can also read other people's stories.

Stefanie Girard's Sweater Surgery
See how to make a recycled die cut sweater Christmas tree.

Mixed Media Artist
Handmade decorations and ornaments help to make the season bright!

Margot Potter The Impatient Crafter
Need a craftacular gift for the holiday season? Fret not, Madge has got you covered!

Eileen - The Artful Crafter
Do you craft for profit – or would you like to? Here are some tips for reaching your target market.

Crafty Princess Diaries
Tammy gives you some tips for finding fun and yarn friendly project bags.

Monday, November 28, 2011

How to make a recycled sweater Christmas tree from Sizzix die cut flowers

My Christmas mugs gaze adoringly at the latest recycled sweater Christmas tree to join the forest. This one had it's inspiration during the same craft show that the recycled sweater flower pumpkin did.
It's super easy to make. I die cut all the different sizes and shapes of Sizzix flowers I had out of all different shades of green recycled wool felted sweaters. I then stacked them up from biggest to smallest mixing up the shapes and colors.

I ran a bit of floral wire bent in half like a bobby pin from the top to the bottom and twisted it to secure the layers. Then I simply attached the bead with a silver tipped straight pin.

Monday, November 14, 2011

Double the Sweater Surgery crafty goodness

I did an event at the Burbank Library where attendees made recycled wool felted sweater flower rings with me and these twin girls were just so darn cute! They just cracked me up.

If crafting puts a smile on your face too, check out what my fellow crafters are up to:

Margot Potter The Impatient Crafter
Retrofabulous Christmas Craftabration returns to The Impatient Crafter Blog! Madge makes a retro inspired upcycled gift box!

Craftside-A behind-the-scenes peek at a crafty world
This week at Craftside there is a tutorial on how to cut and lay a recycled end grain wood floor, a tip on how to cut tissue paper easier, a recipe for vegan white and milk chocolate and some wild crochet designs.

Stefanie Girard's Sweater Surgery
Learn how to crochet a cute striped Christmas tree skirt.

Mixed Media Artist
Cyndi decides to make a companion piece to the hand-painted and stitched silk quilt she just finished. Time to get painting again!

Carmi's Art/Life World
Carmi shares a second Humphrey the Elephant 3D card.

Craft. You.
An inspiring interview with Crafty Mastermind Mark Montano!

Crafty Princess Diaries
Tammy shares a hand-made gift that someone else makes that is perfect for pet lovers.

Eileen - The Artful Crafter
See how to make a tubular wine bottle tote from a cardboard mailing tube.

Thursday, November 10, 2011

How to crochet a Christmas tree skirt

My Halloween decorations aren't even all packed up yet and back in the rafters of the garage and I am already pulling down the Christmas trees! Oy! That's just the way it goes when you get inspired to make something. Today it's a crocheted Christmas tree skirt. I was savoring the pages of the new book Stashbuster Knits: Tips, Tricks, and 21 Beautiful Projects for Using Your Favorite Leftover Yarn and the page you see above has this cool jacket with a circular back and as the book title states it's made from the almighty stash (of which this fiber fanatic has in abundance!)

And the part of my stash I've been savoring and has been calling to me the loudest to work with is Vickie Howell's Sheepish yarn.
How to crochet this Striped Christmas tree skirt:
Gather your yarn and hook (I used a Boye "H" as the yarn indicated)

Note: I made it this way because I might use it with different little Christmas trees I have and some of them don't have removable legs so I wanted to be able to open it up as far as I needed to.
(This photo is of single crochet thought the back loop)
I did this because I think the stripes looked smoother this way.

-Chain 10 (or as many as you need to fit around the base of the tree you think you plan to use it with).

-Cut the end of the yarn and pull through the last loop.
-Tie a bow with the tail from the end and the tail from the beginning.
-Pick your next color yarn and starting at the beginning again 2 single crochets in the back of the first loop.
-Work single crochets around the chain doing 2 stitches in one stitch every few stitches to increase. (Note I don't count I just go with it to keep it flat by eye)
-Do 2 single crochets in the last loop, cut the yarn and pull through the last loop to secure. Tie a bow with the tails.
-That's pretty much it my crochet peeps! Just keep going until you have the size you want.

If you know what tree you are using and it has removable legs you don't have to tie each row together like I did to keep it able to be opened and adjustable.

Another thing I should note here, yes, this book is a knitting book but it is so pretty and inspirational I just happen to prefer when I am working in the round doing it in crochet.

More about the book from Potter Craft:
Stashbuster Knits: Tips, Tricks, and 21 Beautiful Projects for Using Your Favorite Leftover Yarn
by
Melissa Leapman

"This is the latest title from popular knitting teacher, designer and author Melissa Leapman. It includes 21 creative projects and ideas to utilise every last piece of yarn in the stash. It features basic techniques, special tips, alternate colour suggestions and guidance on storing your yarn collection. Popular knitting teacher, designer and author Melissa Leapman offers quick, easy and imaginative new projects designed to make use of all the yarn odds and ends every knitter has. From a tiny baby sweater to a lovely striped wrap, "Stashbuster Knits" provides 21 creative projects and ideas to utilise every last piece of yarn in your stash. Projects are organised by yarn weight and use a variety of techniques including lace, cables, colour-blocking, stripes and fair-isle to make items for men, women, children and the home. The book also includes basic knitting techniques, special tips, alternate colour suggestions and guidance on storing and organising your yarn collection."

Monday, November 7, 2011

Funny sewing machine shot from Maker Faire

I thought I'd share this fun sewing machine shot from the Swap-o-rama section at the last Maker Faire.

Craftside-A behind-the-scenes peek at a crafty world
This week at Craftside there is a tutorial on how to sunprint with paint on fabric, how to identify torch flames, a recipe for vegan white and milk chocolate and how to design the size and shape of your eyebrows.

Mixed Media Artist
Cyndi has used some low-tech tools to make some fun printed pieces of silk for a future project.

Stefanie Girard's Sweater Surgery
See how to make a recycled zipper ring.

About Family Crafts
This current craft challenge is all about vacations. Do you have a vacation related craft you can submit?

Aileen's Musings
Aileen had a phenomenon happen while creating mini star ornaments from some microwave clay.

Cindy Gimbrone Beads
Cindy tries her hand at right angle weave and reviews Stitch Workshop: Right-Angle Weave published by Kalmach Books.

Craft Buds
Paper crafters can enter to win an Epic Letterpress Combo Kit (through 11/8) and learn how to make a fall wreath using this versatile machine.

Crafty Princess Diaries
Tammy reviews a new book out called Craft Activism and gives you the inside scoop about how you can read the first chapter for free.

Eileen - The Artful Crafter
Here’s how to use 3D clay accents to make your decoupage projects pop.

Thursday, November 3, 2011

How to make a recycled zipper ring

My inspiration comes from a weird place today. These are characters from Sony's LittleBigPlanet. They have little zippers on them and I just thought I needed to make a new piece of recycled zipper jewelry.
So out came an old pair of jeans that I actually use when I felt a sweater so they really don't need their zipper and the seam ripper.
I used a piece of 20 gauge wire about 10 inches long and wrapped the wire through the zipper on each side of the pull. Then simply wrapped one end around all four pieces of wire on the side of the zipper pull that the zipper would come out of when it's together. The other end of the wire only gets wrapped around the other single wire so the "separated side" stays separate.

I am now going to go through some more of my old cloths to see if I can find some other zipper pulls to make more bling!

Monday, October 31, 2011

Happy Halloween from the meat skull

Yup this skull is made of meat! Pretty cool hu?
What else is cool are these links that my fellow crafty bloggers have to share!

Craftside-A behind-the-scenes peek at our crafty world
This week at Craftside there are tutorials on how to needle felt a bat and a pumpkin with a cute mouse, an early recycled sweater Christmas tree designed with the new Sizzix die, a chance to win a copy of How to Draw Steampunk, how to build garden row covers, a reportage video and a recipe for a fast fruity skillet cake.

Aileen's Musings
Hard to believe but Thanksgiving is just around the corner! Aileen is gearing up by offering you a freebie pumpkin biscotti recipe card and a pumpkin label for you to download and print for your own use.

Carmi's Art/Life World
Carmi creates one special Christmas card using rubber stamps and paint.

Cindy Gimbrone Beads
Cindy and her blue fingers review The Handbook of Metal Clay.

Crafty Princess Diaries
Combine some basic crochet skills with soap collecting for this charity donation idea.

Eileen - The Artful Crafter
Rather than stashing your mom’s jewelry away to tarnish and gather dust, combine some of your favorite pieces into a M.O.M.s (Memories of Mom) necklace.

Mixed Media Artist
Cyndi's hand stitched silk top quilt is all finished! Whew!!

Stefanie Girard's Sweater Surgery
See how to make a secret window in a glitter decoupaged book with a Fiskars Everywere Punch.

Thursday, October 27, 2011

How to make a secret window in a Glitter decoupaged book with a Fiskars Everywhere Punch

You know how I love new tools! Today's new toy is the Fiskars Everywhere punch. This paper punch will make a square anywhere you want!
I decided to try it out by making a secret window in a book. The Fiskars Everywhere punch worked like a dream! I punched about 3 pages at a time and I was done in a flash.
The outside of my secret hiding place book (or I was thinking this would be a fun way to give a small gift item like one of my shotgun shell necklaces) needed some help!

I flipped through the book Encaustic Workshop: Artistic Techniques for Working with Wax and saw this page featuring these leaf skeletons and I happen to have a pack of them.

I know this book is all about encaustic but some of the ideas work for decoupage which is what I did with some Plaid Extreme Glitter Paint.

I used both black and gold. I put down an irregular coat of each first. Then another coat of gold. While the 3rd coat of gold was still wet I pressed the skeleton leaves into it and topped it off with a 4th coat of gold.

I have a few other books that will have a "window of opportunity" soon!

More about the book from North Light Books:
Encaustic Workshop: Artistic Techniques for Working with Wax
by
Patricia B. Seggebruch

Find out what happens when mixed media meets melted medium

In its purest form, encaustic painting is as simple as applying melted beeswax to an absorbent surface. In Encaustic Workshop, it becomes much more: a dynamic medium where anything goes and the possibilities are endless.

Packed with step-by-step techniques, helpful tips and diverse examples of completed works, Encaustic Workshop brings all the accessibility and excitement of a mixed-media workshop to your own workspace. If you're a beginner, you'll find everything you need to know to get started. If you're a more advanced crafter or fine artist, you'll discover things you never knew you could do with encaustic.

Instructions and photos will guide you as you learn to:

  • Apply, layer, color and carve wax to create artwork rich with texture and depth.
  • Create collages that combine encaustic with papers, fabric, found objects, image transfers and more.
  • Experiment with charcoal, inks, watercolors, pastels and other mediums to create unexpected effects in the wax.
Then, complete step-by-step projects and an extensive inspirational gallery will show you how you can combine the techniques you've learned to create more complex works.

Sign your creativity up for this Encaustic Workshop - then just melt, paint and play!

A graduate of the University of Colorado, Patricia Seggebruch has been painting in water media, oil and encaustic for about twelve years. She has been teaching workshops at retreats (such as the enormously popular Artfest) since 1998, and she conducts demonstrations for Daniel Smith in Seattle/Bellevue, for ArtMedia in Portland, and for Ampersand Art Supply in Austin, Texas.

Sunday, October 23, 2011

The old saying, "running around like a chicken with its head cut off" photo

Photo du jour that makes me giggle. A friend of mine has a fun little flock of chickens and I felt like I was running around with my head cut off trying to photograph them! This shot made me think of the saying about chickens with their heads cut off because you can't see her head. But rest assured she had a cute one fully intact.

Not onto some cute crafty links!

Craftside-A behind-the-scenes peek at a crafty world
This week at Craftside there is a blanket stitched felted flower pattern and tutorial, a chance to win a copy of The Wine Lover's Devotional, some high fashion clothing details, and a recipe for an oven smoked roast.

Aileen's Musings
Herm and Ethel have arrived for their annual visit. Stop by and say hi and grab this year's freebie Halloween postcards to download and send to friends and family.

About Family Crafts
The current craft challenge is all about crafting with plastic bags. Submit your project and browse through the pumpkin projects submitted for the last craft challenge.

Cindy Gimbrone Beads
Cindy reviews Craft Activism just in time for Make a Difference Day!

Crafty Princess Diaries
The Crafty Princess takes a trip and talks a little about the benefits of attending functions away from home.

Eileen - The Artful Crafter
Got tea lights? Look at this darling mini birthday cake favor you can make with them. You’ll find directions for a coordinating birthday card as well.

Mixed Media Artist
Cyndi's painted silk fabric quilt is almost finished!

Stefanie Girard's Sweater Surgery
How to make a recycled wool sweater pumpkin with flower die cuts.

About Family Crafts
The current craft challenge is all about crafting with plastic bags. Submit your project and browse through the pumpkin projects submitted for the last craft challenge.

Thursday, October 20, 2011

How to make a recycled wool sweater pumpkin with flower die cuts

This project came about in kind of a funny way. So you get the story first then the tutorial.
I was recently at a craft show that let's just say had a bit of a slow start. I don't know how many of you, my Sweater Surgery readers do craft shows as vendors but if you do then I bet you have participated in a slow one here and there. Well I first did what the teenage girls were doing across the way and started texting like fiend to everyone I could think of to come to the show.

Then I said to myself, "I am sitting here with a pile of wool felted sweaters and my Sizzix die cutter. Get off your but and make stuff!" So that is exactly what I did.
I cut a whole bunch of flower shapes using all the different flower dies I had out of two different orange sweaters and stacked them up in a pumpkin shape.
To secure the stack of flowers I bent a piece of floral wire into a "u" shape and poked it through the stack from the bottom to the top. I twisted the wire together and trimmed one end short and left the other about 3/4 of an inch long to put a small piece of green sweater over to form the pumpkin stem.

The recycle wool felted sweater pumpkin is crocheted eyeball approved.

Monday, October 17, 2011

This is how we celebrate our Birthdays

This is my birthday twin Amanda (left) and the Mommy who made her Lori on the right dancin' with fire! When we say we're on fire, we really mean it!

They were awesome.

But now there's crafting to do!

Craft Buds
Pick up some free Halloween printables at Craft Buds, including subway art and a cut-and-assemble Halloween banner for your mantle. While you're there, you can look for the easy fabric pumpkins tutorial, and get your home ready for fall!

Crafty Princess Diaries
Tammy shows the results of doubling up on yarn to make a loom hat using school colors.

Eileen - The Artful Crafter
Here’s a quick and easy tutorial for making vintage-look bottle vases.

Lindsay Sews
Modern quilters unite to host the 12 Days of Christmas Sample Quilt Along. Each block will be different, and with only two blocks per week for 6 weeks, it's easy to join in! Get your fabric ready, because it kicks off in two weeks.

Mixed Media Artist
Piecing the top of a hand-painted silk quilt is like doing a giant puzzle!

Stefanie Girard's Sweater Surgery
Free crochet tiny ghost pattern.

About Family Crafts
Looking for a fun Halloween gift for your neighbors? Check out these fun ideas that will have you ringing the door bell and running!

Craftside- A behind-the-scenes peek at our crafty world
This week at Craftside there is a chance to win a copy of the book The Art of Vintage Journaling and Collage with a tutorial on how to make a rock collage paperweight, a link to enter to win 12 design books along with quotes and eye-candy from Quilt Hall of Fame inductee Nancy Crow and the book Design Matters.

Aileen's Musings
Aileen shares a couple of holiday Artist Trading Blocks she created for a swap. Don't know what an ATB is? Stop by and check them out!

Carmi's Art/Life World
A sweet pop out card featuring a rubber stamp launch from the Crafter's Companion is this week's special post.

Wednesday, October 12, 2011

How to crochet tiny ghosts for Halloween

Tiny ghosts are just a little spooky, well really they are just darn cute.
I was inspired to crochet these tiny ghosts after seeing these great knit ones featured in the book Teen-Tiny Mochimochi: More Than 40 Itty-Bitty Minis to Knit, Wear, And Give.

When making dimensional projects out of yarn I prefer to crochet, but that's just me. If you like to knit little adorable things than grab yourself a copy of Teen-Tiny Mochimochi: More Than 40 Itty-Bitty Minis to Knit, Wear, And Give and you'll be in cute heaven!

If you like to crochet and want to make some tiny ghosts like mine here is how I did it:

Crochet Ghost Pattern:

I used Lion Wool-Ease White Multi 301 (it has a strand of sparkle in it)
and for a hook I went down a from the suggested size of J to an I

As far as the pattern it's more like a suggestion as each ghost can be a little different and free form as ghosts tend to be, I know this!

Chain 2
Single crochet 8 into the first loop
Slip stitch to join
Single crochet around increasing approximately every 2nd or 3rd stitch until you have a nice dome shape and there are at about 14 stitches.
Then I did about 4 rows with no increasing or decreasing.

For the final row to get an irregular edge I alternated 2 treble crochets in one stitch and then a slip stitch around the base.

For the eyes I grabbed some black yarn and knotted it twice to make each little eye and stitched each one on.

Repeat to make a set, because you know one is not enough!

My crocheted eyeballs look on in admiration :)

More about the book from Potter Craft:

Teen-Tiny Mochimochi: More Than 40 Itty-Bitty Minis to Knit, Wear, And Give

by
Anna Hrachovec

"This title is suitable for advanced beginner to intermediate-level knitters who want fun, witty, irresistibly tiny patterns to make as gifts for friends, cute accessories and decorative items. In "Teeny-Tiny Mochimochi", toy knits designer Anna Hrachovec presents more than 30 super-cute, humorous patterns for miniature toys, plus techniques for tiny knitting; ideas for using the tiny knits as wearables, decorations and gifts; and instructions on how to convert a pattern for a tiny project into a bigger toy.

Anna Hrachovec launched Mochimochi Land (mochimochiland.com), a website and brand of knitted toy patterns, in early 2007. To design her toys, Anna draws inspiration from Japanese kawaii (cute) culture and children's illustrators such as Dr. Seuss. Her original knitted creations have been featured on The Martha Stewart Show and have been exhibited in galleries in New York, Seattle, San Francisco and Tokyo. In addition to her website, Anna maintains a blog (mochimochiland.com/weblog) and a Ravelry group for her fans (Mochimochi Land Lovers). Anna's first book of knitted toy patterns, Knitting Mochimochi, was published in 2010."

Monday, October 10, 2011

Pipe cleaner skeletons just hangin' out

These little pipe cleaner skeletons just make me smile. They were made by my friend Bev of the infamous StarPrompt! Pop on over to her site for a giggle and a listen to her on American Public Radio.

Craftside- A behind-the-scenes peek at our crafty world
This week at Craftside there is a crochet cone flower granny square pattern, how to make a mood board and chance to win a copy of the book One Drawing a Day that it's from and a recipe for slow cooker vegan pizza.

Mixed Media Artist
Cyndi messes around with the layout for a new quilt made from hand-painted silks.

Eileen - The Artful Crafter
Did you know that you can recycle greeting cards into cute little gift boxes?

Crafty Princess Diaries
Tammy takes a look at a crochet book that promises simple projects.

Carmi's Art/Life World
Carmi has a cricut cartridge give-a-way this week!

Aileen's Musings
This week Aileen shows you how to make a frightful Halloween mail art tin.

Wednesday, October 5, 2011

How to make a recycled milk jug movable Halloween skeleton

This makes my 3rd skeleton/skull project this year. I guess it's this year's theme.
He is most assuredly not scary. And I didn't plan this but I wired him up onto my screen door and then after photographing it I closed the door and look he peeks in through the window looking like he's sayin' hey!
All you need is a recycled milk jug and the Sizzix movable skeleton die. I used a bit of wire and seed beads to attach the joints together.
I think I will make another one that is going to get a bow!

Monday, October 3, 2011

Happy Halloween Spider Web crochet skirt finished!

Last year I posted the almost finished crocheted spider web skirt pattern and yup, I finished in time to wear it this year! Here is a fun photo my friend Maria took of me in my spider web skirt hamming it up for the camera holding a giant pair of scissors she scored on Ebay!

A side note I will confess I had to tear the house apart to find the tiny zip lock baggie the little ball of yarn, hook and almost completed skirt was in. Because where do you keep your Halloween unfinished crochet projects? In with all the Halloween decorations? No. In your "works in process" area? No. I finally found it in the drawer I keep projects I have written about already. These are the done ones but I must have thought I would finish it sometime during the year. Go figure.

OK now onto craftastic links!

Craftside- A behind-the-scenes peek at our crafty world
This week at Craftside there is a chance to win a copy of Modern Calligraphy and Hand Lettering by Lisa Engelbrecht, two ways to position a patch pocket, a cool finger print poster, an eye dropper drawing tutorial and how to nalbind from the book Knitting Around the World.

Mixed Media Artist
Cyndi's got a rack full of freshly painted fabrics, and she knows how to use 'em!

Stefanie Girard's Sweater Surgery
Learn how to make a recycled #6 plastic shrunk skull necklace.

About Family Crafts
Do you have a fun and fabulous collage idea? Share it!

Carmi's Art/Life World
Carmi had new 3D rose cards to showcase this week.

Crafty Princess Diaries
Don't be a wash out! Learn to make a simple crochet wash cloth with this free pattern you can download as a pdf file.

Eileen - The Artful Crafter
Eileen had fun learning how to create fine art with Photoshop.

Thursday, September 29, 2011

How to make a #6 recycled plastic skull Halloween necklace

I have more recycled plastic skull Halloween goodness for you today! This time I am recycling #6 plastic!
That's what the little clear skull is made of. Did you know that #6 plastic shrinks when you heat it? I picked up this fun fact on another recycled crafter's blog who lives in another country where getting Shrinky Dink (brand name) supplies can be difficult. I wish I still had the link to her blog but I alas have lost it!
I started out by cutting the flat part of takeout container down to the size that would fit through the Sizzix die cutter using the Skull and Cross bones die. I punched two holes to join the top and bottom half and one in the top center to attach to the necklace before heating and shrinking with my Marvy Heat gun.I used a bamboo skewer to hold the shrinking plastic in place and help it not stick to each other when curling.
Off to the stash for the rest of the necklace. I used a Plaid Chain Chain Chain over-sized clasps and one of their Flavor bows along with some old white chain reclaimed from an old necklace.

There you have it, recycled plastic Skull 2 of Halloween 2011!

Friday, September 23, 2011

How to make recycled milk jug skulls for Halloween

These cute little skulls are made from a recycled plastic milk jug run through the Sizzix die cutter with the Skull & Crossbones die.
All I did was cut a flat side from the milk jug and run it through the machine. Then punched two sets of tiny holes to wire the jaw to the top of the head and one hole to hang it from. I just wired it together and then to my screen door. As I empty each milk jug I will make more and add them.

Sunday, September 18, 2011

Los Angeles Double Rainbow


Los Angeles just doesn't do things small. When we do rainbows, we don't do just one, we do two!

So I thought I'd share them with you along with the crafty goodness from around the blog world:

Craftside-A behind-the-scenes peek at a crafty world
This week at Craftside there is a chance to win a copy of the new book Unstuck by Noah Scalin with a fun eyeball photography idea, stylin' earplug earrings, and how to freeze eggs.

Cindy Gimbrone Beads
Bead Vegan is an occasional post where Cindy the beadmaker posts some of her vegan recipes. This one is inspired by the flavors of India.

Craft Buds
It's all about sewing for little guys this week on Craft Buds, where we've interviewed the authors of the new book "Sewing for Boys" and gave one of their projects a test drive. Also check out the roundup of sewing apps for iPhone and Android users.

Crafty Princess Diaries
Tammy shows how she made a cat tube using a knitting loom.

Cross Stitch at Craft Gossip
Connie's tracked down a favorite designer just in time for Halloween cuteness!

Eileen - The Artful Crafter
How to make an easy candle decoration in a jiffy.

Mixed Media Artist
Have you ever thought of visiting the automotive store to pick up collage supplies?

Stefanie Girard's Sweater Surgery
How to make a recycled book page pumpkin Halloween card.

About Family Crafts
Check out all of these wonderful craft products that help raise money for breast cancer awareness!

Carmi's Art/Life World
Carmi falls in love with an illustrated 550 page children's novel.

Thursday, September 15, 2011

How to make a recycled book page Halloween card inspired by The Cloth Paper Scissors Book

I love this time of year. It's still mostly warm but there is a slight chill in the air and there is plenty of time to make holiday decorations and crafts. Today I made this card with some inspiration from the new book The Cloth Paper Scissors Book.
The design that was my inspiration was by Kelli Nina Perkins where she incorporated pages from books with watercolor painting.
I like to use translation dictionaries and I just happen to have recently scored a Marvy Uchida Halloween set punch that had a cute pumpkin as part of it.
So I punched out the page that had the translation of pumpkin and then I water colored it.
I added the bat as well (it was too cute not to!)

More about the book from Interweave Press:

The Cloth Paper Scissors Book

by
Barbara Delaney

Find out where paint, paper, fabric, metal, and wax all come to play

Uncover the very best articles and projects from the first six years of Cloth Paper Scissors magazine. Barbara Delaney, assistant editor for Cloth Paper Scissors magazine, has assembled a gold mine of the top articles, hands-on art pieces, and mixed-media ideas for the first time ever. Explore the exciting worlds of collage, journaling, encaustic, printing, assemblage, metal work, and more. Discover how to make interesting fabric surface designs, keep a uniquely-you sketchbook, and transform a basic photograph into something unexpected. The only rule in this must-have mixed-media resource is that there are no rules.

In addition to projects and techniques, the artists of The Cloth Paper Scissors Book elaborate on their favorite tools and mediums. Choosing and using just the right paint, fabric, paintbrush, glue, paper, wax, found object, and more is made easy for you with this light-hearted guide. The projects inside are suitable for many skill levels, with opportunities for every mixed-media enthusiast to have fun while enhancing their skills and adding a personal touch to their art. If you are new to mixed-media, you will love the accessible and easy-to-learn projects. And if you are already familiar with mixed-media and Cloth Paper Scissors magazine, you will love the convenience of owning so many great articles and art project ideas in one superb collection.

With
The Cloth Paper Scissors Book, you'll enjoy the advice and company of the best mixed-media artists in the convenience of your own home.
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