Crafty Manolo » 2012 » July


Archive for July, 2012


Keep Your Identity Secret!

Tuesday, July 31st, 2012
By Twistie

Sure, they’re for kids, but I see no reason these awesome felt superhero masks couldn’t be expanded for grown-ups. Jessica at Cutesy Crafts came up with them for favors at a child’s superhero/princess theme birthday party (there’s a boy and a girl both celebrating their birthday together, and there will be instructions for princess crowns, too)… but I want them for my next birthday bash.

Go visit Jessica’s site for more information and instructions… and superhero/princess cake pops, too.

Now, do I want to be Spider Man, Iron Man… or maybe I can come up with a Cat Woman mask.

What? I imprinted early on Eartha Kitt.


For Those of You Still Reeling…

Monday, July 30th, 2012
By Twistie

Okay, I know it was a bit discouraging to some of you to see that amazing needle felted bear on thursday. You know, this one:

Yeah, that one. Freaking amazing.

Well, I felt we all needed to look at something that we know we could never make not because it’s so amazingly gorgeous, but because most of us already follow Barbie’s sage advice:

If you want to know the background on this refugee from Tod Browning’s most famous film, head on over to Craft Fail and read the hilarious details.

And if you happen to have a similarly bizarre tale of craft catastrophe, at least you know where to submit the story as a caution to other crafters who follow.


The Sweet Life

Friday, July 27th, 2012
By Twistie

Oh my dears, have I mentioned lately that Tim Gunn is totally my imaginary gay TV boyfriend? Because he is.

We had a Moment last night. Possibly two or three. And a bunch of other interesting stuff happened on Project Runway. So settle in with your favorite beverage (which you might do well to set down at one or six points in the proceedings) or snack (same counsel applies) or both (just have a new monitor at the ready), and follow me past the bouncing spoiler cut to learn more.

(more…)


I Am Not Worthy

Wednesday, July 25th, 2012
By Twistie

Okay. You guys know I recently took up needle felting, right? And it’s been going really well and I’m quite chuffed with myself about how cool and fun it is and how pretty it looks.

And then I see this:

Yes, it’s a Panserbjorne Armored Ice Bear from The Golden Compass needle felted from alpaca with armor by Whiting & Davis.

Seriously, check out the expression, the detail, the lines and the shading. This is a freaking masterpiece.

Even though all I know about The Golden Compass is that there was a book and a movie, I want this bear. I don’t have to know more.

Well, maybe I have to figure out where I’m coming up with $1,800 to pay for it, but really, that’s a side issue right now.

SteviT, I wish I could afford to buy up everything in your Etsy shop. You are a true craft artist.


Get Mod!

Tuesday, July 24th, 2012
By Twistie

I remember my first – and thus far last – decoupage project. It was in about second grade, an art class project. Of course construction paper and Elmer’s Glue aren’t the best materials for the craft. And of course at seven I blamed myself rather than the materials for my utter, disastrous failure.

But over the last few years I’ve been seriously considering giving it another go. These days I know a lot more about the correct supplies and my personal aesthetic is better defined. Oh, and I discovered the blog Mod Podge Rocks.

It’s an homage to a fabulously versatile and endlessly useful crafter’s tool: Mod Podge. Oh, and author Amy Anderson has written a book about using Mod Podge to decoupage your world. You can see an illustration from it above. It’s available from Amazon for just $10.17 (list price $14.95) and qualifies for free Super Saver Shipping with a $25.00 purchase.

Oh, and to make up the rest of that $25.00, you can also purchase Mod Podge, scissors, foam brushes, or anything else you need for your project.


Prisoners of Love?

Monday, July 23rd, 2012
By Twistie

You know how it is. You have a loved one who is incarcerated, but you’re tired of all your pictures with them being set in the prison visiting room. You know, like this:

Well now you can do something about it! Imagine if the same picture was taken on a romantic trip to St. Croix Lake. It might look like this:

What do you mean ‘painfully photoshopped?’  Nobody could possibly tell! And you know nobody will ask why they don’t recall you taking a romantic vacation with someone they’ve never met.

The good folks at Photos Beyond the Wall would beg to differ. With their help, you and your incarcerated loved one can have those embarrassing prison photos changed into pictures of you together at plush resorts, backyard barbeques, or with your awesome Jaguar.

My suggestion? Save your money. Do it on your home computer. It’s not going to look much worse. And you can put your imprisoned parent, sibling, spouse, lover, child or best bud into a picture of a place they might actually have been to before.


Times Square for Fashion

Friday, July 20th, 2012
By Twistie

Darlings, last night began a new season of my beloved Project Runway, with my beloved Tim Gunn, and the fabulously deranged Heidi Klum back on my TV screen. Oh, and Michael Kors and Nina Garcia. Not that I don’t love them, but for me it’s all about Heidi and Tim. And the design. Okay, and some of the drama.

For those of you who don’t care and those who don’t want to be spoiled, here comes the cut. Follow it if you want to know who and what I’m snarking on.

(more…)


Pssst! Heads Up!

Thursday, July 19th, 2012
By Twistie

It’s that time again! Project Runway Season 10 starts tonight! Set your DVR or stay tuned for recap time here on Crafty Manolo.

Oh, and Tim? Come on over to my place for fresh, homemade scones and delicious gossip. You know you want to.


Smoke Gets In Your Fridge

Thursday, July 19th, 2012
By Twistie

Today’s article is a bit of a quickie.

You see, disaster struck Casa Twistie earlier this week. Our refrigerator bit the dust big time.

So Mr. Twistie and I took a ride to a Great Place to Get New Appliances, pointed at a new one, said ‘we’ll take it’ and opted for the extended warranty. When the new one gets delivered this morning, we’ve arranged to have the old one hauled off and recycled.

Turns out, we didn’t realize we could recycle it ourselves… into a smoker.

If you’ve got a fridge on it’s last legs, and it’s not a side by side (freezer on the bottoms apparently works best), and you like smoked meat, this might just be your answer.

After all, as it says in the article,

Abandoned fridges come in handy for more than just smothering wayward pre-schoolers to death

 


Victoria Had a Secret in the Fifteenth Century

Wednesday, July 18th, 2012
By Twistie

It may be badly deteriorated, but this scrap of linen may be one of the most important discoveries in the history of human dress for many a decade. Why? Because it proves that women’s underclothes existed in the fifteenth century.

For hundreds of years, most costume historians have believed that until well into the sixteenth century, women’s undergarments consisted pretty much entirely of the smock, a sort of undergown.

How did this amazing discovery come to light? Well, some renovations were recently done to Lengberg Castle in East Tyrol. During the work, more than three thousand fragments of clothes and other items of day to day usage were uncovered. The pieces were believed to have been buried when the building was expanded in about 1480.

The piece pictured above is described as a bra, but there is a strip down the lefthand side of it that clearly shows holes for a lacing to go through, indicating to me that it’s more along the lines of an early corset. There is apparently another garment similar to this one and two ‘shirts with bags’ that appear to have been meant to serve a similar function of breast support.

Perhaps even more amazing is the fact that two pairs of what seem to be women’s underpants were also found.

My guess? From the number of layers of cloth in the front, and the fact that there don’t seem to be so many layers in the back, is that this is actually medieval Kotex. Some experts in the subject believe that women didn’t do anything to contain menstrual flow back in the day, but there have been some vague references here and there to ‘clouts’ for women which seem to have been worn at certain times and not others. Hmmm… this looks like some strong potential evidence to me.

I don’t know about you, but I’m eager to see what new facts can be gleaned from these exciting finds!

If nothing else, SCA costuming will never be the same.












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