Crafty Manolo

It’s time once again to parse out reality… or what passes for it on Project Runway, the show where clearly nobody has ever seen the inside of an office not featured on a show involving Kardashians. Clearly nobody ever watched The Apprentice, or even The Office.

And if you don’t know where that rant came from, you might want to watch the episode before you read this… or you might want to just jump right in and read all the discussion now. Your choice.

(more…)

Okay, I admit it: I have a thing for cute, soft, stuffed critters. The more bizarre they are, the better I like ‘em. At two when I was taken to choose my own teddy bear, I wouldn’t look at the bears… but I wouldn’t leave the store without the Steiff badger. Yes, I still have Diggy. And then there’s that Beanie Baby sloth. No, I did not buy during the Beanie Baby supercraze. I picked it up for a song a few years later at a garage sale. What? I may be obsessive, but I’m not crazy.

So imagine my delight when I happened across this adorable crocheted Jackalope! I started checking out the rest of Dear Bitsy’s Etsy store, and fell in love with a like mind. You know, one that’s all about the fine line between adorable and psychotic.

I mean, how can I not be in utter love with a person who makes and sells crocheted bumblebees? And then turns around and makes and sells a bunny committing suicide?

Be warned, Mr. Twistie, if we ever strike it rich, this is the sort of thing that will fill our abode to the proverbial gills. In return, I promise to be super supportive of your quest for a perfect recreation of George Harrison’s Sgt. Pepper uniform.

After all, I think you’d look spiffy in a tricorn.

One hundred years ago today, Julia Child was born. Hip hooray!

In honor of the woman who made American women unafraid to try French cuisine and who made a joyful career out of playing with her food, I urge you all to check out this super cool gallery of photographs of food styled into the flags of countries around the world.

Check out this delightful ode to the French flag, chosen in honor of Julia:

Bon appetite!

People make a lot of assumptions in life. One that I keep running across is that if you’re crafty as an adult… you had to be crafty as a kid.

It makes sense, seems reasonable. Then again, it seemed reasonable to a heck of a lot of cultures that the sun moves around the earth and that caterpillars have nothing whatsoever to do with butterflies once upon a time, until someone came along and did some scientific research that blew both theories out of the water.

In my case, the obvious theory rings true. Even as a very small child I loved to play with yarn and paper and clay and whatnot. I was always trying to create something out of next to nothing. I kept trying one thing and then another, sure that just around a mental corner was the craft that would stick. It just took me twenty-seven years to find it.

To this day, I’m always trying out new things to see how they fit my world and my hands.

But what if there’s another way people come to craftiness? Are there people who didn’t come to craft until adolescence or beyond? Are there people who crafted like crazy in preschool but gave it up later in life?

What about you?

(Image via M3)

Happy Left-Hander’s Day!

Yes, it’s a real day. August 13. And this month friday the thirteenth lands on a monday, which makes it more dangerous. Bonus points to anyone who knows where that concept comes from.

Anyway.

As a southpaw, sometimes it’s hard to find equipment set up for me, let alone instructions to use it properly.

So in honor of the day, I have found a selection of tools and instructions to help my fellow right-minders be super crafty.

(more…)

There are times when I’m watching Project Runway, and I suddenly realize just how different the world of the fashionista is from the one the rest of us live in. This episode was one of those times.

As per usual, move on from here if you don’t care or don’t care to be spoiled. Follow the cut if you want to know my thoughts on last night’s Project Runway.

(more…)

I was wandering through the archives of Geekcrafts, as you do, when what to my wondering eyes should appear but this brilliant IT Crowd cross stitch:

There are eight other great geeky cross stitch projects in the same posting, but honestly… this won my heart like few things I’ve seen of late.

And if you don’t know what it’s about, do yourself a favor and watch an episode or two of The IT Crowd. It’s one of the most hilarious things I’ve ever seen.

Okay, this may look like a set of five linked crowns of thorns, but it’s supposed to be the Olympic rings, really. And you’ll never guess how the artist achieved this special look… so I’ll let STICK VEGA explain it to you:

Vega places (gun)powder and fuses on the surface of the art, which he positions horizontally on the floor. When ignited, first the fuses burn instantly along the cord lines, igniting the gunpowder and creating loud bangs and flashes of fire, which then vanish in clouds of smoke. The result is a textured surface that looks and feels like an explosion—the acrylic paint and substrate is blackened, charred, and erupted, arrested in a state of being created in a flash.

And it can be yours for just $79.00 plus $30.00 shipping.

Well.

That certainly is… something.

There are a lot of books in the world. More are written every day. Some of them  actually find publishers and reach real bookstores, both brick and mortar and virtual. quite a few of these books have something to do with crafts.

From instructional manuals on knitting, crochet, woodwork, quilting, and making odd things out of pop top tabs to tips on starting your own crafting business, to Life Lessons Learned while doing origami, to novels, to histories, to books of cartoons and funny sayings about one craft or another, there always seems to be room for one more book on the shelves.

So I’m curious: if you were going to write a crafting-related book, what sort would it be? Would it be aimed at adults or children? Do you think it would hit the New York Times best seller list?

If I were to write a crafting-related book, it would probably be a novel for adults. Most likely it would follow the life of a lacemaker sometime in history. Possibly in the early days of machine laces, where there’s the handy conflict of technology vs individual work, and the opportunity to discuss the up and down sides of both. I’d like to have a special edition available with a special bobbin designed for the purpose and basic instructions for bobbin lacemaking included.

What? I’m a dreamer?

What would your book be like?

Yes, it’s Tim Time again!

Well, that and Product Placement time.

And Blast From the Past time. Some more welcome than others.

As per usual, follow the cut unless you don’t want to be spoiled… or don’t really care about Project Runway.

(more…)