Posts tagged ‘recycled’

When a crafter sets forth on a mission, there is not much that can stop them as long as there are scissors around. The mission I have set upon is to run a “barefoot” half marathon in May. To run “barefoot” I am running in Vibram Five Fingers shoes to protect my soles on the roads from debris and other things. But this is Northeast Ohio, and it’s still essentially winter, so I need socks. This creates a problem when there are toe pockets. Even toe socks get bunched up in there. So I hacked a pair of wool athletic socks to be toeless, but still stay on my foot. I used a small stitch between my big toe and second toe to keep the sock from slipping. It works amazingly well, and once I’m running I have no idea they are there. My feet are warm, which is important. Sorry that my socks are a little dirty in the picture, I just came back from a run, I wanted to make sure that it worked before I posted it!

The other problem I have is wanting to use the Nike + iPod gizmo to track and share my runs. But since I am not using the Nike + shoes, how I needed a hack to keep my sensor on my shoe. I took some commercial vinyl fabric I got from Zero Landfill that matches my shoes and made a pouch for the sensor. There is an overlap for the in the opening flap so I don’t lose the sensor on a run, and there is a strap to loop over the velcro shoe closure on my shoe.  This sensor pouch could also slide over shoelaces if you plan to run with the Nike + thing but have a pair of trainers you really love, so it’s not just for us crazy Barefooters.

and a pile of possibility. I spent the afternoon carefully removing shirt pockets. And then carefully pinning them back to the shirt from which they came so that I can do some shirt rehab on Friday afternoon. I am planning to take them all up to The Market Path to see about consigning there. I chatted with one of the employees on Saturday at the Home and Garden show, and she encouraged me to stop in. Hopefully I have what they are looking to stock in their store.

It’s encouraging to me that there are so many people interested in handmade items right now that there is a greater outlet for displaying/selling them. It’s not just craft fairs and etsy, although I LOVE those venues, but even brick and mortar stores are interested in carrying one-of-a-kind handmade items in their shops.

In other news, Colleen and I have talked about slowing down on the tutorial frequency. Once a week  is a lot of crafting. And though we have a ton of ideas for how to repurpose things, we are running out of time to actually do them. Just today I spent two hours ( yikes! ) cleaning out my craft room because I only have time to work in there, and never have any time to clean up after myself. I still haven’t put everything away yet! So, look forward to 2 monthly tutorials from Clever Nesting in the future. We still love you, we just also love our sanity.

For Valentine’s Day, Devona made heart-shaped crayons with a candy mold, double broiler, and broken crayons.  It inspired me to make the crayons with different colored chunks in them.  (Those were always my favorite as a kid.)  I made lots of mistakes & even ended up with ugly brown when everything melts together, but now I have lots of tips to share with you!

Supplies: double broiler (I used a pan & glass jar, but a tin can would be great as well), water for the double broiler, a mold for the crayons (I used a brownie pan with dividers, but you can use candy molds, soap molds, candle molds, or other make-shift molds), broken crayons, knife, cutting board, & a stove top.    Other useful optional items: towel (for drying the glass jar), spoon or popsicle stick (for mixing wax), and oven mitt. Read more »

Our Art Supplies Swap was really great even though it was a small group of only 10 of us.  I think it’s because the sun was shining & it reached 40 degrees outside for the first time in months.

Everyone generously brought lots of art supplies and found useful things to take home.  The few boxes of leftovers were donated to the Firestone Branch of Akron-Summit County Public Library for their craft programs.

5 people brought handmade items for the gift exchange.  Mary made the purple hat (this pic of it on the table doesn’t do it justice.  This hat looks amazing with the bunched area worn off to the side and it sits loose & casually on the head).  Megan made the wire wrapped clip (for recipes or labeling foods at a party).  I made the fringe earrings.  Devonna made the apron from a repurposed skirt.  And Martha, the owner of Craft Akron, made the hand-dyed yarn.

The plan is to have the next swap in late summer or early fall.  So you have plenty of time to sort through your stash.

All my yarn-addicted friends have peer-pressured me into dyeing yarn. I’m just dabbling, for fun. I’m not as proficient as Mary, Jenn, or Martha, but I did manage to make white yarn turn sherbet colored.

I used my ancient crockpot to keep the water at a consistent temperature, and Wilton dyes. To set the dye I used lemon juice. I didn’t measure anything, because experiments are for guessing. That’s probably why I ended up with sherbet when I was aiming for the same color orange as my kitchen walls.

I still call it success, because it is pretty, and I can knit with it. Hurrah!

Our Swap is Saturday!  Here’s a pic of all the stuff I’m bringing…spray paint, candle making supplies, beads, magazines, sizzix dies, gold leafing, mosaic adhesive & grout, and other odds & ends.  Plus, I’m busy getting refreshments ready.  I’m making chocolate fondue and a cheese ball with crackers.

Last year at Zero Landfill I grabbed a ton of stuff. I’ve used at least half of it, but there are a good deal of items which have just been stuffed into the stash box.

This year I took a different strategy to the event. I only grabbed stuff that I ran out of last time. So I picked up 4 wallpaper sample books and some loose fabric swatches. They weighed my grub on my way out. It was a whopping 38 pounds!

These books are going to be free for your use in decorating a journal if you show up on Thursday to my class. Otherwise I will be cutting them up for all sorts of crafts, as will my scissor-happy girls!

I wanted to do something lovely with my girls for Valentine’s Day. So I sent them on the scavenger hunt through the house to find all the purple, pink and red broken crayons. Then we put them on the stove in a double boiler made from a tin can, and we melted them down.

Colleen had just handed-down these candy molds to me. We filled them up with the melted crayon mixture, which had turned to a swirly pinkish-purple. The girls were really excited about the whole process. They had no idea what to expect for the final outcome.

When we ended up with these heart shaped crayons they were pretty surprised. I don’t know if they intend to use them for coloring or not. Next time we do this I’m going to make them a rounder, more sturdy shape. We already snapped one of our hearts. And no one wants to be broken hearted because of a valentine!

Since I don’t have a boy around to model for me, Cressida is playing stand-in.

I really have to thank Cal Patch for her book Design it Yourself Clothes for making this draft so easy. She gave me the rules to follow where I was taking educated guesses before. So although there are no youth patterns in her book the explanations included are pretty universal.

This is just a first draft of the romper. I did not take into account how big a diaper is, so the rise is about two inches off. I’m going to adjust my pattern and make one out of a men’s shirt I really like. Wish me luck!

I’ve got a date to teach my Journal Class coming up in the next couple of weeks. I’ve had a quite a few people interested in taking it so I want to make sure you all get the memo.

We’ll be at Craft Akron working on our handbinding skills on Thursday, February 18th, from 2pm to 4pm.

You can even sign up for the class online here. Isn’t that convenient? I’m really looking forward to the class, hope to see you there. Oh, and bring a friend!