Posts tagged ‘tutorial’

I know. I know. What is a bunny car? Everyone keeps asking me this. But I made it, and it is so cute, so I’m sharing. We have a wooden bunny-shaped push toy that I got at the thrift store which inspired my version, gifted to Cressida in her Easter basket.

It’s made with Anna Maria Folksy Flannels, and rolls on tinker toys. It is SO easy to make so in lieu of a photo tutorial, I’m going to do a quick how-to in the post with a pdf download of the pattern so you can make your own bunny car. This pattern is for a single eared bunny, which more implies bunny, though the one I pictured I fiddled with to make two eared. In the end I like the one eared wooden one better so that’s the pattern I’m offering. If anyone is interested I will make the two eared version available too. Read more »

There’s a huge empty space in my bathroom that’s been begging for a piece of art.  I wanted to create repetition in the room with either the flowers on some of the tiles or the leaves on the shower curtain.  I decided to use the engraved flower images and try a “leaf rubbing” technique.

I originally thought of using plain crayons or charcoal pencils, but with Easter on the horizion, I wanted to see what a clear wax crayon would do.  So I used the crayon as a resist & tried a variety of paints & inks to color the paper.  Acrylic paint & stamping inks didn’t work well because they stuck to the wax too much & colored it.  I then tried watercolor paints & liked the contrast I can get with them.

Supplies:

clear wax crayon (from an Easter egg kit), watercolor paint (I used glittery watercolors called Twinkling H2Os), brush, container with water, paper for the rubbing (thinner paper gives a crisper image), an embossed tile (or other item with an embossed or engraved image). Read more »

If your green thumb is itching, it might be time to put some seeds in the ground. The first day the sun came out this year gave me the garden itch, and I didn’t want to start my seeds indoors. We’ve gotten a spell of unseasonably warm weather this week so I got out there and started planting. But our last frost day is way out in May so I have to plant carefully.

If you want to make a green house/ cold frame for just your potted plants this trick will work for you. After the tutorial I’ll show you some other cold frames I’m using this year.

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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 »

I’m still playing around with Peacock feathers. I really enjoy the froofy aspect of a feather. They even dress up jeans when you wear a feather. But unless you are going for the Thanksgiving Pegent look it is important to shape the feather to the curve of your head.

You need a feather and a pair of sharp scissors that you don’t use for fabric.

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This necklace is inspired by a piece my friend Jenn was wearing to Stitch N Bitch a few weeks ago. I loved it. Luckily, I had just bought a chunky black bead necklace at the thrift store to repurpose the beads and hadn’t designated a project for them yet. I also had some teal lace I got in the remnant section at the fabric store. It was a match made in heaven, and I’m passing this simple project on to you!

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In the spirit of a new year & reflecting about Clever Nesting’s previous year of blogging, I thought I’d share my favorite 2009 tutorials that Devona’s written.

Do you ever find beautiful sweaters at the thrift store but realize they’re too stretched out or shrunken to wear?  In Knitting with an Old Sweater Devona shows how to unravel those sweaters and reuse the yarn for new projects, so that pretty yarn won’t be wasted.

In Throw Pillow with Piping Trim, Devona teaches how to use strips of cut t-shirts for the piping on a pillow.  You’ll save money on expensive piping and have a way to use those stained or stretched t-shirts besides for rags.

And here’s an idea reusing ties when the fabric’s great, but the men in your life will surely never wear them!  Devona teaches how to Make a Composition Cover from an Old Tie.

And finally, let me just say I’ve loved working with Devona on the Clever Nesting blog this past year!  She’s so innovative with her crafty reuse & recycling ideas.  She’s also a wealth of information about a variety of crafts & thrilled to learn more.  Plus she’s an idea queen…you should hear all her ambitious plans for the next few years!

This tutorial might be a little simple for many people, but three times in the past month I talked to people who had lost coat buttons. This reminded me of my mom who always says, “You girls (my sister and I) are just so good at sewing… I can’t even sew on a button!” And for a while neither could I, at least not properly. If you sew on a button properly your fabric will hang well, and your button is less likely to pop off again.

This projects requires a needle, sturdy thread (I am using nylon) and the button to be replaced. Thread the needle so that there are two untied thread ends on one side of the eye, and a u-shape to the thread on the other side of the needle. You’ll also need a spacer, such as a toothpick, another needle, or in my case I used a match stick.

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I have lots of cardboard record cases left over from the record bowls I made for Christmas gifts.  Some of the pictures on the cases are really fun, so I needed a way to reuse them.  I decided to make them into file folders. Read more »

My good friend Ellie gave me some Peacock feathers for a Christmas present, a week before Christmas. So I used them to make a bunch of gifts for my Sisters-in-Law. They are such magnificent works of nature, and each one was unique, so working with them really just required letting each feather do its own thing and not hiding its beauty. After playing around with them a little bit I developed a way to connect the feather to a sterling silver hoop with silk thread so that it will stay on the hoop without taking away from the feather’s natural shape.

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