2 more rows added on the freeform peyote (hey,

i don't have much free time!)

i've never really made a beaded bracelet like this

i've knitted them SURE but i've never stitched then. i do so like the way freeform peyote looks so i decided to give it a try. here's the beginning of a bracelet i'm making. i am having trouble with the thread (i think i used the wrong kind) and keeping the beads tight. well, this is a learning process of course. the first one of a kind i make cannot be perfect...

if i get farther, i'll post pictures. 

it's fun and we'll see how far along i get with this.

i stopped into

lucinda's beads in windsor yesterday. it has a new owner, shelley hilton. the selection is still great. the prices very decent AND of course what is MOST important to me, the customer service is WONDERFUL.

pic of lucinda's beads is from the website linked above. the other pics are mine. the focal bead i'm going to use in a beaded peyote bracelet (back and front) and just some of the other beads i bought. sorry, i was just too hot and too lazy to take them out of the bags.

i'm enamored

craftzine points us to

a how - to for these mini pottery items

 by kris at 1 inch minis pic from there as well

she makes her 'pots' with paper AND the best  part is, she shares with US!

how to......

Iron-On Transfers Video with Lotta Jansdotter

Iron-On Transfers w/ Lotta Jansdotter from Rowenta USA on Vimeo.

from how about orange

felt OR paper strawberries Y U M

pic from the how about orange tutorial link above (which is from here: chocolate-covered strawberry)

beautiful watercolor lanters from gardenmama

and here's how to make them

they'd make a GREAT hostess/host gift if you're invited to a bbq or a picnic. i'd LOVE to get them as a gift.

pic from the gardenmama link above

found via the crafty crow

guy denning

via

from crafting a green world -

upcycle your old tees

Memorable Ways to Repurpose Old T-Shirts

 

Written by Wenona Napolitano

 

here's one of 'em: There are instructions all over if you need them and Savvy Seams has a nice tutorial to turn a t-shirt into a zip off pillow cover to put over a form. 

felt dandelion LOVE

and the tutorial is from echoes of a dream (sadly simmy stopped blogging, but the archives are there)


found via tywkiwdbi (blog love for this one too)

kirby!

Kirby's Epic Yarn

how GENIUS is this?

from organize! conquer clutter

glitter storage AND dispensers (really genius i tell ya!)

pic from shirley's blog linked above


via

can i identify? what do YOU think?

CraftyPod Video Blog #4: 7 craft supplies I am no longer allowed to buy from Diane Gilleland on Vimeo.

something to make with your kid

or ME if  i'm invited over



via

cool!

Threading a Needle No Problem for China's Armless Wonder
 Marc Hartzman

(June 16) -- A 65-year-old armless woman in China has been named the best embroiderer in her village. And while this seems like an unimaginable achievement, given her disability, it is not.

Ren Jiemei, of Haiyang, Shandong province, is a modern-day armless wonder who, like many before her, demonstrates skills that are seemingly impossible.

Ren is said to be able to thread a needle without fail and works quicker and better than all her fully limbed peers. She holds the needle with her right foot and threads it with her left.

http://xml.channel.aol.com/xmlpublisher/fetch.v2.xml?option=expand_relative_urls&dataUrlNodes=uiConfig,feedConfig,localizationConfig,entry&id=896084&pid=896083&uts=1276530038

http://www.aolcdn.com/ke/media_gallery/v1/ke_media_gallery_wrapper.swf

China's Armless Woman

Born without arms, Ren Jiemei has learned to do everything with her feet. The 65-year-old resident of Haiyang, in China's Shandong province, can pour herself tea, wash her face, comb her hair, draw pictures and cut paper with her feet.

Quirky China News / Rex / Rex USA

Quirky China News / Rex / Rex USA

"I was born without arms. So from childhood, I swore to myself that I'd use my feet to do everything," she told the Qilu Evening Post.

That everything includes eating, washing her face, combing her hair, drawing pictures and cutting paper....................

pic:

Quirky China News/Rex USA

Ren Jiemei, 65, of Haiyang, China, is so agile that she is able to do everything she needs to using just her feet. "I was born without arms. So from childhood I swore to myself that I'll use my feet to do all the jobs," she said.

via

pillow love from bromeliad

and it's a diy too!!!

pic from the bromeliad suzani pillow link above

i'm digging it!

via

i want to make a bunch of little tiny embroidery kits

as gifts. i wanted to use candy tins. i'd put in some embroidery needles (glue a magnet inside the tin so the needles will stay put), a few colors of embroidery floss and some tiny fold  up scissors. i painted some of the little tins, but that just got messy and i don't think i have the right kind of paint anyway. it's not looking great on the aluminum tin.

soooooooooooooooooooo i just saw this for

embossed tins and i immediately KNEW this was MY solution! i am so going to do this! i have everything BUT the aluminum tape. that's easy enough to get. there are so many hardware stores around here,  you could throw a rock and hit one

Photo: Diane Gilleland and tutorial by Diane Gilleland, contributor

from crafting a green world

just in time for father's day (i was lax. i ordered something YESTERDAY from amazon for my dad. i would have liked to make him something. maybe i can still do it. we'll see)

here are a few fathers day crafts dads can do with their kids

Written by Julie Finn

pic from the crafting a green world link above

i adore this

and i am going to incorporate it into one of my crafts. i don't know what yet, but it will be SOMETHING. i do have a similar picture of 'fairy soap' which i've used to make necklaces 

via

here is a MOST wonderful blog

(i DO think i've linked to another owl project from the blog as well)

nini makes/. it's chuck FULL of wonderful ideas and projects.

here's a great owl template you can download and make. (pic from the owl template link at nini makes

some unusual places

to spot crafts

via

oh babies..............

a recipe for an organic VEGAN twinkie by fran costigan found via chewswise


pic: Organic vegan Twinkie, photo by Linda Long

reminder if you want pre-made VEGAN (and wicked tasty) cupcakes (they make a couple different types of cakes as well) try moo-cluck. their chocolate creme filled cupcakes are TO DIE FOR


pic of the chocolate cupcakes from the moo-cluck website linked above

arts and crafts are arts and crafts.........father and son. awwwwwwwww

via

the dude at the end is stylin' something fierce!

via

it's summer and time for grilling

oh yum!

from american feast sustainable food blog

southern living's grilled artichokes & asparagus recipe

 pic: Grilled Artichokes & Asparagus (photo courtesy of Time Inc. Home Entertainment)

all of this with black and red BIC pens

via

i'm diggin' it!

this sure did make me smile

star trek baby soakers from NameThatCandy

pic from NameThatCandy's craftster link above and here's a link to her etsy shop name that candy 
 awesomeness awesomeness awesomeness
via 

you're not going to believe what this cute

stiped summer bracelet is made out of!

pic from the p.s. i made this link ABOVE this one

oh man MORE wicked coolness from lion brand

you have to be a member (sign up, it's free AND painless) and it's worth it for this pattern alone!

crochet leg warmers

pic from the lion brand site

i'm diggin' this

paper, tape scissors



via

friday (well ALL days) want!

these resin beads from natural touch beads and collectibles

all pics from natural touch linked above

i'm absolutely in LOVE with this little embroidered thank you flower

from matching pegs

a great gift idea for teachers, tutors, friends even.

pic: from the how-to at matching pegs linked above

(via)

make a clock for your popi OR

make a clock WITH your popi

the magic bean shows you how


here's the magic bean's etsy shop (GREAT doll patterns and kits)

pic from colleen's diy clock-making tutorial linked above

via

i'm really really really diggin' this garter stitch panel jacket

dances with wools found

pic from the pattern linked at the dances with wools link above

if you can hack, you can make your own tee shirt printer

here's the boing boing link on how to (unfortunately i'm not THIS crafty)

just found this on the lion brand site as well

i don't know how i could have missed this one. i do check the site often. this scarf IS ME

felted braided colored scarf (niiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiice!)


pic from the lion brand link above

afghan love

windchime crochet afghan pattern

from lion brand (which has a TON of free patterns. you just need to sign up and that's it!)

found whip up

pic from the lion brand pattern link above

'preserving stuffed animals'

(want!!!)
from geekologie

i just got some italian wire mesh ribbon from

specialty beads in ca. they seem to have very good prices (yeah, the stuff is expensive, but it's soooooooooooooooooo cool) and their customer service is outstanding (that counts for a LOT in my book).

i didn't order any of their lampwork beads but they look wonderful as well. that will be next.

anyway, i am going to make a necklace out of the wirelace. don't know what yet. i've never worked with it so i want to think before i dive in.

the spools picture is mine, the unfurled wire pic is from the specialty beads website.

i am SOOOOOOOOOO going to knit these up

from mochimochi land

tiny perching pigeons (FREE pattern).

she has a bunch of free patterns to share (i've posted some in the past) and some for sale. her work is incredible.

here's the mochimochi land shop

and if you want to pre-order (i did) anna's book: you can do it RIGHT HERE

pic from the tiny perching pigeons pattern at the mochimochi link above

want (badly want)

scott radke marionettes via ectoplasmosis!


scott radke

from design sponge

a diy project sisal rope art wall hanging
kate pruitt
pic from the diy at design sponge linked above

since i DO spin......... (well not with a wheel)

i've never used one. i'd LOVE to, but haven't. i do use drop spindles and i have never made my own.

i'm guessing i'm going to NOW

make an awesome drop spindle

author: Culturespy

pic from the instructable linked above

i could use one of these

build your own desktop zen garden author: obbitz

pic from the instructable linked above

on an instructables kick.....

i think these would be GREAT to have on hand. hope i'd never have to use them, but one never knows. make your own chitosan bandages

Author:ERCBIENG

pic from the instructable linked above

craftzine has the final installment on

crafting a corset (part iii)

by

Alaina Zulli is a dressmaker and costume historian based in Brooklyn, N.Y., who specializes in historical sewing techniques. She spends her days dissecting old clothes, sewing new ones, and researching the lives of the women who wore them.

pic: from the tutorial at craftzine linked above

ravings of a semi-sane madwoman: she was one of the first women artists i knew about

ravings of a semi-sane madwoman: she was one of the first women artists i knew about