Hi, I've been lurking a while now, and finally worked up the stones to post something I made. I made some little figurines with paper clay, painted them with your average poster paints and sealed them with glossy varnish.

( Pictures! )

I found a really cool idea for a necklace.  It's something I could do for a gift for my best friend and even her daughter.  I know all the supplies I'd need except one thing.  So I was hoping you guys could help me..

How would you go about securing this;
http://i181.photobucket.com/albums/x37/lytray/ebayimages/bob_aanraku24ComboSILV1.jpg

to the back of something like this (take note that a couple of layers of paper or whatever will be on this as well);
http://www.wholesalersusainc.com/images/large/F06-SB009.jpg


Also...a link to a place to buy the square glass marble things at would be nice as well.

I was wondering if anyone had any ideas for what I could use to strengthen seashells. I found some shells with holes in them I would like to make into necklaces or bracelets but would like to cover them with some some clear, colorless substance to make them less likely to break.

Also, I wanted to string them on something thin like embroidery floss but a bit stronger. Do you have any ideas?

ive been lurking here since its made spotlight and ive seen so many fantastic ideas. and this post inspired me for a gift for one of my best male friends.
hes gay. flaming actually. (I LOVE IT SO MUCH) and he's been wearing this piano scarf that's actually his dads for the past two winters. so my idea is to knit him a rainbow striped scarf with PRIDE written accross it in black.
ive never really knitted before, but i have an idea (also i have all the way until christmas to get this right!) and i know how to switch out colors when starting a new row.

but can anyone tell me how to switch out the colors in the MIDDLE of a row of stitches? thanks :)

I made a Dalek cake for my dad for Father's Day. (if you don't know what a Dalek, it's a monster from Doctor Who - a program from the BBC that my dad watch together) I had plans to make the body, but ended up only being able to make the head. It's box lemon, white and devil's food cake mix with chocolate frosting. The bands around the bottom are licorice, the ears are frosted marshmallow cookie things, the eye stalk is one of those chocolate straw things with a marshmallow cookie thing on the end.

Sorry for the messy plate. :P It was really yummy and my dad LOVED it. :)

Hey!  An adorable headband!



Find out how I made it at 100daysofcrafts.blogspot.com

A friend of my sister's was recently ordained as an Episcopalian priest. He is very dear to her so she asked me to make him a stole to wear in the parade to show his new status as priest in a fun way. (He's gay, if that matters at all.)

He wanted something that looked patch-worked, and beyond that I pretty much had full creative license.

( Here's the result: )

Bear in mind that I've yet to meet a sewing machine that likes me so I did this entirely by hand. Also, I couldn't find any fringe anywhere B&M or online that I liked for this so I made that, too.

To make the fringe I used embroidery floss and looped it up and down over a strip of masking tape. Then I placed another strip of masking tape exactly over the other one to hold it together on both sides. I then trimmed it off at the bottom, making sure it was even, and cut the top off about halfway down the masking tape. Then I just did the exact same thing again to make the fringe for the other side. I wish I had thought to take pictures of the process but I hope you can get the gist of my explanation.

ETA: I forgot to mention that I also made a back for it. It's just the white background material I used on the front, and I sewed the two pieces together after I finished all of the work on the front of the stole. I did this for two reasons: One, I don't like my stitching to be obvious when looked at from the other side, and two, in case he needed to turn it around for any reason. :)

Hey everyone!  I have a brand new crafty blog!  I'm pretty excited about it, and I'm pretty sure I can keep it going, but I need to know that some people actually read me haha!  I'm posting a new craft every day, and I will have plenty of gifting ideas for you guys!  I'll probably post a tutorial once a week, so let me know what you guys think!  I'd like to have a lot of input on how to make my blog as reader-friendly as possible!

Thanks, and don't forget to check me out at 100daysofcrafts.blogspot.com

I needed a really simple understated wreath made with a natural source and came up with one constructed easily with braided Raffia.

I used two packages of Raffia, tied them together at the top, braided them and then tied off the end and tidied up the raffia strands. The braid was wound and tied onto a wire hanger that I shaped into a circle.

A huge investment of two whole dollars seen ( here )

I sewed up a tissue box cover today because matching a tissue box with my decor matters that much to me.

I used this tutorial which is super easy to follow.

( There be photos. )

I'm feeling crafty this week. Having no hours at work helps.

( T-shirt -> newborn gown )

Using this tutorial. Up next: I attack all my old Nightmare Before Christmas shirts!

Make your own gift bows from scrapbook paper.

I finished my first Tied Baby Quilt for my son yesterday. It took me around 5-6 hours from start to finish.

( A picture and some blathering )

Hey everyone! I haven't posted before, so a little intro- I'm a college student. I love crafts, of course, but especially sketching and painting. And I definitely think handmade gifts are the way to go!

I made this for my friend last Christmas. She really likes Harry Potter. It's basically a clay tile, built up to be partially 3D, and then painted.

( Photos and 'instructions' here )

You can whip up a nursing cover with little skill and for $3 or less depending on the materials you already have on hand. Any nursing mom will find one of these invaluable.
Instructions here

So, on a random note, before I get to my question, the marble magnets were so much fun. I made some for my friend and her daughter and they loved them.

Anyway, on to my question...
I was wanting to get into making jewelry (I'd love to be able to do something for my best friend's birthday and Christmas...not to mention gifts for family). Nothing too fancy or anything, just some bead work (necklaces, bracelets, earings, etc) and was wondering what kind of beads would be best to buy and where to buy them (I'm not wanting cheap plastic beads...but I also don't want to spend a fortune on the beads I buy). I figure glass beads are good, but is there a certain brand that you guys would suggest over another? Can good quality beads be found at Walmart? To my knowledge, there's no local craft shop and the nearest Micheals is over an hour away. So if Walmart isn't a good idea for finding nice beads...then is there maybe an online site for a brand of bead you could suggest? Would the Micheals site be good to buy beads from (I've never looked at it before)?

Also, any tutorials on different techniques in making jewelry would be loved as well. xP

Who is the gift for? My best friend.
What is the occasion? Her graduation from University.
List at least three of their interests: Well her degree is in Language and Linguistics, so she's really into that kind of thing.  She also loves girly things like make up, jewellery, clothes, just generally looking good on a budget.
Any stipulations or things to avoid: I considered making her a roll-up make up carry case thing (wow, I'm explaining this well) but it's really not her thing. I've already made her a photo scrap book for her birthday, so that's out. Aside from that, I'm pretty much open to suggestions!
What kind of crafting do you do? Sewing, anything with photos, decoupage, I can knit - but not very well!, other random things that don't really come into a craft category. I am willing to try anything really.
Name some other crafts that you would be willing to try: Anything, as long as it's not super expensive.
Do you have a price range for materials? Not really, I have a lot of materials already but I can buy new things if I have to.
Do you have a time limit to make this present? About a week.
Any other information you'd like to include: It doesn't have to be directly related to graduation, I just want to have something nice to give her, as she worked really hard and totally deserves her 2.1 degree!
Oh, I should mention that she's a very tidy and 'particular' person, so is quite fussy about things she has in her room. She may be moving to England to do another degree so possibly something she could take with her?

Thank you guys. x

Hahah, okay, so I'm making a round of pop top cans for party favors, but my problem is, I couldn't find those little fruit cans ANYWHERE. I searched all the local grocery stores and all of the fruit cups have turned to plastic. What I DID find though, is mini cat food cans. XD They are still pop-top and about the right size.

My issue is, I opened a few of them and washed them very very thoroughly, but they still SMELL kind of cat-food-ish. What can I do to get rid of that smell? I washed them with lots of soap, and even tried boiling them.

I'll post pics as soon as I finish up the decorating. :)

Stamp with Bleach! I have an obsessive stamp collection (okay, not as bad as some that I've seen though!), so I'm always looking for creative things to do with them. :)

(I would make sure to wash my stamp very well after I'm finished, so the bleach doesn't damage the rubber.)

I've taken up polymer clay (yes, I jumped on the bandwagon ;________;), and I love making the little desserts. However, for some projects, I really need miniature glass cups/glasses. (Ones like these are perfect.) The only problem is that I don't have PayPal. Anyone know of a place I could get such items w/o needing a PayPal acct?

Please and thank you! (: