Archive for the ‘Crafts’ Category
When it comes to quilt making, the color and design or pattern are entirely up to the creator. To insure a beautiful finished quilt, the project must be planned carefully, and an established pattern should be followed.
Making test patches is a great way to experiment with your design. Colors should be sorted into tones - light, medium, and dark. Using assorted tones helps to create depth and design. Textured fabrics also create different effects in your pattern.
It is absolutely necessary to pre-wash all fabrics in warm water with a mild detergent added before starting any quilting project. Fabrics that have a tendency to run should be washed separately. When dry, the fabrics should be ironed, either with a steam iron, or with a dry iron and a clean damp cloth.
add comment | (1 Comment )
The craft of quilt making can involve making a great variety of styles and designs of quilts. One such style is the patchwork quilt. These days, patchwork quilts are traditionally made from scraps which have been left over from previous sewing projects, although pre-cut pieces are readily available in stores.
Something every quilter is aware of is that not all fabric scraps are suitable for quilting. Loosely woven fabrics (for example, muslin) are weak and prone to easily distort. On the other hand, tightly woven fabrics, such as ticking, are not flexible enough and are difficult to stitch.
Cotton is considered to be the best fabric to use, especially for beginning, inexperienced quilters. After quilters become more experienced, they may add additional fabrics, such as silk or lightweight wool.
Making any kind of candle is a fun hobby and pastime. Candles add to the decor and ambiance of any home. However, soy candle making has become a popular craft for many who in the past have enjoyed making candles from paraffin wax.
Soy wax is a wax which is a processed form of soybean oil. Soy wax has a lower melting temperature than traditional waxes. Thus the hot weather could cause the candles to lose shape. Because of this, it is generally used to make container candles. However, there are additives available which can be added to the wax making it suitable to use in molds.
Soy candles, when well-made, burn cleanly and slowly. Cleanup is much easier than that of traditional wax. Another benefit of soy wax is its availability. Soybeans are grown here in the United States and new crops are harvested every year.
Candle making is a great hobby and a fun activity for the entire family to participate in if proper care is taken. In addition to the fun involved, making candles is easy if you prepare in advance. Clearing an area on your table or countertop near your stove or microwave and gathering all of your supplies together before starting make the process go more smoothly.
There are a variety of ways to make candles, depending on your personal taste. The colors and scents available give us additional choices to make.
Candles are more often used for luxury and pleasure than for light and heat. They have become a very common decorating item used to accent the decor of any room in your house and make beautiful centerpieces for dinner parties and formal occasions.
Scrapbooking, as we all are aware of, is such an extremely popular hobby. One of the benefits and enjoyment of this is that it can be shared with the entire family. Once you get bitten by the scrapbooking bug, you can very easily become addicted to this fun pastime, and soon you’ll be looking for new scrapbooking layout ideas.
Think of an occasion or special event in your life. Gather together your photos and design your page(s) around that particular theme. Choose scrapbook papers that will coordinate with that theme. Add embellishments (there are so many to choose from), stickers, punch-outs, etc. Post a little journaling next to your photos, and you will create a memory of a special event for all who views it to enjoy.
My grandkids loved this paint spinner!
Recently while standing in the checkout line of a favorite craft store, I happened to be behind a rather elderly couple. Their arms were full of kids’ crafts, and I thought to myself that these folks were more than likely going to be babysitting their grandkids. And they were going to be prepared!
We all know how rambunctuous kids are. Weren’t we the same way as kids? After a short time on one project, it becomes boring, so it’s time to move on to a new one.
When I visit my grandkids I always take some craft supplies along. For awhile at least, it gets them away from the TV, computer, WII, and all the other electronic devices we weren’t privileged to have as kids, and it presents a new challenge and interest to their life. The kids always enjoy crafting!
Painting on terra cotta (clay) pots is another fun painting project. You can buy all sorts of beautiful flower pots in any style and with any design you desire, but a plain old clay pot painted by you is so much more desirable. And you can be sure that no one will ever have one exactly like it.
Go to any large home store or craft store and pick one up very inexpensively. Be sure to wash and dry it thoroughly. Next choose a design. You may want to lightly sketch it on the pot to be sure you have the right placement before you begin to paint.
In trying to suggest a variety of painting projects, I’ve looked around my own home to see what surfaces I have painted on in the past. I ran across some small terra cotta (clay) figures that I once painted. These little guys were and are very inexpensive to purchase, and no special talent is needed to paint them. Just follow the shape of the details, such as the face and hands, the hat, the coat, the shoes, the hair, and all the other little incidentals.
You can paint these little characters with just your basic colors: blue, red, green, yellow, while, beige. In fact, you actually can start with the three primary colors (red, yellow, and blue) plus white and mix them together for any color you want.
Bisque Figures Painted With Acrylic Paints
It is probably very seldom that it happens, but on a rare occasion we could find ourselves running out of painting projects, or maybe just looking for something new to paint. Perhaps we’re burned out on what we’ve been doing and need to find a new focus or project.
Do you like to have a lot of knick knacks sitting around? Do you find yourself at garage sales and flea markets buying all sorts of cute little things to sit around in your home? I have very little self-control when it comes to this. I love cute, decorative, and pretty things around my home.
What is even more fun is painting your own. Do you know that you can go to your local ceramic shop and buy all sorts of bisque figures? These have already been fired, and all you have to do is take them home and paint them with your acrylic paints. The great part is that you do not need to own a kiln or pay for these pieces to be fired. Just paint them as you normally would if you were painting a plaster piece.
Visit a Florida Flywheelers’ Event For Craft Ideas
posted by Linda @ 9:52 PM
Monday, February 22, 2010
If you would like some new and different craft ideas, take a day off and visit one of the Florida Flywheelers’ special events. These events are held three times per year near Fort Meade, Florida. A trip there, if you are not so very far away, is a special treat. You can see all kinds of unique vehicles such as the one pictured here. The person who made this cute little tractor had a lot of talent and a great imagination. I’m sorry I did not get his (or her) name.
These events are held, as I said, three times per year: once in the fall, once in January, and once in February of every year. The next one will be starting this week on Wednesday, February 24, and go through Saturday, the 27th. You can see all sorts of old engines and tractors there, along with tractor pulls and a huge flea market. One great attraction at these events is the old style town that has been recreated on the property. And of course, there is plenty of food available.
When I tour the grounds, I always keep my eyes open for new and different craft ideas. Although I will never, I’m sure, be able to make a tractor like the one pictured above, I can still find several ideas for new crafts.
(Wait until you see the vehicle my son made! I’ll have a picture for you later this week.)