The Crafteteria

the end of this blog.

2011-04-29T19:56:00.000-07:00

It's been fun, but I feel the drive and inspiration I once had for my crafts has fizzled. But I'm working on other projects and finding inspiration in that. My short break from blogging during a busy time in life ended up turning into a long break. I came to the realization that this blog wasn't a project I had both the time commitment and inspiration to see through. And as all things come to an end, so does The Crafteteria.

Thanks to everyone who read my blog, and the entire online crafting community.

signing off,

Sarah Jane Hammontree

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1qxSwJC3Ly0

Sometimes it pays to be crafty

2010-06-10T10:30:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I downed a Starbucks Doubleshot and kicked apartment ass. I got a ton done including lots of cleaning, some blogging and fixing the very lumpy couch cushions.

The left side finished compared to the right side which is the "before."

How I did it: I cut open the inner pillow. In my couch the pillows each has three sections, so I had to cut into each pillow three times. Inside the stuffing had smooshed together into a big lumpy chunk. Smooshed is a technical term. I ripped the stuffing apart into tiny pieces, pulling it apart will my hands to make it fluffy once again and re-stuffed the cushion. I added some poly-fill to party since I some I hadn't used up in 4 years.

Still not clear whether or not the yellow pieces started out yellow... ew.
I scrubbed my hands really hard afterward.

If you are squeamish or bought your couch used, seriously consider using gloves, or have some around just in case. I didn't use gloves, but my cleaning habits are intermittent. Or I'm gross. However you want to word it.

If you have never stuffed a pillow before, it's important to start at all the corners, then stuff the rest. If you don't the end product will be round where it's supposed to be square. After stuffing, sew your pillows shut and zip the cover back on. You'll likely need to vacuum up AWOL fibers. Ta-da! You're done.

The final product: a comfortable cushion you no longer have to try unsuccessfully to punch into pillow shape everyday.

Didn't you hear how sexy vacuum lines are? It's a hot interior design trend in 2010.

This is by far not my most glamorous project, but considering how nice the couch looks I think it's pretty rad. We got our couch used and I wonder if they got rid of it because of the lumpy pillows. Why replace something when with a little elbow grease you can mend it yourself? Sometimes it pays to be crafty.

Kickass Painted Heels

2010-06-09T11:01:00.000-07:00

I've been paint on and off for two weeks and finally they are done! I've had these shoes for a while and they are the comfiest heels ever! But the heels had become scuffed after being my go-to heel for the past two or three years. After picking up a similar looking heel at the thrift store for two bucks I finally plucked up the courage to risk ruining my favorite shoes. But I didn't ruin them and personally I think they look fabulous considering my poor painting skills.

I painted them using acrylic paint. Afterward I sprayed it with a seal. I'm all about fixing things instead of replacing them, so the the paint is partly functional. I'll definitely wear these a lot longer than if the scuffs got worse.

Sealing them, plastic bags covering what doesn't need to be sealed.

This was a really fun and challenging project. My ability to paint a thin black line has improved tenfold. If I could change one thing, it'd be the skull which I think looks pretty amateur. Here's a better view:

Also a close up of the waves, since they're the most detailed

What do you think of my shoes? Comments and Criticism welcome

Plot Update

2010-06-03T17:20:00.000-07:00

I thought today I'd share photos of my garden plot. Unfortunately my utter lack of money has led me to only plant half the plot.

Tomatoes, bell peppers, jalapeno, radishes and some cornflowers that haven't bloomed yet.

Ruby corn, spinach, strawberries, peas and out of view are black eye peas.

Repainted cork board

2010-06-02T12:56:00.000-07:00

I've been working hard on a project that isn't quite ready to share yet. I've very excited to show it off in the next few days.

I've been trying to organize and decorate my little craft corner in our bedroom. I painted this cork board. Previously it was a very unattractive beige wood. I painted (poorly) blue and purple leopard print with silver. I finally got it hanging over my craft table and have already used it for pinning up sewing project ideas.

Doll Clothes

2010-05-24T14:00:00.001-07:00

Fire Spirit
Originally uploaded by SarahJSaturday

Yes, I'm one of those weirdos who likes dolls despite being an adult. I thought I'd share the dress I made recently. I have more doll photos on my flickr account here.

Sewing on such a small scale is definitely a challenge. I think it's fun and a quick project.

Do you like dolls? Do you think they're creepy? I'd love to hear your opinion in the comments.

New Look and Friends Inchies Art

2010-05-19T12:58:00.001-07:00

I'm back from my sickness induced break, and even have a new layout! The new look is from Deluxe Templates. If you use blogger you'll love them. They have tons of great templates and even ones suited for specific types of blogs. I'm not being paid to endorse this, just wanted to share a great resource for bloggers.

I didn't get much crafting done but I did want to share something I made and forgot about. Around the holidays, three of my close friends and I did art on inchies. If you aren't familiar with inchies, they are tiny 1 X 1 inch squares for mini art. What you do with them when you're done is up to you but I decided to make more art for our apartment.

This project is a trial run for a larger project. I hope to get all of my closest friends and family to do some inchies and then combine them like this for art in my house. I think inchies are a really fun medium for creativity. Even people who aren't artists can fill up a 1 x 1 inch square and they are super quick to make.

Have you ever collaborated for a creative project?

Out Sick

2010-05-14T13:03:00.001-07:00

Camping

2010-04-29T22:26:00.001-07:00

I'll be gone for the weekend. Shipoopi and I are going camping at Lava Beds National Monument. Have a nice weekend!

A Look Back on my Earliest Crochet

2010-04-25T22:30:00.000-07:00

I am 21 and I've been crocheting since I was about 11. The first few years I crocheted I wasn't really involved in the online crochet/craft community. I didn't know such a thing existed. I didn't see all the wonderful amazing things people did with crochet. All I saw was a striped double crochet baby blanket my mom made for a friend and potholders my grandma won in a charity bingo. It was a creative famine in my world of crochet. I learned how to crochet before I knew what I would do with it. I've always been drawn to weaving, crocheting and knitting. It was something I wanted to do just for the sake of doing it. Every time I saw something crocheted, it was new and exciting.

Of course learning was a bull-headed process. My mom tried showing me how to crochet and mostly the process just frustrated me to no end, but out of pure stubbornness I figured out the very basics and went from there.

I think in a way I was lucky. I got to do creative things that I hadn't seen anyone else do before. When I made my checkered scarf, I figured out how to do the color change without cutting any yarn. I had no idea other people knew that "technique." I just loved checkers, loved crochet and hated cutting yarn.

I didn't have patterns in the early days. In fact I've almost never used patterns. I think you learn so much more if you figure out things on your own.

This was my first scarf. Before I knew that there was more than one type of stitch. I didn't know I was doing a back loop single crochet. I just though I was crocheting. I thought it'd be cool to add a pocket. I didn't know how to do a button-hole, so I just figured it out.

This was my second or third scarf. I figured out how to do chevrons and wanted to something with it. I ended up with this weird number.

I've come a long way and now I'm spoiled by inspiration on a handful of sites for people interested in crocheting and crafts. But I'll probably always have the most pride in the first things I made.

White Cheese with Basil

2010-04-24T18:20:00.000-07:00

I made queso blanco from some milk I needed to use up before it went bad. It's a great way to use milk up. How to is on The Homestead Hearth forums, here.

I've only made it twice but I think it's easy as pie, despite screwing up one of the very few steps. I even did my own little spin of basil mixed in. Easy as pie. Now if I only had some fruit for pie...

12 Steps to Keep Your Home Clean

2010-04-24T05:10:00.000-07:00

I have a sleep deprived confession to make to you, my loyal blog readers. All 2 of you need to know something about me, something dark and shameful and too horrible to imagine: I am a messy slob.

Yes, it's true. I won't deny it any longer. My whole life I have been one. When I was 14 months old, I left wet towels on the floor. When I As a child, cleaning my room usually meant finding creative out of site places to move my messes to. Usually the crawl space of our apartment. As a teenager, piles of books, papers and yarn were the mosaic of crap that protected the carpet from sun bleaching in my shared bedroom. Now as a young adult, I haven't come very far. I ate a gobstopper out of my desk that had been rattling around in there for at least six months. I always wait until laundry piles (Yes... more than one pile) are waist deep before doing them.... that following weekend. More than I care to admit there is a forest of some kind of mold on the pile of dishes I have yet to hand wash.

My therapist, Dr. Baldar says "You have deep issues of suppressed teenage rebellion that you express by being slob-like. Not unlike those with bulemia, you hurl your dirty clothes, old reciepts and scraps of fabric all about your human living space in order to gain a sense of control over your life."
To which I reply "You're a cat! You don't have the cognitive capacities to earn a doctorate."

The first step is deciding you have a problem.

The second step is running to the interwebs for advice. Lately I've reading a lot of articles from women's magazines with titles like 32 Ways to Use Baking Soda to Scrub Away that Empty Feeling in Your Life, Miss Petunia's Tips for Spending More Time in the Kitchen Cleaning, The Huffer's Complete Guide to Bleach presents: 101 Excuses to Clean with Bleach and Why Martha Stewart is Better than You at Everything in Every way.

The secret to streak free windows isn't vinegar, it's the blue tears of the Na'vi.

The third step is to realize none of step two will help you. The only thing more dysfunctional than how much of a slob I am is the people who need to have their home that perfectly clean. I have been working on being a tidier person, with some success so far. I used to let messes build up until I couldn't stand them another second and I would spend 7 hours straight doing nothing but cleaning. Then I let the cycle of filth to binge cleaning repeat. Lately I've been keeping the living room fairly neat and I've been doing dishes everyday. As time goes by I keep relearning the same thing on new levels: Baby turtle steps towards becoming better. Also the hare loses the race. Or something like that.

Part 2 soon to come.

My First Salad

2010-04-23T12:02:00.000-07:00

I harvested some of the lettuce from my balcony and made a salad to go with dinner Wednesday evening.

This is the first thing I've grown and then consumed. A first step towards sustainably growing my own food.

Happy Earth Day

2010-04-22T11:16:00.001-07:00

Happy Earth day! I thought I'd celebrate earth day on my blog with some of my favorite photos of my limited travels on Earth so far.

Lava Beds Nation Monument, Ca Fall 2007.

Lava Beds Nation Monument, Ca Fall 2007.

White Mountains, Ca Fall 2008. A bristlecone pine.

Bristlecone Pine, the oldest living trees on the planet. It takes a year to grown this pine cone.

Mono Lake, Ca 2008.

Point Reyes June 2008. Taken by my mom!

Point Reyes June 2008. Doesn't this photo look like a painting?

Point Reyes, June 2008. I love this photo because you see where the layers of rock folded over on themselves. California has such a rich geological history.

Yosemite, Ca April 2008

Death Valley, CA. Spring Break 2009

Owens Valley, Spring Break 2009. Climbing into small spaces is one of my hobbies. I'd say I'm a weirdo, but I've seen quite a few other people do it too on all the trips I've gone on.

How are you celebrating Earth Day?

The Balcony Garden

2010-04-21T14:00:00.000-07:00

An update on my balcony garden: After over a month, it's going great! I have gourmet lettuce mixture, arugula, kale and peas planted. It's going really well, despite the problem with the assholes at my apartments taking out the gutters in rainy march and all my plants and soil in box #1 being washed away. Frustrating at the time, but spring is a forgiving time of year!

Planter box#1: kale, lettuce mix, arugula, peas.

Kale.

Planter box #2: Peas, big lettuce plants, little lettuce plants.

Another view of box #2.

The peas even have a little flower starting to grow!

Here is the Sacramento area, we've been having unusual weather for the time of year. Usually by April, we've seen all the rain we'll see until fall. But this year it's been intermittent rain. Yesterday we even had hail! Hail is a rare event in this region of the country. I've lived here almost my entire life and I can only remember it hailing maybe 2 or 3 times. The good news is, this weather makes my late start to my garden plots not actually late! And hopefully I'll be able to get the next crop of lettuce before heat makes it bolt. After that, I'll have to look into what plants to replace the lettuce.

A Bit of Dirt: Balcony Planter Boxes on the Cheap

2010-03-08T14:47:00.000-08:00

It's not quite spring here in Carmichael, California but it's beginning to feel like it. So far there has been three days warm enough for me to wear shorts . And by "warm enough" I mean temperatures almost in the 60s. A few sunny days is enough to kill my winter blues and make me instead stress about gardening.

This weekend I made a planter box for our sometimes sunny balcony. The balcony doesn't get enough sun to grow things like tomatoes but I think somewhat shade tolerant veggies should do okay.

I have some peas that I mistakenly thought would be a good idea for start here and transplant to the plot, so I have two of them already in the planter box as an experiment to see if I can get them to grow. It's probably a fool-worthy endeavor. Mostly the boxes will be use for spinach, arugula and lettuce.

The box was simple to make, and we'll see how it holds up over time. All in all it was about $20 for the two of them, one medium and one large. I used a simpson bracket, screws and bolts and the plastic planter box.

A Rough How To

Materials needed:
Plastic planter box
2 Simpson brackets (shaped like a squared-off U) for each box
Nuts + Bolts to fit bracket, not too long. 4 for each box, but this may vary if you get a different bracket
Pencil or Pen

Use the holes in the bracket to mark where on the box you want the screw holes. Use a utility knife to cut holes. It doesn't have to be perfect. Insert the screws from inside the planter box. When you are digging in it later you don't want to have a surprise injury from a screw that you forgot was in there! Tighten bolts, Hang on your balcony railing. Make you your box has drainage, and a few rocks covering any drainage hole so you don't lose dirt with the water.

I apologize if I didn't use enough building terminology. It's only because I have no idea what I'm talking about.

Gualala

2010-02-19T21:54:00.000-08:00

I'm off to Gualala bright and early tomorrow morning. I thought I'd share a few pictures from my trip there May 2009.

The view from our room.

My secret love is Geology. IT ROCKS!

Yes, it was cold, but it's okay. I couldn't feel anything at that point.

I loved the misty forests near the ocean.

My wonderful boyfriend Shipoopi is the one to credit for all these lovely photos.

If you'd like to see more, check out my fickr Gualala album here.

Alien Illusion Scarf

2010-02-18T18:15:00.000-08:00

I knitted up the Alien Illusion from Stitch and Bitch. The chart confused the heck of me in the beginning, though I forget why.

If you've never seen or heard of illusion knitting before, it's a way of knitting with two colors, where purl stitches raise one color so an image is seen when it's at an angle.

Face on it looks like this:

From an angle you see the illusion!

If you want to learn more about illusion knitting, here is a great place to go for how to, and a variety of illusion knitting patterns.

This will be my last completed project for a few days, it's because me and my fella are going to Gualala, a little ocean town a few hours away for the weekend.

Baldar Blue

2010-02-18T11:28:00.000-08:00

Right now I'm in a gradual process of beautifying my apartment. A lot of what I'm doing right now is adding art to our blank white apartment walls. I painted our kitty Baldar, who is evil and a spazz, but I like him anyway.

Painted with Acrylic. 5 x 7 inches or something like that. I got a bunch of cheap dollar store frames and this is one of them. I'm not really a painter. I don't have the steady hand for it, so I'm not expecting to win any art awards.

My First Knitted Sweater

2010-02-17T09:17:00.000-08:00

My first knitted sweater! Also my first knitted baby item. I'm very proud of this one. I didn't use a pattern, I figured it out with math and determination.

Also, the buttons match. The lighting was weird or something. Also I'm not a photographer.

50 Completed projects in 2010

2010-02-16T12:58:00.000-08:00

One of my many goals for 2010 is to complete all those little craft projects that are almost done, but got put in a box and forgotten. Or all the projects I say I want to do, but haven't gotten around to doing yet. I also want to get my little [crappy] apartment more comfortable and more aesthetically pleasing.

All these things sort of fit in together in the common crafter's goal of 50 projects in a year. I've been working on and off at this year and wanted to share my progress so far.

Bold= in progress
Green= finished

1. Vases Painting
2. Baldar the Fox painting.
3. The Rose, mixed media
4. The Purple Baby Sweater for a friend's baby. need to deliver it to them.
5. My Mom's birthday scarf
6. Homemade Granola
7. Illusion Scarf
8. Homemade tortillas (but I want to try again. It didn't turn out well)
9. Homemade Horchata. Came out perfect, except I wish I made more.
10. Gray Cabled Hat
11. Painting the corkboard
12. Ugg booties- crocheted
13. Forest Painting
14. Gualala painting- Start over!
15. Pin-Up Callender
16. The Ugly Scrap Knitted Quilt
17. 5 X 7 painting
18. 3 x 5 painting
19. Replace the back couch cushions with my own pillows.
20. Organize the closet. I know this isn't technically a craft, but a lot of my craft supplies are kept in the closet or at least should be!
21. Pasta from scratch!
22. Friends and Family inchies! Have all my close friends and family do a few inchies each to be placed on a mosaic-like piece of art.
23. Alter/Make clothes for my trip to Vegas.
24. Make a dress or top from fabric from my stash.

I'm a little behind as you can see from posting photos of quite a few of these. I'll probably update my list about once a month with links. I'm off to a good start! At 50 projects in a year, that means I need to have about one completed project a week. We're about 7 weeks into this year and I'm already 10 projects in, with even more in progress.

What are your craft related goals for 2010?

Two Drawstring bags.

2010-02-12T12:21:00.000-08:00

I love lacy things. They seem so romantic and feminine. I made both early on in my crocheting career when I was learning beyond the basic single and double. I liked them then, and still like them now. That's not something I can say about a lot of my early work. Now if I could only figure out where I put these two...

Someone gave me this yarn. I think it was acrylic but I'm just guessing. I still love those little tassels.

Cotton yarn. I think i got it at a thrift store if I remember right.

Oskie M. the Sheep the Vulgar Creep

2010-02-12T12:03:00.000-08:00

I made this little sheep a few years ago when the song "Get Low" was at the peek of it's popularity and I named him after my interpretation of the lyrics. I heard the song as "OOOOoooooski ski ski mutha----ers... Oski ski g-ddamn." I loved that song and thought it was hilarious despite (or maybe because of) it's overly vulgar lyrics. So I named the first sheep Oskie M. M being abbreviated for Mutha----ers.

I have no idea what happened to this sheep and the other one I made. I had planned to make a bunch of them in all different colors but being a teenager distracted me. They were made with a combination of crochet and knit. I could be convinced to make a new one and write a pattern if there was enough demand.

Granny Square Rainbow

2010-02-09T12:32:00.001-08:00

Granny Square Rainbow
Originally uploaded by rubidiumdawn

When I made this I had a ton of cheapo left over acrylic yarn in so many colors that I had no idea what to do with them! I had different amounts of each color and wanted a creative way to use most of them up. I wanted the colors to make sense, not just whatever color I had thrown together without care. It'd look pretty crazy with all those bright colors.

What I came up with was each diagonal row would have two colors, and any row it was next to would have a color in common. The colors would blend into each other and the colors I have the most of would be the longest rows in the center. The only thing I wish I changed was making it a bit bigger.

Until this project I hadn't used granny squares at all in a completed project. They are quick to wip up, but they've been abused so much over the years. I think granny squares are associated with cat ladies with moldy little apartments, so I steared clear. I like this one though and quite a few I've seen turning up at craftster.org, and they seem hip, colorful and stylish.

What do you think? Should the granny square be left to grandmas or can the new generation of crafters revitalize it into a new golden granny age?

From the Pantry

2010-02-08T11:47:00.000-08:00

I made this quite a few years ago but I wanted to share. It's a scarf based off of one in the book Fruits. Fruits is a collection of photos of Japanese street fashion. I ended up selling it since at the time I didn't have a lot of yellow in my wardrobe. Bon appetit!

Proof that my photography skills have been consistently mediocre over the years.

A Bit of Earth

2010-02-08T10:25:00.000-08:00

A few days ago I went outside to get the pots and dirt from last year that are on our apartment balcony. My dear friend Monique gave me some seeds to plant and this year I wanted to get a good start. To my surprise two of the pots had already sprouted from last years seeds!

This is Cat Grass, which despite being something I don't plan on eating, it's a lot of fun. You can leave for a few hours, come back and see a noticeable difference in size. Watching the grass grow can be fun! I bought the seeds last year so my evil cat Baldar would have something to destroy. Unfortunately his plant-murdering lust was taken out on the rest of the seeds I started in 2009. A moment of silence for the lost souls.

This one I have no idea what it is. Time will tell. It's nice that I have a head start on whatever it is!

In a week or two I will be getting a plot at a church's community garden two miles from my apartment. I've started quite a few of the seeds and some have already sprouted.

What I have started:
Roma Tomatoes
Basil
Purple Basil
Sage
Chamomile
Oregano
Spearmint
Peas
Lettuce Mix (this will stay in my window-sill or go since it likely will not deal with the heat very well)
Arugula (same as lettuce)

My window where it's all getting started.

Lettuce sprouts! There are more sprouting plants but they are quite hard to photograph.

There are more things I want to grow, but that's the seeds I have so far. I still want to get one or two more varieties of tomato, corn, squash, bell peppers, zucchini and cucumber. Soon as I get paid I'll be making a trip to the nursery.

New Moon Swap!

2009-11-10T11:16:00.001-08:00

My partner recieved her package and posted the pictures so I can finally share! Here are the goodies I sent my partner:

Here they are all together.

Twilight Apple Christmas ornaments

My version of Bella's hat from Twilight.

The original. I think I did a very good job replicating the hat with my pattern.

Crochet New Moon Rose that can be used as a broach or a hair thingy. Yes thingy is a technically tern.

It's a box! I hand painted the New Moon flower with Acrylics and sealed with a gloss spray that stunk way more than I expected it to. I aired it quite a while and you could still smell it on the inside. I think it'll be fine with a little more time to air out.

A joke, I found it at the dollar store. I wrote Bella Swan with sharpie..... poorly.

Made with real vampires. I also got a Jacob bar for me, but I ate him.

There is also the necklace with a glass flower pedant I found really pretty. The image of a flower of black reminded me of Twilight. But I forgot to take a close up, which was awesome of my memory considering it's the one thing you can barely see in the group photo. Go me! =D

Racoon Suit Mario Chart

2009-11-09T16:19:00.000-08:00

I made this chart for a project I did a few years back, but I'd thought I'd share it for others to use too.

For the crocheted mario pillow I made, each pixel is two double crochet. This could also be used for cross stitch if you're into that kinda thing. Be sure to share anything you make with it.

Which do you like better from SMB3: The Raccoon Mario or Fire Mario?

Which do you prefer?

2009-11-09T15:44:00.000-08:00

My swap partner received her package, so soon as she post her pictures I'll share mine on here. Until then: I painted the frame of my Grin Fandango painting silver. I think it looks better but I'm not sure.

The New look

The Old Look

What do think? Which frame looks better?

More Hats

2009-11-09T15:12:00.001-08:00

I sent off my New Moon swap package on Saturday (a day late... always a day late on that stuff. ugh) and I'm excited to share what I made soon as my swap partner receives it. Until then: HATS! Bon appetit!

Crocheted Hat

2009-11-03T16:50:00.000-08:00

Here's what I made on my blogging hiatus. Bon appetit!

I look suspicious. Is someone about to steal my awesome new hat?

My hair isn't messy, it's just windy.
Yes...windy. Really it is. COUGH COUGH HACK COUGH.

Also, this photo makes my apartments look nice. Really it's just a sunny day and an out of focus backdrop.

Meet the Flintstones!

2009-11-02T12:24:00.001-08:00

Hey everyone I'm back! After a few months working crazy hours at a terrible job I finally have free time again and that means more crafting! Of course, I have been crafting all along, just no time to share it all!

Saturday was Halloween and I take every chance I get to make a costume. My amazing boyfriend Shipoopi agreed to go with me as the Flintstones! I made the costumes myself using my own pattern. I even made the obnoxiously large rock necklace out of carved floral foam.

I've made a few hats already for the coming fall pictures soon to come! Also I've in a New Moon craft swap, and once that's over I'll show you all what I made for my partner. Also another WIP soon to be finished for my friends birthday. I'll give you a hint of what it is it's a little spooky and there is more there than meets the eye!

Mercury Free Sushi

2009-08-13T13:00:00.001-07:00

My friend Monique's baby shower was this weekend. She's a fan of sushi but hasn't had any in months because she's worried about heavy metals in the fish. So I decided for the potluck dish I'd bring mercury free sushi made from candy. Bon appetit!

Didn't get there in time for a picture of all of them.

The first kind is your classic sushi roll. Made with fruit rolls instead of seaweed, rice crispy treets instead of rice and gummy worms instead of tuna. The second is sushi roll with fish eggs. Once again fruit rolls filling in for seawead, twistlers cut up to look like fish eggs and marshmallows instead of rice. The third is nigiri, with swedish fish candy playing the role of real fish. I did make the rice crispies from scratch just because it's easier that way.

The candy sushi was a big hit and I even put a little card that said "Mercury Free Sushi"

Because Ed Hardy is cluttered and expensive

2009-08-12T16:06:00.001-07:00

My best friend Alex's 21 birthday was last month and I made her this purse. I painted the heart, and my other close friend Chloe sharpied "Alex" on there in a cute tattoo-esque font. Bon appetit!

Modeled by me, and I am not pregnant... it's just a weird angle.

If you're wondering why the flurry of posts, I wanted to update before I leave on my impromptu Vegas holiday with my sisters. VEGAS BABY!

The Yummiest Thing I've Ever Made

2009-08-12T15:53:00.000-07:00

Hey Crafters! I've been on a home cooking kick lately, mostly out of necessity. Home cooked food like all home made things is so much better, and cheaper. I'm not going to make a habit out of sharing pictures of every dinner I make, but I had to share this one.

I love Thai Food. Some would argue too much. But going out for Thai food isn't cheap and I made a huge culinary leap and started cooking some at home. I'm more of mashed potatoes and wholesome savory cooking type girl, so making something like Red Curried Chicken is out of character. I have to say, it is the best thing I've ever made. Bon appetit!

"EAT ME"

Made with a few teaspoons of red curry paste, with coconut milk, chicken, fresh pineapple, zucchini, brocoli and a mix of peppers.

Dungeons and Dragons!

2009-08-12T15:42:00.000-07:00

If you read my blog, you may already know that I am a nerd. I submit to you more proof of my nerdiness: fresh baked geekiness. Bon appetit!

I made this with felt and a fabric marker. If you want to make one yourself, reference your d20. It is made of twenty equilateral triangles. I arranged the numbers in the exact positions as my reference dice, which are arranged to avoid cheating with weighted dice.

Update

2009-07-08T16:00:00.000-07:00

I've been very busy lately with lots of friends visiting from out of town. I haven't had a chance to update this, but don't abandon all hope. I'll be posting more projects really soon.

Craftster.org featured my Paper Rose Tutorial once again, this time on Tute Tuesday. This tutorial has gotten me pretty famous. ^_^

The June Dress

2009-06-19T23:04:00.000-07:00

the exciting back!

I started this dress ages ago, botched the top of it and I finally got around to finishing it a few days ago. It's not perfect but its one of best clothing items so far. My pattern. I used some cheap $1.50 a yard fabric from Walmart so no idea what it is, but it stretches just enough to not have a zipper. Bon Apetite!

It's probably not everyone's style but I love it. I wore it tonight to a Johnny Cash tribute concert in the park, in the heart of Folsom which was a lot of fun. ^_^ Gotta love Folsom Prison Blues.

This dress is the essence of summer session in college. Cool, fun, casual but argyle always represents collegiate-ness to me.

Crocheted Mario from the Pantry

2009-06-16T15:40:00.000-07:00

I made this Mario pillow for a friend I've since lost contact with. I unfortunately never got a picture of the finished pillow. I definitely want to make another one eventually. Bon appetit!

Two double crochet= one pixel.

I got the pattern from a screenshot of the game that I enlarged, printed and sharpied a grid over.

The Crafteteria is featured on The Best Homemade Gifts Idea's newsletter

2009-06-16T15:22:00.001-07:00

Howdy folks! Time for some shameless self promotion.

Just wanted to give everyone plenty of time to subscribe to The Best Homemade Gift Idea's newsletter. My Rose tutorial is to be featured in the July issue as well a number of other great ideas for gifts. Homemade gifts are so much more special that store bought ones. This is a website I can definitely get behind :)

My Rose tutorial might be featured in Craftbits as well. Keep a watch over the internet. There's no telling where I might show up next!

To anyone reading: Feel free to request a tutorial/pattern for any of the things I make. I'm always willing to help another crafter out.

If you like my blog, tell a friend!

My New Best Friend

2009-06-14T18:22:00.001-07:00

To all my friends: You've been replaced!

Meet my new best friend, the fat form.

Our cat recently escaped into the outside world were he was replaced by an alien replica who is seriously overacting. Our cat isn't that nice.

All kidding aside, here is the story: Today I went to Lowes to buy duct tape to make a duct tape dress form. After that me and my awesome boyfriend Rick headed to Gottschalks, a department store that you've never heard of, that I also used to work at. It's going out of business so we wanted to pick up some cheap towels. While we were there I saw that 2 cloth covered dress form fixtures that tragically stickers labeled "SOLD". That was when I went on an obsessive manicanhunt to find another. After wondering around we finally found someone who took us to the back were I shouted "Hey!!! THEY HAVE A FAT ONE!" Because I'm classy. The plus sized one was very close to my measurements, (which is great. I'm a size 12. Aparently 12 is plus sized even though plus size sections start at 14-16 usually) I just need to give it a boob job.

Making a duct tape dress form would've been a pain. I'm glad I found this.

So $40 + tax later I'm the proud owner of my very own dress form. HURRAY!

Steampunk Necklace hot off the griddle!

2009-06-12T11:13:00.000-07:00

I made a steampunk necklace for a friend's birthday which was in May. I'm running behind schedule! This is my first legitimate piece of jewelry. I have to say, jewelry is fun! I might actually start wearing jewelry now. Bon appetit!

Drop Spindle

2009-06-10T12:57:00.000-07:00

I made this high-whorl drop spindle about a year ago after learning how to use one on a college trip to Yosemite. A drop spindle is used for spinning yarn. While it is a bit slower than a spinning wheel, the drop spindle is easy to transport, cheaper to buy (Or make yourself!) and doesn't needs it's own corner in your living room.

Learn how to use a drop spindle!

I used an oak dowel, a cup hook and a closet rod mounting kit that had a pre-drilled wooden disk in it. I sanded it smooth, and rubbed it with wax paper to make it even smoother. It cost less than $5 to make. Bon appetit!

Grim Fandango Art

2009-05-29T22:14:00.000-07:00

I'm a Grim Fandango nut and about a year ago I painted this piece based on the art from The Blue Casket entrance in the game. 11x 14, acrylics on a canvas board. Bon appetit!

My hope is to one day have an outdoor patio lounge area for smoking hookah that is Blue Casket themed. Someday...

To those unfamiliar with the game, it's a PC game from 1998. It is a Lucas Arts adventure game based in the land of the dead and have influences from aztec beliefs and architecture and the film noir genre. It's awesome! Even if stupid Vista won't allow me to install it properly. Stupid Vista! But that's why god invented my boyfriends computer! =D

Grim Fandango fans: Say hi on the comments!

P.S More Art to come, and everyone is now able to comment on the blog! Sorry it took so long to work out. =)

FAME!

2009-05-29T13:15:00.000-07:00

My rose tutorial topic on Craftster is being featured on the front page. If it's not one of the three that randomly come on display click the ">>". Over 12,000 views on Craftster! And only 11,000 of them are by me! hehe.

Craftster
My Topic

I already told you folks out there in internet land, that one of my closest friends is starring in Children of Light. Well NPR seems to like it as much as I did!

Capital Public Radio News

If you're in the Sacramento area, you have to check this play out!

Paper Rose Tutorial

2009-05-26T21:18:00.000-07:00

The Coffee Filter Rose Tutorial

Supplies:
Coffee Filters, preferable cone shaped filters. I couldn't find any so I used regular ones.
Floral Wire, I used 22 gauge.
Floral Tape
Scissors
Awl or Needle
Paintbrushes
Water Color Paint
Water for paint
Dowel or something to curl petals

Step 1:
Cut petal shapes in a range of sizes
Cut wire long enough for the stem of the rose
Cut strips of floral tape 1-2'' long until you are sick of cutting (you'll need quite a few of these)

Step 2:
Bend the tip of wire at approximately 1/2''

Step 3:
Roll one of your smallest petals. This will be the center of the flower

Step 4:
Pierce the rolled petal with your awl or needle

Step 5:
Push the wire through the hole in the first petal.

Bend the wire down so it is flat.

Step 6:
Wrap the petal and stem with a strip of floral tape.

Step 7:
Form into petal shape

Pinch the petal at the base to form a slightly convex shape.

You'll do this for all the petals of the rose.

Step 8:
Add more petals using strips of floral tape in a spiral with petal slightly overlapping.

If you are right-handed add in a clockwise fashion.
If you are left-handed add in a counter clockwise fashion.
Later on while shaping the petals, this will make things easier.

Now you have an unpainted rose.

Step 9:
Begin painting the rose with water colors. The coffee filters tend to soak up the paint making painting the inside areas easy.

Paint the outside petals working inward towards the center of the rose.

As you paint, curl the tips of the petals with your dowel. I used a double pointed knitting needle that I made too short. The other side of your paintbrush can also work.

It is better to over-curl, since they uncurl a bit while drying.

Continue painting until you are done.
Congratulations! You made your very own coffee filter rose! Now make a gazillion more until you drive yourself insane!

If you would like coffee filter roses made for you, email me at sarahjsaturday@gmail.com to discuss rates.

Is Theatre a craft?

2009-05-19T16:56:00.000-07:00

My friend is in a play. It's called Children of Light. It's a modern telling of a greek tragedy. I loved it! It's the best play I've seen in a long time. If you're in the Sacramento area you should check it out.
More info: California Stage

Crocheted Necklaces

2009-05-15T01:41:00.000-07:00

I've made a few of these crocheted necklaces. I love them. They're quick and cute. Bon apetite!

My friend came up with the idea of this one being worn as a bracelet as well. Here she is wearing it. (I sent it home with her, she wears more of those colors so it'll enjoy it's new home.)

Roses Fresh from the Garden

2009-05-14T14:01:00.000-07:00

The Paper Garden that is. All 30 of these roses were made by hand. The petals were cut out, taped with floral tape to floral wire, then hand painted with water colors and shaped by a small wooden dowel.I did a variety of colors that I knew my mom would like. Peaches, Pinks, whites, yellows and some roses that blended from yellow to peach or pink. It was a labor intensive process but I'm so happy with the results.

If I had to do it over again I'd wait to arrange them until after all or most of the roses were done. I may be over critical on myself, but the arrangement of these roses could have been better. I may have rushed myself to complete the project since it is a gift for my mom for mothers day and is several days late.

I did steal two from the bouquet to give to her on Mothers Day and she was so impressed by them. I can't wait to get these to her! I think she should have these at her desk at work to brighten the office, and to show off her extraordinarily talented daughter. LOL.

Without further text, Bon Apetite!

Fresh Baked Link!

2009-05-10T21:02:00.000-07:00

Link, a gift for my boyfriend's sister Mandy. Made of out supersculptey and then painted with acrylic. It was a last minute thing, which accounts for the not so precise paint job. (The caffeine and an unsteady hand also account for that too.) Bon apetite!

From the pantry

2009-04-28T12:34:00.000-07:00

I made these about a year ago and have never shown them off. The first one is made with a set of chop sticks. The second is made with a wooden dowel. Bon apetite!

Paper Roses

2009-04-27T13:25:00.000-07:00

I've made some paper roses. These are the only ones that look good and go together. I've made about 6 or 7 so far and these are the best. I really think I could improve my technique and have these look even more life like, especially with some better supplies. These four are going to be part of a gift for someone close to me coming soon. Friends and family can have fun guessing because I know about 5 or 6 people with upcoming birthdays and there is mothers day too. Bon apetite!

Sorry for the low quality photos. The lighting wasn't good.

Hot off the Grill!

2009-04-01T16:08:00.001-07:00

I made a hamburger or various craft items that get lost: yarn and thread needles, tiny scissors, stitch markers and pins. I got the idea from Craftster.org but it's my pattern made up as I go. Bon Appetite!

Note the tiny red scissors!

And how it's closed!

Easter Afghan

2009-03-30T19:26:00.000-07:00

I made an afghan for my grandma for Easter. I'll be mailing it with a bar of see's sugar free chocolate. I used a diagonal afghan stitch. I can't quite recall the name but it may have been something like "box stitch". Anyhow... Bon appetite!

From the Pantry

2009-03-26T12:01:00.000-07:00

I made this about a year and a half back. It's a pink cropped sweater, my pattern. I used baby yarn and an F hook. Bon appetite!

I miss my old hair! -tear-

From the Pantry

2009-03-25T14:18:00.000-07:00

Here are some preserved goods from years past. Bon Appetite!

Fresh Baked Goods!

2009-03-25T12:58:00.000-07:00

Here's the shiny new home of my craft blog in all it's delicious glory. I'll be posting new projects as they are done, and pics from the archives every now and then! Bon appetite!

Baby blanket for some friends!

~~~~

Baby blanket for my brother and sister-in-law. They are going to have the gender be a surprise but will have all the baby things be baby blue.

~~~~

More fresh baked crafts to come!