Tag archive for craft

My style would not be considered minimalistic. The concept of that sounds grand, but when it comes down to it my dream abode would be chock full of kitschy wonder, granny afghans, crayon box color and a teensy bit of glitter. A place where homey meets retro, where my collection of beer koozies can be displayed prominently on a floating wood shelf and my oodles of weird collections have homes.

Likewise, I’m drawn to these fun and simple DIY tutorials that can add a little panache to your space and your life.

Book Page Fabric

Paper Garland

Chalkboard Globe

Lace Stenciled Frames

My husband, the science and map geek, would adore this chalkboard globe in particular! And I am a lover of lace and spray paint, so I’m certain that project will get attention from the Spangler household in the near future!

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Holy cupcake, I’m a sucker for tutorials. If they’re simple and quirky, you’ve won me over before we even got started! A friend of mine, Lynnea from Squid Ink Kollective, posted a link to these tutorials on her Facebook page and I was immediately intrigued. A big long LIST of TUTORIALS you say? Okay.

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So I recently heard about this idea called Thing-A-Day. Not a very catchy name, but a very challenging and fulfilling concept: create ONE new thing every single day of February and post it on a collective blog for everyone to see. It sounds deceptively simple, something I’d like to try but will probably keep from doing so because the fear of not accomplishing the task is enough reason to not to even try. Ahh, self-doubt.

Thing-A-Day is just another one of those “light the fire under your ass” movements like NANOWRIMO. But just like NANOWRIMO, Thing-A-Day is a positive thing and actually a really awesome idea. Oh, the knitting, folding, embroidering, sewing, drawing, nailing I could do! The handmade shrine to awesomeness my house would become! In truth, there would probably be a lot of unskilled scribbles, some mangled embroidery and a wonky zipper bag or two hanging around the house mucking it up for a whole month.

But who knows? Maybe I’ll give it a shot. I’ve got just about two weeks to decide… and I’m hoping the strong-willed competitive streak inside of me will flare up and mean business!

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I’m really super duper excited about this October, for several reasons.

1: HALLOWEEN! And that means crafty awesomeness all-around.
2. Football! My fantasy football team is teetering on the edge of a win today, so I’m hoping Monday Night Football will treat me right!
3. EtsyRAIN’s Pre-Holiday Craft Show at the Intiman Theatre!

This year I’m interning for the EtsyRAIN group, which I’m already a member of, helping them get the word out about the Pre-Holiday Craft Show. The show will feature only local EtsyRAIN members, and the chosen charity to support is DonorsChoose.org. Please check the link out. They’re a fab place doing great things in schools with kiddos.

I’m handling some of the PR, graphics and marketing leading up to the big event and it feels great to be involved! For all your EtsyRAINers out there, I’ll have a blog badge graphic ready for you to handy-dandily place on your blog so you can give the fest a shout out to all your readers!

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I mentioned my granny-love of doilies before, and when I saw this round up of doily projects from How About Orange I squeed my pants!

I just happened to have scored a small string of vintage doilies from a yard sale last weekend… so my wittle brain is conniving a project. I’m thinking the drawstring bag is right up my alley. Maybe a shoe bag? Maybe a take-out craft bag?

Geez… I really need to get some pics up here of some awesome crafty items I’ve made recently! Stop slacking Shrie! Have you made anything with doilies? Do tell!

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Wooty woot woot! Today I’m the featured artist on the glorious My Girl Thursday website. I recently participated in a giveaway for My Girl Thursday as well, and just sent off a bright and cheerful handmade bunting banner to the lucky winner!

Thanks to Chantilly at My Girl Thursday for choosing me to feature… I’m totally stoked. Check it out to see what I’m about and what I make!

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Or maybe they are… check out this FAB idea for a simple, economical, elegant yet homespun dining room decor idea. I’m totally into granny chic, and would make this table runner in a heart beat.

IDEA! : What if you sewed a bunch together in a free-form style and hung it on the wall? Kind of like an heirloom quilt or piece of art?! *hearts*

I recently created my own doily project for Offbeat Bride. They look great as event buntings, nursery decor or above a bed! And, whaddya know… it’s up in my Etsy shop. I never thought I’d say this… but I think I love doilies.

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I’ve been working like a dog… okay not really. But I have been making lots of stuff! Here are just some new items, from my crafty hands and into my Etsy shop! I did a three part series on Offbeat Bride on “How to create a festive wedding banner”, and this amazing floral bunting was part three of that three part series. You can see the tutorials for part one and part two as well.

Spring Floral Bunting Banner

Sassy Cotton and Chenille Burp Cloths

Bold Cotton and Flannel Burp Cloths

Embroidered Vintage Linen Floral Brooch

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I made my first ever bunting garland for Ariel, when I heard she was pregnant with little Tavi. I think they add such a fun punch of color to a room, and I’m glad to hear that she luuurvs it. Here it is, featured in an OffbeatMama.com post about Ariel’s baby closet!

I did a DIY tutorial post on how to make this exact style of bunting over at OffbeatBride.com. It’s super fab!

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I just love rummage sales. Fortunately, we live in a part of town that has a real sense of community, and with that comes many rummage sales and charity yard sales. This past weekend the hubs and I attended the Lakewood Seward Park Community Rummage Sale and came away with a few goodies for sure! I picked up about six wooden embroidery hoops for $.50! Hopefully, I’ll be using my new skills in needle-felting to make a mobile with the hoops.

We also nabbed a beetle box, which is so super weird and cool at the same time, and a lovely almost-all-the-way embroidered pillowcase. I think I’ll make an apron front out of it.. or maybe a summer tank top? The fate of this piece has yet to be decided. I think my love of cheap goods, and the thrill of the thrift, is rubbing off on the Mr. Man. He is eager to rummage! (more…)

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I spied these nifty Google Maps Envelopes while perusing the Craftzine.com blog and was smitten. Designer Beste Miray Dogan made up this  Mapenvelop, an envelope with a map of the place in which the letter originated, using Stephen’s template .

They’re cute, quirky and AWESOME to get in the mail. If you flip the idea around a bit, print out envelope liners with the location of your event and send them out with your invites, your envelope is doing double-duty. Plus, they just look super neat.
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Good news guys… I have officially re-opened my Etsy shop! I began the shop as an experiment, testing the waters of Etsy and trying to find my scope and direction. As I’ve been sewing and crafting more and more my focus has changed from custom vinyl graphics to vintage and thrifty finds and handmade home goods.

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One of my new favorite crafty-like things I like to do to occupy my idle time (as if I had any!) is needlework, specifically embroidery. I’m still very much a beginner. My needlework is sketchy to say the least, but it’s oh so rewarding. Nothing makes me happier (well, maybe a few things do) than toiling away at a piece of embroidery and then finishing it! Voila! It becomes an awesome, handmade piece of artistry that I spent hours on! It’s very satisfying.
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So, I’m not the best at sewing. I did, however, grow up in a house where the whirring sound of my mom’s brown Pfaff sewing machine was as normal and commonplace as the sound of a TV in some homes. My mom made a lot of our clothes, including a stellar pair of zebra print hammer pants WITH a shirt that had a zebra head on it with googly eyes. I’m being for real. I sported that outfit around school like nobody’s business, my side ponytails and all!

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No holiday squeaks past me without a little crafty doo-dad being made to give away to someone special. I just can’t keep my hands off! I’ve found all kinds of heartsy-fartsy crafting inspiration on the web and in the blogs I read.

These adorable Kitschy Digitals designs are too cute! Wish I had an Instax Mini Camera. So sweet… so colorful. She notes good tips on embellishing your little Valentine’s as well!
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1st bunting project

This holiday season I made the handmade pledge. And while I didn’t make EVERYTHING (except for gifts to the hubs!) I made a valiant effort. I made potholders, partridge ornaments, an apron, bunting and a felt eyeglasses case among other things.

potholder and ornament

I stuck my fingers repeatedly with an embroidery needle, tangled the bobbin thread on my machine about every other time I set to sewing, glued my fingers together accidentally…. suffice it to say I had many crafting injuries.

And my holiday crafting stressed me the heck out! I was freaking about if I was going to get everything done, if people were going to be let down that they didn’t get a fancy new-fangled mall gift etc. My neurosis know no bounds!

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I’m just overwhelmed with all the rad holiday crafts I’m finding online! Yesterday I tweeted about wanting to make this simple, but probably time-consuming, wreath. I think it’s an excellent way to use up extra paper scraps and wouldn’t necessarily have to be all one color scheme, but I think that’s the wily crafter in me. It might look *better* if the colors/patterns of paper followed some sort of color theme.
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