Design

Test Tube Chandelier

test tube chandelier.jpg

This test tube chandelier is so rad and can be interpreted in a million ways. How would you spin it? Designed by The Maria S.C. lamp, designed by Pani Jurek, found on Design Milk.

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How To: Anthro Bookcase

by Lindsey North

in Design,Home Decor

Sweet bookcase.

This melted crayon art tutorial from Stephanie of 52 Kitchen Adventures gives crafters of all ages a chance to play with crayons, and to melt them. When I was little I loved to melt crayons, you can put crayon shavings on wax paper and make "stained glass", or draw on a piece of paper that is warming over a griddle, all fun projects, but Stephanie's just seems a little more artistic.

How-to Make a Dreamcatcher

by Meg Allan Cole

in Design,Home Decor

dreamcatcher how-to from Free People.jpg

Rachael Rice shows how she makes her own dream catcher with a twist. According to Native American tradition, you aren't supposed to have more than one in your bedroom, but I am very tempted to create a collection of dream catchers in varying colors and sizes. Would that ensure the best dreams ever?

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How To: Make Your New Years Manifesto

by Lindsey North

in Design,Home Decor

Start your new year with a project inspired by Aileen of Creating Clever. Create your own manifesto that can hang in your living room and remind you of your goals.

8 Design Projects Done in Less Than a Minute Each

by Rachel Hobson

in Design

Admittedly, each of these projects likely takes more than a minute to complete, but probably not much more. This video from LOTA-DESIGN features eight super simple, but beautifully elegant, design projects like paper lamps and wall hooks out of plastic bottles. It's a great inspiration for making simple and beautiful things around your home. Thanks for sharing, Claire!

Tracing Paper to Trace Canvas?

by NutsAboutNeedlepoint

in Design,Nuts About Needlepoint,tools

The simple answer is NO, not ever, never.

I got this question recently from a reader.

This is the right way to transfer a design to canvas:

No you do not use tracing paper, the material in it will rub off and discolor your threads.

Here’s what you do:

Trace the outlines of your design on the paper with black marker so it is easy to see through the canvas.
Place the canvas on top of the design. If it’s hard to see, tape the design, then the canvas to a window or light box.
Using a permanent marker made for making on fabric (I like Pigma Microns from Sakura myself & they are widely available). trace the lines of the canvas.
Let sit overnight to dry completely before stitching.

YOu can see the steps used to do this in this illustrated tutorial.

I did lots of testing of potential canvas markers and wrote this post about them. I have used other markers and any marker can have the formula for the ink change and no longer be suitable for needlepoint. It’s good to test from time to time.

A final note: Never use anything to mark on canvas that isn’t waterproof, made for fabric, or tested. Always let dry overnight because many things become waterproof only after they dry completely.

Read the rest here:
Tracing Paper to Trace Canvas?

You Are a Part of the Creative Conversation!

by NutsAboutNeedlepoint

in Design,Nuts About Needlepoint

Illustration: Gustaf Fjaestad (artist), Miss Fjaestad (weaver). Below the Falls tapestry design, c1913. From The Textile Blog.

I don’t like it when people criticize needlepoint saying it’s like “painting by numbers.” Being the daughter and granddaughter of very creative women, I have always seen, as have they, needlepoint as a very artistic and creative process.

A blog post last week at The Textile Blog got me thinking about this again.

All art is a conversation. In it there are always two people: the artist and the person seeing the art. The artist has an idea and expresses it in a particular way. It may not be an idea you like and it may be expressed in a way you find ugly. But he began the conversation with his idea and its expression.

The second person in the conversation is the person viewing the art. By seeing the expression of the idea, you, even if it’s just mentally, react to it and comment back.

I never thought much about my part in the conversation since looking at art is almost as much of my life as breathing until I was in my 20′s and invited to a docent-led preview of an important modern art exhibit. I went through it and hated every piece, but I understood them. Without knowing it I took part in the conversation.

But in needlework there is always a third party — that’s you the stitcher. As The Textile Blog points out, often they are unknown. But always, always, we take part in the conversation. We do it through our choices of thread, through our stitches, and through our ideas on what the piece is about.

It may be not obvious at all, as is the case in the tapestries in the blog post. Or it may be very obvious, as is the case in how I personalized the baseball player pictured here. But as the maker we take the artist’s idea, add our own, and express that combination in the finished piece.

So go out, embrace your creativity and stand up to be part of the creative conversation.

Go here to see the original:
You Are a Part of the Creative Conversation!

DIY Holiday Accessories

by Meg Allan Cole

in Design,Fashion,Glitter,Home Decor

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Need a bold accessory to be the belle of the ball at the holiday cocktail party you are attending? Here are some quick and easy DIY headbands that pack a punch this holiday season. If you want to adorn your home with a warm welcome or word you can make a moss covered sign. Learn how to create both in my most recent Threadbanger video.