Dress Form Tutorial: Want to make an exact replica of your body for custom work? Yesterday we set out determined to make our own dress forms for the Etsy Labs and thought we'd share the love with you guys if you want to make one of your own or just laugh at our own trails with the duct tape!Materials: A large T-shirt that fits below the bum that will be cut up and destroyed in the processAnother small piece of discard able cloth (a paper towel will do)At least two 45 gram rolls of duct tapeA pair of sharp scissorsCardboard, and cardboard tubingSomething to stuff the form with (peanuts, foam, polyfil, old clothes, be creative)A helperHere's what ya gotta do:Step 1Put on large T-shirt and have your helper begin to wrap the roll of duct tape around your body. Step 2Cut several strips of tape from the roll and apply them it a vertical pattern along the curves of the bust for most natural looking shape fit. Step 3Once taping of bust is complete, begin to extend tape from front to back (making sure model’s hair is clipped up as not to tape hair...eek).
D.I.Y. Origami Box Ornaments by Samantha&Miller - Home - Creature Comforts - daily inspiration, style, diy projects + freebies This awesome 18 Days Series project for D.I.Y. Origami Box Ornaments comes to us from Samantha Miller of Paper Red Shoes. I love the idea of hanging these for display (like she’s done in the photo at the end of this post). Here are the directions and more from Samantha: I have folded a few thousand of these boxes and have learned the following along the way: cut a good square, fold crisply, and practice before you use paper you really like! Vintage or antique bookPaper cutter or scissorsRulerRibbonFishing line. Directions (CLICK ON THE IMAGES FOR A LARGER VIEW): Tip: Whatever is on the topside of the square (as circled) is what you will see on the finished box. Step 1: Choose a great book. Step 2: Tear eight pages from the book. Steps 3 & 4: Fold one top sheet in half horizontally. Step 5: Fold in half again. Step 6: Take the bottom left corner and fold it at a 45° angle so that the corner is now in the middle. Step 7: Fold the bottom right quadrant at a 45° angle as shown above.
Homemade Holidays: Crock Pot Candles Growing up in my house, we always made our own holiday gifts. We were pretty poor, and I suppose it was our only option. But it was never presented to me like that (I didn’t even know what ‘poor’ was, really, and I had a stupendously fabulous childhood full of ‘thing finding’ and ‘government cheese’. But that’s another story.) It was all about crafting our caring into something unique, something personal. My mom and I made play-doh ornaments, or baskets of baked goods, or clay coffee mugs. The first holiday season that Damian and I spent together, I was a starving college student. Last year we made all our gifts together – our attempt at canning. Anyway, there I go reminiscing. How To Make Candles In A Crock Pot All you need is some wax, some wicks + wick bases, and some candle-holders. Optional additions include color (candle dye is available at the craft store) and smell. 1) Spoon the pieces of wax into your candle holders and arrange them in the bottom of the crock pot.
Nature alerte Necktie DIY: iPhone or iPod Pouch Tutorial I've been having so much fun upcycling things lately. 'Re-fashioning' is very appealing to me; not only because it gives outdated things a new life, but because it lets me use my creative problem-solving skills and create something one of a kind! This is my entry for this month's Etsy Fort Worth Upcycle THIS! Craft Challenge. I will show you step by step how I made an iPhone pouch from one of my Dad's old (and I mean oooooold) ties! As you can see, this tie is a lovely handpainted silk pattern in bright gold and various shades of lilac. For DIY, keep reading & let's get started! SUPPLIES and TOOLS: • 1 necktie • rotary cutter or sharp fabric scissors • ruler / straight edge • cutting mat • needle and thread • decorative snap buttons • snap fastener or snap fastening pliers First, fold over the pointed end of the tie and measure from the straight edge that creates. I used a ruler and this awesome Fiskars rotary cutter on a cutting board to create a perfect straight cut. That's it!
Epsom Salt Luminaries: Some Winter Beauty Recently I’ve seen a few crafty ideas around the internet using epsom salts, but I wanted to come up with something different. I’ve been itching to make some new luminaries, something that would be elegant and pretty against winter’s white snow. Something that says Christmas, but isn’t limited to the holiday. UPDATE: Please see my article on crafting with epsom salts for important information (including info on discoloration, see the picture below of them all white), especially if you plan to make these for an important event such as a wedding. The moisture in the salt will eventually evaporate, leaving you with white salt on your jars. These should be one of the last things you make, no more than a week before the wedding. Recently I saw some really pretty sea glass luminaries in white, light blue and light green. To get the effect, I made a little video for you. Note about jars: You can use any type of jar you want for these. Many people have asked me what type of salts that I used.
Sweet origami hearts To be honest, I was never keen on origami hearts (or roses for that matter) for a fairly long time because it was hard to accept the way they look — I find them too edgy and not very loving. Well that’s all in the past. My perception has changed (and I’m so glad). I have embraced their looks and I will admire them as they are. I’ve been on a folding spree over the new year break, particularly enjoying making heart after heart, starting with: 1. The ring design is by Hiroshi Kumasaka [熊坂浩氏]. Make bigger rings to use as napkin ring, bangle, scroll tie, bottle tag, etc. 1. 8. My preference is to hide those 2 flappy peaks (from step 12) inwards. 2. 2-sided heart Totally in love with this heart by Matthew Gardiner which looks identical both front and back. Notes: Crease well. 3. Followed this tutorial which uses a piece of triangle paper (i.e. the diagonal half of a square). 4. Designed by Kathleen Weller for a dollar bill. 1. 11. 17-18. plus [p.s.
12 Days of Christmas – Make Your Own Adornament | Bower Power What the heck is an Adornament? Well, simply put, it’s an ornament you adore. Or an ornament that you have adorned. Or a dorn you have mented. Whatever floats your boat. What floated my figurative Christmas boat was thinking about making my own ornaments. I started by snagging a box of plain opaque white ornaments at my local Hobby Lobby for half off: And then I gathered some inspirational ornament photos: I loved the Ballard Designs alphabet lettered ornaments – don’t they kinda look like Lotto balls? So now that you have seen my inspiration – let me show you how I DIYed a few ornaments for around the Bower house. First I located my Sharpie paint pens – I love the metallic colors. And then I used a bit of painters tape to give me a guideline for my monogrammed ball: Then using the paint pen against the painters, I just drew two straight lines to give me my stem for the letter “B”. My second ornament was inspired by those ZGallerie votives. Don’t make fun of me. So whattya think?
A Big List of Sites That Teach You How To Do Stuff With all due respect to Kevin Smith, the web is no longer only for complaining about movies. In fact, there are a large number of very helpful sites that teach you how to do things. These are do-it-yourself sites, but we're not talking about building a deck or baking a cake -- the web is full of more general interest sites that give quality instruction on all sorts of fun and useful projects. Including, sometimes, how to build a deck or bake a cake. In this horribly-titled, but hopefully useful round-up we will specifically focus on such general purpose sites that include some sort of rich media instruction (generally video). If you know of any instructional sites that are missing from this list, please mention them in the comments below. Instructables - "The World's Largest Show and Tell," as the site calls itself, is a community where people can create and share guides that cover a variety of topics from art and crafts to food, technology, and the home. Image credit: docman
Drink Can Butterflies For some time and for reasons I'm not entirely sure of, I have been trying to find a good use for used soda cans. I have tried making a mini chest of draws, gift boxes (there is a very good Instructable by Mangetout for that) and cookie cutters, the latter worked very well and went down a treat when I used it to make Peppa Pig cake decorations for my Goddaughters 2nd Birthday. Then last week I stumbled on the art of Paul Villinski, who turns old Beer cans into beautiful works of art by making them into butterflies and birds. I find the process quite addictive which is handy as I intend to make a lot of these and use them to create wall art in a way similar to Villinski's, you could also turn them into fridge magnets or perhaps stick them to hair clips. I hope you both enjoy, and find this Instructable useful.
Homemade Lip Balm | FIMBY You've stumbled upon one of my most popular posts. You might also enjoy let's talk lip balm. After making my own lip balm I will never buy it again. It's easy, cheap, 100% natural and good for your lips, especially this time of year. I tried to figure out the actual cost of this recipe but it wasn't worth counting up the pennies. Let's just say Burt's Bees makes a killing on lip balm! Ingredients 1/2 oz. Directions In a small pot over medium low heat melt beeswax, coconut oil, lanolin and vitamin E. This recipe makes enough for 3 - 3/4 oz tins (see photo for size) and one 1 1/2 oz jar. Notes I prefer to measure kitchen cosmetics with a scale but I included the approximate tsp. measurements for those without a scale. All ingredients can be found at a natural food store or ordered from an online store such as Mountain Rose Herbs. Some people are allergic to lanolin. I always use solid honey, that's just the kind of have.
Smart tips to make life easier | Xaxor Posted on February 24, 2012 in Humor If you’re new here, you may want to subscribe to our RSS feed or follow us on Facebook or Twitter . Thanks for visiting! Rate this Post (16 votes, average: 5.00 out of 5) Loading... So...