Crankypants Magnets

My new thing is making cranky little cross-stitches for magnets.



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Book Cover

I purchased a copy of The Chrysalids at the thrift store. I love this book and have read it a number of times but didn't have my own copy. I didn't like the cover but some fabric and a hot glue gun fixed that.

Before: looks like someone designed this cover to make it look more adventurous or appeal to people who read The Hardy Boys. What are those things in the forest behind him? The villagers? They look like evil goblins.




After: A nice striped flannel cover from fabric Melissa gave me.




Okay and I just have to show off my other find- a Harry Potter pop-up book! I love pop-up books and this one is lots of fun. If you pull the tabs the streetlights go on and off and McGonagall transfigures. I had to restrain myself from putting an exclamation mark after that last sentence.



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Kitchen Chairs

Another reason the posts have been slower on the site is I have been doing some home reno stuff and not all of it is crafty. This one counts though! I reupholstered my dining room chairs. This was my first time reupholstering and I did new foam and fabric and used a staple gun, oooh. I'd never used one before.

Before



After



I used a ReadyMade magazine tutorial from a copy the lovely Hilary sent me. Hilary blogs on Mom's Tinfoil Hat and Foodie Loves Picky. I listed to a mix cd from Jupitermama while doing this project and Jupiter may have the distinction of being one of the only people I know without their own website or blog. I have the distinction of writing really long sentences like the one above.

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Wedding Gift

I wanted to do something traditional for my friends' wedding gift and decided on embroidered pillowcases. They turned out nicely but I completely underestimated the time this project would take (hence the lack of posts the past few weeks). This project represents Seasons One and Two of Weeds, and almost the entire audiobook of Stiff: The Curious Life of Human Cadavers.



Stitches used: split, satin and backstitch.



Hmm.. no wrapping paper, tied with a ribbon and something embroidered inside? I wonder who this is from?!?



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What to do with a book your kid rips up

Thankfully this time it was not a library book but an old book about airplanes we bought at a garage sale. Won't the mailperson be impressed!



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Sun Jars

These are so pretty! It would also be cool to use etching cream to make designs on the glass. These would be so nice for outside on a patio.

Not Martha's instructions
Instructables's instructions



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and now for something completely different

Polymer clay! It's been years that I can remember making anything from it. My previous creations were quite fragile, which I later learned was due to the type of clay I was using (Sculpey III). I switched to Fimo and though it takes more work to condition it is much sturdier.

Dumbledore

I used a mold to start his face, then altered it to make the nose longer, and his face more wrinkled and more craggy. He is entirely made of clay, except for his glasses, which are made from wire and there are seed bead accents in his sash. I used pearl ex powders for metallic accents. It's been a while since I sculpted and it looks a little unprofessional but I still like him (it's Dumbledore, so I like it by default). For a craft swap.





And some wee chocolates, to be made into magnets



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Silver Star Chair Covers

I love these because they are so pretty and were a breeze to whip up. I traced the back of one chair onto a big piece of paper and used that as a pattern. Hem the bottom and sew around the edges, leaving the bottom open and voila- pretty halloween chair covers.

Mosaic Birdhouse

I made slats for the roof from balsa wood, painted the whole thing white, did mosaic on the walls, with a button trim on the roof and beads on the door. The little fairy inside is made from polymer clay with doll hair and wire wings and she is sleeping on a moss nest.

Curtain for Door, Son trying to Escape

Total fluke that the fabric matches our walls spot-on. The curtain rod is an old towel rack; the scavenger strikes again!



PS- am almost done Project Which Shall Not be Named!