TetraBox Light by Ed Chew Liquid to Light Designer Ed Chew takes a green step in the right direction with the TetraBox lamp, a light object made from discarded drink packets that would have otherwise ended up in landfills already packed to the brim. The design is achieved by unfolding the packets and refolding them into hexagonal and pentagonal sections that are then pieced together to form a geodesic sphere or any other desired shape. Here, the Epcot-like ball makes an attractive overhead light and casts an impressive web of shadows and shapes on the surrounding space. Designer: Ed Chew Circle Zip Earbud Pouch Tutorial - Dog Under My Desk I use a little zippered pouch to carry around my earbuds since they are the fancy microphone ones and I don’t want them to break or get tangled. Some of you have commented that you are looking for some small, simple gift ideas. This is definitely simple to make, and a little more fun than the typical rectangular zippered pouch! I can see these as the perfect gift for teenage cousins or nieces or girlfriends or even teacher gifts. UPDATE: I have completely re-written this tutorial with twice as many bright, clear photos and more detailed instructions and it is available as a pattern in my pattern shop. First, download the pattern template HERE. Cut from main fabric: 1 circle 2 half circles 1 tab Cut from lining fabric: 1 circle 2 half circles Cut from batting (or medium weight interfacing, if you prefer): 1 circle 2 half circles You will also need a 1″ wide nylon 5″ or longer zipper. Place one lining half circle right side up and place the zipper right side up on top. Time to sew!
Make your own jellyfish in a bottle. « BhoomPlay ~ Note for Thai fans ~ เป็นโพสเก่าที่มีแฟนบล๊อกจากต่างประเทศขอมาให้เขียนเป็นภาษาอังกฤษนะคะส่วนแฟนบล็อกที่ยังไม่เคยอ่านเรื่องนี้เลย ฉบับภาษาไทยดูที่นี่ค่ะ The other day, while I was thinking to get something to put in the water bottle for Bhoom to shake for fun. I saw a plastic grocery bag next to me and then this idea popped up. I think.. well, give it a try. With some trials and errors, my little jellyfish comes alive just like I thought it would be. : ) When daddy and son first saw it, they’re surprised with their jaws wide open. Things you need to make your own jellyfish (Hope you can find all these in your kitchen) : 1. Instruction: • Flatten the bag and cut off the handle and the bottom part (see picture 1) • Cut along both sides (see picture 2) to split into 2 plastic sheets – by the way, we only use just one of them. • From the center of the plastic sheet, fold it like a tiny balloon to make the head part and tie it with the thread – not too tight (see picture 3). Like this:
Finger Knitting How-to You know how I just wrote about how I like getting a handmade gift more than just about anything. Well, this is anything. Sitting on the couch on a lazy Sunday, knitting with my kids . . . that beats gift-getting for sure. It is a gift itself. We just sat there side-by-side, for about an hour, feeling the warmth from each other’s bodies, listening to music from my computer and basking in each others company as the sun streamed through the windows. The two kiddos are finger-knitting, which I’ve written about before and again, but it continues to be a favorite activity. You end up with a long coil of knitting like this, that curls itself into a sort of tube. My son is using a finer and less expensive yarn, here. They really do enjoy the process. Some day, I’ll make a coiled rug from the pieces. **UPDATE: So many people have asked me for a PDF of the below how-to so they can take the directions on the road for their kiddos. Materials: Any yarn An eager kiddo Time: However long you want!
Friendship Bracelets Macraméd friendship bracelets were all the rage when I was growing up in the eighties. All the girls at my school would obsessively make them for one another in a dizzying variety of colors, widths, and patterns. It's amazing, thinking back, that such young girls could make such beautifully intricate accessories. I, of course, tried my hand at making them as well. Fast forward 20 years: Purl Soho started carrying DMC Cotton Embroidery Floss in every conceivable color (including fluorescents! Making friendship bracelets is a surprisingly easy craft, and best of all, in the end you'll have a bunch of cute summer bracelets to give to your pals. Materials Since this is such a free form enterprise the amount of colors of DMC embroidery floss you get is really up to you. Please not that the fluorescent thread is slightly thicker than the regular DMC floss. Beginning To begin, pick out your colors. For patterns use a doubled length of thread cut each color to a length of 72-inches. The Left Knot
How to Make Clothing Buttons from Shrink Plastic… This tutorial is an old one of mine that’s too good not to share again. Since posting the first time, I’ve had lots of questions about these buttons which will hopefully be answered in this revised post. Equipment Some handy notes: 1. single hole, hole punch (like this one here). 2. 3. Okay.. lets get started! Tracing tips: You can use either coloured pencils or permanent pens. Words must be writted backwards in order to be readable. Shrinking the buttons: To shrink the buttons, you can use an oven or a heat gun (the kind used for embellishing). After the buttons have twisted and twirled, and are LYING FLAT, it’s time to take them out. Note: If the skrinking is taking too long, you may need to turn your oven up. Here’s a short little stop-motion to make sure you’ve got the gist of how easy this is! Shrink Paper {here} Circle Punch {here} Hole punch {here} Pens {here} Update: I’ve made a video to show how to shrink the buttons using a craft embellishment heat gun. Kimanh Hi my name's Kimanh.
The Chip Bag Fold Learn this chip bag fold and you will never need a clamp ever again! Have you ever had a bag of unfinished potato chips which you want to keep fresh? These simple steps will allow you to close the potato chip bag without using a clip or clamp. An example of a silly (but undeniably useful) origami fold. 1. Place the bag of potato chips on a table and flatten the top of the bag. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. How To Mix Chalkboard Paint in Any Color We love using chalkboards as backdrops for displays and parties (like this one here!). So we were super excited to learn that you can create your own custom colors-and it's really easy! We first learned how from Martha Stewart whose tutorial you can read here. She recommends that you use latex paint, but we tried it out with acrylic paints with much success. Here's how you too can create your own chalkboard paint... Supplies: 1/2 cup acrylic paint (choose any color you like, or mix colors together to make the perfect shade!) 1. 2. Once your chalkboard has fully dried be sure to slate the surface before using it for the first time. Have fun creating any color combination you like!!
Coolest Earth Day Craft Ideas – Crafts Made from Recycled Materials « Cans « Crafts With Earth Day will be here in just a couple of weeks. In honor of Earth Day I thought I would scour the internet looking for cool ideas for Earth Day crafts. All of the crafts that I found and have listed here are made from recycled materials. Earth Day is a special day to celebrate the Earth and to increase awareness and appreciation of the Earth’s natural environment. And, I think making crafts from recycled materials such as the ones found here is a great way to teach children about recycling and the importance of doing that to help save our Earth. (1) Newspaper Roses Look how beautiful these Roses are? (2) Serving Tray I love, love, love this idea!! (3) Can-Do Robots Made from tin cans these robots are so freakin cute. (4) Cardboard Ottoman or Side Table What a clever and creative idea!! (5) Smashed Soda Can Animals Ok, this cow is really cute, isn’t he?! (6) Milk Jug Shade Now, this recycled craft turns out beautiful, doesn’t it? (7) Recycled Picnic Basket (8) Newspaper Basket
101 Simple Handmade Gift Tutorials These simple handmade gift tutorials will make any crafty person’s heart sing with joy! You don’t need special skills or a bunch of time because these can all be done super fast! Simple and cute…that works for me! Oh, and think of all the money you will save making these gifts. You are going to love these fabulous tutorials!!! You can make all your gifts for years from this list! If you love creative links, please subscribe to Everything Etsy! Thanks so much for all your tweets, stumbles, Facebook likes and pins on my Sewing Tutorials and Free Printables posts…you are the coolest crafty friends! If you want to be doubly awesome, try doing handmade gifts that are also eco-friendly! Handmade gifts make people feel special, don’t you think? ~Kim
Make-up Magnet Board We all know with craft blogs that original ideas are often hard to come by, we find ideas we love and make them our own but we didn't come up with the idea ourselves. I feel like I've finally done something original here and I'm excited about it. I'll show you the finished product and then explain. Behold my Make-up Magnet Board. I have a friend who is beautiful and stylish and has always loved make-up but recently took a course that intensified her love. Her renewed interest has worn off on me and it made me remember eye shadows I'd hidden away that were gathering dust. The basket was a mess and I was overwhelmed with all my choices never knowing what to use, digging through to see what I had and find what I wanted was a pain. I painted it (The hard way, with a brush instead of spray paint. I went to the hardware store and picked up some metal and had them cut it to fit inside my frame. Here comes the brilliant part though. Next I wanted a place to store my brushes and liners though.
DIY Dry shampoo has been a MUST HAVE in my daily hair care routine for the past three years. I’ve gone through countless spray cans of different brands (Psst!, Tresemme, John Frieda, Garnier, Oscar Blandi, Batiste…to name a few), spending way too much for very little product. I started to use plain old baby powder, sprinkling it directly on my roots and rubbing it in, and I found that it worked just as well or even better at giving my hair added volume and combating greasiness. THE RECIPE: Mix 3 parts cocoa powder and 1 part cornstarch and/or baby powder in a small container. Because this container works so well, I just hold the container in my hand and sprinkle the powder directly onto my roots and rub it in with my fingers. QUICK TIP: Did you know that the best way to use dry shampoo is to apply it BEFORE you actually need it?