Today My Heart is…

This entry marks the first of the “Today My Heart is…” series.
Let me explain this a little bit.

I bought a blank book.
I do this often.
I’m sure a great many of you out there do the same thing. So many possibilities, right?
Well, I swore that this book, unlike the ten or twenty before it, would have a specific purpose and see even its final pages touched and used. So the purpose had to be decided. Though I can’t say for certain where it came from, I can honestly mark my adoration for the project that ensued- to draw my heart. To sit down and think about what my heart would look like at any given time of the day; isn’t that what we all do when we journal? Don’t we crack open our chests and peer inside and try to find words to describe what we see? Well, I wanted it done with pictures. And I wanted it on lined paper to ensure my metaphor was reached.

Here is the first page of the project:

Here is the text of the poem in the image:

“My time is running out and still
I have not sung
the true song
the great song

I admit that I seem to have lost my courage
a glace at the mirror
a glimpse into my heart
makes me want to shut up forever

so why do you lean me here Lord of my life
lean me at this table in the middle of the night wondering
how to be beautiful”
-Leonard Cohen

Made: Lace Necklace

I was in a bind the other day- it was nearing midnight and I didn’t have a present ready for a friend who was leaving town. I had to make something quick- and small! Racking my brain, I came up with a simple solution- lace. More specifically some lace motifs.

So I started making motifs, and after getting two done, I realized I didn’t have a plan for putting them together. So I improvised. I stitched around one, made the “chain,” then stitched around the other, connecting them with a lace pattern inbetween. Fun! This would be a great necklace with a navy blue billowy top. I picture a sailor’s wife liking it’s inability to rust on the salty sea.

New Direction

I like getting my thoughts on paper.
I like even more getting images on paper.
I forgot how much I liked getting things uploaded on the internet where who-knows can see them.

I found that spending a year without a blog where I write to friends and family left me feeling a little disconnected. So I thought about starting a new blog, but I realized that my life isn’t as exciting as it was when I lived in Japan. And I can’t keep up with a weekly project blog like this one started out being- not that my friends and family would want to see that. I thought about writing about my experiences as a waitress- but I’m afraid it would be too negative.
So I’m going to do this-

I’m taking my craft blog, and I’m going to continue updating tutorials on crafts at the same rate as before. In-between those long intervals, however, I’m going to insert: updates on MY crafting- things that I’m creating, created, and want to create. I’m also going to upload the drawings I do of my heart in my journal- a process of thinking about how I’m feeling in a graphic way, and record thusly. And in-between that, who knows!

I’m excited.
My small craft desk is also excited. It wants more quality time, and this just might do the trick.

Fourteen: Scrapbooking Embellishment

The joy of scrapbooking is priceless… until you don’t have any money to spend on those gorgeous embellishments at the store. Then the price looks pretty huge! My two years in Japan taught me to be resourceful (since there were no scrap stores!) and I found easy ways to add texture and depth to my books.

Here is a tutorial on how to make a rustic fabric embellishment. Enjoy!

Supplies:
*piece of fabric (recycled from clothes is good!)
*ribbon
*brown bag (I used an old Chipotle bag)
*thread
*needle or sewing machine
*stamp (letters and words give focus to the piece)
*stamp ink (I used brown and black to make it motley)
*brad, grommet, etc.
*patterned paper if desired (I used old sheet music)

Step One:
Stamp your image on the brown bag. Crumpling up the bag helps to make it rustic. Frame and distinguish the paper by dragging the inkpad along the edges of the paper. This makes it look aged.

Step Two:
Crumple the patterned paper and ink it up along with the edges. Ripping is okay!

Step Three:
Sandwich the ribbon between the layers and stack as desired. Putting the top layer at an angle adds interest. You can pin it if you feel uncomfortable keeping it together at the sewing stage.

Step Four:
Sew around the edge of your paper. I tend to go off the edges because I like the threads that hang out when I clip them.
Add a brad or grommet for something shiny. I tend to put mine where the ribbon intersects with the paper to make it appear as though the brad has a purpose.

Step Five:
To adhere your embellishment to your page you can use glue (if it’s heavy) or double-sided stick tape to hold the whole thing down solid.

There you go! Fun embellishments that cost very little compared to store-bought ones, and use up scraps at home! Yeah for recycling!

If you have any ideas, tips or techniques concerning embellishments, let me know, and be sure to tell me how it goes for you! I love seeing your pictures.
Good-luck!

Thirteen: Hand Carved Rubber Stamps

Howdy folks!
Been a long time. I’ve seen my way back across the ocean, then around the US by car, and now I’m settled down in Maryland and ready to start up on all my long-missed crafts. Today I’m going to show you how to make your own rubber stamp. This little trick will save you a great deal of money when you realize how many stamps you can make all by yourself.

If you like the idea of handmade stamps that are one of a kind and you don’t feel like making them, stop by my talented friend’s Etsy site: Metronome Circus.

Step One:

Here are the materials you needs-
Stamp Ink
Graphite Pencil
Scrap Paper
Exacto-knife (Fine blade for detailing)
White Rubber Eraser

As for the eraser- I’ve used just about everything from dollar store to Staedler, and they all work. Some last longer than others. The best material for a long-lasting stamp is a brick of white rubber actually meant for carving stamps. Mine were bought in Japan, so I’m not sure where you can buy them here.

Step Two:

Draw out your design. As you draw, press hard with a graphite pencil to give it more transfer capabilities.

Step Three:

Lay your design face-down on the white rubber eraser. Take out your pencil and rub it over the back of the paper, transferring the design to the eraser.

Step Four:

Begin by cutting away the outside areas of the design. You will be cutting away everything you don’t want to show up in your final stamp- all white areas.
**Always cut at a diagonal away from the design. You want to leave the remaining rubber in the shape of a sloping mountain to allow for a steady base, otherwise you will cut into the integrity of the base.

Step Five:
You can chose to cut the stamp itself into the shape of your design for efficiency, and so that the corners of the stamp don’t ink the page by accident.

Step Six:

Cut out all remaining interior design elements. Remember to cut at diagonals. I tend to work in small sections to remove the rubber one piece at a time in triangular shapes.

Step Seven:
Check your work. Ink your design and try it out on some scrap paper. Sometimes you’ll find a snag or a part you forgot to cut. Go back and clean up your mistakes with your knife.

Step Eight:

Decorate! Stamping can spice up anything, but I love it for making ordinary lined paper into whatever the season demands. I like simple shapes for repetition, and I especially like how this one petal stamp can either be a chrysanthemum or a cherry blossom depending on how I chose to stamp it. If I change inks I could make dandelions!

When you practice enough you’ll start to find you can do extremely fine work. Try printing out your name on the computer, go over the ink with graphite, transfer it to rubber, and start carving! You can personalize things and get good practice following lines.

Good luck!

Etsy Shoppe Opened!

Well, I finally opened my own Etsy Shoppe thanks to someone’s lovely comment on my pincushion. Thanks for your support, guys! ^_^

Twelve: Shell and Stick Odds’n'Ends Holder

People collect a lot of shells- and one never knows quite what to do with them.  This is a quick project for just that, assuming your shells have some bowl-like characteristics.

This idea came to me as I was kneeling in a store in Oakland, California called “The Bone Shoppe.”  I found small abalone shells and was so taken that I bought 7 of them!  Later, hiking in Yosemite, I found a stick I liked.  Somehow the two got together.

The construction is simple.  Go to your local hardware store and buy a mortar like liquid nails- clear if possible.  You want something that is thick so that it can hold your shells while it dries. Just figure out where you want your shells on your stick- apply glue liberally, and set aside for the curing time.  8 hours tends to do it.

Wa-la.   You now have a small rack to put scrap-booking embellishments like grommets and brads, or push-pins, or earrings or… or anything!  Good luck!

Eleven: Trifle

Ah, Trifle.   The word came to me in a dinner conversation with friends one night.  One of them had studied in England and came away with handfuls of stories to share with the rest of us.  One such story was Trifle.  At first, I assumed I’d heard wrong.  Wasn’t it truffle?  No.   Not at all.

Being an American-born child, I had never heard of this Brittish treat, and upon learning of its gooey layers and rich ingredients that I had never enjoyed individually, let alone mixed, I decided it would be best to leave it be.  But that decicion was not to last.  Soon, the curiosity overhwelmed me and I was forced to try my hand at this new, exciting dish.  Here is the tale of our adventures with Trifle:

Melinda had been making Chili.  It was good.  We thought Trifle would follow it up nicely.   Our ingredients were simple: Devil’s Chocolate cake mix, Chocolate fudge pudding, Peanut Butter Puffs Cereal, Raspberry Jam, and Whipped Cream.  I’m told that in real Trifle you use Jello instead of jam.  Thank goodness we weren’t aiming for cultural accuracy on this one.

Step One:  Mix, make, and bake your cake.  Cut it into the shape of the bottom of your bowl.  Put in bottom.

Step Two: Spread a layer of raspberry jam down.  Our fearless leader Brian had a suave technique, but I can’t say I learned it well.  I just mocked him instead.

Step Three:  More cake.

Step Four: Make pudding.  Pour half of it on top of the cake layer.

Step Five:  We were told that you need a crunchy texture atop the pudding- so we chose peanut butter puffs.  We smashed them with mortar and pestle before layering.  True devotion.

Step Six: We crumbled up the remaining cake and put down a layer.

Step Seven:  More jam!

Step Eight: MUA HA HA HA, PUDDING!

Step Nine:  More peanut butter crunchiness.

Step Ten: WHIPPED CREAM TIME!  Good luck with this one, it takes a true expert to get the 2 inch height on your top.

Step Eleven:  Decorate with sprinkles or candy or… or more peanut butter puffs!

Try not to laugh as you eat this thing.  It’s really awful, but so much fun that you won’t be able to stop.  It was even good the next day!  And the next!   … that’s how long it takes to eat a whole bowl of this.

Try telling your friends about it and have a cook-off.  The ingredients are so cheap that they should be able to rumage them up and bring their own flavorful creations to your door for a Trifle party!  By the way- I am not responsibile for any fatalities this post may have caused.

Ten: Cloth Laptop Case

The beauty of the laptop is that is can go anywhere, right? But the hazards of going anywhere are a bit hard on the good ole laptop, and I’m constantly fretting over the scratches and dangers my laptop might meet in my backpack. So I finally decided to make a laptop sleeve. Problem was, I didn’t like anything I saw online. It was all… too little, or too complicated, or too ugly. So I made my own how-to. So, here’s how to make a cloth laptop sleeve.

Step one:

Gather materials. That will be: A sewing machine, thread, scissors, a ruler, a marking pen, quilt batting, buttons, and any little extras you want to embellish with. Figure out what fabric you want to use- it’s your chance to express yourself!

Step two:

Measure your laptop. These are the measurements you’ll need for a 13″ MacBook. Side A: 39×28cm. Side B: 39×37.5cm

If you have another kind of computer-

Side A: Length + height (from the table up, how thick it is) + 3cm for seam allowance. That’s your length. Now take the width + the height +3 cm = that’s your width.

Side B: Same Width as A. Length is the same as A, but add however long you want the flap of your sleeve to be.

Step three:

Measure and cut your fabric. This will be the lining.

Cut another set of Side A and B for the outside of the sleeve- but make this one 1cm longer on width and length.

Step four:

Cut out some batting that is 3cm shorter in width and length than your original measurements. This will make the seams less thick.

Step five:

Place the batting in the middle of the wrong side of the corresponding lining piece. Sew around the square of batting to applique it to the lining. You may want to put tissue paper between the batting and your quilting foot on your machine because the batting tends to get caught in the foot. Sew batting to front and back pieces.

Step six:

Sew your front and back lining pieces together (right sides facing) with 1.5cm seam allowance. Do not sew the top where the flap is. See if your laptop fits inside it at this stage. If not, you’ve got some wonky measurements and you need to correct those before continuing any further.

Step seven:

Sew a bottom into your bag by flattening the bottom seam and sewing it to the side seam as pictured.

Step eight:

Repeat steps 6 and 7 with the outside pieces of fabric that do not have batting sewed to them. I pieced a top for mine because I couldn’t decide on one fabric. Be sure to iron your cloth before sewing together.

Step nine:

Turn the outside casing right-side out and put the lining casing inside of it so that the batting is sandwiched between the two layers. Now fold down the hem of the shorter front side of the bag and turn it to the inside, pin, and sew straight across.

Step ten:

Next, do the same with the cover flap of the bag, bringing the top edge down and folding it under to avoid any raw edges. It works a bit like bias tape at this point and frames the lining nicely. You’ll have to finagle the corners, maybe rip out a few stitched to make things lie flat.

Step eleven:

Decide your button placement and make some button holes. Velcro works too, but I’m not fond of the noise as I’m opening my laptop in a quiet cafe, so I went with buttons. Sew a zig-zag stitch in a rectangle a little bigger than your button, then cut a slit in the middle.

Step twelve:

Sew on your buttons, and you’re good to go! It’ll surely put a smile on your face every time you take your laptop out with you in the world. Don’t forget to add your name for supreme personalification. (That’s not a word, is it?) I carved a rubber stamp from an eraser to stamp the fabric- maybe that’ll be the next tutorial?

Good luck!

Nine: Repurposing An Old Sweatshirt

I made this video for Threadbangers but I figure you guys could get some use out of it as well. It’s not hard to sew, and learning to sew starts with simply changing what you already have. To modify clothing, just take something you don’t like out of your closet and make it into something you love! Threadbanger does a lot of tutorials on that, so check out their site. And if you want to make a cute Japanese-inspired jacket, check this movie out: