Craft Crazy! Let's List our ideas :) - Page 2

[myrrhmaid]

My most recent craft is hypertufa cement creations (DH got me a cement mixer for x-mas-I thought it was a sewing machine lol ) Hypertufa is artificial stone made from lime, peet moss, perlite vermiculite, oyster shell, sand, any kind of natural stuff can be added from potting soil to leaves & twigs, hay or grass, depending on the look & texture you want. I particularly like the oyster shell blend. I have been making planting troughs, birdbaths, fountains, mermaid sculpture, snakes, monoliths, stepping stones, and fake rocks to use in landscaping. When you use the added natural ingredients in the mix it makes it very easy to grow moss on the items & it looks fantastic! To grow moss you take a little moss & put it in the blender with some yogurt, and clay & water & blend it all up then paint the surface you want to grow. I also enjoy quilting, herb crafting, ribbon wrapped lavender wands, making infused oils, tinctures, bath salts, toy making-my favorite being little wire & bead felt people, dream pillows, all kinds of pillows including machine embroidered pictures, and pillows that I make from cattail down (the plant not the animal)! I dry & press lots of flowers but never end up doing anything else with them beside tucking one into a card. I do make some homemade cards. I even made some edible candy bowls & candle sticks from a cornstarch, powdered sugar and peppermint mix that! I especially like to make pop-up cards. Tonight I'm going to cut some fleece liners for my diapers to fit in some of the AIO diapers I received as a gift and to put over my CPF's. I have some day of the week kitchen towels to embroider by hand but its been so long since I've embroidered I can't remember how many strands of floss to use! Any embroidery mommas want to give me a quick primer/refresher?

[OceanMomma]

I do lots & lots of things. My main problem is I need 36 hour days & a toddler who sleeps.

I make jewellery every now & then. I'm slowly collecting the equipment I need to do it at home.

I tie dye anything from diapers to posh frocks. I knit heaps of stuff & I crochet - but only bright funky bags & hats as I can't read crochet patterns to save my life. I'm quite into dyeing wool all sorts of different bright colours at the moment so it looks like those expensive hand painted wool hanks you can buy. I'd love to do some natural dyeing one day. Especially using native plants. I spin. I tried felting & my wool wouldn't felt I am going to learn to weave one day & I am also going to learn to flax weave too. I'm very into using recycled & found objects. I hate it that crafts have to be expensive for the person doing the craft. I also hate it that traditional female crafts are sold for stuff all in terms of the time it took to make them vs how much traditional mens crafts are sold for. But that's a whole other thread.

I have only made one quilt & that was a crazy log cabin quilt with recycled checked shirts. I am very proud of it

I am most jealous that myrrhmaid's dh got her a cement mixer for xmas. That is such a cool present. My dh actually forgot it was my birthday this year : hypertuffa sounds totally awesome. I wrote a recipe down ages ago in my diary to follow up on one day. Any good internet links ? I've been wanting to get into doing a bit of cob & building a hot tub & an earth oven but it's winter right now so I'm out of luck. Also being 35 weeks pg is cramping my style a bit with the more manual crafts On the hypertuffa sort of subject as well. I'm wanting to make some garden pavers next spring with sea glass & sea china & shells in for my garden.

I have made soap in the past & have made tonnes of bath bombs too. & bath oils & dream pillows & pot pourri & incenses.

I used to paint a lot but haven't for yonks so I get peeved whenever I try these days as it just doesn't come out how I want it to. I can do the easy stuff like paint a funky design on the outside dunny door or the letterbox but my landscapes are c*@p. We have moved to this place with the most awesome panoramic harbour views. Almost pre-raphaelite the way the mountains reflect in the water & the sun sets so I am getting a tad itchy about wanting to paint some of them. I also want to make my own earth pigment paints.

I also want to be able to make pots on a wheel & do leadlighting. & bone carving too & rag rugs. I've always wanted to do a bit of welding sculpture with scrap metal objects since I got taught to weld years ago.

I don't think I've missed anything. So much I want to learn really

Oh yes! I also take impressions of little babies feet & hands with dental alginate & make plaster of paris models ( moulds? ) of them, paint them gold & put them in frames.

[hydrangea]

I knit and am teaching myself to spin. I do some needle-felting -- so far I've done little animals. I make flower fairies with wire, beads, and "silk" flower petals. I make folded stars out of kite paper for windows. I decorate candles with beeswax. I have done tie-dyeing from time to time. I am making dandelion wine and intend to make other wines and brews. I have done a little beading. I like hand-sewing and not machine sewing and make the occasional little felt toy that way. I love planning parties and go a little crazy making things for them.

I intend to: learn to spin (I'm working on it now), learn woodworking without power tools, do sun painting, dye my own wool and yarn, felt some knitted projects (I have the materials waiting for a knitted and felted bag), make paper, make soap, make hand-poured candles.

I just planted my first lavender and would love to do some things with that this year.

I also would love to try working with hypertufa. Thank you myrrhmaid for telling us about that. I saw a book on it recently and loved the idea but then forgot what it was called.

[myrrhmaid]

Here's some links for the hypertufa. If the links don't work just do a google search that is where I found these. Really you don't have to have a cement mixer to do the HT cement. It makes it easier to mix but I started out just mixing it in a wheelbarrel. They also have these neat plastic containers with a lid that you add all the ingredients to & roll it around on the ground to mix. They can be found at the hardware store. I found one at a yard sale so don't know how much they go for new. Also as far as molds go - I go the the Dollar tree & buy all kinds of containers and buckets. Also water trays that you put on the bottom of large pots work nice for birdbaths. I line my molds with a piece of visqueen (clear plastic) to make them simple to unmold. I also use the black plastic holders that plant 6 packs come in from the nursery and line with visqueen and fill to make pavers. They turn out real good -big & thick and the nursery is always willling to give me a bunch for free. You can then decorate the top with leaves & marbles and all kinds of goodies. You can place items like shells & other decorations on the bottom of item to be poured, they when you unmold scrub lightly with wire brush to reveal them. You can add items on later to the outside too with some mortar. When making planters/containers you can use the outside or inside of item used as mold depending on what effect you desire. I make patties with the cement then just add them all one by one until item covered. I prefer to use the inside of sharp angled pots. I don't bother putting fiberglass or other 'reinforcing' materials in my mix & I've never had a problem with things breaking. I think it is strong enough on its own for the projects I do. I don't oil my leaves like they say at some sights. If I can't get the leaves off they end up wearing off eventually and leave a nice impression. When making planters etc. I like to use a wire brush to get rid of the flat sides/angular lines that the mold may leave. Scrubbing the sides makes the item look very aged & textured and makes it easier for the moss to hang on & grow.
hypertufa timpyworks harblin hypertufa
hypertufa

[fraya]

current favorites

Here are some currrent favorite craft ideas. I mostly sew and paint, hence the emphasis. Mostly I give stuff away, so I try to do things that aren't otherwise commercially available, to make it worth the while to do something that requires a lot of work -- that makes an extra special gift. Current faves:

--doll slings
--sling for an adult for the winter, made with fleece
--for boys, matching hats/pants (I found a great snow cap pattern by Green Pepper patterns and a great pants pattern by Burda)
--for girls, matching dress with hat/sling/purse/backpack
--matching hats for a family -- the kids, the parents, etc.
--I did a pram bag for a friend who will use her stroller in the cold -- made it with fleece, batting, etc. (Burda pattern)
--will be making a baptismal outfit for a friend
--painted coasters for a Stock the Bar party -- drew the sketch of a martini glass and then painted in the olive
--handmade cards as gifts for people (I also do photography, so I also make cards using photos of people for them to send out; similarly I've given photo cards to grandparents to send out of our son or them with our son, etc.)
--pajama pants out of heavenly cotton
--I have an idea for turning my favorite summer dress into a nursing dress, and then I'm thinking that if it works, I'll make a matching dress thing for a friend and her daughter.
--cloth napkins with the Cubs motif (my dad's team ... as a Father's Day gift ... given along with Cubs pajama shorts)
--food kits given to new moms or in combination with the cookbook to family (e.g., granola kit -- moms need healthy quick foods!)
--capris with an elastic waist (oh, yeah!) for me!!
--rain pants for li'l ones

That's all I can think of at the moment.

[panda]

Fascinating thread! I'm full of new ideas (hypertuffa, here I come ).

Now, to sober myself up a bit, I'll list the projects that I haven't finished yet:
- sewing curtains, I have a bunch in progress for various rooms
- knitting baby sweaters, 1 done, 1 halfway (first babe due in Nov.!)
- quilting, I have a top together, ready to be quilted whenever I get to it
- embroidered Christmas tree skirt (this has been 80% done for a long time, I don't know if I'll ever finish it.)
- embroidered placemats/napkins, embroidery takes SO LONG. This pattern is cutwork, it's beautiful, but I don't think I have the patience.
- vegetable garden! This isn't really a craft, but it's keeping me from all the other projects right now, and it may be my favorite hobby.

I love making silkscreens. I want to start that up again this summer. I also want to sew little baby clothes - I can't seem to find newborn things in colors I like, and since we won't know whether it's a boy or girl, it's hard to find gender neutral ready made clothes. But I'm nervous about sewing such small things. I'm better at making quilts than clothes - straight lines are my friend.

I can knit and crochet, and I've looked into making wool diaper soakers.

[myrrhmaid]

panda says-

I'm better at making quilts than clothes - straight lines are my friend.

I'm right there with you panda! I can machine piece a queen top quilt in a day but boy give me a simple shirt pattern & I freeze up! I know I would go gung ho if I ever got into making clothes! Baby clothes seem like they might be easier to start with-kind of like making pillows of 1 quilt square instead of a whole blanket.
I always wished I had learned to silk screen! Is it something you can learn from a book panda or is it a hands on kind of thing? I think silk screening different images on quilt squares might be fun.

[TigerTail]

omg myrrhmaid your dh got you a cement mixer for your hypertufa? d-r-e-a-m-y! i am getting ready to lay some brick in a bed around my foundation, i want one!

suse

[LaLa]

and again

[twouglyducks]

I love to sew. Mostly diapers, but also clothing.
Trying to teach myself to knit but seems like it will be 15 years before I'll be any good at it.
Getting into dying fabrics. It's fun. I haven't done anything great yet, just learning.

that's about it. With 2 little boys and my hubby gone all the time, it's hard to find a whole lot of "me" time.

[mom2kbeth]

I sew almost daily (diapers, wool covers, etc.). I am teaching myself to knit. I also crochet, decorate cakes, make candles, scrapbook, like making soap (although dh doesn't like it), and pretty much any other crafty thing I can think of!