i've seen bike themed swaps posted, and i'd really like to do one. any takers??

so i've done alot of silk screening, but as far as surfaces go, its been mainly textiles and papers. I brew my own beer and have been really into the idea of silkscreening my own custom beer bottles. i can kind of imagine the process of printing onto the glass, but i wondered if anyone has experience with the type of ink one might use to do this. I would want the image to hold up without scratching. I guess its possible i could reuse the bottles after the beer was gone, removing the ink and re-printing, but i like the idea of permancy. let me know what you got!!

hello all- i need all of your creative brains. I am returning to the camp i work at again this summer, but this time i'm the arts and crafts counselor!! i am so excited and have some great ideas but i need more!! Camp O'Bannon is a camp for underprivileged kids and we don't have the biggest budget in the world, so projects using recycled materials are great. We always have an abundance of milk cartons. The ideas i have already include making handmade paper and turning them into journals, tin can candle lanterns, windchimes, i would like to do some jewelrymaking with them, I also want to do a quilting project with each cabin using hand applique (inspired by a local quilt show who did the same thing- the quilts were based from the kids drawings)

The arts and crafts projects have been awful in the past- last year we didnt even have a counselor, and the barely brought home anything. This needs to change- and because i am OBSESSED with arts and crafts i know i can do this.

My biggest challenge however will be finding crafts that boys will have doing. The ages range from 7-13. So what i need from you all now is ideas!! Looking forward to see what you all come up with thanks so much!!

hi friends.. this is my first tutorial i've posted on craftster, kind of went overboard with the pictures but oh well. I loved the squared bottom bag i made at our little purse making party so much i made another one the next day. I used the same strip fabric but used brown for the lining instead and braided hemp handles. This version is way more my style and really was the true vision of what i had in mind for this fabric. I think i shall sell the other one:) any takers?? ha... anyway onto the good stuff.... here is what you will need. (NOTE: these measurements are what i used due to the amount of the stripe fabric i had left. you can change the size to fit your own needs)

cut (2) 8"x15" rectangles of the stripe
cut (2) 11"x15" rectangles of the brown lining
cut (2) 3"x15" strips of the brown for the contrasting band along the top of the purse
cut (2) handle straps 18" long or desired length (i used braided hemp i bought by the yard but you could sew fabric handles of a complimentary fabric if you wish)


2.) sew strips of brown, right sides facing together, to the top of the stripe panels

3.) press open seams

4.)with right sides together, sew the stripe panels together on three sides leaving the top (brown) edge open

5.) with right sides together sew brown panels together as well on three sides leaving top edge open

6.)Lay the two sewn pieces on top of eachother and trim off any excess- you want your two pieces (outside and lining) to match up perfectly

7.)this part is a little tricky, i hope the photo illustrates it well enough. you're going to take the striped pieces you've just sewn together and pull on both sides to pull out a triangle on the corner. I'm sorry i don't really know how to explain this well. You are making your square bottom in this step. (the seam that runs up and down is the bottom edge of the bag if you can picture that) You'll want to mark a line on the wrong side about 2 inches down from the point and sew across.

8.) after sewing across the corners your bag should look like this

9.) Do this on the lining as well and trim the points off, leaving about 1/4-1/2 inch along the seam

10.)now you can turn the outside (stripe) piece right side out and place the lining inside of it. You do this just to make sure your edges line up well. Staring to look like a real purse!!

11.)Now you are going to want to iron down a hem (no need to sew or pin) along the top of both your outside and lining pieces. Making sure that when the two are top stitched together that the seams are hidden on the inside (NOTE: this is when you would want to add any pockets or additional embellishments to your bag or lining. I didn't sew on pockets to this version. After making the first one, i realized I am the kind of girl that just throws things in my purse and doesnt use little pockets but they are definetly cute for show even if you don't use them)


12.) Approaching the finish line! Now insert the lining into your outside part of the bag and mark 4 inches from each side seam (4 marks) This is where you will place your straps. Pin them in place about an inch down from the top edge between the bag and lining.

13.) Now for your last step, I like to start pinning at the side edge seams just in case your measurements are a little off and your lining doesnt match up exactly. Pin all the way around and top stitch the hem securing your straps and finishing your bag!

Now you have a fabulous finished bag that is totally reversible!!! I love this bag and it is so quick and easy to make!! Made this one in about 50 minutes. I hope this tutorial is helpful enough, please feel free to ask any questions and I will try to answer as best I can... happy sewing!!

Last night my good friends Ali and Jordan and I had a little purse making party and I couldn't wait to post my creation.. I took the inspiration from a purse Ali had bought and I knew I wanted to use this stripe fabric. I am sooo happy with the result. This bag was so easy to make, I plan on making another soon and I'll try to post a tutorial with it. Its similar in style to the jordy bag, but more square. I added the little green pocket that I had taken off a tee shirt. I also put a small pocket onm the inside with a button closure. Let me know what you think!

i am now taking a silkscreening class here at school (watch out i'm obsessed!)  and i needed pockets on my apron. I added some sweet fabric i got from a quilt shop in vermont that was sadly going out of business. I used a decorative stitch on my machine for the front. It's a simple change but i think it looks pretty fancy now

i bought this plain tank top at urban outfitters a while back but never really wore it... i decided to weave some fabric through the front . i think it looks sweet now and ill actually wear it.. sorry the color on the first picture is really crappy..
A very simple (almost) no sew project- just snipped small holes to weave the fabric through.. then i just sewed the ends of the woven fabric so they won't come out...

I am always getting new hobbies from the internet and this one has become a new favorite. I found I could do xerox image transfers onto polymer clay. I have taken my jewelry making to a whole new level now! I got the flower image from a patterned curtain, put it into photoshop and made it black and white. I printed it, xeroxed it to the appropriate size and transfered it to clay to make a pendant. Before baking the clay i put a little U-shaped piece of wire at the top so i could string it. I made the necklace from random beads i had and the chain was from an old necklace i never wore. I love how it turned out and hope to do alot more transfers with some of my own images....

made this hoodie for my good friend jessie for her birthday.

I saw a post for these pens and needed to try them. Found a black one at Michael's. Also found a white one that i ended up returning caz i could never get the ink to flow. I plan on buying one of every color from my mom's wholesale sewing supply catalog. They are so easy to use... just print out whatever picture or text you want on your shirt from your computer and marker over all areas you want transfered. (make sure to reverse any text before you print) Then simply put the paper face down on your shirt, i like to cover it with a piece of fabric, iron with a DRY setting for 4-5 min and voila! sweet transfer! Note: the longer you iron, the darker the transfer-- for the tree shirt the lighter trees were not ironed as long. These transfers are reuseable.

These shirts are my first- An homage to the amazing bluesman Robert Johnson and the other one just because i love trees