Category Archives: crafts

Post-Semester Craft Weekend

Posted on December 11, 2011 | 9 Comments

It’s not really post-semester yet, as I have three exams on Tuesday, but I don’t have much studying so as far as I’m concerned it’s post-semester. For weeks now I’ve collected recipes and crafts I want to do but haven’t had any time to do them (especially last week, which was the craziest week of all time). This weekend I committed to making some of those things I waited on.

Like dying part of my hair (I think it looks pretty awesome).

Making sweet melted crayon art.

Eating delicious pizza balls.

I also made cookies and addressed save-the-dates. I’m so much more productive when homework isn’t involved. I’ll post larger posts about these projects later this week, I just wanted to write an update about where I’ve been this past crazy week.

Oh, and we have our Christmas tree up. How about you? Not a whole lot of presents under the tree yet–maybe that will change when I’m done crafting…

→ 9 Comments

Posted in cooking, crafts, personal, Uncategorized

Magazine Christmas Tree

Posted on December 1, 2011 | 3 Comments

For the environmental group I’m involved in we made recyclable holiday crafts last night. Someone found an idea online (I don’t know where or else I’d link to it) for Christmas trees out of old magazines. They look something like this:

You can dress them up a little more with glitter or a star, but I like them just the way they are. They’re relaxing to make and easy to do while watching television or talking to other people because there is only one thing you need to do to make this. Fold.

Step One: Take a magazine and open it halfway on the table. Make sure the binding is really flexible by running your hand up and down the spine. Pick up the magazine and pull on it to loosen the binding.

Step Two: Fold the page diagonally.

Step Three: Fold that page diagonally again.

Step Four and Five: Continue folding each page until the entire magazine is folded. Each page will have a little tail, just tuck those into the pages once you’re done folding. That will make the bottom flat so you can set it on a table like shown. I found it easier to fold a right page and then a left page and not trying to folding all the pages on one half of the magazine and then the other half.

It’s important that you start with the magazine halfway open like shown in Step One. Otherwise the magazine will not curl around the binding which is necessary to create the round shape of the tree.

→ 3 Comments

Posted in crafts

Wedding: Save-the-dates

Posted on November 22, 2011 | 6 Comments

I finished our save-the-dates this weekend. It was glorious. I felt like jumping in the air because I finally got something wedding related done. Everyone says I’ve gotten a lot done already (the location booked, caterer booked, officiant and photographer well underway), but it just doesn’t feel like anything is done. So here is something concrete. Something I can send out to people to say, “Look, I’m serious about this.”

They’re vintage handkerchiefs stamped with a custom stamp from Antiquaria. I wanted something that really set the tone of our wedding, which is in a barn with lots of good Iowa food, and something that showed my craftiness. When I saw this tutorial I knew these were perfect for me. I wanted an object, not just a piece of paper everyone would throw away. I sincerely hope people don’t throw these handkerchiefs away. My hope is that they’ll bring them to my wedding and use them to wipe away any tears they have.

No two handkerchiefs are exactly alike. I bought two lots of them from Etsy and ended up with over one hundred handkerchiefs. I couldn’t use some of them because the stamp wouldn’t show up or they had rips or stains. I only needed 75 in the end and I managed to pull that many out.

The ink didn’t disperse evenly across the stamp, but I actually think it looks a little better this way. More rustic and old. The only important information is the date, which will also be stamped on the outside of the envelope.

I did find that stamping on a softer surface, like a stack of papers instead of a table, helped create a crisper stamp.

Now they just need to be folded and placed in envelopes and this will be one thing crossed off my list!

→ 6 Comments

Posted in crafts, wedding

Tagged , ,

Bookish Crafts: Boxes

Posted on May 10, 2011 | 3 Comments

Boxes were the last assignment for my bookbinding class and in my opinion they were the most fun. In bookbinding boxes are typically used as enclosures for books, but mine are just fun little boxes for things around the house.

I am really glad bookbinding is over. Bookbinding is fun and rewarding, but it also takes a great deal of time and patience. Many weeks I spent ten hours or more on making books, which is pretty challenging as an undergraduate. I do like having things to show for taking a class though. In the future I would like to continue making books on my own since they are fun projects. It will also probably be less stressful when I know I won’t be graded on them!

I am an Amazon Affiliate. If you make a purchase using one of my links I will earn a small percentage which will then go back into this blog.

→ 3 Comments

Posted in art, bookbinding, crafts

Bookish Crafts: Case Binding

Posted on May 3, 2011 | 4 Comments
I finally made some real books! These took many hours of blood, sweat, and tears. Totally worth it though. I have some nice hardcover books.

Look at the nice wide spines! 

I was really pleased with the different cloths I picked.

The endsheets on the books. 
These were by far the most challenging books I’ve made this semester but they were also the most rewarding in the end. I felt like there were several opportunities to check your work along the way. 

→ 4 Comments

Posted in art, bookbinding, crafts