Saturday Craft Site - STYROFOAM Crafts

The items we sell on Etsy are made out of Styrofoam. I really enjoy working with it. Styrofoam is best cut with a hot wire, which melts the polystyrene, creating a smooth edge. STYROFOAM Crafts has tons of ideas for crafts using the material. Click on Projects to see what you can make.



Of course you don't have to cut it, you can use the ready made balls and cubes sold in all craft shops.

Mandie

Koskra on Etsy

Koskra made this beautiful biscornu (a small embroidered eight-sided pillow) that can be used as a pincushion.

Lovely!

Mandie

Saturday Craft Site - Craftzine

I'm not sure what to call this one - it's CRAFT, from the makers of MAKE, it's a real magazine and also an e-zine, a blog, has podcasts and tutorials and a forum. I've decided to go with the URL name, Craftzine, but whatever we're calling it, it's great! I'm subscribed to their email list, so I regularly receive lists of cool projects to make.

Right now they have a robotic scorpion listed under projects that I find both gross and intriguing:

Icky, yet awesome!

Happy crafting!
Mandie

Saturday Craft Site - Instructables

Instructables are tutorials added to the site by users and will show you how to make just about anything. You can save your favourite crafts and create your own instructable for anything from drawing a cat to baking chocolate cake. Here are some instructables I like:

Harry Potter magic wand made from paper, glue and paint.

A picnic blanket with a lit perspex center to act as a little table.

A lamp made from paper.

Feel free to post a link to your favourite instructables in the comments!

Mandie

Knighttimedesigns on Etsy

I've been interested in working with PMC for a while now, but haven't had the time (oh for endless holidays!). Knighttimedesigns uses PMC to create leaf pendants, to great effect:


These are made by placing real leaves in the PMC and firing it so that the leaf burns away, leaving the imprint in the clay. Knighttimedesigns creates other types of jewellery as well.


She lives in Killarney, Ireland and has been making jewellery for 12 years now. Lovely items in her shop.

Mandie

GlassGlam on Etsy

I'm going through a colour phase at the moment. Maybe next week I'll hit a monochrome streak, but for now, I want bright, pretty, vivid colours. GlassGlam sells postage stamp necklaces that fit the bill:


GlassGlam has several other items in her shop that made me go "ooh!". I like the stamps, though. I don't get to see a lot of pretty stamps nowadays, what with everything being emailed. So thank you, GlassGlam (her real name is Dionea), for making me consider the little stamp again.

Mandie

DefiantDamsel on Etsy

Oh what fun! I had to laugh when I saw DefiantDamsel's Etsy shop. If you haven't seen the movie The Big Lebowski yet, you won't understand my love for The Dude. But DefiantDamsel knows:


These are all magnets. This next one reminded me of the flying toasters screensaver from After Dark, minus the wings, of course.

And I just had to share this "Angry Milk Carton of Doom" one, because the idea of a threatening milk carton greatly amuses me:


DefiantDamsel says she stitches things that make her happy. I think that's the best way to craft. She's got some more great things in her store, including an astounding Edward Scissorhands portrait.

Mandie

HendersonArt on Etsy

Art appreciation is so subjective that I am hesitant to share paintings that appeal to me, because I might just be chasing away half our audience with my boorish tastes! For example, I recently read an article on Hitler's art and I thought "hey, it's not half bad!". However, Hitler was denied entry into Vienna's Academy of Fine Arts. Twice. And Richard Westwood-Brookes, who clearly knows his art, because just look at his name, feels that the pieces "are at best the standard of a reasonably competent amateur." So it is with some risk to my reputation that I present to you some paintings that appeal to me, but I was taught that it matters not one jot what critics say, as long as you like it. HendersonArt on Etsy created the following two colourful abstracts with oil on wood:



And here is another piece that is not abstract:

HendersonArt happens to have a degree in Fine Arts from the Emily Carr Institute of Art, if you care about such things. Me? I just like the pretty colours.

Mandie

Coffeeandclutch on Etsy

Her photos could do with some lighting editing, but her designs are solid. Coffeeandclutch makes bags and "the original coffee and clutch" - a coffee cuff and mini card case (I lightened the first image a bit) :

Here is a clutch wallet:

And an "oooh, I want!" clutch organizer:

A very handy item and pretty, too, click on the image to see the rest of the photos, because you will want to look inside that one.

Mandie

CreatedByClare on Etsy

Stuck on paper today, but these are sweet. Cards...CreatedByClare.




All her cards are hand painted originals, painted on 300gsm watercolour paper. Envelopes are included.

Mandie

DotDotStitch on Etsy

I'm intrigued by this Etsy shop. I love the name - DotDotStitch - and I love the choices of embroidery images. I mean, look at this: an anatomical heart on an apron. Why not?

More traditional images on the kitchen towels, though:


Her listings, policy and profile entries are very detailed. I like the clean look of the embroidery, all made from Sublime Stitching patterns.

Mandie

Evanstonprint on Etsy

Evanstonprint is a community printmaking studio selling letterpress cards on Etsy. Here are some examples:


When would one give a card like this to someone? Is it innuendo, like that Rihanna Shut up and Drive song? Is car-talk the new sweet-talk? How do I even know about the Rihanna song? This card raises many questions in my mind.

I approve.

Sound advice. Strong designs from this shop. Looking forward to more.

Mandie

Fullyhooked on Etsy

Recently some wooden earrings caught my eye on Etsy and the main reason I chose not to feature the seller on the blog, was because I couldn't figure out how the earrings worked! Maybe someone could explain it to me in the comments? Seems I'm still stuck on wood, though, because I found a new pair by fullyhooked and I think I could figure these out:

I really like the snaky effect of the hanging hearts. Here is a pretty, shiny shell necklace:


And another pair of earrings:


These items are not representative of Fullyhooked's shop, I just chose earthy, natural looking pieces for this post. She currently has 37 listings, so go have a look at the rest of her items and see if anything tickles your fancy.

Mandie

MirkaDesign on Etsy

Mirka Kalmanova designs all her own patterns, then creates her items with beautiful fabrics. Look at the great fabric on this foam padded laptop sleeve:


Here is an unusual bag to carry over your arm (great dress, too) :

She also makes covers for books and will create a custom cover according to your specifications.

It all looks so fresh!

Mandie

Jrehnke on Etsy

When I come across old birthday or greeting cards during spring cleaning, I always feel a pang about throwing them away. But I throw them out, because I have seen what happens when you don't - you get featured in a tv show about the dirtiest homes in the country and end up on Oprah explaining you never meant to let things get that bad. Jrehnke creates greeting cards with a gift included, so that you can throw away the card, but keep the gift. Here is one of her cards, next to the necklace included:

The card is an original watercolour and comes with a red envelope. The necklace is acrylic on canvas. Here is another one that I really liked:


I liked this cherry necklace, too (it doesn't come with a card) :

She also makes other jewellery items that are worth a look.

Leave a comment if you have a great idea for using greeting cards in a useful way. Displaying them on the mantelpiece doesn't count!

Mandie

HeartandSoilBaskets on Etsy

I found these handmade baskets by HeartandSoilBaskets. Here is a sweet little one for a flower girl to carry at a wedding:


And a beautiful vegetable basket:


It looks even better filled with incredibly good-looking veggies.

I saw this quote on Twitter, posted by StickFigureMan: "Container Store Syndrome: The conviction that if you just buy enough plastic file boxes, your life will become organized." Yes I suffer from this, and while my plastic containers are very adequate, I say baskets are prettier.

Mandie

HeartHomes on Etsy

When I was much younger, I had a ceramic tile ornament depicting something pretty. I can't for the life of me remember what it was, but when I saw this tile, it reminded me of my own little tile. It's by HeartHomes aka Beth S. Macre:

It stirs up only good memories, so I am happy to include it in our finds. That tree looks so familiar...

These next "heart homes" really stole my heart. Love the colour, love the hearts, the doors, the chimneys, why am I even sharing this? I want them!


They're made of clay, are kiln-fired and painted. Beth has a few other items in her shop and I for one will definitely be checking in to see what she's up to.

Mandie

Bunnygo on Etsy

First of all, his shop is called "BUNNYGO". Secondly, it has an intergalactic space whale in stock. Frankly, there was no way I was not going to blog about this guy (who has a blog here, by the way). Since I still appear to be stuck on "cute", let's just say it's a theme and get on with it. Intergalactic Space Whale aka Pure Awesome! (Print of original digital illustration)

He also does vinyl decals, which you can stick on walls, cars or notebooks or whatever else takes your fancy (except furry things, I suppose). Here is his Snowboard Girl decal:


And "Cute White Orchid Girl" (very, very cute): Adorable, I can't wait to see what else he's going to come up with.

Mandie

Accessorius on Etsy

When Daneel saw Accessorius' Medusa necklace, he looked dubious. He thinks it's a bit much. I think it's great! Also, it's from Finland, so it's a practical winter accessory. He walks around in short-sleeved t-shirts for most of the year, what does he know?


Daneel also thinks this next piece "looks like a net", to which I replied "Yes. With algae." Which is what the artist intended, as per her description: "Underwater life inspires this unusual necklace. Black cord holds a net in blue, green and purplish shades suggesting algae." I really like the colours.


Here is a playful take on what we stare at unwittingly for most of the day, either on tv or monitors. The RGB bracelet:


She has 22 unique items for sale, and is featuring a three-part series, which I have mentioned here, the MEDUSA, NATURA and RGB ranges. Very interesting (and pretty) pieces.

Mandie