Re-upping the craft question: What do you make? - YouLookFab Forum

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Re-upping the craft question: What do you make?

April

Veteran

A while ago, Khris initiated a thread about people's various crafting endeavors http://youlookfab.com/welookfa.....cks/page/2 and I though I would reintroduce this topic since we have new people, and since other people may have started new projects in the meantime.

Let me say first that I have had to overcome a bit of snobbery that crops up when I hear the word "crafts." When I was a kid, the moms in my neighborhood were often teaching each other something that I found vaguely embarrassing: beer-can Christmas wreaths, or knitted clown heads to cover a spare roll of toilet paper.

As an adult, I have developed a true appreciation for the act of making things. It doesn't matter to me what people make/build/cook/sew/create/assemble, I just feel that everyone should know how to make *something*. Otherwise, we're just consumers.

So I'm confessing that a couple of years ago, I converted a whole room in my house to my favorite endeavor, which is handmade greeting cards, with a little bookbinding thrown in for variety.

Here are a couple of pictures of my workspace. (Warning: before you faint at the amount of supplies shown, let me say that I worked in a specialty store for several years and took all my wages in the form of goods.)

http://i649.photobucket.com/al.....oom004.jpg

http://i649.photobucket.com/al.....oom006.jpg

What do you make, and/or what are you working on at the moment?

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35 replies

Latest reply was from Melissa

Mamapicklejuice

Veteran

OOoh, April - I just got into handmade cards!

I also sew, and am working on matching sundresses for the girls at the moment.

(And knit)

Oh my - just clicked on your links - LOOOOVE your crafting space! I have my sewing room set up, but need to carve out a place for cards...

bj1111

Veteran

my word, april...what a fantastic workspace. i love paper goods of all sorts. do you have photos of your work?

i used to do pottery but i travel so much and traveling with a wheel was so darn inconvenient! used to crochet. learned how to knit 2 months ago and am obsessed.

working on hat for my husband to practice knitting in the round then will try to make this baggy bolero once i get the yarn.

Dusty

(website)

Wow, that's an awesome crafting space! I so wish I had a room just for my sewing; right now I just have a corner in the basement.

I mostly sew clothing, but I occasionally make organza flower pins and barrettes and I'm in the middle of making a necklace (I hit a wall because I didn't love the way it looked and haven't figured out how to fix it) and eventually I'm going to be making a crown to go with my son's Halloween costume (which I'm going to be sewing).

I've got a outfit cut out for myself and waiting for me on my sewing table right now.

Ljubica

April, you're impossibly tidy!
If I had any 'studio' of my own, it would probably end up the messiest place in the house.
I used to make polymer clay jewelry, it was years ago, and I used to knit baby clothes.
I suck at knitting now - couldn't finish the simplest scarf last winter.

Banana

Well, I wanted to buy some flower pins this past spring and couldn't find any I liked, so I ended up making some and loved them so much, I've made several others for friends.

I'm hoping to learn to sew this fall. I've always wanted to try it.

Louise

Veteran

I'm afraid the only thing I make is a mess! x

bj1111

Veteran

dusty and banana,

could you post some pix of your flower pins?

stringy

Veteran

I like to knit - I've currently got a bunch of baby clothes on the go, as all my friends seem to have gotten pregnant at once! I used to do a bit of papercraft and sewing but once I picked up the needles I haven't touched any other craft.

kellygirl

Veteran

April, your crafting space is immaculate! I love how you display your stamps--looks like a store. My craft room is utter chaos.

I love crafts and have dabbled in more than my share. I still papercraft but now mostly knit/crochet. I find it's the one thing I can do that is highly portable and good to pull out when waiting...piano lesssons, carpool, soccer practice, etc.

lynne

Veteran

I knit off and on. Ages ago I used to sew. My mother used to sew and I remember her always pointing out "Oh, that would be so easy to make".

Debora

Veteran

April, I had no idea that you were so creative! Lovely work space! It must be so relaxing to retreat to such a well organized space. Thanks for starting this thread. It's always nice to learn more about what YLFers are interested in other than fashion.

shana

Veteran

Wow, April, that is a very impressive setup you have going on there! Honestly, I'm about the least crafty person on earth though I LOVE handmade gifts. One of my friends knitted a baby hat when my son was born and I swear it was my very favorite gift!

I really love handmade papers and back when I used to work in the paper industry, I dabbed a little bit in making my own paper. It was fun!

Katja

(website)

I have sewn and crocheted, but really only do sewing repairs now. My mother was very, very crafty: tailoring, jewelry, rugs, all kinds of things.

I am lusting after this belt, but $128 is ridiculous! I figure I can make something similar, so I'm going to hit the fabric stores sometime this week.

chewyspaghetti

Veteran

That's a great workspace, April! I actually keep my yarn displayed in the living room, but I don't have a permanent workspace for crafts. Every once in a while I dabble in something else, but I have so much yarn that I could probably knit for the rest of my life and never buy any.
bj1111- thanks for posting that link. I am going to see if I have any suitable yarn for that.

Angie

(website)

Fashion Stylist

Oh my goodness, April. I hereby crown you the Craft Queen. Wow!

I don't craft - I cook.

Mamapicklejuice

Veteran

Angie, what do you like to cook?

Carole

Veteran

Love that space, April! I'm in the process of converting my son's old bedroom to my "art/craft" room and seeing your pictures really makes me excited about the possibilites!

I love anything "crafty" and homemade. I sew, mostly home decor type projects like drapes, pillows etc. I get on little kicks usually around the holidays making things for Christmas gifts (example:tumbled stone coasters using pretty cocktail napkins to embellish).

But mostly I paint (watercolor/acrylic) and have painted my Christmas cards for the last 7 years, and more recently started painting pet and home portraits.

We are in the midst of establishing a Craft Night Club in our neighborhood. Rather than play Bunco, we are going to each host a craft project every month. I'm excited!

rute

Veteran

You seem so organized!
I'm impressed!
I don't craft and only cook when I have too!

Steph

Veteran

I make jewelry. I am particularly proud of a set of bridesmaid jewelry I made (five necklaces that coordinated by were not identical):
http://www.flickr.com/photos/1.....876056596/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/1.....hotostream
http://www.flickr.com/photos/1.....hotostream
http://www.flickr.com/photos/1.....hotostream
http://www.flickr.com/photos/1.....otostream/ (This last photo isn't perfect, because each strand of the necklace actually lies flat when worn properly. Actually, the third photo suffers from a similar fate. I was just trying these on before perfecting them, so that's why they aren't 100% perfect, but I thought it was a good representation.)

I am now putting together a variation of that last necklace (the pearl one) for a bride.

I don't make clothes, but every once in awhile I will hand-sew something. I made myself an apron for a Strawberry Shortcake Halloween costume a few years ago, and I am going to do the same for my niece this year.

Edited to add: April, I am SO jealous of your craft space. I wish I had an extra room that I could devote to my beads. Right now they are relegated to a tiny drawer.

Colleen Kelley

(website)

I make candles. It started out as a hobby and gradually evolved into a business. I LOVE IT!!

I'm posting the link to my website here...not to advertise or solicit sales but just to show the kinds of candles I make

http://www.definingmomentscandles.com

marianna

Veteran

I don't have a crafty or arty cell in my body.

bella

(website)

Veteran

April - your work space is beautiful!

Steph - lovely necklaces.

Currently, I am very much into making fabric flower necklaces.

A couple of examples:
http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_ezXN.....G_9799.JPG
http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_ezXN.....G_9684.JPG

I just finished making a gray necklace for my friend's birthday last night and put it in the mail this morning. I wish I had remembered to take a picture.

Katja

(website)

Steph, your set of bridesmaid necklaces are lovely!

I need to find someone who does jewelry - we lived in Nigeria when I was little, and I've got a huge tray of West African beads (trade beads, cowrie, bone, green and red glass, millefiore, etc) that my mother collected while we were there. I'd love to get some use out of them. I'm thinking big ethnic bib necklaces. I have a couple of friends who make jewelry here, but I find their work nice but kind of amateur looking.

Anonymous

I make jewelry and had a successful business back in San Diego. My business was picking up steam and breaking even and then we moved. I am working up the mental energy to get it running again up here in Seattle. That ramping-up stage of a business is really hard!

I also scrapbook and have been doing that for the past 13 years. I want to restart my sewing efforts...I sewed all my clothes in high school and college but that all slipped away when my children arrived and I switched over to the scrapbooking.

I'm building a crafting area in our new garage and although it will never match April's perfection, I think it will be quite comfortable and suitable for all my crafty endeavors going forward. I need to catch up on my family albums and I'm dusting off my trusty ol' sewing machine!

Laura (rhubarbgirl)

(website)

Veteran

Marlene, my sewing area is in the garage, too. It's not fancy but it works.

I sew clothes and the occasional quilt, and I also cook. Getting back into sewing a few years ago is what jumpstarted my interest in fashion again, actually. I like to understand silhouettes and proportion as well as fitting and construction.

Kate

Veteran

I started knitting 5 years ago, and started sewing consistently once I got a sewing machine this past x-mas. I also occasionally turn big beads into pendants to wear on necklaces (way cheaper than buying pendants or necklaces), turn earring orphans into pendants, and I made some earring holders using picture frames and window screen netting.

Joy

Veteran

April, I'm so envious of your lovely organized craft area! I have to have a creative outlet and usually these days it's cooking, gardening or beading for myself or friends. I used to do, teach, and sell off-loom weaving as well as spin and dye my own yarn. Then I got too allergic to wool fleece to continue.

Kristen

(website)

Veteran

I have a photography blog, which gets infrequent updates now. But for a while there it was a daily update and I was getting published on other websites, local and international. Now i get too tired just taking my OWN pictures some days! LOL

RandomThoughts (Andrea)

Veteran

What a beautiful work space! I am so jealous of your organizational skills!

I eventually hope to have a nice work space. Part of my problem is that I have far too many interests. I'm trained as a metalsmith so eventually need to get my soldering station together out in the garage. Part of our issue is ventilation as the garage is stationed directly beneath the kitchen. Fumes from soldering work can be quite toxic, as they can from my pottery kiln, likewise not set up yet in the "new" house.

I also sew. Not clothing so much as accessories and fun things. I have some rather fancy Xmas stockings that I've made for myself and friends and I've also been beading lately. Something that is much less toxic than fabrication jewelry and more portable. I'll have to photo some of my wares! I haven't done so in quite some time but I also do ceramic sculpture, thus the kiln.

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