Things to make

Leaf printed linens from Martha Stewart
Little playing card notebooks at CraftyPod
Pocket tissue holder from Skip To My Lou
Fabric magnets by Angry Chicken
Freezer paper stenciled T-shirt at Inhabitots
Decoupaged stool by Petit Collage at Design*Sponge
Notepads you bind yourself from The Small Object
Finger loop braiding at Craftzine
Decorated cake boxes at Once Wed

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Quiz: Test your color IQ

Julia sent in a link to this quiz where you must put color chips in order by hue. Try it out.

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Printable tags and list pads

Once again, Yasmine at A Print A Day is offering some downloadable cuteness.

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How to do fancy things to your Blogger template, Part 2

I've been fiddling with my template again, folks. Trying to make it easier to find things around here. I shocked myself the other night when I managed to pull off that navigation bar at the top. And check out that search box! (Yes, there is already a search box in the Blogger nav bar at the very top, but apparently it's overlooked by dozens of people because I continually get emails asking "Where's that post I saw once?") So that you, too, can do super fancy things to your blog (stop laughing, real web programmers), I give you these helpful links:

How to make a favicon (that little icon next to your blog's address)

A site that will make the .ico file for you (this will make sense when you read the tutorial above)

How to add a navigation bar to your header, parts one and two

How to add a search box

And if you missed the first installment of How To Do Fancy Things To Your Blogger Template, click here.

Thank you very much, Tips for New Bloggers.

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Guest post at Hostess With The Mostess

A party idea with a downloadable, customizable invitation awaits you over at Hostess With The Mostess. Browse the recipe section over there, too. Yum. I want to make everything.

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DIY vinyl shade decals

Here's an inexpensive, quick project for decorating plain window shades: contact paper decals. This vinyl shade was from Home Depot (they'll cut it to size for you if you bring along the dimensions of your window), and if I remember correctly, it was insanely cheap. Something like $5. To spiff it up, add cut contact paper shapes. I made some speedy faux bois circles here, but you could do anything. Some type? A shape from here?

To make this, get some contact paper, available at Home Depot, Target, Amazon, hardware stores, etc. If you want something special and you've got a bigger budget, this place is a contact paper wonderland. Then either draw your design freehand on the back, trace it on with graphite paper, or use my lazy method below. Note that when you trace your design on the back, it will be reversed when you flip your contact paper over. So if this matters, you'd better flip your design first or trace it on the front of the contact paper.

I made some circles in Illustrator, printed it out tiled, and taped the sheets together. Then I taped the design to the back of the contact paper and cut out the shapes. I just eye-balled where to stick them on the shade. If you accidentally stick something where you don't want it, you can reposition it if you slowly peel it up, but you have to be very careful. And after your shade bakes in the sun for awhile, I doubt you'll be able to remove the decals, so plan wisely! If you want the circle design I made, download the PDF here. It's tiled onto separate pages with a 1/2" overlap.

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Download free ornaments

Get these and others for non-commercial use, courtesy of Briar Press. Vector .eps files are available when you log in. Via Design Freebies.

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Free vintage embroidery patterns

Mum got this stitched dish towel from Gram for Christmas. Of course my eyes lit up. And lo and behold, it made its way into my suitcase! I'm just borrowing it, honest. Uh, maybe. Those of you who like to embroider, have you visited Vintage Transfer Finds yet? Its a collection of old-fashioned embroidery stitching patterns. Run on over there! For more useful links and instructions on how to transfer the patterns to your fabric, click here.

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Origami mini books

Another project from my Japanese origami book: mini books. I didn't do a perfect job, but they're so tiny and adorable, who cares? They're made from one rectangular piece of paper, folded many times. The finished booklet is about 2.5" square. I'm in awe of whoever designed this project. He or she is clearly a genius.

Update: Check out this instructional YouTube video for an even tinier book! Thanks, Hoang!

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It's orange and awesome

And it's from Walmart. Yes, people. Jenn Ski found this Adesso Stockholm office furniture, which has great reviews and is now on sale. I don't need it, but I sure do want it.

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Easy origami bookmarks

Here's a 30-second project to add some fanciness to your page: folded paper bookmarks. See the "better than others" tutorial here.

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What color are you?

I can't say I put much stock in astrology, but I was curious to know what color matches up with my birthday on Pantone's Colorstrology website. Turns out I'm "Fiery Red," which equals "Enterprising, Visionary, Leader." "You have come into this world to be a leader. You are active and lively and want to stand out and express your unique point of view. It is important for you to develop independence and to try new things. You are innovative and enterprising and have the ability to manifest your will if you stay centered." Hmm, I'm not sure I'm as ambitious as all that, but it's something to strive for. Do your day's description and color fit you?

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How I started sewing

I've received many emails asking how to learn to sew. Silly people, don't you know I'm not very good at it? But I can tell you how I got started and maybe point you in the right direction.

My husband got me a Singer 7462 for Christmas a couple years ago after I told him I didn't want a sewing machine. I figured it would sit in a corner unused and make me feel guilty every time I saw it. But he got me one anyway because he loves me and knows me better than I know myself. Sure enough, it was one of the best presents ever, even though it makes me want to shoot myself sometimes.

Which is why you won't believe me when I say this model is very simple to operate. I have no complaints about it except that the light on it is quite dim. You'll either need to wear a miner's headlamp or drag a lamp over next to you. Other than that, it's fabulous.

My machine came from a fabric store down the street, and free lessons were included. If you buy from a local store, see if they offer some beginning lessons. A nice lady met with me four times to teach me how to get started. Very helpful. I've since forgotten everything she said, but it gave me enough confidence to make my first project by myself: that bag in the picture above, made from this tutorial. I was bursting with pride because it actually looks like a bag!

The Complete Photo Guide to Sewing is a very useful but ugly sewing book that's helped me a lot. And good news. They're finally updating it, due out in January. It tells you all the types of seams and what they're for, how to put in a zipper, make a pillow, plus scads of other projects. It's better than a website because you'll need to refer to it constantly while you're doing a project.

If you want a really pretty, inspirational book, get Amy Butler's In Stitches. Not as useful for the basics, but much nicer to look at, with cool project ideas.

Now go read these articles from people who know more than I do:
Where to Begin Sewing at JCaroline Creative
What Kind of Sewing Machine to Buy at Purl Soho

Hopefully that's helpful to someone out there. Really, you should sew. You will like it most of the time.

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Displaying family photos

Domino has a gallery of ideas for displaying family photographs. Here's my favorite: picture frames duct-taped together to make one big piece of art. See how they added solid color blocks and nature shots to balance the people-pictures. Love it! You could use something like these cheapies from IKEA, I bet. And speaking of IKEA, I'm reminded of this cartoon. Heh heh.

(Image from dominomag.com)

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Free postage stamp font

Download this postage font from dafont.com. Spotted by Luzel over at iDIY.

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A nice bucket

I found this $3 ice bucket at a thrift store and reupholstered it with a piece of the strike-off for my new Boardwalk fabric. Granted, I'm not really sure how often I'll be needing an ice bucket, but I was captivated by its vintage grooviness. And I can always use it as a storage container in my office. I think this one on etsy might be identical, except it's got brass-colored hardware. If it's like mine, you can completely pry the parts off and wrap it with new fabric. I ironed vinyl onto mine to make it waterproof.

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Clipart library

This library contains a wealth of historic images, scanned and cleaned up by Florida's Educational Technology Clearinghouse. Teachers and students can use up to 50 items in a single, non-commercial project without further permission. You might find some inspiration here for some of your own art projects.

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A handful of craft tutorials

How to mount a clock on canvas at Real Living magazine
Potato printed grocery tote at Martha Stewart
Patchwork oven mitts from Lindamade
How to make a pop-up photo at Wikihow
Paper fortune cookies at For the Love of Paper
Sewing machine cover at Spool Sewing
Hello Kitty papercraft from PaperKraft
Pieced-paper hurricane candle holders at Martha Stewart
Wildflower pincushion by Anna Maria Horner at BHG

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Spray painted picture frames

I bought these gold plastic frames (below) at a thrift store and gave them a few coats of spray paint. They were, um, stunning before, but everything is better in orange. Try it—spray painting is fun! Just make sure you get spray paint that's formulated for the type of surface you're painting. Apply several light coats of paint, waiting about 30 seconds in between. Your project will be dry in about 10 minutes, and set in an hour. I used Krylon Fusion for Plastic, purchased at our local Ace Hardware.

Now I just need to make some kind of pictures to frame with these. Then I'm off to take a bath in a giant flower.

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