martha

The Martha Stewart Show has wrapped, for good, after seven seasons. This doesn't mean Martha won't be on TV anymore, in fact she is currently in the midst of filming another show that will be on my favorite channel, PBS. Unfortunately there won't be any crafting in this cooking show :(

I recently recalled all the segments I've done with Martha through the years and didn't realize how many there actually were! I'm really going to miss crafting every single day.

t-shirt bag, glow-in-the-dark funkins, toadstools, recycled notebooks, reusable tile calendar, hoodie costumes, acorn lamp, beaded heart pendant & jewelry gift pouch, marbleizing techniques, parrot headpiece, homemade lip stain, egg boxes, ribcage t-shirt & exposed bone jeans, photo gift tags, recycled  leather handbag, mesh ombre necklace, surprise easter eggs, whimsical window eggs, banner birthday card, gnome costume, accordion photo wedding favors, rope bangles, clay mushrooms, felt animal art, leather fringed wool wrap, sailor valentine boxes, felt carrot pouch, birdcage.

Flag

 

We ventured upstate on Saturday to do our annual rummage and estate sale treasure hunting. I was really excited to have scored this vintage, possibly antique, American Flag. Being a huge fan of Antiques Road Show, I know that certain Americana things can possibly be worth a lot of money. The $5 price tag made the sale a no brainer, but after I was unbelievably curious to learn more about the flag. I could tell it was not new by the brittle wool fabric, the wear and tear and discoloring it had. Upon further  research, I learned a whole lot about the history of American Flags. This particular flag is called a Yacht Ensign. It has a circle of 13 stars with an anchor in the middle, 7 white and 7 red stripes. 

To determine the value of a flag there are the factors of design, age, scarcity, size, condition, quality, etc. Now I am in the process of tracking the history of this particular flag made by the Valley Forge Flag Co. I know they started the company in 1882 and began sewing flags in Spring City during the Depression era. I've emailed the company with questions about when they started making this style flag and when they stopped producing this flag with wool fabric. I love the investigation of this and learning about something I might never have been interested in. And maybe I even found a gem!—but probably not : (

While we're on the topic of flags, I actually have made one before! Not American, but Chilean for a story about wine for Men's Journal.

It was quite rewarding and fairly quick and easy to make. I pieced the different color fabrics together in the proper flag size, created a star and stitched it on, ironing in between steps. The finished flag was so crisp but i needed it to look old so I tea stained and wrinkled it up for the purpose of the photo shoot. 

bid against bullies

The dress I created for X Out is currently up for auction on Ebay. 

Please take a look and bid now!!

Hole

No Friday the 13th has ever been unique for me other the one that just passed. After a special viewing of Patty Schemel's Hit So Hard, a small crowd gathered at Public Assembly in Williamsburg, where Hole, minus C Love, promised to play. That youthful awkward excitement peaked when Courtney Love herself, rolled in to join the band at nearly 2 am. Happy to have been a part of the whole Hole experience : )

video: hole covering wipers song 4.13.12

flower

Botanical Gardens were beautiful today.

X X X

I recently had the privilege to work on an auction project where 100% of the proceeds from sales go to Pacer’s National Bullying Prevention Center. The task was to embellish, decorate or re-design a plain American Apparel white dress. An acne treatment product called X Out sponsored the auction. For those of you familiar with the miracle product, Proactiv, from the same maker comes X Out, a new one-step pimple treatment. All I have to say, is I wish X Out was available when I was a teenager!!

Here's what I did to my white dress:

1. Bunched dress up and soaked black it with RIT Dye. It turned out more of a purple color.

2. Turned the dress inside out and pinned a piece of black cotton fabric to the chest area.

3. On a sewing machine, sewed an X shape through the dress and black fabric.

4. Trimmed all the black fabric outside the X.

5. Flipped dress right side out and trimmed the dress fabric inside the X.

5. Used fingers to fray the cut edges inside the X.

6. Lined up and pinned tons safety pins, of various sizes, through the black fabric in the X.

7. For the back of dress, folded back panel of dress vertically in half and marked a V with chalk.

8. Used a rotary cutter to cut one inch horizontal lines through both layers of fabric in V shape.

9. Opened up dress and stretched out each one inch strip to make the fabric curl.

10. Done. Wear it. Rock it.

The auction for the X Out dresses will go live on Ebay April 23. I hope you bid on mine so we can raise lots of money to stop young a-holes from abusing nice people—there is no need for bullying.

lemmemakeit stitched

Embroidery I did last summer while traveling. Never posted it because I didn't like the contrast between the  white "e" and black "m". Maybe one day I will redo the em in grey.

organizing, labeling and purging

 Remember plastic label makers, way before p-touch?! Well they're one of my favorite manual gadgets and although it comes out rarely, I wouldn't organize without it.

 For all my metal drawers and boxes, that hold a variety of craft supplies and tools, I punched out a plastic label and mounted each on a sheet of magnet, cut them out and slapped them on the appropriate storage container. This way I can move things around, if need be, without any issues or new labels. 

Organizing is never fun, but it feels good to purge, know what has been accumulated and know exactly where everything you need is.

rockin' baby

Posted about these rock 'n roll onesies I made for my friends on its way baby on the craftsdept blog, couldn't help but share here too!

 

To make:

1. Pick a band. Print the logo out backwards. 2. Pick a fabric. For dimension in a design, layer fabrics—I used a thin cotton quilting fabric with wool felt on top for a few designs. For fine detailed designs, I recommend not using felt (Nirvana shirt). 3. Iron Steam-a-Seam (a double-faced fusible webbing) to a piece of fabric. Peel the protective paper off one side, place it web-side down to the backside of your fabric and iron it in place. 4. Print out design backwards and tape to web side of fabric. Use sharp scissor and a craft knife to cut out design. 5. Peel the protective backing off of cut out design and place on shirt. I referenced the original design for positioning. 6. Place a press cloth over the design and iron. Move iron in a circular motion, so not to burn the fabric. 7. Remove press cloth and let cool. 8. When soiled, hand wash and hang dry.

letters to kurt. april 5 2012

Last night I had the opportunity to attend a special performance and book release for Eric Erlandson's Letters to Kurt. I finished reading the book last week and was touched by Eric's introspection and reflections on his friend and his suicide. Yesterday also happen to mark the 18th anniversary of Kurt Cobain's death. Sharing the evening with all the bandmates of Hole, minus Courtney Love, on April 5 was unique. I truly enjoyed Eric and Melissa's rendition of "Seasons in the Sun"—a song being about a dying protagonist's farewell to relatives and friends. Kurt once sang the song too.