Suzy Cucumber

Recycled Linen/Cotton Hand Towel

2013-03-19T08:00:00.000-05:00

Just after Christmas I bought a linen/cotton sweater with the intent to unravel it and reclaim the yarn. I don't reclaim yarn unless it’s worth my time and the yarn is wool or fabulous. The sweater also needs to have seams that are capable of being unraveled.

Avoid serged seams (bottom sweater). The yarn is cut during the sewing process, and it’s almost impossible to unravel. The top sweater seam is perfect for unraveling. If you do a web search for “reclaim sweater yarn,” you’ll find great instructions from other crafters on how to unravel an old sweater.

I found an interesting lace pattern in 365 Knitting Stitches a Year (used back in Week 36 of my Craft Book Challenge Year) and cast on as many stitches as I thought I needed to give me a hand towel. I think it was 60 stitches.

The pattern is Fishtail Lace.

I kept knitting until the towel fit the towel holder.

While a lace pattern can be difficult, once you get the pattern memorized you’ll zip along and put on the inches. I did have to rip several rows because a stitch went missing even though I counted the previous row accurately (or so I thought).

I’m pleased with my linen/cotton towel. I probably used a touch more than one sleeve for the towel. I should have enough yarn for at least two more towels with a face cloth besides. Knitting towels is great lace knitting practice without having to knit with whisper–thin yarn.

Are you looking at your sweaters with a new eye now?

Thanks,

Aimee

Crafty Bucket List: Socks

2013-03-16T08:00:00.000-05:00

I’ve always wanted to knit a pair of socks, but double pointed needles scared the crud out of me. I’m not sure why now that I’ve knit my first pair of socks. I guess I should have used the same yarn for both.

What are you afraid of trying? Why not try to conquer your crafty fears this weekend?

Currently casting on for a match…

Thanks,

Aimee

3D Plastic Zoo

2013-03-12T17:01:00.001-05:00

If you can dream it, you can do it.
Walt Disney

So we dreamt it, and we did it.

My daughter modeled the mounted raptor in Sculptris.

Here’s the raptor printed in ABS plastic using the Solidoodle 3D printer.

Daughter then dreamt of a hippo…

and he slowly rose from the plastic pond.

Again, she sculpted with virtual clay in Sculptris.

I dreamt of a dachshund coin, just to see if it could be done.

So I took a picture of Suzy the dog, modeled her profile, and it worked! I printed out the file with the 3D printer, and again, it worked! Gave it a quick sand and then slathered it with silver Rub–N–Buff. I glued it on my broken key chain for portable art.

My daughter has a dinosaur tooth or claw she’s in the process of painting. Good old gesso works better than plastic primer on the ABS. After priming, acrylic craft paint sticks to the plastic. Oh, the possibilities! We’ve already had to order a new reel of plastic for more printing.

What should we print next?

Thanks,

Aimee

Three Dimensional Portraits

2013-03-04T21:54:00.000-06:00

My husband and children are early adopters. When it’s time to play, they play with the latest and greatest. Three-D printing is all the rage around here. My husband has been designing kettle corn measuring cups and phone stands. My daughter has been sculpting virtual portraits.

She sculpted her profile using virtual clay in the free program Sculptris, exported the file to the open source program Blender, and then exported the final object to the file format .STL, which the Solidoodle 3D printer can read. Yeah, it’s just that easy for an early adopter.

The tile is over 4–in. square and took 11+ hours to print. We calculated that it used about $8 in plastic.

Art School Daughter then needed to do her homework. She wanted to recreate the vase–face optical illusion in 3D using her face as one side and her boyfriend’s face for the other. These portraits are about 1.5– to 2–in. tall.

Finally, why not try sculpt a full face? The printer “draws” each layer of plastic onto the previous layer. It’s like a precise, computer–controlled glue gun.

What are we doing with all this plastic artwork?

Besides making functional phone stands, we’re making art, and art begs to be displayed.

My kids declare the face magnet to be cool and creepy at the same time.

We’ve been branching out into animals. Stay tuned for the results of the raptor hunt.

Are you an early adopter or a late majority?

Thanks,

Aimee

A New Mission

2013-02-04T22:07:00.000-06:00

Hello. I’m back again. I had to take a break from craft books.

I haven’t been idle. During January alone I planned new curtains for my kitchen, scanned my grandmother’s recipe cards, took Photoshop lessons, bought a Craftsy class on making knits that fit, snipped all the beads off a heavily encrusted dress for my daughter’s film class (payment: beads), made a polymer clay key with matching lock for said film class along with a motorized backpack key in a papier mache box faux painted to look like brass, bought and promptly unraveled a linen/cotton sweater, began knitting a linen/cotton hand towel in a lace pattern, knit a scarf for one friend, started another scarf for another friend, practiced knitting with double–pointed needles, watched hours of sock–making on YouTube to get up my courage to use the double–points, tea–dyed some wool, and bought way too much yarn.

It may look like a lot, but it doesn’t seem like much got done. Too many UFOs. Unfinished objects.

When I finished my craft book challenge year, I wondered why I should continue Suzy Cucumber. December was torture for finding projects. I spent each week procrastinating until Friday rolled around and I had to pick some project, ANY project, from my craft books. Seeing the finish line kept me from dumping the whole challenge.

I’ve been thinking about what I want to accomplish with Suzy Cucumber. I started wondering if I blog just to validate myself to others.

Years ago, I was at a dinner party with my in–laws. Most of the guests were their work colleagues with a few spare family members. We took turns introducing ourselves and our career positions. I was between paying jobs at the time; my main job is being a wife and mother. When it was my turn, I could only get my name out before a helpful family member announced, “She doesn’t do nothing.”

Awkward silence. (And horrible grammar, by the way.)

Now let’s hear from the next highly accomplished woman to your right…

Wow. Yeah. That comment still ticks me off a decade later. So I started thinking, do I have to prove to others that I DO SOMETHING? You know, “worthwhile” and paying… not like cleaning, cooking, childrearing, homeschooling, gardening, planning, paying the bills, etc., is worth anything.

2012 was a year to try new things, to make a dent in my crafty bucket list, to push myself within the constraints of a challenge. I dared myself to use 52 craft books. I did use more than 52 craft books, and I learned so much.

So why should I continue Suzy Cucumber? Because I want to learn and accomplish so much more. I still have a crafty bucket list. I want to experiment and try new things. I need a little accountability to get my UFOs flying. I don’t need Suzy Cucumber to prove to others that I am doing something. I need Suzy Cucumber to give me permission to get a little crazy with the paint, tangle up some yarn, and fling the paper and glue like confetti. I need to make time for making.

I’m not going to constrain myself with a new craft book each week. I think I may do that challenge monthly. Suzy Cucumber is now about me trying out what I want to try, solving decorating/gardening problems, and just making stuff. Because I want to. You’re welcome to come along for the ride.

Thanks,

Aimee

Craft Book Challenge Week 52: A little spice in the new year

2013-01-06T13:29:00.000-06:00

One year ago I started this blog to help me get over my creative slump. Maybe I should have planned a fabulous project to finish out my craft book challenge, but I didn’t. I tried to carve out creative time during this past year to get old projects done and try new ideas. This last week is no different.

My daughter is headed back to school next week. We changed her meal plan, so she’ll be doing more cooking for herself. She likes fresh, raw vegetables and a cut of meat for dinner, so we bought her a mini kitchen grill. She likes her meat spiced, so she needs a way to carry her spices down to the dorm kitchen without hauling a tackle box of jars for each meal.

I pulled out Practical Origami, my last book for the year, to find the pepper packets pattern.

We folded all the obnoxious origami paper squares we could find into little packets and filled them with her favorite spices. Just unfold and tip in the spice.

The folding process produces a little hole at the top so she can shake her flavors directly onto her meal without dumping the whole packet at once.

I’m also sending paper plates, because how can I expect her to cook AND do her own dishes. It’s all about baby steps.

I’m still evaluating my plans for 2013. Rest assured, it will include craftiness. I want to thank you all for joining me on my 2012 craft book challenge!

Thanks again,

Aimee

Craft Book Challenge Week 51: Japanese Braiding

2012-12-31T17:32:00.001-06:00

When I was a kid, my best friend lived on a sheep farm. Her mother had a spinning wheel in the corner and a full–sized loom where she would weave the yarn she had spun into beautiful fabrics.

I was fascinated with the process. She taught me to card wool and spin a little on a drop spindle. My brother wove my lumpy yarn into a lap weaving and won a state fair ribbon.

Weaving is little more than the process of moving strings in and out of place to generate a growing fabric. Japanese braiding or Kumihimo also is the process of swapping strings to build round and flat cords.

Last week, I found a square Kumihimo plate in the hobby shop while my husband was replacing parts for his new radio–controlled flyer.

Swapping a few strings of silk embroidery ribbon quickly generated a flat cord.

I had no choice but to go to the library and find a book on Kumihimo.

You can buy a round foam Kumihimo disk or make one from stiff card. Once you learn the simple moves, you swap the warp and weft to make round and square cords.

The notches take the place of weighted bobbins in traditional Kumihimo.

I even experimented with multiple strands of 32–gauge gold and copper wire to weave a simple ring.

The cord makes great bracelets and bookmarks. With thicker cording, you could make purse straps.

Experimenting gave me toothed flat cord.

While my woven cord doesn’t compare to the spinning and weaving I’ve never been able to master, I enjoyed how quickly I could produce the cord. I plan to experiment more with color combinations and cording size. If I can’t weave flat, I’ll gladly take round weaving.

One week left of my craft book challenge!

Thanks,

Aimee

Craft Book Challenge Week 50: Softy Polar Bear Ornament

2012-12-21T21:46:00.001-06:00

Every year I give each of my kids an ornament for Christmas. My mother did the same for me, and I enjoy pulling out my collection and reminiscing as I decorate my tree.

Usually, I buy the ornaments and write the date on the box. This year, I actually had time to make their ornament gifts.

My pattern came from Sew Pretty Christmas Homestyle.

Making little softies can be fiddly if you cut out your pieces and then sew them. Instead, trace the pattern onto your fabric and sew it. Now cut it out. So much easier. I was able to make two bears using this method in one afternoon.

I found a dinner napkin and traced a polar bear pattern onto the doubled fabric. I stitched along my lines (leaving room for turning and ear insertion).

I pulled it right–side out, stuffed it, and painted simple features onto the bear’s face.

A simple crocheted scarf and a loop for hanging finish his ensemble.

I forgot to take a picture, but I wrote 2012 on his little backside. He’s now part of the ornament family. My kids will be gone in a few short years, but they’ll have boxes of ornaments to take with them. I hope they enjoy their little Christmas memories as much as I have mine.

Have a wonderful week!

Aimee

P.S. I finished my cookbook project. 190 pages plus an index. It’s awesome. My mom has put in her order for me to scan my grandmothers’ recipes to share.

Craft Book Challenge Week 49: Heirloom Recipe Journal

2012-12-18T20:56:00.000-06:00

I was working diligently on my scarf–a–palooza crafting marathon when my husband gently reminded me I had promised his aunt copies of heirloom recipes to give as gifts. Two years ago. She had gently reminded him that Christmas was coming like a freight train.

Scarf–a–palooza—FULL STOP!

As I said, two years ago, my father–in–law let me borrow his late wife's recipe box so I could scan the handwritten recipes. My husband's aunt got the word that the recipes were written by her little sister and her mother, both of whom passed away entirely too soon. I scanned all the recipe cards but lost my steam on the project when my computer ate most of my edits.

So, last Wednesday I got back to work fixing scans of well–loved recipe cards. Some of the yellowed cards were so loved that they were almost unreadable from years of batter and grease splashes.

I tweaked and twisted those scans in Photoshop until I had something readable and printable.

This one must have been really good.

Believe it or not, I was able to make this scan readable.

Since my aunt–in–law wanted to share the recipes in book form, I pulled out Making Journals by Hand, which has quick and practical ideas for creating books and journals.

I printed out the recipes onto card stock and placed them into simple page protector sleeves to protect the pages from the messiness of baking. I bound the pages with a simple raffia ribbon.

I was inspired to make some lemon cake.

The cake recipe journal is more of a family history than a cookbook. What's on the pages is more important than how perfectly the book is bound. My husband remembers his mother making some of the recipes I included. I'm going to pass this book on to both of my children so they can make some cakes just like Granny did.

I still have many more recipes to pull together, but I figured cake was an important and necessary place to start. No matter how many pages I can pull together before Christmas, my husband's aunt will be so pleased to share her mother and sister with the rest of the younger generation.

If you're looking for a meaningful gift, look no further than your recipe box. You might have some history to share with your family. All you need is a scanner.

Thanks,

Aimee

Craft Book Challenge Week 48: German Paper Star

2012-12-08T07:00:00.000-06:00

If you can make it like Martha, your life with be beautiful.

If you aspire to a Martha Christmas, your holiday will be perfect and beautiful.

Martha made a ribbon German Star ornament in her Handmade Christmas. I followed the teeny, tiny drawings. I read (and reread the instructions).

Strike 1. Must have been the card stock I used. Let's try a thinner paper.

Strike 2. Thinner paper tears, especially painted newsprint. Let's try printer paper.

Strike 3. All three stars died at the exact same point in Martha's directions. Maybe it's not me or my paper.

No, it's not me.

If you really want to make a German paper star, follow a step–by–step video. With a Grateful Prayer and a Thankful Heart has a great video tutorial. Look what plain copy paper can become.

Lesson learned: Martha will not make life perfect. Seek your own perfection.

Thanks,

Aimee

Craft Book Challenge Week 47: No time to embroider? Try paper piecing with the same pattern.

2012-12-05T17:07:00.001-06:00

While browsing through my Christmas books, I found a beautiful white dove embroidered on a taupe stocking. I will never spend a billion hours embroidering that dove. See how well I know myself?

So am I out of luck? Will I never get to experience the joy of actually making something from my Leisure Arts Christmas books?

The moment I saw this dove I thought, "Paper piecing. Oh yes, it can be done."

Embroidery pattern from Leisure Arts presents The Spirit of Christmas, Book 4 (1990).

I have a personal cutting machine and some magic software (Make the Cut) that allows me to generate my own patterns for cutting.

Here's how to make a paper piecing pattern from an embroidery pattern.

Step 1 is to get the pattern into a vector–based drawing package. I use Inkscape because it's free and produces the SVG file necessary to talk to my cutter software.

Step 2 is to trace all the pieces you want to cut, adding a little extra on the back end of each piece so the paper layers can hold it all together. You can use your mouse for this step. I use a pen and tablet.

Step 3: Save the Inkscape file and open it in Make the Cut. Now cut! (I did prepaint some of the paper, but it's not necessary.) See all those shapes in different colors? They are the shapes the cutter will cut out. Keep this file open when gluing or you will go crazy trying to figure out where each piece goes.

I used plain white card stock for the doves. After several layers of white glue, they laminate into a sturdy ornament. Everything underneath the head and wings is ugly (much like all the pictures I took of the assembly process).

Until you hide all the overlaps.

Pearlescent Dove (white card stock covered in white pearl acrylic paint)

Glitter dove (white card stock covered in multicolor glitter)

Gold dove (white card stock streaked with metallic gold acrylic paint before cutting)

I'm ready to decorate the tree. First I must put up the tree.

If you don't have a personal cutter, you can trace the pattern and add the overlaps yourself. I'd resize the pattern larger to make cutting with scissors easier. I'd like to try this with felt.

Embroidery, Ha! I have ignored you and still I have a dove.

Thanks!

Aimee

Craft Book Challenge Week 46 (belated): Braiding Floss

2012-11-30T15:10:00.001-06:00

Last week, between the turkey, relatives, and Christmas shopping, I started my Week 46 Craft Book project. My mother had the genius idea to use her new knitting cord machine with her old embroidery floss. So we pulled out my floss (I gave up cross stitch years ago) and got to cranking.

While my mom was helping my sister–in–law rearrange her wall decor, I tied together all my loose floss (that scraggly pile on the right) into equal strands of six strings each and cranked it through my corder.

Ooh, the result was a fabulous riot of color. My sister–in–law suggested the cord would make a great scarf.

So I pulled out all my red floss, tied it together using a weaver’s knot, and cranked it through my ancient cording machine. (There are several brands available. Mine is by Bond America. My mom’s is the newer version by Caron. They’re essentially the same hand–cranked, four–needle knitting machine.)

I tied together 24 m worth of random red/pink floss remnants, which is approximately the length of three full skeins of embroidery floss.

I cranked it all through and then had the idea to braid it into a seven–strand flat braid. Where did I get the instructions? From a rug weaving book from Rafter–four Designs. I could have made a 12–strand flat braid using the instructions in this little pamphlet if I had had enough red floss.

Seven long cords later…

I tied the red/pink cords together at the top using the loose strands, alternating the colors red/pink/red/pink/red/pink/red.

Starting from the right outermost strand, the weaving sequence for a seven–strand braid is over 2, under 1. Then, from the left outermost strand, over 2, under 1. Move from the right side to the left side outermost strands with the over 2, under 1 sequence.

At the end of the weaving, I sewed across the end to secure the cords and braided both ends of the loose strands with a standard three–strand braid. The final braided strand is 53 in. long and 1.25 in. wide.

The braid can be a scarf, a belt, a purse strap, etc… I’m really surprised at how well the peachy pinks blended into the deep reds.

I’m still playing with how to wear my new scarf. And I’m plotting what other strands I can run through my corder. I’ve discovered that ¼–in. silk ribbon can feed through without catching, so that stash is in line to next become miles of knitted cord.

Thanks,

Craft Book Challenge Week 45: The Ed Emberely Cure

2012-11-19T12:54:00.000-06:00

Well, here I am a week late again. I have a good excuse. I was sick. I think I battled the flu last week, but I never went to the doctor to be sure. All I know is that I spent several days in bed, and each day brought a new symptom. I ate my weight in chicken soup. And I was crabby.

When I'm crabby, all I can do is sleep and doodle.

I dug out my childhood copy of Ed Emberley's Drawing Book of Animals and a handful of fat markers.

Ed makes me happy. Who else can turn a D, a Y, and a couple of triangles into a tiger? My brothers and I spent hours turning simple shapes into animals when we were young. Even today, the simplicity appeals to me. So many times we strive for perfection when all we really need is a little doodling.

I like Ed's forward: "For the boy I was, the book I could not find." We don't need to learn how to draw perfectly; sometimes we just need to draw.

And I did. I was happy, and then I took a nap.

Keep healthy!

Thanks,

Aimee

Craft Book Challenge Week 44: Faux Leather Book Volumes

2012-11-12T14:10:00.001-06:00

I'm late, I know. It's Week 46, but I did take the photos and do the project in Week 45. I caught that awful sinus cold that is going around, and it really derailed my weekend.

I've been working on turning a stack of shiny textbooks into a stack of antique books for use as nightstands in my master bedroom. I have several squat tables that are too short for bedside use. About eight books stacked upon each table makes them perfect for nightstands. The Fundamentals of Accounting do not make for restful nighttime reading. My book stash needed quick makeovers.

L to R: Shiny textbook before and shiny textbook after.

I love to faux paint. It's amazing how a little paint and texture can fool the eye into seeing timeworn leather. I pulled some ideas on recreating leather from Recipes for Paint Effects. I originally wanted to paint some cheesy resin Pilgrims with faux wood grain, but the need for nightstands was greater.

The first step was to lightly sand the textbook covers. I used 100 grit sandpaper. I tried 60 grit at first, but the scratches it leaves do show up in the final product. Sanding allows the next step to permanently stick to the cover.

Leather has texture that is difficult to achieve with paint alone. Nubby single–ply napkins provide a credible leather feel. I painted a layer of regular water–based primer onto the cover and placed the napkin into the wet paint. I smoothed the napkin with my palm and then painted another layer of primer over the napkin, carefully working out any air bubbles as I smoothed the napkin.

I covered each book with two layers of napkins and paint, letting each layer dry before adhering the next.

To enhance the illusion these books are old, I glued plain kitchen twine to the spines to mimic raised cord binding. I painted another layer of torn napkin pieces over the dried twine to finish the texture layer.

Now for the magic. I wanted my books to be a light cream color, so I mixed up some Oops! gold paint samples with a quart of flat white latex paint to make my base paint color. I then painted a layer or two of the buttery cream paint onto the primed books.

My bedroom is spa blue with blue, brown, and cream accents. I used plain navy craft paint to paint between the spine strips. I'm a rebel, so I thinned gold craft paint and free–handed the titles onto the spines using a small lining brush. I tried to choose titles that my husband would realistically have piled by his bedside.

Monograms are always safe.

Old books are not pristine. They need a little experience, also known as dirt. I wiped on a layer of dark brown wall glaze and wiped off most of the tint with a slightly wet rag.

Heavy glaze.

Light glaze.

The books need a little protection, so I rubbed paste wax over most of the books. The top book will receive the most abuse. I protected the paint finish with two layers of satin Polycrylic followed by two buffed coats of paste wax.

Here's his reading list: A History of Storms, Texas, Thunder (Vol.1), Lightning (Vol. 2), Panhandle Skies, Great Texans (Vol. N), and Weather. Can you see a pattern?

The nightstand is now the perfect height for next to the bed. The table for my side of the bed is slightly taller, but with the right combination of books, I can make it the same height. My cold stopped book production for the weekend, but the primer dries so quickly that I should have my nightstand done by the weekend.

At some point, I need to carve some time to add wood grain to these resin Pilgrims.

The Pilgrims are not thankful for their closeup.

Thanks!

Aimee

The 3D Printer

2012-11-03T06:59:00.000-05:00

My husband is a gadget guy. If it’s a technical toy, he has to have one. You should see the excitement in this house when the UPS man is at the door.

His latest and greatest is a Solidoodle 3D printer. If you can dream it, you can print it in 3D.

Several free software packages are available to draw a 3D image. The Solidoodle prints the image by “drawing” layer upon layer of ABS plastic. The nozzle melts a string of ABS plastic (which looks a lot like weed whip string) onto a heated platform. The plastic hardens almost immediately as it is drawn.

Since I needed a cable needle for my knitting class, I gave my husband a rough drawing, and he modeled a needle for me.

A quick rub with some fine sandpaper made the new needle smooth enough to slide through yarn without catching.

Oh, the possibilities!

What would you make with a 3D printer?

Thanks,

Craft Book Challenge Week 43: Last–Minute Halloween Manicure

2012-10-31T18:01:00.001-05:00

Happy Halloween!

While my husband was finetuning his spider drop for this evening's festivities, I thought I should put some effort into my appearance. He drops the spider, and I lure them in with the candy.

According to Frightfully Fun Halloween Crafts & Cooking, you can paint your nails with acrylic paint as long as you seal the paint with clear nail polish. While I don’t have creepy nail polish colors, I do have enough craft paint to cover the house inside and out.

How to Give Yourself an Ocular Manicure

1. With a small flat craft paint brush, paint a layer of white acrylic paint onto each finger nail. The first nail should be dry by the time you reach the last nail.

2. With a small liner brush, paint a circle of sage green in the middle of each white nail.

3. Dip the hard end of one brush (the end opposite the bristles) into black acrylic paint and stamp the end into the middle of each green circle.

4. Every eye needs a gleam. Paint a small dot of white just off center of the pupil using the small liner brush.

5. Acrylic paint is water–based and will wash off unless you seal it. Using the clear nail polish, paint at least two coats over the dried acrylic paint. Let the first clear coat dry before adding the second coat.

I’ve been able to wash my hands without losing my paint job, so I suspect my nails will last at least through the evening.

I might even have time to make some Spider Web Dip from the book. It matches my nails.

Thanks,

Aimee

Craft Book Challenge Week 42: Crafting Books and Casting On

2012-10-28T17:15:00.001-05:00

Have you ever wondered what to do with your old, shiny accounting textbooks? How about faux them into vintage books.

My week has been full of glue and paint doing just that to a stack of textbooks, and I’m still not done. Their eventual home will be as a nightstand for my husband. Then I have to do the same to another stack for me.

In between gluing and painting and gluing and painting some more, I played with Cast On, Bind Off.

It is amazing how many ways you can get the yarn on and off your knitting needles.

My favorite new methods are the I–cord cast on and I–cord cast off. It’s like magic the way the yarn orients itself perpendicular to the body of the piece.

I also made my first attempt at intarsia or bobbin knitting using the initials of our kids’ fencing club. I need a bit more practice getting my stitches not to wonk, but I’m still pleased with the result.

And look, only ten weeks left in my Craft Book Challenge year. Of course, that means that Christmas is only 9 weeks away!

Back to crafting those books.
Thanks,

Coloring Book Collage

2012-10-21T18:10:00.001-05:00

I adore the works of the masters. Alas, I choose not to wield a paintbrush with their skill. I have better things to do than devote my life to mixing the perfect crimson. Plus, someone has to cook around here or there’d be fast food wrappers piled to the ceiling.

Collage is the answer! I copied a page from my Color Your Own Great Flower Painting coloring book onto cardstock and grabbed a glue stick and the stack of magazines I’ve been too busy to read.

I chose to recreate Jan Van Kessel’s A Vase of Flowers, which is found NO WHERE on the Internet for reference. Jan painted many flowers in many vases, but I could not find this particular painting.

I followed the reference photo in the coloring book as best I could with some magnification and a color reference map. I like texture and variation in my colors, so I usually look for magazine pages that match the overall hue. I collect all the colors I think I may need beforehand as my palette. It’s no fun looking for more green with sticky, gluey fingers.

I start with the background and rip the pieces to fit. I glue the pieces down one at a time with a glue stick, tweezers, and toothpick. I add elements from back to front.

When I’m satisfied all my flowers and leaves are covered, I seal the whole piece with a layer of matte Mod Podge. It’s the same idea as sealing a puzzle you’ve completed. You don’t want any pieces popping up when you run it through the printer.

Yes, my poor printer gets abused again.

But, what if I don’t like a color choice I’ve made? A wash with thinned acrylic paint after sealing with Mod Podge will tone down any color errors. I didn’t like the light gray tone across the top, so I washed the area with black paint and repodged it.

My inkjet printer is learning to say “No” to my schemes, so I had to fool it into reading the dark background as white with a line of masking tape across the top of the collage. I then overprinted the original coloring book page on top of the collage work.

I think the coloring book lines minimize the “I–copied–a–serious–piece–of–artwork” vibe. My art school daughter liked it, so I trimmed it to 8x10 and framed it for her dorm room. She said her Design professors would be impressed. The whole process took about 16 hours, so I hope they’d be!

The whole process is like collaging by number except you get to choose the colors, which opens a whole can of art worms.

Do you have a coloring book picture in mind to collage now?

Thanks,

The Itsy Knitsy Spider Meets the Mummy

2012-10-18T19:57:00.001-05:00

The Itsy Knitsy Spider went up the waterspout.

Down came the ghoul and creeped the spider out.

The spider lady turned her back and showed her deadly crest.

And the ghoul turned white, shrieked in fright, and instantly left.

Meanwhile, the Mummy watched in horror.

His first cousin is the Ghoul. How embarrassing.

All projects inspired by A New Look at Knitting, my craft book from Week 40.

Thanks,

Craft Book Challenge Week 41: Coloring WAY outside the lines

2012-10-16T18:43:00.001-05:00

I was going to play with beads this week until I got one of those hare–brained–I–will–not–leave–you–alone–until–you–indulge–me ideas.

Chaos to ensue.

Thanks,

Knit Ghoul Box

2012-10-14T16:44:00.001-05:00

He lurks, hidden deep in the shadows. Waiting. Once a year, the magic of All Hallow’s Eve releases him from his dark chains. When one waits all year for freedom, one does not waste a moment in repentance.

Soon…

How to Knit a Box Without Using a Pattern

A box is basically a hollow cube. Each side is a perfect square. You’ll need six sides (four around and two for top and bottom) to complete the cube. Explode out a cube and you can see how the sides fit together.
(This technique is found in this week’s craft book.)

I ripped up a sheet for my fabric strips, so I’m not sure how much total fabric the box requires. Each strip is torn 1–in. wide.

Cast on as many stitches as you want onto size 13 (9mm) knitting needles. I cast on 10 stitches.

Knit each row until you have produced a square. Use the bow tie join method to add fabric as you need extra yardage. When the ruler is across the room, you can determine whether you’ve knit a square by folding up one corner to the opposite corner across the diagonal. If you can match corners and the sides line up, you have a square.

Now that you have knit a square, cast on the same number of stitches you began with. In my case, I cast on 10 more stitches. Knit across the new stitches and old stitches and cast on an additional number of the original stitch count. You should have triple the original number of stitches on your needle. I now had 30 stitches. (10 new st. + 10 original st. + 10 new st.)

Continue knitting across until you have added the same number of rows needed to make the original square. Cast off one side arm. Always keep the original middle stitches. Knit across and cast off the other extra side arm. You should be back to the original cast on stitch count.

You’ve just produced the front, bottom, and two sides of the box.

The final step is to knit the back and lid of the box. Knit double the rows necessary to produce a square piece. You are adding two squares stacked. Bind off when you have reached the height needed for two squares.

Slip stitch the two side arm squares to the front and back squares along the edges. (Make a box sample out of graph paper if it’s driving you crazy.) Slip stitching gives the floppy fabric some firmness.

You can add character by sewing button eyes just under the lid and tying scraggly yarn hair all around the top of the box. Or make the box with Christmas fabric and pop in a gift. It’s all good.

Now, where’s the candy? My ghoul needs to eat!
Thanks,

Linked Up @
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Craft Book Challenge Week 40: Playing with the Needles

2012-10-08T18:17:00.001-05:00

As I wander the thrifts, I keep an eye out for vintage craft books. I ignore anything from the ‘80s, but anything older is fair game. I found a new look at Knitting in small–town Oklahoma at a Salvation Army. If you ignore the dreadful ‘70s vest and other truly unknown objects on the cover, you sometimes can find some nuggets of wisdom that other “proper” knitting books won’t tell you.

The book embraces experimental knitting. I did my first two–color knitting using a weaving method I had never seen in any other book. Stranding had always seemed daunting. With weaving, you catch the unused yarn behind the stitches as you’re knitting.

Despite some of the truly groovy designs, the book is more of a technique workbook than a pattern gallery. I plan to play and try out some “unauthorized” techniques just to see what will happen.

Thanks,

Bat infestation! for Halloween

2012-10-07T16:15:00.001-05:00

Bats. Thanks to Bram Stoker, these helpful little mammals are forever connected to Halloween. So, let’s go with it. Sorry, bats, you are rather creepy looking.

Trompe l’oeil paintings fool the eye into thinking a flat object is three–dimensional. You can take a simple bat drawing and add shading/highlights to produce a swarm of bats across your front door. Just in time for Halloween.

Grab a bat from an open source clip art site like openclipart.org, which is where I found the little bat. Open the file in your graphics program and size it to about 8 in. across. Your monitor screen now doubles as a light board. Tape thin paper to the monitor and trace the bat’s outline. Use a soft felt–tip marker so you do not damage your screen. Also rough in the dark areas with the marker. This drawing will be your master (muwahahaha).

Make a copy of the master drawing. The copy is your working drawing. Neatly cut out the bat. The outside is now your stencil, and the inside is your painting guide.

Stencil the bat outline onto thick tag board with black craft paint thinned with acrylic blender. The blender helps the paint flow smoothly from the stencil brush. I used an old shirt box for the base. Cereal boxes work as well. Be careful not to tear the edges of the stencil as you paint.

Rub the back of the cutout bat drawing with white chalk to create a transfer. Flip the drawing right–side up and fit it onto the bat stencil, matching the edges. Tape down the bat and trace all the dark outlines with a pen or pencil.

Remove the bat drawing to begin your painting. The chalk outlines may be fuzzy, but rubbing them lightly with your hand should remove the excess chalk without removing the guidelines.

You’ll be painting in the light areas. Use the drawing you traced as your guide. Mix the black craft paint with enough white craft paint to make a mid–gray tone. Mix the gray paint half and half with the acrylic blender. You want the gray glaze to blend into the black without harsh edges.

Follow the guidelines you traced in chalk to build up lighter areas. Remember, the bat will not be seen from 6 in. away. Squint your eyes occasionally or step back to gauge your success. Estimate your light source. If the light source is coming from the top, objects on top will be lighter.

When dry, cut out the bat. Trace and paint a few hanging bats to add to the infestation.

Place a few pieces of foam tape on the back of the finished paintings and add them to your decor. When the kiddies run away screaming, you can keep all the candy for yourself.

Trick–or–treat for the eyes!

Thanks,

Linked @
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Craft Book Challenge Week 39: Fool the Eye Painting

2012-10-04T12:52:00.001-05:00

What a week! We hosted a fencing tournament all weekend. Both my husband and son took third place in their events. My first night of the knitting class was Monday. Exhaustion!

The class went well, even though I looked at my watch halfway through and panicked. I wasn’t sure how I was going to fill the last 45 minutes. Turns out we went over our time.

In class, we covered how to choose a good pattern, yarn selection, and the dreaded gauge. One student started knitting a swatch with the yarn her sister had provided and immediately began sniffling. We looked at the pattern her sister selected and determined it would only look good if her sister slouched around. The pattern was two rectangles with a V–neck. She’s giving it all back to her sister and avoiding bamboo yarn from now on.

I’ve been so focused on recovery that I had no idea what to do this week. Then my husband decided to decorate for Halloween, and I knew we needed to up the spooky factor.

It’s spider hanging day!

I’m going to mess around with some removable trompe l’oeil to give our new spider some atmosphere. We’ve dropped a spider on trick–or–treaters for about 10 years. It’s the highlight of my husband’s year.

How do you decorate for Halloween?

Thanks,

“Choose Your Own Adventure” Beanie Knit Pattern

2012-09-29T00:17:00.001-05:00

You enter a room. In the corner are a pile of knitting needles, several different skeins of yarn, and a ruler. Curious.

Suddenly, a blast of cold air sails across your poor ears, freezing them to little dangly icicles. The window is nailed open, and a blizzard outside will soon engulf the little room. You turn to leave, but the door won’t open!

Trapped!

You race across the room to the pile of knitting supplies. How will you keep warm with the snow swirling around you?

Click on the link for salvation.

My Beanie Pattern

You find a pattern for a beanie hidden in a link. You quickly knit a little square with the closest knitting needles and yarn. You measure the square and discover your gauge. Eureka! Time to warm those frosty ears.

You knit as fast as your fingers can fly. As your pinky begins to turn blue, you complete the last stitch. You will not be cold this day.

The End

This week, I used a formula hidden in a knitting book from the 1960’s plus a skein of $1 yarn and wrote up a pattern that actually works. I sewed it up, and you can’t see the seam. Knitting immersion seems to have imparted some yarny wisdom. It’s about time.

Let me know if my pattern write up works (or doesn’t). Go have an adventure!

Thanks,

Aimee