Love this tote and re-reading this post had me thinking… where did that bag go! It would be excellent to pack my lunch in. This fun little tote was originally made to fit in the basket of my bike in college, then used to carry my lunch once I was […]
thrift kitchen
Shop n’ Ride and Eat! Free Sewing Pattern
Last week I told you about my search for a new lunch box. I took a look around with *cough* what’s on hand before I ran to the store to purchase new fancy lunch box supplies.It turns out that when I really hunted around, dug things from the freezer, and […]
thrift kitchen
Thrift Kitchen: Bagging up Homemade Bread
I’ve been cranking out the bread lately. Something about being without an oven for so long has made me go a little overboard. Or maybe I just really appreciate what I have and actually use it. It’s been about a loaf a week for a while now and I think I’ll keep it up. While baking your own bread is delicious, easy, and cheap, it does have the very wasteful side effect of chewing through plastic wrap.
You see, freshly baked bread, just like any other bread, will go bad when left exposed to air and it’s wonderful “wild yeasty beasties.” So I wrap it up tight. Maybe too tight. I’m going through like a roll of plastic every other month, not very Craft Leftovers spirited.
howto
How to: Carve your own Mailing Stamp
The great thing about using these blocks, is you really can use any stamp pad, making it much easier to use than a lino block – and a lot quicker to dry. Here’s how to carve and mount your own stamp to use and love because it’s uniquely your own.
redress - wardrobe redress
Redress, Donate or Recycle
I hope to find a use for every single scrap of clothing and office supplies, but it’s a little unrealistic. An item that frustrates and annoys me may be the perfect thing for someone else.
journal
Community Stash Busting
The April Stash Bust is pretty dear to my heart. In fact, Craft Leftovers is pretty much the April Stash Bust year round. If you’ve jumped over to the “about” page it reads: “I am driven to create, but not to create more waste. From the studio to the kitchen, […]
journal - wardrobe redress
Wardrobe Redress: One shirt, two ways
Hi there, it’s Karen again! A few weeks ago, Kristin let me share a few of my attempts to “fancy up” my wardrobe. This week I have two more projects to write about. Last time, I wrote about my two tactics: embellishment and reconstruction. I thought it might be interesting […]
journal
Paint Play = New Leftover Discovery!
Sometimes taking the day off is the best way to refresh and get new ideas. “Well yeah,” you are saying. Like everything else in life, easier said than done. Yesterday I came to the point where I had to decide between going to my painting class or writing a post. […]
journal
Making Junk Mail, well, Into Not Junk!
I’ve always been frustrated by the massive amounts of junk mail I receive each week. Hey, I’m trying my best to do my part to keep the earth full of trees and green and happy. Well, once it’s in my house I sure don’t want to just send it to […]
book review
1000 Ideas for Creative Reuse: Book Review
I really enjoyed the book 1000 Ideas for Creative Reuse: Remake, Restyle, Recycle, Renew by Garth Johnson; it is exactly what it says. With about 4-9 pictures per page it is the largest catalog of creative people I have ever seen. So inspiring! It’s grouped into 6 different categories: paper, collage + […]
fabric - journal - patterns & tutorials
Re-Release:: Zip It!
I have always really liked this pattern because it’s so simple to make. And when you are recycling a skirt for fabric, it uses up that part that is hard keep in tacked. Use a little bit of bias or hem tape or ribbon to cover up the raw edge inside of the clutch and you have one really nice finished clutch in just a few minutes. Perfect.
howto
Mending :: Fixing Zippers when it’s the Fabric’s fault :: How To
I was going to tell you all about how I finished my skirt today, but it slipped my mind that today was the day I needed to go to the ER to get my stitches taken out. No harm done though, while waiting I started mending my friend’s bag and […]
patterns & tutorials
ReReleasing to the Wild:: Coffee Sweater!
So the coffee sweater is this month’s Craft Leftovers Monthly Kit. I did a run through with it to make sure it would work with fingering weight yarn. Welllll, it does…. but then while knitting through it I found that just about ever row, except the “knit all” rows, was […]
journal - nosew - patterns & tutorials
Spicy+Savory :: Free Spice Jar Labels!
I have been buying the majority of my spices and herbs from the bulk bins for quite awhile now. At least a few years actually. I tend to reuse the spice containers that I had on hand from the pre-bulk-bin-buying period in my life. I would just put the little […]
book review
Book Review :: Sweater Surgery!
I first saw this book quite a few months ago. I was instantly in love. A book after my own heart. A book I would write if given the chance. There are so many great aspects to the Sweater Surgery that I’ll just start with the physical aspect of the […]
embroidery - patterns & tutorials
Vellus :: Free NeedlePoint Ornement Pattern
Vellus simply means Snowflake. I thought Latin would give a nice twist to the simple “Snowflake Ornament” title that popped into my mind initially. When I first started this project I mapped it all out on paper, made sure everything fit, and then after stitching the border threw it all […]
fabric - journal - knitting - patterns & tutorials
Ode to Phyllis
I have all of my grandma’s knitting needles, and let me tell you, for a woman who said “oh I don’t really knit” she had a ton. I guess I’m just like her. I don’t tat, but I have 3 shuttles! I don’t really silk screen, but have a print gocco, photo emulsion, screens, filler, and like 5 things of silk screen inks. Geeze. I knit all the time, but honestly, I can’t use aluminum needles because they make my hands cramp up. I really want to use them for something more than just a bouquet of needles on my craft table that they are right now, something to remember her by. My friend mentioned using my needles as handles for a tote, I took it just a little further and bent them into a handle shape and volia and presto chango! Knitting needles into perfect handles from my grandma’s perfect stash!