Knitted Cacti

Birthdays present shopping has never been a strong suit of mine and in the past year I have come to the conclusion that the only worthwhile gifts that come from me are alcohol and hand made crafts. (these also happen to be the only birthday presents I enjoy receiving as well) So when my roommate asked me to make her a meal of knitted sushi (as seen in earlier posts and already in the possession of your most dedicated blogger and my beloved Linda) for her birthday I decided to try my hand in her favorite plant instead. The Cactus.

Knitting the body of the cactus was much like knitting a tiny hat. I used a garter stitch and ended up preferring the pearl side for it's texture. I then stuffed it with yarn scraps and created a circle to close the bottom. For the needles I cut craft wire into inch long pieces and twisted them around the yarns of the cactus form. To top it all off I knitted a long, thin rectangle and simply twisted it and stitched it into a circle which created a flower.

The finished product was a little

messy and I think if you were to try this it might make sense to insert a styrofoam ball inside and use that to stabilize the wire needles.

In the end, it has become a lovely addition to my roommates potted garden, and unlike the real cacti, it's needles have not protected it from the terrors of my cat.

Coffee Filter Hydrangeas

Since the most popular posts seem to be those concerning coffee filter flowers, I thought I'd try to experiment with a few more types of flowers.  I've always liked hydrangeas; every time I enter Whole Foods and see the blue-green potted plants featured in the flower display, I have to sternly remind myself that anything dependent on me for food and water would die within a week. Paper hydrangeas, on the other hand, are much easier to take care of!

Materials need for this project include: coffee filters, thin silver wire, Styrofoam balls, watercolor paints, floral tape, green paper, and thick floral wire.

To begin, you need to cut out a large number of four-petaled flowers. They should be about 1.5 inches in diameter (1).  Next cut 1 inch pieces of wire and bend them into a narrow "U" shape (2). Insert the wire through the center of the flower (3). Small pins would work just as well if you want to skip step 2.  Attach the flowers to the Styrofoam ball in an overlapping pattern (4).  Make sure the ball is completely covered.  If you want to cover the ball first in coffee filter paper, you can avoid any unseemly white patches in your finished project. 

Paint the flowers in a mixture of blue, green, and purple hues (5 and 6). After the ball dries you will need to "fluff" the matted down petals. Finally, cut out a broad leaf from green paper and attach it to floral wire with floral tape.  Insert the wire into the base of the ball and you're done! I used rather small Styrofoam balls in my project because that's what I had on hand. After grouping three of the flowers together and pinning the sides together with wire, I think it came out rather cute.  A larger Styrofoam ball might work better and appear more realistic.

Let me know how your flowers turn out!

Stuffed Creatures

First of all, I want to apologize for the delay in posting.  I've been moving, so my craft supplies have been in complete disarray, making new projects difficult. Secondly, I'd like to thank Vixen for featuring my coffee filter gladioli on her blog.  As I'm somewhat of a techno-peasant, I had difficulties leaving my thanks in a comment on her blog.  Thirdly, I'd like to mention a blog that I've become obsessed with.  After my foray into sewing in June, I started researching stuffed animal designs and patterns. Abby Glassenberg over at While She Naps does amazing soft toys and sculptures.  She also has a very through series of blogs detailing the basics of soft toy design.

I first attempted to recreate the stuffed bear shown here. It ended up turning into a strange bear/pig hybrid. My boyfriend thought it was a cat. It was still pretty adorable though (at least I thought so). My first attempt at solo design turned out better, so well in fact that I made a second one.

Please tell me you know what these are supposed to be!

Exchangeable Earrings

This is the second project that will focus on accessory adaptability. This is a very simple craft; it allows for a great degree of versatility with very little effort. All you will need for the undertaking is earring backs (the ones below were obtained from Michael's), designer paper, clear tape, and Elmer's glue. 

Cut out circles that are the diameter of the recessed interior of the earring. For these earrings a one inch hole punch worked very well.  Next, laminate the paper circles or seal them with contact paper or tape.  Attach the circles to the earrings with Elmer's glue.  When you wish to switch them out, simply peel off the circles and scrap off any remaining glue.  

Shoe alterations

The next few posts are going to center around versatility and reuseability.   I'm very attracted to the idea of taking an item and altering it slightly in many different ways.  So instead of buying six different pairs of shoes, you would alter one pair six different ways.  In this manner, you could easily customize the shoes to match a particular outfit.

To make this idea a reality, I took a pair of old black heels and punched six holes along the sides, Two in the front, and two along each of the sides. Then I threaded a black ribbon through the holes; as you can see below, there are several different configurations to choose from. 

Stuffed Elephant

I've always had a complicated relationship with sewing. It's the one skill that I've always wanted to master, but time and time again it eludes me.  Part of the problem (ok, most of the problem) centers around my resistance to instructions and patterns.  Every few years or so I decide to try my hand at sewing. I figure I'll take it slow, maybe a purse to start.  Then I think, I know how a purse looks, why should I bother with a pattern?

And I invariably end up with a misshapen fabric blob.

Earlier this week I felt the call again.  However, instead of a purse, I decided I'd try a stuffed animal.

And, because I never learn, I thought I'd forgo the pattern.

And amazingly, the project turned out pretty well. As you can see I made a small stuffed elephant.  The design was pretty rudimentary, but I think it's rather adorable.  Definitely preferable to a misshapen blob.

Coffee Filter Gladioli

These gladioli are the result of yet another coffee filter flower experiment. They are very simple to make if not slightly time consuming.  The basic components are coffee filters, floral tape, floral wire, and watercolor paints. 

To form the buds of the plant, I bunched up a small piece of scrap filter paper (2). After wrapping floral tape around the base of the pinched paper (3), I attached it to a 12 inch long piece of 16 gauge floral wire. Several more buds, made in a similar manner, were then attached to the wire in an alternating pattern (4).  The amount of exposed paper in the buds should gradually increase as one continues down the wire.

In order to make the flowers, I needed to cut out several circles of filter paper. I freehanded the designs, cutting wavy edges around the perimeter of the circles (6).  The circles ranged from around 1.5-2 inches in diameter. After layering two of the circles, a piece of 26 gauge wire was looped through the middle of the circles (7). The circles were then pinched around the wire and one of the ends was wrapped around the base of the flower (8).  Floral tape was wrapped around the exposed wire (9) completing the rudimentary flower. Next, I attached the flowers in increasing size in the same alternating pattern as before (10 & 11).

Paint the petals of the flowers and the buds with watercolor paints in hues of red, orange, and yellow. And you're finished, a fresh bouquet of coffee filter gladioli of your very own!