this is not my work

dyeing with Mackenzie

(I am so happy to be introducing the seventh post of guest blogger, Mackenzie Sasser of Secret Pocket Handmade. I first met Mackenzie at Second Storie Indie Market, where I fell in love with her vintage-y yet clean aesthetic and her cheery attitude. She blogs fun bits from her daily life over here and on this blog she will be sharing crafty ideas, inspirations and tutorials. Please join me in welcoming her today :)

I buy almost all my fabric at thrift stores. I have lots of great retro prints, but sometimes they aren't the perfect color I need for a project.

I recently got Martha's new sewing book, and I really love the tutorials of all the different techniques. One that caught my eye was fabric fading and overdyeing. It's a way to take a print and change the colors to adapt for a certain look. I just bought the sheet above at a thrift store and love the retro floral, but I don't like how much white is in the print. This would be a perfect way to change it.

I also have some prints that are too saturated and "new" looking, I would love to see how bleach fades them. Lately I have dyed a lot of solid fabric, and I am really excited to try this!

wallpaper craftiness with Mackenzie

 

 

(I am so happy to be introducing the sixth post of guest blogger, Mackenzie Sasser of Secret Pocket Handmade. I first met Mackenzie at Second Storie Indie Market, where I fell in love with her vintage-y yet clean aesthetic and her cheery attitude. She blogs fun bits from her daily life over here and on this blog she will be sharing crafty ideas, inspirations and tutorials. Please join me in welcoming her today :)

I was flipping though my Come Home magazine #18, they always have some great DIY stuff. I saw these pictures of things to do with wallpaper, and I froze in my crafty tracks. I have just acquired some amazing wallpaper, and I've been too scared to use any of it. This would be the perfect way to use a little bit of precious vintage wallpaper, or other papers/fabric.

I have some table legs just sitting empty in a room waiting for something to make it into a proper desk, and I have also been trying to brainstorm how to cover up the horrid bright yellow counter-top that I found at ikea for cheap. This is too perfect. From the pictures, they painted a board white and glued the wallpaper to the edges. I would probably use matte decoupage paste to glue it on and seal it.

I think this is a great way to incorporate some great vintage wallpaper into a clean modern style.

Japanese Craft Books with Mackenzie

 

 

 

 

(I am so happy to be introducing the fifth post of guest blogger, Mackenzie Sasser of Secret Pocket Handmade. I first met Mackenzie at Second Storie Indie Market, where I fell in love with her vintage-y yet clean aesthetic and her cheery attitude. She blogs fun bits from her daily life over here and on this blog she will be sharing crafty ideas, inspirations and tutorials. Please join me in welcoming her today :)

I took a quick trip to New York City this weekend, which of course included a trip to Kinokuniya. I couldn't help but add to my tape collection, I got two packs this one, and this one. I am determined that I won't buy any more for a while!

I also loved browsing all the books, I saw that they had a few new books all on using washi paper tape and I just had to buy one (ISBN 978-4-07-262088-5). In the book they have different projects, and also a little section on the history of tape and how they make it (at least the pictures were very informative).

I also bought two of the latest Come Home! magazines, number 18 (ISBN 978-4-391-62934-7) and 19 (ISBN 978-4-391-62970-5). I love getting these magazines, they have sections on home, craft, style, and food. Beautiful styling, photos and layout. I use them for inspirations for projects and how to decorate and style my home.

Did you know it's easier to get these Japanese craft and style books than you think? All you really need is the ISBN number. You can use websites like yesasia, even amazon japan (the entire website isn't in english, little bit more confusing click on English in the right-hand corner), and can use etsy sites where you can request a book and they will find it and list it for you. I have also heard that Kinokuniya stores will order and even ship to you.

Do you have any favorite Japanese books?

(a little note from Abby-my favorite source for these books is Ugisu!)

cute coaster tutorial by Mackenzie

(I am so happy to be introducing the fourth post of guest blogger, Mackenzie Sasser of Secret Pocket Handmade. I first met Mackenzie at Second Storie Indie Market, where I fell in love with her vintage-y yet clean aesthetic and her cheery attitude. She blogs fun bits from her daily life over here and on this blog she will be sharing crafty ideas, inspirations and tutorials. Please join me in welcoming her today :)

While I was an intern in the craft department at Martha Stewart Living, I discovered one of their favorite go-to tools: the screw punch. This tool punches different sized holes through paper (I've used it for bookbinding) wood, fabric, probably just about anything. It's so versatile. The ones they had were made in Japan. But I also found that the Martha Stewart Craft line makes a great screw punch; and with a coupon at Michaels, they are very inexpensive. It is a great tool to have on hand.

I have been really needing to make some coasters. We have restored a lot of furniture lately and I'm being more careful to keep it beautiful. I decided to use my screw punch and some wool felt from my stash. I was inspired by some geometric drawings/doodles I had made and wanted to recreate them.

Supplies:
screw punch
wool felt
rotary cutter
self healing cutting mat
thread
scrap paper
disappearing ink marking pen (optional)

First I cut two 4-inch squares of wool felt.Then trim the corners diagonally by lining up a ruler one inch from the corner. It's best to use two highly contrasting colors. I would use 100% wool felt if you can; it makes a big difference. It can be hard to find, but I use an online source that isn't too expensive for a large selection of great colors.

 

With a scrap piece of paper, I cut out a 4-inch square and make a half-inch grid. I used that to draw my design. Then I punched out holes using two different sizes.

 

Use your template and center it over the top piece of felt. Using a fabric marker or pen, mark onto the felt. You could also just use a ruler and mark a design directly on the felt, whatever works best for you.Then punch out the dots (on a cutting mat because the punch is very sharp!). 

Put the two pieces of felt together (punched piece and contrasting color) and use a couple pins to stabilize them. Using a color of thread that matches your bottom piece, start sewing by connecting the dots. I designed it as I went, so I didn't know how it would turn out in the end. Just be symmetrical. You can also draw it out before hand. After you are done with your design sew a border 1/4 inch from the edge. Trim the felt flush with a rotary cutter 1/8 inch from the border. Trim the threads. I pulled the top threads through to the back before trimming by tugging on the bobbin thread and using a seam ripper to pull the top thread loop from the bottom. Then there will be no threads at the top.

I hope this gives you come inspiration to do some punching of your own (non-violent of course).

old school craft inspirations with Mackenzie

 

 

 

(I am so happy to be introducing the third post of guest blogger, Mackenzie Sasser of Secret Pocket Handmade. I first met Mackenzie at Second Storie Indie Market, where I fell in love with her vintage-y yet clean aesthetic and her cheery attitude. She blogs fun bits from her daily life over here and on this blog she will be sharing crafty ideas, inspirations and tutorials. Please join me in welcoming her today :)

Cathy aka Cathy of California is an artist and maker whose vintage straw flowers have been seen all over, especially since being on the Martha Stewart Show .

I love her blog, where she shows off stunning images from vintage craft magazines and books that she collects from the 60s and 70s. It's inspiring to see techniques that were done in the past that have been revived and made modern again. I am itching to try my hand at weaving.

Do you have any "old school" crafts that you have learned and loved?

(Images 1+2 from craft horizons september/october 1962
Images 3+4 from craft horizons march/april 1963 taken from Cathy's collection with permission, thanks!)

Estate Sale Adventures with Mackenzie

 

 

 

 

 

(I am so happy to be introducing the second post of guest blogger, Mackenzie Sasser of Secret Pocket Handmade. I first met Mackenzie at Second Storie Indie Market, where I fell in love with her vintage-y yet clean aesthetic and her cheery attitude. She blogs fun bits from her daily life over here and on this blog she will be sharing crafty ideas, inspirations and tutorials. Please join me in welcoming her today :)

I lived in Buffalo, NY for a year, and at first I was confused and saddened by this grayish city, pockets which are thriving and rich, and others which seemed dying and lifeless. I couldn't find a job and didn't have many friends. I soon found my way around and found what Buffalo had for me: estate sales. Hundreds and hundreds of estate sales. Those homes told so many stories and held some great mysteries.

Every weekend I would go to several, and I got to the point where I could enter in and could tell in 5 seconds if the house was a bust or not. Mostly by the smell. The mustier, the better. I had a couple favorite places in these old homes: attics, basements, and of course craft rooms. I got my serious face on, and hunted. There were craft rooms piled up with everything you can think of.

Most people just glanced over the big things, but I was meticulous. I could easily spend a half hour to an hour, looking into every box, and pile, looking for something special. The estate sale people started recognizing me as "button girl." I had friends come with me a couple times, but I think they realized they didn't take it as seriously as I did. I worked best alone. When we moved away, I grieved for those estate sales. I catch myself looking at websites to see what I'm missing.

I have amassed quite a collection of sewing notions, craft supplies, and fabric . One of the things that I am enamored by is the packaging of notions. I look to them for inspiration for design, color palettes, type, and patterns. I bought them thinking I could use them for projects, but I don't know if I could ever take them apart, it feels wrong.

Masking Tapes with Mackenzie

 

 

(I am so happy to be introducing My first guest blogger, Mackenzie Sasser of Secret Pocket Handmade. I first met Mackenzie at Second Storie Indie Market, where I fell in love with her vintage-y yet clean aesthetic and her cheery attitude. She blogs fun bits from her daily life over here and on this blog she will be sharing crafty ideas, inspirations and tutorials. Please join me in welcoming her today :)

Hello everyone! I'm really happy to post here, I hope to be able to share some fun projects and inspiration, and maybe learn some things from you too!

I remember the first time I saw Japanese washi tape. It was the summer of 2008, and I was browsing Kinokuniya in New York City looking for something to complete my thank you gifts for the craft editors at Martha Stewart Living. I was only feeling a tiny bit of pressure to have it be perfect. I found these colored masking tapes, and bought my first pack. I used them to secure my favorite little envelopes  inside hand bound notebooks.
From then on I was in love.
I didn't dare use any of it because I couldn't find them anywhere online, but eventually that changed, and they're everywhere!

Recently I hung a lot of our favorite art work and photos, and I use this inexpensive way to tie them all together: I get glass cut-to-fit by our local glass shop, and then have our local art supply store cut mat board from scraps of white or off-white scraps. I use a metal binder clip or pants hanger to sandwich them together and hang on the wall.
To make sure that the clips/hangers are sturdy and don't slip I use tiny bits of 3M Command adhesive strips to stick the clip to the glass and the mat, and use velcro type 3M strips to keep the bottom of the bigger pictures affixed to the wall. It only costs a couple dollars a picture and it feels modern and simple. 

I found that the tape was a great way to add some color and style to the plain glass for photos and artwork. I did it this way: I cut tape to fit along the sides, leaving a tiny bit at the ends to hang over and cover the edge of the glass. (Be careful it can be sharp!)

You can play with different widths, customizing for whatever you are framing. For mine I actually flipped the glass so the back of the tape was showing. I think it adds a nice depth and makes the color a little more faded and subdued. On another, I  stuck a piece of tape on top of the glass to make it look like I taped a polaroid to the mat.

One of the greatest things about washi tape is that it's easily removable and so you can try things out and reposition it until you are happy. I hope this gives you some ideas on what to do with your tape collection or convince you to start one. They are addicting!