About.com DIY Fashion

Make it Merry: Week 3

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 07:00:50 +0000

Welcome to another edition of Make it Merry, where talented crafters share their holiday how-to's.

Advent Candy Tree
Everyone loves counting down to the holidays...add candy to the mix and you've got a fun Advent calendar from Sherri Osborn for the whole family to enjoy.

Pumpkin Cross Stitch Pattern
Use a variegated floss to make a swirling pumpkin that would look great near the Thanksgiving table. Connie G. Barwick has the free pattern.

Knit Wreath Ornament
Scrap knitting makes for fun quick projects that are perfect for any skill level. Sarah E. White has the instructions for this cute wreath.

Miniature Glitter Houses
Snowy villages look great upon every mantle and tabletop. Lesley Shepherd has a free printable so you can make your own tiny houses.

Paper Bead Star Ornament
If you're looking for something a little different to do with your paper beads then take a look at this paper bead star. This project is simple to adapt in a wide variety of ways.

Rustic Pillar Candles
'Tis the season for running out to buy candles. David Fisher will show you how to make these festive pillar candles with the perfect finish.

Pear Diamonds Painted Card
This card has an intricate finish, but it is so easy to make. Tina Jones shows us how to create this colorful card from start to finish.

Christmas Apron Pattern
Just because you've got to bake cookies for the whole family doesn't mean you can't look fabulous! Phyllis Dobbs has created this adorable holiday apron, and she's got the free pattern just for you.

Flower Petal Ornament Cover
Sometimes those plain ornaments just need a little dressing up. Tammy Powley will show you how to use seed beads to create this unique ornament drapery.

Paint a Christmas Tree
Instead of paying a premium for a colored tree, Barbara Crews will show us how to paint your tree red to match the latest holiday trends.

Want to Join Make it Merry to show off your holiday crafts? We will showcase your crafts and recipes of all holiday traditions. Learn more.

Make it Merry: Week 3 originally appeared on About.com DIY Fashion on Thursday, November 19th, 2009 at 07:00:50.

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Just Listed:

Tue, 17 Nov 2009 16:50:31 +0000

Every now and then I like to check Twitter for up-to-the-minute fresh handmade listings. I just found these cute toddler pants by CatChick6. She made them out of a minty Lord and Taylor cashmere sweater and put on her own hand drawn appliques.

Don't you wish you could wrap your legs in cashmere? Babies have all the fun.

Just Listed: originally appeared on About.com DIY Fashion on Tuesday, November 17th, 2009 at 16:50:31.

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Make it Merry: Week 2

Thu, 12 Nov 2009 07:00:26 +0000

Welcome to another edition of Make it Merry, where talented crafters share their holiday how-to's. This week we've got some friendly characters and festive Thanksgiving crafts to create.

Create a Pumpkin Candle
What better to put in the middle of the feast. David Fisher will show you how to make this easy and impressive pumpkin tealight holder.

Make a Sesame Street Wreath
For 40 years, Sesame Street has been part of our lives and has encouraged us to accept all holiday traditions. Barbara Crews will show you how to create this wreath dedicated to some of our favorite Muppets.

Draw a Penguin Pilgrim
For Thanksgiving crafts like place mats and name cards, you'll need some festive art. How about a lesson from Helen South on drawing this cutie penguin.

Embroider a Gift Bag
Save cash for presents when you reuse gift bags or buy those inexpensive plain bags. Phyllis Dobbs will show you how to dress them up for the re-gifting process with a touch of delightful embroidery.

Stitch a Swedish Ornament
If you've got an ornament exchange to attend this year, a traditional Swedish ornament will really stand out in the crowd. Cheryl Fall will show you how to hand stitch this original piece.

Wax Resist Holiday Cards
Add a contemporary look to your holiday while saving some cash on Christmas Cards. This wax resist technique from Marion Boddy-Evans is just what you need.

Pumpkin Foam Sticker Earrings
For a quick Fall look in a pinch, try these pumpkin sticker earrings from Tammy Powley. She'll show you how to make them in five easy steps.

Paper Globe Ornament
This dimensional ornament has an intricate look, but is actually simple in design. Kate Pullen will show you how to cut and stamp this delightful addition to your decor.

Knit a Stocking Ornament
A mini stocking is a creative way to give a gift card, or hide a little treat on the tree. Sarah E. White shows us how to knit this cute little sock.

Christmas Tree Bunting
Decking the Halls has never been so fun, and this one is perfect for helpful kids to take part in. Use up those scraps of fabric with this decorative craft from the Sadie and Lance blog.

Make a Mini Hippo
Stuffed animals add a bit of fun and tenderness to any slew of presents. Stuff a stocking with a smile when you sew this little hippo from Lesley Shepherd.

Snowman Candy Jar
Top off your candy jar with a snowman face as sweet as the treats inside. Sherri Osborn will show you how to paint and assemble this wintry decoration that is appropriate to show off all season long.

Joy Ornament Crosstitch
Stitch a little bit of joy for someone this Christmas. Connie G. Barwick has the free pattern for this jolly cross stitch project.

Want to Join Make it Merry to show off your holiday crafts? We will showcase your crafts and recipes of all holiday traditions. Learn more.

Make it Merry: Week 2 originally appeared on About.com DIY Fashion on Thursday, November 12th, 2009 at 07:00:26.

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Original Handpainted Ties from Morgan Silk

Wed, 11 Nov 2009 12:19:34 +0000

Most guys get at least one necktie for the holiday. I'm in love with these hand painted styles from Morgan Silk that sure beat those boring department store neckties.

Click "Comments" below to tell us your ideas.

Wordless Wednesdays on About.com
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Original Handpainted Ties from Morgan Silk originally appeared on About.com DIY Fashion on Wednesday, November 11th, 2009 at 12:19:34.

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Make it Merry Week 2 Deadline

Tue, 10 Nov 2009 09:39:50 +0000

Don't forget to get in your holiday craft how-to's for the 2nd week of Make it Merry.

Showing off a how-to post is a great way to introduce readers to your craft blog. Each Thursday, our group of crafters will all post a Make it Merry graphic like this one on their blog to share some link love and get better acquainted.

You can jump in any week, but submissions for this week are due by tomorrow afternoon. More information about participating.

Make it Merry Week 2 Deadline originally appeared on About.com DIY Fashion on Tuesday, November 10th, 2009 at 09:39:50.

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Yummy Handmade Earrings

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 08:00:43 +0000

Maybe I really need to make a trip to the produce isle, because this week I've been salivating over all things tiny, dangling and food-resembling. Check out these tasty picks from handmade artisans on an internet near you.

This pair started off my obsession for the week. These are little felt bead earrings by Meaghan O'Malley of Oh Ginger. $15.00

Can you say 'juicy'? Tempting hand blown glass from bluembrownlee. $13.50

Peanut Butter and Jelly. Need I say more? Okay, maybe I do because Lauren Swingle at The Clay Collection can turn the jelly into marshmallow or bananas for ya instead. $20.00

Grape Ape. Grape Ape. Cute hand formed clusters of grapes from Sarah at Potato Face $9.90

"Ichigo ga kawaii desu yo ne?" That's Japanese for 'Cute strawberries, eh?!' Thank Tacky Teacup's crafty polymer clay skills and affinity for anime faces. Sugoi! $10.00

Yummy Handmade Earrings originally appeared on About.com DIY Fashion on Friday, November 6th, 2009 at 08:00:43.

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Make it Merry: Week 1

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 07:00:10 +0000

Clothes Pin Holiday Card Holders
What to do with all those holiday cards? Hold them up with clothes pins as dazzling as twinkling lights with this how-to from Kate Pullen.

Make a Gingerbread House
Ever want to create the perfect gingerbread house? Okay, I have yet to master this skill..but you can! Our Barbara Rolek will show you how.

How to Draw a Christmas Tree
Here is one that will come in handy for all those handmade cards. Master sketch artist Helen South will show you how to draw the perfect tree from start to finish.

Paint a Glass Ornament
Turn a plain glass ball into a work of stained glass art. Our Guide to Painting will show you how to create this delicate trimming.

Silent Night Cross Stitch Pattern
Don't just get cozy, get your stitch on. Create a Silent Night design with this free pattern from Connie G. Barwick.

Stitch a Pear Trio
Hang up something special in your home for that Thanksgiving gathering. This free 'Pear Trio' needlepoint pattern from Cheryl Fall is just what your walls needed.

Easy Christmas Ornaments
Start a tradition for the kids to make new ornaments each year. Sherri Osborn has the shape patterns and project ideas for these ornaments that reflect Christmas traditions.

Print Thanksgiving Placecards
Add some warmth to your table with these Thanksgiving place cards that will have your guests saying 'awwwww'. Barbara Crews has the free printable for you to personalize.

Wine Bottle Wrap Pattern
Instead of giving a bottle of wine in one of those skinny bags, make a felt wrap that the bottle can be displayed in all season. Phyllis Dobbs will show you how.

Make a Miniature Christmas Tree
Why are tiny things always so darn cute? Learn how to make a little pine tree with Lesley Shepherd.

Interchangeable Thanksgiving Pins
Sometimes you just can't commit to just one pin. With this interchangeable Thanksgiving pin by Tammy Powley, you can tell everyone when you're ready for pie...and when you're overstuffed.

Want to Join Make it Merry to show off your holiday crafts? We will showcase your crafts and recipes of all holiday traditions. Learn more.

Make it Merry: Week 1 originally appeared on About.com DIY Fashion on Thursday, November 5th, 2009 at 07:00:10.

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Red Velvet Art

Wed, 04 Nov 2009 10:29:22 +0000

Perhaps I'm moving at a speed slower than the rest of you, but I just discovered this cutie handmade site, Red Velvet Art. It was one of those happenings where you're just stumbling through blogs and suddenly you've found something really cool. Akin to surfing off the coast of Maui and slamming head-on into an old pirate treasure chest. Okay, that doesn't sound very fun.

At Red Velvet Art, they peruse submissions and online crafters to find goodies that handmade lovers want to get their hands on. For the buyer, this means not having to sift through lots of potentially shoddily-made baubles from inexperienced crafters.

Here are some of my picks from the Red Velvet shop which include an owl purse by Brooke of So She Sews (which I swear I've seen on Etsy before), an Autumn Leaves hair piece by the Red Velvet Art studio, and a cutie rib cage bag designed by Elsie and printed locally near the Red Velvet Art home base in Missouri.

What I like more than the sweet eye candy is that this is a real live store in Springfield, Missouri with shelves and a door and everything (imagine that!). We're all getting so used to consuming our handmade fashion online that it can sometimes be hard to fathom that real retail stores are out there buying up handmade items from crafters and selling them to the world.

The shop has a limited number of open slots available each month for new products. If you are a handmade artist, you may want to consider selling to a retailer like this one to get your products moving en mass instead of to the individual buyer as in Etsy and Artfire type situations.

Red Velvet Art originally appeared on About.com DIY Fashion on Wednesday, November 4th, 2009 at 10:29:22.

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Make it Merry!

Sat, 31 Oct 2009 15:46:56 +0000

In the tradition of excellent blog carnivals like Alexa Westerfield's Terrorific Tuesdays, we're starting a group for the holidays to help showcase all the excellent handmade holiday crafts from bloggers of every holiday tradition.

Every Thursday you'll find a new set of tutorials on how to make everything from personalized presents to festive tree trimmings. This will be a group of thumbnails and links to each project. It's an easy way to browse all sorts of holiday decorating ideas from like-minded crafters like you.

If you'd like to play along, just send me a link to your holiday tutorial at diyfashion.guide@about.com. The tutorial must have a photo of the finished craft so that I can include it in the group photo collage.

Each Wednesday night, I'll email you the HTML for you to post the Make it Merry code to your blog for the day. You'll simply paste the code into your Thursday blog post. Everyone else participating will have the same code, so it's a great way to drive traffic to your blog and network with the other bloggers participating in Make it Merry.

If you'd like to encourage other bloggers to join in, you can let them in on how to join by adding this square button to the sidebar of your blog and linking it back to this blog post (permalink). Adding more bloggers to the Make it Merry Thursdays will mean that your own craft is posted in front of more readers.

You can participate any week you like. We'll be running from November 5th to December 24th.

Make it Merry! originally appeared on About.com DIY Fashion on Saturday, October 31st, 2009 at 15:46:56.

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Make Glow in the Dark Jewelry

Thu, 29 Oct 2009 07:00:59 +0000

There is a resourceful bunch of tools that aid in jewelry making that are so versatile and save bunches of time. Rubber stamps. Think about it...with rubber stamps you can instantly transfer images to clay or polymer. With the right paint, you can even emboss letters and print permanently on plastic and glass.

This season, I'm loving these glow in the dark jewelry ideas from Kate Pullen, our Guide to Rubber Stamping. Check out her method for making these haunting gems and apply it to your own spooky ideas. Got pics of your finished project? I'd love to see them!

Click "Comments" below to tell us your ideas.

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Make Glow in the Dark Jewelry originally appeared on About.com DIY Fashion on Thursday, October 29th, 2009 at 07:00:59.

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