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a January 25th, 2012

  1. Jo’s Knitting Bag

    January 25, 2012 by Daniora

    There’s probably no one that appreciates a handmade gift better than a fellow crafter. This past Christmas, I tried to keep the number of gifts I had to make down from my usual unrealistic goals. I couldn’t help making this kitting bag for my very talented friend Jo.

    Jo's Knitting BagJo, whose amazing work can be seen here, is a fiber artist extraordinaire. She spins, knits, crochets, and now weaves. There is nothing this girl can’t do. It seems like she’s always going off to meet with one group or another or take a class here or there. What better gift could I give her than a bag to carry all her supplies in?

    Given her love of sheep and sheep related products, I figured they would be the obvious choice for fabric for her bag. How happy was I to find knitting sheep along with two awesome coordinating fabrics?

    How cute is this knitting sheep?

    This bag pattern was really great. It’s a ton of pieces, which worried me, but it actually went together really smoothly. It’s got lots of pockets on the outside, and the inside has plenty of space for anything you might want to carry.

    Knitting Bag Lining

    Cute lining fabric with knitting phrases.

    Since giving Jo her bag a couple weeks ago, I’ve received orders for three more in varying fabrics. I guess the bag market might be something I want to look in to.

    Category Sewing | Tags: ,,,,, | No Comments

  2. The joy of washi tape

    January 25, 2012 by Daniora

    It’s no secret that I enjoy wrapping presents almost as much as I enjoy buying them. It’s also no secret that I love cute things from Japan. When browsing around for new and unexpected ways to wrap presents, I came across an article on MartaStewart.com about using washi tape to create your own stripped wrapping paper. A quick hunt for a washi tape source led me to cutetape.com. I could spend millions of hours and thousands of dollars there.

    Some of my favorite washi tape from cutetape.com

    For those not in the know, washi tape is a printed Japanese masking tape made from, of course, washi paper. They come in a variety of widths and patterns. Cutetape.com carries a huge variety at much lower prices that most of the other online distributors. They also carry other packaging items, like bakery twine and hanging tags, and other adorable goodies from Japan. One of my favorite things about Cutetape.com is their variety packs. It’s a great way to get several coordinating rolls rather than trying to pick them out individually.

    In addition to being used for wrapping, there are a ton of other crafts that can be done with washi tape. It can be used on cards and in scrap books, it adds to any paper project, and I’ve even seen flowers made out of strips of washi tape. With the variety of sizes and designs available, there’s no limit to what you can do with it.

    Cutetape.com is running a contest right now for a $100 or $200 shopping spree at their store. My friends, that kind of money buys an awful lot of printed masking tape. Even so, trying to narrow down my choices from the huge Cutetape.com inventory would be almost insurmountable. I think I’d find a way to manage, though.

    Imagine the crafty projects we could embark on together, dear reader, with that kind of resources at our finger tips. I’ve been big into paper quilling lately, and I’ve got a sneaking suspicion that washi tape could lead to some pretty awesome results. Look forward to more washi tape goodies in the future.

    Also, these kitty sticky tabs make me want to die from adorable.

    Zomg, adorable.

     

    Category Crafts | Tags: , | 1 Comment