Beware the arts.

whatwouldkhaleesiwear: What Would Khaleesi Wear?DIY t-shirt...

Mon, 27 Aug 2012 16:35:59 +0300

What Would Khaleesi Wear?
DIY t-shirt dress, a tribute to her simple yet elegant style

I got a wooden bowl from a friend, who was going to throw it...

Sun, 03 Jun 2012 00:00:36 +0300

I got a wooden bowl from a friend, who was going to throw it out.

I sanded off the old, worn and ugly varnish, applied several layers of gesso to get a smooth and less absorbent surface. Then I painted it black with acrylic paint and glued on some eggshells. I have no explanation for this behaviour. It’s like, instead of crafting I’m indulging my OCD. Or does this look more like an Asperger’s kind of thing to do? It took ages to finish, was absolutely grueling, and as a result, what do I have? A very pretty little bowl for burning insence in. See, I drilled a couple of holes in the bottom! That way the burning sticks stay upright! If you look at the close up, you can see I stained the eggshell with the acrylic paint, to bring out the porous, bone-like texture. That part alone took ages, applying the paint and then rubbing off the excess.

The eggshell is always cool to the touch, which I find fascinating. But still! Why did I start this project? Why did I finish it? Argh! It took several years off my life! It would have been much faster and easier to just paint on some swirly patterns or decoupage it or whatever.

bottegaveneta: Personalize your Bottega Veneta on...

Wed, 30 May 2012 16:30:30 +0300

bottegaveneta:

Personalize your Bottega Veneta on http://bottegavenetainitials.com/

I like this idea.

There’s nothing wrong with tin cans and mason jars for...

Sun, 27 May 2012 09:58:48 +0300

There’s nothing wrong with tin cans and mason jars for storing pens and other bits. Except maybe the rattling noise they make, the way glass is impractically heavy and cans are too light to remain upright under the weight of more than two mechanical pencils.

In any case, I happen to prefer heavy cardboard. Movie posters are packaged in cardboard tube, so movie rental shops are a good source for the material. It’s easy to get a few metres of tube by asking nicely.

I used pva-based wood glue to attach the bits of tube to each other and then onto some flat cardboard (scavenged from old hardback books). To decorate, I pasted on some prettily patterned napkin with wallpaper paste.

I keep several craft knives at hand and the cardboard is ideal for storing them safely, pointy end down, without ruining the blades. I also like how I can make these in just the size and shape I need for various tools. I made both of these a good long while ago and they’ve stood up to use admirably, even though I tend to load them to maximum capacity.

If I was serious about this crafting business I would make all my furniture myself out of these tubes, but so far this is the full extent of it.

You can never have too many needle cushions! As a rule, mine are...

Fri, 25 May 2012 21:51:35 +0300

You can never have too many needle cushions! As a rule, mine are tacky, overdecorated and garishly colourful.

The c-shaped one fits my wrist, and is made from cardboard tube and silk scraps.
The radish-resembling one is also silk, with a little jar lid as a base.
The horrible flower is made from some kind of fuzzy synthetic jersey.

I stuff my pin cushions with animal hair, as it’s the most penetrable material I can think of. My friends know me as the crazy hoarder, so they give me amazing things, like doghair. The doghair kind of tries to escape through the silk, though, creating the impression that my needle cushions are awkwardly pubescent.

I’m sorry about the junk in the background that I tried to Gimp away and only ended up making it all look even less classy.

Ikea junk

Tue, 22 May 2012 20:10:30 +0300

There’s a study to explain why people enjoy Ikea furniture so much. Apparently, we have a tendency to over-value things we’ve put together or somehow shaped ourselves. That psychological mechanism may explain in fact ninety percent of my crafting behaviour. “Yeah I guess I could buy something similar but then, I would never love it.” Although the marketing monkeys are going to hate me anyway: I only ever get my labour-fix when the materials cost little to nothing. The disproportionate amount of value I attach to my creations is not monetary.

The satisfaction I get from my projects has to do with immersion as well; that pleasant zoning-out when I’m figuring out how the pieces fit together. It’s hard to be concerned or worried or insecure about anything, in that specific mental state. Obviously it is also a simple matter of not having a whole lot of disposable income to buy all the pretty things I want. But if I had a bigger budget, I would just buy more tools: an industrial sewing machine, a serger, etc.

And just for the record, I prefer flea markets and other such junk yards to Ikea. My sewing table is a cable spool I acquired from the yard when they were doing some plumbing renovation on the house. I don’t really have that much furniture, I’m a bit of a minimalist. I don’t want a sofa taking up the space I use for my more ambitious crafts.

This necklace is simple to a point of primitivity. I thought...

Sun, 13 May 2012 18:27:00 +0300

Queen of the stone age!

This necklace is simple to a point of primitivity. I thought about adding something to it to make it less Flintstonesy, but Disney Corp. doesn’t hold the copyright to fun, dammit. This is a perfect summer necklace just as it is.

I used a dremel-style tool to drill the holes. I suppose they’re some kind of sand stone, considering I was able to make holes in them, probably something I’ve picked up on a beach somewhere ages ago. Next I’m going to start making my own cameo necklaces from those clam shells I found in the same stash of old beach treasures…

Houseplants growing in water

Fri, 04 May 2012 21:52:01 +0300

You don’t need a green thumb or a lot of space to maintain a few foliage plants if you just grow them without soil. Remember to top up the jar every now and then, and change the water when the algae starts to take over. If you feel uncomfortable looking at the tentacley roots of the plants, don’t use clear glass jars for this, like I have done. However, I think the roots add an air of evil science to my window sill.

Calla are an easy choice, these have survived under my ambivalent care and insufficient daylight for several years. They help clean the air and look pleasant. I also have some aloe going that look rather pitiful right now, as I almost starved them before finally moving it out of soil and into water. It seems I’ve been forgiven for my negligence however, as they’re still alive.

That black-and-white bowl there will get it’s very own post one of these days.

I became fascinated with verdigris when I looked up the...

Sun, 29 Apr 2012 10:03:49 +0300

I became fascinated with verdigris when I looked up the dictionary definition for the colour. It is easy enough to manufacture if you want to try it, here for instance is a nice site with good looking resources.

But when I started experimenting with this beautiful product of oxidization, I hadn’t found any proper instructions for it. So I put some peeled copper wire, vinegar and salt into a jar. I did play around with the effects, but then got bored with the thing and left the jar, uncovered, on the window sill. The water evaporated, the salt and verdigris formed crystalline structures and patterns. I came back to a jarful of greenish growth, that for several seconds I had a hard time believing was not in any way organic. It looked like something was growing in there. I’ll be frank: I was a little spooked. Here are the photos I took after I got over the spookiness. It’s like a miniature forest in there!

Some of these have flash, which is a bummer, but it was rather difficult to get the camera and a light source into the jar otherwise.

Universal spoon measure

Sun, 22 Apr 2012 17:47:19 +0300

I find it rather annoying to fiddle about with the various little spoons for measuring exactly one tablespoon, one teaspoon, one millilitre, and so on. And sometimes those spoons are insufficient, as American recipes for instance, have different standards for the volume of one tablespoon.

I can’t believe I haven’t thought of doing this sooner. The picture itself is more informative than anything I can say, apart from this: It’s a medical syringe from which I cut off the top so that it can be used for measuring dry and liquid ingredients in the kitchen. I added markers for the most common standard measures as you can see, then made a horrible mess of everything when sealing the permanent marker with clear nail polish.

Weather you’re measuring honey or syrup or oil or whatever sticky thing, the plunger will clear it all out of the measuring apparatus and into the batter. This kind of tool is also easier to wipe or wash clean than those stupidly shaped spoons. I don’t have any honey, so I’m doing all my demonstrating with cinnamon.

Instructables.com

Thu, 22 Mar 2012 01:10:48 +0200

Instructables is such a sweet little site, I have found several amazing tutorials over there. I have decided not to contribute to that community however, due to the fact that I don’t want some silicone valley douche making revenue off my tinkerings. They really push the Paid Membership hard over there and make the site cumbersome to use for free members. Unlike some online community services I know of.

But anyway now I’m going to link to some Instructables tutorials! Here we go! How exciting! They are in no particular order.

The Checkpoint Charlie hat is something I’ve intended to make, and will make, as soon as I figure out how to print the pattern out in the right size. And no, I haven’t deluded myself into thinking that a nice hat will suddenly make me as attractive as the gentleman in the pictures.

This tutorial shows what I would like my sewing space to look like. Everything looks perfect.

Cheap vodka is useful for about a million things around the flat, and infusing things into it is just one.

Americans wash their dishes with a sponge! This is how they do it. My own solution to doing the dishes is owning the absolute minimum number of cups and plates, i.e., a cup and a plate, so it becomes impossible to accumulate dirty dishes.

Wetsuits are made of neoprene, which is a versatile material. I don’t see the point in laptop cases myself, as I need a backpack to carry my laptop, but the point remains, I would love to get my hands on a wetsuit.

Making ginger ale at home is very easy and simple. I think there’s only like one brand of the stuff available in Finland, and it’s a bit expensive, so I much prefer to make my own.

So yeah, Instructables has a lot of amazing community members producing great content, but the layout of the site makes me want to go punch some nerds.

Outsapop Trashions

Fri, 16 Mar 2012 10:42:16 +0200

Outsapop Trashions:

I’m a huge fan of hers, she has been my hero for several years.

fagglet: transartorialism: adailyriot: chaplinnn: Sorry,...

Fri, 16 Mar 2012 08:08:00 +0200

fagglet:

transartorialism:

adailyriot:

chaplinnn:

Sorry, Urban. I love ya, but I already made one of these. Compare Urban’s $59 Renewal Lace Inset Denim Jacket with my DIY version made from items I bought at the thrift store for under $4.

diy or die

fuck urban too…

the last time i had the misfortune of going to urban outfitters they were just selling shitty thrifted grandpa vests that were modified in no way whatsoever—literally just plucked from a thrift store and sold at a much higher price (something like $20). i really don’t understand the point of that besides capitalizing on the “thrift store aesthetic.” i think i’m going to write a substantial post on this soon, particularly because i’m still angry about that original plumbing article about “how to shop at a thrift store.”

This is totally gonna happen to my “new” denim jacket. once I get that octopus patch sewed on.

I think the price comparison here is one good argument for DIY. I have some very bright, red lace and a denim vest sitting at the bottom of my wardrobe, hmmmmm.

Some ideas for sprouting.

Thu, 15 Mar 2012 17:36:56 +0200

Sprouted and dried mung beans.

Carrot tops, hee.

Red beet tops.

Some ideas for sprouting.

Let's get started

Wed, 14 Mar 2012 23:32:27 +0200

No, not really. Nobody reads text posts.