Divas Dishing The Dirt

3 friends. 3 very different people. All with opinions.

Saturday, May 06, 2006
Divas Do it Right

Last night my fellow Divas (plus one) came over for Craft & Pizza night. To celebrate my last full weekend in town, it turned into Art Bar-Jager Bomb night, but we won't get into all of that. I want to talk for a second about my new obsession: Crafts.

I've never been much of a crafty person. I didn't sew, I didn't paint, I didn't crochet or knit. So I'm pretty much still a beginner, and today want to recommend some easy crafts for beginners.


1. Scrapbooking. Definitely the most time-consuming crafts, it can also get very pricy. However, you can do this within a budget if you don't go wild buying decorative paper and embellishments. My sugguestion would be to first try a mini-scrapbook, they're about 12 pages. This way you won't break your bank and you'll give yourself a crash course. Some supplies you'll need would be Decorative paper, Adhesive (I really like the roll-on kind that comes in this little mouse), photo corners, embellishments. That's where you start to sink into the money pit, not because they are over-priced, but because once you start buying them it's really difficult to stop. However, if you pace yourself, you could have a new obsession too. Check with your local craft stores and see if they offer scrapbooking classes, often they do this for free.

2. Cardmaking. A great way to use your leftover art paper from scrapbooking is using it for Cards. Get yourself a pack of Blank cards (the bigger pack the better, you want to allow for a few to get tossed)and have fun. A few other things you might need would be a ruler, adhesive, maybe some rub-on stickers and rubber stamps. You can also use this as a chance to try out your calligraphy skills and grab a Calligraphy Pen. Or you could just use your handy inkjet printer, if you have one. My favorite go-to craft resource, Cat Morley, even has instructions on how to make pretty Stitched Cards, super easy!

3. Jewlery Alright, yet another one that will potentially sink you into a money pit. In this case, it CAN be the retailers that break you. There are a few bead retailers here in Columbia that aren't part of the craft superstores that sell better beads, but have them extravagently priced. A tip for the patient? Keep your eyes open online, buy large orders of beads in bulk. Ebay has a whole category called 'loose beads'. Also, keep your eyes open at local flea markets and, surprisingly enough, New Age shops. A lot of these will carry natural stone beads at a more affordable price. If you are a jewlery beginner, a pre-made kit might not be a bad idea for you. Purchase a couple of the cheaper ones, just to teach yourself the basics. A few things you might need outside that kit include Needlenose pliers, scissors, maybe some extra jewlery wire, and if you prefer to use it you can purchase Beading Needles. Once again check with your local craft stores to see if they offer classes, as this is one craft that can get tricky.

4. Needlepoint This is my most recently acquired craft, thanks to the Stitch-it-kit . The kit contains everything you need to get started, including lots of adorable Iron-on transfer patterns. The iron-ons can be used more than once, and the booklet gives instructions on the best way to copy these or make your own.

5. Murder Your T-shirts I am suppossed to be reviewing Generation T: 108 ways to Transform Your T-Shirt for another site, so I decided to take some of my old T-shirts that were dustrags-in-waiting and give them new life. There are lots of styles that require sewing, as well as quite a few "no sew" designs. If you are faint of heart at the thought of sewing, not to worry. This book is perfect for a beginner, it gives you a very detailed illustrated how-to on different types of stitches. And if you screw it up, you can still use it for a dustrag, right?

Some great Craft resources:

Cat Morley's Blog
Get Crafty
Ready-Made Mag

posted by Bee at 8:23 AM

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