Tuesday, November 30, 2010

Crafts Fails? Do You Have Any? :)

What's up crafters?

Well, today I'm back in school and I'm feeling the break time blues! Don't know what the break time blues are? Let me explain, I love having school breaks and when we finally come back to school I get a little bummed out. I get the break time blues! :( So, crafters today I need a little pick me up! Would all you crafters please tell me about ANY craft fails you've had? If I get some comments with some awesome craft fails I will tell you all about my craft fails! (Believe me, I've had plenty! ;) ) Anyway, please leave a comment below and tell me all about your craft fails! You know you want to! ;)


May your day be crafty,
Taylor Spades ♠

Saturday, November 27, 2010

Question Of The Day!

Bonjour crafters!

It's time for another question of the day! Today's question is this: What is your favorite art/crafting website? I really like deviantart.com, but I'm sure you have other favorite websites you can tell me about! :) So, please think about your favorite art/crafting websites and leave a comment below! Thanks for reading everyone!

May your day be crafty,
Taylor Spades ♠

Friday, November 26, 2010

Make A Neat Pencil Holder! - A Tutorial!

HEY CRAFTERS! :D

Well, today I saw that our paper towels were empty so I went to replace them and I decided to save the tube. After, I went online and I looked up paper towel tube crafts and I found a really neat craft! It's how to make your own paper towel tube pencil holder! It's very simple to do and I decided to have a crafting day with my little sister! So, please enjoy this tutorial and try to make your own paper towel tube pencil holder! :D

Materials needed:


  • Craft Sticks
  • Paint (Optional, you can paint your sticks if you want to!)
  • Bathroom Tissue Roll or Tin Can
  • Cardboard (For the bottom of your tube! I used clear tape to keep the bottom closed!)
  • Rubber Bands (To make sure the sticks stay in place until they dry!)
  • Craft Glue (I used hot glue)
  • Paint Brush
  • Scissors


1. First you need an empty paper towel tube

2. (Not Pictured) Cut the tube in half

3. Cover the bottom of the tube with cardboard or tape so the pencils won't fall out

4. Start gluing the sticks on

5. Let the glue dry

6. (Optional) Paint your sticks any color you want, or you can leave them the natural color

7. Put pencils in your new pencil holder!

8. Congratulations! You made your own pencil holder!



My pencil holder

My Sister's pencil holder

Thanks for reading! I will be sure to update when my sister finishes coloring hers! By the way, happy belated Thanksgiving everyone! I hope your turkeys were delicious! (The tutorial was found at this website: http://familycrafts.about.com/od/craftsticks/a/CraftStickVase.htm)

May your day be crafty,
Taylor Spades ♠

Wednesday, November 24, 2010

A Silly Little Post - Brutus The Buckeye With Cat Ears! - GO BUCKEYES!

Hello crafters! I'm enjoying a fabulous day today, how about you?

Today I've just got a silly post for you, I'm sure you're all Buckeye fans right? Come on, right?!? :) You know, I've always noticed that Brutus has no ears. I know he's a crazy nut, but how does he hear? So, I decided to fix that problem by giving him some ears! Scroll down to see the pictures of Brutus's new ears! :D (PSST! They were hand-made by me for anime conventions!)





So, what do you think? Do you think Brutus can hear now? I sure hope so! ;) He'll need to hear all the cheering we're going to do when WE WHIP MICHIGAN'S BUTT!!! O-H!! (Leave a post if you know what comes next!) Thanks for reading crafters and GO BUCKEYES!!

May your day be crafty,
Taylor Spades ♠

Sunday, November 21, 2010

Feathered Fridays - A New Let's Get Down And Crafty Feature!

Hello Crafters, I've got a little treat for you!

I'm going to start a little Friday feature called Feathered Fridays! I will give you a picture or tell you a funny story about our three parrots! You might be saying, birds are boring! To this I say PAH! Parrots are one of the most entertaining pets out there! Can your dog or cat talk or mimic noises or dance? I think not! So, to show how great these little feathered creatures are I'm going to subject you to them every Friday. MUHAHAHA! >:) So keep on the lookout! You never know who may be swooping in! WHOOSH!

May your day be crafty,
Taylor Spades ♠

Check This Blog Out! "MADE"

Howdy crafters!

It's time for another check this blog out! Today I'd like you all to check out an amazing blog called "MADE", it's a huge blog with pictures galore! I absolutely LOVE it when there are tons of pictures for me to look at! :D I highly recommend this blog if you are looking for interesting and fun crafts and if you love pictures! I've included the link below, so click it and check this blog out!

http://www.dana-made-it.com/

May your day be crafty,
Taylor Spades ♠

My Art Project That I've Been Working On - It's A Book!

How are all you crafters doing? You're all probably watching the American Music Awards! ;)

Well today I'm going to show you what has been consuming my time for the past week. I've been very busy making a book for my advanced art class! We're making a Yin-Yang coloring book and we got to design the book cover! We still haven't put the pages in yet, but we're working on it! If you'd like to see an awesome (furry) book then scroll down to the pictures! Enjoy! :)

This is the front cover, it's got a yin-yang made out of faux fur on the front! It's very soft and fuzzy! As you can see it also has YIN YANG painted on the front with some faux fur, a small ribbon and a metal zipper.


 This is one of the inside covers, it's covered with lace and a spiral fabric. If you spin it really fast you get kinda dizzy! @_@


This is the other inside cover, it has lace and a fun heart fabric.

Last, but not least, we have the back cover. It's got a little lace, a little faux fur, and two African Grey Parrot feathers. The black pieces of fabric are leather. It was fun to stick all the little leather pieces on! :)

Well, I really hope you like my book covers! They were a blast to make and I can't wait until I can put the pages in! I'll be sure to show you when it's completely finished! Thanks guys and have a very pleasant evening.

May your day be crafty,
Taylor Spades ♠

Wednesday, November 17, 2010

A Little Pick Me Up!

Hello again crafters,

I thought I'd do something a little different with this post and give you a link for 10 life enhancing things that you can do in ten minutes or less. It definitely helped me when I was feeling down and I thought that some of you might be feeling a little down as well. So please check out this link and read the ten things! It really will help enhance your life! :)

http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/emotional-fitness/201004/10-life-enhancing-things-you-can-do-in-ten-minutes-or-less

May your day be crafty,
Taylor Spades ♠

It's (Finally!) Time For A New Question Of The Day!

How are all you crafters out there?

I just realized that we haven't had a question of the day in a couple of weeks! That's shameful! So, today we're finally going to have a new question of the day! It's actually not craft related, but I've been wondering if there's anyone other than me that knows about it.

Here's the question: Do you know what anime and/or what manga is?

Please put a comment below and answer the new question of the day! I'd love to see some comments! :)

May your day be crafty,
Taylor Spades ♠

Sunday, November 14, 2010

Check This Blog Out! "Zakka Life"

Hello crafty people!

I've got a really great blog for you to check out today! It's called Zakka Life and it's a Japanese style craft blog. Everything on their blog is really neat and it's definitely worth checking out! I've included the link below so please check it out! :)

http://zakkalife.blogspot.com/

May your day be crafty,
Taylor Spades ♠

A Huge Indian Project! - A Picture Heavy Post!

Hey! What's up crafters!

Well, before I start today's post I would like to apologize for the last of posts this week. I've been sick for about two weeks now and I've really been down in the dumps. So, once again I'm sorry for the lack of posts this week.

Now, on to the post! :) Today I'm going to show you an awesome project that I helped make. It's my brother's fifth grade American Indian project. He was assigned the subarctic Indians so the diorama had to be covered in snow. There are real trees, real moss, clay, fake snow, fabric, twigs, and paint. If I do say so myself it turned out fabulous, but I'll let you see the pictures and decide for yourself how fabulous it is! ;) Alright, on to the pictures! (There will also be a short video showing the project from 360 degrees.)












 
May your day be crafty,
Taylor Spades ♠

Wednesday, November 10, 2010

Check This Blog Out! "Dollar Store Crafts"

Hey, Crafters!

You know what time it is! Yeah, that's right! It's Check This Blog Out time! :D Today I've got a thrifty blog to show you. It's called Dollar Store Crafts and it's the holy grail of cheap crafting. The crafts on the blog start from free to ten dollars and beyond. It's truly a fantastic resource. So, if you love to craft, but you're on a tight budget then Dollar Store Crafts is the blog for you. :) Now, click the link and go check it out! I promise you'll love it. Thanks for reading! ;)


http://dollarstorecrafts.com/


May your day be crafty,
Taylor Spades ♠

Tuesday, November 9, 2010

Oh Deer! - WIP

Hello crafters, sorry for that terrible pun! I couldn't help myself! :)

Today I'm going to show you a WIP (Work in progress) of a clay deer I am making. It's for my brother's project that he has to do about Native American tribes. He's making a model of the Indian's environment, so being the crafter I got saddled with making....well almost everything! So, I really hope you enjoy this clay deer. (Psst...I'm really hoping I....I mean my brother gets an A! ;) ) Pictures are below!




May your day be crafty,
Taylor Spades ♠

Sunday, November 7, 2010

A Quick Little Video - Our Christmas Cactus




May your day be crafty,
Taylor Spades ♠

A Paper Bag Puppet Bird - Another Tutorial! :D

What's up crafters? Are you having a relaxing Sunday?

I've got another tutorial for you today. YAY! It's a paper bag puppet tutorial! :D So, if you have some extra time on your lovely Sunday make a paper bag puppet bird! ;) WOW, that's a mouthful! It's really fun and easy, so give it a try! Now, without further ado the paper bag puppet bird tutorial:


  Step 1: Get a brown paper bag. This is just a simple school lunch brown bag! :)


Step 2: Cut two identical pieces for wings!
Step 3: Put some glue on the wings and stick them to the brown bag.
Step 4: Cut out a tail and cut little slits on the bottom. I like to ruffle the tail a little bit so it has some fluffyness! :) After that's done glue it to the bottom of the brown bag.
Step 5: Cut out a triangle beak and glue it to the brown paper bag.
Step 6: Cut out a pair of small eyes. You don't have to worry if they aren't perfect circles! It gives your bird character! ;)
Step 7: Cut out a small triangle for the pupil of your eyes. You can make a lot of different expressions with pupils, so you don't always have to have them right in the center!
Step 8: (Optional) I cut out a cute little crest for my paper puppet bird. You don't have to make one if you don't want to. I just thought it looked cute! :D
Step 9: Next cut out a pair of legs for your puppet. You can cut little triangles for the claws.
Step 10: (Optional) I cut an oval for my bird's belly. You don't have to do this, but I thought it added a splash of color! :)
Step 11: There is no step 11, you are finished! Now, stick that paper bag bird on your hand and fly him around the house! Congratulations on finishing him! (or her! ;) )




Thanks for reading everyone, and I hope you enjoyed this tutorial! If you make a paper bag puppet bird, please post a picture and show me! See you guys and gals later!
 
May your day be crafty,
Taylor Spades ♠



Saturday, November 6, 2010

Check This Blog Out! "Lost At E Minor"

Hey crafters! I've got an awesome blog for you to check out today!

It's called "Lost At E Minor" and it's a blog for creative people. It has so many different types of posts it's not even funny! It's a fantastic blog that was introduced to me by a friend! (Thanks, you know who you are! ;) ) I can't really even explain everything that's on this blog, so please check the blog out! :D Here's the link: http://www.lostateminor.com/ Thanks for reading!

May your day be crafty,
Taylor Spades ♠

Thursday, November 4, 2010

Bread Clay - A Tutorial!

Hey crafters! I've got a neat tutorial for you!

Today I'm going to teach you how to make bread clay! It's easy fast and fun! I found these instructions on eHow so all the instructions are copyright to them. All the pictures were taken by me so they are copyright to me. So, It's on to the tutorial! :D




1 Cut the crust off the bread slice. Tear the bread slice into small pieces and place in the disposable bowl.





  •  
     
    2 Add a plastic spoon full of craft glue. Stir the mixture with the same spoon.









  •  
    3 The clay will form into a ball. Don't worry if the ball isn't pretty, you aren't done yet.







  • 4 Make sure you have very clean hands. You don't want to make your sliced bread clay dirty.






  • 5 Squeeze, roll and knead the sliced bread clay until it is smooth, doesn't crumble or stick to your hands. This should only take a few minutes.






  • 6 Add more glue or bread if needed.










  • 7 Add a small amount of acrylic paint in the color desired for your sliced bread clay. Squeeze, roll and knead the sliced bread clay until the paint has been well blended. Place the colored clay in a resealable bag to prevent it from drying out,and keep it in the refrigerator.










  • 8 Repeat the steps for making sliced bread clay until you have all the colors needed to complete a desired project.







  • 9 Once your project has been crafted, allow it to air dry. The drying process will depend on the thickness and size of the project and the humidity in the air.






     
      
    Well, wasn't that fun! :D If you make some bread clay please post a picture of it in the comments! Thanks for reading!
    May your day be crafty,
    Taylor Spades ♠  








  • Tuesday, November 2, 2010

    A Very Scary Story...

    Hello Craft Creators!


    I know it's past Halloween, but I totally forgot to post this scary story. It was an school project for the book Frankenstein that I completed a few days ago and I thought you might like to read it! Please be warned though this deals with a mature subject matter, if you have an issue with the story please don't read it. Thank you!


    *This deals with a mature subject matter* *What makes a monster?*


    A True Monster….Is You
    Monster is truly a broad state of mind. It can mean something beyond our state of imagination, something so ugly and horrible that even the bravest men tremble. When we think of monsters we think of the Wolfman, Dracula, or even Frankenstein, but are these true monsters? Are the shadows that lurk in the corners of our imagination what we should truly fear or should we be weary of everyday interactions. Is the old man down the street as innocent as he seems? Is the woman who arrives home late every night really working late?

    These are the questions we have to ask ourselves every day. We have formed a society that has bred monsters. The person you are sitting next to could be a wolf in sheep’s clothing. Now I’d like to ask you, what makes a monster? Is it the person who passes you rudely on the highway or is it the human being who has lost all regards for life?

    The person who could take a young child’s life and never think twice. The person that could kill a woman begging for her life. The person that could beat a homeless man on the street while he cries in agony. It doesn’t matter, the monster no longer hears their cries, he is too far gone. The anger has taken over.

    The worst thing is, that this horrible animal instinct lives in all of us. Have you ever gotten so angry at someone that you thought you could cause serious bodily harm? Did you catch yourself and then felt like shedding tears for thinking a thought so horrible. Did you know people have those same thoughts about you? Don’t feel bad, everyone has at least one time in their life.

    Now you might not be a murderer, but you have the instinct of one. You have that cold blooded intent deep in your soul. I can see your reaction now; you are quick to deny it. You are horrified that I could even suggest that you are like the murderers and rapists that pollute our jails. That you are like the human beings that feed off our government, the human beings that don’t contribute anything to society other than a good ghost story. You are insulted and angry, good I intended for you to be.

    Do you feel that base instinct of anger? How it chews a hole in your heart and makes your wildest and most vile wanderings surface. How you feel you could do almost anything. This is what drives a monster, anger that pollutes the mind and the senses.

    It seeps into your heart, mind, and soul. It morphs your features until all you wear is a hideous deformed mask. Once you feel anger for so long this mask becomes your every day face. This mask fools those around you and pushes others away. You become an empty shell, a mere shadow of who you once were.

    Eventually you lose it all and anger becomes your only friend and what a friend it is. It’s an emotion so ghastly that hell itself is made up of it. An emotion that makes you feel like you could do anything, no matter what the cost. The horrid red tint that clouds your mind, that makes you snap your neck and growl inside. You can never escape it, you can never hide from it, anger will find you and It will morph you into what lies inside…a monster.

    Monday, November 1, 2010

    Check This Blog Out! "Craftfail.com"

    Hey crafters! I've got a funny blog for you to check out, it's called Craft Fail!

    It's all the hilarious attempts people make to create quality crafts but then they FAIL! ;) It worth checking out and having a little laugh. You can also use this as a guideline on the crafts you should never create! So sit down and have a good time. Thanks for reading! Pssst!!! The Craft Fail blog link is here: http://craftfail.com/


    May your day be crafty,
    Taylor Spades ♠