Wednesday, December 28, 2011

Christmas!!!

I'm still making treats to send out to a few more family members BUT I am finished with the handmade gift this year.  I made 35 copies of a small book I wrote and illustrated. Since most of them are out in the world and I even uploaded it to Amazon to sell as a kindle book (link forthcoming), I thought I'd post it here. I only have 5 followers so I don't think I'm giving too much away.


Puppy
by Beth


One sunny morning

I went outside to play,

and was followed by a puppy,

somewhere along the way.















He did not bark or bite,

And he seemed very tame.

How was I to know

That this was just his special game?




 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
He hid behind the bed,


he hid behind the chair,


















he jumped up to kiss me


and latched onto my hair.
















I ran around the room.


I fought and cried and bit,

puppy finally came off

As I yelled at him to sit.









I went into my room,


As I saw his sad wagging tail,

And I pulled out my gat,











and sent him back to hell.










Friday, December 9, 2011

Wishing...

I saw this prototype for an awesome camera and added it to my Amazon Wishlist just to remind myself of it.

Throwable Panoramic Ball Camera

But wait! It hasn't even been patented. How can I posses such a wonderus camera if only a few were in existance. Possibly I could make something?

How about I hit record on my phone's camcorder app and throw it up in the air?


It works about as well as I could imagine. Plus there was a real fear of dropping my phone. I will have to keep trying so I can one day have the camera.

Next item on my wish list:

ZERO-G Gife Package

Tuesday, October 25, 2011

Silly Walks Oh How You Torment Me!


This is my first attempt. I don't like it at all. I think it looks squished.


#2, better but still not quite enough.

If I get any better resolution the finished afghan will be enormous!

Tuesday, October 18, 2011

And Now For Something Completely Different

I have always been a diehard Python fan and lately had some cravings to make something that would warm my cold dead heart.



I did the accordian book first but that wasn't enough. I am obsessed with this:
I formatted it in photoshop and sent it to a letterpress plate-maker so I can do even more. But wait, wouldn't this be a great aftghan like the Mythbusters? Yes. So here's what I've done so far. I uploaded the image to http://www.microrevolt.org/knitPro/ and then try and figure out if the grid size will be enough. The stitch size is 1:1. Now I need to decide if the resolution will work for the size. I used a sample just to see what it will look like and if I like it.



 Big and Regular. I don't want this to be the size of a parking lot so (sample guyx12) the smaller is better. 

And here's my mockup/prototype:


Now I have to decide if it will work and do I want the same colors, navy/off white, etc. Either way this will be awesome. Tunisian crochet has a tendency to squish the image horizontally so I also need to figure out how  much I need to stretch the it before printing the guide.

Wednesday, October 12, 2011

Mythbusters...


Man every long-term project ends with me not liking it. I still need to block it and put a backing on and then I will be sending it out into the world. I am crocheting an 8-bit group pic for the bottom but I haven't decided if it makes the cut yet. Maybe.



I think next I will work on a version of:

Monday, October 10, 2011

Banana Update!

"The banana you sent me was still a little green and had no bruises.  I took a picture of it, but you'll have to wait a little while for it cause I won't have time to develop it before I leave. You'll get it though.  And thanks for the banana bread and star wars stuff.  I'm excited to do the puzzle at the airport during lay overs.  And the banana bread was super good.  It's almost gone:)"

Developing film? Seriously? Well, she's leaving for Argentina ina couple weeks so I can only do this a few more times.

Thursday, October 6, 2011

Accordian Books

I learned how to make accordian books 2 weeks ago, it was not what I expected with the long piece of paper folded up. It's smaller size pieces of paper folded in half and then glued inside at the fold and the ends (red dots):





Each one has a removable spine piece that can be pulled out and reattached to either side.






The second one was more of a love letter to Monty Python:






A Science Experiement


My little sister is at the MTC in Provo, Ut and I mailed her a green banana from Salt Lake City. It was 2 day shipping so she should get it by Saturday at the latest. I included a letter explaining the expected outcomes and a request for her to take a picture and send me observations. There was no mention in any letter or postcard so it should be a surprise when she gets it.

I came up with the idea Sunday after seeing nothing but green bananas at the grocery store. My friend called to warn me about some fat guy flashing hikers in Millcreek and after discussing what I plan to do if I see him I casually mentioned sending Kathy a banana just to see if she gets it in time. For the record I will laugh, point and throw pennies and the cops can go all CSI and check emergency rooms for someone with an embarassing bruise.

10/5/11 ~3pm: After packing the banana in a lot of bubble wrap in a small box I delivered it to the nearby Post Office.

10/6/11 No data to report. Updates to follow.

Monday, September 12, 2011

This could have been a bad idea....

I'd been thinking about reupholstering my 2nd hand couch for a while now, just to see if I could actually do it but after reading up on it I wasn't so sure. But I did know that sitting on my couch for any amount of time left it sagging and I had to rotate cushions all the time. But they weren't the problem. The books pointed to the springs as either needing to be replaced or repaired and I figured I could do that much.


Saturday night, I'd been to the doctor for a sinus infection that has lasted 2 weeks now and was just getting on antibiotics. I was cleaning up the living room and it was time to rotate cushions again. This time though I pulled out my box knife and cut the fabric and padding below off completely. This is what I saw. They were off on one side entirely and had curled up. No wonder the couch sucked.


I tried to reposition a few but my weakling hands weren't strong enough. I needed some tools. I couldn't really imagine regular pliers doing the trick, even though I had them so I waited until Sunday morning to hit up Joann's for their upholstery section. They had stuff for curtains and sewing cushions. Nothing heavy duty for respringing a couch. Next I went to Lowes for some good pliers or somthing that might help. And some of the spring clips were missing so I needed them replaced or some kind of work around.



They had hardware for shelving and regular tools but still not what I wanted. I bought some pliers and in the plumbing section got some u-shaped hose clamps. I planned to fold them in half and screw them in place of the plastic clips. I got home still thinking about how to stretch the springs enough to reattach. My weakling strength wouldn't be enough I knew and I had a wratcheting clamp which could force it to stretch but I'd still be holding it tight. I though about holding something perpendicular to the spring that the clamp could sit against and scrounged around for something strong enough. I found the metal part from the laminate flooring installation kit. I could brace my foot against the bottom and wratchet the springs into place. It worked amazingly. I took as many of the plastic clips as I could find, pulled out the staples and drilled a hole instead. Then I pulled each spring enough to screw them into place with the clips and then the hose clamps.


The cat loved it, I had to spray him out a few times with the water bottle.



This is all fixed. I need to find more of the padding and fabric to replace what I ripped up but some scrap dropcloth works for now. I layed the padding on top of that for stability.


The couch is so comfortable now that within 10 minutes of finishing I fell asleep on it. For 2 hours. Also, if you've started a big project and Sunday morning rolls around, trying to find supplies and tools on your phone's web browser sucks. My arms and hands are sore but not nearly as much as if I'd resprung it without the tools.

Wednesday, September 7, 2011

A secret necklace holder

I found a really cool idea on craftster.org and stole it, beat it up and left it dying in a ditch somewhere. Ever since I was a kid I've always loved the idea of secret passageways and hidden spots and this was perfect for me (to make) and for the birthday girl. It's a painting that is hinged on a necklace holder. You hang it on the wall and the painting opens into the secret hiding place.


I had a canvas that was the right size, 12"x12"( it was dependant on how big I wanted the box to be). I added joint compound to the canvas in the shape of a tree and let it all dry. Then I painted the background, which I probably should have done first... after that was dry I painted the tree with metallics randomly. Using some scrap wood, I made the box and then added hooks and hinges.



And she loved it.

Friday, September 2, 2011

Latest Projects

So the last month before I graduated I started knitting a stress blanket. Man I suck at knitting but afterwards I added some felted flowers into a tree shape. It was all pretty random how I added them but it will probably get promoted to Car Blanket this winter.



This is a bantha for my nephew's birthday party. I came across the Star Wars Book of Crafts and found an online tutorial that was geeky enough for me. I also got him some Thomas stuff because this isn't something he wanted and that's what he played with after opening everything. Ah well, I figured I should give him a gift he actually wants. I had the little sand guy in my purse and keep forgetting to give it to him.

Thursday, August 25, 2011

Site update

Yeah I need to post more stuff. I have to wait on a few things until the people get them in case they read this blog.  But for now I redid my site and farmed all the work out to flickr. Suckers.


www.subversivecrafting.com

Tuesday, July 12, 2011

Zentangle Postcards

Since I send out postcards to friends and family I recently decided to try making them from scratch. I bought some watercolor paper and then painted some planets. I hit both sides with paint though the side with the address has less. After it dried I cut each page into 4 pages and put them in my book press to flatten. Once that was finished I doodled on them.
Jupiter

 Mars

Tuesday, June 21, 2011

Fairy Homes



A friend at work made a comment about knowing someone who turns birdhouses into fairy houses. I was secretly obsessed and she didn't even realize it. I had a 3yr old birthday party and needed one for her cousin too and this was so much fun to make.

I plan to do an instructable tutorial on the next one so stay tuned.

At the craft store, not the one in the news recently for having card skimmers stealing debit and pins and including mine, I found some unfinished birdhouses. I pried off the roof and 2 of the walls and added a hinge for an easy opening. You can see the hinge covered by the sticks and flowers. Using wire cutters and pliers I snipped off and pulled out the perch beneath the circular opening and glued the twigs to look like a window.


Someone had been cutting branches in my neighborhood and left them on the sidewalk for the garbage men. I grabbed a bag and scissors and cut off some twigs and kept them for this project (over the winter, it's been in my head for a while). After painting the parts with a couple coats of greens and blues I cut up the twigs into a pile about 5"-7" long apiece.



I had some leftover wool roving from another project and metal wire. I also bought some teeny little silk flowers and pulled them a part. Each twig got a couple small flowers and leaves and were wrapped with either the wool roving or the wire. Afterwards I glued them onto a side at a time and let it dry, repeat with all sides.




The tops are completely removable, I thought about making them latch or hinge but it's not really needed. From the silk flowers I pulled apart the petals and glued/stapled them to the top. Since the plastic centers weren't flat enough to glue down I had to put a dot of yellow into the centers and some buttons. Inside the roofs I glued down stickers.



One was painted blue inside the other greenish. I cut up some scrapbook paper and other stuff to put on the walls. Each house got a tiny table and bed. The legs to both are balsa wood leftovers from other projects and were easy to cut with scissors. When glued down I added a tiny book and key onto the table. Next to the table were 2 small corked vials, one has sparkly beads and the other has watch parts. Also glued down.




The beds were fun. Each one is a rectangle with the same size felt on top and then some muslin on that. More from my stash and I made mini blankets with flowery fabric on more felt glued onto the bed. The pillows are muslin and whip-stitched around and stuffed. More gluing down, I don't want a phone call from someone telling me their kid choked on a tiny pillow.





Both got a small wooden fairy with flower petals wings and a plastic dragon. They were opened last night and the girls loved them.