Thrifty Thursday

Those of you familiar with me or my Etsy shop know how I love to be thrifty with my craft supplies.

I thought I'ld share some of my favorite tips for getting the most out of your craft dollar.

1 - Use what you have - yes, I know that's an obvious one but before you head off to the nearest big box craft supply store take a peek in your supplies, maybe you already have something that will work? or something close enough that will take your project from drab to fab? I included the brass earrings above because when I first started making jewellery from computer parts I rarely mixed them with anything from my "regular" jewellery stash - then a friend encouraged me to think outside the box with my supplies - and voila! I now love pairing together the unexpected.

2 - Use coupons - not just that weekly coupon from the purveyor of plastic made in China supplies that shows up in your mailbox every week but check your favorite Etsy supply shop, many have coupon codes for returning customers or seasonal specials you can take advantage of, ask them!

3 - Shop outside the normal confines of the craft store. The dollar store, grocery store, hardware store, art supply store - all can be inexpensive sources of materials you would pay way more for at the mall or large craft chain store.

4 - Thrift, church, charity, consignment, used, pawn stores, restore - whatever you call them, they are all fabulous sources of new and lightly used supplies or items just waiting for a new purpose. And the best place to consistently find vintage items at reasonable prices. Their prices can really vary and yes, some contribute less to charity than others but buying at any of them helps to reuse items!

5 - Garage sales - people get tired of hobbies all the time and clear out their left over supplies

6 - Garbage picking - see something interesting at the side of the curb or in an accessible dumpster! go for it! just be careful, some items are not worth the bed bug risk.

7 - Supply Swaps - got a bunch of friends with unwanted or excess supplies? hold a supply swap! it works for clothes and baby items, why not craft supplies?

8 - Kijiji, UsedWinnipeg etc. - online sources for no longer wanted supplies from some discarded hobby or estate.

9 - Clean out our supplies on at least an annual basis. Confine yourself to a set amount of space and keep your supplies labelled and organized. It doesn't matter how great a find or deal it is if you don't have space for it or you can't find it when you need it.

10 - Have fun! If finding thrifty supplies is more work than it's worth for you, then reconsider your approach. For me, finding a bargain or a treasure is half the fun but if that's not your thing that's ok too! The point of being thrifty is to be mindful and respectful of our valued resources: our time, our energy and our money. Do so in the way that works for you!

I hope this gives you a few ideas - would love to hear in the comment section what you do to be thrifty with your supplies!

'Purple Is The New Red' by thesilveragenda

A few lovely purple items from my fellow W.E.S.T.E.R'S

HeartfeltYarnW... $38.00	EmenGeeDesigns $35.00	SayIDoUniqueBo... $30.00	alittlethistle $18.00
TawnyBee $15.00	BabbsBoutique $55.00	WinterSisters $35.00	dandee $6.00
TheVelvetVixen $73.00	MeaghanMurphy $18.00	FibreSeedling $15.00	ImpossiblyAlic... $60.00
ToxieDesigns $29.00	DoomsdayStudio... $7.50	CarlaDyck $20.00	kellyruth $18.00

Treasury tool is sponsored by Lazzia.com A/B image testing.

Getting ready for Spring???

It's a little hard to believe that I need to be hard at work creating pottery for Scattered Seeds Spring Sale, when outside it is so grey and snowy.  I often envy the creative types who can put in a burst of energy for a couple of weeks, and have product.  Such is not the life of a potter who is dependent upon a cooperatively run gas kiln. Don't get me wrong, I still love the beautiful work that can come out of a gas kiln. Sometimes I would just like things to be on my time schedule only.

I guess that means I need to get up my courage and my warm clothes and work with the Kiln sitting in my garage.

Tutorial Tuesday: Aged Paper

I spent last week devouring Jane Eyre. I am not a big fan of cutesy Valentine’s Day romance, but tragic, gothic victorian love affairs are definitely my style. This week, I’ll show you how to create the base for your own gothic love letter: aged paper.

This method involves first thoroughly soaking the paper, then drying it in a warm oven. I like baking the paper after staining it because it adds great texture and a fragile quality. It’s important to have your paper cut to the desired size, otherwise you’ll end up with an undyed edge where the cut is made. The paper will curl when first removed from the oven, but pressing it for a day or two under a heavy book will fix this problem.

For this project you can use either tea or coffee. Using tea will result in a fairly subtle light brown or beige colour, while coffee creates a darker, greener stain. If using coffee, I suggest adding a bit of vanilla extract to the soaking liquid to offset the weird smell.

This aged paper works wonderfully for any project! I made some tags using this method (with coffee) and screen printed little rabbits on them with my gocco. I think this would also be great for creating a treasure map for your kids (or pirate-obsessed grown-ups).

Skill level: Very easy

Materials:

a pot of strong black tea or coffee, hot or cold

paper (white or patterned) cut to desired size

flat bottomed glass cake pan (8” x 8”, or 13” x 9”, depending on the quantity of paper)

foil lined cookie sheet

an oven

Instructions:

Heat oven to around 250 degrees F and brew your tea (or coffee) if you don’t already have some cold stuff ready.

Pour your tea (or coffee) into the cake pan and submerge your paper. Allow them to soak for about 5 minutes, or until completely permeated by the liquid.

Carefully remove the paper from the pan. Arrange the pieces on the foil lined cookie sheet. Make sure that the pieces do not touch each other. Let them sit for a couple of minutes.

Bake in the oven for about two minutes. Keep a close eye on them and USE CAUTION! They will dry out quickly, and I certainly don’t want you to have a fire! Take the cookie sheet out and gently lift the paper off the foil . This allows the bottom to dry evenly. Return baking sheet to the oven until the tags are completely dry, about one to three minutes more.

Remove the aged paper from the oven. Allow it to dry for an hour or two, then press under a heavy book to flatten.

You can embellish the paper with stamps, burns and ink splotches. Use a calligraphy pen to write your note. If you’re really enthusiastic, seal the letter with a wax seal, or tie it up with a ribbon and drop it into an old bottle. Your gothic Valentine’s Day love letter is ready to give to your beloved.

January Design Challenge Projects

This was the inaugural month for the W.E.S.T. design challenge, and we have some great projects to share with you! We worked with the theme of winter forest. It is so interesting to see what direction a couple of words will take creative people in.

Nancy of Nancy Blokland Pottery created these gorgeous mugs and plate. Nancy was inspired by the tranquility of winter and the muted colour palate found in this season. She writes:

"I often find that winter is a blurry sky, cloudy time. The colours I chose for the plate and the mugs are muted and soft, like snow. I am happy with them, subtle as they are in their suggestion of a winter forest."

Lisbeth of Daisy Patch Designs knitted a sweet DS cozy for her son and a beautiful cabled hat and mitten set. Lisbeth had this to say about her projects:

"I made the Nintendo DS cozy for my 5 year old son (a special request he made, how could I refuse) and listed it on my Etsy site as a made to order cozy. I think that cozies were part of the Etsy January challenge but may not fit so much in the winter forest theme...

As for the hat and mitten set, I bought the wool at an estate sale. It was very soft (and vintage). I ran into a few problems finishing up the right mitten as I ran out of wool. Try and find some vintage wool!!! So I had a skein of extra virgin wool that was very close in colour that I used to finish the project. It was a close call! LOL

My set is something you would wear on a wintry walk in the forest.

I listed it on my site however, my husband took a shine to it and decided to buy it for himself."

You can find the DS cozy and a very similar cabled set at Daisy Patch Designs.

I've been wanting to change up my packaging for sold items in my etsy shop for awhile, and this was a great opportunity to create something new. My winter forest inspiration came from our drive to The Pas to visit my in-laws this January. If you've ever made this trip, you know how lonely this road is. It's literally nothing but snow and trees in the winter. The landscape is absolutely pristine, and incredibly beautiful. I wanted something that would look wintery and since I've been seeing birch bark almost everywhere it's really grown on me. So far, I've been using them with white tissue paper wrapping finished with natural hemp cord as ribbon. These are balsa wood decoupaged (for lack of a better term) with birch bark and then varnished.

Thanks so much to everyone who participated in January's design challenge!

Perfect Winter Day

yesterday was another Saturday where I should have my head down , literally and been making mugs, bowls, watering cans, and plant markers for all those upcoming sales opportunities in Spring. Instead we hosted some friends and enjoyed watching the boys play "buried treasure" in the back yard under the snow with shovels and pirate hats on their heads.  That was priceless,, tomorrow is another day for the studio.
At least that's the plan.

W.E.S.T. Design Challenge: February Inspiration is Geometry Class

This month's challenge is "geometry class". All things geometric, but especially diamonds, arrows, and patterns are being highlighted this month on Etsy. Bright pops of pink, turquoise and yellow are in, as are more subdued colours like avocado, peach and orange of any hue. Neutrals also have a strong presence for February. Industrial items are also really popular at the moment.

item available from ToxieDesigns on etsy

item from stjarnkraft on etsy

item available from AppleBlossomPrint on etsy

Here's how it works. Check the ning and blog at the start of the month to get the inspiration topic. As you mull over what that particular idea means to you, jot down some notes in the discussion thread or leave a comment on the blog. Take pictures of your process and finished item and post them in the thread or in the Flickr group (with the tag W.E.S.T._dc). We would love to hear the story behind how you arrived at your finished object! I will blog the results of each month's challenge.

A few notes: Create something especially for the challenge. Entries for each month should be finished by the last day of the month. Vintage and supply sellers are welcome to participate, too, with a focus on artful photography and careful choice of item.

Good luck! I hope this inspires you, and I can't wait to see what you'll come up with!

Tutorial Tuesday: Boy Cut Panties

Today I thought I would share a Valentine's Day related tutorial with all of your marvelous readers.

Who doesn't need a cute pair of underwear? And for some reason, men go super ga-ga over this style of panty.

Do you want them? I've already sold these ones, but I can show you how to make your own. Yay!

Supplies needed:

- Downloadable pattern

- half a yard of cotton knit (this will make two pairs) You can also use old t-shirts ( I used an extra large t-shirt to make the ones pictures above.

- half inch elastic (enough to fit comfortably around your hips

- matching thread

- ribbon or any other fun thing to decorate them with (optional)

1) Cutting out the pattern

The pattern for medium size is available using the links below:

- boycutback.pdf

- boycutfront.pdf

If you need a size other than medium, you can up or downsize from this pattern

- cut out one front

- cut out one back

- cut out one crotch piece (included on the boycutfront.pdf)

2) Finish the seams

- Because you're working with knit, it won't fray, but I like to finish some of the seams just for appearance sake. Use a zigzag to finish the short ends of the crotch piece.

- I set my machine to zigzag for the entire process in fact. It's much nicer to sew a zigzag on knit fabric. This allows the knit to stretch properly and since underwear undergoes a lot of stress, zigzag is best!

3) Attach the pieces

- Sew the front and back (right sides together) at the crotch seam.

- Place the crotch piece (wrong sides together) centered in between the front and back pieces. Fold the leg seams down twice to make a hem. Pin and then stitch. This should secure the crotch piece in properly. If it doesn't quite fit, it's knit, it'll stretch!

4) Side Seams and Top Casing

- fold your front and back pieces so that the side seams are matched (right sides together). Stitch side seams.

- Fold down your top casing 1/4 of an inch and press. Then fold down another inch to form a casing. Stitch around the edge making sure to leave a few inches open to insert the elastic.

5) Insert Elastic and Decorate

- you might want to try on your pair of boy cuts in order to get an accurate measurement. Since I'm making these to stock in my shop, I measured my own hips. Remember that these panties fit low (around the hips) when measuring.

- insert elastic into casing using safety pins. Sew elastic together and then sew the casing opening shut.

- Decorate however you like!

Aren't those cute? Making your own underwear is really less painful than you think! I thought I'd start you out with something easy to show you that it really isn't difficult to have your own one of a kind underwear.

But if you're still a little unsure, you can purchase these psychedelic purple ones or these ones with construction trucks on them at Tawny Bee.

You may use this pattern to make underwear for yourself, your friends, your lovers, whoever you like. You may also use this pattern to make underwear to sell. All I ask is that you give pattern creation credit to Tawny Bee in your product listing.

_____

This tutorial originally appeared on The LT Experience on June 3, 2010

If you would like to see the regular cut panties tutorial, leave a comment below and I'll include it in a future WEST tutorial Tuesday. :)

Cheers and Happy Tuesday!

- Tawny