handmade – Page 3 – WhatTheCraft

December 18, 2012October 18, 2018Tutorials

How to Make a Retro Holiday Ornament out of Duck Tape

This post brought to you by Duck Brand®. All opinions are 100% mine.

Duck® Brand tape comes in so many festive prints and colors- polka dots, metallics, candy cane stripes, snowmen… it’s the perfect material for handmade holiday decorations!

Check out these decorations I made out of tape:

All of the ornaments use the same basic shape. It’s just a piece of tape folded into a strip, as shown below.

That’s it! If you can fold a piece of tape and wield a stapler and a glue gun, you can make all of the ornaments in the photo! This would be a perfect project to do with little kids, just put them to work folding those strips!

5 Rules for Custom Orders To Craft By

I’ve been doing custom work pretty much since the beginning of selling my clothing online, and I’ve learned a lot over that time. Mostly I’ve learned The Hard Way.

Accumulated through years of mistakes and missteps, here are a handful of rules to live by if you offer custom work:

1. Always require payment up front

This is one of those things that newbies are always scared to do, and yet you learn very quickly that you will get burned if you don’t. Go ahead and ignore me. YOU WILL GET THERE.

I get at least one custom order request a day, some days more like 10. If I was making all those orders and waiting around for payment, I would’ve been out of business 5 years ago. At least half of the requests I get never amount to an order. Lots of people like to window shop. Not so many actually have the money to put it where their mouth is.

At the very least, if you’re super nervous that people will be hesitant to pay in full up front, require them to pay half up front. That way, if they magically disappear once the order is completed (and some of them will), at least you were compensated for materials and maybe some time.

Then you’ll start requiring full payment up front, right? Right.

I’ve never had anyone refuse to buy a custom item from me because I required payment up front, and really- why should they refuse? When I bought custom sized windows for my house, I paid up front and got the windows 6 weeks later. That’s just how customs work.

Cheshire Cat hoodie by SmarmyClothes.com

How to Sew Fabric Appliques

Here’s my video tutorial for fabric appliques / patches. Appliques are a great way to embellish or customize a project. You can add them to bags, clothes, Xmas stockings, and more. Appliqued handmade goods make great gifts because you can tailor each one for the recipient!

If you scroll down, there’s also a photo tutorial version so you can go at your own pace, or go to a specific step.

Don’t forget to subscribe to my YouTube channel! There are lots more tutorials on the way!

And if you have any tutorial requests, leave me a comment!

This tutorial was filmed using a Creative Labs Vado HD Digital Video Camera, a Canon Rebel (for still shots), and edited in Sony Vegas Movie Studio.

Here’s the photo + text version of the tutorial:

Unique Handmade Prom Dresses for 2011

My 8th grade graduation was the first formal event I ever went to. I was so excited to pick out a special dress for the big night… so imagine my horror when my arch nemesis showed up wearing the Exact. Same. Dress.

Luckily, I’m here to make sure you don’t make the same mistake I did. The dresses, gowns, skirts, corsets, and accessories here are so unique, you won’t run the risk of playing Twinsies on your big night.

A little gothic, a touch of punk, and some rockabilly sass, there’s something here for anyone wanting to take the alternative route to Prom, Homecoming, or any other formal event.