Craft Book Review – Folklore Crafts: Garden Gnomes and Matryoshka

It is my craftastic pleasure to be reviewing (and giving away- see the entry instructions below!) two craft books that are chock full of totally cute projects. Folklore Crafts: Garden Gnomes and Folklore Crafts: Matryoshka.

Both books have a bakers dozen of how-tos, and what I love is that the projects are simple and quick. If you’re a beginner, the projects aren’t too intimidating. I’ve never tried needle felting, but these adorable little dolls make me want to try it out:

Project From Folklore Crafts: Matryoshka

 

Likewise, for the crafts I’m more comfortable with, I’m inspired to add my own little twists. For instance, I’m just itching to stitch up a batch of these little cuties, and maybe throw in a lady friend or two:

Project From Folklore Crafts: Garden Gnomes

Better make it 3 so there aren’t any gnome fights!

One of my personal favorites is the Dr. Who nesting dolls project. I love the idea of a non-traditional set of nesting dolls, because it would make the perfect personalized gift for almost anyone… just take some of their favorite things, and paint the dolls to fit!

Project From Folklore Crafts: Matryoshka

So now that I’ve got you whipped into a frenzy over these books, here’s how you can enter to win a copy of your choice!

This is a LIGHTNING ROUND GIVEAWAY… which means it’s a quick one.

Comment here to let me know what FB pages you’ve liked- each page counts as a separate entry, so you can do one, two or all three.
Please included your facebook name in your comment!

The giveaway will close at midnight EST.

Ways to Enter

 

Follow the FolkloreCrafts book tour – check out tomorrow’s review at WeeklyEnthusiast!

 

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!

appliquetut

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:

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How to do Relief Printing with Solar Plates – ScreenPrinting Tutorial

Fun in the Sun: Greeting Cards with Solar Plates
by:  Curtis Taylor

This article will explain how to make fine art relief print cards using only the power of the sun. Unlike traditional printmaking methods that require dangerous chemicals or sharp tools and years of technical practice a solar plate uses the sun, some water, and a tooth brush to develop. This project will walk you through your first fine art creation with a solar plate avoiding years of art school not to mention the expense.

Solar plates are made with a special photopolymer that hardens when exposed to a UV light source. UV light sources can be purchased or made but I prefer to use a free source of UV light we call the sun. For our purposes solar plates are quite forgiving. You can work in normal indoor lighting conditions with incandescent or fluorescent light bulbs. There is no need for a darkroom. You just need to be careful to avoid direct sunlight until you are ready to expose your plate. Solar plates should be stored in a cool, dark and dry place until exposure. Solar plates are quite durable and will probably last a lifetime under normal hand burnishing.

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How to Turn a Regular T-shirt into a Henley Tee

This is a quick way to give a plain tee or tank a little upgrade! The best part is, you don’t have to screw around with buttonholes because that part has been done for you already!

If you’re looking at me funny and wondering WTF a henley shirt is, it’s a shirt with a partial button placket down the front. Like our finished project here:

Difficulty:

 

Things you’ll need for this tutorial:

  • scissors
  • sewing machine (or needle and thread, if you’re old school and mega patient like that)
  • a t-shirt or tank (you can make your own, if you like)
  • the button placket from another shirt


Step 1

Gather your materials. Here I’ve got my henley and my fabric, with which I will make a basic tee.

I happened to have a a henley shirt that I cut up a while ago to make a pattern. This is why I can never throw things away… I knew it would come in handy!

If you don’t have a henley style shirt, you can use a button placket from any shirt, really. A full buttondown will work just fine for this, you just need to trim it to the length you want. I think a plaid button placket would look super cute on a plain tee!

If you’ve searched your closets high and low and don’t have a button placket handy, there’s a really great tutorial for making a henley tee here.

Step 1


The cute button print fabric I used in this tutorial is from Purple Seamstress Fabrics.

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