crafts
Crafts Hacks for makers; a digital vision board with clever tips, ideas, techniques and materials for DIY creations.
Left-handed Scissors in a Right-handed World
In my youth in the 1950s, wooden elementary school chairs had built-in armrests, which were uniformly on the right side. This left my scrawny little arm dangling off precariously, as my left hand strained in the effort to execute the lovely cursive writing that I strove for.
By Tess Nottebohm 5 years ago in Lifehack
BIRDS, THAT'S IT, BIRDS
It was a usual Saturday by starting the day talking with my daughter who lives 100 miles south of us. The summer camp where I taught art was closing and we were discussing what I was going to do with all my time. I wanted to jump back into the local art world, but was growing tired of my first love water color. While I would never abandon it I needed somethng more. As the discussion proceeded I wondered if designer paper added to my creations would do the trick. But what to draw. In a flash, since we had been talking about our feathered friends at our bird feeder, my daughter said "What about doing birds? You love them and there are so many." I responded, "Birds, that;s it BIRDS," We talked a bit more about me doing a series and then with great urgency to get started on this new venture we ended our call.
By Cathy Ganschinietz5 years ago in Lifehack
Getaway Crafter
Ever since Junior High school; now they call them Middle School, if I wasn't in the cafeteria reading, I could be found in the Art classroom. At that time I was known by most of the teachers, because of my Anemia problem, and would wake up in the nurse's office many times. When I had awoken I would always make my way to the Art classroom to work on my project or projects I was making, ranging from clay, flat copper, paper (my favorite), watercolor, and lastly paint.
By Rebecca S Williams5 years ago in Lifehack
Reunited With A Childhood Joy
I grew up in a red state during the Bush years, surrounded by a culture that celebrated all things masculine. At the same time, I was raised by a mother who had come of age during the second wave of American feminism, one that saw women marching in protest of laws and social norms that enforced a repressive, restrictive definition of femininity.
By Lacey Doddrow5 years ago in Lifehack
Art Car Dreams...& Schemes
There is no feeling more freeing than loading up a caulking gun to glue stuff to your car. Take it from me! I am an art car artist, and my '74 Ford Pinto had 4 different incarnations. If you have a vehicle that runs good but looks bad, you have the perfect vehicle to convert into a beautiful, roving art piece. Converting your car can take months or weeks, but often, due to weather concerns, artists are ratcheting up their glue guns the day before a parade, to make sure the items are freshly but solidly adhered before the big day. And, in my case, since I was gluing books onto my car, (I am known as The Booklady, and my car was known as the Bookmobile) the weather report was always crucial. I lived in Houston, where rain can be a daily occurrence, and you can imagine what happens if you affix a paperback book to the side of a car. The book gets wet, and your object of decoration now becomes a soggy mess—and sometimes, most often, falls off the car, leaving only the back cover and final page of the book—somewhat fitting in an odd sort of way.
By Andrea Foster5 years ago in Lifehack
High Above Water
Moving back home after living in a densely populated metropolis wasn’t what I would describe as easy. None of it was easy, but especially re-acclimating to the emptiness, the agile and arid wind, the unending winter and the acute isolation. It wasn’t easy because I knew all the reasons I left.
By Rebecca Peel5 years ago in Lifehack
The house that Tammy built
Once upon a time, there was a girl named Tammy. Ever since she was a little girl she loved dolls and most of all she adored dollhouses. As she got older, she would see lots of dollhouses. There were fancy ones, little ones, toy ones, various kinds that she had never seen before.
By Tammy Marsh5 years ago in Lifehack
Sew Happy
When the pandemic locked down the country I was hit with a lot of extra time. My college classes were moved to online Zoom sessions and not having to spend time in class or on the way to class left me at home feeling the onset of the doldrums. It was around March 11th, 2020 that I first started wearing a mask when out in public. Yes, I was one of those people, the ones that would get weird looks from the other customers. I am sure that they were thinking that us mask wearers were paranoid and I will admit I am an overly cautious person, not to mention OCD, like for real OCD, diagnosed and dealing daily. So with the mention of a mysterious virus that had made its way to my city in less than two months I was worried. I often wonder if other OCD suffers are amateur virologists, watching movies like Outbreak and Contagion, and reading books like The Coming Plague. I began thinking about my friends and family, how were they staying safe? Were they wearing masks or social distancing? Being the next in line as matriarch of our family its just a natural instinct I have acquired, I worry, probably too much. I couldn’t bear the thought of others getting sick and the virus was so new that we didn’t even know the full impact it could have.
By Jen Handsel5 years ago in Lifehack
