Knit?
Crochet?
Make jewelry?
Cross stitch?
Quilt?
Start planning for Halloween in July and make outlandish costumes that cost more money that is ever necessary?

Here's a place to share your work!!!

I'm useless for needlework, and I knit a square once...I crocheted a rectangle once too! But I majored in costume design and worked in a Broadway costume shop in the craft department for a while back in NYC (the craft department does things like puppetbuilding, beading and paint work on costumes, embellishment, foam and other sculptural costume work...think everything in The Lion King), so I love making and putting together outlandish stuff for costume parties!

(Every party should be a costume party IMO!)

So here's a mask I made for a New Year's Masquerade a couple years ago! You know those metal wire photo holder things you sit on a desk, and stick photos in the ends of the wires? The "skeleton" of the mask is one of those...I ripped the base off, grabbed some needlenose pliers and pulled the stems into the shape I wanted and molded them back to fit over my face and hook onto my ears. The cover is a scrap of silk shantung I stretched over it and whip-stitched onto the wires. Then I just glued on the crystals (real SWAROVSKI CRYTAL RHINESTONES! SQUEE! Sparkles! They were leftover from a huge project at the costume shop, so I took a bunch home!), and stitched the sequined strips of nylon netting on as ribbons.

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"We are here to unlearn the teachings of the church, state, and our educational system. We are here to drink beer. We are here to kill war. We are here to laugh at the odds and live our lives so well that Death will tremble to take us."
-Charles Bukowski

"Bad as I am, I'm still here."

Gee, I thought this thread was calling my name, LOL. I sew (clothing mostly), make jewelry...I'd like to learn how to knit.
Now that the rush of back-to-school clothes is done, on to Halloween.
I don't dress up for Halloween, but the girls do...and it's not going to be anything as elaborate as that beautiful mask, Amanda!
Emmie has chosen to be the toothfairy.
Kathleen has chosen to be a strawberry ice cream cone.
I am off to the fabric storre today. I will attempt to post pictures when I have something to show.

Kristina

Amanda - Tres cool. That job sounds very cool.
Kristina - My hat is off to you! Clever home crafted costumes are the best.

I have always dabbled in visual art and crafts, and my weapon of choice is the glue gun! Needlenose pliers come in handy too.

Lately I'm learning (trying to) computer generated illustration, although I think my style will ultimately move towards computer enhanced muli-media. My avatar is a cropped section from a page in an unpublished children's picture book of mine. I did the preliminary sketch but Adam had to take over to show me how to do re-create it in illustrator. The whole page (first draft mind you) looks like this:



I really like this new forum. Love it! 

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Free Cruise Clocks

I do cross stitch, I paint tee shirts (children's characters mostly), and I always seem to get roped into painting any horribly small thing that someone wants painted because I have a steady hand and I'm also a perfectionist when it comes to things like that!  As for Halloween, it's not something I get into my thing is Christmas!), but of course, the kids love it and are always challenging my "skills" with their costume ideas!  When my son was 7, I made M&M costumes for him and his cousin, and my daughter, who was just 8 months old was an M&M mini!  The best costume I've made for her was Penelope from Hamtaro. One year she was princess, wearing the flower girl's dress from my wedding--so cute!  Last year she was a hula girl and this year she's decided she'll be a dead hula girl complete with an axe out of her forehead!  Oh yes, the princess days are gone! (My son is 16 now, so he's handing out candy!!)

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Some people shine like a star in the first moment. Others keep their light hidden until they are ready to show us.

TinaCap--

My daughter is convinced that hot glue can fix anything!  And it almost can!  Believe me, I've fixed a lot of things with hot glue and been surprised a some of the results!  A glue gun is a definite must have!

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Some people shine like a star in the first moment. Others keep their light hidden until they are ready to show us.

I love my glue gun.  I have about 6 of them, different sizes, some just for doing crafts with other people. 
I knit, but I never seem to finish anything.  The same with cross stitch.  I like to tole paint, and last week I learned to bead some bracelets that I have now made about 6 of!! Things tend to catch my fancy for a while then they go...
I've never been able to get the hang of crocheting.  I've been taught, it just won't stay in my head.
I sew straight lines, nothing fancy, but enough to have made all of my curtains and cushions, I even tried slipcovers a couple of times, and I have made lot's of Halloween costumes between my 15 year old and my 6 year old...
Oh yeah, and woodwork.  I am the owner of the power tools in my house, and I love to make bookshelves and other bits and pieces, including some angels that presently sit outside my house and invite comment.  I am a crafter at heart!! Too bad working for a living doesn't give me the time I need to do all the other stuff!!
Sharon

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"everything is gonna be alright when summer comes"

Trace, Can your kid teach me to use a glue gun? I'm hope less.

But I cross stitch, crochet, make soaps, candles, am learning to knit, I quilt, sew, candlewick make Jewelery when the mood strikes and bead. when need be I make neat little jewlery boxes from either wood or plastic canvas and a few other things. 
 I am obsessed with crafts LOL!
 

EDited to add: I also draw, do pen and ink work and work with markers...and paint once in awhile.

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Draco Dormiens Nunquam Titillandus
"Take sides. Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim. Silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented." E. Wiesel
OKP's Resident B****
Imprudens est draconem vivum de consiliis tuis omittere.
Steet team Leader for NYS, OH and Southern Ontario.

Andi you are like the Queen O' Crafts! If you want to post more pics of your work I'd love to see them!

Sharon...POWER TOOLS ROCK!!!!!! Yeah, I was a theatre techie. :) Give me a paint brush and a power drill and I'm a happy camper.

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"We are here to unlearn the teachings of the church, state, and our educational system. We are here to drink beer. We are here to kill war. We are here to laugh at the odds and live our lives so well that Death will tremble to take us."
-Charles Bukowski

"Bad as I am, I'm still here."

Trace2716:

TinaCap--

My daughter is convinced that hot glue can fix anything!  And it almost can!  Believe me, I've fixed a lot of things with hot glue and been surprised a some of the results!  A glue gun is a definite must have!

She's right! I only use one glue gun myself; it's about 20 years old: a heavy duty, super hot, 3rd degree burn inducing, rapid fire killer of a thing.

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Free Cruise Clocks

I used to have a glue gun like that about 12 years ago, but we had a flood in our basement (sewage back up---eeewww!!!) and almost everything in the basement was ruined including that heavy duty glue gun.  I've never found one like it again, but if I do, it's mine!

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Some people shine like a star in the first moment. Others keep their light hidden until they are ready to show us.

ooooooooo a new home for me :)

Let's see... I knit, crochet, sew, cross stitch, quilt, scrapbook, stamp, draw, write, I've done plastic canvas though it's not a fave and I'm learning to do embroidery.

I'm almost finished knitting a sweater for myself   then I need to finish a quilt. I always have a few projects on the go at once.

I used to be a seriously artsy craftsy kind of person......then I had kids (3 of them in 22 months) and spare time disappeared altogether.  I used to make really cool wreaths for my front door for every holiday and occasion.  My glue gun was my friend.  I used to sew really funky throw pillows and stuff.  My basement is jammed with boxes of fabric scraps, paints, beads, odds and ends - all of which has not been touched in about 4 yrs.  Now that my oldest is in school, I hope to have a little bit of time to rediscover my creative side.  Perhaps I'll finish that scrapbook I started for him 4 yrs. ago.

I started up a craft box full of stickers, markers, crayons, glue, etc. for my kids but I don't bring it out very often since I can't handle the resulting mess.  My oldest son covers everything in stickers, one of the twins colours all over the kitchen table while the other twin just hoards all the crayons and screams if anyone touches them.

I was all proud of myself recently when I found time to make a GBS t-shirt for my oldest son (he was envious when my husband and I saw them in July and demanded his own "concert t-shirt").  I did a really neat graphic on the computer, ironed it on, and coloured it in with fabric paints.  I'll try to post a pic of it if I can figure out how.

(Hey Tanya, did you see my answer to you in the Fave concerts of 2006 thread?)
I forgot that I do scrapbooking as well, but who doesn't nowadays?!  I decided to start 2 years ago when Chelsea was 7, so I had 7 years to catch up on immediately.  I figured Adrian wouldn't care, but last year, he said, "Hey mom, are you going to do a book for me?" so I then had to do 15 years worth!  But I enjoy it and I'm creating treasures for them to keep.  I did a great scrapbook for my best friend because this year we celebrated 25 years as friends.  It was hilarious, going through pictures from each year of our friendship!  All those styles, all the different hair!)  And she said it was the best present she could have received, which made it all worth it.  Chelsea and I also did a scrapbook together after our dog died in August.  It was very therapeutic for both of us, putting all that together to remember her.  Okay, so I guess what I'm saying is I enjoy scrapbooking!

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Some people shine like a star in the first moment. Others keep their light hidden until they are ready to show us.

Old Brown's daughter:
Isn't glitter just the worst?!  I find it 3 months later!  It's everywhere and sticks to everything!  But they MUST use it!

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Some people shine like a star in the first moment. Others keep their light hidden until they are ready to show us.

OBD - about the kids and messes. I am a bit of an expert with that subject since I used to have 12 kid under 12 for every valentine's day, kids day ( buddhist holiday) and Halloween, after one day after hallloween clean up session I came up with some ways to minimize the mess.

 "art Smocks" read old t-shirts ( adult sized) over each kid's clothes
 
Drop cloths -- don't laugh put each child's chair on a drop cloth and limit them to staying on the plastic.
 
Cookie trays - I used to work at TOPS and they have these wonderful black circular trays that I used under the kid's work they are about 18 inches and reusuable..over and over. The kids were told that if they took their work off the trays they had to leave.  It worked.
 

 after my last party of painting, amd making and decorating cut out cookies, my clean up lasted all of a half hour.  :)

As for the child who refuses to share...get a 99 cent "art tub" for each kid and fill it with all the same things, make it clear no one has to share the contents of their tub.  :) Just a thought.



 

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Draco Dormiens Nunquam Titillandus
"Take sides. Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim. Silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented." E. Wiesel
OKP's Resident B****
Imprudens est draconem vivum de consiliis tuis omittere.
Steet team Leader for NYS, OH and Southern Ontario.