The Last Free Knittn' Kitten Project: It's all about the Doilies

I wish I could crochet.

But I can't. I've tried to learn, and someday, I will, but it's just not happening right now.

I did get this amazing book by Linda Permann called Crochet Adorned - which is just chock full of the most amazing ways to incorporate crochet into pre-made garments as embellishments - and by following her instructions - which are very good - I managed to do a chain stitch. And I started trying to crochet into it. That pitiful little chain has sat ignored now for at least two months.


What happened next is that I picked up Generation T: Beyond Fashion by Megan Nicolay after a trip to the Knittn' Kitten (Portland's own crafty thrift store - I go on about it in depth here) and had an incredible brainstorm - a way to make myself a scarf that incorporated crochet - totally recycled, and without crocheting a stitch myself!

Doilies my friend, the answer is doilies.

And the result is this nifty doily scarf made from crocheted doilies from the Knittn' Kitten and a bunch of old t-shirts.



And yes, you can learn how to make it by dropping by the Knittn' Kitten and picking up the free project sheet - and while you're there, you can buy a few doilies or other other lacy tidbits and maybe some knit fabric at incredibly low prices. Ethel, one of the owners, showed me some knit velvet and velours that I think would work very nicely for this project . . .

Of course, the project sheet has a few bonuses - 'cause, well, doilies are just utterly inspirational. See, you can use them as stencils. . .

How could I resist?

And, if you missed the other free project sheets available at your favorite local crafty thrift store, it's not too late! I was in the other day picking up a few things . . . and found project sheets for all the projects to date (I picked up Sister Diane's tea towel pattern) - as well as some nifty beads and baubles:


For those of you who are just dying for all seven of the amazing Knittn' Kitten tutorials from such local luminaries as Heather Mann of DollarStoreCrafts, Teresa Sullivan, Diane Gilleland of CraftyPod, Joey Groendes, Christine Blystone, Susan Beal, Lee Meredith, and well, me, but don't live in town - you're in luck! Towards the end of November, all of these projects will be available as an e-Book from Sister Diane.

Or, if you're in a hurry for the crafty goodness, check out the e-Book Crafty Tree Trimmings - it's another collaborative of crafty instructions benefiting a good cause - 15% of sales go to Project Linus!

More fun with Plastic . . .

Once again, I'm throwing myself out there and making more stuff out of reclaimed plastic. I joined up with the latest episode of Leave No Plastic Behind's art challenge, and have been saving large swathes of the plastics I consume . . . plastic bags, plastic bottle caps, bags from frozen foods, straws, lids, clamshells, candy wrappers, tub lids . . . fact is, I produce a lot more plastic than I ever thought I did.

The challenge, of course, is two-fold: one, to make art from the plastics and two, to change your habits so you don't use as much plastic. Let's just say I'm doing really well on the first, and struggling with the second . . .

I found this great tutorial on Etsy for fusing plastic bags. I had plastic bags from my trip to Mexico last year, from frozen veggies, from the Food Day newspaper that gets delivered whether I want it or not . . . So I fused them (with good ventilation, of course) and created squares . . . which I stitched up into this cool quilt square!


Of course, I'm still working with my first love in the world of reclaimed plastics, plastic bottle caps. I made another chandelier, this one for Tribute Gallery in NW Portland:






And, thanks to some friends, I've discovered more artists and creative folks out there making great stuff out of reclaimed plastics . . .


This amazing image of a curtain made of plastic bottlecaps was sent to me by Alea over at Bonewerx - to see more, check out the Dutch wiki the images came from!

And then there's this installation at Rice University by Aurora Robson (photo by Nash Baker) called "The Great Indoors" made entirely of reclaimed plastics . . .those dark curly lines? All bottlecaps!!

Dia de los Muertos: Eye Candy and Sugar Skulls

A little eye candy from my Day of the Dead art making adventures . . .

A couple of ATC's I made for a Day of the Dead themed
swap on Swap Bot . . . with pictures that I took in Oaxaca last year.

The ofrenda or altar I made for my home . . . a place to honor
my late father and grandparents, and the late loved ones of my guests.

and here's me dressed as a Frida Kahlo calavera . . .

for the Day of the Dead procession and last Thursday
art opening on NE Alberta.

Friends came over on Dia de los Muertos to decorate sugar skulls . . .

Here are some of the results of our efforts . . .

I'm lovin' the creativity . . .

Check out the rose gripped in her teeth!

And this one still in process . . .

It's a wonderful holiday that allows us to honor our loved ones who have
passed and be so creative all at the same time!

DEMO: Sugar Skulls for Day of the Dead

DEMO: Sugar Skulls



Sugar skulls are one traditional and crafty part of the traditional Mexican celebration, Dias de los Muertos, or Days of the Dead. During this time - usually celebrated from October 31 to November 2nd (depending on the part of Mexico) and adapted from ancient Aztec rituals and the Catholic celebrations of All Saints' Day and All Souls' Day - families and communities put up "ofrendas" or altars to honor and celebrate the dearly departed who come and visit. The sugar skulls are decorated, and often inscribed on the forehead with the name of the recipient - who can be either living or dead! They might be placed on the ofrenda, or given as a gift.

I learned how to make sugar skulls last year from Cathy of Bossa Nova Baby - and you can check out my post about it here! She didn't teach it this year, and I've been getting ready for a Sugar Skull Decorating party this weekend, so I thought I'd share the recipes and directions with you! It might be a bit late to prepare for this year, but you can get all the supplies you need for next year on this website, www.mexicansugarskull.com. If you're local to Portland, OR, you can get the supplies at The Decorette Shop and at Global Exchange (they carry the molds!). Global Exchange also has stores in San Francisco and Berkeley.

Materials

To cast the skulls:

• Sugar skull molds, like those from MexicanSugarSkull.com Trim the molds so each piece is individual and has a 1" plastic border. Skulls come in small one-part molds, as well as medium and large two-part molds.
  
• 5 lbs granulated sugar
• 1/4 cup meringue powder (available from cake decorating stores)
  
• 10 teaspoons water
• Cardboard squares slightly larger than the size of the trimmed molds you're using
  

To decorate the skulls:

Royal Icing

• 2 lbs powdered sugar
• 1/2 cup meringue powder
• 2/3 cup water
  

• Concentrated food coloring paste (like that found at cake decorating shops)

Additional Decorating Materials

• Sequins, Tiny Paper Flowers, Metallic Leaves, Googly Eyes, Acrylic Gems, Thin Paper Foil, other small sparkly bits - again, many available at craft supply stores or cake decorating stores
  
• Cake decorating tips and icing bags
  

Instructions

1. Mix the ingredients together for the sugar skulls - water, granulated sugar, meringue powder as listed above. Use your hands to evenly distribute the water throughout
the sugar. The sugar should feel like beach sand, and if you press your fingers into it, it should leave a clear impression. It won't feel wet.

2. Press the sugar into the trimmed mold. Press firmly. Fill it over the top.

3. Scrape off the excess - leave the back flat.

4. Lay the cardboard over the back of the mold, and flip it over. Gently lift the mold off.
If it cracks, you may not have enough water - dump it back in and lightly mist the sugar mixture.
If it sticks to the mold, you have too much water in the sugar. Try mixing it more.

5. Let the skull dry on the cardboard for 5-12 hours, or until it's hard to the touch.
Drying time will vary depending on the size of the mold and the ambient humidity.

6. Even after 12 hours, medium and large skulls will not be dry all the way
through. You will want to hollow them out, but leave at least a 1/2 inch wall thickness
and don't scoop into the neck area. Scoop out the moist sugar - it can be reused.
Now let them finish drying - another 5-12 hours.

7. Once both parts of the two-part skulls are dry, they will need to be "glued" together. Now it's time to mix up your Royal Icing! Blend the ingredients together and use an electric mixer at high speed to mix them together thoroughly. You will want to mix the icing until the icing holds firm peaks - 5 to 10 minutes.

8. Put a 1/2 cup or so of royal icing in a pastry tube and squeeze a bead of icing onto
both halves of the two-part skull. Put the rest in an airtight container, but do not refrigerate it.

9. Squeeze both halves of the skull together. Wipe away any excess
icing that oozes out. Let it dry another few hours. This kind of icing dries like cement -
it's the same kind that is used to put together gingerbread houses.

10. Now, you're ready to decorate! You can mix icing together
with concentrated food coloring to color it. Put each color in its own icing bag. I like to use #2 round tips to get a clean precise line for decorating. Again, this stuff will dry really hard!

11. And you can use the icing almost like glue to attach googly eyes, sequins,
foil, or little paper flowers as part of your decoration.

You can save these from year to year - though they last better in dry climates than in humid ones. And, if you stick to using only edible ornaments - just icing and cake decorating gems - they are edible! Enjoy!

Edited to add: You can also use this same process to make and decorate things like easter eggs or holiday trees! All you need is the right 3-D candy mold! Locally, check out the Decorette Shop for molds you like or just google "candy molds 3D" and you'll get more results - and ideas - than you'll know what to do with!

Where these things lead . . .

I posted a while back about the classes I took at Art & Soul here in Portland this year, including one with Katie Kendrick. I did a bunch of little spontaneous paintings, and some of them have turned into other things . . .

LIke these two Bee ATC's for a swap on Swap-Bot. I also did a bunch of ATC's for Portland Open Studios Valentine's day cards, to be delivered to our friends at the press in February of 2010. And I forgot to scan them first.

And I just made a few collages, cutting pieces apart and recombining them. Here, I used a bit of a piece that had involved strategic use of a plastic doily dipped in liquid acrylic as a highlight (hence my search for my own plastic doilies. none at the dollar store, so after repeated trolling on-line, I am victorious! After several tries, I finally won an eBay auction for some this week!).


Here, more plastic doily goodness, and a tiny punched out bird that was in our class goody bag. Apparently, it's a Martha Stewart paper punch. I love the design, did an on-line search, and yes - won another eBay auction!

So - in answer to the implied question in the title, taking art classes leads to buying things on eBay.