2012 MBU Review

All right Kiddos, I decided to wander over to the dark side and soak up what Pinterest has to offer.  I will admit, it is a really fun site to hang out on and see what is popular.  Sort of feels like being invited to hang out with the cool kids at lunch.  But eventually I realized the cool kids aren't all that original, just like in high school.  Now this is not Pinterest's fault, they have created an awesome site that is fun to use and a great way for me to break up my day and find some inspiration.

On the DIY & Craft page in particular, I think I ran into a snag that a lot of people have.  This is finding  a "pin" they think is cool with a link to nothing, no instructions, or not the original blog post.  But worst of all is when you have discovered the craft Holy Grail, so to speak, and you give it a whirl and it fails miserably.  There are sites devoted to the Pinterest Fail, and they are hilarious.  I can't speak for their content but from what I've gathered if you think that you have discovered a DIY that is too good to be true, it probably is and you might be able to fact check on one of these "fail" sites.  Some of them include revised instructions that give people like you and me a chance to get it right.

I few other aspects of the DIY category that were a let down went as follows:

1. Not as many original "Pins"as I had hoped - Often the "Pins" are just repeats of what you've seen just a day ago.
2. Not actually a DIY or a Craft - For example, a "pin" for DIY sugar cookies is just a misuse of the term DIY.  It is called BAKING people and it belongs in the Food and Drink category not DIY.  It wasn't long ago that people cringed at the thought of store bought baked goods, because they had made their grandmother's coveted recipe and it was darn good.  DIY food - HA!
3. I think the biggest let down for me is seeing what most people see as or consider Crafting to be.  According to my computer's dictionary Crafting is defined as - an activity involving skill in making things by hand. - a skilled activity or profession - or the members of a skilled profession.  I agree with this definition.  I am not skilled at the craft of quilt making, I stand back in awe of those who do posses this craft.  I understand the work involved even though I can't do it and because of this understanding I respect the price tag that goes along with a well made quilt.  I will not grab a rotary cutter and a glue gun and create a "Faux Quilt Wall Hanging" with said tools.  I am disappointed in those who promote these sorts of short cuts and "crafts".  It truly undermines our community.

Now all that being said, if you are still with me there are some really cool crafts I did find on Pinterest and I do plan to make them in the future and I will include those happenings here. I have tried to include links back to the post that I found to be the most helpful.

1. An awesome DIY rug or mat is this one  on a blog titled Sara Wandering.  I like that she includes clear instructions and materials, as well as an update on how well the mats have held up, something I really like.  The last thing I want to do is go through  the creative process only to have it fall apart quickly.
2. One of my favorites is a cute package for a small gift or treat.  It is paper strung together so that when tied up it makes a pear.  It took some time to find a blog post in English but I found one and here it is, a Favor Floret.
3. Everyone on Pinterest seems to be gluing candlesticks and plates together for various uses.  I like this particular use I found to brighten up the kitchen sink.  Most of the "pins" look a bit cheap and thrown together.  But this one at JoshuaTrent.com looks sturdy and intentional, and in my opinion the best DIY cake stand yet.  I can't wait to make one for my kitchen
4. The last one I want to include is a tutorial for "shrinkies".  I think they are a really fun activity for kids but I realize the store kits probably get pricey.  This tutorial by rustsunshine is awesome.  It is a recycled material and has great pics.  If the drawings stay on and don't scratch off then I'm sold.  

Now I have a few tips for those of you who gleam lots of inspiration from the marvelous site that is Pinterest,

• Find the original post if you can.  Just like a game of "telephone" key components can get lost when a tutorial is posted and reposed again.
• Evaluate the materials list.  Consider what you have used in the past and ask yourself if the material will actually perform like the blogger claims.  Maybe you have more experience with it than they do and know that their craft will fail in "10, 9, 8, 7 ............" You get the idea.
• Photos, my husband loves to say "look at the picture! No Close ups!"  A smart blogger is going to take the best photo they can.  It is a lot of work to craft for a blog.  So if it doesn't come out exactly as planned they might dig deep in their bag of tricks for a great photo that hides some flaws.  I don't necessarily agree with this but I can see why they might do it.  Trust me if I screw it up, I'll let you know.
• I guess my last tip is Think Long Term.  Ask yourself if it can be washed, played with by a two year old, and used again and again.  If it can't then maybe you want to move on to a different tutorial.  Use your first discovery as inspiration to find the best out there.  Don't waste time and materials on something that won't last more than a minute.

I really have enjoyed this year of crafting, and I know that I will continue to enjoy crafting for life.  I close out this post by saying THANKS! To Pinterest for giving us so much enjoyment, information, tutorials, and inspiration.  I wasn't a fan a year ago, but I am fan now.  Craft on!

MBU House - Week #1

Here is the plan - Redesign as I have the time.  

I am a stay at home mom of three, with a home that is a bit homely if you will.  Don't get me wrong, I love my house, but I'd love it more with a fresh coat of paint and a chance to craft something for every room. Made By U - DIY Craft Studio becomes the MBU - DIY House!  So with a wicked laugh I have brewed up a plan that will take a long time but, in the end I will have something I love.  I invite you to join me.  

Here's the skinny:

• Redesign my house one wall at a time.
• Each week take $20 and put it towards a wall and it's projects.
• If a project or a wall will cost more than $20 to complete, then I will buy as many materials as I can each week, until all the materials are assembled. ( Cause let's face it paint is more than $20 a can)
• To avoid being overwhelmed each project will be chosen one wall at a time
• No moving on from the wall until it is complete.
• Finish every room in my house by the time my 21 month old is in school. ( 3 years - told you it was going to take a long time)

I know, I know the math is a bit scary.  Redesigning my whole house, wall by wall, for just $20 a week, with three kids, and a husband, and a dog!  Bananas!  But I'm crafty what can I say.  

This week I chose a simple project and also a very short wall, we will call it W#1.  W#1 is a wall in my kitchen that I painted with primer almost two years ago and never painted it a final color because I could never choose one I liked.  Until today!  My inspiration and motivation was the large cork board that has hung in my kitchen since the day we moved in.  As cork boards do - it has changed many times over the years but most recently I had it plastered with photos of my kids and nephews.  Not that they aren't cute to look at - but I always needed a place to tack up odds and ends, and the fridge is a no go in my house because as you may know, toddlers love to steal anything from the fridge.  So down came the photos and I was left with a very boring old cork board

I was convinced that I had nothing around to put towards the project but I decided to pick through my fabric stash instead of doing dishes.  Boy am I glad I did, a square of fabric that never seemed interesting suddenly was perfect.  Tea Pots!  Now, what I did with my cork board we have all seen before, but it is just so cute and I just had to do it.  Now I have a color palette for my kitchen to boot.

A quick material list for those of you who haven't made or seen one of these bad boys up close.

• Cork board
• material large enough to cover the area
• pins
• ribbon

Simply cut, pin, cut, pin.  TA - DA!

Next week I will buy rollers and tape, so I can work towards painting the wall behind my lovely cork board.  Check back for updates on the "redesign as I have the time" project continues. Week #1 down 155 weeks to go.  Total money spent $0.00

Great Inspiration!

Well summer is wrapping up for me and my brood.  A busy time of year.  I clearly haven't posted in a while, as I haven't crafted in a while.  This doesn't change the fact that I think of it 90% of the time! 


I have been doing is brain storming for some new ideas and been on the prowl for new materials.  Locally I went and checked out the local leather wholesaler in my town.  What is sold to the public is scraps.  Scrap bins are divided up by size and depending on what you get is then sold by weight.  Larger pieces are around $6 lb.  I really enjoyed looking through the bins and loved my finds.  I can't wait to get started on a few projects.  If you live in western NC check it out.  If not then get your gum shoes on and see what sort of scraps are around your town.

Here are a few of the scraps I bought, the one that looks like snow actually shimmers!

Today I discovered another cool material source, and a free one at that!  One of my favorite Craft Bloggers, who provides endless inspiration to me, is sponsoring a craft give away!  Craft Passion is the coolest site.  I love that she is a working mother and still finds the time to make the coolest stuff.  If you haven't checked out this site you are really missing out.  Just use the link above and follow the instructions for entering in the contest! 


The last site I will steer you towards is MBU's sister - Adorn by Vera.  On my FB page you will see what inspires me as well as what is for sale in my etsy store.  Each are "under construction" check back for update about each! 


So - shop locally, repurpose, recycle, reclaim! Craft on!

Fantastic Felt Flowers!

Well I hope everyone had a great holiday.  I spent a lot of time trying to decide what class MBU should offer first for the summer.  I have decided to offer a studio session focused on felt flowers and using them in a felt flower wreath!

I chose to make my own version of the Fourth of July, with slightly muted colors.  I used a moss for the green leaves, cream for the roses, corn flower blue for the carnations, and a dusty maroon for the filler flower.  I must be attracted to these colors a lot because I put it together with scrap felt and new yarn, purchased separately.  


When you sign up for the class you will receive a kit to complete the wreath, as well as fully instructed studio time.  Your kit will include: yarn, felt, and a wreath form.  MBU will provide glue, scissors, pins, instruction and access to die cuts.


These felt flower wreathes are a lot fun to make I think because there is so much "wow, so that's how you make that" energy and also because they are easy enough to make you could have one for every season.  Check back for dates and times so you can make your very own everlasting, felt flower wreath with MBU!

DIFY

Good Morning Crafters! It's Friday and either you are excited because you can craft more in the next two days, or you are closing it up and shutting it down for the weekend like me.  Either way you schedule your time, crafting finds it's way into your week somehow and the weeks it doesn't you probably wish it had.  Sometimes we get stuck in a rut.  It happens to us all.  Here are some suggestions to clear the cobwebs and get the creative, craft, gears turning.


One of my favorite things is to do an image search.  When I say that people say "oh you like ________" and I won't mention the rest,(a site I don't care for) no I like to start from my favorite search engine and type in a word, and choose images instead of text.  You will love what turns up.  See I here,  I typed "birds" - then selected "images" and got page after page of beautiful bird.

This particular bird inspires a great color pallet for me.  After that I could just hold on to this image as a reminder or I could take it over to a "color pallet generator" web site (search for one and you'll get tons).  You just give it a photo and poof - color names!


If colors come easily for you and your problem is what to bedazzle next then take inventory of what you need at home.  Making a useful craft is what my goal is most of the time.  Sure - pretty things are fun, but something tells me that if you've been crafting for any amount of time then you made just about anything you can out of your favorite medium and it is beautiful. But don't let that stop you.  I wasn't really into crafting for a long time (crazy I know).  I had tried for years to find some success in making jewelry.  I was not successful.   This lead me into a huge rut, but one day I came home to no carpet and beautiful hardwood floors.  I suddenly needed a rug and we had just spent our money on the floors, rugs would have to wait.  One day with my cold, bear, feet I decided to research how a rug is made.  I wondered if there was anyway I could make one myself.  I searched rug making and holy cow, there are so many ways to make a rug, you just have to pick which one you like best.  Necessity being the mother of invention, I ended up being so inspired by textiles that I no longer make jewelry and now I am fiber artist.  I'm not saying you will abandon what you love now, I still love making jewelry; but so do a lot of people and a lot better than me.  So I decided to leave it to who do it best.  Just don't be afraid to branch out and see where it takes you?  


Enjoy your crafts, but don't be afraid to get inspired.  Try something new.  And by all means don't forget that doing it yourself (DIY) is just as important as doing it for yourself (DIFY). Craft On!

Locker Hooking - a DIY anything project

The Craft studio has been busy.  I am the kind of person who can put a project down and come back to it later.  In the mean time I usually start another project.  I realize that creatively sometimes I just have to stop and find the inspiration to come back to a project refreshed and revived.  Otherwise my work is sloppy and no good.  


I am currently working on two Locker Hooking projects.  Each of them will take a considerable amount of time and energy so I am letting them.  Like a good cup of coffee, you have to wait for it to cool a little, you can't just chug it down.  It is this rationalization that has allowed me to take my time with my crafting projects guilt free.


Back to Locker Hooking.  No - locker hooking isn't some "skeezy" practice in seedy locker rooms, it is a sad and unfortunate name to a craft I really enjoy.  It comes from  hooking  loops of material up through rug canvas and then locking them in place with string. 
Locker hooking is such a versatile, and durable craft that it has become a main inspiration in the MBU - DIY Craft Studio.  Not only are the materials cheap, but you can recycle an old bed sheet into your new placemat, or pillow, or bracelet, or rug.  I just love that.  You are folding laundry one day and decide that you just hate a certain shirt &  you are short a bath mat, then viola! New bath mat.  


My most recent completion was a hot pad for the kitchen.  My MIL gave me a "jelly roll" of the cutest fabrics.  I knew that I wanted to make something useful with the fabric, but it had to be small.  I decided I would use a #6 canvas (because I had some), and cranked this little baby out in my spare seconds over a few days time.  I have 3 kids and can only craft in very small bursts, so spare seconds it is.  If you had peace and quiet then you could make on in just a few hours.

The project that is currently waiting for further inspiration is a wall hanging I call "jewels in the snow".  Here is a close up picture of it in progress:

See the rug canvas up at the top, between the white?  I also used #6 canvas for this project and different bulky yarns. 

This leads me to the project that has highjacked my time from the wall hanging.  The project being 4 super ugly chairs sitting around my table.  They are hand-me-downs that I gladly accepted because my oldest got stuck in the broken down "rushing" in our even older chairs.  Which I plan to fix later - but that is another blog post :)  Anyway, the chairs are oak and could be nice but are in various states of "ugh", because the finish is peeling.  So I am currently sanding them one by one and will refinish them, but this time they will be completed with beautiful locker hooked seat pads.  Check back for a tutorial of the chair project.

You'll need 5 things to Locker Hook a beautiful project:

1. Rug Canvas
2. Locker Hook
3. Locking Medium (string)
4. Yarn, Roving, or Cotton material torn into strips
5. Tapestry Needle

There are many web sites where you can order these materials, one of my favorites is colorcrazy.com.  There you can find materials, patterns, clearer explanations  of locker hooking, videos, books, you name it - it's there.  The author of the books and site Theresa Pulido also gives a great history of the craft  as well.  Locker hooking is a fun, durable craft, that can add a lot of beauty to just about anything you want to make. Check it out!

Hello World

Hello World!
Welcome to MBU, the DIY Craft Studio blog!  Here you will find reviews for many crafting tools, materials, and the merchants that sell them.  Of course you will also find tutorials as well as updates on when the Craft Studio will be in session!

Made By U - DIY Craft Studio is new way to enjoy crafting.  

We all love to craft.  

No bones about that, but sometimes there are a few draw backs to pursuing our deepest love.  Three of the biggest complaints I hear from crafters are these:

• Distractions - dog, cat, kids, spouse, dishes - you get the idea.

• Space - we all have a spot where crafting is taking over, but that spot is still needed for other things like, oh I don't know, eating.

• $$$$$ - ANYONE can craft - Martha taught us that - you just have to have the right tools and they don't come cheap.  

Have you ever gotten stuck in a project and realize you just have to have the doo-hicky to finish it?  The doo-hicky is that tool that stares at you every trip to the craft store.  You pass it over every time because your secret number flashes in your mind when you look at it.  Your secret number being the total money spent on loving your craft.  A number you would confess to no one but know by heart.  Well MBU can save you the guilt.  

MBU eliminates the distractions (because you come to us and hopefully don't bring your cat with you), gives you space so you can spread out while you work and store it with us if you like, and saves you cash by having all the doo-hickys on hand for you to use (then you don't have to buy one)!  

I am excited today because I have a doo-hicky (sorry couldn't resist typing it one more time) ordered and in the mail that I have wanted, wanted, wanted since I knew of it's existence.  This tool of course is the Sizzix BIGkick. 

Now most of you are familiar with Sizzix and all of it's wonderful glory, but this little mama is getting there & I simply can't wait for it to get here.  This little machine will be put to work quickly as we have 3 up-and-coming Studio Sessions this summer and the BIGkick is really going to make things happen. Check back for WW&W (when, where & what) we will be crafting!

Anyone have a "Did you Know?" or tip to share about any Sizzix tool?  As always we love suggestions for Studio Session themes or ideas.