Category Archives: Crafts

Things I make and thinkgs other people make that I like.

September 12, 2011 · 12:05 am

Rust and Gray and a Custom Necklace

When I went to Santa Fe, NM this past spring, I went a bit crazy with my jewelry-buying. There were so many cool artisans in New Mexico and so many unique materials and designs.

Two stone miners/jewelry designers working at a table at an outdoor art market made this for me on the spot. They had hundreds of stones to choose from and, after choosing one, they’d wrap it in silver “while-u-wait.” I wish I could remember the name of the stone. The guys, if you’re ever in Santa Fe, work at the tables next to the Inn at Loretto.

As a side note, Loretto is a chapel in the old part of Santa Fe. It houses a beautiful spiral staircase, to which a few miracles have been attributed. I hate to break it to you, but it looks like a case of fine carpentry and sound engineering. The only miracle I can think of is that no one fell off the staircase. It was built without a railing and one wasn’t added until ten years later.

Anyway, skeptisism aside, after I got home, I realized the stone pendant would go nicely with my rust and gray tunic. So I wore them together with skinny jeans and ballet flats.

Top: JC Penneys
Jeans: JC Penneys
Pendant: Santa Fe street vendor
Cuff: Greenbelts
Shoes: Urban Outfitters
Bag: Nine West via thrifted

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Filed under Architecture, Art, Crafts, Fashion

Tagged as ballet flats, fashion, Loretto Chapel, necklace, Santa Fe, skinny jeans, style

August 2, 2011 · 5:48 am

Cool Blue Summer Style

I call this my Urban Craft Uprising outfit because my earrings, skirt, and bag are from my recent adventures at the UCU show. This is a great travel outfit (rollable, packable, wrinkle-free) and it’s so comfortable.

Top: Papaya
Skirt: Erin MacLeod
Shoes: Timberland
Earrings: Designated Dryden
Bag: Crystalyn Kae

The one-size skirt is by Portland designer Erin MacLeod. I have a couple of other skirts by her. They have a row of snaps as a waistband and are fully adjustable.

The bag is my latest Crystalyn Kae, a design collection made right here in Seattle. It holds my laptop but will be a great carry-on piece when I fly. My friends with children thought it would make a stylish diaper bag too.

The earrings are from Designated Dryden, another Portland-area designer. Dryden makes affordable, fun jewelry. I plan to visit her Etsy site soon.

I really enjoy supporting local designers and merchants. I love how these pieces are high-quality, handmade, and one-of-a-kind. Do you have locally made items? What are your favorite local shops?

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Filed under Crafts, Fashion

Tagged as crafts, Crystalyn Kae, Designated Drysden, Erin MacLeod, fashion, jewelry, local, style

July 27, 2011 · 6:25 am

Urban Craft Uprising

I recently attended Urban Craft Uprising at the Seattle Center. If you think of knitted slippers and quilted tea cosies when you think of crafts, think again. UCU is a very rock ‘n’ roll craft affair. The vendors are young, modern trendsetters and they create wonderful arts and crafts—from handmade soaps and jewelry to one-of-a-kind hats and bags.

I bought a few things that I’ll be showing off in future posts, including two skirts from Erin MacLeod, and an amazing bag from Crystalyn Kae. The funny thing is that the first time I posted about my Crystalyn Kae Clutch, I was wearing my Erin MacLeod skirt. At UCU, I got to meet Erin and Crystalyn.

Meeting Crystalyn was great. She’s so friendly and personable and loves what she does (heck, I love what she does too). It was hard to decide which bag to buy. Can you blame me? There was such a great selection of shoulder bags, clutches in cool new colors, and (what I eventually chose) larger laptop-type bags.

Her bags are all hand-crafted in Seattle using beautiful vintage fabrics, a surprisingly realistic leather alternative called glazed fabric, and sometimes, reclaimed leather.

Erin MacLeod specializes in amazing one-size-fits-most, wrap-around snap skirts. The skirts are really comfortable and flattering and come in a wide array of colors. Erin spends most of her time making skirts, and not a lot of time building her website (which, if you think about it is preferable to the other way around). You might not find a lot online, but she welcomes email. So if there’s a skirt you’re looking for or you want to know where she’ll be vending next, drop her a line.

I’ll model the skirts for you in future posts. I already had a winter-weight plaid skirt, so I bought two lighter fabrics this time. One in cool tones and one in warm tones. I put them in my new tote from Crystalyn, finished shopping at UCU, and grabbed lunch at a Thai restaurant down the street from the Seattle Center.

The next UCU is on December 3rd and 4th, just in time for gift shopping. Mark your calendars. On your way, look for the Space Needle, the monorail, and Experience Music Project. When you see all three, you’re almost there!

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Filed under Crafts, Fashion

Tagged as crafts, Crystalyn Kae, Erin MacLeod, fashion, skirts, style, tote, vegan bag, vegan purse

July 19, 2011 · 7:58 pm

Wedgwood Art Festival

Nothing says summer like an art festival. Practically every weekend all summer long different Seattle neighborhoods hold festivals where people gather to eat, drink, listen to music, enjoy the weather, and of course, shop.

My friend Lynn is a volunteer coordinator for the Wedgwood Art Festival, and encouraged me to sign up for a shift as a photographer. I was excited to be an officially sanctioned picture-taker for the day and ended up capturing about 125 photos. Here are a few of my favorites:

Lynn was also a vendor at the festival. Here are her soy candle B-lights. They’re tiny candles in wine cap lids.

The weather was perfect, and as I wandered around the festival, I ended up buying a few things. At Laughing Girl Arts I found an adorable ring. You’ll see it in a future outfit post. Here’s a sample of what her booth had to offer:

I bought a scarf from Tasha’s Accessories. There were so many beautiful, soft fabrics that is was hard to decide (I chose the giraffe print).

I was intrigued by the recycled metal sculptures at this booth, and suddenly wished I had a yard to put one in:

In addition to these booths, there was handblown glass, photography, quilts, dolls, watercolor, pastels, gift cards, woodwork, and so much more. Kids had their faces painted, I had a delicious vegan quesadilla, and I listened to music and wandered around in the sun. I met the author of The Lost Sea Cat, a children’s book, and I petted many a dog.

Check out the Festival website and don’t forget to like them on Facebook.

I’ll be heading off to more art fairs this summer. Do you have plans to visit some as well? What’s the best score you’ve found at a street fair?

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Filed under Art, Crafts

Tagged as art, craft fair, crafts, decor, style

July 6, 2011 · 6:04 am

Another Cable-Knit Pillow

My first cable-knit pillow sold on Etsy so I decided to make a few more. I bought some cable-knit sweaters at Goodwill and washed them. So far, I’ve completed one. The others will be ready soon.

First, I flipped the sweater inside out, measured and marked a square the size of my pillow form (I bought a pillow casing at a craft store), and sewed it on three sides. Then I cut it and turned it right-side out. I used the sweater’s original finishing at the waist as my fourth side. I slipped the casing inside the cover and sewed it shut with two non-functioning brass buttons. If that sounds like too much work, you can just buy this one.

After I cut apart the sweater, the remnants looked rather appealing. I tried it on and whaddaya know. It’s bold, it’s unconventional, but it’s stylish.

By a weird coincidence, unbeknownst to me until I was surfing around blogs a couple of days ago, I found a DIY project showing how to make such a cropped sweater. And the idea originally came from Preen, a London-based design label often described as evocative and sexual. Maybe I’m not so crazy after all. Well, except that when I wear this, I want to say (in a Dieter from Sprockets voice) “I turned this sweater into a pillow but the sleeves still work.” That’s a bit crazy.

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Filed under Crafts, Decor, DIY, Fashion

Tagged as cable-knit, crafts, decor, DIY, pillow, style, upcycling

June 22, 2011 · 6:33 am

Upcycling a Necklace

I bought a cheapie necklace on sale a few years ago and wore it only once. It was the wrong length, the charms weren’t in the right places, it just didn’t work. So, I thought about ways to change it. I like sculptural, asymmetrical pieces and figured I had nothing to lose by trying to change this long strand into something different. I grabbed a pair of needle-nose pliers and off I went.

Before

After

Here’s the necklace on me so you can see how it lies. I also wore it on Day 6 of the 30 for 30 challenge.

I hadn’t planned on making earrings but I had extra chain and charms when I’d finished the necklace so I grabbed a few hook backs from my craft supplies and ended up with three new pairs!

If you have a before-and-after story to share, tell me in the comment and link to your post if you have one.

6 Comments

Filed under Crafts, DIY, Fashion, Thrifty

Tagged as DIY, earrings, fashion, jewelry, necklace, style, thrifty fashion, upcycling

May 20, 2011 · 12:39 am

Leaving Santa Fe

All good things must end. And so my trip to Santa Fe came to a close. It was a fabulous city, and a great location for a long weekend of art, shopping, food, and friends.

The day before we left, my friends and I tallied up the jewelry we’d purchased during our stay. It was impressive.

We found great pieces by local designers. Turquoise was the big hit, but we snapped up pieces in amethyst and other materials too. The morning of our departure, Cheryl and I wandered from our hotel, the Inn at Loretto, to the open-air artist market next door and bought even more jewelry.

We met two artists who collect semi precious stones and polish and refine them. They will wrap any piece in silver and create a ring or a pendent. Cheryl had a turquoise ring made. They made me a pendent. Here’s my pendant, and a trilobite fossil pendant I picked up from them as well.

The jewelry shops are pricier than the street vendors, but even by street vendors prices, these guys were reasonable. The pendants were $30 each.

In my rush to get authentic Southwest jewelry while I could, I snapped up a few pieces of Native American jewelry from another artist. His prices were terrific too, and all the pieces are made by him. I bought a bracelet, two necklaces, and three pair of earrings. Their style was similar to a bracelet (also in the following picture, in the upper-right corner) I bought earlier at the Farmers’ Market.

While browsing the outdoor market, I met Takako, a Japanese expat living and designing in Santa Fe. I bought one of her fantastic silver and amethyst rings.

My other pieces, that I’d purchased earlier in the trip, include a fair-trade, hand-woven bracelet by Lilybead…

And an enameled metal necklace from Dancing Turtle Studios. I found their booth at the Farmer’s Market too.

I really enjoyed meeting the artists who created these pieces. The jewelry is a souvenir of my trip and will always be special to me because each piece has a story behind it.

The end of our trip wasn’t all about bling. Before we left Santa Fe, Autumn made delicious, refreshing drinks for the four of us. We named it The Blue Loretto. Here’s how to make it:

Four parts Trader Joe’s Sparkling Blueberry Flavored Juice Beverage
One part Vodka
Fresh blueberries
Ice

Directions: Throw all the ingredients in a glass and enjoy. Simple!

I miss Santa Fe. The sun, the art, the adobe architecture, the friendly people. All of what the city offers makes me want to go back. I hope you get to visit too.

1 Comment

Filed under Art, Crafts, Fashion

Tagged as bracelet, earrings, fashion, jewelry, necklace, Santa Fe, style, travel, turquoise

April 16, 2011 · 12:17 am

DIY T-Shirt Scarf

Do I have a project for you! Even if you don’t consider yourself crafty, you can successfully complete this project. And you’ll love the results. I recently joined a DIY project called Made This, Love This. The site was started by Indiana over at Adored Austin.

I’m so glad Indiana started with a simple project: an infinity scarf made from a T-shirt. Best of all—it’s no-sew. I’m inspired! You can find all the instructions at Made This, Love This, but here’s the gist of it:

Find an old T-shirt.
Cut it into strips horizontally (you’ll be saving the circular “tubes” that you cut from hem to armpits; the top half you can ditch).
Stretch the strips so they curl up (this way the edges won’t show).

That’s it! You’re done. The wider your shirt, the longer your infinity scarf will be. The longer your shirt, the more strands you’ll have. Anything works, but the results will vary. I don’t think you can go wrong.

I didn’t follow Indiana’s instructions to a T (pun intended). She recommends not cutting all the way through the side of the shirt. That way, the strands stay together on one side. I cut all the way through mine because I didn’t bother to watch her helpful video until after I finished my scarf.

I’m glad I didn’t keep my strands together though. Having them loose means I can mix and match. I found two T-shirts of similar widths (but different colors) and cut them up. Now I can wear one or the other or I can mix the colors together for a funky, colorful scarf.

Later, I found a much larger T-shirt and cut it up so I could have a longer scarf. It turned out great too. I can easily double it and it hangs loose. I’ve received so many compliments on my scarves and no one can believe I made them (let alone so quickly and easily).

You can make a scarf like this in under ten minutes. Try your own variations: use a patterned T. Mix together strands from a couple of different colored Ts. It’s up to you. And while you’re at it, check out the other scarves that members of Made This, Love This created.

Indiana’s DIY site will have a new idea every month. I encourage you to sign up and join in future projects.

Follow @jeaniebellini

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Filed under Crafts, DIY, Fashion, Thrifty

Tagged as crafts, DIY, fashion, infinity scarf, scarf, style, t-shirt scarf, thrifty fashion

April 4, 2011 · 12:20 am

Imani Necklaces: From Uganda to Me

While reading posts at The Compassion Fashion Project, I found out about an inspiring group of women in Uganda and how they are changing their lives by making and selling jewelry.

The tough part: Their pasts. The women, often victims of war and rape, were forced into the sex industry.

The good news: They are now involved in a community where they receive counselling, education, and job skills. As the Imani website says, the women “are paid fair Ugandan wages for each accessory they produce, are enrolled in a savings program to support their children in school, and receive help with medical issues.”

In my sheltered, privileged life, I haven’t ever had to think in terms of survival. To me, fashion has been fun, even trivial. Now, I can put my money toward items that literally help free a woman from forced prostitution. She can now earn as much money making a necklace as she used to make selling her body.

The necklaces are beautiful. They’re made from recycled magazines, meticulously rolled into beads, and lacquered. Each bead is unique, just like the women who made them. And the women, who were once discarded, give discarded materials new life as something precious and beautiful.

There are many different styles to choose from. Both of mine are colorful and bold. You’ll see me wearing them in upcoming outfit posts. Now you have a reason to shop. Check out the store and buy some jewelry today! The prices are reasonable, and you can’t find a better cause.

Once again, to celebrate National Poetry Month, here’s a poem:

from Phenomenal Woman: Four Poems Celebrating Women
by Maya Angelou

It’s the fire in my eyes,
And the flash of my teeth,
The swing in my waist,
And the joy in my feet.
I’m a woman
Phenomenally.

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Filed under Crafts, Fashion

Tagged as crafts, fashion, Imani, jewelry, necklace, style, Uganda, upcycling

March 6, 2011 · 9:02 pm

Cable-knit Pillow Project

I went to Goodwill this past weekend and got inspired. In addition to the Windows 7 skirt I fashioned from a gigantic men’s t-shirt, I made a cable-knit pillow from a sweater.

Here’s how I did it: Fearing the knit would unravel if I cut the fabric first, I flipped the sweater inside out, measured and marked a 14″ x 14″ section (of the front and back of the sweater and sewed it on three sides. Then I cut it and turned it right-side out. I used the sweater’s original finishing at the waist as my fourth side.

I bought a pillow form, slipped inside the casing, and sewed it shut with three non-functioning buttons. Well, I guess they function as closures for the pillow. They don’t function as buttons because I didn’t add buttonholes (who am I Martha Stewart?).

If absolutely necessary, I can always cut the buttons off and remove the stuffing, but both the pillow and casing are washable so, when needed, I can just throw the whole thing in the machine. That is, if you don’t buy it first. I added the pillow to my Esty shop, just in case someone finds it easier to buy this one instead of making one from scratch.

As always, I give this project an E for easy (I wouldn’t have it any other way).