Zipper Pouches and Crafts

Share your ideas!

Lots of people who wear women's style pants know the agony of not having pockets, and while I've been getting pickier about buying pants with pockets, I still have a few without and I'd love to get input on adding pockets from those of you with the know-how and skill to do so. I'm not great at sewing but I can do small maintanence and think I could pull off some pockets.

My teen's been looking for a good tutorial for storage during RPG events and we saw this easy vinyl zipper pouch tutorial and thought it would work really well on some costumes for storage, too. The good thing about cosplay is that you can work zipper and medicine pouches into your costume and nobody will bat an eye.

What types of pocket, zipper and other storage projects in fabrics have you been working on? Share them with us in the chat!

Klat Categories: 
Style
Arts

Creations by Wood Splitter Lee Cross

Check out these incredible lifelike pieces!

My family has followed Wood Splitter Lee Cross's work for years, and it never ceases to amaze us. Her work is incredible down to the last detail; she hand dyes her fur, builds every piece from scratch and creates posable stuffed creatures  out of the fantasy realm as well as realistic animals. She's the closest you're going to get to a pet griffin or phoenix!

Occasionally I'll run across another artist whose craft is this impressive, but Cross's work is still my favorite. I'd love to see similar crafts made by local artists in your area or even by artists that you only know about online!

Do you make cool poseable fantasy pets? Do you know anyone else who does? Share the coolest ones you find in the chat.

Klat Categories: 
Arts

Tips For Space Pics

These are fantastic for photographers!

Photography is one of those arts that is a mystery to me. I'm sure if I ever took a class and got some tips from a pro I'd be better at it, but I've always found it to be harder than other arts. So resources like this one from Capture the Atlas that help photographers take better photos are especially cool. 

There are some great tips for taking photographs of the Milky Way, from different apps you can use to what equipment to bring. Knowing these little things definitely makes the process feel less intimidating for people like me!

Do you know of any other good tips for space photography--or any types of photography? Share them in the chat! 

Klat Categories: 
Hobbies

Gothic Crafts For Your Home

What are you making? What have you made?

Witchiness is all the rage right now, and I love it. I find myself wanting to paint everything black and purple like my teen self used to do. There are entire groups dedicated to Gothic home decorating, crafting, even gardening!

This gorgeous Gothic stained glass piece is begging to grace one of my doorways, for sure. A Gothic spoon? Yes, please. But my favorite things have to be the fun Dollar Tree and thrift store finds that people just repurpose, which is the majority of what I see. Today I saw a woman paint a hand she'd found for ring displays, adhere it to a block of wood, and display it as a hand coming out of her wall!

What kinds of Gothic projects have you completed or are you working on? I'd love to see them in the chat.

Klat Categories: 
Hobbies
Style
Strange / Unusual

GeekGear Searches For Artists

Do you have something to sell?

Normally I'm not a fan of anyone telling me I need to sell something I'm doing or making. Most people who make any kind of art already know if they'd like to do it as a personal project or for money already, and some people would honestly be unhappy combining business with pleasure. That's okay! But some people do really enjoy it so I thought I'd share this opportunity from GeekGear. 

The company wants to make their subscription boxes more community-driven and they hope to find a bunch of artists to feature in their box. If you have geeky art that you think would be a great fit for the company, or if you know of an artist who makes things that would go perfectly in a box, drop them a line at partners@geekgearbox.com.

Do you sell any of your art? Share your work with us in the chat!

Klat Categories: 
Hobbies
Arts

Steampunk Critters Made From Garbage

Some of the coolest things you'll see today!

Found art is tricky, especially when you're trying to repurpose garbage into something beautiful. It can be difficult to pull off and often results in a Pinterest fail or two, but that's not the case with these sculptures made from old car parts, electronics and other materials.

Artist Igor Veriny has created some absolutely breathtaking pieces with items we'd usually discard every day, from a cool chameleon to a quirky, skeletal cat. My favorite piece has to be the dove, but they're all so neat and inspiring.

Have you seen any other great found art or recycled projects this week? Share it in the chat!

Klat Categories: 
Arts

The Planner Frenzy

Are you a "planner" person?

In the seventh grade, I got my first planner from my junior high school. We were meant to write our assignments in it, and I was hooked. What a fantastic way to remember what you needed to do! I loved to customize my planner, making special boxes for after-school activities, adding quotes and stickers and generally just staying on top of my life and being creative at the same time.

Today I see people everywhere in this sort of planner frenzy. It's all over Pinterest and there are complete aisles at the craft store dedicated to it. Part of me loves it; I can find some neat things for my own planner, after all. But part of me despises it because people typecast me as this "planner" person. I maintain that everyone has to keep track of their appointments and tasks for work, school and so forth, so I'm not different in that respect.

My planner doesn't look pretty to me; it's a bit of a mess, especially since I use the "stickering" to cover up things I didn't get done or to manage my anxiety while I'm not home. You might knit or sew or read a book; I play with stickers in my planner like a kid. I know I'm a little different in that regard, but I think everyone keeps a calendar to track their events, and most writers I know have some way of tracking their work (I also homeschool, so I have a lot to juggle in there). 

So what I want to know is, if you do use a planner and get crafty with it, is it more of a hobby for you or just a part of your life? Do people think you're different you from them because you plan differently? What kinds of things do you use in your planning and what is your goal when you work/play in your planner?

Klat Categories: 
Lifestyle

Gorgeous Moth And Butterfly Sculptures Look Real

The fabric adds a soft touch!

Making not-real things appear real is a struggle for many an artist, but some truly have a gift. Yumi Okita, for example, makes these awe-inspiring creations. Ebroidery, feathers and fabric combined in her hands result in larger-than-life butterflies and moths that look straight out of prehistoric times.

Even up close, as soft as they look, Okita's creations still look real. They are meant to be hung and displayed, making them appear even more realistic while they're in flight.

Have you ever made a piece of art so realistic people swore it was real? What was it?

 

Klat Categories: 
Arts

New Year's Wish Ornaments

What will you write in yours?

Can you believe it's already almost a new year, Crafters? This one rushed by (and, in some cases, crawled slowly, slowly) and it seems to pass more quickly every year. One of my favorite crafts for this time of year is a New Year's Wishing Ball.

You can find empty ornament globes for this in many places; the Dollar Tree even had plastic ones this year. You can fill them with paper confetti, biodegradable glitter, whatever you like, and write your wishes for the New Year on slips of paper to put inside. You can paint them, too. 

Some say you have to smash them to make them come true, but we've kept ours to hang and admire. For an extra pop, write your wishes on origami star paper and fold them into stars!

What are your New Year's wishes or resolutions? Share them and any crafts you're making in the chat!

Klat Categories: 
Holidays

Last Minute Ugly Sweaters

Quick and easy ideas to get you to the party in time

Ugly sweaters are all the rage, but I have to admit that I honestly just think they're adorable. I've seen so many for sale as "ugly sweaters," particularly in various fandoms, but thought they were too cute to be ugly. I've even thought a lot of DIY ones I've seen are really cute, but beauty is in the eye of the beholder and it doesn't take much to qualify! That's why these quick ideas are great for making a really fast, last-minute ugly sweater for your party. It's still a good idea to do this a day or two in advance when possible so your sweater can dry.

Glue a bunch of random things on it. Candy wrappers work well, as do random photos, lightweight office supplies and even car air fresheners!

Glue tinsel ALL over it. You will be the sparkliest person in the room.

Go with a theme. Be static cling and glue a bunch of dryer sheets and socks to your sweater. Do a magnetic theme with some magnets (take the magnets out first!). A cheap set of kid's alphabet magnets would work well for this.

Celebrate your fandom by gluing on minifigs, action figures and other merch (that you don't mind getting glue-y for a night).

Need more ideas? Here are dozens more!

How do you make a last-minute ugly sweater? Share your favorite tips in the chat.

Klat Categories: 
Arts
Holidays

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