Category Archives: Crafting

About me, Crafting

When Smoke Gets In Your Eyes…

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…and lungs, and hair, and the air filter in the furnace because your using the fan to help circulate air from the window AC. I left the fan on when I went away for three weeks. When I came back the filter was seriously clogged from the wildfire smoke. I changed the filer and three weeks later changed it again. It was not as bad as the first but still worse than when I run the furnace for a month.

It was funny because the filter is rated to up to 90 days. It’s only been 18 days since I changed the filter and its about due to be changed. But you know, climate change isn’t really a thing. Yeah, and my sarcasm knob is turned up as high as it goes and that’s not high enough. I’m just as at fault as everyone else.

I have two ceiling fans going on the main floor and a window fan in the half-story blowing hot air out. The furnace fan pulls cool air from the window AC when it’s on and circulates it from the air returns along with air it pulls in from outside through the ground floor.

I drive too much. I would drive less but not every bus will get me where I need to go even with walking some distance. I do try to consolidate trips and confine them to one area at a time. The city revised the bus system so there are now fewer routes that just circle the city and some of the places I could go by bus within an hours time take almost twice as long because there’s no longer a direct bus.

Well, back to business. There will be more crafting news coming. The problems I’ve been having are just about resolved. I should have more time now. There is still a lot of smoke in the air. Breathing is rough. Eventually, the fires will burn out and the air will clear, until next time.

Crafting, Paper Crafts

Faux Leather for journal covers

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Only two members showed up for my faux leather session. We were turning paper grocery bags into a leather textured material for journal covers.

There are a number of videos on YouTube and several blog posts about the process. The technique we used consisted of opening a bag’s seam, smoothing it somewhat flat, and trimming it into a rectangle. Then it was sprayed either with plain water or a mixture of water and a softening agent such as glycerin, hair conditioner, or hand lotion. We used hair conditioner mixed one part conditioner to two parts water in a spray bottle.

After spraying the paper, we crumpled it and squeezed it in several different directions to form wrinkles of varying sizes. We smoothed our papers, sprayed the paper with more of the conditioner mixture, and crumpled the paper again. We smoothed and sprayed and crumpled until we were satisfied with the texture.

Our next step was to smooth the paper, and dab diluted acrylic paint in various shades of brown onto the surface with cosmetic sponges and brushes. We used a heat gun to damp dry the paper and apply more paint. Once we were satisfied with how our sheets looked, we used a heat gun to dry the base.

Once the surface was dry, a couple of coats of Mod Podge were applied to give a shine like finished leather to the paper, allowing each coat to dry before applying the next coat.

The faux leather is somewhat fragile and should be lined with something like muslin or even paper. The lining should be glued on with a glue such as Beacon 3-in-1 or Aleene’s Fabric Fusion if using fabric or Aleene’s Tacky Glue if using paper as a lining. I also advise sewing the faux leather and lining together around the edges after trimming the piece to the size you want.

The faux leather can be used as a binding for a journal. It can be cut into shapes for embellishments. And with care, can be used for earrings if a stronger sealant is used on both sides. It won’t be something to be used for items that get a lot of handling or wear, but you can experiment and find out what works.

A sheet of Faux Leather from a grocery bag.
A journal covered in Faux Leather.
Crafting, Mostly me

I wanted to take it easy today.

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However, I was looking for my cash box which I wrongly remembered as being in the basement. When I didn’t find it there, I went up to the closet in the main room of the half-story. Big mistake. It was like finding a pirate’s hoard, except it was just stuff. I have three air mattresses up there. I found boxes and bins of forgotten yarn.

I already have too many bins of yarn under my bed, and in small bins stashed on shelves of one of three bookcases in the living room. Plus there was a big box of yarn upstairs that was not hidden away. Fortunately, I only have to hold on to the yarn upstairs until the next prison yarn drive. There’s a program that teaches inmates to knit and crochet. I’ve donated lots of yarn for three years. I swear it multiplies in the bins.

I found many treasures up there. Handmade dolls and toys including a couple of dolls I made for my son when he was a toddler. There were dolls I made my youngest granddaughter. And all kinds of art projects from both of them that are carefully put away. I found an entire bin of my granddaughter’s art work that she made on our Saturday afternoons together. I plan to bind them into several books – there are a lot of drawings and paintings.

I did not find my cash box which was the entire reason for the treasure hunt. I did get everything put away and a bit better organized. The yarn got moved to the front so I don’t forget it. I searched a different part of the basement, but didn’t find the cash box there either.

So off to the garage again. I had moved the bins that I previously thought were missing. If I had labelled them, they would not have been missing since they were clearly visible as storage containers, but not as craft show containers. I found the cash box.

I’m making a list for what I need for set-up on Friday, double-checking that everything is priced and in the app for the card reader so I don’t have to use a calculator. It took a couple of hours to verify everything and get additional labels made. There are still a few things to do tomorrow like getting the display items gathered, but for the most part, I am done.

I used the weed whacker to clean out cracks in the concrete part of the driveway and started edging the asphalt and prepping for crack filler. I also used critter repellant in my flower pots because the chipmunks and squirrels were digging in them. Then I mowed the backyard and arranged the furniture.

Now I need to set things up to get an idea of how my displays will look and to swap out containers and supports as needed. I have two days.

Crafting, Stuff

Pricing the items is almost done and other boring news.

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Everything except the zines has a price sticker. I will also have a price list posted with general info. Most of the items I’m taking for the sale fit into one under-the-bed storage bin. The two book planters have their own boxes for transport and the folded page book will fit in a bag. Those three items will be transported in a large tote.

I’m ready to do a set-up in the garage tomorrow so I know what fixtures will fit in the limited space. I’m confined to just 1 table. Normally, I spread out onto at least two, but space is limited to the floor plan I drew up. If the landlord allowed us to use the parking lot, I would set up differently, but we would be required to have additional liability insurance. Our booth fees would have to go up to cover it.

Thursday evening, we will mark the booth locations and set up tables. I’m contributing 4 plus the one I’ll be using. I used to have 7 tables but I gave away two. I don’t have a lot of parties anymore, so I don’t need all the stuff. For instance, I used to be able to feed 50 at a time. I’d invite 40 people to my annual Halloween parties. My current house is half the size of the last place I lived. I didn’t get rid of much, so it’s cozy. At least it’s not hoarder cozy.

Now if I could just remember where I stuck the cash box. I think it’s in the basement because it wasn’t in the bins in the garage. I’ll have to take a look. If I can’t find it, I do have a small cabinet with drawers that I take. I can use the bottom drawer as the cash drawer. Everything is rounded up to include tax so I don’t need coins for change. The cabinet holds business cards, receipt books, the card reader, assorted odds and ends, as well as my seller’s permit and tax ID. Even though I haven’t sold anything due to Covid, I kept my paperwork current.

Now I have to clean the messes I have made and the parts of the house I’ve neglected. It’s not bad. Lawn mowing, refrigerator cleaning, mopping, dusting. The two rooms that are always clean are my bedroom and the bathroom. The rest of the house varies, but the upstairs gets the messiest because that’s where I work. I wind up with paper scraps everywhere. Fun, fun, fun.