A blog about

A BLOG ABOUT CRAFTING ADVENTURES IN THE FAR NORTH

Thursday, July 30, 2009

One Red Lady

well, it's official - cap'n's thumbs are green!
i mean, i'd love to take credit for our indoor garden, but the truth is cap'n diligently waters each morning and puts on his bee suit each evening (ok, i just wish he did when he pollinated!)

but the red lady above was the first green guy to sprout- before we artificially swapped pollen! yes, this tomato is 100% natural.
thank you nature.

Tuesday, July 28, 2009

Alaskan Crafts Profile: Taxidermy

about a month ago i was in Haines (a little town up the coast from Juneau) having a deliciously crafted homebrew at the Haines Brewfest and suddenly craft column inspiration hit me!

what is the quintessential Alaskan Craft (besides brewing craft beer)? Taxidermy! It may take a second to get the connection, but I assure you taxidermists are multi-talented crafters and masters of their domain.

So, this weeks article is dedicated to the art of preserving and mounting animals- a fascinating subject. Find the article here with some images. And check out more images below-

you can purchase these high-density foam deer head mounts pre-made. they are carvable!

the bear's hide gets stretched evenly and nailed down (in preparation to become a rug).
the hide gets stretched around the head mount, glued and pinned.
parts of the hide will have to be pleated and stitched to create a flat rug.
neat huh? these are musk ox horns- not every day you get to see these up close!
the pinned hide gets epoxied into the mouth and then airbrushed with several colors to create a realistic face. i would not want to meet that guy anywhere around town!

Sunday, July 26, 2009

Crafty Raven Pincushion

here are raven sisters Berry and Blue.
they are the best of friends, but they aren't sure about the new raven in town, Peachy.
but honestly Peachy is more interested in you than in Berry and Blue.
Peachy, Berry and Blue are all handmade pincushions living out their dramas in the tpALASKA etsy store. i am sure they would much rather be used in someones home. a magnet tail keeps needles in place and the rest is filled with batting for pins galore.

not only are they sold online they are also in local stores in Alaska, and i hope to put up a pattern on Etsy soon.

Friday, July 24, 2009

shoes shoes shoes!

clarks at around $99
well, shoes aren't exactly crafts, but I love them just the same. today i am doing a bit of online shopping for the perfect shoe . . . because i live in a remote town which has 0 dedicated clothing stores and 1 fabulous shoe store, that currently isn't holding just that pair I need. desperate times call for desperate measures.naturalizers at $75
not that i'm that desperate, but i have a wedding to go to (excuses excuses!) and it doesn't hurt to windernet shop! (that was an amalgamation of window and internet if you didn't get that). so check out my picks and let me know what you think!Anthropologie $150
btw- i'm looking for vintagey heels with a modern twist- not too tall, but with some kind of shape to the heel- and something that i can wear in colder weather (meaning either socks or tights with them- i know, i said socks)
sofft $99.90

Wednesday, July 22, 2009

Quick Chandelier Tutorial

so, i had a bit of a bedroom panic the other day. does this ever happen to you? one day i just woke up, looked around the room, and went "ugh". it was obvious that the bedroom got shifted to last place in the priority line. no art on the walls, a cream comforter with no headboard and no superfluous pillows.

i mean nothing says luxury and comfort like superfluous pillows. so in one afternoon i had a redesign panic and i totally made over our bedroom while the cap'n was out, well, cap'ning.

i'll show more pieces soon, but here is a quick view of one little project- the freshened lighting fixture. since we're in a rental it come with some standard domes for the lighting fixtures. blech. so, i decided to (on the cheap) make up a quick polka-dot chandelier. Sooo easy, sooo quick!Wanna make one too?
1- thrift a circular item. i def. got a bit of luck here. i knew i needed something circular as the base and i thought i would have to refashion a hangar into a circle. but no need! i found a multi-tiered circular thing at my local thrift for $0.50. i think it was possibly a piece to the base of a christmas tree stand? no idea. anyway, lucky me! (i have been advised it is probably a wreath frame/base- that def. makes sense!)
2. buy 2 packs of circle sticker labels and 2 boxes of white dental floss (i went for non-minty).
3. cut one length of dental floss and start sticking the circle stickers together, sandwiching the floss in the center. it works really well if you have a nice clean, flat surface and you can lay out several lengths of floss at a time and just go to town with the stickers. make sure that you evenly space the stickers so it comes out neat. i just cut a piece of the box the floss came in to be my measuring length and it worked fine.4. make 20 or so of one length of circles. i think mine had an inner row of 20 with 10 circles each and an outer row of 20 with 6 circles each. attach them to your ring by wrapping one end of the floss over the ring and then sandwiching the end and the main floss between two circles right below the ring. perhaps i shall try to take pics of this for more clarity.
5. use floss or fishing line to hang your masterpiece.

eventually mine did make it to the bedroom light fixture, but it was so pretty in the sun we left it up in the living room for a few days. have fun!!

Saturday, July 18, 2009

Check out These Booties!

so i have three wonderful ladies in my life who are going to have babies!!! yay yay yay! one of them is my sister, so i am going to be an auntie for the first time. it's so fantastic! sooooo, i've started the baby crafting with a some booties.


froggies are for my sis- she looooves them. lets hope the baby does too.i crocheted these by looking at some different booties online and then just whipping them up. the blue slippers above are knit with an elastic yarn so they can stretch as the feet grow. perfect for new twinkle toes.

Monday, July 13, 2009

The Best Summer Skirt EVER!

look out for this weeks capital city weekly and a fun tutorial for a great summer skirt/dress.
and a big THANK YOU to Shyla Germain who helped with all the strechy sewing tips!!

this is a special sneak peek of the pattern -with link posted above. check out below all the ways you can wear this reversible, zipperless stretch-knit wonder-

excuse the house mess!



even a shirt or babydoll dress!
this weekend was super sunny and i wore it as a dress all weekend long!

Thursday, July 9, 2009

Craftrama Thursdays?

You're invited!!! What do you think of a Crafty Thurs night fun- every other week. A million topics - a thousand crafts, and mostly a lot of laughs. Leave a little note below if you're interested!

Thursday, July 2, 2009

4th FUN!



so this week in the paper we're all about 4th of July (who could have guessed?)- aaaand, a sweet story about portable dome homes! very interesting - so check out the article here and check out the paper online here.
also, last night I gave a presentation to the Rotaract (the 25-35 year old version of Rotary) on CRAFTS!! and we made duct-tape wallets as a quick dive into the crafting scene. what fun!

it made me have a new burst of enthusiasm for a bi-weekly craft night- so i think i'm going to make it happen. anyone out there want to join? any ideas about what you'd like to craft or learn? i can't wait!!! the cRAFT aDDICTS are bACK!!!

not that they ever went anywhere- i just think they could grow a bit bigger, you know, the more addicts the better!

that's it for now- i have tons of fun projects i've been working on that i will try to post on soon!