Friday Favorites, Episode 37

Kind of a slow week this time– now that it’s almost the end of January, most of what I’ve been finding out there in the way of tutorials and such have been for Valentine’s Day projects.

I hate Valentine’s Day. Always have. Red and pink (especially pink) are two of my least favorite colors, diamonds are not this girl’s best friend (especially after watching Blood Diamond— I don’t think I could ever get a piece of new diamond jewelry with a clean conscience now!), hearts are too cutesy for my taste, and most of all, I think real love should be celebrated any and every day of the year, not just because Hallmark tells you to on February 14th. Besides, let’s face it, when you’ve been single for as long as I have, it’s just torture. I don’t need to be any more aware of my singleness, thank you.

Ok, enough ranting. On with the projects.

Ironically, the first one is for a Valentine’s related project, but this is one I can really get behind. You know those candy hearts that taste like chalk and have tacky little messages on them like “U B MINE” and “LUV U” and crap like that? Well, over at Evil Mad Scientist Laboratories, they decided to improve on these. #1, by making them edible (shortbread cookies instead of chalk) and then by stenciling their own messages on them. These ones were taken from classic LOLCats phrases, and therefore are already far superior to the average candy heart. (Incidentally, they do list some good uses for the regular candy hearts. Such as ammunition for a Lego trebuchet. Or sidewalk chalk on the cheap.)

On to more creatively fun projects. On Crafting a Green World this week, they demonstrated how to recycle the soles of old shoes (I’m guessing the ones that are too beat up for even the thrift store) into fun new rubber stamps. I have made my own stamps before, from the linoleum blocks as part of a printmaking project in my high school art class. It was a lot of fun, and I wouldn’t mind trying it again. So I’ll have to keep this in mind next time I wear out a pair of shoes. They also featured a link for a by-the-yard fabric made from a blend of hemp and recycled plastic bottles (link to one of the fabrics on their Etsy site.)

Generally, I’m not one drawn to old-fashioned vintagey sort of things that look like they could have come from my grandmother. I’m just not a pearls-and-lace-and-pink sort of girl. (Actually, for the most part, none of those things actually would come from either of my crafty grandmothers.) But I really loved this next project, probably because it can double as a very natural-looking thing (and I do love my nature stuff!) Over at Everyday Beauty, she made flowery twinkle lights using a strand of Christmas lights and….sewing pattern paper! You know that’s something all of us sewing-types have a ton of. And this would be a great use for that pattern that was a total flop, or that just wasn’t your style anymore. Or maybe even the leftover pieces cut off of the side and such as you’re cutting out the pattern.

Since it’s been a bit of a quiet week due to the impending holiday, I’m also going to mention some of my favorite things from Wardrobe Refashion as of late. Melynda made a beautiful applique and reverse-applique shirt from a Smirnoff tee. Elizabeth is making a steampunk costume from a thrifted dressing gown. And Veronica made a great 60’s style dress from an appropriately-printed curtain.