FaveCrafts

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National Irish Crafts and Design Fair

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Last weekend, I attended the National Crafts and Design Fair in south Dublin, thanks to complimentary tickets from a friend’s mother and master jeweler, Deborah Von Metzradt.  This was a huge event featuring all manor of crafters, with a huge food fair attached. I took a break from browsing and talking with crafters to forage this part of the fair and managed to bring home homemade salami from a small Italian farm and beautiful chocolate truffles. I had to have some “Apple Glow,” of course, warm spiced apple juice spiked with a bit of apple brandy. But, enough about the food. The crafters were amazing!

Dublin Craft Fair

As you can see from this image, the fair was quite huge. It even had a balcony with more booths.

Craft Fair 2

Sophia Kathalina makes packable, crushable and, most importantly for wet Dublin weather, waterproof hats. They are lovely, embellished goodies for your head.

sophiahats

Beatriz Palacios makes the most lovely and fashionable headbands. Below, you’ll see a giant felt rose headband and more sparkly beaded headbands for your night on the town. I especially love the crochet bag with the yellow ribbon on the top right. Though I’ll refrain from scanning it, her business card is just adorable too: a butterfly cut out with tiny, textured butterfly re-attached.

headbands

Colorful, hand-crafted glass rings are always fun, like these from Richard Reichhold.

rings

For the kids, you can’t go wrong with puppets! I love the antlers on that one puppet. I didn’t catch the crafter’s name since he was super-busy with customers and didn’t seem to have any business cards. The arms and legs are made with cord so they whip around beautifully, and they are suspended from bouncy springs. I’d love to hang one in my nephew’s room.

puppets

My favorite part of the fair was the prestigious winner’s area, which looked like a gallery space in the middle of the fair. The winner’s exhibition displayed winners by category, including felting, ceramics, calligraphy, weaving, knitting & crochet, quilting, embroidery, and more. Check out the giant, seamless hand-felted “Kraken” (sea monster rumored to be off the coast of Norway which looks suspiciously like an octopus) from artist Astrid Tomrop-Hofmann. Genius eh?

octopus

While the “Kraken” took the second place prize in felting, I also quite loved the first place prize in this category, “Sliabh an Iarainn” by Brigitta Varadi. In this piece, felt achieves a potency, a narrative impact, equal to traditional paint.

feltart

While I do not have a good picture of this piece, I must mention the winning work in the category of Weaving-Tapestry by Terry Dube called “In the Corner of the Harvest Field.” Studied from an actual harvest field, this tapestry is a beautiful representation of the idea and literally begs to be touched (while being safely behind glass).

ghost-lace-pendant

I also chatted with Erika Marks about her silver jewelry and other objects. She supplied me with this great image above and let me know that she works with Brigitta Varadi (felt work featured above) on some of her jewelry. That’s very exciting. Brenda Hewitt told me about the art of Hand-weaving. I can’t forget the unique idea from buoy oh buoy for “nautical lighting” for your home made from antique buoys, dating from the 1940s!

What a great way to spend a Sunday! I hope you enjoyed the pictures.

The Complete Novice Guide to Crochet

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It seems as though a craft revival has occurred in my generation. Sitting down to watch an episode of Law and Order or Desperate Housewives with a group of girlfriends in college, several would pull out crochet work. They were making gifts for family or scarves for themselves during the freezing cold Chicago winters. I like the idea, especially because such work keeps you mildly active even while resting on the couch. You can create something and still enjoy some TV entertainment or visit with your friends.

As a complete novice to the craft, knowing where to begin in crochet is difficult. First, you need a crochet hook and basic yarn. An “H” hook is often recommended for beginners with some inexpensive acrylic yarn. American sizes range from B (smallest) to S (biggest), so you can get an idea of where this size sits. Before looking at any craft books, magazines, or, my favorite option, blogs, you have to be familiar with certain terms.

With my own skills in mind, I’ve created a Beginner’s Guide to Crochet (for the complete novice). Simply page through the five part guide for videos on how to tie a beginning slipknot, make a foundation chain, do the crochet stitches, and more.

How to Hold the Crochet Hook and Yarn

Before you begin, learn how to hold the crochet hook. The hook should be in your right hand if you are right-handed.  My preferred way is hold the hook like a pencil between my thumb and forefinger. In this picture, I’ve already tied the yarn to the hook with a slipknot. The yarn end attached to the ball or skein is wrapped around the pointed finger of my left hand to maintain yarn tension. You will find that maintaining yarn tension is very important. The thumb and pinky finger of my left hand help to stabilize the foundation chain as it’s formed and later the piece as I’m crocheting.

Good luck!

The Right Yarn for Green Knitting

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As I’ve said before, I’m brand new to all needle work. Sadly, this is just not something I took any interest in growing up. I was too busy playing soccer all over the Midwest. I even traveled to Denmark for an international soccer tournament when I was fifteen. I don’t regret the time I spent playing sports, but it’s certainly a trade-off with time for acquiring skills. I can do some really neat pick-ups with a soccer balls and juggle to 100, but I can hardly sew on a button. My family still has an antique sewing machine somewhere in the house….not that it would be help me much, but it’s still inspiring.

Now that I’m introducing myself to this new skill, I am keeping in mind certain environmental concerns. For example, I’m interested in the kinds of thread you should use for your projects. The problems of traditionally grown cotton are starting to emerge. According to the Pan North American Pesticide Action Network, cotton relies on more insecticides and pesticides than any other single crop. These pesticides, some of the most hazardous on the market, can harm farm workers, especially in developing countries, contaminate ground and surface water, and kill beneficial insects, social micro-organisms, and wildlife.

Organic cotton production uses no synthetic fertilizers or pesticides, and instead relies on natural processes, such as enhancing soil quality, to increase yields and disease resistance. Just as more and more clothing manufacturers are using organic cotton by consumer demand, you can find organic cotton yarn quite easily these days.

Interesting, industrial hemp (not marijuana!) is a sustainable crop and viable alternative to cotton and tree paper (which uses bleach and contributes to deforestation). Hemp can be used for insulation, biodegradable plastic, fuel, and more.  More importantly, hemp requires little to no pesticides or herbicides and effectively controls erosion of topsoil. Nonetheless, the U.S. classifies hemp as a Schedule 1 Drug under the United States Controlled Substances Act and is the only developed country that prohibits the growing of hemp as an agricultural crop.

You can purchase hemp yarn from many different places but this one of the best I have found, a Canadian online shop called Hemp for Knitting. They have their very own page about hemp. Aside from the environmental concerns, they say that it’s the strongest natural fiber and gets softer with every wash!

Happy Knitting!

Sources:
“Problems with Conventional Cotton Production” Panna: Pan North American Pesticide Action Network
“Organic Cotton Production” World Wildlife Fund
“Hemp” Wikipedia

Recycled Paper Beads

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I cannot be trusted with expensive jewelry. I will inevitably lose it (one diamond earring from a gifted set fell right out of my ear), break it (my grandmother’s opal ring), or simply leave it in my jewelry box to collect dust. I’m hopelessly clumsy and a ring with a jutting diamond would likely end up scratching my eye, in what would be my third eye-scratching, ER-needing accident. In all honesty, and I realize this might be hard to believe, I detest diamonds and other precious stones. I just can’t understand spending that much money for something so inconsequential, and even more importantly, something which fuels conflict in parts of Africa. When did diamonds become an essential part of engagement? I suspect De Beers had something to do with it.

Despite my distrust for precious stones, I do think jewelry can be a wonderful expression of personality and style, and it doesn’t have to be expensive. Hand-made jewelry is all the more exciting for how it demonstrates individual creativity. I’ve seen paper beads in several places and want to give them a try. Since they use any medium-weight paper (the very thin kind used for things like coupons won’t work), they are a great way to recycle all the junk mail we receive on a daily basis. You can also use plain brown paper, such as from lunch bags, if you want a bead that looks like wood. You can then draw on the bead with markers. Try drawing squiggles (the technical term, hehe) all over a piece of paper with different color pens before rolling the bead for an interesting look.

The only essentials are paper, scissors or a paper cutter, glue (Elmers works fine), a long needle or a thicker piece of metal for rolling up the beads (I’ve seen a straightened out clothes hanger recommended in several places), and a bit of thin wire for stringing the beads. Straw coffee-stirrers, from a nearby fast-food restaurant would also work to roll up the beads. You can use varnish or spray acrylic to make the beads hard and shiny after rolling. Clear nail polish might also work, but that would be more time intensive. A notched, cardboard box will work as a kind of drying rack while painting or varnishing your beads.
Here are two different methods for making paper beads:

Rolled Paper Beads from Recycled Junk Mail

Recycled Newspaper Beads

These are simple and really enjoyable. I loved making all the junk mail disappear. The newspaper beads are a bit more involved but definitely unique!

My Introduction and Handmade Gifts

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My grandmother knew how to knit blankets, can vegetables from the garden, and paint watercolors, and a few generations ago, this was pretty common. I regret that such knowledge was not an essential part of my education growing up, as it is not for most people these days, and continue to admire people who can create things with their hands. Indeed, a homemade quilt will always look more beautiful, a dream-catcher more touching, and jam much tastier when it’s made by someone you love.

The current economic situation has also rekindled my interest in crafting and DYI projects. With the doom and gloom of recession dominating the news, such knowledge seems to be an essential part of smart, frugal living. Though eager to learn, I’ll freely admit that I’m new to crafting, as I was to cooking when I began writing for a food and cooking website several years ago. Like many did then, I hope people connect with the beginner’s perspective in this new endeavor, as I gather advice from all over and learn along the way. I learned how to crochet in two weeks, so there’s hope for me yet.

My name is Caley, and I’m one of the editors for the wonderful new crafting website FaveCrafts.com. While I’m American, I currently live in Dublin, Ireland with my (Irish) boyfriend. Right now, like many out there, I’m thinking about gifts for friends and family with Christmas quickly approaching. Making gifts seems more personal, reflecting the time you devoted to the gift, with the added bonus of being cheaper (generally). In addition, creating gifts at home can be environmentally-conscious with its emphasis on recycling, whether you are re-purposing glass jars or pressed flowers from the garden.

At FaveCrafts.com, I’ve created a gift guide to help you out with handmade holiday gifts. Because I don’t believe in dividing things on gender lines (I personally hate shoes and handbags), the recipients are:

The Environmentalist

The Foodie

The Ever-Fashionable

The Worker Bee

The Kids

For another idea, handmade Bath and Body gifts are super quick and easy. Mix up the recipe, such as Cinnamon Coffee Bath Salts, pop it in a pretty jar and you’re set. For more ideas, check out our gifts sections.

Best of luck with your Christmas gift making!

How to make Papier-Mache

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Papier-Mache is an inexpensive and relatively easy craft project. Recycled newspaper is ideal for the paper component and you can even make the paste!  And who doesn’t love a good papier-mache project?  I remember quite a few awesome pinatas I made as a kid and an exceptional model of the solar system for a grade school sciene class — all thanks to papier-mache!  Be creative and enjoy these projects with your kids!

Materials:

  • Newspaper (you can use a mixture of newspaper and lightweight, brown paper bags)
  • Adhesive
  • Plastic Throw Cloths or Table Coverings
  • Paint
  • Large Container for mixing the adhesive
  • (Optional) Sturdy Mold- Ballon, Bowl, Plate, Milk Jug, etc.
  • (Optional) Paintbrush

Mixing the Adhesive:

There are many different ways to make the adhesive for papier-mache, but I like these three main types:

Flour and Water Paste

  1. Mix three parts water into one part flour until smooth (3 cups of water and 1 cup flour for example).
  2. Mix one cup flour into one cup water until smooth. Then add four cups of boiling water and simmer for 3 minutes.
  3. Mix ½ cup flour into two cups of cold water. Add two cups boiling water and return to boil. Remove from heat and add 3 tablespoons of sugar. The mixture will thicken as it cools.

NOTE: These glue mixtures may not produce long-lasting results. The flour mixtures can mold, especially in humid climates. A couple drops of Wintergreen essential oil can make the paste last longer.

Wallpaper Paste (contains a fungicide to prevent mold)

  1. The paste generally comes in powdered form in large jugs anywhere wallpaper is sold. Mix according to the directions, or use a little less water for a thicker result.
  2. A good rule of thumb is to mix three parts water with one part wallpaper paste.

NOTE: Unlike flour and water mixture, wallpaper paste is toxic so do not use with children.

White Glue Paste

  1. Water down the white glue.
  2. Combine two parts warm water with one part white glue.

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