Working with Different Crafting MaterialsWhat can I say about materials? They’re elemental, the basic items from which we create beautiful things. They link us back to crafters eons ago that would take natural objects and turn them into pretty and useful crafts. The funny thing is that you can make great things with poor materials and vice versa. Just because you have superior materials does not mean that the finished product will be superior, and it may not have anything to do with the crafter’s skills. Sometimes, even the best cooks burn the beans. Craft materials seem to break down into certain natural categories: yarn and thread, fabric, wood, metal, clay, stone, paper, and glass. Of course some of these materials break the bounds of crafting. If you are in fact a professional seamstress, carpenter, metalworker, stone mason, or glass blower you could give me advice. These sub-categories will be subjects of future web pages. They will be categorized according to their material in this section of the website. If you’re really into one of the categories and are not satisfied with the amount of pages, bear with me. Come back later, there will be more. I promise. Yarn and ThreadThe funny thing about yarn and thread is that it can be made into fabric by us amateurs. With the methods of knitting, crochet, lacemaking, and weaving we don't have to be just be satisfied with only store-bought material; we can make our own designs. On top of that, yarn and thread can be used for items other than fabrics.
Organize Your Floss
FabricThere's a myriad of interesting fabric out there, but do you know how they are made? Take the Fabric quiz.RibbonI love ribbon! It's been around a long time, but it seems like it never goes out of style. Somewhere, someone is thinking up something new to do with ribbon, or reviving some forgotten technique. Ribbon embroidery, crocheted ribbon, and using ribbon in jewelry are not new, but right now they are all in style. Hooray.
Ribbon Basket
Ribbon Necklace
Velvet Ribbon Necklace
WoodMetalWhen you think of metal crafts do you think of torches as the main method of crafting? This may cause many crafters to avoid working with metal since it is expensive setting up an entire metal studio and a little frightening working with torches. There are many "cold" methods of working with metal, like sawing, riveting, or sanding to perhaps try out first. Here's a project I did in college for an assignment using aluminum.
aluminum mermaid
ClayStonePaperI've grown to love paper. I didn't always. What bothered me most about paper was its lack of durability. Origami and elaborate paper cutting are great, but someone (someone evil) could rip it up with their bare hands. And, all that work is gone. Also, those beautiful snowflakes the kids make for Christmas, are we supposed to save them and reuse them year after year? Papercrafts by definition tend to be disposible and is that really the kind of crafting we want to do in this environment? No. So we will work on making our paper crafting durable and work on ways of preserving it.
Cooltext review
Make paper box ornaments
Key Card Scrapbook Page
GlassVinylI am here to defend vinyl as a worthwhile material! Fun with Vinyl
Globe Purse
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