Crafting Fingers: when one craft isn't enough: Page 21

It’s been a crazy, amazing six months so far and I can’t wait to see what it’ll be like to look back on 2013 on New Year’s.

The people I have met, the conversations I’ve had, and the crafts I’ve tried have done so much to enrich my life this year. I’ve been blown away by the support for this little project. Thank you.

But onto the good stuff!

There are some yummy little prizes here from craft materials to handmade goods, so let’s see what is up for grabs in the “half-way there” giveaway!

(scroll to the bottom of the post for a full list of prizes)

Macramé is such a fun craft to play around with, and today I’m sharing a macramé project that’s sure to be a bit different from the 70’s plant hangers we’re all used to.

In this project, macrame is used to cover up a camera strap and give it a funky (and more comfortable) makeover. Who said cord was the only material for macramé?

This technique can be used to cover all sorts of objects, so take a look at the tutorial and try it out. You don’t need to stick to camera straps.

It’s time to celebrate! Every month in 2013 I’m learning a new craft, and now I’m halfway through.

When I focused on calligraphy in March, what I learned was that beautiful letters have just as much to do with [highlight bg=”#cf2b2c” color=”#ffffff”]typography design as they do with the physical strokes of calligraphy.[/highlight]

The deliberate form of each component is what makes letters so eye-catching. The space between letters (kerning), the form of each shoulder, the height of each beak — everything is carefully designed and put in place. It’s a form of art that started long before we created machines to do our writing for us.

I’ve designed this free ‘Anatomy of a Letter’ print for you. It’s not an exhaustive source for all the terms, but it gives an idea of just how much thought is put into letter design.

(And who doesn’t like a pretty print!)

It’s time to celebrate! Every month in 2013 I’m learning a new craft, and now I’m halfway through.

When I learned embroidery in February I got close to giving up. The fine embroidery threads I had bought didn’t appreciate my fumbling. I got sore fingers and tangled threads for my trouble.

Then I tried embroidering with yarn. I loved it! If you’re nervous to tackle embroidery, try yarn. It exaggerates the stitches, so it’s perfect for learning how they work. It helps that it builds up quick and looks good, too!

You need:

DK or thinner yarn
Needle with large enough eyelet for yarn
(Yarn needles might not be sharp enough)
Fabric of choice (I’m using denim)
Embroidery hoop

The stitches you’ll learn:

Running stitch
Blanket stitch
Lazy daisy stitch
Chain stitch

Let’s get started!

It’s time to celebrate! Every month in 2013 I’m learning a new craft, and now I’m halfway through.

In January, Crafting Fingers went live. After celebrating midnight on New Year’s I rushed home and published the first post on Crafting Fingers. How far this blog has come!

That month, I learned crochet. It was the first step on an amazing adventure so far, and I can’t wait to see where the next six months will take me.

This two-tone crochet flower is a quick project to crochet. Enjoy!