Saturday, April 28, 2018

A-Z Crafts

 

Y--You


Well we have come to the last post
in the challenge. I don't have
anything for Z-zip so...

This post is for YOU! You my crafting,
creating, blogging friends.
Thank you for hanging with me through
this year's challenge. I hope you enjoyed
each post and maybe learned something
too. Each year I say "that is the last
challenge I do!" But then each year some-
thing nudges me to do it again.
I learn too when I look up information
for each post some more than others.

So again THANK YOU!!

Posting will resume on May 6th. Taking
a  bit of a break after the challenge of
blogging almost everyday.



~Keep on Dreaming~


Thursday, April 26, 2018

A-Z Crafts

 

W--Wearable Art

 
Who would have know there was
an actual category for this? I
thought I was making it up. :)

 
According to Wikipedia, this is
"Artwear or art to wear."
These are individually designed
pieces of (usually) handmade clothing
or jewelry created as fine or expressive
art. The term "wearable art" implies
that the work is intended to be accepted
as a serious and unique artistic creation
or statement.


Wearable artists use a variety medium
in their creations. Fabric or other fiber
pieces are used as materials made
from non fiber pieces ie: leather,
plastic, metal, sheeting etc.

Information listed above is from Wiki-
pedia, if you want to read more on this
art form check out the rest of this article
and others listed when you Google
"Wearable Art."


As I said above I thought I made up this 
category due to the fact that I could not
find too many crafts that began with W.

When I thought about it, I was thinking
decorated T-shirts, jewelry etc. But
what I read was interesting, again who

knew?

X is up but I have nothing for it
so  Y will be the post for Saturday.


~Keep on Dreaming~ 


Wednesday, April 25, 2018

A-Z Crafts

 

V--Victorian
(Craft/Décor)

 
Victorian crafts were a highly
ornamented style of decoration
that was popular in 19th century
England.
Young women were expected to
be proficient with a needle and
were encouraged to knit or
crochet for those in need.
This gave them something to do
with their time while "the men"
Fathers and brothers attended
to business.

Victorian crafts have been broken
down by:
Needlework-embroidery, macramé 
and hair braiding.
Sculptural-shellwork, featherwork,
mosaic and beadwork.
Pictorial-textile or china painting,
arranging dried flowers, leaf work
or  etching.

 
Also known as "Parlor Crafts."
Women gathered in the parlor,
sipping tea and working on their
current projects.


Today, Victorian crafts can be

found in antique shops. Some are
inherited from a family members.
It is said that this particular craft
should not be ignored due to the
highly skilled craftsmanship.


W is up tomorrow!


~Keep on Dreaming~




Tuesday, April 24, 2018

A-Z of Crafts

 

U--Unique



The definition I found states that
Unique is being the only one of
it's kind; unlike anything else.

Now I am going to stretch this a
bit and say that arts and crafts are
unique. They are done by individual
people the way they want  do them.

Take making jewelry for instance,
one might see a bracelet, necklace
or earrings and decide to make
them but in a different color, pattern,
use different materials etc. They are
unique to that person because they
made them.

Scrapbooking can be the same way.
You want to make a baby book, you
look for examples of pages but you
as the crafter you change paper,
fonts for wording, the wording
itself and so on.

Knitting or crocheting. One picks
a pattern but uses different yarn,
thread, floss. You can change the
color scheme, it all depends on
what you are making the item for.

Blogging is definitely unique.
Each of us has a different theme,
we either use Blogger or Word 
Press. We design our own pages 
etc. None of our blogs look alike,
they are different to suite our needs.


I think you get where I am going with
this. Thought I would throw that in
for U.


V is up tomorrow.




~Keep on Dreaming~


Monday, April 23, 2018

A-Z of Crafts

 

T--Tools


 
This will be an obvious post for some.
Here we go!
 
Tools for Paper crafting-

Scissors and paper trimmer
Paper punches
Craft knife (X-Acto)
Circle cutter and mat
Mod Podge and Foam brush
Hot Glue gun and sticks
Scoring Board and Envelope
tool
Washi Tape, Twine and Ribbons
Chalk markers
Regular markers, Gel pens
and Colored Pencils

Tools for Sewing-

Sewing machine
Needles
Pins
Thread
Fabric
Scissors
Tape measure
Pattern
Iron
Marking pencils
Ironing board


Tools for Jewelry making-

Beads
Charms
Wire
Stretchy bands
Pliers--Needle nose
Scissors
Jump rings
Earring pieces
Chains
Magnifying glass

Tools for Painting

Paints (depends on the project)
Brushes
Canvas or Fabric
Cleaning agent
Tarp or newspaper
Mason jars
Craft boxes (Blank)
Stencils

Most crafters have a stash of tools
depending on our projects. It is
always a good thing to do an
inventory each time a project is
finished in case something needs
to be replenished.

My rule of thumb is  to have more
than I need so I don't have to go buy
something for a particular project.
But there are times that you will
have to go get one thing cause you
don't have it.


What is in your tool stash??

I am skipping U so V will be up
on Wednesday.


~Keep on Dreaming~



Saturday, April 21, 2018

A-Z of Crafts

 

S--Scrapbook (ing)

 
Remember the old school scrapbooks?
They were composed of a leather bound
book and paper pages inside.
I had several of these but I used them
more for souvenirs from activities,
concerts, vacations etc. My pictures
were place in the albums that had the
protected pages that peeled back. 


Today's scrapbooks are more photo
conscious.
Acid free materials are used and photo
saving options are used.

According to Wikipedia 
Scrapbooking is the preserving, presenting,
arranging personal and family history in
the form of a book, box or card. 
Decorations and journaling accompany
the photos.
Scrapbooking began in the United Kingdom
in the 19th century but seen more in the
UnitedStates today.

We have gone from 15th century Common-
place books to scrapbooks of today.
A Commonplace book was a record of
recipes, poems, quotes, letters and more.
Each was unique to the creator as today's scrapbooks are.
Joseph N Nicepe added the first photo in
1826.
Books showcasing photos primarily were
not popular in the United States until 1860.
Today primarily our scrapbooks contain lots
of photos.
Did you know Mark Twain was a scrap-
booker?
Apparently he was known for inventing
scrapbook supplies and carried one with
him where ever he went.
Old scrapbooks tended to have photos
mounted with photo corners and journaling
of who was in the picture and where it was
taken.

 Scrapbooking today:
Marielen Wadley Christensen is credited
with turning scrapbooking from what it
used to be (hobby) to what we see it as it
is now ( a business of selling supplies
devoted to scrapbooking.
She and her husband opened a store in
1981 devoted to scrapbooking and it is
still open today.

Scrapbooking Stats:
Over four million women consider them-
selves scrapbookers.
Over 4% of women have done some form
of traditional scrapbooking and millions
of others have done other forms of photo
books.
Scrapbooking is one of the largest
categories of the craft/hobby industry.
It is considered the third most popular
craft in the nation.
From 1996-2004 industry sales were
high then flattened in 2005.
From 2006-2010 traditional sales of
supplies declined as digital forms began
to grow.
Independent stores went from 4,200 to
1,200.
Manufacturers declined from a high 800
to under 250 around the same time.

Now I know what happened to all the
stores in our area. Interesting.

Terms:
Scrapbooker
Crop (s)
Journaling

Supplies:
Book (s)
Photos
Paper
Tape/glue
Embellishments

Scrapbooking is a personal craft, no two
are alike.
Most have a theme. birthday, holiday,
sports, dance, big occasion etc.

My confession(s)
I have ALOT of scrapbook treasures
I have ALOT of scrapbook paper
(most is used  for school projects)
I have started two and not finished
either one. Someday?

Do you scrapbook, know anyone who
does?

T is up on Monday!
We are down to the letters that may
not have anything to go with it
so hang in there.


~Keep on Dreaming~











Friday, April 20, 2018

A-Z of Crafts

 

R--Ribbon



Ribbon is a versatile tool in crafting.
It adds a finishing touch to fabric,
journals, scrapbook pages, gifts..
It can be tied around branches,
flowers books etc. Can also be used
to tie tags or trinkets to bags or gifts.

Cultures around the world use ribbon
in a variety of ways:
Tie in their hair
Around their body
As ornamentation

Fabrics used for ribbon:
Satin
Organza
Sheer
Silk
Velvet
Grosgrain

DIY with ribbon:
Decorative Ribbon Balls
Ribbon Flowers
Lace ribbon Wands
Ribbon Bookmark
Hair Braiding
Ribbon Lampshade
Ribbon Mobile
Ribbon Wreath
Ribbon and Bead Christmas Trees

To name a few.

I will confess that I have my own
addiction to ribbon. LOVE IT!
Shouldn't buy it till I run out but
that does not stop me!! Ha!

What are some things you use
ribbon for?


S is up tomorrow.

~Keep on Dreaming~

Thursday, April 19, 2018

A-Z of Crafts

 

Q--Quilting

 
According to the net, the word "quilt"
comes from the Latin word "culcita"
meaning stuffed sack. OR The stitching
of layers of padding and fabric.
The quilts history began long before
the European settlers came to the new
world.

One of the earliest quilts made was
the Tristan Quilt made around 1360.
It was made in Sicily in the second
half of the 14th century and is one of
earliest surviving quilts in the world.
The Tristan Quilt, depicts scenes
from the story of Tristan and Isolde.
An influential romance and tragedy.


In the United States, quilt making was
common in the late 18th century and the
early 19th century.
Women were busy spinning, weaving and
sewing  to clothe their families. Bedding
made commercially or woven was more
economical at the time, only the wealthy
had the time to leisurely quilt.
Obviously quilts of that time were not
made of scraps or worn clothing for bedding. Instead they were decorative works made
to display the needle work of the quilter.

Quilt styles of the early 19th Century:

Wholecloth--Early ones were made with
three layers.
Top fabric, filling, and backing.
Stitches were seen as decoration.
There seems to be a revival for this quilt,
they are either made by hand or machine.

Medallion--made around a center, sometimes
from a solid piece of large scale fabric. The
center was then surrounded by two or more
borders.
The Industrial Revolution brought a dramatic change in fabrics, they were made on broad
scale and women no longer had to spin and
weave to make fabrics.
It became more affordable to make a quilt at
that time.

The invention of the sewing machine
contributed to the making of quilts and Singer started an installment plans so that more
household had machines. This gave the home-
maker the time to make quilts faster and make
clothes for the family too.

Over the years quilts have been made for fund-
raisers in the Civil War.
The Abolitionists had fairs to raise awareness
of slavery and quilts were sold to raise money.
For the war effort and the troops.

In 2014, The Wall Street Journal estimated
that there were 21 million quilters in the
United States.

Much more can be said about quilts and the
making of them, I could be here all day. Check
out Google for a great listing of articles on the
craft.

My story:
Many years ago a friend of mine and I made
"Puff Quilts" these are made from 6x6 pieces
of fabric pockets, sewn on three sides, stuffed
with filling and sewn shut. The pockets are sewn together in strips for the size of your bed. Mine
was made with a variety of yellow fabrics and the backing was a Hawaiian tropical fabric.
It took a while to make this quilt but I was so
proud of it.
I still have it but it is not in use at the moment.

Anyone a quilter??


~Keep on Dreaming~


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