CoopCrafts

We’ve scheduled a family vacation for June and I’m already working on details.  (I love having something to plan!)  My daughters are still using little-girl-going-to-Grandma’s style luggage that they outgrew years ago.  It’s time for them to have some real luggage to take on this trip and into adulthood.

I’ll buy them some nice roller suitcases, but for carry-ons I wanted to upcycle some vintage luggage.  I asked what they might want painted on their luggage and earned a couple eye rolls.  “Mom’s crafting at us again!” But then I said the magic words, “Would you like a horde logo?” OH. YES. THEY. WOULD.  In their spare time, my sweet little girls are hardcore World of Warcraft gamers.

If you want to personalize some luggage, you can create a stencil for yourself using Contact paper.  Draw or trace on the paper side, keeping in mind that you’ll need to reverse your design.  Cut out carefully and apply to your luggage.  Smooth down all around the edges, but if your suitcase is textured you may want to paint carefully from the stencil toward the middle of your design.  This helps keep paint from being pushed underneath the stencil into the little surface grooves.

I use fabric paint because it’s meant to be flexible when dry.  I was told the horde logo should be red, but my red paint looked really pink.  I’m not into World of Warcraft myself, but I’m guessing pink horde logos just won’t do.  I started with a little metallic black around the edges, then mixed the black and red together to fill in.  Carefully peel off the stencil while the paint is still wet.  (Waiting until it dries may cause some of the paint to dry on the stencil and peel up right along with it.)  After it’s dry, you may want to apply a few coats of varnish to protect the paint against scuffs.

Hooray for second chances!

I hope they’ll approve!  (You can see my own Twitter luggage here.)

This was one of those out-of-the-blue crafts that sneaks up when you least expect it.  Early on New Year’s Eve, I suddenly wondered what my favorite version of “crap” would look like if it were embroidered and framed by its own embroidery hoop.  Because you know if you frame it, it’s art.

This word comes from a real estate agent friend of mine who uses an MLS service of nearly the same name.  The MLS doesn’t quit work as described and creates a decent amount of frustration.  I’ll finish this and mail it off to him, and being a guy he’ll probably have no idea what to do with it.

But sometimes you just craft stuff because the idea was there and it couldn’t be helped.

I took this picture of my “niece” Dallas as her Daddy was frying up some bacon for his house guests.  It was hard enough on poor Dallas when she was tossed outside, but then when those fabulous bacon smells began drifting through the open window … well, that was nearly too much for her!

I loved the expression on her face and decided to try making a redwork Dallas as a gift for her parents.  I went with the quickest “lightbox” I had, my computer, held up a white piece of cotton fabric, then traced the parts of the photo I wanted to use with a fabric pen.  (I probably shouldn’t recommend that, but it worked for me.)  When completed and added to the frame I painted just for this project, it looked like this:

I should try this with my own pets next.

My little sister in law loves to entertain.  I love my little sister in law so I embroidered fun food quotes on a set of eight cloth napkins for her.  Here are a few more of them:

If you’d like to try your hand at these, just use a fabric marker that’s water or air soluble to write or trace your quotes on purchased fabric napkins, then stitch along the lines.  I got my food quotes from QuoteGarden.com. (I LOVE Quote Garden and use them for my CoopPics blog, too.)

That Earl Hickey is a genius!

OK, these may not look “sweet”, but trust me — they are.  These pillowcases were made for my little sister in law and her husband.  She’s from North Carolina, he’s from Michigan.  For their engagement photos and Save the Date cards, they each wore their “home team” jerseys, she in her Panthers, he in his Lions.  (They’re a fun couple, aren’t they?) I hope the pillowcases will remind them that they started off in different places, but those pillows belong beside each other.

If you want to make pillowcases like this, buy high count percale pillowcases and launder them.  Then either draw or trace your design with a fabric marking pen that’s air or water soluble and stitch along your lines with two strands of embroidery floss to complete the pictures.

See how easy it is?

When I tried to think what would give my in laws sweet dreams, one word came to mind — camping!  They can use their camper pillowcases at home to dream sweet on-the-road dreams or use them along with the camper dish towel as camper linens.

My husband’s brother and his wife got doves.  If you put the pillows the “wrong” way, with openings in the middle of the bed, they’ll be lovebirds and fly together for a smooch.

But  after I stitched them I realized that put the other way, they’ll fly away from each other.

Who knew pillowcases could be such a metaphor for marriage?   Make sure to keep flying together!

These pillowcases should get softer and softer with each washing, so I hope they bring many years of sweet dreams to their new owners.

A while back, my friend Ines sent me a gift for no reason.  It was so perfect and thrilled me so much that I wanted to do something for her in return.  I thought about it for a little while.  Ines loves her iPhone and she has very clearly defined branding for her blog, Miamism.  iPhone + Miamism = tropical orange mojito phone case.

Well, in my head that all made perfect sense.

I traced around my iPhone, added a little extra for the seam and cut out my interior and exterior felt.  Then I had to do a little research on mojitos to learn I needed some lime and mint in there.  (I didn’t have my first mojito until later, happily with Ines!)  I thought it was better to suggest the color of the drink with embroidery floss rather than colored felt, since it’s a pale drink.  For a first attempt at a felt beverage, I think it went pretty well.  Ice cubes are tricky!

I kept an opening in the bottom so she could use her headphones while the phone was in its case.

And the reverse side features a Miamism “M”, traced directly from the her blog.

The opening is held closed with a couple pieces of Velcro.  I’ve made some more phone holders since, but I think the one for Ines was the most fun.  Doesn’t it just look happy?  No wonder people love Miami!

In a variation of my Christmas gift bags, I realized that by layering stencils I could use multiple colors.  (I don’t know why this wasn’t obvious to me from the start, but it wasn’t.)  I was meeting up with a group of good friends I know from Twitter and had such an urge to make them something, but it had to be fairly inexpensive yet worth giving.  For each of these I used one canvas bag, two colors of fabric paint (turquoise and brown) and three pieces of cardstock.

I used three cardstock stencils on each of the bags.  I snagged the Twitter logo and printed it twice on card stock.  (It should be noted that selling someone’s logo without permission is a no-no, but making a small batch of gifts is OK.)  On one copy of the Twitter cardstock use an exacto knife to cut out the main part of the branch.  On the other, cut out the bird.  Careful with those tiny feet and legs!  You could stop there if you like and have a very cute bag, but I also printed out each person’s Twitter name and cut it out, too.  There’s just nothing like knowing a gift was made just for you!

Warning: it is a huge timesuck to cut out stacks of names.  You’d better love these people if you start a project like this with lots of detailed, individual stencils!  (Thankfully, I do.)

Next, the painting.

It’s best to paint the bird first, allow him to dry, then layer the branch stencil over the top of his little feet so that he’s properly on the branch.  It’s easier to do a quick outline of the branch before removing the stencil and filling in.  Freehand the smaller branches as they’re  just too tiny to bother with a stencil. I kept the cut out section of bird and used him as a stencil for the eye, but if you’re good with a brush you could freehand that as well.  Then line up your friend’s name stencil and carefully fill it in.  If your fabric paint calls for ironing to set the paint, please do.

And you’re done!  Enjoy the smiles as you pass out your gifts.  :)

My little sister in law and her husband recently bought a new house.  I was so excited for them and wanted to make them something special for their housewarming gift, something that really celebrated their new home.  I decided to try making a “house in a hoop” for them.

I printed a picture she emailed and used it as pattern pieces for the house.  Breaking it down to its most basic elements, I cut separate pieces of felt for the roof, main house sections, windows, shutters and so on.

I was reminded yet again that simpler is usually better.  Those windows would have looked a lot better if I’d fussed with them less.  Oh, well.

I free handed a wobbly arc of sky and grass and stitched them to my plain cotton background fabric.  This is handmade, remember, and the imperfections only add to the charm.  (I repeat this to myself quite often away from crafting, too – life is a little easier to take when the flaws are just a part of the charm.)

Since the plants were dormant in the photo I had, I took liberties with the landscaping and added French knot flowers wherever I liked.  I simplified the landscaping as well, cutting down on the number of bushes.

Ugh – wonky lines in the sidewalk!  All a part of the charm, right?

All that empty green at the bottom of the hoop felt like a challenge.  I considered trying to create a little felt replica of their doggie in the yard, then figured it would be hard enough just to stitch their name in the grass.  Thankfully I kept it reasonably centered and straight.

And with that done, I decided to quit while I was ahead.  If you make a house hoop of your own, I’d love to see it!