Christmas in July

I'm having a Christmas in July sale over on Etsy!  That means 10% off everything between July 21st and July 31st.  Just enter the coupon code CHRISTMASINJULY at checkout.

Check out my selection of handmade books.  From Japanese Stab style to Coptic both large and small.  I even have some mini books!  (I am Minimeg after all.)

I also have fine art photographs ranging from animals to architectural details.

 And don't forget about accessories!  Recycled purses and pouches featured in previous blog posts along with eclectic jewelry made from found objects.

T-Shirt Shorts

This week I found a great tutorial about making your own shorts pattern based on measurements.  The weather has been so hot lately that I have been planning on making myself another pair of pajama shorts.  So I pulled out some newspaper for pattern making, and a couple old t-shirts from my fabric bin.  I took some measurements and whipped up a pattern on yesterday's newspaper.  After seeing the size of the pattern I pulled out two standard t-shirts (think Jerzees, event t-shirts, not baby doll tees) and I happened to have two of the exact same shade of goldenrod yellow.  I made a second pair using two red t-shirts and remembered to take some pictures of the process!

The shorts were really easy to make and took maybe a half hour of sewing.  I used a three step zig-zag stitch instead of a straight stitch.  This stitch uses three straight stitches for every zig and zag, and is excellent for stretchy fabrics like t-shirts.  When I cut the fabric I lined up the finished shirt edge with the bottom of the pattern.  This meant I didn't need to hem the legs, and the final shorts kept a professional detail.  Instead of adding elastic to the waist I folded over the top edge about two inches to make a channel for a drawstring.  I made a drawstring out of a strip of the t-shirt, stretched so it rolled over on itself.

The yellow shorts turned out great BUT the shorts were a couple sizes too big.  They have a drawstring, so not unwearable...  However, for the red shorts I cut about an inch off the side seam of each pattern piece and a little off the top edge.  This made a world of difference!  The shorts fit perfectly.

 I am helping a friend make a t-shirt quilt, so I am sure to have plenty of scraps once the logos have been cut out of all 22 shirts!  Possibilities for next time include cutting each pattern piece out of a different color shirt, using shirt logos instead of blank shirt material, and freezer paper stenciling on the finished product.

Hardcover Books

Recently I made my first hardcover books!  It was an adventure into the Coptic style of binding.  Coptic binding leaves an exposed book spine and allows the book to open flat for easy drawing and writing.

The first step to making a hardcover book is creating the covers.  The base of the covers are pieces of mat board leftover from cutting windows out of mats.  After cutting the mat board down to size I chose strips of paper that overlapped the mat board by around an inch on each side.  Then, apply a thin coat of PVA glue to the front of the cover and apply the paper.  Trim the corners, apply glue to the other side of the board, and fold over the paper edges.  Then glue a piece of decorative paper over the back of the board to cover up the folded edges.  Repeat for the back cover!

The next step is punching holes in the covers.  Then fold all the pages in half and line up with the covers.  Mark the pages and punch holes that line up with the holes on the cover.  Then it is a matter of sewing the pages to each other and assembling the book.  The groups of pages (called signatures) are attached one at a time to the book, making it easy to create large books.  This site has a good tutorial on Coptic binding with lots of photographs of the sewing process.  This is one of those processes that seems very difficult when writing the instructions, but turns out to be very easy once you actually do it.

Mary's Necklace

Recently I was given another batch of old jewelry from a friend.  Naturally I immediately got to work reinventing some of these pieces.  This is a necklace I made using a clip-on earring that was missing its mate.  The earring had a plastic cabachon with a floral pattern.  I started by attaching a bezel on a copper disc, stamping a design around the edges, and putting loops on the top and bottom.  The final step was setting the cab in the bezel and attaching three swarovski crystal beads to the bottom in coordinating colors.

Before I could properly photograph the piece, my friend Mary bought it.  So here she is modelling her new necklace.  Work it, Mary, work it!

Ring Repair

BEFORE

A good friend of mine had a little mishap with her favorite ring.  It went down the garbage disposal.  (Need I say more?)  So she sent it to me for repairs.

AFTER

The ring is a sterling silver band shaped like a crown of thorns with black lowered areas accentuating the branches.  It was pretty beat up but made for an easy fix.  The first step was annealing the ring (heating it with a torch until glowing.)  This softened the ring enough to be able to hammer it back into shape on a ring mandrel.  After the ring was round again, it was a matter of filing away the majority of the nicks and scratches and sanding it to a smooth finish.  The last step was applying a patina to settle in the lower areas, and cleaning up the raised areas with a polishing cloth.

AFTER

Repairing jewelry can be tricky.  The presence of set stones complicates the process and limits what can be done without completely re-setting the stone.  "Mystery metals" complicate things as well.  Solder can easily be applied to silver, copper, and brass.  Many other metals (like pewter) melt at a much lower temperature.  Repairing jewelry made from "mystery metal" risks melting the piece entirely.  This ring was the best case scenario when it comes to repairing jewelry.  A plain silver band that just needed some TLC.

Dutch Necklace

One of my recent jewelry projects was a pair of Dutch Boy and Girl necklaces.  The necklaces were created by repurposing a pair of sterling silver clip on earrings.  The kissing Dutch boy and girl earrings were a little weird to wear as earrings, but are adorable when worn in moderation!  The earrings were old jewelry given to me by a relative, so these necklaces are two of a kind.  Get one while you still can!

Handmade Books

 The last couple weeks I have been learning how to make books as part of my internship at the Morgan Art of Papermaking Conservatory.  One of the most basic sewn bookbinding structures is called Japanese Stab Binding.  It involves lining up the pages and covers of the soon-to-be book, making a series of holes, and sewing along the edge of the stack.

 These books are all made using scraps of leftover and recycled paper.  The covers include handmade papers, maps from an old atlas, and an old field guide for identifying trees.

The smaller books are made using lined notebook paper, pieces of scrapbook paper leftover from making cards, and empty Kleenex boxes.