Tag Archives: The Studio

At Home with The Studio: Rock Crafts

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Lately, I have been obsessed with the idea of rock painting. There are so many cute ideas on Pinterest!

One of my favorites is the idea to paint Waldo on a rock. You could then hide him somewhere in the yard and do a real-life Where’s Waldo? game!

 

I also love these Kindness Rocks from Crafts Unleashed. After painting them with happy messages, they hid them at a park and playground for others to find. What a nice way to spread a little anonymous kindness.

 

Lastly, I think this one is a super fun idea from Mary Brio Rose. Take a rock and paint section dividers and then hide it. As people find it, they will fill in another square and hide it themselves. I think it’s so nice to think of a rock as travelling along and making people smile. Who knows where it would end up?

All of these ideas are really great ways to take a craft and use it to have fun with people you know, or to brighten a stranger’s day, both of which are wonderful ideas in this strange time.

I’ve created a Studio rock art Pinterest board, which includes the above, as well as some other really fun rock painting ideas. Stay crafty!

The Studio at Home: Beaded Safety Pins

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We have started a weekly video series called “Studio Sessions,” which is posted on our social media channels every Saturday. In it, I either feature a craft you can do at home or delve more deeply into the kits we have available for use in The Studio. Last week, I taught you how to make beaded safety pins (watch it here if you missed it!).

In the video, I used a pattern I designed of a tulip.

 

 

 

 

 

 

It is super easy to make your own patterns for beaded safety pins. Just test out the safety pins you have around and see how many seed beads fit on them. For my pattern, I used 1” safety pins. I could get 10 beads on each, and could comfortably get 7 safety pins across. You could use graph paper and simply color in the pattern until you get something you like. Or, if you prefer to use the computer like me, you can use Excel to draft your pattern. I changed the column width to 2 and turned on inside and outside borders. Then, I used the paint bucket tool to fill in the pattern. This was an easy, no mess way to keep adjusting the pattern as I went along until I got something I liked.

If you’re not feeling up to designing your own, there are lots of patterns already out there! I’ve created a Pinterest board of patterns and inspirational ideas to help get you started.

If you need information on the mechanics of putting together your own beaded safety pin, the Studio Sessions video below will walk you through it.

Happy crafting!

The Studio At Home: Make and Takes now available curbside!

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As you may have heard, we are now offering curbside service! We are excited to announce that The Studio is also getting in on the curbside act.

Each week, we are offering a different kit with the materials you need to make a fun craft.

This week, you can pick up a kit to make your own rainbow with popsicle sticks and foam. Next week, we will have a kit to make friendship bracelets with a cardboard loom available. It’s a really easy way to get started with friendship bracelet making. It doesn’t require fancy knots or patterns, and you end up with a really neat bracelet.

If you’d like to request a kit, just let us know when you call in for curbside service.

If you’re curious about the craft of the week, just check The Studio webpage, which will includes a picture of the finished craft.

Our webpage also includes links to some GPL Pinterest boards with inspiration for kids, adults, and DIY games. We hope these ideas keep you making while you’re at home.

We look forward to seeing what you make! Post your finished projects on Instagram with #GPLStudioAtHome

 

At Home with the Studio: Craft Books on hoopla

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Since we are all likely home more and having to find ways to get creative with our time I have rounded up some books from our free service, hoopla, to help with projects that you may have been putting off or that suddenly are very relevant to you! Whether it’s that sewing machine you are dusting off or making your own soap so that you are sure to never run out we’ve got you covered.

 

Easy Home Sewing Projects
By Charlie Moorby

Available on Hoopla

There’s something for everyone in this bright and inspiring collection of home sewing projects! Whether you’re moving into a new home, redecorating an old house, or just updating a room, you’ll find quick and easy projects here to make your living space simply beautiful. Designed to let you give your dwelling a speedy fabric makeover, this book offers inspirational ideas for every room. Transform the heart of your home with bright kitchen accessories, or create the perfect table linen setting. Create a bold boudoir with bright bedroom designs, make tactile toys for the nursery, or revamp your home office with a functional organizer. And don’t neglect the deck, with lovely al fresco accessories and more. 101 Home Sewing Projects is guaranteed to stir up your creativity with clear step-by-step instructions and gorgeous color photography.

 

Mending Matters
By Katrina Rodabaugh

Available on Hoopla

Mending Matters explores sewing on two levels: First, it includes more than 20 hands-on projects that showcase current trends in visible mending that are edgy, modern, and bold-but draw on traditional stitching. It does all this through just four very simple mending techniques: exterior patches, interior patches, slow stitches, darning, and weaving. In addition, the book addresses the way mending leads to a more mindful relationship to fashion and to overall well-being. In essays that accompany each how-to chapter, Katrina Rodabaugh explores mending as a metaphor for appreciating our own naturally flawed selves, and she examines the ways in which mending teaches us new skills, self-reliance, and confidence, all gained from making things with our own hands.

 

An Almost Zero Waste Life
By Megean Weldon

Available on Hoopla

What is zero waste living? Although the practice has been around for generations out of necessity, it is making a comeback as concerns grow about the fate of our environment. To put it simply: it is attempting to send no waste to landfills. Although you may have read or heard about “zero waste,” “sustainable,” or “green” living, the concept can sometimes seem too complicated, the author’s tone a bit self-righteous, or riddled with advice geared for people with 5 acres of land in the country with dreams of raising livestock and homesteading. This is not that book.

Can a “regular” person do this? Absolutely! Zero waste isn’t necessarily about zero, but more about changing or altering the way we see the world around us, how we consume, and how we think about waste. It’s about making better choices when we can, and working to reduce our overall impact by reducing the amount of packaging and single-use plastics we bring into our life.

 

Handmade Soap Book
By Melinda Coss

Available on Hoopla

In a world filled with pollution and chemicals, this book shows you how to create your own soaps and bathtime luxuries using only natural ingredients and very little specialist equipment. Create the perfect gift for family and friends, kids and grown-ups. This book features a huge range of tempting ingredients, such as peach, peppermint, ylang ylang, cinnamon and chocolate, and includes recipes for shampoo bars, body splashes and bath creams. The simple, sumptuous and easy-to-follow recipes and luscious photography will be an inspiration to anyone who cares about what they put on their skin.

 

Start Your Own Etsy Business
By Jason R. Rich

Available on Hoopla

Whether you’re a master crafter, a carpenter, a jewelry designer, or have become passionate about making the best home décor in town, now is the time to go from hobby to full-time business owner. And with million shoppers ready to discover your unique offerings it only makes sense to join the largest, most successful online community of creative entrepreneurs on Etsy. Our experts have teamed up with successful shop owners to provide you with Start Your Own Etsy Business, an easy-to-understand, comprehensive blueprint that takes you through setting up, branding, marketing, and managing your store. Plus, gain worksheets, templates, resource lists and tips designed to go from passion to profits. If you’re ready to share your passion for your craft with millions around the world, this guide is for you.

 

At Home with The Studio: How to Make Paper Flowers

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I love the idea of fresh bouquets, but I don’t like that they often fade quickly and that you have to remember to change the water. Paper flowers solve both of those problems! I’ve had a great time creating some different looks with paper flowers to make a cheerful bouquet.

These are very simple to achieve, and don’t require much in the way of supplies.

 

Materials needed:

  • Construction paper in 2-3 colors
  • Glue or glue stick
  • Scissors
  • Paper straw
  • Hot glue gun and glue
  • Hole punch

 

Directions:

  1. Cut 5-6 identical hearts out of the main color you’d like your flowers to be. Five is enough, but 6 will give you a fuller look.
  2. Cut the same number of smaller hearts out of your secondary color.
  3. Cut out a small circle. If you are only using 2 colors, I would suggest making this the same color as your smaller hearts. If you’re using a third color, use it for your circle. I have a circle punch that is just right for this (about 1”), but you could also trace the lid of a glue stick, and it would be the perfect size.
  4. Glue your smaller hearts onto the bigger hearts. Line up the creases at the top.
    Tip: If you traced your hearts on the paper before you cut them out, make sure to put the side with the pencil marks on the bottom.
  5. Use your hole punch to make a hole near the bottom point of each heart. Make sure to not get it too close to the edge, because you don’t want it to rip.
  6. Test your flower by fanning your hearts out while making sure that all of the holes you punched line up. If you feel like you need more or fewer hearts to get your desired look, you can add or remove as needed at this point.
  7. Put down one of your hearts. Then put a small amount of glue on the bottom of just one side of another heart. Place it on top of the first heart at the angle you want. Continue to do this until you get all the way around.

    Tip: Make sure you only put glue on the underside of the hearts – if you try gluing on the top, any extra glue will really show as it dries. Try to keep the glue only in the space where the arrow is in the above picture. Also, keep checking to make sure that your holes are lined up!
  8. On the final one, you will need to put a small amount of glue on both sides of the heart’s underside.
  9. Place your flower upside down on the table. Place your straw in the hole and hold it flush to the table. Use hot glue to glue around the base of the straw to hold it in place. This will keep the straw from poking through too far at the top.
  10. Once dry, flip your flower over and use another small ring of hot glue around the outside of the straw. Stick your small circle on it.
  11. You’re done!

 

There are a lot of variations you can do with this! In the picture below. I used identical hearts and did everything exactly the same until step 5 – when I switched to punching the holes at the top of the heart. I then followed the rest of the directions exactly. This gives you spikier looking flower, and a kind of swirl effect in the middle.

You can also do it with just one color for the petals, and a second color for the circle, like the light blue one in the picture below.

Or, you can switch to gluing the smaller hearts to line up with the bottom points of the heart, like the pink and yellow one above.

These are really fun and fast to make! I hope you enjoy it enough to try out a few variations and make yourself a whole bouquet.