DIY Round Up: Jewelry Holders

How many of you (like me) resolve each New Year to keep a better organized life? I've created a whole list of house, yard, and general life projects to keep me going through 2012. However, I don't want all my tasks to be drudge work (i.e., cleaning out the fridge more often). I've resolved to keep things ship-shape in a fashionable and functional way--creative hooks, repurposed wire baskets, refurbished storage units and the like. Or, take a look at these DIY jewelry holders I've collected as reference. I could certainly use any of these to keep all my Indie Craft Parade finds/treasures in order. These three DIY projects have great tutorials, and could totally be finished in a weekend using thrifted or salvaged materials. The weather here in Greenville is gorgeous this weekend. It's days like these that make me hopeful to keep my New Year's resolutions. We'll see how far I get.

A lovely repurposed type drawer from Tonya Staab.

Earring organizer using old frames and thick wire mesh from Dream Green DIY.

Necklace rack/display shelf made with a few materials from the hardware store from A Grateful Prayer and a Thankful Heart.

Handmade Christmas Centerpieces

I can't believe Christmas is just a few days away! I still have so much to do. Fortunately, my centerpieces for a big Christmas dinner are already made. There will be a little forest of handmade Christmas trees--so festive! I gathered my projects from the round up below. Hope this will provide some last minute handmade inspiration for you as well! Twine wrapped tress from The Thrifty Crafter.

Wax paper tree from Bower Power.

Paper evergreens from Martha Stewart.

Scrapbook cone trees fromBetter Homes and Gardens.

Crepe paper trees from Creative Chaos.

An Indie Craft Christmas

We had fun doing a little virtual Christmas shopping for this post! Many of our 2011 Indie Craft Parade artists have Etsy shops, so we love to use tools like Etsy Treasuries to make pretty collections of their work. We wanted to make an Indie Craft Parade Christmas treasury to remind us of all the great things we saw back in September. In  this treasury, we chose items for decorating as well as gift ideas for friends, family members and even your pets! Click on the image to view the treasury, and don't forget that we link to our 2011 artists' online shops at our Participants page! We want to make it easy to support our artists throughout the Christmas season and the coming year!

Thanksgiving DIY Round Up

Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday. I love that it's not over commercialized. I love the time spent with family. I love the traditions we've made over the years--Oh and the food. This girl has a Southern family that can cook like nobody's business. Perhaps the only thing I don't love is our lack of great decor for the Thanksgiving holiday. Admittedly, I put so much more effort into decorating for Christmas, that I feel Thanksgiving gets ignored. Well, not this year. I've got just over a week till turkey day, and I'm loving some of these DIY projects I'm sharing today. I hope you will find these as inspiring as I do!

These linen napkins from The Purl Bee seem so easy to make, and I think they're quite beautiful with this ombre look.

I've seen a lot of ways that people count and record their blessings, but this might be my favorite. I love how the tutorial from Craftzine.com uses chalkboard paint "leaves" for Thanksgiving guests to write on. I think this project would be especially fun for kids to get involved.

I love this idea as an alternative to place cards. Elizabeth Anne Designs salvaged vintage spoons and hammered guests' names into them. They look so pretty with a finished table setting.

Ok, I've seen countless cake toppers. But a pretty pie topper--Who knew? I think pies are generally under-appreciated, and this swag from Oh Happy Day just makes me smile.

DIY Round Up: Scrap Fabric Projects

Happy weekend everyone! I've got a DIY round up today that's particularly dear to my heart. I love fabric. I practically collect it, which gets me into trouble particularly when I piles of scraps to deal with. I can't throw them away. There's always something more that you can squeeze out of them. So while jewelry making is usually the fate of my scraps, I've come across a number of adorable projects that might require me to dig deeper into the scrap bin. If you don't have a fabric fetish like me, you probably still don't need to go out and by any for these projects. Old tee shirts, blouses, sweaters and even neckties usually make crafting fabric.

Craft away!

How cute are these covered bobbies? You'll have to buy the hardware for this project, but this tutorial from Christina Williams spells everything out nicely.

These fabric feathers featured on 100 layer cake are easy to make and so versatile. They'd look great as hair pins, gift wrap embellishments or little pops of texture in a flower arrangement.

Need a functional and still cute way to contain your fabric scraps (or anything else for that matter)?  The Sometimes Crafter put together a great tutorial that will keep you from using your good tupperware to organize your odds and ends.

Tattered fabric roses, though not a new craft, still have an elegant charm. My favorite thing about them: you can use them to customize just about anything. Pin them onto bags or coat lapels; stitch them onto cardigans or scarves. Everyone will be amazed when they find out you did it yourself. Tutorial found on Everyday Chaos.

Live from Brooklyn, Live in Greenville: Printmaking Show this weekend

This Friday evening, there's a great indie printmaking show in Greenville that you won't want to miss. Dapper Ink (as you may remember from our Indie Craft Parade/Etsy Craft Night) is hosting a show by former Greenville artist Dailey Crafton, the creator of the Live from Bklyn studio. This show called "Live from Brooklyn, Live in Greenville" will feature unframed linocut and silkscreen prints as well as printed home goods and letterpress items.

The event begins at 7PM on Friday, October 14. If you can't make it to the opening, the show will be hanging for the following week. Dapper Ink is open weekdays from 9:00 to 4:30. Or you could contact the folks at Dapper Ink for evening and weekend hours.

Check out the Live From Bklyn Etsy Shop for a preview of the home goods.

Handprinted flour sack towels

Handprinted greeting card

Autumn Craft Round Up

Happy first day of fall everyone! This is officially my favorite season. I love it all--the colors, the fashion, the food. And I totally plan on spending part of my weekend making some autumn inspired crafts. Here's a few great ones to consider. Have a great crafting weekend!

Fabric pumpkins from ever creative Martha Stewart team. I love the color combination of plum, velvet, and metallic fabrics.

Leather leaves necklace--a super cute DIY from Missie Krissie

Not your average book-pressed wildflowers. I love the combination of the pressed flower with vintage book page and frame. Tutorial courtesy of Country Living.

Have acorns scattered across your yard? Turn them into a wreath for your front door. I love the brilliant green color Katie Miller chose to paint the acorns.

Featured Vendor: Concrete Lace

I don't think you can help loving letterpress goods. They're beautiful, timeless, and so much more accessible than a few years ago. We're going to have a couple of letterpress artists at Indie Craft Parade this year--all of whom are fabulous. But I just can't get over the colors and designs of Concrete Lace. They have a variety of letterpress greeting cards for all occasions, and you're definitely going to want to stock up. Unfortunately, there's a good chance none of your friends will receive the cards you buy. They're just too gorgeous to give up.

Concrete Lace has a well stocked etsy shop. They also do custom orders.

Featured Artist: Wingo Designs

We're going to have some really great metalwork jewelry this year at Indie Craft Parade, but I'm particularly excited about the pieces coming from Wingo Designs. This husband and wife team primarily work in landscape design where they transform outdoor spaces into memorable niches. A lot of their designs include metal furniture which they design and create.

Making metal jewelry became a natural outflow of their furniture craft. Their jewelry has such a great organic quality about it that looks like sculptures you'd find in a garden. I am quite anxious to see what gems they'll bring to the event.

To see more of their portfolio or to learn about their outdoor designs, check out their website.

DIY Round Up: Fun Paper Crafts

I don't know what your plans are for this weekend, but mine will be spent crafting up a storm for a friend's wedding. I'm making a paper and vellum garland, which I'll show you at a later date. But all my work with paper inspired me to share a few paper more paper crafts that I'd love to tackle. Hopefully you'll find some time to craft this weekend...particularly if the crazy hot South Carolina weather continues to keep us all in doors.

Recycling paper bags and other odds and ends into cute, cute wrapping paper; Courtesy of A Creative Mint.

Decorative Paper Lanterns; Courtesy of Martha Stewart.

Dip Dye Paper Cups; Courtesy of Design*Sponge.

Featured Artist: Softspoken

With the hope of fall around the corner (and fall fashion in full swing), I think it is going to take great self control on my part not to get all my autumn accessories from Softspoken. I could buy out the booth. These crochet goodies are some of the cutest I've ever seen. They have it all: hats, scarves, sweaters, even crochet jewelry. With the funky designs and colors, Softspoken truly embodies the idea of indie craft--taking a traditional form and revamping it in a hip, new way. Can't wait to see this booth!

Check out more of the shop here.

Featured Artist: Marco Suarez

Marco is primarily a graphic designer and branding specialist, but he has a phenomenal series of fine art collages and  photography. He is returning to Indie Craft Parade this year with another round of pieces inspired by nature and travel. Both trendy and timeless, Marco's work would be a perfect addition to anyone's collection.Besides the passion which is so evident in his art, I love the many layers and textures. I'm drawn in every time--discovering new elements each time I see one of his pieces.

To get just a glimpse of his many talents, check out more of his work on his website. He also has an etsy shop where you can see his fine art pieces for sale.

Featured Artist: Rachel Feece

Rachel Feece's slogan is "creating clay conversation pieces," and you can see why. This is pottery you won't see anywhere else! I absolutely love the brilliant colors and carving technique of Rachel's pottery. Her inspiration comes largely from the beauty of the Blue Ridge Mountains, where she has worked as potter for a number of years. Besides selling her pieces individually, Rachel also does commission work. If you want to view more of her pieces, check out her website!

Looking forward to seeing this at the event in just over a month!!

Featured Artist: Lightnest

Anybody on the hunt for the perfect tote bag? I know I always am--which makes me doubly excited that Paige Maitland of Lightnest is going to be at Indie Craft Parade. Her pieces are streamlined, modern, and express chic simplicity. And I love her fabric choices and use of jute for carry straps. Can't wait to see this booth! Want to see more of her gorgeous handbags? Check out the Lightnest Etsy Shop.

Featured Artist: Tilson Sister Terrariums

Today's featured artists are two sisters who create these beautiful little terrariums. I was so thrilled when I saw this entry come through. I LOVE terrariums! And these mossy little woodlands are absolutely adorable.

When making the terrariums, they make sure that each piece is unique. They collect the moss, find the perfect container for each terrarium, and then craft and paint each figurine by hand. Although they started out by giving terrariums as gifts to friends and family members, they're now sharing these little gems with everyone else.

I particularly love how they show off the strata of the terrariums by using the apothecary jars to display their work. I think they're like perfect parfaits of earth and moss. And I can't wait to meet these girls at Indie Craft Parade!

Featured Artist: Sara Lee Parker Textiles

I'm so so excited because today is the first of our featured vendor posts for Indie Craft Parade. We've got such a talented lot, and I know you're going to love browsing the goods they have to offer. So without further ado, meet Sara Lee Parker Textiles. She's a textile printer and designer living just outside of Thomson, GA. She hand prints adorable designs onto sustainable fabrics which she makes into a variety of home goods such as aprons, napkins, and tea towels. (I am such a sucker for those.)

Sara Lee Parker also offers her fabric as yardage and in fat quarter form for sewing, quilting and other DIY projects. If you want to see more, check out her etsy shop. You might not be able to wait till September to purchase from her!

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Dinner Napkins

Fabric Samples

Tea Towels

Half Size Apron

Do It Yourself: Creative Wall Covering

New DIY Project for you. I learned  about this one while at the craft night we hosted a couple of weeks ago. Melinda, one of our participants, recently moved, and she was looking for a creative way to fix an unsightly wall in her bedroom. The previous renter had torn up the some of the wall, and there were bits of peeling paint all over the surface. So Melinda came up with the bright idea of using this tutorial to make tissue paper flowers from vintage sewing patters. Compiling the flowers with other odds and ends from the thrift store, she put together quite a lovely display and managed to cover any ugly splotches in the process. Thanks for sharing the paper flowers and the finished product!

Making the paper flowers at the Etsy Craft Party.

The Materials:

Various sizes of tissue paper flowers

Thrifted frames (contents and glass removed), spray painted a pearly off-white--some of the frames she filled with coordinating craft paper which turned out super cute!

Small nails for hanging the frames--1" nails for lightweight, empty frames work fine

Wall safe sticky tack--a tiny bit for holding the edges of the frames level

A level

Thumb tacks

The wall, tastefully covered.

The Process:

First Melinda laid out all of the frames on the floor to see which arrangement she liked best. It's always a good idea to play with composition before you start nailing things to the wall. After she tacked the frames in place and made sure they were level, she thumbtacked the paper flowers over the nasty wall splotches to hide remaining evidences of peeling paint. The entire project was quite easy, about 4 hours from start to finish. And it looks absolutely great!

Do It Yourself: Herb Gardening

The DIY ethic is the heart of America's craft movement. This ever growing spirit of "I can do that" inspires people to better living where they waste less and frequently spend less. Indie Craft Parade whole heartedly embraces ventures that help people become more independent, so we're going to include a series of posts where we help you make your own accessories and home decor, or enhance your life using tools you already have, or as in today's post, help you grow your own food. Now I'm not talking about becoming independent of the food industry or even digging up your backyard to plant a full vegetable garden. We're starting at the simplest level of food provision--planting an herb garden.

Photos courtesy of this post from the very inspiring photography blog From Me to You.

I love herbs! I have a small container garden just off our back porch, and few things make me happier in the summer than clipping off those fragrant greens to stir into dinner at the last minute. The best thing is, many herbs are ridiculously easy to take care of (even for us with the blackest of thumbs), and making a little container garden is so stinking cheap! For the price of buying fresh herbs at the grocery store, you can make an herb planter that will last you the entire season. Herbs also provide some basic health benefits. They're a great way to add flavor while cutting back on fats and salt.

You probably already have most (if not all) of the materials you need for starting your own herb garden. But here is a basic list:

1) Small containers--at least 6" in diameter so your plants have room to grow (recycled cans with holes poked in the bottom work great if you don't already have cast off flower pots)

2) Fine potting soil

3) Seeds or starter plants--this late in the season, I would definitely recommend starter plants

4) A sunny spot such as a porch, patio, or even a window sill that receives a few hours of good sunlight every day

5) Watering device--herbs don't need a ton of water, but they do like to have it consistently (if you want to get all fancy, you can buy an inexpensive watering systems at your local hardware store)

Now, I'm by no means a knowledgable gardener, but I have had great luck with my herbs. Here is a list of herbs that I have found to grow well in the hot summers of South Carolina: Basil, Rosemary, Oregano (mine comes back year after year now), Thyme, Parsley, Tarragon, and Mint. I have NOT had any luck with Cilantro or Chamomile. I think the heat just does them in too early in the season.

Hopefully you're inspired to go out and try a little gardening of your own. Here are a few parting tips that will make your experience even better.

If you don't mind doing a little research, the Clemson Extension website has this awesome guide on growing and harvesting a variety of herbs.

Weekend Fun: Crafting Party

Thank you every one who came out to our craft party on Friday night. We had such a good time meeting new Greenville crafters and reconnecting with ones we already knew. And the crafts...we had super cute paper wreaths and flowers, fused glass, father's day cards, as well as handmade baby and bridal shower decor to show off at the end of the night. Stay tuned, we'd love to host another party in the future. You'll want to be there when we do.

To see the rest of the pictures from Friday night's fun, check out our Facebook album.

Don't Forget! Craft Party Tomorrow Night!

Crafty Gathering Found on 100 Layer Cake

Friends of Etsy and Indie Craft Parade are gathering at Dapper Ink tomorrow night for an evening of making crafty goodies. Please join us --even if you don't have a craft to work on. We're bringing some inspirational craft books as well as some card making/collaging supplies to share. RSVP here!

Hope to see you there!

7-10 PM; 207 Wade Hampton Blvd., Greenville, SC 29609; 864-551-3115