Hot Arts & Crafts How-Tos
How To: Craft a woven lanyard ribbon bracelet
Got a bunch of ribbon scraps lying around from old crafting projects and present wrapping? Instead of letting them sit there and collect dust for ages, why not put them to good use?
How To: Craft a 3D nature-inspired butterfly greeting card
You know those ancient, so old you could crumble them just by blowing on them greeting cards and postcards your grandma has? While vintage cards are gorgeous in their antiquity, if you're going for a vintage look without the delicacy then it's best you make a vintage inspired card yourself.
How To: Cut out perfect men's trousers patterns
You know how often times you'll find almost perfect jeans at the store, with the perfect faded wash, boot cut, and dark navy color, but they're just a wee bit too tight and a wee bit too long? Have you ever wished that the jeans company tailored those pants to you?
How To: Craft a bohemian Chinese letter embellished jade pendant necklace
Tribal jewelry, as seen on the runways at Peter Som and Stella McCartney, is very much on-trend right now. But don't waste your hard earned cash paying for a piece of your own.
How To: Craft a simulated wood (faux bois) tribal necklace
Besides crushed velvet clothing and accessories and anything with a lot of sparkly sequins, tribal jewelry is very in this holiday season. While it isn't necessarily as festive or as glitzy as the other fashion trends, it's uniquely, naturally beautiful and really makes a statement.
How To: Craft a vintage studio metal holiday container
This embossed, brass finish metal container is perfect for storing beautiful amaryllis or paperwhites during the holiday season, but they can be used year round to enhance flowers or even to act as a storage bin.
How To: Craft silk fabric mini rose hair pins
The best part about this silk fabric rose craft is that you can use the mini roses for anything, from adorning your cashmere sweater as a brooch to pinning one on a tote bag to attaching one to a hair pin.
How To: Sew a ruffled floral crop top
Want to get the bohemmian look for less? Then look no further than this ruffled bohemian top. You can fabricate this out of old scraps of vintage floral fabric.
How To: Sew an empire waist summer dress
Empire waists go all the way back to Napoleon and the Regency period, when women thought it becoming to wear classically inspired, almost Grecian goddess-like gowns. They'd pin their curly locks up into coy yet alluring buns to complete the look.
How To: Sew a simple spring floral romper
During the spring, all you want to do is romp around beautiful fields of wild flowers while blowing bubbles and making garlands out of dandelions, right? So what better outfit to wear than a romper?
How To: Sew a simple flouncy high-waisted skirt
High waisted skirts may seem rather unflattering - after all, the last high-waisted trend we've heard about was high-waisted pants, and after Jessica Simpson's mom jeans controversy that trend has swiftly burned out and died. But because high-waisted skirts fall at your waist, they help create an hourglass silhouette that's flattering on everyone.
How To: Shirr fabric easily step by step
You probably haven't heard of shirring fabric before, but we can bet you've either seen it or have several pieces of clothing with shirring. Shirring means adding bumpy, ruffled waves to a fabric using scrunching and sewing.
How To: Sew a large, lacy feminine bow belt
A bow - whether pinned onto your shirt or tied around your waist as a belt - is a quick and easy way to add instant feminine pizazz to any outfit. Even if all you're wearing is a standard white tee and shorts, donning a bow belt will turn that outfit into a pretty look.
How To: Upcycle an old t-shirt into a puff-sleeved shirt
Got a bunch of old, too large t-shirts lying around that you don't want to throw away, but that you also can't seem to wear? Then take the high road by upcycling it into this on-trend puff sleeved shirt.
How To: Sew an easy shirred empire waist summer halter top
Summer time is the best time to have fun with fashion. And since you're probably going to be spending most of your time beachcombing, nomming on large ice cream sundaes, and attending hot late night parties, your clothing choices should be as comfortable as possible.
How To: Tint brass stampings using Gilder's Paste
Gilder's Paste is what distinguishes a so-so piece of jewelry from a truly dazzling, memorable one. That's because Gilder's Paste, which comes in a wide variety of colors and tints, is a type of colorant for brass that can be mixed and applied for a unique look.
How To: Tint brass findings and stampings with Gilder's Paste
Jewelry made with untreated brass findings and stampings looks just fine, but if you're going for an impressive, interesting piece that stands out and shows personality, then Gilder's Paste is where it's at. Gilder's Paste comes in a large variety of colors and is used to color brass jewelry pieces.
How To: Color brass flower findings with Lumiere paints and GIlder's Paste
Want to make even the newest of jewelry look antique? Then you've stumbled upon the right jewelry crafting video. Take a gander to learn how to color brass flower findings using Lumiere paints and Gilder's Paste.
How To: Hack a Brother KH-930e knitting machine to receive any digital pattern
The Brother KH-930e knitting machine is an old but reliable device. It's age means that it doesn't like interfacing with modern computers though, so it's hard to get patterns from your computer to your machine so it will knit your project. Without this video it's hard, that is. Watch on to learn how to hack a Brother KH-930e to receive any pattern from your computer.
How To: Make wire-wrapped flower brooches and jewelry
Wire wrapping is like the bread and butter of jewelry making. It doesn't matter if you're into vintage inspired, assemblage necklaces or Steampunk pieces - wire wrapping is essntial for securing everything in place and often times is even used as part of the decor.
How To: Craft a designer charmstring with beaded wire clasps for your purse
Lots of designer purse companies, especially Coach and Kate Spade, LOVE attaching beaded charms to their purses and clutches. Sparkly little bits and pieces add extra pizazz to anything they're attached to.
How To: Purpose and repurpose vintage necklaces and brooches
If you're a habitual thrift store and consignment store shopper, then you know that every now and then you'll stumble upon a vintage necklace or ring that has one part that's sooo pretty, but the rest looks pretty tacky or too old. Give new life to the little bits of vintage jewelry you've collected by repurposing them into a brand new necklace.
How To: Make an awesome propeller Steampunk brass ring
Add instant art school style to your outfit by crafting this propeller Steampunk brass ring. Steampunk style, which fuses Victorian/industrial age style with anachronisms like old watch parts and propellers, is on trend right now with Hollywood as well as the indie craft scene.
How To: Craft a vintage collage necklace with brass stampings and rhinestones
This Mona Lisa necklace is really as unique and charming as it gets. Why wear the same old stringy bohemian necklace as everyone else when you can fabricate your own neck wear using vintage brooches, brass stampings, and other found knick knacks?
How To: Create jewelry in the vintage Five and Dime style
If you're a baby boomer or at least older than 40, then you probably remember the Five and Dime stores around your neighborhood street corner. Carrying kitchy knick knacks like masks and cheap candies that even little kids could afford, they were quite the sensation in their day.
How To: Create Steampunk rings with Gilder's Paste and Adirondack paint
If you haven't heard of Steampunk, then you've obviously been living under a rock for the past couple of years. Steampunk style, which is an ironic style composed of designs that fuse anachronistic technology (proppellers, watch parts, etc.) with Victorian style.
How To: Craft brass stampings and select plating finishes
Interested in getting in on the vintage jewelry trend? Then consider this video the introduction to the rest of your jewelry-crafting career. This jewelry tutorial focuses on brass stampings, which are intricate, almost filigree-like floral patterned rounds that you can string onto necklaces or pin onto earrings.
How To: Pack jewelry business orders easily and quickly
So you've done it. You've been wanting to have your own jewelry business since you were six, and you finally saved up enough money to purchase all the materials and are now making more moolah than you can count with your on-trend wire wrapped earrings. But how do you handle packing and shipping so many orders without going crazy?
How To: Craft custom earwires from eyepins and earrings with filigree designs
Want to make your own jewelry? While there are loads of pre-made earrings and necklaces and bracelets out there, it's often hard to find one that suits your personality to a tee, so we totally feel you. But before you start haphazardly strining stuff onto a wire, check out this jewelry making video first.
How To: Measure stones, bezels, and mounts with brass measuring calipers
If your idea of jewelry making is simply strining on glass beads and vintage knick knacks onto a string and then adding a clasp, then you have some serious learning to do. While in the end creativity trumps all, it's important for many intricate projects that you calculate exactly how much of one particular stone or filigree stamp you need. And in order to do that, you must measure them.
How To: Color vintage flower brass stampings using acrylic paint and resin
If you enjoy creating vintage inspired jewelry, then there's no way you can get around not using brass stampings. Already infused with a rusty colored hue, they're very antique-looking and their colors can be altered. Check out this jewelry crafting video to learn how to color vintage flower brass stampings using materials including acrylic paint and resin.
How To: Select an appropriate glue for collage jewelry
When it comes to making collage jewelry - i.e., jewelry that's an assemblage of tons of bits and pieces - the type of glue you use is essntial to everything sticking together and not falling off into your cocktail at your holiday party.
How To: Make a gift wrap garland out of felt and grossgrain ribbon
Dress up a plain white box with this fun and easy tutorial! All you need is the gift box, some festive felt, a length of grossgrain ribbon long enough to go around the box, and a few cutting and craft supplies.
How To: Use gilder's paste to enhance the appearance of filigree beads
Filigree beads add a touch of intricate whimsy to any jewelry project. But if you're using run-of-the-mill metal filigree parts of one uniform color each time, then you're probably making necklaces and earrings that are more blah than impressive.
How To: Add a nickel-free gunmetal finish to raw brass filigree
Gunmetal gray is one of the coolest, most biker-chic finishes out there when it comes to jewelry making. If you enjoy working with filigree pieces in your bracelets and necklaces, why not make them less granny fantastic and more urban chic by adding a nickel-free gunmetal finish?
How To: Make a snowflake for Christmas with paper
Looking for a fun, simple project to do with your kids this winter season? This cheap and simple art project won't cost you a dime. Learn to make Christmas snowflakes with paper, and pretty soon you'll have great decorations to hang up on the windows.
How To: Paint spring-loaded clothespins into colorful, decorative wooden fasteners
Spring-loaded clothespins are used for more than just clothes. If you looked in anyone's home, you'll see these springy wooden clothespins used for things like chip clips, photo holders and even for attaching sports cards on bicycle spokes. They're even used in the film industry (called C47s or bullets) for clamping colored gels or diffusion to hot lights on set. So, there's a million uses for these wooden clamps, but that doesn't mean they have to look the same— drab and unoriginal.
How To: Craft a vintage/Steampunk rose brooch
When you think of flower brooches, you probably imagine those dusty, ancient things your grandmother used to wear on her wool cardigan. But brooches can be uber cool - and even street chic - when done in a vintage/Steampunk style.
How To: Make an elegant four leaf clover pendant ring
Part 1 of beading video showing how to make a four leaf clover ring and pendant. Part 1 of 3 - How to Make an elegant four leaf clover pendant ring.
How To: Color flower brass stampings with acrylic paint and resin
Adding a patina to brass stampings is what gives it an aged, beautifully vintage look. If you've never worked with patinas before, then check out this jewelry crafting video to learn about how to use different types of patinas - including resin and acrylic paint - to make a flower you can attach to a pin to make into a brooch.