iPad Case from an Upcycled Sweater by Lan

I live in San Francisco, and let me tell you: we are as techie as everyone says we are.  It appears that everyone, no matter what their financial status, has bought, won, or obtained an iPad. When I received mine as a bonus from my last job, I felt the familiar twinge of excitement and resentment. I joined the hoard of upwardly mobile yuppies with a big fancy piece of technology that essentially did the same thing as my iPhone. Yeah, I have one of those too. The iPad, however, is pointless with out a transport case.  As mine is the iPad 1, I don't have the option to dress it up with a fancy Smart Cover. So in true craft pirate style I crafted my own awesome bunny cover!

 From an old sweater with a print that I love, I sewed a basic zippered pouch with dimensions that fit my iPad. 

I used some basic cotton for the lining, to keep my iPad nice and safe and scratch-free.

 

Now I can take my iPad everywhere so I can read/Google/download apps/look pretentious on the go. Smooth sailing Pirates :) 

recycled t-shirt scarves

as i crossedmyheartpromised to ninnerson here is a post. i have been obsessively making these tshirt scarves for a few weeks now because they are easy, fun, and addictive. there are quite a few tutorials out there but you don't really need one. just take a tshirt preferably one without seams down the side and one that is pretty big and a beautiful color. cut off the hem and cut across the shirt from armpit to armpit. now take the big middle piece and cut it into strips (they should be long and still attached to each other, like a long circular noodle) stretch them out and tie them together. it's really the stretching that is addictive i think. so here they are. i have taken a copious number of photos of them and i am going to load them all! thank you to my very patient model rach who just laughed and didn't complain.

a parting sketch of nina's kitchen

Last week I moved out of the house where I'd been living for the past year and a quarter. It had really become a home and I was sad to leave it. My friend Lia visited and we sketched my kitchen. I chose the sink and cabinets, complete with paper hearts I had scattered all over for Valentine's day.

an almost-finished sweater!

I started knitting this sweater my first year at Smith. Every winter for the past five years I've pulled it out of the closet, worked on it a bit, gotten frustrated with a dropped stitch or other nuisance, and put it away. 

This year I'm really going to finish it! I even trekked back to the tiny yarn shop in rural New York where I bought the yarn because I had run out about halfway up my shoulders. Check it out:

 

I may put off finishing it until after Christmas because I really need to work on a pair of socks I'm knitting for my brother. But the sweater... it's so close!

I am [ironically] about to leave for a tropical country quite soon, where I will not be wearing this sweater.

inchies - crafted by nina

a fellow pirate recently alerted us craft corsairs to a phenomenon called inchies. 

mine are a little bigger than an inch, but you get the idea. I pulled out all the bags of assorted fabric scraps, buttons and tangled embroidery floss from my craft box and came up with these:

perhaps an inchie will be coming to a mailbox near you soon?

printmaking workshop & crayons

So I went to this really neat collaborative event between Baltimore Print Studios and Moveable Type (http://type-truck.com/baltimore-print-studios/) where I got to make this print using silk screening and the letterpress in the type truck. It was really neat and free! Here's the print hanging on my wall. 

Too many exciting things at the same time: Here's the crayon wall art I made this week. Glue crayons to canvas and get out yer hairdryer. I've seen some really nice ones, mine is a little bit explosive.

close up

hanging on the art room wall

love & glue,

xoxoxoxo

bandit   

Paper Flowers: My First Post :)

Ahoy Maties!

Lan, here. I've finally gotten my act together to post some flowers that I've created for my new side business, Freaky Bird Stationary. As of me posting this, the website does not have content, but enjoy how awesome it looks in transition.  Freaky Bird Stationary is stationery (note the spelling difference) and other lovely little things made out of recycled vintage paper that focuses on everything romantic and charming in life.  

I made these roses by cutting out the petals and gluing them together with simple craft glue.

Check out how you can make you're own flowers by watching this video, and have a crafty, piratey day. 
<3 Lan