Sparrow Soirees summer event

Posted in Craft parties by Kathy Thompson

My dragon cohort, Asia from Sparrow Soirees, recently threw a glitter and crafts party. It was a gorgeous Sunday afternoon, and despite me coming smelling like a firepit (prior to her party I came from a BBQ cooking class) I had the most wonderful time.

One of the crafts was painting (and or glittering) a basswood. Using a paint brush I applied Mod Podge on the base with a paintbrush, and then sprinkled gold glitter on top. I couldn’t fair well go to a “glitter” party and not create something using…um…glitter. I couldn’t stop there with the gold, I used black glitter for a stitched border around the edge. I do have to say I think it is adorable. :)

When I got home I was ready to hang it up in my craft room so I got out a piece of dark brown leather trim and nailed the ends to the back of the basswood to hang on the wall.

Thanks so much to Asia for hosting such a fun event!

22Jul2014

Seattle Bloggers Unite Summer Meet-up

Posted in Classes & Workshops by Kathy Thompson

Last week I was fortunate to have joined all the lovely bloggers at the Seattle Bloggers Unite summer meet-up at Fare-well Paperie. I had an amazing evening at their Georgetown studio mingling and meeting talented bloggers from the area.

The founders of Fare-well Paperie, Jen and Lisa, produce an amazing line of letterpress cards. You’ll find the typical standard celebrations in their cards, but with a snarky twist. I love them!

We started the evening off with some eats and a cocktail from DRY Soda. Then we heard all about how Jen and Lisa started their letterpress business. I love hearing stories of talented women who start their own businesses…it is so inspiring. :) After a little introduction, they let us wander around their studio to check out all their Their beautiful letterpress cards, wrapping paper, and colorful envelopes.

We then took our turn creating our own custom letterpress notecards on their platen press named “Bill.” We cut and created envelope liners to go with our notecards.

Here is my final personalized notecards! GETTIN CRAFTY UP IN HERE!

Thanks to the amazing sponsors…Fare-well Paperie, A Fabulous Fete, Cameos and Crowns, Chronicle Books, DRY Soda, Fran’s Chocolates, Jet Pens, Olive Box, Ravenna Girls, Sasquatch Books, Tattly, The Container Store, and Tutta Lou Press.

21Jul2014

Craft sneak peek

Posted in Knitting by Kathy Thompson

I have been a little delinquent lately on getting work up on the blog. Things have been a bit busy with ramping up on a new job, getting sick, and planning a vacation. Mostly all great things so I have nothing to complain about, except for the being sick part. :)

Here is a sneak peak of my Wool and the Gang project! Can’t wait to show you all the finished project.

21Jul2014

Little Joys | Glitter letters

Posted in Little joys by Kathy Thompson

Little Joys are little bits of crafty happiness!

One of my designer obsessions is type. You’ll find it scattered all over my house whether it’s in my artwork, on my pillows, or other decor. I don’t think this obsession will stop…so just get used to it. :)

In addition to my camping goods I bought at Lucca during my last visit, I found this awesome glittered letters by Wendy Addison in the back of their store with all the stationary and cards. Instead of buying my usual “K” and “T” (my initials) I decided to buy a word. This time it was “CREATE.” Perfect for my craft room and a reminder of why I love creating in the first place.

MATERIALS

Glitter letters (in whatever word you’d like)
Ribbon (account for approximately XX” per letter)
Scissors

INSTRUCTIONS

Step 1:

You’ll need 2 ft of ribbon for the left and right sides of your word, plus 4 inches for each letter.

Thread your first letter from back to front. Loop the ribbon over the top, and thread it through the back of the letter to the front.

Step 2:

Continue threading all the letters onto the ribbon, leaving a few inches in between each.

Now you are ready to hang your letters to inspire creativity!!!

8Jul2014

Little Joys | T-shirt Jersey Yarn

Posted in Little joys by Kathy Thompson

jersey_yarn_text

Little Joys are little bits of crafty happiness!

Who knew that jersey yarn existed or was this freaking cool?! This yarn from Wool and the Gang is the bees knees as far as I’m concerned.

Little Joys Stitch

4Jul2014

DIY | Star & Stripes Pillows

Posted in Holidays by Kathy Thompson

Call me old-fashioned, but one item on my bucket list is to have an American flag. Not just HAVE one, but have one to put outside in front of my house. And it can’t just be a run of the mill flag. No nylon and it can not be just printed ink. It will be a cotton flag. There is something about that heavy cotton material that makes it seem more authentic.

I’ve wanted to do a Fourth of July DIY that reminisced that old cotton flag look…and I think I found it! One of the sponsors from last summer’s Alt Design Summit, Michael Miller Fabrics, gave us all some fat quarter samples. I have held onto my lively blue samples for the right project. I had just enough solid blue fabric to use for the front of my reoccurring pillow case DIY. So I better not screw it up! I also had some leftover cotton twill from my Alphabet Joy pillow from last years 25 Days of Crafts. Together (with some red fabric) I had the makings of some great holiday decor.

I hope you all have a very Happy Independence Day!

MATERIALS

16″ x 16″ piece of blue cotton twill
3 pieces of 16″ x 4″ red cotton twill
2 pieces of 16″ x 4″ cream cotton twill
4 pieces of 16″ x 10.5″ cream cotton twill
9″ x 9″ cream cotton twill for the star
Cream thread
Scissors
2 – 16″ x 16″ pillow inserts
Star Template
Sewing machine (not pictured)
Pencil (not pictured)

TIME

A few hours depending on your sewing skills. I cut my pieces out one night and sewed the next.

INSTRUCTIONS – STRIPED PILLOW FRONT

Step 1:

With the right sides facing, place a red piece and cream piece together, and sew together a 1/2″ seam along the long edge.

Open up the sewn pieces on the table (right side up) and align the long un-sewn edges of a red and cream piece together. Pin those two together and sew a 1/2″ seam.

Repeat the step above by sewing alternating red than white pieces until all the pieces are sewn together, ending with a red piece on the top and bottom. With your 1/2″ seams, the inside pieces should end up being 3″ in height once they are sewn together. The top and bottom piece should be 3 1/2″ from edge to seam.

Step 2:

Flip the striped piece over, and iron the seams out flat.

Step 3:

Bring it back to your sewing machine, and sew a finishing stitch along the left and right side of each seam 1/4″ from the seam. Be mindful of your distance from the seam to the stitch, not from the stitch to the cut edge. You might find it helpful to sew with the wrong side facing up, this way you can control the hem from rolling.

Iron out the piece when you are complete.

INSTRUCTIONS – STAR PILLOW FRONT

Step 1:

Cut out the star by downloading and printing the Star Template. The template has two pages, one for the cream part of the star, and one for the blue part of the star.

For the cream part, simply trace and cut one cream piece.

For the blue part, cut out the center part (the solid lines.)

Step 2:

Place your blue fabric on the table and fold the bottom right corner up to meet the left top corner. This will create a triangle. Repeat that step with the bottom left to the top right.

Mark the center point with a pencil.

Step 3:

Center the blue template over the pencil mark. You might find it easier if you attach it with some tape to hold it in place.

Next trace the edges of the cut part, including the lines that go into the points of the star.

Remove the tape, and cut out the lines you drew. You’ll be left with a weird star-like hole in the middle of your fabric.

Step 4:

Using the paper template as a guide, fold back each of the edges to begin opening up your star. Iron them out as you go, and pin them to hold them in place.

Step 5:

With the wrong side of the blue fabric facing up, take your cream star and align it over the top of the folded back star. This will become the backing for the star. Pin it in place.

Step 6:

Flip it over right side up and sew a finishing stitch approx 1/4″ from the folded edges.

INSTRUCTIONS – PILLOW BACKS

Step 1:

For the back of the pillow, take the 16″ x 10.5″ pieces and fold over one long edge 1/4” and then approx 3/8″ again on itself. Iron the folded edge flat and use a couple pins to hold the fold down. Repeat to the other piece.

Step 2:

Sew each of the pinned pieces right down the center of the fold, about 1/4” from the edge.

Step 3:

To assemble the pillow, place the front side of the pillow (right side up) on the table. Take one back piece (wrong side up) and align to the left edge of the front piece with the hem in the middle.

Take the second back piece and align to the right edge of the front piece (wrong side up). Your pieces will overlap in the center.

Pin together and sew a 1/2″ hem around all four sides.

Once all edges have been sewn, trim the strings and turn right side out. Insert the pillow into the case and you are ready to use!

It’s the perfect addition to your red, white, and blue decor. Happy Fourth of July!!!

1Jul2014

DIY | Two-tone wood box

Posted in Containers by Kathy Thompson

If you are a follower of Krafty Kath you might have figured out by now that I have a slight obsession with containers. Boxes, bins, baskets, or containers…I love them all. If I could own The Container Store I would. So if you love containers as much as I do, then I’m your girl. The container crafts will keep coming as long as I am blogging. :)

I have purchased boxes with hinges for past DIYs, but for this one I really wanted a box that had a traditional lift-off lid. I found these great unfinished boxes on Turns2Art Etsy shop. They have a great selection of unfinished wood pieces.

For this particular box, I wanted to create something a little different instead of painting the entire box one color. So I decided to paint a combination of clean modern white and rustic dark wood. I love the contrast!

MATERIALS

Unfinished wood box
White spray paint
Clear glossy spray paint (if you have GLOSSY spray paint, then you don’t need the clear coat)
Minwax Wood stain
Minwax Paste Finishing Wax
Paper towel
Old cloth
Foam brush
Sandpaper

INSTRUCTIONS

Step 1:

Sand any rough edges off your box. Mine came pretty much smooth as can be so I just did a little on the edges.

Step 2:

Spray the bottom half of your box with the white spray paint. Let the white paint fully dry and then spray the glossy clear on top of that.

Note: If you have GLOSSY spray paint, then skip spraying it with clear coat.

Step 3:

While the bottom half is drying, paint the top of your box with the wood stain. I chose Minwax “Jacobean” because it’s a nice dark brown. I didn’t stain underneath the lip of the lid because I didn’t want it rubbing off on the bottom of the box.

Step 4:

Once the stain is dried, you can apply a coat of the finish wax using a paper towel. Let the wax sit on the lid for about 15 minutes and then buff it out with an old cloth. You can see that this finish allows the wood grain to come through! Love it!

Step 5:

Since we painted the inside of the bottom, the lid MIGHT be a bit of a tight fit. Sand a little bit of the lid’s lip to help it fit into the bottom portion.

Step 6:

Once it’s all dried you can put the lid on your box. :) I love the contrast between the two halves. It’s modern and rustic at the same time!