Hi everyone!

[blonndee]

I'm so excited about the new group!

I'm not very experienced at any kind of crafting, but I love me some glue gun action and anything shiny or funky that can be stapled, glued, or stitched together. Half-day projects are what I like best. Quick fix, if you will, and helps me avoid the whole procrastination problem.

I'm wanting to take up making wire and beaded jewelry and maybe even stuff like tiebacks, candleholders, and other accessories, but so far I haven't set up a work area or saved up enough to buy a lot of supplies. I look forward to reading all about you guys' experiences and projects.

:hi:

[gizmonic]

1. Hi Blonndee!

Fast 'n furious crafting? I like craftster.org. That site gets me all inspired -- I think you could find some cool projects there.

I'm so excited about this group, too! I'm like a sugared-up 10 year old! Wheeeeee!

:woohoo: :woohoo: :woohoo: :crazy: :crazy:

[blonndee]

3. Thanks for that! I've bookmarked it and I'll check it out tomorrow.

It looks fun, and definitely inspiring!

[Longhorn]

2. Howdy!

This is my first post in the new Crafts Group! I was gone all day and just found out that it is here! Yippee!

I've always been amazed at what can be accomplished with a glue gun, though I haven't done a lot with mine. What kinds of things have you made? :hi:

[blonndee]

4. Hi!

That was my first post too. Welcome! What kinds of projects do you enjoy?

Usually I do really easy stuff like photo frames, pillows, and stuff like that, but I want to get into harder stuff now that I'm done with school. Like I said, I haven't done a lot, but over Christmas break my mom and I used some fabric from my old favorite skirt from back in the high school days to re-cover a lamp shade on this old lamp my grandma let me rescue from her garage. Instead of stitching it, we just hot-glued it, and then hot-glued some funky beaded trim on the lampshade and the base, and tied it all up with a satin ribbon. It was SO much fun, and it is FAR from perfect, but it's my new favorite thing.

I decided to take some pictures to show you! I'm kind of embarrassed because I'm sure you guys do way better stuff than this, but oh well! I like it! The color is way off--it's true black, the flowers are ecru and a kind of red with a hint of orange. Normally I don't decorate with flowery, girly stuff but this will work very well in my guest bedroom.

[Longhorn]

5. I am impressed

at both the creativity and the execution! :yourock:

Thanks for sharing! :)

I'm mostly crocheting these days -- wraps for my daughter's outdoor wedding in two months. I should be crocheting right now! :D :hi:

[blonndee]

6. Well, one shouldn't look too closely--I showed you the "good" side LOL.

Because of the bias, we had to make a sort of folded seam running up vertically on one side, and that rick-rack with the beading (in the middle of the shade) conceals an existing skirt seam leading up to the old zipper. So we had to be kind of creative to make it work!

I always thought crocheting was so neat--it looks hard, though. Hopefully you'll show us some pictures soon!

[Longhorn]

7. Crocheting is really easy.

I haven't done anything particularly intricate or challenging yet but the afghans and wraps I've done so far have been simple. I'll bet any yarn shop could show you how to do the beginning stitches (or you could figure it out from online sources such as this: http://learntocrochet.lionbrand.com/)

I can't just sit and watch television so if I'm not reading DU or grading papers, I'm crocheting! :)

By the way, I don't think I've ever made a project that was perfect. It used to bother me but I soon realized that I'm the only one who knows where the mistakes are. ;) It has actually taught me to be less of a perfectionist!

[Arkansas Granny]

8. Crochet is not nearly as hard as it looks. If you have some good

instructions you can teach yourself. Many basic pattern books have some pretty good directions and illustrations on how to crochet and are really easy to follow. There are a lot of neat and useful projects that can be made if you know only one or two basic stitches.

[Lugnut]

10. That's true

I taught myself to crochet by reading a good instruction book and it really isn't difficult. I also taught myself how to do macrame the same way.

[gizmonic]

9. That's a sexy lampshade! Very cool!

I like it -- nice job!

:toast: :headbang:

[blonndee]

11. Thank you!

It was a lot of fun to do. Thank goodness my mom was there! I would have made a big mess of it if I tried to do it by myself! ;)

[eridani]

12. Bead trim is nicely executed

So far I'm not quite patient enough to do a lot with seed beads. Reusing stuff that you have a history with is very satisfying, no?