Make a reusable calendar with a picture frame

Do It Gurl! from gURL.com posted this cute tutorial for making a calendar from a picture frame, and I just happen to be in desperate need of a calendar!

Check out the tutorial here:

This project would make  a great diy handmade gift- especially for a new graduate!

I started with an 8×10″ picture frame. I got a free calendar template from the internet, sized it to be 8″ x 10″, and printed it out.

As I’ve mentioned before, I have an Alice in Wonderland theme in my office, so I decided to make some Alice themed Shrinky Dinks to decorate my frame. I printed out some of the original Tenniel illustrations to trace onto my ‘dinks.

 

Trace your image onto your Shrinky Dinks using colored pencils or Sharpies, cut, and shrink! A black fine point Sharpie is very handy for doing outlines.

Usually, I’d probably use hot glue because it sets so quickly, but I was too impatient to wait for the gun to heat up, so I used some Beacon Craft Glue.

Write in the month and dates with a dry erase marker, and you’re ready to start scheduling like a boss!

Tip: If you do a lot of erasing and are sick of losing the month and dates when you erase, you can write them in with permanent marker. When the month is over and it’s time to start fresh, just clean the glass with rubbing alcohol to remove the permanent marker!

5 Reasons You Shouldn’t Worry About Copycats

Copycats are a fact of life in the business world. No one likes someone suckling at their creative teat (okay, sorry… bad metaphor), but instead of getting mad, get over it and get AWESOME.

1. You aren’t the only creative person on the planet.

The farting unicorn t-shirt I designed for my band is a perfect example.

I originally thought of the idea of a unicorn farting a rainbow several years ago. And I swear that when I searched it then, there was nothing. I was actually surprised. Surely I wasn’t the only person to come to the conclusion that a unicorn would most definitely fart a rainbow?!?

Now go google farting unicorn and see what comes up. Lots of unicorns farting rainbows! COPYCATS!

But not really. I didn’t actually get around to posting the shirt design until last year. When I googled farting unicorn then, lo and behold, I saw what you see now. MY IDEA, everywhere.

The point being: was it my original idea? Yes. But was I the ONLY person to have the idea? Clearly not. Did someone have the idea before me, even though when I looked for it, I didn’t find it? Probably.

Furthermore, all of the farting unicorn designs out there are quite a bit different from one another, so while the basic premise might be the same, and some may have even been inspired by others, they’re still not copies. The same way that drawing a rabbit eating a carrot isn’t copying Bugs Bunny.

It’s merely a similar idea, done differently. And that’s allowed. How boring would the world be if it wasn’t?

2. Everything has been done before.

You know that awesome, original, totally creative idea you had? Someone’s probably already done it before. This applies to my farting unicorn above in the “idea” sense. And it applies to a lot of other things like clothing, bags, etc. in the literal sense.

I didn’t invent the circle skirt. It’s been around forever. So I didn’t even have the original IDEA for a circle skirt. I’d seen them a million times before, and literally said, “Hey! Circle skirt! I’m gonna make one of those.” 100% someone else’s idea. Whose idea? Probably no one knows.

That may seem fairly obvious, but let’s take it a step further. Let’s say it was a circle skirt… with a poodle applique sewn on. I know you’ve seen those. They’ve also been around forever. So am I a copycat for making one? I don’t think so.

Let’s go less obvious. What if I made a zebra print circle skirt, but instead of the common theme of a poodle,  I go with a skull. And then I see someone else doing the same thing. Copying? In my opinion, it’d be awfully presumptuous to assume that I was the only. person. ever. that thought of combining the two, even though it’s not the traditional poodle skirt.

Okay, sure, there are legitimate copycats out there, ripping off every little detail that made your design YOURS, and you know very well that they got the idea from you. Because it’s your EX-best-friend, or your arch nemesis who’s trying to destroy you, or your evil robot twin.

I’ve been there, but I’ve gotten to the point that I just don’t care anymore. I might get a quick pang of annoyance, and then I move on with my life. These are the reasons I was able to do that:

3. Worrying about copycats is unnecessary negative energy.

Unless someone copies your actual artwork or words or makes a mold of your sculpture (and in those cases, get medieval on their asses, by all means*), there’s not even anything you can do about a copycat.  Someone could go look at my shop and replicate all of my designs and I couldn’t do squat, aside from get pissed and tell everyone how sucky they are.

At the risk of sounding like a hippie, I’m all about the PMA- Positive Mental Attitude. I know, unicorns, rainbows, and now happy thoughts? But it’s true: thinking positive generates positive energy. If you focus on all of the good things in your life, how can you NOT feel awesome? The exact opposite is true of negative energy. Worry, anger, bitterness… all those feelings result in misery, so why dwell on them?

But you can’t help how you feel, right?

You can help what you DO with your feelings. Take that GRRRRRR you’re feeling about that copycat and go make something really kickass. Or bake someone special some cookies. Or pet your cute snuggly kitty cat. Instead of wallowing in and/or spreading the negativity, do something positive. Just imagine how goddamned magnificent the world would be if we all did something positive when we wanted to do something negative.

I’ve been there, and I’ve done the negative thing, and now that I have more perspective, I wish I could take it back. It did zero good. What a waste of my energy! I could have made cupcakes instead! Unless you’re immortal, you’ve got better things to do with your time than to let a copycat mess up your game.

*If someone is using your photographs, text, or artwork without your permission, they are committing actual copyright infringement.  In such cases, I’d suggest sending them an email politely explaining that you are the owner of the work, that using it without your permission constitutes copyright infringement, and that you are asking that they remove it to avoid legal action. Most people will oblige with an apology, because they simply didn’t know that what they were doing was wrong. It’s a sad side effect of information being so readily available on the internet that many people just assume they can take anything they find on the internet and use it.

4. Copycats don’t last.

They’ll make quick buck off your idea and then move on to someone else’s idea. And then they’ll die. Figuratively, of course.

Every single instance where I felt I was copied- the shops were either gone within a year or the person stopped replicating my design very quickly.  You know why?

Creative people are driven by the creative process. They would get bored very quickly with copying.

Copycats are driven by money. And sooner or later most of them will realize what all of us handmakers already know- if you’re in this for the money, you’re going to be sorely disappointed.

5. Publicly talking about people copying you makes you look petty.

And unprofessional. And full of yourself.

It didn’t occur to me until later, when I heard other people complaining about this or that person that copied them that I realized it. Even at times when I thought, “Yeah, that really does look like someone copied you,” the overall feeling I had was negative.

Is negativity what you want associated with your brand? Because mine sure as hell isn’t. So even if people are agreeing with you, “YEAH! THAT BITCH TOTALLY COPIED, LET’S GO GET PITCHFORKS AND TORCHES AND STAND OUTSIDE OF HER HOUSE!” … they might subconsciously be thinking, “Doesn’t this person have better things to do than whine about copycats?”

And they’re right, because you could be making super sweet shit instead! So go do it and stop worrying about copycats.

For more perspective on copycats, check out: http://pikaland.com/2010/06/01/copycats-lessons-we-can-learn

Quick Sewing Tip: Keep a log of machine maintenance

When was the last time you cleaned and oiled your machine? Or changed a needle?

You don’t remember?

Me neiths.

That’s why I started keeping a mini notebook next to my machines so I could record when and what maintenance I’ve done.

I change the needles on my sewing machines fairly often, but on my sergers and coverstitch machines? Unless I break a needle, almost never.  And when you can take out your handy dandy notebook and see that you haven’t changed the needles in 5 months, it can make troubleshooting go a lot faster.

When it comes to cleaning and oiling, most of my machines suggest once a month… for infrequent use. HA! For “daily use”, the manuals suggest cleaning once or twice A WEEK. *cough* Oops.

Now that I keep notes, though, it’s a lot harder to say to myself, “I just cleaned them, they’re fine….”  I can actually look (in horror) to see that they haven’t been oiled in… well, in a long time.

Since I’m a machine freak and have a fleet of machines, a wee notebook is appropriate, but if you’ve only got one or two, you could just use a Post-it note stuck to the back of the machine to keep note.

WhatTheCraft Handmade Giveaway – SmarmyClothes tees winner

Woo! That was a lot of entries. Thank you to every one that entered my giveaway. It’s time to announce the winner!

And the winner is…

Danielle!

Congrats to Danielle, and I hope you’ll all be back for our next giveaway!

WhatTheCraft Handmade Giveaway – SmarmyClothes tees

This week’s WhatTheCraft Giveaway is sponsored by SmarmyClothes… Hey, that’s me!

The winner of this giveaway will receive:
your choice of one of my new line of SmarmyClothes tees

Valued at up to $30!

I won’t bore you with the usual giveaway interview, since you hear quite enough from me as it is. But I do want to tell you how effing excited I am about these shirts!

First- the skull and safety pins shirt is available in a ton of print options already – glitter, neon, glow in the dark, etc. And I want everyone to know that you can choose any print color/style that you want. If the option isn’t in my shop, just contact me and I will make it happen. Second, the shirt styles can be customized as well, so if you want a hoodie or a baby onesie or even a dress, your wish is my command!

The kawaii animal shirts are my favorite because 1. They’re FUZZY. And 2. The pig and the fox have TAILS IN THE BACK. It’s so cute, I might explode.

Alright, I’ll shut up now and tell you how to enter- but before I go, I also wanted to mention that I’m also having a birthday sale this weekend… all ready to ship tops, skirts, and dresses are 29% off at SmarmyClothes.com through Monday!

Giveaway Info:

SmarmyClothes  is giving away a t-shirt of your choice.

There are lots of ways to enter, so even us lazy folk have a chance at winning!

This contest will close on May 10th at 11:59 PM EST. I will randomly select one winner after the contest closes.

You MUST comment on this post with your entries as you complete them.

If you do not comment, I will have no way to count your entries.
You can post a separate comment for each entry or
put all of your entries into one comment.

If you have Liked/Followed/etc. WhatTheCraft in previous giveaways,
you can still use that as entry, just comment saying you have done so.

Ways to Enter

On Facebook:
Please include your Facebook name in your comment

• “LIKE” WhatTheCraft on Facebook
• “LIKE” SmarmyClothes on Facebook
• Post a Facebook status update with a link to this giveaway
• Post a Facebook update with a link to your favorite t-shirt design from SmarmyClothes

On Twitter:
Please include your Twitter name in your comment

• Follow WhatTheCraft on Twitter
• Follow SmarmyClothes on Twitter
• Retweet this tweet from your Twitter
• Tweet with a link to your favorite t-shirt design from SmarmyClothes
  

Other Ways:

• Follow SmarmyClothes on Tumblr – include your Tumblr username in your comment
  
• Blog about this giveaway and/or about SmarmyClothes - include a link to the post in your comment
• Subscribe to my YouTube channel – include your YouTube username in your comment

 

PLEASE make sure you include a valid email address on the comment form so I can get in touch with you if you win!

This giveaway will end at 11:59 PM EST on Thursday, May 10th, 2012.

Who doesn’t like kittens?

No one. The answer is NO ONE.

What I’ve been working on…

Aside from the mountain of custom orders and Extreme Unicorns stuff (and I swear new video tutorials are imminent!)… I’ve added a bunch of new custom skirt designs to my shop (and two former dress designs that are now also available on a custom order basis)!

Peggy zip back pencil skirt, available in houndstooth, leopard, or any print of your choice!

Stormer zebra corset skirt

[Read more...]

Extreme!

I have rad news! My band The Extreme Unicorns just released our first EP. All the songs make for excellent crafting background music- tested and approved by yours truly.

Check it out!

Here’s the new music video for the first song on the EP:

WhatTheCraft Handmade Giveaway – Static White’s Stitchery Winner

Congrats to the Static White’s Stitchery giveaway winner…

Julie Lynn!

And thank you to all of you that entered!

Recipe: Carrot Cake with Maple Cream Cheese frosting

This is The Best Carrot Cake of All Time. I shit you not. I got the original from Bon Appétit, but I’ve modified it to it’s current excellence.

The original was super oily, so I cut the oil and subbed in some yogurt, so it’s still super moist.

Ingredients

Cake:

• 2 cups all purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice (or a mix of nutmeg, ginger, and allspice)
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1 cup white sugar
• 1/2 cup yogurt
• 3/4 cup vegetable oil
• 4 large eggs
• 3 cups grated peeled carrots (about 10 average sized carrots)
• (optional) 2 tablespoons crystallized ginger [Read more...]