Wine Corks Into Cork Board

A while back, I decided that it would be a great idea to make a cork board using a bunch of discarded wine corks. I asked all my friends to save their wine corks for me.  For the past few weeks, they have been sitting around, waiting for me to find the right frame and the right motivation to put them together.

And then I saw this cool wine cork bath mat and felt inspired.

Here's the how-to.

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Gather your corks, a really sharp, non-serrated knife and a self-healing cutting mat.

Be very careful not to cut yourself while cutting your corks in half, lengthwise.

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Arrange them however you like on the back board of your photo frame.  

You can be way more simple than I was, but I wanted something more than straight up and down or side to side lines, personally.  Of course, this required me to cut the corks into a lot of different sizes...

After they're laid out, use your glue gun to glue them firmly in place, one and a time.

I found it easiest to work my way around the edges and then press the middle ones tightly into place.

DIY Inspiration: Books As Planters

Italy's Gartenkulter has turned old books into the most amazing up-cycled planters!

Via Inhabit:

With the recent rise in popularity of electronic readers, thoughts of “book extinction” have really seeped their way into design conversations. Italy-based Gartenkulter pays tribute to the tree with these beautiful planters made from old and disused books. By removing the heart of the book’s cover and pages and then creating a seal, the book becomes a home for a living and growing tree. “As each seed becomes a plant or tree, the book becomes a pot or cradle.”

I absolutely love these!

Now, who wants to hollow out some old books for me so I can get started?

Design: Patterns, Motifs and Turning Squares

©Briana Campbell, 2010

Upcycled Undies

A couple of weeks ago I posted a link to Colette Patterns cute mini-bloomers pattern with the promise of posting my own, once they were finished.

Over the weekend, I had a bit of spare time to complete the project and added a cute little bra-top to match.  Obviously these aren't really undergarments - more for lounging around the apartment with your hunny, drinking hot coffee and watching the rain (or, you know, feet of snow) fall.  His cardigan or button-down from last night would be a great robe-replacement over this sweet set.

For my bloomers and bra, I up-cycled an old Dwell duvet cover my friend Sarah had given me - I love Dwell's modern designs and color palette and was definitely inspired to make this set when I saw the fabric folded up in my large piece stash!

The finished mini-bloomers with elastic waist and navy grosgrain at the legs.

I finished the seams on the inside of the bloomers with a Hong Kong Seam.

There is a super tutorial on seam finishes over at Craft Stylish.

 

The bra top obviously offers no support, but it's a cute compliment to the bloomers.

I made a pattern for a triangle top and finished with an elasticized ruffle, as opposed to making a string bikini/halter.

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  I finished the back seam of the top with a flat-fell seam (like you see on the side of your jeans).

The top just slips over your head.

Design: Chairs

©Briana Campbell, 2010

Papercraft

I wanted to make some really special "thank you" cards to send to the creative team of The Martha Stewart Show - to show them my appreciation for the day spent with them, but also to show them what I can do with some paper and an Exacto knife!

I decided to print out some designs I had drawn last semester for my textile design class at FIT and use them as background for a slim silhouette of a wintry tree. I found a jpeg of a tree online and, using Photoshop, turned it into a silhouette that I would be able to cut with an Exacto and cutting board.  I chose an orange Ginko leaf on a blue background and pink butterflies sitting on pale pink and yellow cherry blossoms for the ground of my cards and cut the trees from traditional black paper.

 

 the template for the tree silhouette (in pink) and the cut out tree on black card stock

 the cut out and folded card with the Ginko leaf designed paper 

(if you can't make your own designed paper, a pretty wrapping paper or piece of scrapbooking paper would work well)

a close up of the completed card, with the butterfly/cherry blossom design

Umbrella Tote Bag

Everyone has one.  A broken umbrella they don't know what to do with.  In New York, it's hard to walk down the street on a cold, windy, rainy day and not see one or two laying on the sidewalk or in a garbage bin.  And, if you get caught in the rain, you inevitably have bought one of those $3 jobs from the vendors who seem to come out of nowhere at the first drop of rain.  We all know that those things never last.

I have, or should I say had, an adorable little pink and white striped umbrella that I picked up at H&M one rainy Saturday, caught in SOHO and not expecting rain to fall.  It lasted a while, but let's be honest, an umbrella can only flip inside out in the wind so many times before becoming obsolete.  So what?  It doesn't work as an umbrella anymore, but what about that fabric?  I could no longer use the umbrella to shield me from the rain, but there must be something, being a resourceful gal, that I could do with the fabric.

So, I made a tote bag.  It's simple, it's light, it's handy.  It took about an hour to make- start to finish.

Start by removing the fabric from the skeleton of the umbrella.

It should look something like this:

Fold the umbrella in half, along the center seam

Then fold it in half again.  Using a straight-edge and a blade, cut your umbrella into a rectangle

Stitch the open edges

I used the scraps from the side to make long handles for my bag. 

Sew them together into a long even tube, right sides facing and open at the ends.

Turn them inside out and press with a cool iron.

I left the tab on so the bag could be neatly rolled and carried in the bottom of my regular handbag.

Here's the finished product, all rolled up and ready to go

Very handy for grabbing groceries or a trip to the store.  Just remember to toss it into the bottom of your handbag before leaving the house!

Fun With Photoshop

©2009 Briana Campbell

©2009 Briana Campbell

Photos taken with Vignette software for Google MyTouch, on Wintry setting, while walking through a snowstorm in NH, Christmas, 2009.

Design

©Briana Campbell, 2009

For a recent project in my textile design class at FIT we had to make a croquis (a tossed design), keeping in mind the fabric's use. I drew, using Photoshop, these vintage-inspired bicycles and scattered them over the page, on a soft green background. I envision this pattern being used on a mini-dress (think something like this from APC).

The next assignment, due tomorrow!, is to index the colors and re-color the pattern two different ways from a previously determined color palette.  I love the idea of getting an entirely different feel from a pattern using only a subtle change of color.