RedThreadDIY

Craft ideas and musing from RedThreadDIY

My Creative Space

My sewing room is CLEAN! Before, fabric, craft stuff, papers, and books were EVERYWHERE, and half of the stuff that was in the room didn’t even belong. Nothing was organized, and I stopped crafting and sewing because I didn’t want to clean it up! One day, which happened to be this past Sunday, I decided to dedicate my entire day to cleaning it up. I am super proud of my efforts, and want to share! YES! Also, I’d like to think I’m overly organized, so maybe this will inspire some of you to organize your stuff the way I do! ;)

First, we have the lovely shelving from Ikea that holds most of my fabric and other misc. stuff. The majority of the stuff in my room is from Ikea, because it’s so cheap and really simple. Since I’m in the mood, I’m LISTING what I’ve got! They might not be in the best locations – but I find it easy to find everything I need. hehe – starting from the upper left corner and going across each row:

  • My cousins t-shirts for their t-shirt quilts that I’m making by the end of next year
  • Books that need to be turned into secret hiding places or clutches
  • Scraps of solid color fabrics
  • Felt and Zippers
  • Silicone Molds for soaps
  • Misc. shelf: glass ornaments, resin materials, misc. items that need attention, and random candles
  • Scraps of patterned color fabrics
  • Elastic, socks and gloves for reconstruction, and glue gun supplies. I also have some drop cloth on the side for misc. projects
  • Thermal/Waffle and Lycra Fabrics
  • Patterned Knit Fabrics
  • More patterned knit fabrics
  • Striped knit fabrics
  • Cork and Interfacing
  • Solid Knit Fabrics: Reds and Blues
  • Fleece Fabric
  • Solid Knit Fabrics: Whites and Blacks
  • Patterned Cotton Fabric
  • Solid Colored Cotton Fabric
  • Canvas Fabric
  • Solid Knit Fabrics: Greens and Yellows
  • Seasonal Fabric
  • Old Khaki Pants and Fleece
  • Quilted Fabric
  • Fleece and Flannel Fabric

Then, I have my lovely sewing machine and serger. That blue bench is FILLED to the top with my college papers and such. It definitely needs to be sorted through. But for now – who cares!? I’ve also got my photo setup supplies under the tables. I actually have 4 dress forms. The gray one is my favorite though, so it gets to stay! Eventually, I’ll figure out where to put the other ones so I can use them all.

It makes me so happy that everything has a place and is put away :) I store the majority of my t-shirts that need to be reconstructed in boxes and bins underneath my tables. It’s really nice to have so much table space. It’s always good to have several containers to organize stuff with. I’ve got ribbons, magnets, scissors, tools, thread, and tons of other misc. things that have their very own place so I can find everything easily. I’m thinking about making labels though, because half the time I forget where I organize stuff at!

I have way too many books – mostly craft books, marketing books, horror novels, and graphic design books. And a whole lot of printed out tutorials. I keep all of my patterns organized in files by type. The boxes underneath the table has some creepy old dolls that I want to craft with, as well as a ton of scrapbooking supplies. The two red toolboxes hold X-acto knives and other cutting tools for scrapbooking. Can’t forget the Cricut! That tool has saved me more time cutting than I ever thought possible.

Yay! My cutting table – it’s on wheels, so I can move it to wherever I need it. Haha, you can already see my craft stuff coming out after the cleaning. I do hope that I can keep this room clean! Otherwise, I am just so unmotivated to do anything. A clean room = a happy and productive me.

Before I cleaned up this closet, all of the stuff in here was all over the tables. What a nightmare! Now I’ve got everything all organized and accessible. Woot! This closet’s got stuffing, clothing that needs to be fixed, t-shirts that I want to make into my own t-shirt quilt, and t-shirts that I’ve kept to reconstruct for myself :) I also have a ton of Christian’s grandma’s clothing that she gave to me. It was a little odd and I was going to give them away – but then I had some genius ideas of what to do with them. You’ll just have to wait and see how I transform grandma clothes into awesome ones. Can it be done? You better believe it! I’ve also got all the button supplies stored in here, as well as frames, granite tile samples, shoes to reconstruct, and paper supplies.

Here is closet #2. This is where I keep all of my finished clothing and accessories. I also have stuff that I’m going to resell in here. Not much yet, but I wouldn’t worry about that! ;) On the upper shelf, I’ve got stacks of drawing paper packets, ties from Christian’s grandpa to be reconstructed, my awesome staple gun, more paper, screen printing materials, and general markers/crayons/colored pencils. Oh! Did I mention I use charcoal for stuff too? I think I just have too many passions. haha. What can I say, I LOVE all crafts!

The green bin has a ton of tin containers, bottle caps, other bottles, and other resources that can be recycled. The Target bag has EVEN MORE t-shirts to reconstruct (I think I have around 500 t-shirts that need reconstructing in all) and the bag next to it holds all of my knit fabric scraps.

Looking closer into the closet, I’ve got a ton of beads, a button box, more stored fabric, and magnets. My white rolling bin contains adhesives, fabric paint, and sealer on the top, acrylic, oil, gouache, and paint brushes in the middle, and keyboard keys, extra storage containers, and silverware to be reconstructed in the bottom one.

Well – that’s my sewing/craft room. I was just so happy that I finally cleaned it up enough to be able to photograph it and share it!

I hope everyone can have an awesomely crafty day. Muahaha!

posted by Katar in My Life and have Comments (2)

DIY Halloween Lighted Ghosts Tutorial

My original idea for these was to follow the Lowe’s tutorial that I gave in my earlier post here, but after starting the tutorial, I found that they left out a LOT of details that would have helped me so much if I knew what they were beforehand. So – here is the Halloween Lighted House Ghosts Tutorial – RedThread style!

Materials Needed to make 1 Ghost:

  • Wire Tomato Cage (My dad had a TON of rusty ones that he needed to get rid of. Instead of throwing them away, this is such a great use for them!)
  • 75-100 Clear or White Christmas lights (I found mine at Home Depot for around $2.50)
  • A 6×9 foot drop cloth (to cover the cages with)
  • Black Permanent Marker, felt, or leftover fabric (to make your ghost’s face!)
  • Hot Glue Gun
  • Scissors

Step 1: To make your ghosts not have “pointy” heads when you put the drop cloth on,  bend in the tomato stakes as shown below:

Step 2: For each ghost, wrap a wire tomato cage with your string of clear or white lights. Lowe’s suggests clear rope lights, but I think those are more expensive.

Step 3: Cut a 6‐ x 9‐foot drop cloth to approximately 41/2 x 7 feet to cover the tomato cage.

Step 4: When I draped my drop cloth over the tomato cage, it looked HORRIBLE! It didn’t drape well. It really looked like a piece of garbage, and not like a ghost at all. So! What to do? Bring out your glue gun. “Shape” your ghost the best you can – I shaped him with creases and hot glued the inside of the cloth so it would stay. I made him look perfect in the front, and glued together all excess drop cloth to the back (which won’t be seen, so don’t worry about it!)

Step 5: I used leftover black cotton fabric to cut out a face and hot glued them to my ghost. I liked doing it this way because I could see what it would look like before actually adhering the fabric. Don’t have scraps? Use a black permanent marker to draw eyes and a mouth.

Step 6: Plug the lights into a secure grounded outlet. I made three ghosts and connected them all together, so I only had to connect the three to one grounded outlet.

Step 7: Enjoy your lawn’s masterpiece! Who needs $50 light-up ghosts when you can do it for under $5?

Click here to view my entire picture set on flickr.

Questions? Comments? Other ideas? Make some of your own? Let me know!

Looking for more tutorials for Halloween decorating? Check out my ‘Halloween’ category on the right hand side of this post!

posted by Katar in Craft Ideas,Halloween,Halloween Decorations,My Projects,RedThread Tutorials,Tutorials and have Comments (3)

DIY Halloween Party and Indoor Decoration Tutorials

I did have pictures for every single tutorial, but something weird happened and they all disappeared. After much trying to get everything back, the original post would not save properly, and always showed up blank. So, that’s kind of sad. I did have to redo all of the links. It was painful doing it the second time around, but worth it! Maybe I broke the blog by including too many pictures.. oops.. Anyways, I hope you enjoy this post and get a ton of ideas from it! :)

If you would like to see the pictures without having to click all of the links – leave me a comment with your email address and I can send you the undamaged Microsoft Word document. Again – sorry about the inconvenience!

Tutorials:

  • Having a Halloween Costume Contest? Check out my tutorial for award ribbons!
  • Decorating the outside of your house too? Check out my list of tutorials here

Contents:

  • Invitation and Card Tutorials
  • Favor Tutorials
  • Centerpiece Tutorials
  • Banner/Pennant/Garland Tutorials
  • Dining Room Decoration, Food Favor, and Place Setting Tutorials
  • Candle, Match Holder, and Lantern Tutorials
  • Game Tutorials
  • Ornament Tutorials
  • Picture Frame and Album Tutorials
  • Halloween Potion Jar Tutorials
  • Other Decoration Tutorials
  • Inspiration, Ideas, and Photos

Invitation and Card Tutorials:

Favor Tutorials:

Centerpiece Tutorials:

Banner/Pennant/Garland Tutorials:

Dining Room Decoration, Food Favor, and Place Setting Tutorials:

Candle, Match Holder, and Lantern Tutorials:

Game Tutorials:

Ornament Tutorials:

Picture Frame and Album Tutorials:

Halloween Potion Jar Tutorials:

Other Decoration Tutorials:

Inspiration, Ideas, and Photos:

If you know of ANY other examples or tutorials, please comment below so I can add them to this list. Thanks!

Photo Credit: Andrew Stawarz on flickr

http://www.mylifetime.com/lifestyle/home-crafts/holiday-crafting/skull-applique
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posted by Katar in Craft Ideas,Halloween,Halloween Decorations,Tutorials and have Comment (1)