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http://blog.dezignstyler.com Mon, 07 Dec 2015 02:56:29 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=4.3.30 Secret, Hollow, Booksafes are back! http://blog.dezignstyler.com/?p=196 http://blog.dezignstyler.com/?p=196#comments Mon, 07 Dec 2015 02:55:02 +0000 http://blog.dezignstyler.com/?p=196 Secret Compartment, Hollowed, Book Safe with Black Damask Felt Lining
Selling on Etsy and Facebook

 

This is a time consuming craft, but it’s fun! No book turns out the same. I card cogwheels, gears, celtic knots, corner accents, and designs out of cardboard. I use cardboard strips or yarn for mild raised accents. I cut the closing strap from cereal boxes and I line the inside with felt. I purchased felt by the yard in numerous colors and styles from fabric.com

I’ve been asked for tutorials. I really just wing it and see what happens, but I’ll record some crafting.

 

Secret Compartment, Hollowed, Book Safe with Purple Felt Lining
Secret Compartment, Hollowed, Book Safe with Purple Felt Lining
Secret Compartment, Hollowed, Book Safe with Green Felt Lining
Secret Book Safe with 3 Prong, Clay Clasp & Green Felt Lining

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Creating a Secret Booksafe is multiple day process. Each step can take a few hours and then there’s that pesky drying-time for glue. Each one is unique differing in colors, fasteners, and decorations. Creating fasteners and decorative accents with cardboard or cut & fired sculpy clay is cheap but takes up a lot of time. Use an X-acto knife for fine lines and precision.

I started this about a year when I saw an apothecary potion booksafe on a blog called seeingThings, which no longer seems to be alive. I loved it so much, I had to create my own. My first attempt, below,  took a few weeks. Thankfully, I’ve picked up some speed :D

 

Secret Compartment, Hollowed, Book Safe with Grey Felt Lining
First booksafe

 

Happy Crafting!

 

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Cool New Stuff http://blog.dezignstyler.com/?p=193 http://blog.dezignstyler.com/?p=193#comments Mon, 08 Jun 2015 16:54:10 +0000 http://blog.dezignstyler.com/?p=193 I’m completely redoing Stuffthatmakesyougohmmm.com. This is exciting! This is going to be the site, I’ve been wanting to build for YEARS. The gardening theme will become a sub-section. It will be one of five incredibly awesome and interesting topics that ‘make you go hmmm…’.

None of my sites really show my abilities. It’s been years since I’ve worked on them. I spend a lot of time building cool things for other people. My turn!

I’ll be finally tying in social network apis, building guis for article writing for myself and my contributors, learning a new language or two. I think I’ll build something in Ruby. I’ll build the next api using json instead of the default xml just to learn the difference.

I have so many ideas and plans that I’ll need to create a schedule.

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Bad Coder! Bad! Bad! http://blog.dezignstyler.com/?p=191 http://blog.dezignstyler.com/?p=191#comments Mon, 01 Jun 2015 22:53:22 +0000 http://blog.dezignstyler.com/?p=191 I didn’t have a github. How did I not have a github??

I went to go search for some code to check out, and I didn’t even have an account.

Did I dream that?

 

Oh well..

It’s time to make a list. There’s stuff I need to learn.

Node.js looks rad. It’s time to get serious with Ruby. PHP only gets you so far in this world.

Also, I think another website redesign is in order.

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Reflection http://blog.dezignstyler.com/?p=184 http://blog.dezignstyler.com/?p=184#comments Thu, 19 Feb 2015 17:26:54 +0000 http://blog.dezignstyler.com/?p=184 I dislike ‘popular’ music. I detest the talentless celebrity.
I glorify the unknown/unfound artist, author, or musician who finds passion in what they do, and try to become one myself.
I lose myself in books and crafts and avoid most social events. I can’t, yet, decipher if this is a form of escapism or just merely pleasure.
I feel boring because I can’t contribute to most peoples conversations.
I’m not up to date on sports. I don’t watch sitcoms. I try to avoid being exposed to the viral meme of the day unless it has some sort of artistic or scientific relation.
I try to find inspiration in all things, but I often come away uneffected.
I need an environment that triggers my brain.
I fall easily into complacency and become bitter because of it, but that starts a chain reaction of my quest to find inspiration and motivation and new things, new people.
I need to be alone often to think, to experiment, to create, to fail and learn. I often miss the rage that kept me driven. Happiness might be overrated. Conventional conformity holds me back sometimes more than the average consumer but the struggle for success..the success that our society deems most worthy, pushes me to continue the journey of this trivial dance.
A lot of people probably think me vapid, but I think it’s because I’m too quiet. I hold back. I don’t share. I don’t make known the things I see when I close my eyes.

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Finished Felted Bowls http://blog.dezignstyler.com/?p=171 http://blog.dezignstyler.com/?p=171#comments Wed, 18 Feb 2015 03:25:08 +0000 http://blog.dezignstyler.com/?p=171 A coworker asked me to make these for her. She didn’t buy them all so I have some left.

IMG_7559

To make felted bowls, you must first buy 100% wool or animal fiber. It’s more expensive than the synthetic or acrylic yarns, but it is a necessity.

Crochet it like a hat. It’s easiest to use the crown first method making the circle that increases until you achieve the desired width. This way you can create a flat bottom to help the bowl hold its shape.

IMG_7444 IMG_7448

 

Then wash in hot water with soap. I used Perm-Press setting on Delicate-Heavy on my washing machine. Hot water and a little soap will agitate the fabric enough that it becomes matted. You will barely be able to see the stitches when it’s done.  While still wet, I shaped them and waited overnight for them to dry.

IMG_7473 IMG_7467 IMG_7464

Now shave them! Remove the excess fuzz. I used simple neck trimmers. Don’t worry the fuzz shouldn’t stick to the clippers when you’re done unless you’ve just oiled them. At least, I didn’t have any problem with the fuzz remaining in the tool.

Expensive material and very time consuming with the washing process, but it’s a really cute project.

I bought 3 skeins in different colors and crocheted them all into bowls first and then washed them all at once. This took days of crocheting to not know how they’d turn out.  The anticipation was worth it!

finished

 

I sell them at $6-$15 each.

They are stackable as the first picture indicates. Contact me at rf@dezignstyler .com if interested or leave me a message on facebook.com/DezignStyler

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Felted Bowls http://blog.dezignstyler.com/?p=167 http://blog.dezignstyler.com/?p=167#comments Thu, 20 Nov 2014 18:04:40 +0000 http://blog.dezignstyler.com/?p=167 Oh the anticipation of these! A coworker told me to make these and showed me a pinterest post about them. They must be 100% wool or animal fiber, crocheted like a hat, and then washed in hot water with soap.

I used Perm-Press setting on Delicate-Heavy on my washing machine. Hot water and a little soap will agitate the fabric enough that it becomes matted. You will not see the stitches when it’s done.  While still wet, I shaped them and waited overnight for them to dry. I still have to ‘shave them’.

Expensive material and very time consuming with the washing process, but it’s a really cute project. Pictures coming soon!

I bought 3 skeins in different colors and crocheted them all into bowls first and then washed them all at once. This took days of crocheting to not know how they’d turn out.  The anticipation was worth it!

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Crocodile Bag http://blog.dezignstyler.com/?p=148 http://blog.dezignstyler.com/?p=148#comments Thu, 20 Nov 2014 04:49:45 +0000 http://blog.dezignstyler.com/?p=148 After seeing a random picture on facebook, I decided to put my own twist on a fun looking project.

I sell them for $110. If interested in purchasing, see my facebook page and contact me. My Etsy page is dezignstyler. I don’t always have items listed so it’s periodically disabled.


Crocodile Stitch Backpack

The first bag took about 2 weeks. The second took about 1 week. I don’t think I can complete it faster than this. It’s a very time consuming project even if power stitching.


crocodile_purse

crocodile_purse7

I added two full length straps to wear as a backpack and a cream colored drawstring for cinching the bag shut. I used a predyed multicolored yarn so that I didn’t have to keep changing colors.

The top flap takes a few hours by itself, starting with a circle and finishing off with a half circle design and improvising the straight edge before fastening it to the bag. I make the flap and straps last and attach them.

crocodile_purse8

The Crocodile Stitch is very fun. Just do a simple search on Youtube to learn how. There’s lots of videos out there.

crocodile_purse4

I made my first purse with camouflage yarn and forgot to take pictures before I sent it off to my dad’s antique/craft store. I guess I’ll just need to make another!

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Too many things at once http://blog.dezignstyler.com/?p=127 http://blog.dezignstyler.com/?p=127#comments Sun, 10 Aug 2014 15:43:28 +0000 http://blog.dezignstyler.com/?p=127 I’ve become complacent and I’m annoyed with it. I’ve been trying to find a new style of art to experiment with or a new language to learn.
I find myself just falling back to crafts which lack the need to really think. It’s comfortable, but boring.
So, I started gardening and started up the url http://www.stuffthatmakesyougohmmm.com as a plant related collection of thoughts, experiments, failures, and success stories.
I didn’t get very far before summer burnt me out. The desert sun is unforgiving.

I started making purses because unlike hats, I don’t have to worry about a purse perfectly fitting someone’s head. I’ve had trouble selling hats online, because understandably people are hesitant to purchase something that might not fit and have to pay the shipping.

Then just 2 weeks later, my father says he’s opening up an antique and craft shop in our home town of Ambridge, PA. I get a new project to work on, http://trailsendantiquescrafts.com/, as well as crafts to make and send to sell in the shop. This is really exciting. My creations sell much better in person when people can see the quality of the item first hand.

On top of these things, I’ve been trying to do too many other things at once, because it’s been too long since I’ve accomplished something big. I’ve already reached all of my goals and it’s leaving me feeling a little lost and empty. I’m trying to learn Ruby, Linux, Software templating, Spanish, networking, and a few other things all at the same time, which really just leaves me with getting nothing accomplished. So truly the next task is to figure out which one thing I can solely focus on for awhile until I can get over that hump of noobery.

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Fun with Food http://blog.dezignstyler.com/?p=124 http://blog.dezignstyler.com/?p=124#comments Wed, 25 Sep 2013 19:39:47 +0000 http://blog.dezignstyler.com/?p=124 I made soup for my first time one night, just because..
It’s filling and usually lower in crap than other foods.

my first day of soup
heat olive oil in largest pan with lid I have.
Throw in diced onion and garlic.
Add lots of carrot and celery, cook until soft
Add seasoning, i used parsley, paprika and garlic powder, a touch of tumeric, touch of thyme
boil separate veggie noodles with salt
pour can of condensed low sodium chicken broth to pan of fried veggies.
drain noodles and combine, simmer for at least 10 min, up to 40 min

2nd day of soup
start boiling small fingerling potatos w/ salt
fry onion garlic shallot in olive oil in largest pan with lid I have
add lots of carrot celery
had left-over grilled corn on cob in fridge, cut off kernals and threw them in
add some frozen chopped spinach
add marjaram, parsley, paprika, touch of tumeric, touch of oregano
cut boiled potatoes into bit size pieces
add vegetable broth and potatoes
simmer for 30min

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‘Lean In’: Facebook’s Sheryl Sandberg Explains What’s Holding Women Back http://blog.dezignstyler.com/?p=119 http://blog.dezignstyler.com/?p=119#comments Wed, 13 Mar 2013 04:34:10 +0000 http://blog.dezignstyler.com/?p=119 I read the article.
I have not yet read the book.
http://www.npr.org/2013/03/11/173740524/lean-in-facebooks-sheryl-sandberg-explains-whats-holding-women-back
I always find myself getting more enthralled with the comments/arguments from an article than the article itself.

I, like most assuming intelligent people, have the best ideas right as I’m winding down and getting to bed. Thankfully the computer was still on.

I must add that there are 2 reasons and 2 reasons alone for why I am a programmer in the IT field.
1. I played with websites as a teenager. They were fun because I understood it quickly.
2. I was given the impression, socially conditioned to think, and at times told that I didn’t belong in a male dominated field; that I should raise family. “Don’t abandon your children.”

One commenter, that shall remain nameless, but will be easy to figure out if you read enough comments, wanted to blame women for their own inequality. “Whining women” choose you own destinies and many other negative “It’s your own fault. I had the hardest life. I’m not a CEO cuz of my own choices. I could’ve been if I wanted to” … That’s true to an extent, but to completely dismiss the fact that there is still inequality is just ignorant. Most stereotypes continue because women willingly exploit them and thrive in them, but thankfully that seems to become less and less as time goes on.

Inequality has greatly changed in just the last few years, let alone decades and even centuries for both genders.
This person insinuates that just because they had a hard life, everyone else should to. The beginnings of gender equality started with women like Susan B. Anythony who said something like, ‘I’ll never see equality in my life time, but I hope my granddaughters get to experience it’, and she worked her whole life into her 80s towards something that she knew she’d never get to be a part of. For some commenter who is only halfway through their life in this era to be so bitter about girls now having more chances/opportunities is just absurd.
This society is in no way where it should be in reference to gender equality on both sides, but don’t be blind and dismiss truth because of bitterness.

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