Twenty+ Things to Make from Cardboard Tubes

Photo by Crafty Goat. cc license.

Things to Make using Recycled Cardboard Tubes: 

Wall Gallery

Wall Art

Seed Starters

Room Divider 

Chair

Another Chair

Ceiling Installation

Pavilion

Ornaments

Flowers

Pin Cushion

Kid's Stuff (with tutorials):

Owls

Flying Falcon

Rockets

Ladybug Larva Racers

Pencil Holder

Wild Things

Snake

Giraffe

Hummer

Artists and Craftspeople using Recycled Cardboard Tubes:

Anastassia Elias

Fritz Junior Jacquet

Yuken Teruya

Box Populi

Larissa Wilson  

Things I've Made (and blogged) using Cardboard Tubes:

Pop-up Bird Puppets (for Nuno Magazine: Forest) 

Kachina Doll (for Nuno Magazine: Painted Desert...go to page 18 of Preview)

More Inspiration:

Cardboard Tubes Recrafted Flickr Group

14 Things to Make with an Old Newspaper

Photo courtesy of Mike Carney via flickr. cc license.

This lovely and surprisingly sturdy looking newspaper house was built for the Liverpool Biennial in 2008. I doubt most of us have the time or space (let alone volume of newspaper) to reproduce this, but I did a little looking around and found tutorials for 14 totally doable things to make from yesterday's newspaper. How the "logs" were rolled and video of building here.

Tutorials:
Newspaper Snowflake
Newspaper Bunting
Newspaper Flowers
Newspaper Taxidermy
Newspaper Seedling Pots
Newspaper Gift Bag
Make Yarn from Newspaper
Newspaper Basket
Newspaper Star Wreath
Newspaper Heart Garland
Newspaper Play Hut (This gets first prize from me!)
Newspaper Nails
Newspaper Crowns
Newspaper Hats

Added after the fact: Jinger kindly pointed out this other paper house circa 1922 (someone actually lived in this one!)

Macrame Inspiration

 Images from my personal copy of Macrame: The Art of Creative Knotting. Available here or here.

Elle (and who's going to argue with Elle?) claims that macrame and crochet are making a big fashion comeback in 2011. Also talking about this trend: here, here, here (there were lots more posts, but I just got tired of linking). And here's me thinking my burgeoning interest in both was a sign of originality. Who knew?

That is not to say that macrame has made much of a comeback in the craft world. When I googled "macrame tutorial," my own tutorial (and I'm the barest beginner at macrame) came up second.   Not withstanding, maybe eventually knotting as a past time will become popular again. It dates from the 13th century and was all the rage in the Victorian Era and then, of course, there were the 70's. Perhaps, all that is really needed is for the memory of all those Polyester Owl Towel Holders to fade. (Yes, my grandmother still has one hanging in her bathroom). In the meantime, I'm doing my part.

Macrame Inspiration from Around the Web

For the Home
Knotted Hassock
Owls (To John Denver With Love)

Hanging Seat
Canopy Bed
Macrame Lamp Shades

Jewelry
This Necklace
This Super Simple Bracelet
Owls for Your Ears
Fossilized Wood Bracelet
This Necklace
Linen Necklace
Moonstone Necklace


Bags
Vintage Mr. Ernest Bag
Vintage Bag with Leather Inset
Vintage Beaded Drawstring Bag

To Wear
Halter Top
Diane Von Furstenberg Dress
Multiple Pieces from Eleanora Moroso

Oddities
Macrame Guns (yes, you read that right)
Macrame Chess Set (and some other interesting things...)
Macrame Covered Piano 
Multiple Oddities
Twas the Knot Before Christmas
Princesses and Bats (among other things...)

Historic (Pre1970's) Macrame
Historic Article from Encyclopedia of Needlecraft (some beautiful fringing!)
Macrame 1930's Wedding Dress
Edwardian

Liking this week...

 Braided dress by Free Apples.

 Pillow Blanket by Joon and Jung.

 Lazy Cat Ring by Aprimiao.

 Beautiful Muriel Journals by Odelae.

Shabti Affirmation Doll by Blue Terracotta. 

Also liking:
Braided Scarf made from Recycled Sweater Knit (tutorial from Just Another Day in Paradise).
These little dresses made from recycled book pages from Журнал Жителей Жучков
Recycled Sweater Hip Huggie (tutorial from Betz White) 
This bookbinding tutorial from Jamie Butler.

Currently Reading:
The Magician's Nephew by C.S. Lewis.
Rapt: Attention and the Focused Life by Winifred Gallagher.

Recently Watched and Recommended:
Strangers
Nuts in May 

Wishing you all a lovely weekend!

Antique Crochet Inspiration: Yokes

Click on any image to view larger.

January's learning-to-crochet-endeavor has progressed as far as a few very unevenly tensioned swatches of single crochet (one swatch might be more accurately be described as a ruffle, the tension is so tight on the first few rows). My early attempts may be unsightly, but aren't these circa 1915 crocheted yokes lovely?

I found this booklet of early 1900's crochet patterns while thrifting with my mother and sister in my hometown over Christmas break. These are of a few of the night gown and corset cover yokes found in the booklet. Corset covers?! All those shapeless flapper dresses must have come as a real relief (and only a few years later). 

Inspiration: Recycled Phone Books

I've never really appreciated the creative possibilities locked in the unassuming pages of obsolete phone books.

Some other people have, though. I found lots of interesting (and some down right beautiful) things done with phone books. See the whole gallery of photos full size here.

Check out these amazing artists:
Alex Queral
Long-Bin Chen

and this...

Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Color (and a few things you didn't).

I found this great old Art Teacher's Handbook from the 1920's at my local Senior Citizen Center Thrift Store. These pages are from the section of the book dealing with color. It gets pretty technical (I learned a few things). Click on each image to view full size. From Applied Art by Pedro J. Lemos (1920).