Monday, August 9, 2010

Pirate Penny Cuff Give-Away!

UPDATE: And the winner is....Amanda of Classics Book Club Blog!
Congrats, Amanda! Please e-mail me your mailing address. :)

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I wanted to do something with a smashed penny from Walt Disney World (they're surprisingly different from those in Disneyland) so I made another cuff bracelet - and this one is for one of YOU!

[cue confetti and big band music]

First, though, I have to show you how different these pennies are:

The Mickey in the middle is from Disneyland. See how much longer the penny is, and how the design is deeper and more defined? The pennies on either side are from WDW. Their designs are more shallow - and look how small the pirate ship penny on the left is!

Fortunately, that pirate ship design still fit in the oval scrapbooking frame - though just barely. (There's a tiny sliver of space on one edge that you can just see from some angles.)

Ok, enough blabber. On to the goodies!

Ta-da!

See the sliver of space on the edge? I could have shifted the penny to cover it, but I like it better with the design centered.


The cuff is made from an upcycled "leather" belt which has a soft, almost suede-like texture. The penny has been polished and clear-coated, and the tiny crack between the penny edge and frame has been filled with Gorilla super glue on the back, so you won't get crumbs stuck in it. :)


The back has a snap closure, and both ends are rounded slightly for comfort. (When I wore mine, I found the back corners to be a little scratchy.)

The cuff is approximately 7.5 inches in diameter, so it's on the smallish side.

I also made a pretty gift box for it:


Oh, and I'll also throw in an Epbot pin.

So, how do you win? Leave a comment, and link to or tell me about the one craft project that has most inspired you, or that you've always wanted to try but never have. It could be your craft Everest - big and intimidating - or just that thing you don't have the time or tools for. (And no linking to Epbot stuff - that doesn't count! Heheh.)

I'll choose a winner at random Wednesday afternoon, so check this post again then. I'll also announce it on Epbot's Facebook page. (Which you really should be following, btw; it's a great place to share links & pics with your fellow Epbot readers.)

Also, if you don't win this time, just stay tuned; for now I've decided I'd rather give stuff away here than sell it on Etsy, so there will be more!

700 comments:

  1. pick me! pick me!
    i am not very crafty at all.
    i use to make some really cool beaded jewlry when i was younger though.
    p.s. you have mad gift wrapping skills!

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  2. I hope I'm submitting this correctly - I'm nervous that I'm the first commenter.

    This french knotted embroidery project caught my eye the minute I saw it, and I fell in love. http://blog.craftzine.com/archive/2010/07/fabulous_french_knot_monogram.html

    I'd love to apply this technique to something equally as awesome to put my own stamp on it. Time, however, is sparse in my house and projects keep getting pushed back. Hopefully soon!

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  3. I would love to make my daughters dresses... I am nervous that I won't be able to pull it off! I'm crafty, but that might just be outside my scope!

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  4. Am I the first commenter? Sweeet

    My craft everest is in production now, a new headboard for the bed I've had on a frame for 2 years. My dad is helping me with the plywood, foam backing (because I'm clumsy) and a really pretty fabric cover. I might steal your idea of copper pennies for the perimeter but I'll give full credit.

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  5. First off, LOVE this page :)

    My biggest craft that I completed was my son's bedroom. We decided to make it a huge deal when we moved him to a big kid bed. So we customized his room to look like a race car garage. Complete with diamond plated dressers, black and white racing flags for curtains and bed skirt, and his very own racing logo cut out of vinyl above his bed. My husband and I made it all, and we are so so happy with the way it came out!

    Keep on blogging your crafts!

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  6. I really want to make a quilt of all my high school swim team shirts and college shirts and make it look really cool. I've been working on what i want to do in my head for quite sometime! pick me!! I love all your penny projects!

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  7. love your smashed pennies, have a sack full of them from my travels, now i know what to do with em,... i've already got ya linked on my blog
    http://upcyclelife.blogspot.com/

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  8. I've always wanted to make a quilt out of my daughter's baby clothes, but I've never tried because I'm scared I'll screw up my one shot at getting it right. Also, I'd have to buy a sewing machine. And learn to sew.

    So there are some hurdles there, to put it mildly!

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  9. o yea and http://pennycollector.com/ so ya can find locations near you that have the smashed penny machines

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  10. I've always wanted to be able to needlepoint, knit, and crochet and make fun, crazy things that grandma never thought of like needlepoint Star Trek lamp shades or a knit sweater in lime green. At 19, I've met plenty of people who do these crafts, but no one has yet had the time to teach me. So, for now, it's just a dream.

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  11. http://www.flickr.com/photos/lahousden/2226555540/

    This picture. It is beautiful, and I wish my garb to look like that. I am a HUGE nerd, and I am part of Belegarth Medieval Combat Society. I am a gypsy character, and this picture so embodies the feeling of my group - bright and beautiful and plentiful, unique, yet all the same in the most important ways. This project would involve having a) body confidence/being at a size I want so I don't waste a ton of sewing. b) a sewing machine and a ton of fabric. also a dress form (made of duct tape!)

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  12. My current crafting project is.... sock monkeys. I'm knitting my way through this adorable Patons pattern book. The challenge was that before this I had NEVER knit with 4 needles. Here's a link to my some pics of the process. So..... it's gonna be sock monkeys for everyone this Christmas!

    http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#!/album.php?aid=194436&id=521501680

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  13. This is a Wall-E toybox I made for my son Alexander. We lucked out at Skycraft in Orlando, finding a footlocker just the right color, and they had the treads and all kinds of workable stuff. It wasn't my Everest, but it's a craft I'm most proud of.

    http://www.flickr.com/photos/brermatt/2661734391/

    But I really want to try the pressed penny stuff you're doing. I have one from the Titanic Experience that is begging for something.

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  14. I love to scrapbook, but I'm terrified that I'll end up ruining my pictures or not quite getting the look right, so I've basically got four big huge totes full of our wedding pictures, favors, even wrapping paper and cards, not to mention stickers and other embellishments that I'm kind of afraid to put down to paper :P

    Such a chicken!

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  15. I've wanted to learn wood burning/leather carving. I'm fairly artistic (not to toot my own horn too much though). I want to learn how to make the pretty rustic signs and to make nice leather jewlery or notebooks just so I have them for around the house or for friends in family. Just don't have the courage to try it. I'm afraid I'll burn myself or cut myself with the etching tools.

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  16. Ok, so because of your cool dome penny projects I tracked down myself a DOMING BLOCK! and needless to say I think my neighbors hate me and MAN its way harder than I thought! like WAY harder... I am attempting to make brooch pins out of buttons ... so far my friends are in fear that I will make them wear one since they appear as five year olds made them at preschool... so I am still attempting to find my crafting self and If my brooch pins still keep looking like they do I might start telling people children made them! HA! thanks for the great ideas, keep them up and if you have any tips for the doming block PLEASE SHARE! its tragic right now. :)

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  17. I am going to make a shameless play for this. My daughter lost her smash penny book at Walt Disney World (FULL of smashed pennies!) in June. She would LOVE to have this since Pirates is her favorite ride. I would LOVE to make one for her, but we have no more smashed pennies now you see. Thank you!

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  18. I love all sorts of crafts! I think one of the things I most enjoyed making was a mini tophat for my steampunk cosplay, which you can see here:

    http://st-arcana.deviantart.com/art/Dandy-171081154?q=sort%3Atime+gallery%3Ast-arcana&qo=3

    I was so proud of it. I wish I had gotten a top shot, but the brim is heart shaped!

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  19. I'd love to sew things for the house and maybe even for my daughter, but I seriously lack in sewing skills. Curtains and pillows are the most complicated I've ever attempted.

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  20. I would love to up cycle my old clothes, like on Wardrobe Refashion. I'm no seamstress, so I just get stressed out! I can handle some hand sewing projects and scrapbooking things, but clothes are a feat I have yet to conquer.
    I'm working on a different craft everest now-they're little quilted baby blocks with a cathedral window pattern. My sister is having a baby, so I'm trying to make these. Terribly time consuming and precise!

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  21. First... the cuff is awesome.

    Second... my projects have ranged from photography to scrapbooking to cardmaking to folk painting to cross-stitch to making furniture. The one thing that I've never tackled that I really want to is quilting. My grandmother made me 14 quilts before she died, handstitching every single last one of them. It's a lost art, one that I really wish I could do.

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  22. This project ( well the one you posted a while ago)! PLEASE PICK ME!! My daughter and I have gone CRAZY for one of these.. we've been saving our pennies :)

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  23. I'm not really a crafty sort of person (though I find lots of crafts to pawn off on my sisters to do for me) but I have always wanted to make quilts like my mom. She made the most amazing quilts for us when we were younger usually out of memorable outfits.

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  24. I'd love to sew up things for around the house or even for my daughter, but my sewing skills are seriously lacking. Pillows being the most complicated project I've ever attempted.

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  25. I bellydance as a sort of side hobby, and would love to be able to make my own costume items. I've never had enough confidence in my own creativity/sewing skills to try, but would really like to give this a shot because it's not as expensive as buying stuff off of ebay.

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  26. Oh, I would love to finish the many crafting projects I've started and then gave up on! Let's see, there's the needlework Christmas Tree Skirt, my kids scrapbooks, art for the walls, the list goes on! I have the best of intentionn and then realize that 1) I either am not interested in the craft I've decided to do, or 2) Gave up due to lack of time. Someday maybe when the kids are grown!!

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  27. I have made most of the curtains in my house - using my grandmother's 1913 Singer sewing machine - she sewed in a factory and when the factory closed she got to keep her machine and now I have it.

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  28. I've been following your blog since the beginning, and I can safely say it's definitely inspired me to try some more crafty ideas myself. One thing that I've tried to start a few times would be an altered book. http://www.alteredbookartists.com/ I've started a couple of different altered books, but I can never seem to immerse myself in there, or even get close to finishing them.

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  29. My mom is super crafty-she knits by the mile, made all my costumes (from skating to renaissance to victorian ballroom) and I appear to have NONE of her talent. But I am learning to sew-my daughter has multiple disabilities and I want to design cute clothing that is easy to get her in and out of...dresses don't work because she is in a 5-point harness all the time. So I want to sew her leggings with ruffles and swingy tops so it looks like dresses...also things that do not have to go over her head and that allow easy diaper access. I am partway there, I can use a sewing machine a little now! Mom has promised to show me how to use a pattern next. Then it's on to design! Old dog=new trick!

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  30. I want a bracelet!

    One of my most inspiring crafts was my crocheted caffeine molecule. I wasn't famous for finishing cool projects I'd started and I'd only crocheted one other thing start to finish. It took many many tedious evenings and ended up being huge (as in put-your-head-through-the-center, 3-or-so-feet-across huge) but I finished it! Without a pattern! It helped make me believe I could do things out of my own head. And my sister (almost as big a geek as me) knew exactly what it was without an explanation. That was a truly triumphant moment.

    Did I mention I want a bracelet?

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  31. I love that cuff! And I love smashed pennies - I collect them, in a little folder I got made specifically for the purpose at the Audubon Aquarium in New Orleans.

    My biggest craft thing to date is a poodle skirt I made for myself in '99 - completely by hand. Didn't own a sewing machine at the time, but wanted one, so I bought the pattern and a bunch of felt & fabric, and just went ahead and made it. I've worn it many times since and still have it.

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  32. I used be be very crafty, even had my own bracelet-making company in 6th grade, complete with receipts and inventory. I must have used up all my craftiness back then, because now I am useless.

    What I would like to learn how to do is knit. I know it sounds simple, but I am really all thumbs. I want to make my own Doctor Who scarf. Oh, and I want to learn how to put buttons on things and be able to keep them on. That last part is important

    I love smashed pennies. I collect them from wherever I can find a machine, even one from Australia, and I love your smashed penny jewelry.

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  33. We love to upcycle wool sweaters. You first felt them in your washer - wash on hot - and dry them in the dryer on hot. We've made scarves, purses, pillows, coasters, and are always searching for the next thing to make with them, or scouring Goodwill for new sweaters. Apparently, men aren't fond of sweaters, since you find lots that are new!

    Now we need to try penny jewelery!

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  34. I LOVE IT!
    I think that the thing I admire most is your dining room. I want to live in it. I just have four kids and will never have a house that is all clean all at once. I am ok with that. Someday they will all be grown up and gone, and then what will I have? A clean house and a cool dining room?
    I'll take childhood any day!

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  35. I've always ALWAYS wanted a shadow box/picture frame wall. A whole wall just filled with my favorite pictures and keepsakes. I have never really had my own place where I could do something like that, and when I finally do I think that this wall will be what tells me I am home :)

    http://hollysview.blogspot.com/2009/03/frame-riser.html

    That's the closest picture I could find. I want them all missed matched looking, maybe with more color. I can see it in my head.

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  36. I've just learned to knit, I've taken 4 beginner knitting classes, and I'm really slow and no one can talk to me or look at me or I forget what I'm doing (not as easy with twin 5 year old boys)...so my Everest is finishing the scarf (before winter)

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  37. I am lovin' your new blog! These penny creations of yours are inspiring as I need to go find my Disneyland collection! Other inspiration? Jewelry Affaire magazine by Stampington & Co has me all in a dither. I own an artist rubber stamp store, but my distraction is jewelry. Making it, buying it, wearing it...

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  38. Eeeep! Love it!!!

    My biggest craft project was when I made cuff links and a tie pin for my husband for Christmas... It was way out of my comfort zone, but they turned out awesome! And even a tiny bit steampunk-y :-)

    http://www.mentalgarbage.com/2009/12/merry-christmas.html

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  39. I decided to get crafty again after a few years of taking time off (I think going back to school killed any free time/free money I had).
    I replenished my jewelery kit, and dug my sewing machine out of the basement. I'll be starting small (hemming pants and making square bags), but my end-goal is to make some crazy costumes that may be worthy of showing off at DragonCon or something similar. Who knows if I'll get that far, but hopefully I'll at least be able to hem pants for my short legs! :D

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  40. May I just send MY smooshed penny collection and have you make me bee-a-yoo-tiful jeweleryz?

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  41. I'd LOVE to learn how to knit and crochet. Once I get the tools and start doing that, I want to send blankets to the troops. My brother-in-law is currently on his 3rd deployment(he's in Afghanistan right now) and his wife decided to divorce him. She told him a month in. So I'd like to make one so he has something from home. I think it would be a nice way to show some appreciation.

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  42. The craft I really want to make right now is an apothecary cabinet style jewelry box/mini chest of drawers. I found some scrapbook frames at Jo-Ann's that look just like the ones they used to label the drawers with, and I'm sure I could find some awesome antique handles. I'd just have to figure out how to make/buy the box part...

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  43. Ooh - smooshed penny craftiness!!

    I like this man's blog. He makes props for Nick, among other things. His creepy old book is my latest inspiration. (Hubby wants one for his steampunk getup.)

    http://davelowe.blogspot.com/2008/09/halloween-08-making-old-creepy-books.html

    Thanks for the additional inspiration from your blog!

    Trish B.

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  44. I am an uncrafty :( Though I do have a crazy adorable - and empty - wedding scrapbook that's been just waiting for me to fill it with pictures and mementos...for 5 years...

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  45. Craft Everest? hm... Glass blowing! I'd probably burn my face off! D:

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  46. http://www.wikihow.com/Make-a-Duct-Tape-Tote

    I once made a full length gown from duct tape using only tape and grocery store bags but this has just frustrated me! I keep trying and failing miserably. Oh well, perhaps another try!?

    Love this page (and cake wrecks!)

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  47. I would love to learn how to crochet a blanket for my brand new Godson. I will try to learn, but my fingers don't always listen to me these days... I've never been to WDW; it's my dream to go. Just gotta find a traveling buddy.

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  48. My craft project was teaching myself to knit. My grandmother could knock out a tiered ruffled dress for a fashion doll in a day in crochet, and she managed to teach me the basic chain. FF 20 years, and 2 finished projects, and I decided I wanted to do _something_ my sister couldn't, so I decided to learn knitting. A $6 booklet, cheap needles, clearance yarn, free hat/ scarf pattern, and endless frustrated hours, and my first project was done! Upside is that learning to read the knitting pattern, taught me to read crochet patterns, and now I'm knocking out fancy baby blankets, and sweaters as well as more hats and scarves. Next up, mittens and socks! right after the Marvin the paranoid android plushie I have a pattern for.

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  49. Love the cuff! The home decorating projects are always the ones I think a lot about, but never get around to doing. I want to make some of these, but with more distressed wood: http://www.thewallartstore.com/IMAX-1375-3-IMX1037.html

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  50. I want to make an entertainment center for our living room (does that count as a craft??) from Ana's plans at Knock-Off Wood. This one in particular: http://www.knock-offwood.com/2010/01/plans-cameron-media-wall-media-hutch.html

    I love what you've done with your smashed pennies. They're amazing! I hope I win!

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  51. I would love to be able to make beautiful quilts like my mother in law, who happens to be the lovliest lady and MIL a girl could wish for. Her talent is inspiring and I aspire to be as crafty as she is.

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  52. Oh! Love! Dear Cuff, can I haz u pleeze???

    I do a lot of sewing. Last week I needed some easy projects, so I made two Lazy Days Skirts from Oliver + S: http://www.oliverands.com/blog/2008/08/lazy-days-skirt-free-pattern.html (super easy!),
    and one Milkmaid Skirt from Crafterhours: http://crafterhours.blogspot.com/2009/11/milkmaid-skirt-tutorial.html (a little more complicated but still a one-day project).

    I have a big ol' blog crush on Ana of Knock-Off Wood. I am working up the nerve to build a TV/desk/storage wall, maybe with these plans:

    http://www.knock-offwood.com/2010/01/plans-logan-media-base-unit-pottery.html

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  53. I'm a knitter, and I have always been scared to knit for other people, or to sell my knits. Just recently I started a facebook page for my business (www.facebook.com/knitgnats), and I'm so happy that I did!

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  54. I love the cuff!!! And it's PIRATES!!!!

    I really feel like this cuff was made for me! You have no idea!

    I've been trying to find easy cuff crafts, yours is by far the easiest and coolest I've seen and if I don't win, I'm going to attack my husband's stash of belts (don't worry, he's got a few that are now too big for him, yay him!) to make my own. Fortunately I live close to the Happiest Place on Earth and I can get my own smashed pennies too! :D

    I never win these things though, so I should remember to pick up some snaps and frames when I'm at the craft store tomorrow!

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  55. I have been doing more and more crafty things here recently, and I have recently decided that I'm going to make a ball gown so I can go to the Marine Corps Ball with my husband. I've just recently learned to really sew, so, I'm hoping that this doesn't end in a dee-zaz-tor!

    BTW, my hubs has just recently decided that he wants to emulate my step-dad and start a shot glass collection of all the places we take family trips. Good gravy, I love road trips, but I seriously hope we don't end up having to get a custom built shot glass cabinet like he did!! LOL

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  56. Jen - you make such cool stuff. The first thing I did before I commented was go measure my wrists. Heh. Just under 7.5 inches. Whew!

    My big craft project is the one I just finished. It's not artsy or cute and I don't really have a creative bone in my body. SO... here's the thing. I needed a coupon organizer. And I couldn't find one that I liked. I wanted something that I could just throw in my purse. My sister had one that I really liked, but hers was free and she had no idea where it came from. So I got some posterboard, scrapbook paper and a few other materials and made one like hers. I just finished it tonight. It makes me happy to know that I had a need and that I could make something myself to satisfy the need. My sister wants me to make one for her now, because hers has gotten a little worse for wear. Here is the link to my Facebook pics of it: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2077650&id=1209021605&l=8372f5a416

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  57. oooh these are awesome!!! I have a couple of projects i want to work on... I want to make mini quilts for each of my kids with their baby clothes, Im dying to learn to knit. But currently Im planning out a quilt square for the Hepatitis C quilt in memory of my mom (she had hep C, 1/11/61-7/15/10) and eventually? My Everest as it were? Im going to make my very own, Clan Scott tartan, wedding dress

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  58. http://www.knitting-crochet.com/crochet/navindmulcol.html

    My grandmother taught me how to crochet using this pattern (different colors). I'm not very crafty, but this was relatively (ha!) easy to learn and I cherish it.

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  59. I had a favorite sweatshirt as a kid, from an amazing school trip to Quebec. In addition to the original trip, I also wore it on a number of occasions that turned out to be significant, and I just could not give it up. I wore it until it had holes in it... drove my mother nuts. Finally an aunt had it made into a gorgeous throw pillow... that I'm laying on right now. It's hands down the best gift that aunt ever gave me... it's a practical keepsake, not clutter.

    My fiance has a whole stack of old tee-shirts that he didn't want to throw away. He isn't as sentimental as me, but even he will admit that it seems wrong to throw away his first concert teeshirt (from seeing Roger Waters with his dad when he was 9). I've been talking about making him a quilt with them for awhile, and now I've finally got it started. Now I just have to finish it before I start grad school in a month...

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  60. Hi Jen!
    My big craft "Everest" right now is restoring this really cool desk that I inherited from my mom. It's super detailed in the carving and I'm longing to restore it to the natural wood and clean up the fixtures that are currently painted an outdated ivory color. Love this blog!!!! :)

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  61. I think my biggest craft Everest is the sewing machine. I see all these wonderful costumes that I'd love to be able to make running around different conventions, and I want to do something of the sort. I even have a shirt that looked simple enough to make that I picked out fabric for, started cutting it up to put it together and then just left, because the next step involves the sewing machine, and for some reason I have a weird mental block when it comes to that thing. I've used them before. They're easy to use. They're fun to use. But something about setting it up myself terrifies me, so I just never do.

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  62. I have binders full of ideas I never seem to get around to making, but the most ambitious project I want to make is a pebble chime, kind of like this, but undoubtedly not as good: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dVitVUVSJZE

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  63. I have always wanted to make a corset because I find that most commercially made ones are done poorly, and most custom made are out of my price range. I can't afford the boning right now, and my sewing machine wouldn't handle the work of sewing all the layers so for now, corsetry is on hold.

    However, Disney from Ruffles & Stuff has been a huge inspiration even though she has stopped writing. She does a lot of "upcycling" and re-purposing of things so as to save money and resources. So yeah, I hope I win :D haha

    (first comment by the way)

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  64. The bracelet is lovely. I would love to try my hand a jewelry, but already have enough crafty hobbies on my plate, especially since I'm starting law school in a few weeks. My little apartment is decorated with a mix of stuff I've made and stuff that I've found or been given. I'm currently trying to relearn the art of knitting. I learned the basics about five years ago and never got beyond flat scarf-like objects, so my goal is to be able to knit my own hat and socks (I live in the northeast, these are very necessary items). Some of my adventures in pottery: http://www.facebook.com/#!/album.php?aid=4058&id=1346431710. I am most proud of my little monster tea-light candle holder. It was my first piece. :)

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  65. I don't know if this counts as crafty, but I've been thinking about it more and more. It is definitely my DIY Everest, anyway. The economy woes has hit my family rather hard, and last year my husband, son and I decided to move in with my in-laws. For a year now, I've been daydreaming about my dream home while watching home improvement shows on cable. Ideally, the geeky hippie in me would love to build one of these:

    http://www.geo-dome.co.uk/Artsearch.asp?selfield=srnm&idx=4&txtvalue=how&btnsearch=Search

    and one thing it would definitely have is a steampunk themed library with floor to ceiling books . . .

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  66. As soon as I can afford one of those doming blocks, my plan is to write inspirational words on new shiny pennies, clear coat, dome them, and then leave them in the streets wherever I go for people to find them. I have a Disneyland annual pass and would love to show off my cuff there! I love all your crafts... PLEASE Jen, PICK ME!

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  67. Scrapbooking! I can knit crochet and do so many other things, but scrapbooking eludes me!

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  68. Ooh, I'd LOVE to win!!

    I actually started to attempt this project today - http://www.pickles.no/whirl-it-lampshade/2009/6/28/whirl-it-lampshade.html - but I got stuck with how to suspend the thing with no chance of it falling for the 24-48 hours it takes to dry. I'm so nervous I'm going to mess it up, and I'm already so invested!

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  69. When we were adopting an 11 year old girl who was orphaned in a car accident, I asked her ahead of time what her dream bedroom would have. She said "pink and purple flowers" (of course!) I told her that's exactly what she would get. As soon as she walked through the front door she said "I want to see my room!"
    The walls were painted half purple and half pink with scalloping. The walls and ceiling were covered in P&P flowers. The custom bedspread I found at an estate sale was purple gingham with pink floral trim.I made floor pillows with colorful ribbons to match it. The bed and nightstand we made out of white picket fencing. The bed had purple mosquito netting which I intertwined with silk flowers. The throw rugs I placed on the carpet were huge colorful and flower shaped. And on and on... (pink and purple feathered lamp!)

    The look on her face was worth all the work. She screamed and I cried. And she became our forever daughter. :)

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  70. I have a crafter's heart, with a busy modern lady's schedule. These two do not always see eye to eye. A couple of years ago I wanted to rekindle a fire for some of the almost lost crafts like pottery and knitting, I took a pottery class with my mom and I bought some books on knitting and thus prepped my little craft fire. The end goal i had in in mind was to make pretty knitted blankets for myself and to give as gifts. As a result of several turns in the intricate path that is my life, there is a big box of knitting supplies in the back of my closet...my little fire is not extinguished but has burned down to an ember for a little while.

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  71. I Love scrapbooking, painting ceramics, and taking pictures. I have painted ceramics since I was a teenager. I loved painting Winnie the Pooh ceramics to hang all over my oldest daughters nursery wall. Love both your sites! PICK ME!

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  72. Oh, my... um...

    Not counting the cakes I plan to make (more 1up mushrooms and geeky things like that :D I pretend to be a cake decorator on occasion.)...

    I've wanted to make a french memo board with a cork board attached to it to go near my desk for over a year now. And a duvet cover for my down comforter I bought last year. And a companion cube toy for my cats (I failed at that once already). The list goes on and on!

    Grad school seems to consume a lot of my time! So, thanks for entertaining me with your blogs :) You help to keep me distracted from working on my thesis!

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  73. I SO want to learn to knit. Just a scarf. Just one. :)

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  74. I have been planning for years to cross-stitch seven generations of family tree ancestry, with all the names, dates, and places I've discovered through research. I have the fabric, the floss, the metallic thread, and the ribbon for little roses...I just need to sit down and actually design the thing!

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  75. I have a pile of sewing projects I haven't completed yet due to a severe lack of sewing machine confidence. I need to do serious kicking of my own patootie to get myself in front of the darned thing. I'll make those curtains for my daughters room someday!

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  76. I am so inspired by all your crafts!

    One thing I have always wanted to try is some sort of mixed media wall art...kind of a decoupage with added found items, but have been held back by the fact we don't own our walls and my ideas change so often, I may tire of it way too quickly!

    So, for now, I just pour out my creativity on canvas, illustration board or other people's walls in mural form.

    www.zaklinabecker.com
    http://searching4truebeauty.blogspot.com

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  77. I was going to make a Roman shade for our front door, because it had a huge window and I was going to be nursing well within sight of it. We got a new door with stained glass instead, and I recently sold the fabric to a coworker. Someday, I will use that sewing machine, I swear...


    WV: hadme; verb, past tense. "I hadme a dream, it wasn't for you, baby..."

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  78. I love this blog. I love reading about all the crafty things you do. I especially like the curtains you did. My favorite craft right now has to be letting my children paint an 8x10 canvas (found at any local craft store) and sealing it with Mod Podge. atttach ribbon to the top and hang it up on the wall. Instant kitchen decor for my house. You have lots of GREAT ideas. Keep them coming!!!

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  79. Love this idea!

    I taught myself how to knit last year and even joined a knitting group in my city! Everyone has been telling me I should knit a sweater for myself but the idea just scares me! Every week, I get asked when I will start it, what color I want it, ect... well last week, I cast on a child's sweater and am working my way through the pattern! I am also attempting to knit two socks on the same needle at the same time!

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  80. I very recently ran into this craft project:

    http://www.instructables.com/id/Build-an-Inexpensive-Cigar-Box-Guitar-at-Home/

    And can't seem to get it out of my mind... I'm not sure why - I don't even play guitar myself! (I have this niggling idea though... my oldest friend - since 1981! - is a fantastic guitar player. And he and his wife just adopted a little boy... Would be a great starter guitar, I'm thinking...)

    Thanks for all of your great ideas - I may make one of these for myself, complete with some steampunk decorations inspired by your stuff. Then I'll learn to play!

    (That cuff would go great with my pirate garb. If I don't win yours, I'll certainly be making one for meself... Arr!)

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  81. I would say that the one craft that really inspired me was when I completed a large cross stitch piece of the whole chapter of Psalm 91 for my grandmother as a Christmas gift. It was her favorite passage of scripture. I picked out the font and border design and when I had finished it, I then had it framed. It hung on her wall for many years so when she passed away several years ago, I was able to get it back and hang it on my wall. And every time I look at it, I think of her.

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  82. For years I wanted to do a Princess Bride theme for Halloween but you cannot find a Buttercup outfit anywhere! So after years of wanting, last Halloween I decided to finally make one myself! I used 3 different patterns fit together to get different elements. Did I mention I also had never used a sewing machine before, let alone made clothing? I ended up taking some liberties, but I think it ended up pretty awesome!! http://www.onlytwopeople.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2010/07/100_0874.jpg I also made my husband's Dread Pirate Roberts outfit, although the store and internet helped more with that one.

    May add, pick me! pick me! pick me! I'm a disney geek! ::Ahem:: Okay, I'm done.

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  83. I would love to have that cuff! It's so pretty! As for me, it feels like there are few crafts that I *haven't* done! I do soap, jewelry, lotion, other body products, knitting, crochet, sewing, web design, drawing, and I'm sure a few others. I have definitely never made penny jewelry, though!

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  84. hello there!
    Ever since this popped up http://www.instructables.com/community/Toy-lamp/ I've wanted to make it. Of course, I wish I would have kept all of my old toys. I am slowly making a small collection of little guys I find at salvation army and such. I think this is one of the coolest ideas. I absolutely DISLIKE the lamp I have in my sewing room and wish my space to be more *ahem* nerdy. I am trying to find all women superhero toys (not anything like barbie) It's a slow search but I know once I find all the cool toys I want I will have one awesome lamp! :)

    Thanks to all the comic book guys I live with for the inspiration I finished our "Avengers" comic book bathroom. If you're interested I will totally send pics...

    craft on! :)
    ~Nikki Starr

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  85. My craft Everest has to be my plan for Metrocard 'beaded' curtains. My idea is something similar to this:

    http://curbly.com/alexrussell/posts/732-not-your-mother-s-beaded-curtain

    Except that instead of using big gaudy circles, I'll be using the plethora of Metrocards that I accumulated while I lived in NYC for 4 years. For reasons completely unknown to me, I just couldn't throw them away. This eventually led to a collection of probably about 200 of them! It really isn't that difficult of a project, but I live in the teensiest apartment and I just don't have the space to lay everything out the way I want to (yes...I am aware that there are ways around this, but my OCD manages to get in the way). Luckily, I'll be moving to a larger and more awesome apartment next month, so they may actually get done!!


    PS- omg cutest gift box ever.

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  86. I just need to finish the crafts that I've started, from the counted cross stitch alphabet sampler with cows (we own a dairy-related business) to the slippers that I started to knit for my daughter (I finished one...that doesn't fit her any more) to the scarf that I'm knitting and am about 20 rows from finishing, to the two quilts that I have started. Never mind the crewel embroidery from 25+ years ago that's stashed somewhere, or the latch hook rug that my daughter ended up finishing over 25 years after I started it. Oh, I did finish a quilted table runner a few years ago, although it was meant as a birthday gift for my mom (it's in September) and I ended up giving it to her at Christmas (it had an autumn theme.) I have also finished a few pairs of socks with crocheted edges and a dishcloth or two, but really, I just need to commit to finishing what I have already started before I begin something else. I have big plans to crochet an afghan, but I don't think it'll happen any time soon.

    wv - crueli: I start projects and crueli leave them unfinished and stored away for years.

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  87. Every project is my Everest. I have not a crafty bone in my body but I LOVE crafts. I can cook, though. But my cakes are kinda wreckie. :)

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  88. I wish I had the stuff to make t-shirts and hoodies all day long. I'd like to think I'm pretty crafty, but screen printing is intimidating to me.

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  89. This is the latest thing that I'm loving--refinishing an old piano: http://www.allthingsthrifty.com/2010/08/piano-refinishing-101.html

    I love love LOVE the antique-y scrollwork that they added :)

    PS: And yes, antique-y. I went there ;)

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  90. I love your blog. My project lately is very simple. We have recently moved and I was in need of some decor for the kitchen. So, I bought a two pack of 8x10 canvas and let my children paint their hands and put them on the canvas. They covered the canvas with many primary colored hand prints, I sealed it with Mod Podge and hung them on the wall with bright ribbon!! Instant decor. Keep the ideas coming!! Thank you for sharing them!!

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  91. My most challenging craft project was a commissioned one: A woman at a local store found an old window with 16 individual panes and asked that I paint various flowers and herbs in each pane. It was a long, grueling process, but the end result was worth it! The day I returned the finished product, a woman was walking out of the store as I was coming in, asked about the window and bought it on the spot!

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  92. I would love to sew but I never seem to have the time nor the tools to do it. Recently I have been making bow boards for my daughter and friends. It is similar in size to a french memo board but instead of criss/crosses the ribbons are vertical. Excellent for holding all of the bows that she has.

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  93. My most inspiring craft project?
    Noah's Doll:
    http://www2d.biglobe.ne.jp/~dhnoah/make_00.htm

    Whoo boy.

    (I luff making dolls)

    The most intimidating?

    Making clothes for them.

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  94. I drool over scrabble tile charms on etsy, and I bought all the supplies to make them, and looked up a little tutorial and even started to make a few, but alas, I fail with every attempt and can't make them nearly as adorable as I see online. Sad day for me. Guess I'll have to keep shelling out $$ whenever I see one with an eiffel tower on it.

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  95. Right now I'm super excited about this one:

    http://wickedwoollens.blogspot.com/2008/08/dwarven-battle-bonnet-pattern.html

    It's a knitted dwarven battle bonnet for my husband, <3.

    Pick me?

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  96. I'm crafty, I sew I do beadwork, I embroider, chochet...
    BUT, I have been working on my full size crazy quilt for two years. And I haven't gotten very far. My best friend who started her KING size quilt at the same time, is done with all the squares and finished half of the embroidery. Good thing she's my best friend *sigh*

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  97. Well I am a jeweler by profession, so anything involving jewelry doesn't count! My artsy hobby I do is making fairy gardens. I make little garden scenes using little figurines, usually things intended for dollhouses. It can be challenging because you have to find plants that stay small, use proper placement based on height or type, vary your shades of green etc. I think the project I'm most proud of is an action figure of mine. It was a white vinyl n00b (sold by Blizzard who created World of Warcraft) that I drew Raphael of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles on. I think it turned out pretty good! http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=178700&id=506928029#!/photo.php?pid=4514000&id=506928029&ref=fbx_album As far as my Everest project goes, I'd like to learn how to be a landscape architect, and make fabulous full sized gardens and fantasy back yards!

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  98. First of all, I wait with baited breath each new post. Your slightly sarcastic, mostly sweet, sometimes silly view of life makes reading both your blogs (and your book) a pleasure.

    I DESPERATELY wanted to go to your book signing, here in Denver, but it happened to fall on my 8th anniversary...and no amount of pleading, whining, or cajoling could sway my darling husband from his plans for the evening (which, I admit, were wonderful).

    Having said that, my CRAFT-EVEREST is a wooden jewelry box that I designed. I want it to have a lock-able door with a mirror on the front; hooks, posts, and other storage bits inside; and a small shelf below the door, on the outside. The whole kit'n'kaboodle hangs on the wall, out of reach of my darling daughters, kind of like a thinner version of a medicine cabinet...for jewelry. :)

    WV: I'm "predshr" you would love it!

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  99. I made a family tree for my son when he was born. Actually cut out leaves and put everyone's names on them. I wanted to do one for my daughter, who was born in April, with cherry blossoms (the theme of her room) but I haven't had time. :(

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  100. I have two projects I'd like to do, but I feel all thumbs most of the time. The first one can be seen here:

    http://www.bakerella.com/snow-globe-coca-cola-cupcakes/

    The second is here:

    http://zebracrossingdesign.blogspot.com/

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  101. Not that you asked but my vote-
    as of 12:14AM-goes to the lady who made the caffeine molicule.
    My Everest is a hand stitched quilt like the one I saw- folk artsy panels depecting moments in her life-walking to school as a school bus goes by her- and so on up to her kids. It was breath taking.
    It told a her story.
    mocking--- Great bracelet-you dun good!!!

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  102. *SWOON* That's what I'll do if you randomly (or not so randomly) pick me. ;o) Luv all the wit and humor, and creative goodness that my brain is utterly incapable of creating.

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  103. My boyfriend just graduated from Cornell, and I gave him a classic Pooh stuffed animal as a gift (he LOVES Pooh). I planned to embroider a red teddy bear T-shirt with CORNELL (since Pooh wears red and Cornell's main color is red), but I have yet to find a craft store that carries them! I swear it will get done someday, when I cave and pay $6 in shipping on a $5 bear shirt...

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  104. Now that I finally have my craft room/office (after six months with most of my belongings in a POD. Btw during that time cakewrecks helped save my sanity) some of the goodies in the queue are a crochet dragon head trophy-as seen on craftster- and a Warhol style Cinderella pic done with some of the old Disney paint chips. Hoping to get some pennies this fall.

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  105. Hey Jen, You're a link on Super punch!
    2. Comment and win jewelry.

    LOVE your blogs!

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  106. VERY cool looking!! Makes me wanna search for all the ones I did when I was at some war memorials in Hawaii -- mmmm wonder where they went!
    Anyways -- my "Everest" of projects has to be making an apron ... or 6 :( I have no idea how ... and I don't do "clothing" patterns ... but I will try :)

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  107. I am diggin' the cuff w/ the scrapbook trim. ( I have also raided the scrapbook aisle for my jewelry)I have a good sized collection of smashed pennies myself that I can't seem to commit to a project. My everest~ a vintage jewelry box into an altar I started years ago.

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  108. I enjoyed scrapbooking but found my niche in digital scrapping. I love it! Unfortunately since the birth of my little man scrap time has been hard to come by. but I did do his birth announcements myself!
    My gallery (including a few Disney pages!)- http://scrapmatters.com/gallery3/showgallery.php/cat/500/ppuser/902/sort/1

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  109. I make custom My Little Ponies, when the mood strikes me.

    Ever since I first began I've wanted to make a rearing dragon pony, standing on a platform with treasure spilled out around its feet. However, I haven't started yet because I still don't feel my wings are good enough.

    Whenever I try to make sculpted wings, although they end up looking nice, they don't come out good enough for the dragon. Still, that is my ultimate project and when I finally get it done, I just know that it will be worth the long wait and all because I'll have a really beautiful piece.

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  110. I'm an artist. I run a children's decor business with my mom and I have my own Etsy site, but my favorite, most inspirational piece had absolutely nothing to do with my business or making money or turning a profit, nothing like that. It's a big painting I created for my bestie when I went to visit her half-way across the U.S. (after she'd moved oh-so-far-away). She loves trees, as I do, and when she'd seen something else of mine, she wanted me to recreate a tree for her living room wall. She came up with the colors and the idea for the beautiful, shimmery wash and she just let me do my thing. It was the first time I really had only love as a motivation for creating a piece of art. You can see "Molly's Tree" here: http://doodlesonanotebook.com/?page_id=42

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  111. Oh, that is so so cute! I just tackled refinishing my highboy. Next scary DIY project I want to do is to retile my guest bathroom. On the more crafty side, I am terrified of the using the zipper attachment on my sewing machine to put snaps on my homemade baby pjs.

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  112. I'd love to try bead work, but don't think my eyesight is as good as it once was - plus having a two year old and a container full of beads is just asking for trouble.

    Oh, well, will just stick with my quilting and scrapbooking for now!

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  113. To second what someone else said, my craft everest is a quilt. I have scraps of fabric i salvaged from my grandmother's house when she passed away and some old band tees that i think would be stellar as quilt squares. If only i had the time, skill, and equipment. I think one day i will break down and pay someone to do it for me!

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  114. Well, since I can't include epbot stuff (hehe)... I have too. My insurmountable Everest is quilling. I have this fascination with quilling that dates back to a very young age.

    The Everest I've recently decided to climb is the sewing - making and designing clothes mountain. I have this unhealthy fear that everything I sew will be poo. I started taking a Dressmaking and Design correspondence course! Then maybe I can start making crafty things out of geek shirts too!

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  115. I really love knitting. Naturally, yarn being comparable to crack, I decided to try out crochet. Amigurumi (which can be knit, though the knit projects aren't nearly as cute) intrigued me the most. I started out by attempting to "chain" or "pull my hair out". It took me a few WEEKS to learn how, but once I did, I made my first amigurumi project : an egg. I was super proud of it. Soon thereafter, I decided I would make something for my brother. He has had this extremely nasty Mike Wazowski key chain since Monsters Inc came out. It's dirty and smelly (which apparently gives a green monster keychain street cred) and falling apart. I couldn't find any Mike Wazowski patterns that I liked (ie: were free), so I meshed a few amigurumi pattern together and somehow managed to make a brand new Mike Wazowski keychain! It's the crowning achievement of my craft life.

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  116. OH my. OK, can I tell you I want, real bad, that there cuff? Because I'm an Aussie with two kids and a mortgage and I'm not going to get to the US anytime soon to get my own genuine smashed penny :(

    As for craft projects.. well. I love doll houses. I never had one as a kid, except the one I made myself from shoe boxes, with windows and curtains and carpet and everything. Gorgeous. Anyways, pregnant for the first time, I started to make a dolls house. I went into labor. My husband didn't remove forementioned dolls house from the outside table where it was drying, before coming to the hospital to see me. Result? Dog eats doll house. Devastated.

    What with lactating, gestating, mothering and blogging, I haven't had time to start a new one yet. I will get there. One day. I'll make a replica house like the one from that cartoon the Jetsons. 'Cause that's what we'll all be living in by then.

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  117. I've been making jewelry for years now but have yet to play with a soldering gun! That's my next project to tackle... I want to make my wire jewelry more sturdy and play with different heat techniques.

    (I just started playing with copper and blowtorches to get really kick ass colors for art installations so hopefully this will light a (proverbial) fire under me:)

    PS: keep the how-to posts coming, please! So much fun and so helpful!

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  118. That is so cool! I have always wanted to lay a ceramic tile floor. I don't know why, but I do. And stained glass. I'm so glad I followed the link from CW a couple months back.

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  119. My best craft project ended up being a painting of a giraffe. His name is Girard and he is painted on 4 panels. The panels are held together by ribbon and instead of his body having spots he has vines. Since he's about 6 feet tall people notice him. He's quite lovely and was put on the 1 million giraffes site http://www.onemilliongiraffes.com/?id=55268 (since I don't blog anymore that's the only link I have sorry). Next up will be a violin or viola a la Picasso painted on 5 panels to go in my office.

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  120. Ooh, I want to win that! It's so cool! Here's one of the projects that has most inspired me: http://www.younghouselove.com/2010/01/show-me-a-sign/

    I plan to do something similar soon with some awesome typography graphics I found online.

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  121. Honestly I am most inspired by the whole steampunk thing. I have never really thought I had a style or decorating preference until I started following this blog, and now I wish I had an ounce of craftiness in me.

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  122. I have done 2 large crafty things, I used to make origami boxes for everyone, and I also made beaded bracelets. Both were ways in which I could be creative and also have some time for myself and let my mind wander. (My Other Half thinks Legos do the same thing)
    Now I am trying to make some of this jewelry that is so cool but can't find the coin frame anywhere!
    You are so creative, more that I could ever be!

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  123. Ooooh cute!!

    I'm not a super crafty person. Right now my goal is to make a honeymoon scrapbook. But I'm not sure if that's ever going to happen.

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  124. I've always wanted to learn lost wax casting! Why? because I love jewelry, and I love art, and being about to make my own cast metal rings and pendants and such would be a dream come true.

    Of course the difficulty is that it requires materials and set up I simply dont have! :/

    That's a beautiful cuff, by the way. I've got to remember to do the penny thing next time I go to Disney! :D

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  125. This is my Everest, I started stitching it about 10 years ago and as you can tell by the date of the post I have stitched on it for over 12 months, not sure why I think it is because this is a huge project but will be stunning when finished.
    http://kiwicraftydoglover.blogspot.com/2009/06/stitching-update.html

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  126. I'm currently in a craft time out, I just finished being in charge of all the decorations for my church's Vacation Bible School so....painting is feeling a little old right now. But after a bit I plan on making a Tinkerbell stool for my youngest. I made a Spongebob one for my oldest and it's one of my favorite things I've crafted. It's not Everest or anything, but I have so many crafty hobbies there's multiple Everest's in my house. I absolutely LOVE your crafty posts and would guard the bracelet and pin with my life! :)

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  127. ive ALWAYS wanted to make a quilt...i even have one 1/2 done...maybe someday, I will actually get it done. Everest, indeed. =)

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  128. My dad made a bar in our garage out of the frame from his old waterbed. He found an old mirror to put on the wall behind it, and framed it with the bed's headboard, then added shelves and recessed lighting.

    For the bar itself, he reworked the actual frame of the bed, covered the outside in some grey carpet scraps, and used off-white, textured bathroom floor tiles for the surface of the bar, so that cold, wet glasses wouldn't slip and slide around. He edged the service area with leftover black marble from when he craft-ified our bathroom.

    He's collected old beer signs and other old bar-related knicknacks and put them up all around as decorations.

    The bar is absolutely gorgeous, and, to look at it, you'd never think that it used to be a bed.

    I wish I had pictures of it. It's amazing.

    He and I also made a mini-pond out of an old, boxed-in flowerbed in the back yard a few years back, complete with a two foot lighthouse and a waterfall made from pieces of what used to be our slate walkway. It took us three days to position the slate perfectly, so that the water would fall in an interesting (and pleasant sounding) way.

    My dad is, like, the Do-It-Yourself, Craft KING! He pretty much remodeled (and added three rooms onto) the house all by himself. I can only hope that his crafty nature has rubbed off on me enough that *I* can create some wonderful things now that I have a house of my own!

    WV: expedsl - "Wow, that bar looks great! Was it expedsl to make?"

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  129. I love the penny jewelry; it's such a great idea!
    I'm a knitter, and I've always wanted to knit a cabled afghan, big enough for the guest room...someday...

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  130. My personal DIY everest: A while ago I stumbled onto a fantastic Instructable that described the means to designing your own furniture out of cardboard. Now I know that doesn't SOUND impressive, but seriously you have to take a look at these images to appreciate it.

    http://www.treehugger.com/files/2009/03/cardboard-furniture.php

    http://www.treehugger.com/nothing-1.jpg

    http://www.instructables.com/id/Cardboard-shelf-for-groceries/

    These pieces of practical art layer cardboard with carpenters glue for reinforcement in necessary weight bearing areas, playing up the strengths of cardboard, while also using the versatility of a material you can cut or shape into any form you want. Its basically paper mache for grown ups! Plus its green, which makes it my ideal kind of project.

    I came upon this idea a while ago while I was planning a move to California and I believed myself in need of some inexpensive furniture (not to mention the anticipated post-move surplus of boxes definitely played into this plan). While the move itself fell through, I already drew out the plans for a Tansu chest set and matching tea table/hidden storage coffee table. I still hope to make these plans a reality when my intended move finally happens. Saving boxes until then :)

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  131. LOVE!!! WANT!!!

    This is the craft project that has most inspired me:

    http://www.doctorwhoscarf.com/

    It was that project and that project alone that inspired me to try my hand at knitting again. It took me nearly a year to finish the scarf, because I took breaks to finish other smaller projects. I have since gone on to make hats, mittens, sweaters, and knitted toys (the knitted octopus is adorable), and I now consider myself a fairly competent knitter.

    Even after all those accomplishments, the Doctor Who scarf is still one of my most treasured knitted possessions.

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  132. I totally love this bracelet/cuff! I adore anything pirate! <3 With that said...

    I've always wanted to make Tetris bookshelves like these:
    http://www.instructables.com/id/Build-a-Tetris-DVD-or-book-shelf/
    But I am totally not that good with wood crafts other than those bookshelves you buy at the store that are almost all put together for you, and I'm a huge clutz on top of it, I can't walk across the floor barefoot without tripping over myself, so I'm pretty sure I'd lose a limb trying to use a saw or something.
    So, building bookshelves... Something I probably shouldn't try :(
    They're totally awesome though and something I toatlly need more of so I can bring more of my library out of storage

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  133. My "Craft Everest" was inspired by an AMAZING t-shirt quilt one of my professors brought to share when I was in grad school. I can sew and do crafty things (I actually have the scrapbook paper you used for the gift box), but don't really have a clue about quilting. Unfortunately, the t-shirts keep piling up and "Everest" keeps getting bigger! :)

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  134. Pick Me, I started making a little onesie outfit for my son when he was 6 months old. I got it super big and guess what...hes almost 6 and its still not done and hes probably to old for a onesie...But I did tye dye him socks. So does that count.

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  135. I would LOVE a Harry Potter scarf...like this one. http://www.etsy.com/listing/37173149/harry-potter-scarf But I can't knit or do anything half so craftsy. So sad.

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  136. Though I'm more of a drawing artist (and I have struggles with those too), mine are always cosplay. For those unfamiliar (even though Jen's done cosplay features on this blog, so I don't know why you would be), cosplaying is dressing up as a fictional character. You *can* cheaply buy your own costumes, but really good cosplayers (and some bad ones) make their own costumes from scratch.

    Being a seventeen-year-old girl with no money and no ability to get a job, it's sorta difficult to cosplay. It's a little sad when I want to do so many things--I've swapped between Edward Elric from my favorite anime, Link of Zelda fame, a couple others . . . but since I can't buy the materials or miraculously learn to use a sewing machine, it's a bit hard.

    But! It's a little better now. I've managed to start a little cosplay project for Kumoricon next month, going as a webcomic character. The costume's simple; hoodie, purple pants, white shirt, and a black wig, but I have to hand-craft the mask myself. So far, for my first real clay project ever, it's going pretty well. c: Here's hoping the clay sets right when I finish and I don't mess up the paint later on.

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  137. Wow, Jen, you sure hit on a hot topic! :)

    I have been wanting to try a ton of different crafts as I have been cruising craft blogs for a couple months now.

    Where to start?!

    I'd love to take a (vintage) book and make it into a book cover of sorts (http://justsomethingimade.blogspot.com/2010/04/vintage-book-planner-tutorial.html)

    I actually made this one, although I didn't have a hands-free for my phone that had the dual wire. Pretty proud of myself and looking forward to doing it again for my earbuds. (http://www.laupre.com/blog/02zip-up-earbuds)

    The one thing I have been dying to do - and have been saving images for - is to decoupage an old nightstand or dresser. I love Disney and have been saving my Disney Days calendars for a *very* long time to do this project.

    {sigh} too many ideas, too little time!

    Thanks for your inspiration!

    Shoni

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  138. My craft everest, as silly and simple as it is, is knitting. My grandmother started to teach me when I was a little girl, but she's since passed away. I'm sure I could teach myself... but first I need to learn the patience I need to sit down with a book or dvd and relearn casting on and the stitches. Someday that pile of beautiful yarn I bought WILL be my beautiful scarf.... I know it. :)

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  139. I'm not very crafty, but I have friends who are. Several of whom knit. The most inspiring craft project to me were the handmade socks my friend made for my Mom after her brain surgery. They mean a lot to both of us. To her because they're handmade, and to me because she's around to wear them.

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  140. I want to learn to knit!

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  141. For me, it would be a quilt/picnic blanket - a disappearing nine patch to be exact. I love how you make a nine patch square and then cut and arrange it to make something totally different. I just haven't space and money and time to do it (I do have knitting and classes to keep me busy). Love the inspirations you have on here - thanks!

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  142. So totally cute! I love it. I've been collecting smashed coins since I was a kid and have over 150 (most from Disney). the craft I'd like to do is finish my son's quilt but have lost my fabric in our most recent move (stupid Military) Hope I find it soon...
    Thanks!!

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  143. Well, I really do want to make the smashed penny jewelry. My best friend and I loved the stuff you made so much we went to Magic Kingdom just to get a bunch of pennies!

    But if that can't count, I REALLY want to knit the baby Link set (from Zelda, as seen in Nintendo Power). It has everything the young adventurer would need! While I do know how to knit, it is just super-complicated.

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  144. Oh my goodness - so many comments! You're almost to 'dooce' status Jen! My craft project that is up there on my to-do list is a steampunk corset made from brown leather and copper accents. Problem is, I'm not the world's best seamstress - or any seamstress (steamstress?) at all. But I intend to learn!

    Stellablue

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  145. Oooooh coool! I am, ok was, a mad scrapbooker but I just can't get that danged Disney album completed! Maybe this bracelet would inspire me to finish it? hint hint...

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  146. My current dining table is in need of a serious makeover, but sanding and painting intimidates me too much to start!

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  147. I really want to make some pants for my baby out of old t-shirts, as shown here: http://www.rookiemoms.com/make-some-easy-kids-pants/

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  148. I've always wanted to be more crafty. I scrapbook and I'm a designer but I wish my sewing skills were better. My "wish" project for the moment is a jean quilt so I can use it for picnics in the summer. I've been saving jeans forever but I don't even know where to begin!

    P.S. I saw this on Amazon and thought of you...
    http://www.amazon.com/Gear-Wall-Art-with-Clock/dp/B0011ZZBXE/ref=sr_1_36?ie=UTF8&s=home-garden&qid=1281417517&sr=1-36

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  149. I recently starting crocheting and would love to make a cute sweater. For now I will continue working on simple baby blankets.

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  150. Oh, the things I'll do when I'm on my well-earned pension... The top of the list would be a doll house. Based on a Finnish children's book (Onnelin ja Annelin talo, the House of Onneli and Anneli).

    The book is about two eight-year-old girls who end up in a house of their own, designed for two girls and filled with all kinds of sweeeet little girl things, two of each. The most wonderful chapter of the book is the one where the girls explore their house and all the things in it; and it is all described in wonderful detail.

    And I am SO going to follow the description up to every single detail, from the checkered kitchen curtains to the chocolate box on the table to the dressing room with dozens of wonderful (and identical) dresses for two girls.

    And no way any child is EVER going to be allowed to play with the house. ONLY ME.

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  151. I have a tendency to start crafts and then quit half way through. But not with this one. No, by the time I go back to college (which is soon), I vow to have this finished. I am currently about halfway through a tshirt quilt. Yes, I took my massive tshirt collection, cut it to bits, discovered I don't know how to cut a square, and started sewing them together. The best part is, each tshirt is an example of part of my personality. Even if I bought the shirt just for the quilt, I still love it and think it shows some aspect of who I am. And, hopefully, if I get it finished, I can pass it down at least one generation, maybe two if it lasts that long!

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  152. I am a bit chagrined to admit that my niftiest craft thus far began with a purloined Mexican tile from Chili's. My friend kept watch as I loosened the grout with my steak knife between courses. I decided to surprise that friend by creating a mosaic tile tabletop for her with that stolen tile in the center. I had NO idea what I was doing, so there was a lot of improvisation There was also a lot of smashing of tile with bricks and lots of grout in my hair. I'm happy to report that she really loved the end result.

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  153. I like to sew things for my kids. For awhile I was sewing different scarves for every birthday party they went to. Now I'm on to fun patterned skirts. I'd like to make a dress out of a fun patterned man's dress shirt. Though after seeing all the fun you're having with penny jewelry, it'd be neat to try that out to. Love the pirate cuff.

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  154. That is one sweet cuff! I would totally wear it!

    I'm actually in the midst of my "craft Everest," a t-shirt quilt of 50 t-shirts from high school and college. And here's the proof on my blog. I don't have my own sewing machine, so I had to borrow one just to get as far as I've come... and it took me two weeks of nearly non-stop work (while watching my sister play Zelda on the Wii) to finish one side! I hope to finish it sometime this year, when I can borrow the sewing machine again.

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  155. My biggest crafty undertaking was painting my bedroom. (sounds suspiciously uncrafty but just you wait!)
    I have this dormer wall that slanted into my ceiling, so I decided to paint all other walls black, and my wall and ceiling different sized squares of different shades of blue. So my dad and I cut 4 different sized square stencils and after the base coat I drew them on with a pencil, and taped painters tape around them so theere'd be a 1 inch gap between each square of pale blue base. The stencils stopped fitting so eventually the squares and rectangles became more uneven but still cool. Then I marked out where each colour would go so there would never be two colours next to each other. then painted. it took about 3 days to do the whole wall and ceiling but i LOOOOVE it. Ill be sad when I move out and hafta paint over it :(

    My other crafty adventures involve scrapbooking and Ive got a pretty awesome disneyland scrapbook Im proud of.

    what I WANT to do is create a wall mural from a movie using smaller screen shots (like those puzzles where all the little puzzles make up a big one?) but i dont have time for it.
    I also want to sew awesome nightmare before christmas seatcovers for me car (im trying to theme it), and maybe one day try some of your penny jewelry or youre super freakin cool apothecary drawers.

    wow that was long. anyways, keep up youre awesome crafty stuff! Its inspiring!

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  156. We are both artists and crafters. Our current project is scrapbooking albums for our new great niece and nephews. The biggest project on board is to turn the den into steampunk, inspired by your dining room.

    @Lisa - perhaps if you use older
    pennies, that are made of straight copper (not like the new ones which contain zinc) it will be easier to dome

    to everyone - we all have creativity within ourselves, we just have to find the right medium to release our talents

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  157. This is very cute! I love to do crafty things, but it's a toss-up as to what has been the most daunting craft to date. I bought a Cricut Expression & a Cricut Cake in April... neither has been so much as hooked up to my computer to be set up yet. I also have still-in-the-package scrapbooking stuff from over 10 years ago. I have made a grand total of 1 page on my own. I made several pages with the assistance of my sisters for a book for my mom, but nothing for me. Even that 1 page was left as a memorial to a friend who died in the OKC bombing in 1995. I left the page in a protective sleeve on the fence in 2001. I have made 0 pages since then, not counting the ones with my sister. I have tons of stuff saved to do, but so far... nothing. I don't know if it's because I am a procrastinator supreme or if I am just that busy. ...sigh... I also bought the stuff to make a super-cool Scrabble photo frame (http://content.photojojo.com/diy/scrabble-board-picture-frame/), but have not touched it, either. (I blame that one, at least in part, on my niece. She was supposed to be doing a mock-up of the board that I could print out onto steel and never gave it to me.) ...again, sigh...

    WV: lablur - the next new thing I have purchased that will undoubtedly sit unused... (labeler)

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  158. I am an avid crocheter and I love it dearly, but I've always wanted to learn how to make cables. I can do it with crochet but it looks so beautiful in knitting. My craft Everest would therefore be to learn how to make a cable knit scarf. I've tried to teach myself knitting but my brain doesn't communicate properly to my hands and I just get frustrated! I need someone to teach me!

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  159. Ah i want this so very much! Here is my Everest. It's why I started knitting in the first place, but I actually have no patience for counting stitches and following charts so I just pretend I'm good enough.

    http://ysolda.com/skull-illusion-knit-scarf/ Skull and Crossbones Scarf

    http://www.instructables.com/id/My-Shadow-Knit-Piano-Scarf/

    Amazing piano scarf!

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  160. I recently took up crochet. I asked various people for years to teach me and nobody ever did until I told a friend my sad story and a week later she had her mom teaching me. I made a blanket for a little girl for her dolls and wanted to give a homemade gift to her little sister as well so I have taught my self to make little toys. They are all adorable and I am super impressed with myself because I can not read a pattern and I was only taught 2 of the many stitches I now use. I make up almost all of the things I make. Oh, and I have a crochet callous!

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  161. Oh how I wish I was good at things and could make myself 500,000 of these bracelets. As soon as you mentioned giveaway in your previous post I hoped it would be for one of the cuff bracelets. I dream about them (once, literally). Anyway, for years I've been wanting to make one of those tie skirts where you reuse old ties and sew them together into a skirt. It seems like it could be really simple if I had a sewing machine...and ties. Here's the basic idea: http://www.kids-sewing-projects.com/tie-skirt.html . One girl I know even left her ties long and made a knee length dress from hers.

    Oh, and one more thing. I'm addicted to this blog. I may love it even more than cake wrecks and decorating cakes is one of my main hobbies!

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  162. I've always wanted to make my own clothes, unfortunately, cloth and I don't get along very well. Mostly, I do wire jewelry. I'm really enjoying your posts about jewelry, though I admit I now crave a doming block.

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  163. Hardanger needlework piece to frame one of my husband's and my wedding invitations. (Haven't done real embroidery since I gave birth.) I want to get it done before our 10th anniversary next year. It's not looking good....

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  164. Growing up, I always wanted to make a medieval or Renaissance dress but never figured out how. I was so excited when I went to a camp when I was 13 because it culminated in a medieval dinner, but I couldn't figure out how to make a costume and was so sad I didn't even go to the dinner.

    Then... after inheriting my mom's sewing machine in my late 20s and taking a few trips to the bargain fabric bins, and a LOT of reading of sewing books, I finished a really crappy medieval dress and wore it to my first Renaissance festival. It was hot and itchy and pinchy and ugly. So I sat back and did some learning, and now, a few years later, I have both a Renaissance peasant outfit and a Tudor lady outfit, completely sewn by me, including accessories, and both awesome. I have finally climbed the trailing sleeves and gathered hems of my crafting Everest! The hot summers spent sweltering under 9 yards of fabric were VERY worth it!

    Oh, and I especially like the idea of this pirate bracelet, because to go along with my pirate obsession and many pirate costumes I've also made, I've been working on a pirate novel for about 15 years now that I think won't ever be finished, but I like to think it will.

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  165. OK I'll throw my hat in the ring! I already make nifty jewellery that I sell on Etsy, but the one art I would like to learn is lampwork glass bead making. My DH is nervous enough about the torch I use now (th bigger propane one)...I am afraid to tell him that next, I want an oxyacetalene jewellery torch!

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  166. I've always wanted to learn to quilt, then make some funky cool quilts.

    Pick me! :D My kids both think the word booty is the most hilarious word ever, so a pirate bracelet would make an excellent excuse to hear them giggle.

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  167. I want to learn to crochet so I can make toilet paper covers.
    Ok, not really - I call that stuff crosh*t.
    I would like to crochet some cool plushies.

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  168. The cuff is gorgeous. You've inspired me to try some jewelry projects of my own using those scrapbooking frames.

    My craft Everest is a Doctor Who scarf. I covet one and one day will have it...despite living in a desert and being thoroughly mystified by knitting. Crocheting I can grok, but add a second stick to keep track of and I turn into all thumbs.

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  169. Jen, first off, let me say THANK YOU for your craft posts. Naw, THANK YOU for all your posts! I absolutely love your wit and sense of humor.
    And the crafts... You're a woman after my own heart. Me and my hubby were saying that it would be great to hang out with you and John.
    So, you asked for my Everest craft project. One is to make myself a corset, because I do hope to go to DragonCon some day. The second is to make this hat for my hubby: http://www.instructables.com/id/Leather-Steampunk-Top-Hat/
    I've never worked with leather. I'm a little bit intimidated by it. His costume has been imagined, just none of it has been made. "Glassicals" (a Parasol Protectorate reference - totally check out Gail Carriger, you'd love her books), top hat, vest, greatcoat, spats... the whole nine yards. And the complete set for me too, corset, bustle, spats, hat and parasol, etc. It'll probably be two years in the making. Just thinking about it is scaring me.
    Keep up the good work! <3

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  170. Hm. Alright. Well played, Jen. I'll comment on this.

    Right now I'm attempting to make a costume, actually. I don't know if you know about the show "Jane and the Dragon" or not. It's a kids' show about a young girl living in the days of knights and kingdoms who's befriended a dragon and wants to become a knight.

    I've liked the show for a while and have decided to make Jane's costume for Halloween. So, as a small part of Jane's costume requires scale armor (which is so hard to look up given the various meanings of the word scale-not fish! not size comparison! not weight!), I'm going to buy some aluminum and attempt to make it. She also has some studding on her...vest? Shirt? Thing? (Yeah, I'm totally into the medieval thing.) And I thought I'd try to dome some dimes for the studs.

    Thus bringing me to the craft project that has inspired me. Doming dimes!

    Now, understand, this is a very delicate idea and plan. It's still in its planning stages. So it's liable to float off beyond my control. But for now I'm quite excited about the possibility.

    Beyond that, reading your blog has inspired me to look up places for penny smashing machines, put the curtains up in my room, reorganize my geeky collection of My Little Pony(tm), and look at my change in a whole new light. And that change will do me good.

    ...ahem.

    Anyway. I have a small wrist. ...But I can put it on my bicep, dammit!

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  171. I have the terrible habit of falling in love with complete knitted items like this one at knitty.com.

    http://knitty.com/ISSUEsummer09/PATTcoldmountain.php

    Then I remember that I tend to lose count when I knit anything bigger than a sock. And also? I am a very slow knitter so projects like that take about a year. Still....soooo tempting.

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  172. i've been inspired by a lot of crafts recently. mostly paper crafts, but also jewelry, clothing and cake decorating. i'm working on setting up two etsy shops, which is making me even more crafty! this cuff is awesome and i really really want it! my love of pirates is eclipsed by nothing. :)

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  173. I'd really love to make one of those treadmill desk thingies, but I have neither a treadmill nor the space to put it. But maybe someday...

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  174. I've recently gotten into scrapbooking, but I want to learn how to quilt. I want to make a t-shirt quilt and even have old high school and college tshirts saved up so I can make a large quilt, but I don't know how, nor do I have the equipment.

    LOVE THIS BLOG BTW!!

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  175. Hm... I'd have to say that my challenge right now is teaching myself crochet. I get how to chain, but I must be doing something wrong during the single crochet, as it comes out wonky.

    I'd also really like to build a chest (like a hope chest or something along those lines...) for extra storage in my room. But, alas, I haven't the time nor the tools nor the money....

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  176. I would like to make crafts from pennies, but mine all got stolen from a box when I was moving. :(

    I have quite a few crafts I'm in the middle of, or would like to do. The one I mainly want to do is make my own ball jointed doll, but I need to learn how to sculpt and get the materials when I have the time.
    (http://translate.google.ca/translate?hl=en&sl=ja&tl=en&u=http://www.aimi-doll.com/howto/index.html)

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  177. I scrapbook, and attempt jewelry from time to time. I am really wanting to dig out all my old smushed pennies now. Pick me so I don't have too dig. :)

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  178. Any craft I have tried, I have not been very good at...just don't seem to have the artsy/craftsy gene...but do love admiring the work of others.

    I would love to be able to sew but don't have/can't afford the machine and everything you need, plus lessons. I would love to make my own clothing, curtains, etc.

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  179. Ummmm my everest is this idea I made up in my head. When my mom passed away and we were giving her clothes away I kept some of her favorite and most worn clothes (just because I couldn't bear the thought of anyone else in her cloud pj's or silly tees) and later I came up with the idea that I wanted to use them to make a yoga/meditation mat. At first I thought I would have someone quilt them for me but then I decided I wanted to make whatever myself as a sort of bonding thing. Problem is I don't quilt. So I remembered a rag rug I had made a few years ago and figured I would do that... Well here she has been gone 2 1/2 years and the clothes are still where I left them. Why? Idk. I think a part of it is that the idea of taking scissors to my mom's stuff scares me and also that I worry that it won't be good enough and this is one project I think needs to be perfect

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  180. The project that inspires me is these Book Shelves: http://www.craftster.org/forum/index.php?topic=98846.0

    Can't wait til I buy a house next year so I can make some!

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  181. I usually don't enter giveaways, but how can I resist a pirate penny? I can't, that's how!

    One of my most favorite recent projects I completed was a steampunk charm that looks like a pocketwatch but is made from humble materials from the hardware store. And I was sooo stumped when I sat down to create something steampunky. Stumped, but determined. I like how it turned out: http://dollarstorecrafts.com/2010/06/make-a-steampunk-pocketwatch-pendant/

    I made a bunch of them, and I turned one of two of them into more elaborate pendants: http://dollarstorecrafts.com/2010/07/remake-jewelry-statement/2/

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  182. Oooh I'd really love to win! I'm from Finland, and I find the fact of crafts being a disappearing skill really sad. So I've tried to learn as many things crafty as I can. So far I've yet to master the art of lace making and shearing (so I could make my own yarn), so those two are my Everest. :)

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  183. That is a beautiful bracelet!

    I have been wanting to knit a lace shawl. I have a wonderful book of patterns and I can easily get my hands on the yarn. What holds me back is the time I would have to invest in it and the fact that my kids suck up a lot of that time.

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  184. I've been working on my Craft Everest for several years now; a Queen-sized yo-yo quilt. My grandma first made a quilt of her own and then taught me how to make the yo-yo's. I work on it when I get a chance, but it takes a lot of yo-yo's to cover a Queen-sized bed : )

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  185. I have always wanted to learn how to make glass beads. I know it involves fire and complicatedness, and it has always intimidated me. Plus, I think it's expensive to start up. However, I have always wanted to learn. And I'm inspired and impressed with your jewelry making skills.

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  186. I don't know if it is really considered a "craft" project or not, but the one thing I've always wanted to do but could never justify (nor do I have the tech skills for) is steampunkify (just pretend that's a real word) my computer ala the Steampunk Workshop's monitor (http://steampunkworkshop.com/lcd.shtml) and keyboard (http://steampunkworkshop.com/keyboard.shtml) mods. (I know -- that's old news, but "out of my league" is still out of my league, even

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  187. Wow, what a gorgeous cuff!

    My craft project, that took forever and isn't perfect, was making a steampunk lighter for my boyfriend. I got an old brass Zippo (really bashed up looking) and a bunch of old watch parts and tiny copper and brass tubes... I wish I had a photo!

    I managed to make it so that some of the cogs could actually be turned, there were some tiny little rivet type things down the side. I packaged it up in this little treasure chest box I found, with world map designs.

    Unfortunately, my glue choices weren't perfect, and some of the pieces have come loose, so I need to make some urgent repairs, but it is utterly gorgeous (if I do say so myself!)

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  188. My craft everest is the scrapbooks that I will never make for my kids. I have 4 children and there is simply no way I will ever complete them, though I have some lovely albums that were purchased right after the kids were born!

    I am planning a project or two when the kids enter Kindergarten in a few weeks. It includes painting their bathroom and hanging some framed photographs. Also, I need to complete some artwork for my boys' room. I am planning to paint a tryptic of a jet and another tryptic of a plane to go with the tryptic of a firetruck I have already painted. (The firetruck was sold at Pottery Barn and I decided that I could save myself $200 and paint my own!)

    Please pick me! I am such a Disney geek!
    Shelley in So. Illinois

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  189. My latest long term project is to steampunk my kitchen. I wasn't allowed to touch it until it started to show signs of wear and tear but has been in more than 10 years now so is vunerable to attack! My fiance works in a builders yard so is skip diving with abandon (his favourite hobby/vice) as I want the handles on the units to made with brass plumbing fittings. We have some fiddling to do to get them attached securely to the cupboards but will get there. Also, thanks to this lovely blog, I am after a doming block to alter the lives of many a legal tender coin. Keep up the great work!

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  190. For me, the craft that has inspired me the most is scrapbooking. My sister in law makes the best scrapbooks, and I can't quite match up.

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  191. My mom made a wall quilt of the Hundred Acre Woods. Alas, I am not looking to accomplish something so awesome. I would be happy if I could make a quilt of different strips of fabric. But I can't sew straight. At all. It always gets all crooked. And it isn't crooked with character. It doesn't make it unique. It makes it a mess. But one day, maybe, I will finish a quilt.

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  192. Anythign by JB for me. http://catharsisjb.deviantart.com/ She's a fantastic artist, and her claywork has expecially inspired me for years. Lately she's been mixing steampunk with her adorable and fantastical clay sculptures/stories (she usually has a little story to go with her sculptures - they're great!).
    I look up to JB a great deal, and hope that maybe ONE day, I might be as awesome as her.

    Doubtful, but one can dream, right? Hehe.

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  193. Ooh! Do want!

    Hmm, the crafty Everest, huh? Lemme think. Well, I'd like to one day be able to sculpt and airbrush a pony within an inch of its tiny plastic life. (Customizing My Little Pony toys, if you must know!) I've started doing some little customs, but I'd really love to be able to sculpt, say, wings for them, and have them look awesome and delicate and flawless, and totally factory-finished. (This one's a good example of that, I think. It still looks pretty pony-ish, but it's got a huge amount of detail on it. http://tamizery.deviantart.com/gallery/#/dssreh And it's geeky! ;)) The tools you need for this kind of work are not terribly impossible to get (Apoxie Sculpt, primarily) but I'm lacking a lot of the skill to attempt something of this caliber. Also, a tiny dremel and an airbrush (for smooth paint jobs) help a whole bunch. ;)

    If we're talking about things I've never attempted... well, I'd say custom plush making. I've dabbled in a lot of things, but plush making is something I never tried more than once. It's just -- agh! It seems impossible! My one attempt came out pretty nightmarish, and it doesn't help that I can't sew worth a darn, either. Curses!

    BTW, I've been reading your updates about these pennies with great excitement. I have one of those little 'penny collector books,' and I never even thought about making them into jewelry! Awesome!!

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  194. Some day, I will learn to knit. I will learn to knit because I want to make Mark's scarf from the musical "RENT"...that is really the only reason I want to learn to knit. So far? I haven't got the hang of it.

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  195. I have always wanted to build a wooden TARDIS (completely from scratch and with lots of detail) or a smaller one made out of some other material - perhaps clay

    Of course being in year 12 I don't have time and I also don't have the experience or tools to make a wooden TARDIS... one day...

    Chloe

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  196. Well done. Nothing sparks a lurker like me into reviewing like a chance to win something.

    Since I am writing a rare review, let me just say, I love CakeWrecks, and I simply adore Epbot. I drive my boyfriend spare with links to posts I find cute or humorous.

    So, something crafty I've always wanted to try... Where to start? I would love to be really artsy and crafty, but sadly, I lack those particular talents.

    I'm in IT, and I've been meaning to make myself a portfolio website for a while. I'd love to do something really amazing, but I'm not sure I have the skills or the creativity for it.

    I have many, many photos, and would love to do proper scrapbooked albums for all of them. I've done a few miscellaneous pages at various workshops - just enough to whet my appetite - and I'd love to do everything, but I simply don't have the time, or the materials, or even the creativity for some of them.

    A prime example: You've inspired me, Jen. I would especially love to do a steam-punk-themed album of some of my more recent photos... I'm just not sure I'm up to it.

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  197. My dream craft project? Using all of these old picture books I have, scanning and editing all of the awesome old illustrations to create art for childrens rooms or fun tshirts, etc. Now that I am finally only going to be working one job I might actually accomplish it!!!

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  198. Huge fan of She's Crafty show and would love to craft the way she does, lazy. You know eyeballing measurements and using hot glue much of the time. Turns out I am even lazier cause all I do is watch the show.

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  199. That looks awesome :-D

    The one project that I have got on at the moment that started life as being huge is my draw-a-skull-a-day project - but it's getting there now and I've also made a ton of new friends from it:

    http://www.flickr.com/photos/25993999@N00/sets/72157622987534471/

    http://www.flickr.com/groups/skullnation/

    Cheers

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  200. I've always wanted to make quilts. I've got to the point of starting one, but somehow never manage to see one through.

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