fabrics – HEART in CRAFTS

a seahorse compilation

Did you know that the female seahorse lays the eggs but the male seahorse carries the unborn youngins in his pouch? Seahorses also like to swim in pairs with their tails linked together. Pretty cool. Here is a roundup in homage to this incredible creature.

Make a paper seahorse wall sculpture with a printable PDF pattern.

Or crochet your very own seahorse!

I like this nautical-themed mini dish set.

seahorse Ceramic Platter Set — ceramic platter set from Creative Co-op

And here’s the same seahorse design on a canister. Simple but lovely.

Or get this fantastical pillow from Roostery that’s filled with mermaids sleeping on the moon and riding seahorses.

mermaid seahorse fabric pillow cushion — throw pillow with mermaid/seahorse design made from Spoonflower fabrics

They have lots of color options…

Or adorn yourself with a seahorse pendant necklace cast from an actual dried seahorse.

brass cast seahorse necklace — brass seahorse pendant necklace from monteazul

Can you find the seahorse in this art print from society6?

society6 art print — Rainy Days by Judith Clay

I stumbled upon this French site that has many old engravings, often in large format and in color. I really like botanical illustrations. Most botanical illustrations are all over Pinterest, but this old image is new to me. The description reads: “Fish color drawing after ‘Universal Dictionary of Natural History’ Atlas Zoology Volume 2 reptiles and fish by C. d’Orbigny – Paris.”

Mix the old with the new with this custom vintage iPhone.

Check out this seahorse crest!

seahorse crest from Fairbairn’s Book of Crests

food & food-ish

breakfast-inspired fabrics

July 31July 31 heartincrafts

Spoonflower is an amazing online fabric store based in North Carolina that custom prints anything you design onto premium cotton or upholstery fabric. You can also buy other people’s designs. Here is a selection of my favorite breakfast-inspired fabrics from the site.

breakfast fabric — A perfect breakfast by Scrummy

soft boiled egg — Egg and spoon stripe by Scrummy

donuts and coffee — Donuts and coffee by Jaydesign

breakfast food fabric — Retro kitchen by Leighr

Mod breakfast fabric — Mod breakfast by Cynthiafrenette

-diy-

homemade apron

June 2June 2 heartincrafts

Just made this for a friend from scrap fabric I’ve been holding onto for quite some time. It ties in the back and has a pocket on the front. (The pocket is made from the same busy fabric so it doesn’t show up in the photo.)

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Best Kept Secrets: The Rotary Cutter (entry no.1)

August 31September 13 heartincrafts

Welcome to the first installment of Best Kept Secrets, a running list of useful and often overlooked tools for creating.

: Fiskars rotary cutters & blades

Rotary cutter

A tool generally used by quilters to cut fabric. It consists of a handle with a circular blade that rotates, thus the tool’s name.
Rotary blades can be found in different sizes: usually smaller blades are used to cut around corners, while larger blades are used to cut to straight lines.
Several layers of fabric can be cut simultaneously, making it easier to cut out patchwork pieces of the same shape and size than with regular scissors.

A few months ago, on a whim, I purchased a Fiskars rotary cutter from a sewing supply store in midtown Manhattan, took it home, read the instructions on the back of the packaging, and immediately started slicing through fabric. The tool (in combo with a mat and ruler) makes perfect cuts. It’s basically the textile version of a pizza cutter. I find it especially useful for cutting thin, slippery fabrics.

FYI, the Purl Bee has a great tutorial on rotary cutters.

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Fabric Friday

July 29September 13 heartincrafts

Hi everyone! I wanted my first post to be about an early love of mine, fabrics. When I first learned how to sew, I couldn’t get enough of our local fabric store. I would spend hours rummaging through rows of calico fabrics like a kid in a candy store. And apparently, nothing has changed. My new obsession is California-based fabric designer Alexander Henry. His fabrics are conversational print designs, a description that sounds contrived but makes perfect sense once you take a look at his latest collection.

Here are two of my favorite collections: Twin Peaks & The Ghastlies. At less than $10/yard, the prices are surprisingly affordable.