Inspiration: DIY Stamps from Erasers

I love stamps, I use them for embellishing both fabric and paper. Although I’m not so much into geometry and repeated pattern, I still find it very interesting to create a stamp that you can use over and over again for a multitude of projects.

You don’t have to buy fancy stamp-making products to create a durable stamp. There is always the option of the potato to make a quick stamp, just like they taught us at school. But there are numerous materials that we can make stamps from, and they can all be found around us in our everyday lives. Erasers are a good example; you can use cheap erasers to create unique stamps. This you can apply to different surfaces; to spruce up your tablecloths, or embellish your wrapped presents, and even personalize your totes.

And as usual, here is some inspiration from Pinterest. I tried making my own eraser stamps; they work great… and I do hope I will have the time to share them with you here in the near future.

Tips: Turning Erasers into quick stamps

Here are some tips…

• Things you usually need: Eraser, craft knife, and pencil to draw your design on the eraser.

Source: creaturecomfortsblog.com via Karboojeh on Pinterest

• Stamps can be used on paper, fabric, walls, and any surface you can think of.

Source: janeb-myblog.blogspot.com via Karboojeh on Pinterest

• What really matters is the color you are using, and whether it is ink, acrylic, fabric colors, or fabric inks. And… the surface’s smoothness or lack of; whether it is porous, textured, smooth, shiny, etc. Experimenting with different color mediums and surfaces always gives you a different result, even if you are using the same stamp.

Source: perachapita.com via Karboojeh on Pinterest

• It is important to clean the stamps with soapy water once done with them to be able to work with them on different other projects.

Source: lilmagoolie.com via Karboojeh on Pinterest

• You need to be a bit delicate with rubber stamps made from erasers, because they tend to tear, especially if the design is intricate.

Source: etsy.com via Karboojeh on Pinterest

• There are many image-transfer techniques (that I might be posting about soon) to help transfer an image you like unto an eraser. An easy option is, print the image you like in reverse  on regular paper, go over the design with a heavy pencil or piece of charcoal, place the image, face-down, on the eraser, and trace over it with a dull object, so as not to tear the paper.

Source: etsy.com via Karboojeh on Pinterest

• Usually eraser stamps are good for bold designs, like arrows.

Source: lovelyindeed.com via Karboojeh on Pinterest

• As shown in two examples here (see one of them below), pencil rubber ends can be used without carving them as stamps. Just use your imagination.

Source: joybx.com via Karboojeh on Pinterest

• Stamps are really cool to work with on fabric. Just use a good quality fabric-color range that you can later on fix by ironing. It will become washable and permanent, if you follow the instructions on the can.

Source: lanared.blogspot.nl via Karboojeh on Pinterest

I have used stamps to change the look of so many things. You don’t need to create a repeated pattern or a geometrical one, sometimes one stamped shape onto the corner of your tote, or in the middle of your T-Shirt, will be quite enough to breathe in new life to it.

Happy stampin’ :)

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Related articles

• Tutorial: How to make a stamp by burning wood (Karboojeh Handmade)
• DIY Eraser Stamps (freepeople.com)
• DIY Rubber Stamp (Steps and Ideas) (somedrama.wordpress.com)
• 100th Stamp set – ‘Stamper’ project ideas! (rachelgreig.typepad.com)
• make it monday – stamping alphabets with die cuts (pinefeather.typepad.com)
• DIY Typhoon Tote (whitbnimble.wordpress.com)

An Alternative Marketing Approach: The Importance of Intention in Making Our Craft

Intention & Handmade Products

The secret behind a successful handmade jewelry or crafts item, artwork, or design, is a well-perfected intention, and a great amount of curiosity and love. This, I believe, is the reason why some of my work gets sold, and some items stay unsold no matter how I lower the price or re-package the product.

Intention, I believe, is the secret ingredient behind everything in life. Intention, not the one we convince our selves we have, but the actual innermost motivation that makes us nice to people, sociable, active, or none, is what really matters.

I have had around two years to witness and measure the influence of intention on marketing my handmade products and designs.

I will tell you one thing that is a solid truth, discovered during endless hours spent at craft-shows: People buy the items I most love. The products that I made as “replicas” – of pieces I first made with love, curiosity, a sense of adventure, and an open-mind – barely made it into a customer’s handbag!

All my “firsts” got sold, while many unloved replicas, are still stuck with me here in a box, a drawer or a craft-show display unit.

In the middle of noticing how intention affected the way people and customers were attracted to my products, I started realizing all my favorite pieces are getting sold, and I am getting stuck with the “replicas,” the soulless ones, the pieces I made while I was imitating the “mother” piece, the first-born baby, the handmade item I made with great love, and care.

Those first pieces were full of soul because I was shaping them for the very first time, entering the realm of “creativity,” and taking great care in choosing the beads, the colours, the form.

The replicas, however, are pieces that I made with no sense of adventure, with a little bit of boredom looming over my head,  an obvious lack of enthusiasm, and most importantly, were made in a factory-like mode!

What did I do when I realized my favorite pieces are almost gone? I started hiding them; grounding them and not taking them to the first day of the craft show I was participating in. My sales would suffer… so next day I bring some of my favorite pieces and mix them up with other pieces, and lo and behold, they get sold almost instantly!

There is a particular ring I loved so much, but I didn’t think it suited the market I was selling it to. Guess what? It’s gone, although it’s quite eclectic, and the people over here love a uniform, mainstream kind of style. But it got sold, and people started asking for similar eclectic rings; people who didn’t look like they would ever sport a ring that looked absolutely out-of-the norm. And I sold in huge numbers, because each ring was made with a great sense of curiosity, each one was an experiment on its own, no replicas, no boredom, but a heightened sense of curiosity, with a big pinch of love. I have sold all the “good” rings. Each one of them.

Did you know that “factories,” especially those producing accessories and apparel, mobilized machinery for only certain parts of the process, while the rest of the work gets done by people? Which means it’s partly handmade, yet, these products do not carry the glory and the vibe of a handmade item made by an individual, creating his/her products in a factory-less setting.

This means, every-time I entered a factory-like mode, the items I made by hand, did lose part of their soul. They were never attractive to buyers, although, they looked exactly the same as the “mother” item I made, and which got instantly sold.

An Alternative Marketing Approach: Sincerity sells!

Intention, is this covert motive that we hide behind our words, artwork, lifestyle, and even the way we dress. Even when we are vocal about what we think, or want other people to believe, is our intention, still this doesn’t mean that our innermost is necessarily on the same page. An example: A man who acts humble, only his intention is not the true nature of humility, but to impress people and attract flattery.

Another example: An artist who paints with the intention of scoring fame, while using his/her God-given talent for this mere purpose, and not for the higher purpose of actually journeying through the endless realms of art and self-discovery… for art that does not involve self-discovery, and a real search for answers, and a mechanism of change, is probably a form of artistic hypocrisy.

I have fallen into the traps of false intention so many a-times. And have grown to actually hate the very product of my hand that I created with a false intention.

This, people, feel

Customers’ eyes immediately wander towards the “good” items, the loved items… while no matter how hard I try to sell them a truly gorgeous earring, they will not buy the one I’m holding, they will buy the “original” piece or design I created first.

The most important and challenging lesson that I learned ever since I started my crafting journey is how to “perfect” my intention, before actually perfecting the handmade item I was working on.

I started asking myself questions like:

“Why am I working on this?”

“Am I waiting for applause from an audience, or am I working on this out of pure love?”

“Am I motivated? Do I feel like doing this, or am I just ‘finishing’ work like a factory?”

I realized, over the course of time, that handmade work, a painting or a design, are “deeds.” There are “good” deeds, and there are “bad” deeds.

Good deeds come from a place of love.

Bad deeds come from a place polluted with insincerity. When I switch to a factory mode and create pieces just to “finish” the work, I am being insincere. Whereas when I am putting all my attention, enthusiasm, and commitment into my work, I am positively being sincere.

And sincerity sells, exactly because we didn’t have the intention of selling when we made the ring, the painting, the design, or the article.

When we don’t have the intention to impress, to sell, to convince, and concentrate only on the process of creativity, we bring to life a product that stands out, attracts, and can sometimes become legendary.

I have seen many artists who worked so hard at getting famous, wearing certain clothes to accentuate the fact they were artists, wrapping themselves in suffering to deserve the title, artist, yet they never make it past the limited circle of like-minded artists and sufferers. Why? It’s insincerity.

On the other hand, you see artists who become eternal legends. Why? They were busy making art, they had no time cultivating fame. And for that very reason, their work became immortalized.

To work within sincerity, every day, on every item, one needs to cultivate an inner observer that knows when things are getting spoiled by other intentions and thoughts.

I pray that I would reach a level of sincerity in every item I create, and that my deeds, whether as handmade products, paintings or designs, will be “good” deeds, fueled with love, sincerity and commitment.

Buy my indie pillows at UK-based Ohh Deer’s online shop

I have great news to share with you today…

My pillows are being sold at Ohh Deer up until October 29. So grab your Paypals and come shop for some botanical pillow love!

Check these two links to take you directly to the pillows:

• Karboojeh Pillow No. 1

•  Karboojeh Pillow No. 2

The image on the pillows is originally hand-painted. I used water-colour, acrylic, and ink over old book pages to create the look.

The pillows are Vegan and made with a super soft faux suede and come complete with the fibre insert. They’re completely machine washable at 30°c and hand made In UK. The cushion has a stone coloured back cover – and zip fastening. They measure 43 x 43cm a smashing size! They cost £25 each.

This is my first online sale ever. I have been active in craft shows, but kept on postponing taking the online plunge. So, I’m really excited about this! The pillows are a limited edition and are being sold for a limited time: 3 weeks starting yesterday. So, don’t miss out on this special sale!

Happy shopping, all :)

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Related articles:

• My 2 cushions at Ohh Deer’s ‘Pillow Fight’ competition

In Love with the Colour Green

Green, and the different shades of this beautiful colour, are my newest love.

Green is the symbol of rejuvenation, vitality, and freshness. It’s the colour of nature, happiness, healing, new beginnings, goodness, generosity, and good tidings. I think it is the original colour of love, romance, beauty. Most beautiful scenery is beautiful because it enjoys an abundance of greenery.

Source: lovelyindeed.com via Karboojeh on Pinterest

Green is the colour of plenty, prosperity, wealth (in the physical sense and the spiritual one). And of course, it is the colour of herbs that we so love, and many vegetables, and leaves. And it is said to repel envious energy emanating from jealous people, although blue seems to be the official colour.

Source: architecturaldigest.com via Karboojeh on Pinterest

Green invites cheerfulness, lifts one’s morale, defeats depression, and changes one’s mood. That’s why people with depression or anxiety are advised to keep in close proximity to nature, so that eventually the colour green with all it’s hidden attributes will heal their souls, minds, and beings.

Source: Uploaded by user via Karboojeh on Pinterest

Green is the colour of inspiration, creativity, and artistic ability. Throughout history, artists, writers, painters, and millions of creative people found their muses while being in the arms of nature.

Here are some of my favorite photos from Pinterest, celebrating the colour Green.

Green & Gold…

Source: laraffinerie.ca via Karboojeh on Pinterest

Artichoke Green…

Source: etsy.com via Karboojeh on Pinterest

Botanical plate…

Source: williams-sonoma.com via Karboojeh on Pinterest

Garden accessories…

Source: joannawood.co.uk via Karboojeh on Pinterest

Grass-like carpet…

Source: 29.media.tumblr.com via Karboojeh on Pinterest

Vintage Green…

Source: etsy.com via Karboojeh on Pinterest

Botanical-print pillow…

Source: lottahelleberg.bigcartel.com via Karboojeh on Pinterest

Green bottles…

Source: alicew.typepad.com via Karboojeh on Pinterest

Take care :)

DIY Table-setting Placemat | Pompom | Handpainted Floral & Botanical Design

I have a special thing for placemats. They can be made by hand, that’s one of their major attractions. And you can customize them to look exactly the way you want them to. You only need some basic sewing skills, some fabric colors, and a bit of imagination.

I have been dreaming about making my own placemats for quite some time, really. Recently I felt I was ready to make them since my sewing skills became a tad-bit better than they used to be.

The ingredients for making these cute placemats are:

• Cotton fabric
• Pom-pom trim, and individual pompom balls
• Fabric paint and markers (I actually used more than one brand, but they all have pretty much the same ironing, and laundering instructions)
• Sewing machine with the ability to sew a straight line
• Flatware to trace around

I started by sewing the hems with the pompoms at one go.

Then I freehanded the word “eat” on a paper with pencil, while keeping in mind I wanted it to look like the vintage American Pop font.

I then traced the word on both placemats after taking measurements and centering it, also with pencil I used a basic image transfer technique using charcoal, for more ideas go here). I used the round lid of some cookie canister to trace the plate shapes. I then got me a real spoon and fork and traced around them (with pencil), that’s how I got the fltawre shapes. Once I was done with the basic outlines, I used a black fabric marker to outline them again, then I painted and sketched flowers and herbs to fill the plates.

The inspiration for making this specific design came from different places, which all have one thing in common: A vintage feel.

Inspiration: Table-setting placemats

Source: onecharmingparty.com via Karboojeh on Pinterest

I found a few table-setting placemats that I really liked. Here are a few ideas. The one above is so lovely, it has a vintage French feel, while the one below is a bit whimsical, especially that lace was used to create the place-setting utensils and plate shapes. So, if you don’t want to invest in fabric paint, you can simply applique the shapes.

Source: abeautifulmess.com via Karboojeh on Pinterest

Or you can use your basic embroidery skills to create this beautiful and simple placemat by Yellow Spool.

Source: u-createcrafts.com via Karboojeh on Pinterest

And of course, you can always upcycle a jean pocket to create a one-of-a-kind placemat.

Source: todaysnest.typepad.com via Karboojeh on Pinterest

You can actually use the pocket on its own, like this one below. All you need is cut the jean, then place the flatware inside for a cool table arrangement.

Source: bhg.com via Karboojeh on Pinterest

Here is another pocket placemat idea…

Source: bhg.com via Karboojeh on Pinterest

And, finally, a cute picnic placemat with multi utinsil pockets.

Source: centsationalgirl.com via Karboojeh on Pinterest

I hope you enjoyed today’s post. If you have any interesting placemat ideas, or, better still, if you have made your own placemats, please do share your link in the comments section below. Take care for now… K

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Related Articles:

• Inspiration Board: Pompom fad
• DIY: Memory glass & felt coaster
• Inspiration Board: Anthology e-mag & a mug of dark hot chocolate

Inspiration: The Laura Ashley floral fever

Source: flickr.com via Karboojeh on Pinterest

When I was a teenager (a few years ago, hehehe), I grew up with a few Laura Ashley skirts and floral accessories, and up until this day I continue to associate pretty pastel florals to this wonderful brand. Florals are now witnessing a big come back thanks to the school of ‘vintage-chic,’ which is celebrating everything beautiful my generation has seen the last drops of. We’ve been through the ‘ugly’ eighties, but we’ve captured the last offerings of the glorious 70’s, and florals seem to have managed to make their way into our lives up until the early 90’s.

The above pic shows a few Laura Ashley floral fabrics. They go together so well, although the motifs are different.

Below is a vintage-style bedroom with a country, yet contemporary, twist. The chest of drawers is from Laura Ashley as well as the vintage-style floral patterned accessories.

Source: housetohome.co.uk via Karboojeh on Pinterest

For more Laura Ashley accessories, I picked this floral mug  for you…

Source: lauraashley.com via Karboojeh on Pinterest

The vintage-chic style is probably the most among other trends that is celebrating florals in a big way. Vintage-chic stylists and bloggers are showing us ways to mix and match, and stack up on  florals upon florals in one location, in one room, which is exactly what I am liking recently. Look at this…

Source: flickr.com via Karboojeh on Pinterest

Source: poppytalk.blogspot.com via Karboojeh on Pinterest

Source: poppytalk.blogspot.com via Karboojeh on Pinterest

Source: housetohome.co.uk via Karboojeh on Pinterest

Florals, which are a staple of the British aesthetic and the prairie trend, have also seen a come back into fashion lately. Belts and little floral details have appeared in this year’s spring/summer clothes and accessories.

Another brand name that celebrates full throttle florals is  Cath Kidston, whose take on florals is a bit different than the classic Laura Ashley line, but all the same I love them both (I did mention this earlier in a previous post). Here is an example of Kidston’s accessories.

Source: gottohaveit.co.uk via Karboojeh on Pinterest

I also found florals from other brands,  such as this mug, which ultimately reminds us of Laura Ashley’s style.

Source: gottohaveit.co.uk via Karboojeh on Pinterest

Finally, this is my biggest floral crush… vintage floral cards. Yum.

Source: georgiahousepublishing.com via Karboojeh on Pinterest

And this one here….

Source: umla.tumblr.com via Karboojeh on Pinterest

Ok, then, I’ll leave you with a flowery and sunny day, hopefully, and see you next time,

K

DIY Prettier Magazine Files

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In the spirit of continuing the theme of pretty organizing, I noticed that when I place things in beautiful containers and storage solutions, they get an instant promotion around the craft room: From being a merely functional “thing” to a piece of “love” that you want to place in a prime location.

In this DIY, I basically upgraded 3 magazine files by attempting a wall-paper look. This is inspired by the lovely bird magazine files that are at the bottom of this post, and which I mentioned previously.

This is how these poor black files got their promotion up into a much nicer shelf at my workspace. The files are a bit unsteady since they are old, and I did stack up more magazines than they could hold, so they are puffy at the edges.

I had a difficult time deciding whether to decoupage the files or paint them. I had some nice damask wall-paper, but it looked too patterned, too well-finished for the look I was looking for.

So I decided to use:

• Acrylic paint (white, pink, green)
• Foam stamp (Motif: Grapes)
• Brush

Method:

1. I started by free-handing the shape of a pink bird, as if perched on a branch. I found an illustration of a bird and placed it in-front of me to help me keep the proportions right while I painted. I decided to paint the bird on two magazine files (I just had to hold them real tight as I sketched the shape). This is so that the final image would give the impression of a whole big painting that was cut into 3 parts (just like the original wall-paper idea was).
2. I stamped the grapes around the bird arbitrarily after dabbing acrylic colors on the foam stamp (pink on the grapes, green on the leaves), but the lines were too thin, so I decided to take advantage of this and add a vintage-y touch by dabbing paint here and there, on the leaves, around the grapes themselves, and around the bird.
3. I touched up some areas with light pink or white to hide mistakes.

The inspiration

Yes, here it is… the beautiful inspiration that got me thinkin’ about changing the look of my files.

The design of the files in the above pic is by British stylist Marie Nichols, whose blog  is so inspiring.

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Related Articles:

• Inspiration Board: DIY Shelves using Baskets & Crates
• Organizing 101: Ideas for pretty storage

Inspiration: British-chic in vintage & contemporary hues

Source: urbanoutfitters.com via Karboojeh on Pinterest

I love it when artists and designers take classical objects and shed new color and light on them. This is the case of these iconic London teapots and phone booths.

The first one up is a beautiful rendition of the British phone booth. Wouldn’t you love to have tea in a teapot that looks so English?

A British phone booth in pink is just so cute;  just by applying an unexpected color hue, you have yourself a beautiful piece of art. And a ceramic teapot with vintage roses, brings a different dimension to the classical British teapot (although I think the said teapot – below –  is from an Australian shop, ehem).

Source: flickr.com via Karboojeh on Pinterest

Source: domayneonline.com.au via Karboojeh on Pinterest

How about a Union Jack pillow; but this time it comes with vintage-romantic colors, like this one here? And the Union Jack floral cozy – by Monsoon – right below it?

Absolutely beautiful!

Source: lnt.com via Karboojeh on Pinterest

Source: uk.monsoon.co.uk via Karboojeh on Pinterest

Source: via Karboojeh on Pinterest

 

The placemat above is a DIY by the people at Laura Ashley’s Blog, titled: How to make a ‘Union Jack Cutlery Roll’… yet, another Union Jack design, with not-your-usual colors. So cute, isn’t it?

And let’s not forget, British contemporary-chic, found at an online store owned by British stylist Marie Nichols – called  The Shop at Number 57 – with it’s cute contemporary-vintage British art.

Source: theshopatnumber57.com via Karboojeh on Pinterest

Here we have the Queen’s stamp, reinterpreted into a white-and-black cross-stitch design nestling gracefully in a round embroidery hoop. So cute! You also have the Union Jack, and the Royal Crown, also in a black-and-white contemporary rendition of a vintage theme! A beautiful collection!

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Luckily, I have a London postcard of a two-level red bus that I bought in my before-last visit; this will keep me London-satisfied for a while! I mean you can’t just see all of this beauty and not want to have it in your craft room!

Handmade Artist: Abigail Brown

These, my friends, are made from fabric!

The cute little birds are by textile artist Abigail Brown. So beautiful, and inspiring to see this kind of rendition of the inhabitants of the seven skies above us.

The work itself is so delicate, accurate  – yet  not too accurate to loose its own charm!.

To shop the birds, you can go here.

What a lovely dose of inspiration to start the day with!