Tools and Techniques

Arizona Sunsets – The Perfect Inspiration for a Painted Desert Yarn Bowl Series

July 13, 2021 No Comments

The yarn bowls are continuing to be popular but I wanted to put more of my artistic spin on them. Yes, the horse hair and saggar ones are beautiful but they are also left to complete chance of the kiln and art mediums for their decoration. The glazed ones are a joy when seeing the transformation from dull colors in a jar to bright glossy ceramics once fired, but I’ve gone through almost all the available crystal and elements colors at the local ceramics store. Now that I’m nearing the 75th CraftilyKori bowl, it was time for a new technique and one that made the bisque yarn bowl a true “blank canvas.”

Arizona Inspired

Oh the Arizona sunsets. Sooo pretty. My husband and I have been in the Valley on and off for 10 years and I have spent my whole life in Arizona and let me say – we never get tired of the sunsets here. I found an article in the local newspaper, AZ Central, and they mention “Arizona also experiences some of the best sunsets, Zarzynski says, ‘because we have such an expansive and open sky. With all of the gorgeous mountains in the Valley and nearby opportunities to get into nature, Phoenix really has the perfect sunsets,’ she says.” She is not wrong!

What else do you think of when you think of Phoenix and Arizona? Cactus of course! It just wouldn’t be an Arizona Sunset if you didn’t also have a silhouette of cactus, specifically the Saguaro.

Prescott Inspired

I was born and raised in Prescott, Arizona – a small mountain town in Northern Arizona. It’s home to Whiskey Row, The World’s Oldest Rodeo, and my family’s business, Morgan Sign. One of the things that always surprises people when they visit Northern Arizona is the scenery and weather – mountains…large pine trees…and even snow! Growing up in Prescott meant beautiful fall hikes with changing leaves; snowball fights and sledding competitions, and not always needing to rely on AC in the Summer.

Two of the most notable landscape items of Prescott are Thumb Butte and Granite Mountain. Basically anywhere you drive around town you’ll see these items (even if you don’t see them on the horizon line, you’ll likely see it on a logo somewhere!) For the Prescott yarn bowls, I ditched the Saguaro cactus and opted for the prickly pear type – I have definitely had a few of these cactus barbs stuck in my ankles as a kid!

Painted Deserts Series…Roll-Out!

My husband went up to Parker, AZ to visit friends and play on the lake a few weekends ago. I had the whole house to myself! What to do, what to do? Ah, yes! Play with my yarn bowls. I had been wanted to do the painted desert series since I began making yarn bowls back in Sept 2020 but just never had the time to sit down and figure it out.

To begin, I wanted to make sure my supplies would work out. I had picked up some sample bisque tiles when I first started making the yarn bowls so I would have an opportunity to play around before diving into decorating a yarn bowl. I wanted to make sure that if I drew out my design with pencil first, the graphite wouldn’t show through when I stained the bisque since its a no-fire technique. It worked out! No “drafting” lines were present.

Now, was the fun part. I pulled up a bunch of photos for inspiration and started drawing out the sunsets. Thank goodness erasing on bisque also works! Once the idea was on the bowl, I used Duncan’s Bisq-Stain to create the silhouetted bottom portion. The inside looked a bit drab, so I opted to paint that as well. Next, was the painted dessert. Using pastels and an old paint brush, I layered color after color creating the sunset. The bisque piece can only “hold” so much chalk at a time, so in-between rounds, I had to spray a matte sealer and wait for it to dry. Four to five layers later….and it was done!!

After the first yarn bowl, I experimented with other options for the silhouettes to added a bit more depth and maybe expand to other Arizona areas like Sedona or Monument Valley. I decided to go with blue mountains to show perspective and break up the colors. I can’t decide which is my favorite!

These bowls are so fun to photograph because the colors just pop. They look equally as beautiful in person – next to the couch, holding your WIPs yarn.

They are now available on my Etsy store if you’d like to have one of your own!

Happy Crafting!

~Kori

Tools and Techniques

Food Paste, Foil, and Burning Hair (on purpose) – Making More Ceramic Yarn Bowls

December 2, 2020 No Comments

What a fun adventure the last six weeks have been. What started as a simple crafting activity for my husband and I to do for our anniversary has turned into a fun side gig and newly launched Esty store. We are on a first name basis at the local ceramics store, Bit & Pieces Ceramics, and my husband has been such a trooper and side-kick helping build photo booths, researching best shipping/packaging tips, and of course – helping make more yarn bowls!

With COVID-19 putting the kibosh on Thanksgiving travel plans, my husband I stayed in the Valley for the first time ever. Typically, we go up North to visit my family, but this year it was just the two of us. We decided to make the most of it and signed up for a special class taught by Wendy at Bits & Pieces Ceramics – learning how to make Horse-Hair and Saggar ceramics!

Saggar

This is a fun technique that uses a chemical compound as a base, wire wrap, a layer of food items (food paste, egg shells, etc), then a foil wrap to contain all the items as they burn in the propane kiln. I don’t quite understand all the magic of it, but this article goes into a bit more detail: Aluminum Foil Saggars: An Easy Alternative to Traditional Clay Saggars

When we first walked into Bits & Pieces, I was surprised to see the chemical compound was a bright yellow. Hmm…I think I’ll make a glazed yellow piece next 😉 …

Wendy, the instructor, explained how to layer each item and then we got to get our hands dirty. My husband and I each decorated two yarn pots. One with a lighter food paste and one with a darker one.

Next, it was out to the propane kiln. The smell, at first, was wonderful. Mmm…hazelnut and chocolate…Once it got to the chemical part, not so much. Wendy explained that once the foil was burnt off they were done. As we waited for these pieces, we went back inside to do the horse hair class.

Horse Hair

This technique is so awesome because you can never replicate the same piece twice. Once they take the piece out of the electric kiln, you only have about 40 working seconds before it is too cool for the hair to burn. Talk about pressure! The hair “dances” around the piece as it burns. You can also use feathers and different thicknesses of hair. I tried wool once just for fun, it had a very soft-lofty type line.

Alright, time to go — We “pre-loaded” our hair strands on the shelf next to the kiln and waited for the piece to be pulled out of the kiln.

Oh-my, what fun! We got to get our hands dirty (I kept my outfit clean thanks to my sewn apron) and while waiting for the saggar pieces to fire in the kiln and the horse hair finish to dry, we enjoyed lunch – turkey soup made from leftovers!

Bits & Pieces Ceramics does horse hair every Wednesday afternoon so it’s easy to get on their roster to try it yourself. It’s funny because when the regulars walk in and smell burnt hair they immediately mention, “Oh, you are doing horse hair today?” Yes, yes we are.

Next, we cleaned up both the pieces and sprayed them with a clear finish. The saggar ones all have their own “birthmarks” where the piece had extra debris that burned off. Sooo pretty!

Once home, it was time to photograph these new beauties so I can share them with you! My husband helped me set up the shed so I could keep them all out there and not have to keep moving them out of my “home-office” during client calls.

They are now posted on my Etsy store if you want to own your own. Bits & Pieces Ceramics is located in Mesa, Arizona and they offer classes each weekend. I encourage you to check them out!

Happy Crafting!

~Kori

Tools and Techniques

Making Ceramic Yarn Bowl – Skills Upgraded!

November 26, 2020 No Comments

Alright, I’m all in on these yarn bowls. It has been a bit of a (fun) learning curve and I’ve upgraded some of my tools which has been making things more efficient and the end result is a lot more “professional-handmade” looking.

I bought a “start-up pottery sculpting kit” from Amazon, that has some pretty good pieces for carving and finishing – and it included a yellow sponge.

I noticed that the sponge was “pulling” the clay and had some grooves that was shown after firing, so I looked at better options. I found this little guy – a white finishing sponge – and after soaking it in some water, it felt almost like a soft cloth. It was around $10 and when it arrived in the mail and it looked like a piece of paper. I was glaring at it thinking I had been tricked by internet marketers, but after soaking it in some luke warm water, I felt a little better – it had expanded to a more recognizable sponge shape. When I used it on the edges of the clay I had carved a few moments before, it worked out great – It may be my new favorite thing! — It’s so soft!

When we first tried carving the bowls we used an Exact-O-knife to cut the rim of the bowl, but my new kit included a piece of twisted wire fastened to wooden dowels that worked out really well remove the extra piece of clay in one piece.

After looking at my process, I realized I also needed to take a step back and properly prepare my Greenware before it had been fired. It seemed like the best option is a “scrubby.” This helped the Greenware be ship-shape before even being fired! The blue scrubbies you can buy at Wal-Mart but I also picked-up a maroon one from the ceramic store that was specifically meant to sand at this step. My husband mentioned he had used the same maroon scrubby at a previous job to prepare painted surface and was pleased with the results.

After getting a few fired (bisque) pieces back I couldn’t help but notice I could make them better (#perfectionist), so I asked the Ceramics store owner what options they recommend, and they mentioned bisque sanders. I bought a few … and man do they make a difference! The better I can make the Greenware, the less need for the bisque sander – but it’s nice to know it’s available. They basically sand down any rough edges before the next step – whether it be glaze, chalk, or horse-hair.

After using the bisque sanders for a few bowls, I asked the Ceramics store if they had a bisque sander for the yarn/knitting needle holes of the bowl and she was said – “Yes!…Hold on!” She went into her backroom and brought back cattails.

When I worked at Pier 1, Cattails were a popular item for floral and interior design so I was pretty surprised to hear the term again, but once I saw the items, I was like – Yep, those are definitely Cattails.

The cattails worked perfect and have lessened the carving time on the Greenware making the bisque have no need for touch-up! They are the perfect diameter for the yarn, making the yarn bowls prefect for all types of yarn including – chunky, worsted, fingering, etc. yarn.

After getting the finished product a bit more dialed in, I went back to the beginning– Pouring the slip. I decided to use a mesh filter (thank you Costco) – I had noticed that when I poured the slip, a few hard/dried pieces were making their way into the Greenware and filtering them out would help avoid random dried pieces when I was carving. (My husband is super excited that pouring slip has turned into a two-person adventure)

The last part was how to start the Etsy Store. A good photo is really important and I wanted a proper background to showcase the bowls. Cue husband and Home Depot! We went to Home Depot , it was one of those wander-around-until-you-find-something-that-you-think-will-work scavenger hunts or, “field engineering” as I’ve also heard it called.

We bought a box of flooring and some boards to create a 2″ by 2″ by 2″ by 2″ wall to take picture of the product.

It has been working out really well because I can stage the bowls and take pictures for my newly launched Etsy store!

~ Happy Crafting!

Kori

Fiber Arts, Tools and Techniques, Weaving, Yarn

Prima Fiber Arts – Loom Weaving Kit

October 10, 2016 No Comments

I’ve been working on the same crochet project for a few months now and was itching for a little variety. While running errands, I talked the hubby into a quick pit stop to Hobby Lobby. I walked up and down the aisles, scoping out what would become my next crafting venture. I was hoping for something that wouldn’t be a huge learning curve and could be completed in a weekend, but still enough to satisfy my itch for something different.

I turned down the aisle and there it was, calling to me. The Prima Fiber Arts Loom Weaving Kit. Whispering “Buy me…. Buy meeeee.” Ever the sucker for a kit containing all you need to get started, I quickly loaded a mobile coupon and headed to the checkout.

I’ve been wanting to get into weaving for a while, and this kit was perfect! It included an adjustable loom, weaving comb, shuttle, shed stick, tapestry needle, yarn, warp thread, and even some accent pieces to really make your project have some pizzazz. With my 40% off coupon, I ended up paying just about $26 which is a steal for what you get. Everything seemed very well made and the pretty design on the loom and tools added a nice touch.

The “starter guide” instruction included in the kit was okay, but I would recommend watching the videos before really getting your hands dirty. The YouTube videos made by Prima were great because they used all the same items included in the kit. You can basically just follow along with the host.

Here are the videos I recommend watching:

Prima Fiber Arts Loom Kit Intro – (3 mins) What’s included in the kit

Prima Fiber Arts Techniques Part 1 – (18 mins) Basic weaving stitch

Prima Fiber Arts Techniques Part 2 (12 mins) More advanced weaving including angles and roving.

Prima Fiber Arts Techniques Part 3 – (14 mins) Finishing steps

Alright, instructions read and videos watched – now it’s time to get weaving!

The first step is to put the loom together. This was four quick screws, no heavy machinery or curse words involved.

I got hung up right from the get go for not understanding how to wind the shuttle. The still pictures in the instructions weren’t really helping, so I recommend another video: Winding a Stick Shuttle. The trick was to do the figure eight on one side, then change to the other side.

Next, you set the weave pattern by adding the shed stick, flip it up, and then start weaving. Changing colors is pretty easy, you just wrap the new color of the yarn around the shuttle and start a new row. I was a little overzealous on how much yarn I was adding in the beginning, which made if difficult to fit under the threads so lesson learned on that one. Once you have a handle on the basics, using roving and thicker yarn adds some dimension to the project and if you are feeling really sassy, you can start experimenting with angles and shapes!

I followed the design from the kit almost exactly but differed on the angle part a little bit. Full disclosure – this wasn’t on purpose, I got distracted by something on TV. But, I just kept going and think it turned out well. After getting the woven canvas mostly laid out the fun continues with accents. Making tassels is pretty easy. Here, I’ve just wrapped yarn around our tablet case and cut one end so they were all uniform lengths. Once on the loom, it’s pretty easy to just cut and shape them how you want it to lay. The kit also came with metal flowers, metal tubes, and silk flowers to add in where you think looks good.

With everything set, it’s time to weave in all the loose ends and take the project off the loom. This was the only time I had to use items from my own craft room – a needle and crochet hook. Similar to other yarn projects, the idea is just to weave in the ends and tidy everything up. Then, you cut two strands of the warp thread off and begin to tie them together. For the bottom, it was easier to just flip the tassels over so they were out of the way. To finish the weave, I found a stick and sewed yarn around to hold everything together.

Here’s a look at the finished project!

First weaving project down, and now the gears are turning with ideas for future projects. From my spinning stash, I have tons of roving that can be used and hand spun yarn would add in lots of texture. Using the shaping technique, it would be cool to experiment with more colors and use the loom as a base to create a woven canvas for a landscape or picture.

I’m pretty excited to learn more about weaving and happy to have found another use for all the yarn I’ve stored away 🙂

Kori

Fiber Arts, Tools and Techniques

Lumi Shadow Print – Take Two

July 6, 2016 No Comments

Whoo-hoo! The second time around seems to be the charm. In Lumi Shadow Print – Take One, I mentioned a few sad faces when my first attempt at the project did not turn out the way I had expected.

Time to brush off the fail and try again.

I searched around for a blank canvas but decided to just buy the kit again. Yep, my 60% coupon was basically null at this point because I bought the item twice…moving on…

For it to work this go-round, I believe the sun had to be at high noon, well 11:47am (thank you Weather Channel). Saturday morning rolled around and I peered out the window – CLOUDS!! Okay, okay, no need to buy a third kit, I can wait.

Next Saturday finally came and there it is – a bright sunny day. Perfect! Following the same steps as before, I spread the dye, placed the items on the pouch and headed outside. Within moments the color began to change. Yippee!

Also, surprise! I changed to magenta. Gotta live a little, folks. 🙂

I got distracted with a show (binging on Making a Murderer) and went to check on the pouch about 30 minutes later.

Things are looking really great! Time to bring in my new precious…

Yeah! It worked. Better than I imagined, actually. The cable needle looks three dimensional. The stitch markers seem as though you could just lift them off the pouch! Guess the placement of the sun is the main player here.

There’s tons of other stuff you can do with this dye beyond just placing random objects on a surface. Some projects on Pinterest include transferring drawings or photos and making your own T-shirts. You can never have too many fur-baby pictures on things. Time to get creative!

So, when life hands you a lemon of a project, buy another one, and try again 🙂

Tools and Techniques

Lumi Shadow Print – Take One

June 26, 2016 No Comments

One of the great lessons about the adventure into the unknown – failing. Really. It is humbling, teaches patience, helps you grow, and provides the opportunity to do better the second time around.

Let me jump back a few steps…

One day, I was checking the mail just like any normal day. La, la, la… mail and BOOM! 60% off coupon to Jo-Ann. I could not be more excited. 40% normally, 50% on a good day, but 60% – now it’s time to buy that ONE special item I have been waiting up for.

Fast forward to the weekend and my husband drops me off while he runs some errands. I walked through every single aisle of the store, on a mission, to get the best bang for my buck. I stopped at the sweater machine…hmm, $180 big ticket item I could now get for about $80. Not yet. I kept walking.

It was if time slowed and all lights focused on That.One.Item. The Lumi Shadow kit. A complete package containing a pouch, two colors of dye, and a piece of acrylic. Memories flooded back of a Shark Tank episode I had watched a year ago. Although **spoiler alert** she did not accept the Shark’s deal, I could never get their product out of my mind. Now was my opportunity!

I bought the kit and waited until the next weekend that promised sunny skies. The dye technology relies on UV rays and after my lesson with the Abracadabra Yarn, I thought I may have to cross my T’s and dot my I’s with this one.

I opened the package. Picture Ralphie from the Christmas Story opening his secret decoder ring from the Little Orphan Annie radio program. That was me.

My creative Muse suggested since this project involved an 8×4” pouch, using crochet items as the decoration would be perfect. Once done, the pouch could hold the supplies! Party on the outside, serious on the inside. I searched through my craft items and found scissors, stitch markers, yarn needles, crochet hooks and other little items used on similar projects. Never one to skip steps, I watched the video and read through the instructions.

Alright, the time was here! I found a dark spot (remember UV light initiates the change), and split open the dye. I spread the goo around, placed my items back on the pouch and headed outside.

Almost immediately the color changed from white-ish to orange. During the latter part of the afternoon, you are supposed to keep it in the sun for 30 – 40 mins. I went inside and did some laundry, a bit of cooking, and waited. And waited.

Alright! The time was here. The moment I have been waiting for. I took the items off and plunged it into a soak to remove the dye. And… disappointment.

What went wrong? Well, when I took it outside it was about 4pm, so I’m guessing the angle of the sun did not produce the strong upright shadow needed for the small wire items. Also, the directions mentioned to place the piece of acrylic on top if you think your items might move around a bit. I lost a lot of the strong contrast, so I think adding the weight of the acrylic may help.

So, after a few sad faces, it was time to admit my defeat.

Take-two, coming up!

Fiber Arts, Tools and Techniques

Making Art Yarn

June 2, 2016 No Comments

When I first came across art yarn, I’ll admit – I didn’t like it. I wasn’t quite sure why or how it would be used. A few days later, I found myself thinking maybe I hadn’t given it a proper chance and decided, I’d give it a try.

I set off to my local fiber store and picked up some pink and blue combed top mohair fiber. They had a few other colors but I was really feeling pink for this project. I thought the blue would create nice shades of lavender and complement the lighter pink well. One of the things that really excited me about art yarn was the understanding that blending fiber is similar to blending paint. Blue and red make purple, yellow and red make orange and so on. A bit of a brush up (see what I did there?) on the color wheel and color theory and I was feeling good about my color choice.

And then off to the next store! What makes art yarn so unique is the texture. Some spinners add texture by spinning in beehives or coiling the fiber around crochet thread. I thought — Go-big-or-go-home (maybe I’m watching too much MTV’s the Real World lately) and decided to pick out bits of ribbon and lace to add into my art yarn.

I found the items below at JoAnn and only needed them to cut half a yard of each. Felting and weaving seems to be trending right now because the store even had some curlywool fiber. I chose some lighter lavender, purple, and white elements to draw out the color I was hoping to get once the mohair fiber was blended. The fiber and ribbon and lace elements brought me up to about $50 for this project so far.

The next step was creating a blending board and a Navajo spindle – yep, I had to basically start from scratch for this project but I’m never one to think a challenge is too big to take on. More to come on how to make a Navajo spindle. Now, I was up to about $70 for the tools but I can use those over and over. Plus, making them myself saved a lot. And by myself, I really mean my husband.

Now, the fun part. I blended away on my carders to mix the mohair to various shades of lavender. I did try to use dog hair brushes (brand new of course!) but found it wasn’t as good as the real fiber carders. Size does matter here, folks.

The ribbon wasn’t going to work on the blending board, so I saved that for when I was using the Navajo spindle. Once the blending board is full, you are supposed to remove it with dowels to create rolags or a diz to create long bits of roving. Well, the only dizes I could find were brass and over $30, so I set out to find something a little bit more in my budget. A button! I actually got this one at Walmart for around $4 and let me tell you, it worked perfectly. The secret was finding one with a large enough hole.

Next, it was time to spin everything together. The first round involved spinning the fiber on the Navajo spindle and mixing in the pieces of ribbon as I spun. The Navajo spindle is a ton of fun to use. You sit cross legged on the floor and just spin away! It took about three rounds of filling the blending board to get an amount that seemed large enough to make a project with.

The next part was adding in the crochet thread and spinning the same direction. Normally, you’d want to spin the opposite direction, called plying. But with this technique, you do it the same direction and it’s known as the second spin. After that was completed, my new yarn was transferred to the homemade niddy-noddy and wah-laah! My first art yarn.

I’ve found a cool knitting pattern to make a purse and picked up some great fabric to make a liner. That will be art yarn post, part 2.

Hope everyone has a chance to make their own art yarn. I’m excited to hear other project inspirations you come up with.

Happy Crafting!

~Kori

Tools and Techniques

How To Make a Blending Board

May 17, 2016 2 Comments

Let’s be honest, blending boards are expensive! I watched a video on Craftsy about techniques of making art yarn and next thing I know, I was searching blending boards online. One-hundred-and-eighty-eye-rolls later, I was looking for less expensive options.

Blending Board DIY — Items needed for blending board – bamboo cutting board and a replacement mat.

First thing was to order the blending pad material. I found a “replacement” piece online here. It seemed like forever for the item to arrive, but that’s because I am spoiled by same day shipping from Amazon. Plus, with the savings of over a $100, I can be patient.

While waiting for the blending board material, I took a trip to the local Ross store and I came home the proud owner of three shiny new bamboo cutting boards. The three pack was the only one that included a cutting board larger than 12″ x 12″, so I picked it up. I only needed two, but hopefully someone at Goodwill will be happy of the overage.

blending board hinge — Adding a hinge to the back of the blending board

This is where my handy husband stepped in. He helped me glue the “replacement” board to the bamboo cutting board using silicone we picked up at Home Depot. He then hammered brad nails for extra reinforcement (You’ll never know how carried away I might get when making art yarn). With a few bat of my eye lashes, he even helped to add a hinge (that’s where the second board comes into play).

Adding the hinge helps keep it at a perfect angle for making art yarn. It also folds flat for easy storage. A few more hours (okay, overnight actually) for the silicone to dry and wha-lah! My own blending board. All in, the items cost just about $60 saving me another $100.

Happy Crafting!

~Kori