Blogtipping Day at Candle Making

Okay I’m a little late so it’s more like blogtipping evening. In case you missed it last month blogtipping day is the first calendar day of each month and we’ll be tipping and/or offering compliments to crafty blogs.

Blogtippee 1. PattieWack Blog: Pattie Donham is a crafty queen and she just got a new fan. This woman is into everything!

1. I loved her “Rip it Up!” post on how she recycles fabrics by ripping them up into 1 inch strips and tying them up everywhere. Somehow it works. Shown here is a candle stick decorated with ripped fabric.

2. Pattie made some ice candles back in December and you can catch the segment on CBS Six In The Morning Clips. I love her double boiler. It’s a coffee can in a pot just like mine. Ice candles are fun, easy and beautiful. She suggests throwing tacks or glitter in along with the ice for added decor.

3. It’s a little early for Jazzy Jack-O-Lanterns but it’s not really a jack-o-lantern and you could do this any time of year. You get a little glass globe candle holder, tape the shape of your design on with masking tape, smear it with glue and add the sparkles. For a demonstration see Jazzy Jack-O-Lanterns on CBS.

Blogtippee 2. Heartland MarketPlace Blog Heartland has tons of Marketplace shoppes and I could get lost there for hours.

1. Their newest client is Pipberry Place, a beautiful primitive shoppe offering bath and body products as well as candles.

2. Prim Flicker Flameless Candles from Pipberry Place are made from real wax. Each one comes with a battery powered flickering tea light.

3. Another one of my favorites from Pipberry Place is their Iron Skillet Tart Warmer. It just gives me that cozy country feel.

Blogtippee 3. Last but not least is Amy from Craft Chi. I love the name.

1. Check out this batiked candle project. A beautiful painting on a plain candle with crayons! A simple idea yet such an elegant design.

2. Another crazy craft from Craft Chi is called a candle jar cozy. Just wrap up those candle jars with pantyhose. For an even jazzier look, tear a few holes into them.

3. Canned Canisters. Amy didn’t use them for candles but we could. What a great idea. Reuse those cans and cover them up with pretty fabric, paper or paint.

[tags]recycle crafts,blogtipping,candle crafts[/tags]

Getting ready for back to school makes me think about pencil crafts, so let’s take a look at some pencil themed knitting patterns!

I recently made a pencil on a circular knitting machine, and it was a fun, quick, easy project that uses little bits of leftover yarn (and if you don’t have yellow you can make it a colored pencil using whatever color’s your favorite). And if you want to make a bigger version check out this pattern from Orange Olive Road on Etsy.

If you want to knit a pencil pillow by hand, check out Sketchy, available on Ravelry from Shana S. Cohen. This one uses worsted weight yarn and has two size options and the choice to make a pencil with an eraser or a colored pencil.

Pencil scarves seem to be the most popular kind of pencil knitting pattern, and there are lot of cute ones. This one from Cosy Craft UK mostly uses garter stitch, with some welts to add texture and what looks like an I-cord edging. It calls for DK weight yarn.

If you want to go all garter stitch try this version from Emsley Co Creations, which uses five colors of DK weight yarn and just a little shaping to make the point of the pencil.

There’s also this fun, mostly stockinette so it looks like it curls a bit, pencil pattern that looks like it’s worked in chunky yarn from Little Knits Studio. This one uses just a little garter stitch and easy shaping for the point.

If you don’t want a pencil scarf, how about some pencil socks? The No. 2 Pencil Socks from The Yarn Enabler are available from Ravelry and use five colors of sock yarn. They feature wide ribs to mimic the texture of a pencil and have options to be worked from the top down or the toe up.

Needs Sharpening by Alexander Walker is a free pattern on Ravelry that uses five colors of sock yarn to make a sort of shortie sock. The little bit of black at the tips of the toes inspired the name. These, too, can be worked in either direction and are available in three sizes.

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