I have had it in my head for a while to make a new card display for the greeting cards I have for sale at my favorite coffee shop. I wanted something artsy that would show off the cards, but also have a spot for a stack of cards and business cards. I decided the take a block of flame maple from my stash and combine it with some spiral wire card holders.
Photo description: hand made card holder with flame maple base with storage slot carved in and embedded wire spirals for also holding cards
I used a two part epoxy to secure the wires in the holes drilled into the wood, then finished the block with Howard Feed-n-Wax. The feed and wax is my kind of product: it applies easily and dries within 24 hours or less, plus it smells nice.
Photo description: card holder with cards for sale at The Full Cup in Weatherford Texas
The bouquet style display brings the cards up off the table and creates an eye catching arrangement.
I saw another crafter post in my Wild Basketry group about making twined bracelets and wearing them as a durability test. Yes, please, and thank you Marijke!
Twining has become my go-to fidget when I’m waiting or wandering. The brown bracelet on my wrist is daylily leaf gathered from the ground where they were dead and dried, but still pliable. The green bracelet is dried and rehydrated leaf strips from corn that I gathered on a countryside road. The white bracelet was twined out of the paper packaging on restaurant straws while waiting for lunch.
Photo description: my wrist with three twined bracelets, daylily, corn leaf, and paper packaging
To connect the bracelet, I untwist the start, which is a loop, and slide it over the end knot. The twist in the twine keeps the loop locked behind the knot. I have been wearing the bracelets at all times, so unsurprisingly the paper bracelet did not survive the shower test. The paper soaked up the water and separated at the weakest point: the untwisted loop.
Photo description: twined paper bracelet broken at the connecting loop
The daylily leaves have shrunk some, leaving gaps in the twine. Since I gathered them when they weren’t completely dry, the separation is expected. When crafting with plant fiber, most crafters recommend letting the material dry completely, then rewet, but not soak, the material to make it pliable. This method reduces shrinkage in the finished product.
The corn leaf was completely dry, and I did gently rehydrate by wrapping it in a wet towel. The twine has held together without gaps.
I thought my fiber page CRICUT pattern was available online, but apparently it wasn’t, until now. I have made the cut design public and included a materials list and a link to the blog post that has assembly instructions. The link to the CRICUT Design Space project is here: https://design.cricut.com/landing/project-detail/630799ca21506d2c4716a4c2
I discovered that the template wasn’t public when I went to make more pages. I assembled my entire stash of 12×12 card stock to make 10 additional pages, which should keep me supplied for a while. I sewed the spine of each page using the 1916 Singer Treadle sewing machine, which did a fabulous job.
Photo description: sewing a paper spine to card stock with a Singer model 66 treadle machinePhoto description: My supervisor napping: Thor the cat keeping me company during assembly by laying on the bed with the materialsPhoto description: 10 new fiber study pages with colorful end paper spines, additional elements are in a plastic bag to ease storage until they are needed
I only fully assembled two pages with the paper spools and fiber drawer for my two current projects. The rest I left so they would stack easier until the time comes to fill them with fiber.
And here is a cautionary tale: when buying photo albums, pay close attention to the spacing of the holes and size of the album. I have too many fiber pages for one book, so bought a new one but didn’t double check dimensions (I really should know better). I’m also stubborn, and rather than returning the book, I cut new holes. My eventual plan is to make my own covers, but I needed something to protect the pages in the interim. Frustrating.
Photo description: post holes on the new cover and old page don’t match up
We picked up a fast food dinner and were given a plethora of paper napkins. I had a stash of straws. Could I make a basket? (Because that is the logical thought process with excess disposable paper products, right?)
Photo description: unbleached paper napkins and paper wrapped straws
I unwrapped and split the straws by running a scissors down the length to obtain four plastic strips from each straw. I wove a square base (6×6 straw pieces). I tore the napkins into 1/2” strips and twined them around the straw “staves”.
Photo description: slivers of red plastic straws woven together and secured with paper napkin twine
It took some time to twine up the sides of the basket. The joining method I liked best was to overlap the end of a napkin strip with a new strip, fold the sides to the middle, then secure with a good clockwise twist. The two clockwise twisted strands were then wrapped counterclockwise around each straw, which isn’t as complicated as it sounds. To finish the basket, I trimmed the end of the straws to a blunt point, and used tweezers to thread them back down through the weaving.
Photo description: in process threading of the straw staves back into the twined weave, calico cat as a background
I was quite surprised that the little basket is fairly sturdy. It certainly won’t hold up to water or washing, but it is a cute little basket. I left the end of the napkin twine inside the basket to remember its humble origins.
Photo description: finished basket, top view, happy calico cat as the background Photo description: finished napkin and straw basket, side view, sitting on a calico cat
When you don’t have a bow for a present, but do have the plastic bag from the store and some fast food napkins, you can make a bow.
Photo description: bow made on the go from a Lowe’s bag and twine made from paper napkinsPhoto description: green plastic bag, unbleached fast food napkins, scissors
I usually have some napkin twine in my car as an emergency craft project. I prefer the unbleached napkins because the resulting twine is more aesthetically pleasing, not strong, but artful. I tear about 1/2” strips from the napkin, fold it in two, twist the single strand away from me, and twist the two strands together toward me.
Photo description: half inch strip torn from a paper napkinPhoto description: adding in a new strip of paper at the middle, between the existing strandsPhoto description: a small section of paper napkin twine, knotted at the end
To make the bow, I smoothed out a plastic shopping bag, the kind with handles, and cut it into four equal width sections, two long, two short.
Photo description: plastic bag cut vertically into four sections
I start with the long sections and fold the ends to the middle with about a half inch overlap.
Photo description: plastic bag section folded with the ends to the middle and overlapping
I repeat the fold for all four bag sections, then stack the four pieces with the longest on the bottom. Often, cutting the bag results in mis-cuts, sections of bag that don’t go from end to end. I pull these out as added decorative elements.
Photo description: all four sections of plastic bag folded and stacked, with some off cuts pulled out as “ribbons”
Using my paper napkin twine, I scrunch together the center of the plastic bag stack and tie the twine around using a square knot on the long side (back of the bow).
Photo description: plastic bag sections tied together with paper twine
Then comes the fiddly bits (for me). Each loop of plastic from the stack gets opened up and pulled away from its partner(s). This fluffs the bow and gives it volume. I work from the back forward, and one side at a time.
Photo description: back two loops of bag separated, pulled gently 90 degrees apart, and roundedPhoto description: finished emergency bow made from a shopping sack and paper napkin twine
Critters and Craft 