Martin Luther King Day #Crafts - Fold an #Origami Peace Crane

The inspiration for this blog post is a community project I participated in back in 2002.  It was this project that sparked my passion for origami.  

I was working in North Adams, MA at the time.  I was Coordinator of the Student Diversity Team, which was a grant-funded initiative to advance the conversation about diversity at Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts (MCLA).  Our high school partner was Drury High School.

It was a while ago, and I don't remember all the details, but I do remember that the activity led by the Student Diversity Team was part of a larger initiative associated with the city of North Adams.  In accordance with Dr. King's advocacy of racial harmony and nonviolence, we read the story of Sadako and her thousand paper cranes.   Then we made paper cranes with a wish for peace on the inside.

This is a link to a step by step tutorial on how to fold a paper crane.  

One of my students happened to be an origami aficionado, so he started making all different types of things out of the origami paper!  He even made a box!  That was what really got me going with origami.  Before  I knew it, I was online and at the library, learning form after form after form.  I loved origami!  This was the result - and these are just some of the forms I've folded.

I blogged about these origami forms in 2008.

If you would be interested in learning how to do more origami, please let me know by leaving a comment or contacting me at artlikebread (at) gmail (dot) com.  As always, thanks for reading the blog!  Please leave your thoughts, ideas and questions in the comment section below.  If you liked this post, please share this post with a friend through social media & fold paper every chance you get! Like my Facebook page for updates and more crafty sharing!

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The World Is Beautiful | International Day of Peace

I like public art, especially when it makes a beautiful, welcoming statement like this one.  As someone who has traveled/lived internationally, it's comforting to see a visual representation of your home country, especially when displayed so beautifully and respectfully as these flags.

Terminal at O'Hare Airport, Chicago, IL, USA

Happy

International Day of Peace

Why not make an origami peace crane today?

Cool t-shirt spotted in Mexico City. It was designed by the wearer's girlfriend.

Last-Minute Gift Solutions!

Sometimes even when you don't procrastinate, you can't find the Christmas gifts you so lovingly chose and carefully hid.  So you just have to improvise.

At least it's pretty, right?

And sometimes you just want to spoil your family and not clutter their homes with chachkes.

relaaaaaax... Zzzzzzzz

And yet, during these times, you might have misplaced (some of) your normal craft supplies and, well, these were lying around.

CHEEEEAP cell phone cover & SHARP scissors!

(I don't remember the *exact* cost of the cell phone rhinestones, but I am pretty sure I got them at the dollar store.)

Quick tutorial/tip!  Go out a buy a cheap rhinestone cell phone cover, and use your tiniest, sharpest scissors to cut strips of rhinestones.  While cutting, keep the clear backing on the sticker, and make sure that some of it is protruding out at the end of the line of rhinestones, so you can remove the stones from the backing.  While applying the rhinestones, do not let your fingers touch the backing.  To isolate an individual rhinestone, peel back the edge of the plastic backing, let the rhinestone touch your paper, and carefully snip the rest of the line of rhinestones away.  You can reposition the rhinestone by using your scissors to grasp the sides of it before you press it down.

And because these gifts are kind of small, you just have to break out the origami book to make them a bit more special.

These held the frozen yogurt giftcards.

It's reusable!

If you're interested in an origami book with simple instructions, you can get the one I have here.  It's called Origami: Easy-to-Make Paper Creations by Gay Merrill Gross.  I highly recommend it!

origami mami

Yeah, that's me.

I've been folding origami for over seven years now and I love, love, love it. In fact, I'm kind of surprised that I haven't blogged about it before. In fact, I'll be launching a very special origami project before the school year starts, but until then, let me show you some of my most favorite origami forms.

The origami portion of my bulletin board.

A lot of my forms are "poverty folds," made from found paper.

Paper, what do you want to be?

Book Review: Knit Aid

Knit Aid
by Vickie Howell

So I got really excited about this book when I watched this video of Vickie's which I linked to from some crafty blog I read on myspace. Oh coolness! She's posted more instructional videos and tips to accompany her book! You can link to them from the video link above.

Vickie is certainly a crafty icon of mine. I have many! It seems like so many crafty powerhouses come out of Austin. Don't mess with Texas, I guess. :o)

Vickie does such a great job of explaining all of the book features on her video, I don't want to simply repeat what she says here. What I can tell you is that to a new knitter like me, this book is incredibly valuable. Before getting the book, I had already learned to knit and purl, but not much else. I'd been watching instructional videos and I've been waiting to find a pattern to speak to me- but I didn't understand them!! Vickie's book is a godsend as it explains all of the cryptic abbreviations that are so intimidating for a new knitter. Next time I see a gorgeous knit pattern, I will be literate!

I tried the gauge exercise she includes in her book. I loved it because it included MATH! I love regular math, higher math, etc. Even these basic exercises make me happy. :o) The exercise is to make a little cozy for your ipod, phone, or whatever small item you keep in your purse. I decided to do one for the book I'm reading. Then I got a little ambitious and decided to make a curved flap for over the top by adding rows and decreasing. (I think I did that a little too quickly, but the techniques that Vickie shared worked!) I also added a buttonhole, also included in Vickie's book.

Well, my tension was not so good on the buttonhole, but it was pretty consistent on the body of the sleeve. I also used the mattress stitch (guess where I learned it) to seam up the sides. It worked! I was amazed. I felt like I did when I first started making origami forms. I would always think, 'is this really going to come out the way it looks in the picture?' Then it did! Magic!!

Vickie also includes instructions on embroidering on knitting. I'm going to try to jazz up this plain green sleeve with some of those instructions. While I was home, I bought a stitch marker to measure gauge, but I am thrilled that if I ever misplace it, there's one bound into this book for me to keep forever!

And super-kudos, Vickie, for including standard sizing measurements for women sized XS-5X. Yes, I do fall somewhere in between those! She also lets you know how many inches you need to add for ease in your garments. How invaluable. Who wants to spend hours upon hours (as well as dollars upon dollars) on a garment that is too tight or too loose?

This book amounts to a compact, lightweight, logical reference book with refreshers for the experienced knitters. If you've never knitted before and want to learn, make this book your second one, or pick it up after taking the basic class from your yarn store.

It was also such a steal at $7.95!!! Buy it full-price, people. Ten percent of the proceeds are going to aid victims of disaster through the redcross.org. Buy the book here, on vickiehowell.com!

Renegade Craft Fair

Hello you blogging, artsy, craftsy, crazy friends and fools. In an attempt to be more closely connected to my artistic side, I've created this blog as a space to post my works. What you'll see here is mostly pictures at first anyway. New friends, use this to keep in touch with me. Let me know your comments on my work. I'm hoping this may lead to something... What? Who knows?

I just recently moved to Chicago and after 8 weeks of inertia, I snagged a job as a craft instructor. Ask me if I've taught any classes yet. ...not yet. I'm still in training. But being in that environment is very social and fun, as well as inspirational.

I've been podcasting with Michelle from craftedby.us, and through her I learned about Artist Trading Cards. I made a few and I am raring to trade them today at the Renegade Craft Fair in Chicago. (This is but one advantage of living in a world-class city... who knew?)

I don't have much time before I have to go. I'm so excited. I am hoping that some of my trading buddies from the RCF will visit me at this blog!

ttfn,
Caissa