Aliza from truthserum.org has been a staple in both the Boston Craft and LGBT scene for years. She knows what’s hot…UtiliTies! Made from new and vintage ties and handkerchiefs, each one of these is unique. I really love the blackbird design. She also prints in reflective ink, making them excellent for dancing!

What Aliza Says About Utilities:

UtiliTies is a product line that celebrates my love for vintage fabrics and patterns. When my closet would no longer close because I had too many vintage neckties, I started stenciling (text and designs) onto them and selling them…I’ve used my vintage fabric collection to make patches stenciled with images and/or text, and some have reflective designs also.

This past Christmas, I gave my suitwearing lawyer-friend one of the pirate skull ties and he wears it to court. I think it gives him secret pirate powers!

Check out Aliza’s Utili-line at http://www.truthserum.org/utilities.html

Yasutomo, purvevor of much of the origami paper in the US, has this lampshade project up on their website. It’s so clean and beautiful that I had to put it up, but the instructions are a little lacking. http://www.yasutomo.com/project/paperlampshade.htm

Basically, to make it an actual lampshade and not just a ring of paper, you’re going to need to adapt the instructions to whatever lamp you have and find a way to attach it.

Here’s how I would do it: I would get a donation store lampshade that has a relatively narrow top that I can cannibalize. I’d trash everything but the top ring that is attached to the bulb or bulb housing. Then I’d measure the diameter of the ring.

Before buying paper or folding, I’d figure out if the project lampshade will fit my lamp. Using my gradeschool math skills (C=PI * d) I figure out that the 22in piece of paper in the model will cover a 7in diameter lamp, but since there’s folding involved, my guess is that the project lampshade will be 14in tall and maybe about 6.5in in diameter at the attachment points. Will that work for my lamp ring? Yes. Now I can buy the paper, fold the big shade and glue it to the ring with little bits of treated paper.

I know this seems like a lot of planning, but I hate wasting materials. It’s just a suggestion.

As seen on Design Sponge:

“…this fused felt door-handle organizer was a super simple way to eliminate a frantic and frustrating search from our morning routine.”

http://www.designspongeonline.com/2009/02/diy-wednesdays-door-organizer.html

I *heart* Instructables and this recipe looks amazing. It’s a sausage made of breakfast. Check out the how-to…

Ultimate Breakfast Sausage – More DIY How To Projects

Good job today, Martha! I see you’re getting a sense of humor.

These cards have an “I bought it at a chic boutique” feel with a funny twist. All you need is a good color printer and some basic craft supplies to pull off a high-qual version.

These cards have everything I require in a good how-to: simple concept, basic materials, minimal learning curve.

I’m thinking of taking her mechanical templates and drawing my own dogs.

Martha Stewart Craft of the Day: Mechanical Dog Cards

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars