What I've got for y'all today is an ensemble brought to you by the exquisite fabric known as pleather. Which I have decided can only be pronounced as "plehh-thahh" in a deep and gravely Barry White voice, preferably followed by a "baby". As in, "I wanna wrap you in plehh-thahh, baby, plehh-thahhhhh." And just who doesn't want be draped from head-to-toe in leather fauxness with Barry White at their beck and call, hmmm? Little known fact: pleather actually comes from the rare and annoying creature known as Twilight Sparkle. Hence the smell of plastic and rainbows shot from unicorn anus. So I got this idea to draw all over my clothing from one of my fave artist blogs Alisa Burke. Y'all. I totally hate it when chics say the have a "girl crush" so, well, lemme just put it this way: I totes have the lady hots for Alisa. She's like a Super Crafty Genius. Sometimes, I visit her site and I'm all "GAH! She's done it AGAIN!" and commence shaking my fists at the heavens wondering why some folks be all touched with the crafty-gene and I ended up with hammerhead toes. HAMMERHEAD TOES, Y'ALL (and, to that freaky-deaky person who keeps messaging me about wanting to see more pictures of my feet, STOP. It's not gonna happen, 'kay?). Life just ain't fair, y'all. As soon as I saw Alisa's jacket, the idea of doing the same with a Keith Haring theme popped into my head (along with "squirrel!" and "unicorn anus!" but that's pretty normal). I scoured the interwebs for super cheap plehh-thahhh (see, I told you, I can't say it any other way. Bet you won't be able to either after this post) and found that Forever21 had this circle skirt on the cheap. Not wanting to pay shipping costs, I decided to venture to the mall (anyone else abhor the mall? Gah, I feel like I'm stepping back into a 1990's time machine each time I enter one. Orange Julius, anyone?) and scooped one up. I gotta tell ya, the last time I wore a plehh-thahh skirt it was my 11th birthday, I was in 6th grade and we were bringin' the house down at Chuck-e-Cheese. I tried my hardest to find a photo from the occasion but, alas, I think I may have taken one look at it, thought, "OMG, why am I wearing maroon pinstripe pleather?!" and tossed it. Sorry, y'all! After my shopping fun at the mall, I popped over to the craft store and scooped up a coupla of Sharpie oil-based pens. I also picked up a couple of terrible fabric makers which sucked unicorn anus. Thusly, I don't recommend them. Once I got home, I did a quick search for Keith Haring/black and white and this is what popped up. I loved it so much (look at the scissor people, people!) I decided it would be the perfect inspiration. I began by sketching out my Haring-inspired designs in chalk but that proved to be too time-consuming and did a number on the tip of the Sharpie. Since Harings designs are pretty simple, I decided to just let it goooo and draw 'em with reckless abandon. Are y'all fans of Keith Haring? I feel like he was such a revolutionary artist not necessarily because of his style but because of the boundaries that his artwork removed. In the 1980's his graffiti artwork could be seen by anyone who happened by it, not just those "in the art world". He removed the mystic of the artist by working out in the open on grimy subway walls in his cartoonish hand. Not only that, but his artwork brought to light issues that were close to Haring's heart: AIDS awareness, sexuality, apartheid and war. Dude was Banksy before Banksy. Suddenly art became by the people and for the people, thanks to Keith Haring. Once I was finished with the plehh-thahh skirt, I decided a biker jacket was needed to top it all off. Barry White insisted. Gotta tell ya, I've been wanting a vintage biker jacket for ages. However they cost exactly One Million Dollars and, despite my ginormous art teacherin' paycheck, I just ain't got that kinda dough. So a plehh-thahh biker from Forever21 it 'twas (dude. Do you know how awkward it is to shop in a place called Forever21 when you are really Forever 39?). For this jacket, I really wanted to stress Harings more popular images like the people holding the heart, the barking dogs, the radiant baby and the cartoon face on the television. Other than that, I had seriously no plan at all, didn't draw in chalk or nuthin. I just went at it. And the result is pretty busy, I gotta say. However, I kinda dig that it doesn't match the skirt. I like that the skirt has more negative space so you can see the images better. By the way, do you even know how stinkin' hot head-to-toe plehh-thahh is?! And by "hot" I don't mean "hawt", I mean butt-sweat hot. You can thank me for the visual imagery in the comments. Once the temps dip a pinch, I think this will be so much fun to wear. I'm thinkin' I will get a lotta mileage outta that jacket. OMG, I just realized, I look like The Fonz! Who has two thumbs and loves plehh-thahh?! Eeehhhhhh. This guy. Oh, Fonz. You so cray. And with that, one more artist-inspired ensemble in the books!

Linocut can create a host of visually striking and memorable images that will leave an impression. Here's a deep dive into everything you need to know about this relief printing technique.

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I have one week left in my Photoshop for Quilters online class. I thought I would share another PSE technique with you: The point of this lesson was to take an image and edit it so that you could print out a pattern to create an applique quilt. I chose a favorite image of my niece, Lilly: Original Image Image changed to black and white with levels adjustment Image deepened with Hue and Saturation adjustment Image has been posterized Then we were taught to soften the edges of the posterized version so that this could be printed out and used as a pattern to create a portrait quilt. These softened edges would be easier to cut out of fabric. If you look at the version above this one, you can see how much more detail there is in her hair that I removed. After the quilt top is completed, I could go back in and add that hair detail back in with machine quilting. How cool is that! You can find out more about this online class here: http://www.pixeladies.com CLICK HERE: to see My Quilts May Your Bobbin Always Be Full, LuAnn Kessi

A blog about two modern cousins who quilt, sew, knit, stitch and craft everyday.

On the knit side m1L : make 1 left, (left slanted increase) . . With the left needle pick up the strand between 2 stitches, from front to back and knit through the back loop. . . . m1R : make 1 rig…

Stem stitch is a beautiful rope-like hand embroidery stitch that works great for writing with a needle and thread. There are two real difficulties with stem stitch: stitch direction and curves. I’ll try to eliminate both of those difficulties in this tutorial. Before venturing into the tutorial, you might want to take a look at ...

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Hello Quilt lovers! Today we want to put a spotlight on the AGF collection of free quilt patterns, where you can find lots of easy quilt patterns that are designed especially for beginners, along with projects that are more challenging....

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Upgrade your hollow core doors with this DIY door makeover tutorial! Turn any builder grade door into plank doors with this simple tutorial.

Raise your hand if you love caning! Keep your hand raised if you have NO IDEA how to use it! Get excited and settle in because this tutorial on how to cane is going to

Everything you need for this pool noodle headboard is on Amazon.

A budget-friendly DIY slat accent wall can be created using materials that are affordable and easily available. Here are some steps to consider: Use wood scraps or plywood to create the slats. Cut the slats to size using a circular saw & rip cut Sand the edges and surfaces of the slats to

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Say buh-bye to the days of searching for that perfect bolt of fabric. Block printing is the easy way to create custom fabrics for one-of-a-kind sewing, quilting and home decor projects. If you'

Updates: Watch a time lapse tutorial of the process here and see the full room reveal here! Have any plain, flat doors in your house? This tutorial is for you! Here’s what you’ll need for this project (per one standard door): Materials 4×8″ sheet of plywood 1″ Finish nails Wood filler Caulk Paint Tools Miter saw […]

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The idea for this lesson came from an image I saw on Pinterest.. but after doing some investigative work - seems to have originated from the blog Art. Paper. Scissors. Glue and before that from the 1991 book written by Sara Beggs, "The No Nonsense Guide to Teaching Art." For this lesson we began by taking about what symmetry is and the difference between linear symmetry (1 line of symmetry) and radial symmetry (more than 1 line of symmetry). Then we talked about what a sculpture is (a piece of artwork you can see from all sides - it is 3-dimensional) and what a relief "sculpture" is (a piece of artwork that has depth on the surface but is not meant to be seen from all sides). Once students understood the principles behind radial symmetry and sculpture we began creating our very own radial paper relief sculptures! Students started by folding a piece of 12"x12" black construction paper diagonally both ways and vertical and horizontally (to create an 'X' crease and a '+' crease). Making these creases makes creating a radial design SO much easier because it gives you guidelines to work with. Once their papers had been folded and their names written, we sat them aside. Before having students begin folding their colored paper (each piece was cut to 3" x 3") to fill the inside of their design, I demonstrated 4 folds to them to get them started. *Students were allowed to deviate from these folds if they wanted to. To download the handout below, click on the arrow button in the top right corner (this will open it in a new window). You can download from there. My kids absolutely LOVED this project! They are already super into origami, so this project was like heaven to them! :) You might also be interested in checking out my Paper Poinsettia Sculpture lesson which uses the same basic concepts. Also available in my Teachers Pay Teachers store!

Creating a custom shiplap wall doesn't have to be difficult or expensive. Learn how to make your own faux shiplap and plank a wall for $30!

Quick, Cheap and Easy Screen Printing Frames: Screen printing is great fun. But it can be so expensive! When we saw the price of frames and screens, we were kind of shocked. Our makerspace is young and money is tight. So we looked for a cheaper option, creating our own screens from what we alre…

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Discover quick team building games that will help you at your next meeting, group, or even party. They are a fun way to connect! "Teamwork is the ability to work together toward a common vision.